When she woke up that morning she was suffocating. Using all the strength of her limbs she pushed at the blankets surrounding her, grasping for pockets of air. She slowly slid down the folded blanket and landed on a giant padded sheet. The threads were enormous and one of them was torn. She followed the cloth tunnel towards the light and the blaring noises. The exit to the tunnel lead to a clearing in front of a large white pillow. To the left and the right were cloth mounds and a giant drop... to her bedroom floor. She looked down at her body and looked around. She was tiny. She started to hyperventilate. This had to be a dream. This had to. There's no way she could live like this. Maryjane pinched herself and it hurt.
"MOOOOOMMMMM!!!" she screamed... and mom didn't come. She probably couldn't even hear her. She sat down on her mattress, surrounded by her blankets and cried for a while, listening to her alarm blare in the background. Then she started to hear a new sound. It was like a rattle and a hiss. It was getting louder and she stopped crying, listening. She wrapped her wall of a blanket around herself and counted to 100, willing herself to go back to sleep. If she went back to sleep she would wake up and everything would be normal again.
Everything was not normal again. She woke up and the rattle hiss was louder. It was like someone was trying to talk without any vocal cords. She crept toward the exit of the blanket tunnel and saw it. It looked like a slinking cloud of smoke and shadow. Totally creepy. She backed into the blanket tunnel and weighed her options. Her mom would be in here soon to turn off her alarm but would she even see this thing? She couldn't even believe she was seeing this thing. And she was so very small. Even if this was a dream, she had to run. She started sinking her feet into the mattress, slipping on the sheet as she decided to move. Stopping and getting a grip on herself she began walking slowly, careful not to bounce or slip and made her way toward the bottom of the mattress, where the blanket had an exit where her feet were hanging out.
She could still hear the smoke monster on the other side of the bed so it hadn't followed her. She looked at the huge drop to the floor. It looked suicidal. She made her way over the folds of her comforter climbing all the peaks and mounds like it was a marathon, and saw the blanket hanging off of the side of the bed. She put her shirt into her mouth, gritted her teeth and jumped, sliding down until she tumbled head over feet into the wall across from her bed. Hiding behind the dresser, she breathed a sigh of relief, until she leaned against it and fell right though it.. Either way, whatever that thing was doesn't seem to see her here. It didn't follow her here, at least.
Just as she finally got a breather she started seeing little people like herself, with all sorts of color skins coming toward her. She just stood there with eyes wide as the men approached her. "Hi-" Is all she could get out of her mouth before one of the men thunked her in the back of the neck sending her off to sleep. She woke up later tied to a chair with a few cords of rope, surrounded by three incredibly handsome men. Maryjane furrowed her brows. Her surroundings kept changing in a way that didn't make sense. She thought that maybe she was having a kinky dream this time?
"W-What's going on?" she muttered, still dizzy and gaining her bearings.
The one with the glowing blue eyes, Trevor approached her and pointed to himself and his companions. "Trevor, Anzel and Loric. Your dad sent us to get you in case you were like him. Seems you are." he stated, while looking her up and down with a crooked smile. He seemed pleased with her appearance. She blushed all the way to her ears under his gaze, and she lowered her eyes. His eyes were glowing pools of blue that just sucked you in. She couldn't believe she was reacting this way to a man she had just met, but he was so handsome. Just couldn't help herself. Chewing her lip in embarrassment, she blamed her reactions on the circumstances and continued to listen for answers as to why she was now tied to a chair, and then it hit her that they said something about her father.
She had never met her father. He had abandoned her pregnant mother in high school and they had struggled together ever since. Fortunately he had left his wife with his family home, which was paid off, and solar powered. Her mother struggled to finish making the payments on those panels in those first few months. Tammy never did find the time to finish high school. Her part time job at the factory became her full time job until her baby bump began showing, and until the birth she had to rely on selling items around the house that used to belong to her father, until the garden exploded with produce that summer.
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By then most of the remnants of her father had already been pawned, which was why she didn't have any sort of impression of the man. Her mother had probably gotten rid of them out of anger. Her father had been her childhood sweetheart. She thought that maybe the man had died somewhere for a while, and while the missing persons report was submitted, the police had no leads.
Tammy had continued her normal routine in a daze until her school rival came forward saying that she had been sleeping with Larry too, and even gloated by showing texts they had been exchanging since he left. Tammy quit school that day, curled up in their bed and barely left it for weeks. She had been starting to show, anyway, she had reasoned to herself. But really she had just stopped caring about anything other than her child. She wound up naming her child after what saved her from her depression. As much as Maryjane hated her name, she was glad her mother found a way to be happy with her. Her mother lived every moment for her and that hadn't changed in her whole 18 years of life.
"Just so you know, we only tied you up so you wouldn't fight us while we got you to safety." explained Trevor.
'Well, if she had to be tied up by someone', she mused to herself, making light of the awkward situation. Licking her lips she began to steal glances at the three boys. One had short red hair and glowing green eyes, Loric. He looked back at her and smiled as her ears turned red as she averted her eyes. She glanced back up again. Yep. They were glowing, and he was still looking at her with those smiling eyes. This had to be a weird dream. She looked up at the second boy., Trevor. His skin was a pale green color, like jade. He had slanted aqua eyes and black hair, looking like he just came out of an Asian drama.
"I'm going to untie you now. Please don't do anything stupid." Anzel, the boy with the black hair tan skin and red eyes, explained as he began untying her hands and feet. The way he untied her was almost sensual. As he untied her hands and feet he was gently massaging the skin around the bindings, making her skin tingle all over her body. She licked her dry lips as she peeked at the man releasing her from the ropes.
Anzel ran a finger along the her arch of her foot as he gently placed it into her shoe and back to the ground. He retained a serious expression as he joyfully watched her shiver in pleasure from the small touches. He found her quite fun. He kept secretly slipping his hands further up her legs like he was easing her pain from the bindings until they were removed. "We need to get out of here before the Eaters come." Anzel reminded his team in a sing song voice as he finished tidying Mary's clothes for her. Maryjane was blushing to her toes. As Anzel turned away a smile slipped onto his face for a moment before he returned to his stoic expression.
Realizing what was just said Mary questioned the trio, "Whats and Eater and what is it eating?" She said finding the courage to search their eyes.
"You just turned 18, yes?" questioned Trevor with a playful smile, his eyes like glimmering emeralds boring into her. Looking at these men was intense. She kept averting her eyes into her hands, now ringing themselves in her lap. "And you went through the change. The shrinking. All Gnomes go through it. You're only part human, girl. You're a magical creature bound for a magical life." the goblin said as he reached down and grazed her cheek with his palm.
Momentarily shocked at the intrusion, she continued, "So I'm a Gnome? Am I supposed to tend gardens and steal underpants now? Why would someone eat me?" She said, incredulous.
Loric, replied, "Actually your Dad, Larry is responsible for that myth. In the hidden world, where women are scarce, he started a business of selling his summoned undergarments. He didn't even mean to summon them!" Loric laughed, "They were your moms! He was working on his first big summon He made a killing."
Trevor explained with a smile in his eyes and a seriousness beyond his years, "We've been looking after you all your life. Larry Underpants is our clan leader and you're our responsibility."