Shadow Former

[12]

Tur...(what was her name?!) kept Konnya's hand and brought it closer to her face. Letting out a small breath, it traveled up her arm. The air that should've been invisible, turned into little, lightning-like sparks. They were sort of prickly, but didn't hurt.

Right in front of her eyes, Konnya saw her skin darken after the sparks crossed it.

When the lights reached the swirls on her neck, her throat tightened. Like the swirls themselves were shrinking, but were solid like a necklace. She would choke if her throat didn't shrink too. Getting air into her lungs took so much concentration. Her face felt tight and hot, her eyes watered. Konnya tried to grab the swirls and loosen them. She looked up at the woman and begged with her eyes to make it stop, or at least kill her now.

The pressure around her neck gave way, and she took deep breaths. She would've fallen to her knees, but not being able to see the floor made that prospect scary.

Konnya tilted her head and gasped. Her feet landed too far up. Had she really shrunk?

She brushed away the curtain of hair and stood straight. Her eyes shot wide open and she grabbed her hair back in front of her face. It was strawberry blonde. How...?

The woman grabbed Konnya's hand again and tilted her chin up. She was now almost twice as tall Konnya.

What was going on?!

The woman moved Konnya's face back and forth, eyes moving across every inch. "Not as good as I've done before," she said quietly. Almost like talking to herself. "But you can only change a person so many times before they start to look fake."

Konnya jerked her face out of the woman's grasp.

"Who are you, and what did you do to me?" She calmed down a little bit. Her voice was the same. Mostly. It sounded childish. She looked down at herself. Her legs were short and chubby. She was a child.

"Oh, pardon me," the woman said. She pulled a mirror out of her pocket.

Konnya scowled and took it. She bit her lip. She didn't really want to know what she looked like. This was just too...too something. Weird? Confusing? Scary? Those didn't do it justice.

She looked the woman straight in the eye and threw the mirror hoping it would shatter. But whatever they were standing on didn't reach where it landed. It kept falling.

But not far.

It hovered in mid air, then flung back up to the woman. She caught it and gave an exasperated sigh. She closed her eyes and put the mirror back in her pocket. "I know I'm not the nicest person, but I am attempting to be decent." Her voice dropped, but was somehow more intense than before. "Try babysitting someone for eight-hundred years."

Konnya stepped back and her lower lip quivered.

What am I doing?!

Konnya wasn't this easily frightened. She pressed her lips together and stared at the woman, even though all she wanted was to hide and cry. She tired to stand straight, but her shoulders slumped. She sighed. "Why do I feel like," she gestured to herself, "myself and a child at the same time?"

The woman's eyes softened a little. "Because this far down in hiding, the longer I keep you aware of both sides, the longer you can live that life."