Shrinking Lotus Flower

[MiniMary]

This is set in the Changeling and Charge universe briefly referred to in the first two short stories in my Vignettes thread

Act I:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/592645632205402302/

Her name translated as Lotus Flower from her native tongue, and she was that. She was a (little over) five inch tall serene beauty amidst a setting of greed and destruction. And yet the simplest thing —— the last ray of sunshine from the setting sun, a few notes from the song of an errant bird —- could bring a smile to her face.

She was absolutely terrified of him.

He was a lean, average sized man in his forties, whose name would translate as Crushing Stone from his own tongue. Whether it was a name he had assumed, or a prophetic one his mother had given him at birth, no one was sure. But everyone agreed the name was fitting.

He was a local warlord who dealt drugs and arms on an international scale and was on a first name basis with the regional army commanders.

He absolutely despised her, because she was beyond his reach.

She had first been discovered when one of his patrols was going through a village. She was a worker at the local orphanage she had grown up in. Her beauty had attracted the attention of the patrol leader, who tried to force himself on her.

Several things happened at this point. First, Lotus flower shrank to her present size, a little over five inches. Second, a spherical force field formed around her, keeping her from being directly touched.

Lastly, the universe inflicted a gruesome but perhaps fitting demise of Lotus Flower’s would be rapist.

The loss of one of his seasoned soldiers was offset by Crushing Stone’s interest in Lotus Flower. Crushing Stone knew all about Chzngelings, and was intrigued by the fact that he had now acquired one.

Interest quickly became frustration when he learned that Lotus Flower was behind his reach. The sphere that protected her even prevented him from starving, soiling or suffocating here. Lotus Flower always appeared refreshed, pristine and beautiful. The sphere darkened if Crushing Stone tried to either disrupt Lotus Flower’s sleeping cycle, or expose her to some grisly sight.

And each time Crushing Stone tried to hurt Lotus Flower, the universe punished him. But the universe always stopped short of taking Crushing Stone’s life. It was as if some Dark Power prevented the universe from taking that final step.


Crushing Stone took the scars caused by these failures as signs of his failure, which frustrated him further.


The one thing the universe either would not or could not protect Lotus Flower is the sound of Crushing Stone’s voice. So Crushing Stone threatened Lotus Flower each day with all the things he would do to her, once he removed her protection. Crushing Stone knew all about Changelings, and thus knew these were empty threats. Lotus Flower knew nothing about her own nature, and thought the threats were all eventualities.

Then one day, Crushing Stone acquired a powerful if esoteric explosive device. Without hesitation, he put the device and Lotus Flower in the middle of an empty field near his camp. He suspected the device would kill Lotus Flower instantly. It oiled mean a quick and painless death for the tiny woman, not the long drawn out one that Crushing Stone wanted for her. Crushing Stone didn’t care. He just wanted the victory, even at the cost of his own desires.

The device exploded without a problem, with Lotus Flower at the center of the blast. The blast caused a chain reaction in Crushing Stone’s base of operations, destroying everything.

Lotus Flower’s journey, however, had not ended but had only just begun.

[MiniMary]

Thank you DocRick for this depiction of Lorus Flower’s Changeling protection field!