Bleeding Hearts

Chapter 16

*Aaliyah's P.O.V*

My magic is hot and cold at the same time, gentle in a way like it normally wasn't. Normally it was like lava spewing out of a volcano, volatile and burning anything in its path. Now though, it just seemed to simmer like warm water.

"Aaliyah," Zero's voice rings in my ears and I open my eyes, sitting up slowly. Everything feels so much bigger but I can't tell if that's because of my outburst or because I'm tired. I entangle my fingers into my baby blanket, trying to gather my thoughts.

My magic felt strange, I know that much. But it was a good strange, a nice strange that made me happy that it was happening. A small noise escapes me as I rub my eyes, trying to get the tiredness out of my eyes so I can tell how long I've been sleeping.

"Aaliyah," this time Zero's voice manages to catch my attention. I lift my head, noticing that she is standing a few feet away from me. She seems so tall...it makes my stomach drop as I look down at myself.

"What the fuck!" I exclaim as I see how tiny my hands are. I notice how small the rest of my body is and I look at Zero with wide eyes.

"You are so adorable! I can't believe that you're so tiny," Zero says, making me huff at her words. That was what she had to say at this moment! That I was adorable. While it may be true, she didn't have to say that at this moment.

"Why am I so small?" I ask as I try to stand up, struggling to stay on my legs now that I am so much smaller. It's like my entire center of balance has been thrown off kilter. I'm just thankful my clothes shrunk with me or else I would probably be struggling even more.

"Well I'm not an expert in these things but you do look like a child," Zero says as she walks over to me, lifting me up so that I'm in her arms. I keep my hold on my blanket even as she does that, refusing to let it go.

"I do not! You take those horrible words back," I say as I glare at her. It's clearly not effective at all since she just smiles, cooing at me.

"You do though, I'll show you," Zero informs me, carrying me with her down the hall. She opens the door to one of the guest bathrooms, turning on the light so that I can see myself.

I look exactly like I did when I was younger, probably around 4, it's astonishing. My hair is the same length, long and curly so that it reaches my mid back. My face has the same baby face look to it, the chubby cheeks that I had lost once I got older. It's so strange that I can't help but lean closer to look at myself in the mirror.

"See? You're adorable," Zero says as she sets me down on the counter, being gentle so that I don't fall. I continue to stare at myself, reaching up to touch my face to make sure this is real.

"Now, I do have a small question for you. How in the hell are you a child again?" Zero asks, making me turn my head to give her an incredulous look.

"I don't fucking know," I retort, making Zero's eyes widen.

"Okay, stop swearing. It's weird for me to hear a child swearing," Zero says, making me glare at her.

"I'm not a child," I snap back, earning a raised eyebrow from her.

"You sure look like one," Zero states with a small smile on her lips. I glare at her as Miachel walks down the hall, walking past us before he suddenly reappears walking backwards.

"Hello wife and...tiny Aaliyah. Why is Aaliyah tiny?" Miachel asks, looking at me with wide eyes.

"That seems like something to ask the witch council," Zero says.

"No! Absolutely not," I say quickly, refusing to look at Zero. I think about trying to get off the counter but it's a long way down.

"Well, do you have a better idea? Because I'm being honest here and this is really freaking me out. My best friend is suddenly a child," Zero says, her breath quickening slightly. I watch her red eyes flicker to Miachel as she tries to get him to help her out.

"Ze is right, we should probably go to the experts of magic," Miachel says as he steps into the bathroom, reaching for me. I react with my instincts, focusing on the hallway behind him. For the first time in a long time, my magic reacts to my wishes without a fight, allowing me to teleport into the hallway.

It takes a lot of magic to do and I feel winded for a moment as I try to catch my breath. So not only had I turned into a child, my magic was that of a child's! That was absolutely wonderful...not.

"Aaliyah come on, please don't fight me on this," Zero states, standing in the doorway of the bathroom. I glance into her eyes, seeing her giving me a pleading look but I don't react to it, instead taking the opportunity to run down the hall.

"Oh come on," Miachel groans as I hear his footsteps and when I glance back, I realize that he is much quicker than he usually is. Maybe that's because I have tiny legs now though.

"No! I'm not going to see the witch council and you can't make me," I say as I round the corner, running into Etol. Normally I could just jump over her but she's much bigger when I'm tiny. I end up tripping over her tail, hurting my knees as I fall to the ground.

Etol lets out a noise, grumbling as she opens her eyes. She blinks for a moment before turning her head to look at me. My brain is overwhelmed by the pain and to my embarrassment I start to cry. The tears are hot and salty, burning my cheeks as I cry over the pain in my knees.

Etol inches closer, her tongue flickering out against my cheek. I sniffle as she licks my tears away, letting me wrap my arms around her neck as she let's out a sort of purr noise.

"You have such small legs, how are you so fast?" Miachel asks as he walks around the corner, pausing when he sees me clinging to Etol. "That's so fucking adorable. Where is my camera?" he asks as he starts to pat his pockets, bursting into laughter when I flip him off. It was going to be so hard to be taken seriously when I was so small, I just knew it! I would have to find a way to fix it.