One by one, her family had disappeared.
It didn’t happen all at once, the way Charity had once imagined tragedy might. There was no single cataclysmic event, no explosion, no fire, no flood. Just a slow, creeping depletion. A fading of presence. Of voices.
First it was her mother.
Charity remembered the night vividly, her mother’s clothes still folded in the laundry basket, her coffee mug left rinsed on the counter, the faint trace of her perfume hanging in the air near the entryway. Then she was gone. Not vanished, no, not that simple. She had shrunk, just like they always feared. Her once vibrant presence now confined to a tiny, trembling figure wrapped in a napkin and gently handed over to a cousin Charity barely knew. A cousin who offered a forced smile and reached for her with gloved hands. The kind of exchange you make when it’s not about people anymore, when it’s just about what’s owed.
Then came her father.
It took longer. Weeks, maybe months. But eventually, the same story repeated. This time it was a more distant relative, a second cousin. The man showed up with cold eyes and a ready briefcase. Money changed hands. Papers were signed. Her father didn’t resist.
What could he do? What could any of them do.
He was no longer a man in command of anything. Not his company. Not his home. Not even his own limbs without help.
And then there were two.
Just her and her brother.
But her brother didn’t live here. He had left before the unraveling began, smart enough to see the cracks before they split wide open. He sent the occasional message, dry and cautious, more like a publicist than a sibling. “Hope you’re okay. Let me know if I can help.” That sort of help never came.
The halls grew quiet. Not the peaceful quiet of a home at rest, but the heavy, accusing silence of abandonment. No footsteps on the marble floors. No arguments echoing down the hallway. Just Charity.
Alone.
Six feet of height, shrinking fast. Trapped in a mansion too large, too empty, and too full of echoes.
She had tried to hide it. Lied when people asked. Played dumb when classmates whispered about her family. But the truth always finds a crack to slip through. And somehow, somehow, the word got out.
Everyone knew.
They knew the Stevens family was vulnerable. That they carried the marker. That the fall was inevitable.
Charity remembered the way the stares changed at school. The slight delays before people responded to her. The hesitant smiles from friends who used to follow her lead. She was no longer the apex predator.
She was a future Little.
And everyone could smell it.
Still, she clung to the illusion. She told herself there was time. That she’d find someone. That she’d land softly, like always. So, she did what she always did when cornered: she made a list.
She sat on her bed, legs crossed, notebook open, and started writing names.
Relatives first.
Aunt Marta? No. She’d already taken in her shrunken nephew and was too exhausted to take on another.
Uncle Leo? Out of the country. Never responded to the last two texts.
Her godparents? She barely remembered them. One of them was rumored to have been miniaturized last year anyway.
One by one, the names were crossed off, not for lack of people, but for lack of care. None of them wanted her. They wanted the money. The house. The legacy. Not the burden of a shrunken girl with a mountain of sins shadowing her name.
She turned the page.
Started a new list.
Friends.
Kira.
Mads.
Tori.
But the truth was… these weren’t the kind of friends who would take you in. Not like that. They were brunch with you friends. Gossip at locker friends. Share a vape on the roof friends. But not hand your life over friends.
And even if they were, could she really stomach being someone’s pet? Kira’s Little? The girl who once helped her plan the pig prank? Who’d cheered the loudest?
No. That was a prison worse than the unknown.
The names blurred before her eyes. The ink smudged beneath her fingers.
She needed a miracle.
And so, swallowing every shred of pride, she did what she never thought she’d do.
She called Chloe.
She hadn’t really spoken to Chloe Gracewood since freshman year. They’d been in different spheres back then, Charity in her cruel orbit of popularity and dominance, Chloe lingering on the periphery with practically royalty with her fashionable looks and untouchable family. They weren’t enemies, but they were never close. Charity had barely noticed her beyond crossing paths at the occasional social party.
But Chloe had noticed everything.
Especially what Charity had done to her girlfriend.
Still, Charity called. Voice trembling. Pride leaking from every word like blood from a wound.
She offered everything.
The house. The assets. The family holdings. She didn’t care. She just wanted safety. A future. A place in one of the Little Cities Chloe’s family had built with Generitech. A room. A collar. Anything.
Chloe listened.
Then, with a voice colder than the tile beneath Charity’s knees, she said, “I’m sorry.”
What came after that barely registered. Chloe explained something, policy, availability, testing, timing, it didn’t matter. Charity wasn’t stupid.
She heard what wasn’t being said.
There was no place for her.
Not in Chloe’s cities. Not in her graces. Not in the world she’d helped build for Littles.
Because Chloe hadn’t forgotten.
Because Sara hadn’t forgotten.
Because in the eyes of the girl she’d pushed to the brink, and the girl who loved her, Charity Stevens didn’t deserve to be saved. Before the call ended Chloe paused. It felt long almost forever.
Then Chloe Gracewood’s voice came through the line like a scalpel, sharp, clean, and without tremor.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “But you misunderstand something, Charity.”
There was a pause. Charity could hear the faint sound of wind through glass, maybe Chloe was standing near one of her high-rise windows. Maybe she was just letting her sweat a little longer.
Then Chloe spoke again, her tone calm, measured. Deadly.
“You keep thinking the past is something you left behind. But it’s not. It breathes with us. It binds us. We all live inside webs spun long before we knew we were caught, desire, consequence, cruelty. You made yours. And now you want to crawl free like it never mattered.”
Charity tried to interrupt, something ragged, pleading, but Chloe didn’t stop.
“You didn’t just burn bridges, Charity. You salted the earth behind you. And now you want to beg for shelter in a city built on the very principles you mocked? You want protection under rules you never thought would apply to you?”
Another beat. Silence hummed between them, louder than shouting.
“I didn’t forget what you did to her.
And Sara hasn’t either.”
That last sentence was softer. Almost kind. And somehow, it hit hardest of all.
Then the line clicked. Chloe was gone.
Charity was alone again, sitting, phone trembling in her hand, heart aching under the weight of everything she thought she could escape.
I’m loving this story thus far, and it has me seeing Charity in a new light I feel sorry for her genuinely, and I truly hope that she can find some happiness as a little away from Sara’s group with a guardian that loves her.
Bro I feel you there I’m kinda same but I think she need to goes through the bad first before the good ( redemption arc in short) show her struggling to grapple with her past and mistakes ( very big mistake mind you) and then see if she earns her happy ending it’s kinda like Cindy situation but slightly worse in this case if I’m being honest
Charity like Sara is I wanted to create a flawed character. Like they have done some things or have some beliefs that the reader may not share but also they aren’t wholly a bad person either.
Charity I do think is ultimately a bit more mean then Sara and did worse things in my opinion but she also is young and doesn’t deserve a lifetime of unhappiness or anything like I could see someone wanting for Cindy.
Again I’m so conflicted about how to feel about charity it’s mix with sadness for her but and understanding of how she kinda deserves karma but I also don’t want to see her suffer like this……. Gassaaahhhh maybe it’s my naïve sensibilities that makes me strange for feeling a sense of wanting for charity to have some kind of happy ending because it takes a lot for me to want someone to really suffer. If at all I don’t know. Maybe I’m just weird about it.
Either way I’m putting money that charity goes to Dayton and I’m interested to see what happens next
That is kind of the goal. I want people to feel conflicted as she has done some bad things but also is young enough where you hope they can still learn and grow.
I mean charity was one step away from literally bullying someone to death. Which can’t be easily overlooked especially as she hasn’t yet shown much remorse for what she did just sorry about her situation.
1) “It didn’t happen all at once, the way Charity had once imagined tragedy might” At least that means the Stevens didn’t catch it from each other.
2) “He had left before the unraveling began, smart enough to see the cracks before they split wide open. He sent the occasional message, dry and cautious, more like a publicist than a sibling. “Hope you’re okay. Let me know if I can help.” That sort of help never came.” is that what she wanted to forgive him for.
3) “Six feet of height, shrinking fast. Trapped in a mansion too large, too empty, and too full of echoes.” Charity was six feet tall?
4) “She was no longer the apex predator. She was a future Little. And everyone could smell it.” That’d hurt so much to go through.
5) “They wanted the money. The house. The legacy. Not the burden of a shrunken girl with a mountain of sins shadowing her name” That’s unfortunately gonna be something all richer Littles need to worry about.
6.1) “But the truth was… these weren’t the kind of friends who would take you in. Not like that. They were brunch with you friends. Gossip at locker friends. Share a vape on the roof friends. But not hand your life over friends.” For all my criticism of Sara and her friend group, at least any one of them could go to any other without worry.
6.2) “Kira’s Little? The girl who once helped her plan the pig prank? Who’d cheered the loudest?” Interesting that even an anecdote where her friend is helping her has her not wanting to go with that friend.
7.1) “She called Chloe” Damn, that’s possible her bravest move we’ve seen yet.
7.2) “They weren’t enemies, but they were never close.” Does Charity not know who Chloe is dating?
8) “Because in the eyes of the girl she’d pushed to the brink, and the girl who loved her, Charity Stevens didn’t deserve to be saved” That’s entirely fair.
9) “You keep thinking the past is something you left behind. But it’s not. It breathes with us. It binds us… And now you want to crawl free like it never mattered.” Just like how Sara wants to move on from the cruel things she’d done like they never mattered.
10) “I didn’t forget what you did to her. And Sara hasn’t either.” That might be the hardest line Chloe’s dropped in this whole series.
1) that is a brightside. It was all from outside factors. Although in some ways it may have been better if it was all at once. As atleast you would be together facing it.
2) Yeah, she wanted him to know she had forgiven him for leaving, for moving out as a when it happened it felt like he was abandoning her leaving her to deal with it all but with the benfit of time she more understood.
3) Yeah, she was tall. I designed her character about being tall like a model. So she is on the taller side canonically. Chloe is also on the taller side but that was mostly because the base model i used for her was just much taller then everyone else so i jsut canonically made her tall.
4) It would be also wouldn’t be as bad if you weren’t so bent on making things insufferable for so many people around you.
5) Thats something most people have to worry about little or not when you are rich or influential atlesat. Do people want to be around you for you or waht you have or what you can do for htem.
6) agreed. Sara has much better friends then Charity but you kind are the people you choose to associate with as well. Charity who is not a very good person is only natural the people she chooses to hang out with and associate are also not very good people morally, ethically, etc. While Sara who I would say is mostly good but has done some bad things generally associates with peopel who are mostly good and generally loyal. That is something my mom taught me atleast at a young age. Is that you are the company that you keep as its your choice who you associate with and are friends with
6.2) Well you would know what type of person someone is if they are your friend. She probably can imagine what i twould be like for her with Kira.
7) Credit to her for that one. The only braver move I could see would be calling Sara for help.
7.2) She does but shes known Chloe for awhile as they both are in similar societal circles so they cross paths at parties and such. But because of who she is dating is why its a last resort call.
8) yeah, i cant fault chloe for that one. If someone did something similar to someone i cared about and loved. I wouldn’t go out of my way for either or be rushing to help.
9) I am of the opinion that the things Sara has done aren’t on the same level and are more subjective as to the severity of them. Where its harder to argue what Charity has done is not just viewed as wrong. Sara has also done far fewer things that I think would be considered cruel where Charity did mean things to people on a regular basis. Most of the things which could be debated that Sara has done that is more harsh is moreso viewed that way if Jordan is still being thought of as a person with equal rights and status. Where when viewed from perspective of this animal that is being trained is not all that abnormal. People crate train dogs as part of obedience schooling but crate training a person is obviously thought of as different. Which is why Sara can be viewed so differently because her genuine belief is at opposition to what is natural of the reader.
So its only when she is viewed through the moral compass of our world and our world views and social norms, and what is thought of as appropriate without any regard of the world Sara grew up in, there culture, norms and expectations is she considered cruel. So the people within Sara’s world often have a much higher view of her because by the standards and practices of her world nothing she has done is wrong. Where Bullying of another person is generally viewed badly in both worlds and cultures. Where if Sara did Kayla what Charity did to Sara it would be viewed different. When Tamara was being mean to kayla we saw Sara specifically step in and bring kayla into the group and protect her.
This kind of demonstrates that difference between little/animal and human person in their world. Which is why I think Characters like Charity and Sara and even Cindy can be viewed so differently amongst different readers. As even in Madison’s world there were comments of readers who were more sympathetic to Cindy. While others view Cindy as a bad person.
10) It’s my favorite line from Chloe in the series. As Chloe is such a good person naturally. So to see her interacting with someone who in her eyes is irredeemable and not deserving of help is so rare it provides more weight behind it.
1) Band-Aid Vs weed removal.
3) It’d sting more when she shrank if she lost more height, especially if she ended up on the shorter end of Female Littles
4) Yes, but even in a hypotheoretical AU where Mal was vulnerable, it’d suck for her losing her popularity before shrinking.
6.1) I don’t fully agree with that concept, I think people change over time, and even if their morality takes different paths, they could still be friends even if they aren’t both good people.
7) Calling Sara would’ve crossed the line between bravery and stupidity
9) I agree with you that Charity is worse than Sara, I just think the two are more similar than Sara would willingly admit, but Charity is definitely the worse of the two by a significant margin. One thing I think is noteworthy is that we don’t really see much of what Charity does other than people talking about it, so there is a disconnect there. Another issue I have is that characters are constantly talking about how horrible Charity’s bad deeds are, whereas Sara’s are often glossed over. So while I believe Charity is a worse person, Sara has certain aspects that annoy me in ways Charity doesn’t.
While I understand that the world is a bit different than ours, I can’t get behind the argument of “Sara was raised in a culture where Littles are seen as less than humans” simply because Sara wasn’t raised around Littles, it’s not Like Littles were around for all her life and a hundred years before hand. They started popping up when she was five, became public knowledge when she was ten, entered America when she was fourteen and she likely didn’t meet any until she was already fifteen. The decision to treat them as lesser was made by ordinary people who’ likely still be alive.
3) Shes shorter then Kelli for sure.
4) I agree that charity being as insufferable as she is to those around her make this harder for her as she feels more isolated. Where if this was happening to Mallory she does have genuine friends she could rely on. So she probably wouldn’t be as alone but it would still be hard i agree.
7) I agree with this as well. That fine line between bravery and stupidity as you say would have been certainly crossed.
9) They do have similarities. The reasons you the things Sara’s deeds are perceived as glossed over is that the story is told from Sara’s perspective. Sara is generally interacting within her group and circle of people. Nothing Sara is doing to them is all egregious nor viewed as horribly wrong to them. So its less mentioned or pointed out.
Where if the story was following Tamara or Kaitlyn Sara’s issues would be more prevalently pointed out.
I did consider covering charity’s issues with Sara but I overall decided against it as it would have been a lot of story that doesn’t necessarily add that much or the majority of readers may find all that interesting.
Some of this story does highlight the bad dads Charity does but I did a abbreviated view of it. As going point by point felt like a bit of a laundry list and showing some of what she did to Sara felt like enough to establish the kind of person she is and the things she does Sara which are also done to other people. Sara was just the illustrated example.
However, perhaps I need to add more backstory of her wrongdoings to further show the kind of person she is.
if I was her I would call Sara and say she wants to repent for the evil she did to her and wants Sara to own her and take all my family’s wealth. Its not perfect but its Repenting to the person she harmed and gave that person complete control of her life and a monetary damage amount also. I think its the right thing to do for Sara and Destiney. Sara I think would not harm her and would do the right thing
that would have been a interesting call. I’m not sure Charity would quite want to go that far but it would be interesting. Humbling herself to Sara may have allowed a level of forgiveness on her part.
I believe neither will find peace until something like that happens so I hope you make side chapters to give charity a chance to find peace in the evil she did and for Sara to find justice and forgiveness, having power over her and slowly give her love not hate by bonding with her. It would show true forgiveness and growth by Sara
Is everyone so layered in smallara!!
Asuka! We need spin off snipets with her mom with her cousin and her dad an all
We also need a discord
Hi guys! Long time no talk! How is everyone
Hey, Glad to see you back. I hope all is well.
I try to make everyone as layered as I can.
If people are interested in it. I could put it on the list to create.
I can certainly make a discord if people want one.
Eh I’m not too keen on having to join another Discord because I’m part of way too many as it is.
Ahhhh what’s one more!
All is good!,
I love layered characters,
Yes!! Please! Would love a spin off to see how her family are doing!
Yes I’d love a discord please
Weeks after Chloe’s rejection, the virus had her. There was no more pretending.
Charity felt her body rebelling in small ways. Her sense of scale warping. Her voice sounding too big in an increasingly cavernous house.
So she did what she swore she never would.
She found Sara’s number. Not through Chloe—Chloe would never help—but through an old contact, someone still halfway scared of the Stevens name. She called late. After midnight. The line rang six times.
Then:
“Hello?”
Her voice. Softer than she remembered. Older. Wiser. Wounded.
“Sara… it’s Charity.”
A pause. Then:
“Is this a joke?”
“No. It’s… it’s me. Please. I just want to say I’m sorry.”
She didn’t expect to cry. But her voice cracked. And Sara didn’t hang up.
Not immediately.
They talked. A slow, stilted, painful thing. Charity confessed—about Chloe, about the virus, about how everything she built was built on someone else’s bones. Sara listened. Not kindly. But fairly.
Then, mid-sentence, Charity gasped.
Something was wrong.
The phone felt heavier. Her breath came sharp. Like gravity had shifted.
“Sara… I—I think it’s happening.”
“What?”
“I’m shrinking.”
There was silence. Then Sara’s voice, suddenly alert.
“Stay calm. Stay on the line. Where are you?”
“Home. My room. I—”
A crash.
The phone fell.
Charity didn’t scream. There was no air for it.
Only the sound of her own heartbeat, growing louder as the world expanded around her.
Sara called her name again and again.
No answer.
Just the faintest static.
And the image in Sara’s mind—of a girl alone, collapsing into inches, inside a house built like a mausoleum.
Sara closed her laptop. Grabbed her keys. And whispered:
Im coming
`I love it, please make more. You have me hooked.
Here are my 2 cents on this story arc.
My personality typically bodes no ill will towards anyone, so a part of me would like for Charity to be given (excuse the pun) some charity.
But for the sake of the story, I would hope that Sara does get possession of Charity and then both of them can work through their respective issues. Karma makes good fiction. Hopefully not only Charity will receive some redemption, but perhaps Sara and some of her group can learn and become better from it. I can see a lot of whatever Sara does with Charity having to be justified to Jordan, Kelli and Gavin, who will certainly have a different POV than Sara (both literally and figuratively).
On another note (this is a technical nitpick, so take it with a grain of salt). Rich families like Charity’s, should be able to set up a trust fund and create a foundation that would insure that they would be taken care of comfortably once they succumbed to the virus. Now that may ruin a plot line, but I could see another side story where this happens and then the plot could become about a nefarious individual trying to use the foundation for their own purposes and the struggle to keep it from happening (or trying to undo it if they are successful).
Another thought that we have all been over before, but i would like to add my support for Asuka’s POV (and Sara’s). Although if I were cast into this story I would not agree with Sara ,She and a good many others DO see Littles as less than human and they justify their treatment of Littles based on that. A reader may not personally agree with this, but that is the mindset in this universe (at least for now).
I have a whole other diatribe on how this could (and should) affect the relationships between different characters, but I will save that for some other time 🙂
I don’t mind you view and I think Sara treats littles fine, even with her pet view. She really cares for Jordan and I had said this in a post i also that Charity going to Sara and asking to be her little as a path to pay her debt to Sara and tell Sara that. I think it would be healing for both
I actually did consider the trust fund route. What actually stopped me from doing it is when i looked into the laws around it and compared it to the laws of this world. There were issues. Specifically around the fact of your status when you are a little. A little couldn’t be a receiver of the trust. The little could be an asset of the trust.
In this case the benefactors are no one in the immediate family. as they are all vulnerable. So then you are getting into extended family who even without a trust are having trouble finding someone they trust. So if there is no benefactor available or someone who is willing to accept the trust the trust becomes property of the state.
Which at that point reverts the little to government property which just puts them in the care of the federal government and they would be sold to either generitech or preematech who are the main buyers globally.
Charity’s family specifically has issues because there is no one available to bequeath that level of wealth to who they trust.
In theory they could have created a foundation and put themselves into the trust as assets and then leave them to the foundation they created but that is still predicated on trusting the person who is running the foundation.
But i don’t disagree that it is an option they could have done. I think it is an option that would work for a lot of other families as the odds of everyone in a family being susceptible to Smallara is quite rare. Normally at least one person would be normal. Kind of like we see in Madison’s world where its just part of the family.