Day 28: Cursed
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One of the first toh g/t ideas I had was an au where instead of ending up in the Demon Realm, Luz gets shrunk for bullshit reasons and discovers a secret magic tiny society in the woods. Sorta like Epic 2013. While she's working on a way to get back to normal size, the rest of the Nocedas think she's gone missing
Here's the one and only complete thing I've written for it
Luz was in a very conflicting situation.
On one hand, in the span of just a couple minutes, she had found that magic was real! Turned out that one last walk through the woods before she was shipped off to camp was a good idea.
On the other hand, this was not exactly the magic adventure she had dreamed of. Normally, she thought about stumbling into another dimension full of fantastical creatures to be met, epic quests to be completed, and diabolical villains to be overthrown.
Though while at first glance it didn’t seem like it, she was still very much in the same dimension. Only it was now several times bigger than her.
The dilapidated house she had wandered into had become a wooden cavern, almost giving her a sense of vertigo as she gaped up at it. The hole where her foot had caved into the floorboards was now three times her size, and the box she had found beneath was about twice.
Of course she had been instantly curious about that box, that swell of maybe this was the moment returning whenever she found such things. She hadn’t actually expected it to be The Moment (that sort of hope had dwindled long ago), but then she had opened the lid to a face-full of light, blinding her and sending her falling back.
And falling.
And falling.
Until finally her back hit the ground, and she blinked away the spots in her eyes to reveal the sight she was met with now.
The box had tipped over when she dropped it, allowing her easy access into it now. But as she crept inside, there was nothing hidden in the crevices. No magic light, no ancient scroll, no cursed jewelry.
Just this.
Luz stepped away from the box, staring into space dumbfounded. Was it permanent? Did this mean she didn’t have to go to camp? Oh gosh, what was she supposed to tell her family???
How was she even gonna get home?
She snapped out of her thoughts by a rustling sound and a slight tremor through the floorboards. Her attention was brought to the door at the back of the house, and a large shape appeared around the frame.
The biggest raccoon she had ever seen trundled into view.
Now, Luz knew a lot of useless trivia. One such being that raccoons were omnivores, and rodents were part of that diet. A raccoon probably couldn’t distinguish between a rodent and a shrunken human.
And it probably didn’t care.
Without a thought, Luz ducked into the box, pulling the lid closed behind her. Dread sank into her stomach as she was cast into darkness, and she froze. The scrabbling of the raccoon’s steps slowly grew closer, languidly shuffling about the room. Eventually, it reached just outside of her shelter, and she could hear it sniffing the wood.
And then her whole world tilted.
She yelped, barely managing to keep her grip on the lid as the box was shifted. The raccoon’s claws scratched against the outside, trying to pry it open. A sliver of light began to peek in, and she quickly hooked her foot on a knot in the wood, using the leverage to shove the lid back down.
Luz kept her grip tight to avoid being tossed around, her muscles burning from the effort. Even as she tried so hard, she knew it was going to be useless. She was going to die. Oh shit, she was going to die. She always thought raccoons were so cute, and now she was gonna be eaten by one–
“Luz?”
Relief flooded her at that sound. Vee had found her, she was going to be fine, she was going to be saved–
Her stomach swooped as gravity took over fully, sending her tumbling even more rapidly than before. Her hold finally slipped off as she was banged around in the box, until it quickly came to a jerking stop. The lid fell open, revealing the dim space beneath the floorboards.
Luz quickly scrambled out, looking up and hearing Vee gently shooing the raccoon away. Vee’s frame appeared above the hole, and dang, Vee was gonna tease Luz for weeks about how she was the taller twin now.
Luz took a breath, preparing to shout. But she had barely gotten out the first “Vee–!” before something clapped over her mouth and pulled her into the shadows.
She struggled against her assailant, screaming against the palm over her mouth. “Quiet!”, they hissed in her ear.
Luz proceeded to scream louder.
Her captor shook her, knocking the breath out her lungs. “I mean it, kid! There’s a human right there!”
Said human was now wandering out of the house, wood creaking as she left. Luz could only watch as her one chance of help abandoned the house and left her behind.
Frustrated, distraught, and frankly just annoyed, she licked her captor’s hand.
“Ew, kid, what the hell!”, the other exclaimed, taking their hand away to wipe off the saliva. Luz took the opportunity to wriggle out of the hold, whirling around to face the mystery person.
It looked to be an older woman, long, silver hair slicked back like a mane. She wore a red dress, some equivalent of hiking boots, along with a backpack and a belt filled with multicolored potion bottles. Her eyes were a striking gold that almost seemed to glow in the dim light, and her ears were pointed.
In any other situation, Luz would’ve been entirely fascinated. Here was a tiny humanoid, looking appropriately witchy and like she had a wild backstory. But this wasn’t another situation.
“What the hell?”, Luz parroted the woman incredulously. “You’re the one who captured me–”
“I was saving your ass, you’re very welcome.”, the woman cut off, “Did you really not see that human?”
“Of course I did!”, Luz shouted, “That was my sister! I needed her help!”
“Your sister?”, the woman repeated in disbelief. She laughed, clearly mocking and making Luz’s blood boil as her cheeks heated up with shame. “You sure you didn’t hit your head in that fall?”
Luz crossed her arms and looked away with a pout, but didn’t reply. She could tell when no one would believe her, no matter what she said. It was better to just let the woman come to her own conclusions, play into what she wanted Luz to say until Luz could find a way out of it.
“Anyway, kid, what are you doing all the way out here?”, the woman went on.
“Just…taking a walk.”, Luz replied in a mumble.
“That’s one hell of a walk.”, the woman joked, “You’re a while’s away from Bonesborough.”
“Bonesborough…?”, Luz questioned.
“Yeah, are you not from there?”
“Uh…no?”
“You don’t sound too sure about that answer.”
“Hey, like you said, maybe I hit my head too hard.”
The woman snorted. “Yeah, well, unless you know any other towns around, then that’s where I’m taking you.”
Luz’s eyes widened. “Wait, are you actually kidnapping me?”
The woman barked another laugh. “Unless you wanna get yourself killed, I’m not. You hardly look prepared for a trip out here.”
Luz glanced down at herself, definitely looking underdressed compared to the woman. The only item she had on her was the duffel bag that had somehow shrunk with her. At least she had a change of clothes and some of her Azura books…
The woman turned on her heel, beginning to walk in a seemingly random direction. “Well, we don’t got all day.”, she declared as she waved for Luz to follow.
“Wait!”, Luz called, making the woman pause and look back at her. “What’s your name?”
She flashed a grin, a gold fang glinting in the lowlight. “You can call me Eda. You?”
“Luz Noceda.”, she nodded back.
“Well, Luz. You comin’ or what?”
For just one more moment, Luz hesitated. It was all beginning to sink in that she had shrunk and she had met another tiny woman who was presumably about to take her to a town of other tiny people.
She had no idea what this all would entail. Whatever this was could wear off in a day, or be stuck to her forever.
Either way, it would get her out of going to camp for a little longer…
Without much of another option, Luz fell in step with Eda. Despite the circumstances, she couldn’t help a swell of excitement. This was it, the literal magic moment she had been waiting years for. Even if it wasn’t exactly what she wanted, she couldn’t deny what she got.
Through a small hole in the foundation, Luz stepped out of the house and into a new world.