Higher Authority

(Cubed Cinder)

It was a little after midnight and there was not a soul wandering around Kakariko Village. Well, almost nobody. There was one man, looking in his early 50s, who was slumping his way home. He clearly looked like he was partying an hour longer than he should have. He was feeling so dizzy that he had to rest against the door of a quiet house.
"Whew... what a party. Them youngsters sure know how to throw a party." the man said. He then placed both his hands on the door of this house.
"Stop thief!!!" a familiar voice shouted. This man jumped to his feet, clutching his chest as he turned to face who it was that dared to shout at him at this time of night. He immediately recognized the lady.
"Oh my goodness... you are Impa, one of the great sages of Hyrule!" the man said. Indeed, it was Impa. She stood up to her full height with her arms folded up and a stern look on her face... typical of her. Everyone in Kakariko knew that Impa was a lady who never smiled, not even to the many friends she has made in her hometown.
"M...M...Miss Impa! Please, you must understand, I had no idea I was leaning against your sacred home!" the man said.
"Fair enough. But do yourself a favor and go home. It's dangerous out here." Impa said.
"Yes... yes, Impa! Right away!" the man said. Seemingly awakened to life by Impa's presence, the old man suddenly ran off, no doubt for home. Impa pulled out a small key to unlock the door to her home.

It was the first time in a while that Impa had set foot inside her own home, having been busy serving as Princess Zelda's protector, but it was a job she was proud to have. She had been watching over the years as Zelda matured into the woman she hoped she would be one day, and it certainly helped when she, Link, and the other sages were able to seal Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm. Still, Impa's added duties as the Shadow Sage meant very little time for herself. She fell back on the bed and took a moment to reflect.
After a few minutes of resting on her bed and scanning around the almost empty place, one item caught her attention... her book of Sheikah spells. Many of the spells she knows she learned from this book. She has pretty much mastered all of them, but she decided to look at this book anyway for old time's sake. Picking herself up from the bed, Impa looked at the book and scanned through most of the spells. There was one she decided to stop turning the pages at... the shrinking spell known, predictably, as Sheikah Shrink.
"Hmmm... I remember this one. Obviously I couldn't use it in real life." Impa said.

After reading the instructions on the spell, she looked over at a nearby pot and then began to concentrate on her energy level. After feeling the pressure slightly build up in her head, she swept her hands around a few times and then pointed them at the pot. Within a few seconds, it shrunk to about a tenth its normal size. Impa got up and looked very closely at the tiny pot. She seemed satisfied, but it was hard to tell because she hardly ever smiles.
"It still works." Impa said. Feeling good about herself, she tucked herself into bed, because tomorrow would be another long day in looking after Princess Zelda. She was so tired... she forgot to pick up the book and put it back on the shelf.

The next morning

In the throne room of Hyrule Castle, Zelda was pacing back and forth around her throne. Her guards couldn't help but be concerned for her.
"Princess Zelda... perhaps you should relax. I'm sure you'll do fine against these hoodlums!" one of the guards said.
"Thanks, but when I want your opinion, I'll ask for it..." Zelda said. The guard nodded and went back to standing still, not wanting to utter a sound. Then Zelda could feel something. It was a rather ominous presence, yet one that felt familiar to her. Finally, she looked in the corner of the room to see Impa emerging from one of the shadows.
"Oh... Impa. You gotta stop scaring me like that!" Zelda said.
"Forgive me, princess, but it is how I'm used to traveling." Impa said.
"Right... I get it." Zelda said as she took a couple deep breaths.
"Is something troubling you, Princess Zelda?" Impa said.
"There is, Impa. It seems some leftover followers of both Ganondorf and Jaboori are coming to demand the release of Jaboori." Zelda said.
"Surely you will do fine against these hoodlums." Impa said, not realizing she had repeated what one of the guards had said earlier.
"But Impa... these are a mean bunch of Gerudos. What if they just keep on pushing? What if they try to attack me? What will I do then?" Zelda said. Impa felt bad seeing Zelda go through this much emotional stress. It was clear that talking would not do much at this point.

But that's when an idea struck her head. She looked at each and every one of the guards in the throne room.
"Guards, you may leave us. Zelda and I have the situation under control." Impa said. The guards did so as they all walked out of the large room, leaving just the princess and her attendant in the room. Zelda wondered what kind of trick Impa had up her sleeves.
"What is that for?" Zelda asked.
"My child, perhaps I can help you deal with Jaboori's cronies. In fact, you don't have to see them at all." Impa said.
"Well, that's a very thoughtful idea, but where in Hyrule would I go? These Gerudos will search high and low for me." Zelda said.
"Not after I've used a new spell I've been studying on you." Impa said.
"Me?" Zelda asked.
"Stand still, princess." Impa said. Zelda stood still as she watched Impa go through her routine. Just like last night with the pot, Impa closed her eyes and breathed in the added energy. Then she opened her eyes and waved her hands rapidly around before aiming them right at Zelda. For a few seconds, nothing happened and that bothered Zelda a bit.
"Nothing's happening... what kind of spell is this?" Zelda said.
"You'll find out... right about now." Impa said. Almost at the same time she said that, Zelda indeed began to shrink. Zelda watched as the room around her quickly expanded, including Impa herself. Within a few seconds, Zelda was shrunken down to two inches tall. She watched as Impa walked up to her, placing her huge feet on both sides of her. Impa gently kneeled down in front of the princess.

"Are you okay, princess?" Impa said.
"Impa! What is this!? What have you done?" Zelda shouted, obviously demanding answers.
"I've been perfecting this shrinking spell that only the most powerful of Sheikah can possibly master. I simply shrunk you down to about two inches tall." Impa said.
"But what good can I do being this tiny?" Zelda said.
"Easy... hiding from those Gerudos. Forgive me, but I thought this was the only way to conceal yourself from those hoodlums." Impa said. Just then, both ladies could hear a knocking sound from the other side of the doors that led to the throne room.
"Princess Zelda! The Gerudos have arrived!" one of the guards shouted. Impa scooped up the tiny princess and stuck her in her white hair.
"Send them in!" Impa shouted. She stood straight and folded her arms like any serious woman would do as she watched three mean-looking Gerudos walk into the throne room.

"You! Where is Princess Zelda!?" one of them shouted.
"I am afraid the princess is not here at this time." Impa said.
"Not here!? You're hiding something... Zelda responded to our threat of an invasion by saying she would be here at this date and time!" another one said.
"The princess had an emergency situation to attend to. You'll have to come back another time." Impa said.
"Foolish woman! Tell us where she is now! We'll do whatever it takes to free Ganondorf and Jaboori!" another said, getting right up to the tall Impa's face. But Impa did not flinch, not even an inch.
"Perhaps I should remind you ladies that I am a sage, as are the princess as well as your leader of the Gerudos, Nabooru. We can communicate with each other through telepathy, so I can assure you that by the time you begin planning your so-called invasion, one of us will have the power to stop you. I doubt very much Nabooru would like to hear what I have to say." Impa said. There was silence for a few seconds before all three Gerudo ladies backed away.
"Hmph... fine. We will settle this score another day. Come on. Let us retreat back to Gerudo Valley." one of the Gerudos said to the other two. All three of these ladies eventually walked out of the throne room, closing the door behind them.

Once the door was shut, Impa breathed a slight sigh of relief having been able to chase them out without them pressing her on Zelda's location. Speaking of which, Impa raised her hand above her head and lightly picked Zelda off from the top of her head. Zelda looked up at her giant-sized protector.
"Impa... that was incredible! You shunned those ladies off like they were nothing." Zelda shouted.
"Yes... yes... I do appreciate that." Impa said. She looked with care down at the two-inch-tall Zelda. And then, for some unknown reason, she was getting a feeling. A feeling that was rapidly growing within her mindset and had no chance of going away. Impa was right with this mindset... in her hands, standing at a mere two inches tall and making herself look like a goddess to the eyes of this person... the princess of all of Hyrule... the most powerful person in all of Hyrule aside from the spirits of the three goddesses that guide her.
"Well, I guess now you can restore me back to my normal height." Zelda said. But Impa didn't move. She simply kept on looking down at Zelda. It was becoming too much for her now.

Impa finally shook her head.

"I... I cannot do that, princess." Impa said.
"What? Why not? I said restore me to normal size now!" Zelda shouted. Impa didn't want to straight out tell Zelda about the feeling she was getting, so she made up a story.
"Forgive me, princess, but I do not know how to reverse the spell." Impa said.
"Huh? That's crazy... every Sheikah spell has a reversal method." Zelda said. She was right. It's sort of a law the magicians of the Sheikah set out. Every spell had a reversal motion to counter the effects of that spell.
"You are right. I shall lie no more. I think it is time you stood up for yourself instead of relying on others to help you out. This experience, I hope, will help you become a better princess." Impa said.
"What kind of logic is that supposed to be? I don't care if you are my protector, Impa! You will do as I say and restore me back to normal size!!!" Zelda shouted, pounding her foot on the hand that she was standing on. Impa finally had to close her fist and trap Zelda inside. She moved the hand right up to between her eyes and gave an almost paralyzing glare
"No. You will serve me from now on, Princess Zelda! Or you will not like the consequences." Impa said. As threatening as she sounded, Zelda finally had to stop pleading her case and go along with Impa's game, hoping that she would reverse it in due time. Impa held on tight to Zelda, concealing her fist with her other hand so that the guards couldn't see that she was holding onto something.

Eventually, Impa and the tiny Zelda made their way out to the flower garden. Now that Zelda was going to be stuck at her tiny size, at least for the time being, Impa immediately began to think of what she could do first. First, she wanted to see if she could get under Zelda's skin.
"It must be tough for you. The fact that you are once again smaller than myself, like in your days as a child." Impa said.
"Yeah, much smaller. Impa, you're making a huge mistake in treating me like this! What if an attack happens in Hyrule?" Zelda said.
"Relax, princess. Hyrule is at peace. You and Link managed to defeat Ganondorf, and then Jaboori. There's nothing out there that can possibly threaten us." Impa said. If Zelda could move, she felt like pouting. Impa could sense what she was feeling.
"That's a good baby girl." Impa said. For the first time in probably a while, Impa smiled as she lightly poked Zelda in the head. She looked at her own shadow that she was able to see easily thanks to the sun aiming its rays behind her. Then she noticed Zelda's tiny shadow and got an idea. She set Zelda down on the grass.
"I've always wondered about what I'm about to do." Impa said. Indeed, she dipped one of her fingers towards Zelda's shadow, and it actually went through the shadow! Impa stirred her finger around, and Zelda couldn't help but giggle.
"Hey! Stop! That tickles!" Zelda shouted.
"It does, huh?" Impa said. She stirred her finger around faster, and the laughing got more out of control for Zelda. She fell back against Impa's finger.
"Okay... okay.... stop! (laughing) I give! I give!!!" Zelda said. Finally, Impa pulled out her finger from Zelda's shadow and allowed her to regain her composure.

"There now... doesn't that make you feel better?" Impa said.
"Yeah. I guess it does. I still wish I were back to normal though." Zelda said.
"Not yet. I want to see if you can pass a little torture test I have thought of." Impa said. She then definitely surprised Zelda by taking off her right boot and exposing her bare foot. Impa then picked Zelda up and held her in her right hand while still holding the boot in her left hand.
"I've been walking around a lot lately despite traveling through the shadows. I could use a good foot massage." Impa said.
"No! I will never succumb to your wishes, Impa! I am the princess of Hyrule!" Zelda shouted. Impa simply nodded.
"It is your decision." Impa said. She then dropped Zelda right into the boot!
"Noooooooo!!!" Zelda screamed as she fell into the boot and landed at the bottom. Already the smell inside the boot was reeking of a bad stench, but it wouldn't get much better when the only light from the outside world was cut off from Impa putting her foot back into the boot. Zelda backed away as Impa's toes inched ever so closer to her tiny body. It was right at the wall when Zelda was finally safe from being crushed by Impa's toes. But the intense smell of sweat and toe jam was almost knocking her unconscious.
"Good goddesses of Hyrule... I always thought Impa would keep her own feet clean!" Zelda said as she held her nose and tried to think of a way to get out of this predicament. But just then, the entire boot seemed to shake back and forth... it was like Impa was moving it around. In fact, Impa tilted her foot back and forced Zelda to fall back against Impa's toes.
"You better get started... 'princess' of Hyrule." Impa said, putting an emphasis on the word princess. Knowing fully well that death was going to hit her if she didn't get out of this mess sooner than later, whether it be from running out of oxygen or getting suffocated by the terrible smell of Impa's feet, Zelda got to work on rubbing Impa's toes one by one.

No matter how much rubbing Zelda was doing, the intense heat that was radiating from around the foot as well as inside the boot was taking its toll and then some on the princess. She was basically dripping in sweat, leaving her dress soaking wet as she rubbed, and then beat on, each and every one of Impa's toes. Zelda could hear the muffles of Impa's moans. At least she was satisfied with what was going on. Impa tilted her foot back again, this time causing Zelda to fall in between the toes and get stuck in a wad of toejam.
"Oh gross gross gross..." Zelda said to herself as she shook her way off the gooey mess and brushed it off her dress. She ended up taking a longer-than-needed whiff of the stinky smell that surrounded the area, and she tried to cough it out.
"(cough cough) Ugh... this is burning... perhaps this is how it ends." Zelda said.

But once again, perhaps the luck of the goddesses was once again on her side. The foot suddenly pulled away from Zelda and in fact the foot was now out of the boot entirely. Before Zelda could take in the scent of fresh air outside, she suddenly lost her balance and found herself falling out of the boot and right into Impa's right hand. Zelda tried to adjust her eyes to the bright sunlight around her garden having been stuck in darkness for a long time, only to get a good look at Impa's face again.
"How are you feeling, princess?" Impa asked. Zelda just stared at Impa's face for a few seconds.
"How can I be alright? I smell like your toejam!!!" Zelda shouted in frustration.
"Now now, that's no way to speak before your master." Impa said.
"Master? For crying out loud, Impa... listen to what you are saying!" Zelda said. Tired of Zelda trying to argue her case, Impa decided to punish her further. Zelda looks up in fear as Impa opens up her mouth and moves it closer to the tiny princess. Zelda thought for sure she was going to be eaten alive by her own personal retainer.
"I suggest you hold your breath, princess." Impa said. She opened her mouth again, and then shot out her breath right at Zelda. Zelda tried to sweep away the disgusting smell of Impa's bad breath. Apparently she didn't brush her teeth either this morning.
"Oh my goddesses!" Zelda said, trying to cough her way out of the mess.

Impa could see the frustration building up on little Zelda's face. It reminded her of Zelda's days as a child when she would be frustrated after a rough moment in time, but Impa would always calm her mind with the lullaby, the very same one that would put the princess to sleep every night.
"Please forgive me, Zelda. I merely wished to test your level of strength given your new size." Impa said.
"Well, I think I've been tested enough... I wish to grow back to normal size now." Zelda said.
"Soon. But it is time for your nap." Impa said.
"My nap? I'm not a child anymore. I don't need any afternoon naps!" Zelda shouted.
"But I insist... after all you have been through." Impa said.
"Impa!" Zelda shouted, but before she could plead her case, Impa began humming Zelda's Lullaby. Already the effects of the song were taking its toll on Zelda as she could feel herself drifting off to sleep.
"Impa... please... I don't need to..." Zelda said. Finally she lost all her strength to stand up and she cradled herself on Impa's hand. On top of that, Impa was holding her hands up against her breasts, and the soft comfort of those breasts further cast Zelda into her sleep spell. Finally, Zelda was totally asleep.
"Rest easy, my child. There will be more challenges ahead for you when you wake up." Impa said as she carefully walked back to Zelda's bedroom. Unaware to Impa, Zelda actually heard Impa say that out loud. She's still able to pick up on Impa's thoughts even while asleep.
"I have to get out of here and find the reversal spell..." Zelda said to herself.

Much later, in Zelda's bedroom, Zelda could feel her strength coming back to her. She looked around to see she was standing on a table in her bedroom. Then she looked over at her own bed to see Impa actually sleeping in the bed. Zelda put her hands on her hips.
"Good grief... now Impa has the nerve to sleep in my own bed!" Zelda said. She looked down at her own dress, still covered in toejam and sweat that she got from Impa.
"But if I stay here any longer, Impa will surely try to gross me out more. I'm sure she does not mean to do all this... I'd get pretty excited to holding a powerful figure such as myself in the palm of my hand. Still, I need to find out about the spell so I can reverse this shrinking effect." Zelda said. She walked back and forth, trying to formulate a plan. And then it hit her.
"Wait a minute... Farore's Wind. It can teleport me anywhere in Hyrule!" Zelda said. Indeed, after thinking of the spell and remembering how to activate it, Zelda cast herself in the motion.
"Beautiful goddess Farore... guide me as far away from here as possible! I wish to teleport to Kakariko Village!" Zelda shouted. Her body started to sparkle in different flashes of light before it disappeared from sight.

Except for her dress.

But Zelda wasn't thinking of that now. She did her best to stay focused in order for Farore's Wind to carry her to her destination, Impa's house in Kakariko Village. But it was a major struggle. Zelda had trouble keeping her body balanced during the teleportation, which was absolutely necessary for her to reach her destination. Finally, her concentration was broken as she started to drift off to the right.

Zelda was able to wake up once more from her deep sleep. The first thing she noticed was her own body... she gasped looking over it.
"My dress! It's gone!" Zelda said. Indeed, somehow her dress had not traveled with her. She was only in her pink bra and panties. But she quickly got over the embarrassing situation. At least she was only two inches tall and therefore nobody would see her like this, unlike what happened in Termina a while back in a mission with Impa and Nabooru to save that land. Then she focused on her next predicament... she clearly was not in Kakariko Village.
There was nothing but grass around her, and much of the grass was taller than even her. Looking straight up she could see she was in a forest-like setting.
"I knew it... this is not Kakariko Village. I guess Farore's Wind was too powerful for me at this size. But where am I?" Zelda said. Before she could wonder that, the wind started to pick up to a seemingly gust-like speed. Zelda felt herself being lifted off the ground, unable to fight against the wind as small as she is, but she grabbed onto one of the blades of grass and hung on until the wind died down. Zelda then fell back down to the dirt and sod, with some of it getting on her skin.
"Ugh... I have to remember to take a shower when I get back. Provided of course I can get back to Hyrule Castle at my normal size. If only someone were around to help me." Zelda said. Just as she said that, she could hear a clicking like sound coming from behind her. She turned around and gasped again.

A ladybug that looked three times bigger than Zelda was staring right at her.

"Oh no..." Zelda said. Zelda was not much of a bug person, as one could clearly see despite the fact that ladybugs are totally harmless. She slowly backed away from the ladybug, but the ladybug just kept following the shrunken princess out of curiousity. Finally, Zelda broke into a full-on sprint. She ran for several yards (seemingly) before tripping over a layer of dirt. She looked back at the ladybug closing in.
"Somebody... HELP!!!!!!!!" Zelda shouted as she screamed for her life.
"Yeeeeeeee-haw!!!" a voice suddenly shouted. Running in front of Zelda on top of another bug (this one with a blue shell) was another person that looked just as small as Zelda did. This person was dressed up... like a Minish of all things! He was wearing gray all the way down as he looked face-to-face at the ladybug.
"Now now, Lady, that's no way to treat our special guest. Now scat, why don't ya, before I get a little medieval on you!" the Minish said. The ladybug wasted no time and walked away from both the Minish and the shrunken Zelda. The Minish then hopped off his seat on top of the blue bug, landing right next to Zelda.

"Heh... you'll have to excuse my friend back there. She can be a real miner." the Minish said.
"Uh... thanks. Thank you for saving me, Mr..." Zelda said.
"Grey's the name. My my, aren't you the cute one?" Grey said. Zelda quickly covered up her cleavage in case Grey was getting any dumb ideas.
"Do you mind!? I'm trying to find my way out of here! Where is here, anyway? And what are you supposed to be anyway?" Zelda said.
"Well, I am a Picori. My race has been trying to find a suitable home for ages. For now, this is my humble little playground. Just outside of here is Kokiri Forest. Everyone there is huge, and that's why I stay here." Grey said.
"Somehow I had a feeling I've transported here." Zelda said.
"Transported?" Grey asked.
"Yes... I'm Zelda, the princess of all Hyrule. I came here from the castle." Zelda said.
"You? Princess of all of Hyrule? Hahahahaha!!! You can't possibly be serious!" Grey shouted. Zelda didn't tolerate being laughed at the way she was, and she showed her frustration by making her eyes glow a bright blue as the shielding power of Nayru's Love started to surround her. Grey just watched in awe as the shield formed around her and then disappeared.
"Now do you believe me?" Zelda asked.
"Oh yes... I do apologize. I've been known to shoot my mouth off in different directions. Man... I feel bad for ticking off this one guy." Grey said.
"That's nice, Grey. But I really can't stay. I have to get some help from Kokiri Forest. I'm on a bit of a mission here." Zelda said.
"No offense, Ms. Zelda, but don't you think you're at a distinct disadvantage as far as size goes? Those people out there are massive!" Grey said.
"Because I'm the princess of Hyrule. They'll have to listen to me!" Zelda said.
"Well... okay. At the very least, I can help you get to your destination. Hop on!" Grey said. He slid to the very right edge of his seat on top of the blue bug, allowing Zelda to sit on the left edge.
"Onward, Blue Eyes!" Grey said, ordering his traveling bug to move forward for the Kokiri Forest.

As they were making their way out of the Lost Woods and into the vast Kokiri Forest, Zelda watched as Grey was reaching back into a rather large bag and throwing rupees into the grassy scenery.
"Huh? Why are you throwing rupees out of the bag?" Zelda said.
"Oh... it's been a long-running mission of the Picori. We strive to actually help these giants by burying special items within the grass such as rupees, bombs, and hearts. It's the least we can do as thanks to them for not trying to attack us." Grey said.
"Oh... interesting." Zelda said.
"Yeah, but one day it's gonna blow hard on us. Someone out there is going to try and take advantage of us. When that day comes, we will probably retreat to a faraway place, and change our names to something else. One of our elders is insisting on Minish, last time I heard." Grey said.
"Most fascinating. It's amazing to think there can be an entire civilization underneath our feet." Zelda said. Grey just nodded. The blue bug that he and Zelda were riding on then came to a dead stop just outside of one of the gates that seperated the Lost Woods from Kokiri Forest.
"Well, this is as far as I can safely take you. You're on your own from this point." Grey said.
"Thank you, Grey. I shall indeed continue my search for Saria on my own." Zelda said.
"Saria, eh? She's very sweet. I met with her a couple of times. Hopefully she can help you out!" Grey said.
"Yeah. Goodbye, Grey..." Zelda said. Grey just nodded before he rode back into the Lost Woods where he came from. Zelda quickly felt that perhaps he wasn't a goodbye person. No matter... there was more important business to take care of.

As Zelda made her way into the village, she treaded very lightly across the grounds, trying to see above the blades of grass. She could see many of the huge Kokiri children running around playing with each other. Only one pair of Kokiri children came dangerously close to crushing her, so Zelda made a dive to the right and got herself covered in dirt again. Getting up and brushing the dirt off, she didn't see the brown boot that was in front of her and she bumped into it. Zelda looked way up at the young Kokiri girl, with brown hair, who appeared to be bending down and picking flowers.
"My goodness... these children are bigger than I thought they would be." Zelda said. Clearly, she didn't think two inches was as small as it sounded, but this girl looked almost 150 feet tall from Zelda's perspective. She debated whether or not to get this young girl's attention and use her to find Saria, who was the only one she could truly trust as a fellow sage.

But then again, Zelda had just remembered that Saria pretty much watches over the forest as one of her duties. If this child was a bad one, she'd probably have been punished in some way and not be walking around the grounds of the village. That's when Zelda made her move. She walked over to the side of this girl's boot and began shouting.
"Hello!!! Down here!!!" Zelda said. That seemed to get the girl's attention as she dropped her flowers and looked around, trying to find the source of that voice.
"Huh? Who was that?" the girl said.
"I said down here!!!" Zelda shouted one more time. This time the girl looked down next to her boots, and that's where she saw Zelda.
"A bug!!!" the girl said, backing away and nearly trampling on Zelda. She didn't run away just yet as when she got a second look at the bug, she noticed how different-looking it seemed to be. Most bugs in Kokiri Forest are green-skinned, but not this 'bug.'
"No... I'm not a bug! I'm Princess Zelda!" Zelda said as she waved her arms around for the girl to see that she wasn't like any typical bug. And that's what this girl started to see Zelda as. In fact, she approached Zelda and picked her up off the ground.
"This is a weird looking bug. Maybe Lex will know more!" the girl said.
"No... you don't understand! I need to see Saria right away!" Zelda shouted.
"Lex! Sophie!" the girl shouted. She closed up her hands, trapping Zelda inside, as she ran over to two of the other Kokiri children in the area. Incidentally, these kids were standing right in front of the 'legendary' Saria's house. The boy, Lex, was the first to greet this girl.

"Kami! Hey!" Lex shouted.
"What's going on?" Sophie asked.
"Well... I found this weird-looking bug standing beside my foot. Maybe you can tell me more, Lex!" Kami said. She opened up her hands and revealed to the other two kids the shrunken Princess Zelda.
"Whoa... what a strange looking bug this is." Lex said.
"How many times do I have to tell you!? I am not a bug!!!" Zelda shouted as she was clearly getting frustrated.
"It does look kinda cute, though... not like those other ugly-looking bugs." Sophie said. She lightly tapped Zelda in the stomach, knocking her down in Kami's hand. All three kids just laughed over seeing this. Zelda couldn't feel more humiliated in her life. On a normal day, she's the princess of all Hyrule, but today... a children's toy.
"I've never seen this kind of bug before. Maybe I should keep it and look it over to see if it's a new kind of bug." Lex said.
"Okay, but maybe after Kami and I play with it!" Sophie said. Kami then looked over by the path to the now-dead Great Deku Tree to see Saria coming.
"Oh... maybe we can show Saria this new bug! Come on!" Kami shouted. She and the other two kids ran over to Saria, who could see them coming and she stopped her walk, letting out a smile. Zelda's heart jumped, meanwhile... she knew if she could get Saria's attention, she could help her out!
"Hello, Great Sage of the Forest, Saria!" Sophie shouted.
"Hi there. What can I do for you three?" Saria said.
"Well... we were wondering if you've ever seen this kind of bug before? I think it's really cute! It was crawling around my feet." Kami said. She held her hands out to Saria, and Zelda waved her hands up to get Saria's attention.

"Saria! It's me... Zelda!!!" Zelda shouted. Saria looked closer than ever, almost getting her own green hair onto Zelda, and then had a stunned look on her face.
"Zelda!?" Saria said.
"Huh? Who is Zelda?" Sophie asked. Saria looked at the three kids again.
"Uh... don't worry about that. Listen, you three... why don't I keep this... well, bug... and you can go find some more in the meadows?"
"Hey, that sounds like a great idea!" Sophie said.
"I agree. Maybe there are more bugs like that one there!" Lex said.
"Well, come on! Last one to the meadows is a tiny little bug!" Kami shouted as she handed Zelda off to Saria. Then the three kids ran off, leaving Saria all to herself with Zelda in hand. Saria once again looked at the tiny princess in her hands and simply shook her head.
"Zelda? Is that really you? You're no bigger than a bug!" Saria said.
"You didn't have to rub it in, you know." Zelda said, folding her arms in frustration.
"Oh... please forgive me. I'm just not used to seeing you at such a small size. We better get back to my home and talk about this." Saria said.
"Good idea! I'd hate for mosquitoes to try and attack me while I'm this small... especially looking like this." Zelda said, referring to the fact that she was without her dress.

Soon, both girls were inside Saria's hut. Saria walked over to her bed and placed Zelda on a nearby table before sitting down on the bed as close to the table as she could.
"So what happened, princess?" Saria asked.
"Oh, I'm afraid it's Impa. She tried this new shrinking spell on me so I could avoid dealing with a group of hoodlums from Gerudo Valley... but I guess she couldn't resist keeping me as tiny as I already am. I had to use my magic to escape here before she could do any more terrible things..." Zelda said.
"My gosh... that's terrible. And she's a fellow sage too!" Saria said.
"Yes, but I don't blame her at all. You have to admit, you'll always get this feeling when you're literally holding another life in the palm of your hands." Zelda said.
"Hmmm... yes, that is true. So you came all the way out here? The forest is quite dangerous, you know, as tiny as you are." Saria said.
"I know. I messed up on the Farore's Wind spell and ended up here instead of Kakariko Village. I had to fight my way through the Lost Woods to get to here before I ran into those kids." Zelda said.
"Well, thank goodness you are alright and that I found you. Those kids definitely don't know you are the princess of all Hyrule." Saria said with a smile.
"Anyway, I've come to you for help, Saria. You are the only one I can trust. I mean, there is Link... but there's no way I can let him see me like this." Zelda said.
"Anything for you, Princess Zelda. But first, may I suggest I clean you up? You're probably dirty from going through the woods just to find me." Saria said.
"That'd be nice, I suppose." Zelda said. Saria got up from her bed and walked to the other side of the table, where she was opening up a small treasure chest and digging through it. Zelda, while waiting, admired Saria from her viewpoint. She always felt a little bad for her because she always looked the youngest, and naturally smallest, of the seven sages.

When Zelda appointed Saria as the Sage of the Forest, it was at first difficult for the other sages to accept as they wondered why Zelda would allow 'a kid' to become a sage. Of course, Saria could never age because she was born in the Kokiri Forest, but once she was given her new duties, she took them very seriously and the results showed. Mido's role as a tyrant was gone as Saria strictly appointed him as guardian to the entrance of the Forest Temple, leaving the children to roam the forest freely, especially after Link came by and freed the forest from Ganondorf's wrath.

Finally, Saria's search ended as she pulled out what looked like a spray bottle. She walked up to Zelda standing on the table. Given that the height of the table was half the height of Saria, Zelda really had to look up.
"This cleaning magic should help you feel sparkling clean." Saria said.
"Thank you, Saria." Zelda said. She stood still as Saria let loose with the spray on Zelda's body. Zelda waited for the effects to take place... but then something felt wrong. She suddenly had to reach and itch her back. And then her shoulders... and then her stomach.
"What the...? Why am I itching so much!?" Zelda shouted as she feverishly itched almost every spot of her body.
"Oh no... princess! Your skin!" Saria said. She pulled out a mirror from the nearby chest and indeed showed Zelda the awful truth.

Her skin was red all over.
"What!? What's happening to me, Saria!?" Zelda shouted.
"Oops... I... I must've pulled out my itching potion." Saria said.
"Do something before I get a lot of rashes!" Zelda said.
"Right away! I know how I can fix this problem!" Saria shouted. She quickly picked up the tiny Zelda and then ran outside her hut, running for the small pond that was in the forest just outside of the entrance of the Great Deku Tree. Without hesitation, she dunked Zelda into the water and soaked her completely. Zelda came up coughing for air and spitting out the water, but the good news for her was that her skin was back to normal and also she no longer felt the need to itch. Zelda looked up at Saria, who was kneeling down in front of her.

"Honestly, I'm gonna have to review all the sages' potions and spells after today." Zelda said as she spat out more of the water.
"Oh, Princess Zelda... please from the bottom of my heart forgive me for my error in judgment!" Saria said. Zelda just waved her hand up at the giant Saria.
"Don't worry about it, Saria. We all make mistakes. Impa was always telling me that when I was young." Zelda said.
"Well, at least the water cleaned you up anyway!" Saria said. Both girls couldn't help but laugh.
"Saria!" a familiar voice shouted. Saria looked behind to see Mido running up to her.
"Oh goddesses... that's not Link, is it!?" Zelda shouted.
"No, it's only Mido. But I'll hide you anyway." Saria said. She scooped up Zelda from the water and then placed her on top of her head, hiding her within her green hair.
"Is everything okay? I saw you running out of your hut." Mido asked.
"I'm fine, Mido. You forget... I am a sage. You should not expect me to be in trouble so easily." Saria said.
"(sigh) You're right. I'm sorry I ever misjudged you. Ever since you became a sage..." Mido said.
"Hey, don't fret! I'm flattered that you were concerned for me." Saria said.
"Well, thanks. Sooooo... you wanted to talk to me about plants for the Forest Temple?" Mido said. Saria then brushed some of her green hair to the side and remembered about the tiny Zelda stuck in her hair.
"Never mind that. I need you to keep on guarding the Forest Temple. I have business to take care of in Kakariko Village.
"As you wish, Saria..." Mido said, grunting about how he never gets a break as he walks back for the Lost Woods. Saria tilted her head down and allowed Zelda to fall back into her hands.

"Gosh, Saria... don't you think you should cut that young boy some slack?" Zelda asked.
"I would, but he used to punish all the kids here for what he claims is my sake. I'm just making sure all the children here can continue to play." Saria said.
"I see. So how will we get to Kakariko Village?" Zelda said.
"Why don't you try your teleportation spell again? I think if I lend you my powers as a Sage, you should be able to work your spell correctly." Saria said.
"Are you sure, Saria? I'm so small... it might not work!" Zelda shouted.
"Well... you said you could trust me, right?" Saria said with a smile.
"You're right. What do we have to lose?" Zelda said. And so after thinking of the spell and remembering how to activate it, Zelda cast herself in the motion once again. As she did this, Saria closed her eyes and appeared to concentrate.
"Beautiful goddess Farore... I wish to teleport to Kakariko Village!" Zelda shouted. Her body, as did Saria's, started to sparkle in different flashes of light before it disappeared from sight.

Saria was indeed right. Her collaborative efforts with Farore's Wind led both her and the tiny Zelda not only to Kakariko Village, but right inside Impa's home even! The two ladies looked around.
"I guess it worked." Saria said.
"It did. We are inside Impa's home. There should be a spell book somewhere around here." Zelda said. Saria only took a couple of steps before she tripped over a rather large book sitting on the floor. Luckily, she held on tight to Zelda and kept her from flying out of her hands.
"This one fits the bill, doesn't it?" Saria said.
"Indeed. It's not like Impa to forget to put her books away." Zelda said. Saria got down on the wooden floor, placing Zelda on her right leg as she opened up the large book.
"Wow... Impa has a lot of spells in here!" Saria said.
"I know. Sheikah like her and myself have to learn all of these spells sometime in our lives." Zelda said. She watched as Saria was scanning through the book.
"Hmmm... Shield, Fairy, Jump, Spell?, Thunder... nothing about shrinking in here." Saria said.
"Keep looking. I know it's in there." Zelda said.

A few minutes later, Saria had made her way to near the back of the book as she continued to read out the names of the various spells.
"Sheikah Shrink..." Saria mumbled.
"Wait, stop! That has to be it!" Zelda said. Saria stopped her page turning and indeed saw the instructions for the Sheikah Shrink spell. She placed Zelda on the page as she scanned over the instructions from bottom to top.
"Um... Zelda? This is for shrinking. Shouldn't you need a spell that makes things bigger?" Saria asked.
"In most cases, when you shout out a Sheikah spell in reverse, it will cancel out the effects of that given spell. I'm hoping that by saying the shrinking spell backwards, I can grow back to my normal size." Zelda said.
"And if that doesn't happen?" Saria asks. Zelda tried not to say it, but Saria did ask...
"Otherwise I'll end up ruling the microverse." Zelda said. Saria didn't say anything. She instead kept silent so that Zelda could concentrate. Zelda then waved her hands around in a different fashion from when Impa shrunk her. Zelda then prayed to the goddesses that she didn't mess up this spell.

She looked down. The ground was fading away instead of coming closer.

Zelda looked to see the huge sigh of relief come out of Saria as she watched the princess grow bigger and bigger. After a few more seconds, Zelda (still in her pink bra and panties) was back to her normal height.
"Whew... finally." Zelda said. Saria ran up to Zelda and gave her a hug like she were her mother.
"Oh, Princess Zelda, I am so relieved to see you back to your normal height." Saria said.
"Yes... me too, and I owe it all to you, Saria. Without your help, I couldn't have possibly made this all work." Zelda said.
"You know... I wonder what would happen if you did that spell in reverse again?" Saria said. Zelda was thinking about it... but she would quickly shake it off.
"We'll worry about that another day. Right now, I have a score to settle with Impa." Zelda said.
"What are you going to do with her?" Saria said. Zelda looked down at the spell book she was standing on, and then smiled.
"Don't worry, it's nothing life-threatening. Meanwhile, I will send you back to Kokiri Forest." Zelda said. She then cast the Farore's Wind spell right at Saria.
"Good luck, Princess Zelda!" Saria said before she completely disappeared in a flash of light, no doubt heading back for the forest. Zelda cast the spell again... this time for Hyrule Castle.

Inside Hyrule Castle, there were guards walking all over the place and other attendants, many of them reporting to Impa who was walking around with them.
"Still no sign of Zelda, miss Impa." one of the female guards said.
"Keep looking... look everywhere! Even underneath the cabinets if you have to!" Impa shouted.
"Under the cabinets? Miss Impa... how do you suppose Zelda will be there?" one of the female guards said.
"Because there is always that chance. Now do it!" Impa said. The guards left and she was all by herself in the hallway. Just as that happened, a brilliant flash of light appeared in front of her and almost blinded her. When the light was gone, Impa looked to see who it belonged to.

There was Zelda, back at her normal size and looking kinda unhappy. For once in her lifetime, Impa had a stunned look on her face.
"P-Princess Zelda?" Impa said.
"Yes, Impa. It's me." Zelda said. One of the guards came in and accidentally got a glimpse of Zelda in her bra and panties.
"Princess Zelda? We have been looking..." the guard started to say, but Zelda sharply turned around and did not have a happy look on her face.
"Back to your post, soldier!!!" Zelda shouted. The guard immediately ran off, leaving Zelda and Impa to themselves again.
"Princess... I don't understand. How is it that you were able to grow back to your normal height?" Impa said.
"All you had to do was do the spell backwards to make something grow instead of shrink. You knew that, didn't you?" Zelda said.
"Your highness... I beg for your forgiveness. I did not intend on keeping you that tiny for a prolonged amount of time." Impa said.
"I know you're sorry, Impa. I would've done the same thing. It can be quite a power drive to be holding the life of another person in your hands." Zelda said, walking up to Impa and giving her a pat on the shoulder.
"But still... that was completely selfish of me. I will accept any punishment you deem necessary for my actions." Impa said.
"Any punishment?" Zelda said.
"Yes, my princess." Impa said. Zelda smiled knowing that Impa surely wouldn't mind the kind of punishment she had in store for her. She took a couple steps back, concentrated, and then waved her hands...
"Oh..." Impa said. She knew what was coming next.

Epilogue

Some time later, Zelda was back in her throne room and back in her dress, sitting on her throne and letting out soft moans of comfort, but she had to stop all that when one of the female guards came into the room.
"Your highness... I heard that Link has returned from his journey atop Death Mountain." the guard said.
"Good, good. Make sure he stops by so I can hear about his adventures." Zelda said.
"Yes, of course." the guard said before she left. Zelda then looked down by her feet... where a two-inch-tall Impa was slowly rubbing at the toes of her right foot, which was out of her pink glass slipper. Zelda slightly bounced the foot up and down, knocking Impa back a little bit.
"Come on, Impa... put some more effort into it!" Zelda said.
"Yes... your highness, but if I may ask... how long must I be stuck like this?" Impa said, making sure to raise her voice so that Zelda could hear her.
"Well, considering I spent half of today the size of a bug, you can spend a full day like that. But don't worry, I'll take good care of you like you did me!" Zelda said. Impa wasn't quite thrilled with being stuck at this size for the next 24 hours, but given what she put poor Zelda through, she felt it was a fair punishment for her lack of judgment earlier.

And besides... when Zelda says she will take care of someone, she absolutely means it, so Impa had absolutely no reason to fear being Zelda's little toy for a while. In fact, she seemed to get accustomed to living life at only two inches tall. Regardless, she was happy to grow back to her normal size the next day with Zelda's help, and life returned to normal for everyone inside Hyrule Castle like nothing happened. Yes, that of course included Impa guarding Zelda with all her might.

END