After about ten minutes of searching, Alix finally found what he was looking for. The store was called Small Comforts. They sold products specially made for little folk, and as far as he knew, they were the only ones. The moment he walked in, Alix was greeted by a tiny woman on a desk. She was around a foot tall and wore a fine dress suit.
“Hello, sir. Welcome to Small Comforts. What could I help you look for today?”
“Well… Um… This is harder to say than I thought…”
“Feel free to take your time, sir.” The nice little woman said in as kindly a way as she could. But Alix recognized the fake smile she had, the kind he constantly wore when he was in the service industry.
“Well, Mis… I have recently found myself… Housing someone smaller than me. I don’t suppose that you guys have a starter set or anything?”
“We, in fact, do have just that, sir. One moment and I will have an associate bring it up.” After she made a call on a very small phone, a regular-sized woman walked up with what looked like three gift baskets and the same number of pamphlets.
“Please take your time looking over what is in each care package, don’t be intimidated by the price tag. Every care package has a lifetime guaranty or your money back.” Alix looked over the baskets, and he couldn’t help but be intimidated by the price. The cheapest one was almost a thousand dollars, and all it had was a toilet, shower, bed, and four sets of clothes!
“I’m sorry, but would it be cheaper to buy all this stuff separately?”
“Actually, sir, it would cost three times as much. And honesty, it’s a damn shame. Most caretakers don’t buy the right appliances because of how expensive it is. But I can tell you from personal experience, sir, the price is worth it.” Before Alix could even think, he felt Julia adjust herself in his shirt pocket. Then, remembering how he found her, he considered for a moment that no one ever bothered to buy her properly sized things before. He doubted that any of her last so-called caretakers even considered her needs, aside from what was necessary to keep her alive.
“I’ll… Take the middle one.”
“Splendid! That will be $1,567. You made an excellent choice, sir. That is our most highly rated products.”
“Ya, ya.” Alix paid for the overly expensive basket of essential living products and started walking to his car, making sure not to wake Julia on his way home.
…
Julia was a little surprised to find herself in a pocket when she woke up. Usually, her owners liked to carry her around in the front of their underwear. But then she remembered how her new owner found her, how nice he at least pretended to be. She was still wondering why he was so kind before. Maybe he thought she would try to escape if he was too rough with her right away? Or perhaps he was just that nice to lure her into a false sense of security, so she would not resist being claimed by him? A thousand possible sinister motives for his gentle touch rushed through her head as she pocked it out of his shirt pocket. Her nose was the first sense that detected that he was in the middle of cooking. Looking down, she could see that he was frying up sliced chicken on the stove. The heat from the stovetop rolled up his body and washed over her’s pleasantly.
“Oh, finally awake? Dinner will be done soon, but I think I can leave it alone long enough to show you something.” Alix said as he turned down the stove to simmer and walked off. Julia got a good look at his house during the walk. He seemed to be relatively well off, or at least more financially stable than any of her last owners. They then entered what looked like an office with a bed in the corner, a little counter next to it with an alarm clock, and what looked like a strange dollhouse.
“I don’t know what conditions you’re used to being kept in, but I hope that this will be comfortable for you.” Just then, Julia realized, to her shock and utter bewilderment, that the strange dollhouse was for her.
“Y-You got that… For me?”
“Sure did. I’ll let you have a look around it while I finish up dinner, is it ok for me to set you down there?” She nodded, and in moments was lifted out of the pocket by Alix’s big strong, yet so far gentle hand. After she was sat down on the first floor of the dollhouse, she began her investigation of it. To call it a bizarre design choice was an understatement. It was four platforms, each one a little bit higher than the other, and the walls were nothing more than Chinese fans that even Julia could open or fold. The first floor was a sort of living room. It had a cellphone stand in front of a couch and coffee table, a few throw pillows, and some decorative rugs. Julia felt a little uneasy. She was used to seeing furniture being much bigger than her and seeing some her size made her feel off. That feeling of being out of place only got worse when she got to the second-floor kitchen, and she almost screamed when she found out the fridge and stove worked. As shocked as she was by the first and second floor, nothing could have prepared her for the third. Her bedroom was a little plain, primarily brown and gray, but what surprised Julia was that it existed at all. She hesitated to touch anything, not knowing what she was fearing, but that she was indeed afraid. Set up next to the bathroom was a large, but still her size, wardrobe. She hesitated to open it. The closest thing to clothes Julia had worn in years was a pair of mouse ears and a but plug with a mouse tail on the handle. When she did open it, she found clothes her size, and even when she held a dress in her own hands, she could hardly believe it was real. Julia tried on her new clothes, a mix of excitement and hesitation as she did. She tried on a few different sets of underwear, dresses, shirts, and pants, but she had spent too much of her life naked to be comfy in anything that covered too much skin. By the time Alix came back, Julia had settled on a green tube-top and short-shorts. She was so distracted by her reflection, mostly how odd she felt she looked dressed, to notice he was in the room until his shadow came over her. When she did, terror returned to her poor little heart as she quickly got onto her knees before him.
“S-Sorry I didn’t ask your permission before getting dressed, Master! I J-Just-”
“Hey, calm down. You don’t need my permission to wear clothes. Dinner is ready. Do you want me to bring you food to eat in your new house, or do you want to eat in my dining room?”
“I-I… I would rather eat with you…” Julia walked over and sat down in her Master’s massive hand. She noticed the blush on his face as he looked over her outfit. She was used to being admired for how she looked, but didn’t know how to feel about him being more flustered by her with clothes than without them. They soon got to the table, Alix sat Julia down next to an itsy bitsy table with equally teeny tiny plate and silverware. She picked up and examined the her size fork. She usually just ate out of a thimble or got tossed onto the plate with the food and licked clean after the meal. As such, she had no idea how to use the silverware, making her feel somewhat awkward.
“Careful, this is still hot.” Alix said as he dumped a regular spoon full of pasta onto her plate. It was chicken parmesan, and it looked like he made an effort to chop it up as fine as he could for her convenience. Somehow, this is what pushed her over the edge. Julia started crying, holding her face in her palms as she fell back into the tiny chair that was there for her.
“Oh no, are you ok? Did I do something to upset you?” Alix said as he moved to loom over her, not in a menacing way, or at least he tried not to be. Julia moved her finger’s so that she could look up at the all to caring giant.
“Why are you so nice to me? No one has ever been this nice to me! Why are you treating me like a person!? What are you getting out of this!?” The friendly giant face hovering above her contorted in confusion, and maybe a little sadness.
“What?.. I’m sorry but… Your sad that I’m being nice to you?”
“I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE!?!?!? I have been nothing but a toy from the day I shrunk, and have been treated as such! Why are you different!? Are you different!? Is this just some sick game to make me think you’re nice until you pull the rug out from under me!? THEN JUST DO IT ALREADY!!!” Julia couldn’t remember the last time she ever yelled back to one of her owners. She knew that if this was all an act, she was going to be put through hell for her outburst. But right now, she didn’t give a fuck. The giant didn’t really know how to respond to Julia’s accusations. Sitting back in his chair and thinking.
“I’m sorry that… I’m sorry that you were forced to live like that. I have no idea how much you had to suffer to think of yourself as only a toy to be used and abused. But things are different now, and I promise that no one will ever hurt you like that again.” Julia looked at Alix with shock and awe. She had no idea why he was doing this, no idea if he was just manipulating her. But just the idea that he was honest was too much for her little heart to take. If big people could have been this kind the whole time, then why weren’t they? Why did every giant she fell into the clutches of untile now chose to hurt her when they could have been nice? Why was she forced to be a toy if she was a person all along? The questions rushed through her mind over and over, as she curled up onto the table and wept. Soon the warmth of Alix’s hand engulfed her, but he didn’t pick her up, this was as close to a hug as he could think of to give. Julia embraced the kind of hug, the last time anyone ever touched her this gently was right before she was taken from her parents.
“We can eat later. I think you need some time alone.” Alix said as he picked up the little woman and carried her to her new bed. Placing her down onto it as gently as he could.
“There is a bell right over in that corner, you can ring it if you ne-”
“Why are you being so kind to me?”
“Well… I don’t see you as a toy. You are a person who was forced to suffer like no one ever should. And I know you might not believe me, but I have no intention of hurting you like that.”
“But I’m not a-”
“Yes, you are. I don’t care what some monster told you, but you are a human woman. And you deserve to be treated like it.” Alix’s voice became sterner than before. Not in a scary way, but with more authority than he may have intended. The commanding tone of his voice strangely comforted Julia. He still spoke as a friend but sounded like a Master.
“I… Thank you, Alix… I’m sorry for my outburst…”
“It’s fine… Actually, there is nothing fine about how you were treated before. But I hope to make your time in my care mare pleasant. I will be cleaning up downstairs. Ring the bell if you need me.” Julia nodded to her kind owner before he walked off. She was still confused by him, and the fact that he made her reconsider her place in the universe was troubling. But he was her new owner, and if this was how she was to be treated, then this is how it will happen. She curled up in her new blanket and tried not to think about anything. Dossing off as she compared the blanket’s warmth to the tenderness of the sudo hug Alix gave her before. As she drifted to sleep, she kinda hoped that he might do that again soon.
(Hello everyone, this is your one true king, MRGOBLINKING7!!! This was supposed to be a one-off story, but someone wanted more, and I’m a people pleaser. Hope this wasint to horrible a continuation. And have a wonderful life, my little goblins!)
