Rachel Andric and Final Death

Chapter 21: The Shrunken World

Will looked around them, a little taken aback. "Why is everything so... big?" he asked timidly. There were blades of grass the same height as he was all around them. He felt short, and that was a new and rather unnerving experience.

Merlin picked at his sleeves, pulling dirt from them after he'd fallen ungracefully on the ground. "Well, there are two Stories we could be in," he said knowingly. "Tom Thumb or Thumbelina."

"That doesn't really help us," Guy said. "Or does it? What difference does it make that this is one of those Stories?"

"Always best to know where you are," Morgana interrupted approvingly. "That way you know what to expect."

"Well, normally, that'd be true," Merlin agreed, looking uncomfortable. "Except nothing in The Story's as it should be, and who knows how the Editor has manipulated this Story? Besides, we're tiny."

"Are we?" Will said. "I thought everything was big."

"It's beautiful," Guinevere said, her eyes wide.

"Oh, yes, beautiful," Red retorted sarcastically, "unless you consider all the creatures larger than us. Waiting to devour us."

"That's enough of that," Will put in, feeling increasingly frightened as Red brought to mind those terrible images of giant insects coming to kill them. "No need to further make people uncomfortable, no?"

"Peu importe," she retorted irritably. She turned her back on him, leaving Will to ponder Red's new unfriendliness. The loss of The Huntsman must have been devastating, but he couldn't understand why she was being so cruel. It wasn't in her nature to be like that, and he wondered if the loss of a loved one did that to people.

"I don't feel comfortable standing around in the open," Merlin said. "The Story sent us here for some reason. Let's find out why, shall we?"

"What if it wasn't The Story, but the Editor?" Morgana asked innocently.

"Let's not think like that," Merlin suggested. "Honestly! Why are you all insistent on being so blasted pessimistic? What I wouldn't give to have—" He stopped. Will could tell from his sad expression he was thinking about Alan.

Ewan interrupted. "I'm not an optimist, but there's a reason we're here. Maybe someone knows about Final Death."

"Worth a try," Will agreed. Anything to get moving and stop Red and Morgana from talking.

They plodded through the giant grass, Will trying to absorb everything around him. Of all the Stories he'd been through, this had to be the strangest. He'd never felt so small. Even tall Ewan was dwarfed by the vegetation.

Of course, there was some annoyance as well. Merlin was firmly at Guinevere's side, and Will was fairly certain he'd slipped his hand into hers. It annoyed Will that Merlin was behaving so badly and completely ignoring the price Lancelot had payed in the legends for falling for Guinevere.

Ewan was watching them as well, shoulder to shoulder with Red, looking like he wanted to hold her hand. But the expression on his face was tentative, like he didn't know how to proceed. It brought to mind once again Will's love Rapunzel. She wouldn't even remember him, and that hurt. At least Merlin and Ewan had their loves with them.

A glance at Morgana showed that he wasn't the only one hurting. Her face was dark as she glared at Merlin and Guinevere, and Will wished Merlin wasn't so blind to her adoration of him.