Having been shrunk before, I know what to expect, but Karen's voice wavers despite her trying to appear nonchalant. "Close your eyes," I step closer to wrap her in a soothing embrace, "you won't feel a thing." She does what I say; eyes screwed shut, she buries her face in the crook of my neck, tickling it with her warm breath. It feels nice, almost like before it all started, except for Karen's doll body of course, but soon that will be taken care of.
I keep my eyes open, watching you cast the spell, anticipating the the effect with barely concealed excitement. And it does not disappoint: the world explodes around me, growing in all directions, rushing away as Karen and I dwindle in size. When it stops, I whisper in Karen's ear "you can open your eyes now, but don't look up just yet." She disengages, obediently looking down at her feet, "Wow, those grass blades are huge... Oh!" She stumbles back after noticing your huge sneaker, and tilts her head up... and up... and up... her gaze following your contours. Then she looks around in amazement, at a scenery a dozen times larger than normal. "Wow... I never imagined..."
"I know," I grin. "Magic can be quite fun when you take away the fear. Come, climb aboard."
"Climb where?" She looks at me quizzically and I point at you. "Oh!" With all her excitement, she has missed your transformation and now stares at your sleek goose form.
I wait for you to crouch down, then jump up, sailing through the air, and land in the saddle you made for us. "Coming?"
"How did you...?" She stares in disbelief.
I laugh. "It's science, not magic. The square-cube law means your muscles are ten times stronger in relation to your mass. Try it!"
She looks sceptical, but jumps up, and I catch her before she overshoots, seating her in front of me. "Whoooo, that was fun!"
You lift off, flapping your wings to gain altitude, then glide, using the air currents to your advantage. Karen looks around excitedly at first, like a kid on a theme park tour, but then settles down, leaning back against me as I hug her from behind. The flight is so smooth and quiet that I nod off after a while, waking up with a start when you land. "Close your eyes again," I suggest but Karen shakes her head. "No, this time I want to see."
"OK," I shrug as you cast the spell to return us to normal size. The sensation is different but no less fun, and it looks that Karen grew to enjoy it as well, pun not intended.
We walk into the motel and go to the room without incident. I sit on the bed and take my shoes of, letting my feet breathe while I wait for you to finish showering. "So," Karen sits down next to me and touches the ring on my finger. "You said the Magical Crimes Unit was after you. What did you do?"
"Looked for you while trying to stay alive?" I shrug, wiggling my toes. "We had some encounters with less than friendly people, magical and otherwise, and Kelly wasn't too discreet in dealing with them."
"She got you in trouble?" she asks.
"She mostly tried to keep me out of trouble," I admit. "The kind of trouble that gets you killed, or arrested, or turned into a frog. Most of the times she was successful, although there were several close calls that I wouldn't want to repeat," I shudder involuntary. "And I did find out that most magic users -- even those who were on our side -- either have a very loose definition of consent, or just consider it optional."
She considers it for a moment, biting her lip in thought -- seeing all those familiar endearing mannerisms in an artificial body is a bit disconcerting -- then looks me in the eye. "How do you feel about her?"
"Well..." I am not sure how to answer that. "She cares about you very much, and she put her ass on the line to save mine more than once..."
"That's not what I mean," she interrupts. "Do you... love her?"
"What? No!" I am taken aback. "I respect her, and I trust her, well mostly," she giggles at that, "and sometimes I like her -- when she drops the 'mighty witch' facade and shows that she's actually human underneath. But the only one I love is you!"
She looks at me intensely, as if trying to ascertain the truth of my words, then sighs and lowers her eyes. "She used to get a kick from taking what was mine and making it hers, even if she didn't actually want it, just to show me she could. She would make the boys that I went out with infatuated with her -- it wasn't love per se, but it was close enough for them not to know the difference. Or she would make them forget me. She even made one of them gay just for shits and giggles. That's was the reason I never told you about her, I was afraid that if the two of you met, she would..."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," I laugh. "Just recently she told me that I should marry you, and it didn't sound like she was giving me much of a choice. Listen, love," I turn serious, "she's not the same person she was before, and I know that she very much regrets how she treated you, and wants to make it up to you. I think she's just afraid to make the first move."
"Afraid?" now it's Karen's turn to laugh. "Of what? Me?"
"Of hurting you again?" I offer. "Of being rejected by you? How should I know? All I know is that I would not have been able to find you, much less rescue you, without her. Do you think you can forgive her?"
"I don't know..." she bites her lip again. "Two months ago, I would have said no. But now..." She looks up at me, "If she wanted my forgiveness so much, she could have altered my memories, made me forget all the things she did to me, made me think she was a wonderful sister..."
"She could," I agree, "I believe it is within her power. But I don't think she would. I think she wants to do it the right way."
The bathroom door opens and you step out, wrapped in a towel.
"Think about what I said," I stand up and walk inside, closing the door behind me. I take my clothes off and turn the water on, enjoying the hot stream.
Karen listens to your proposition, but does not answer. Instead she looks at you as if trying to guess your motivations, then says quietly "You're not going to take him away from me." It does not sound like a question, nor like a warning or an ultimatum, just a statement of fact. Then she adds quietly "It's not easy to forgive, you know. It takes time..."
"Still," she looks at you, "thank you for coming after me, and for looking after Al. And yes, please swap us. I can't think straight like this."