The moment they were ushered into the styling suite, Charity felt the scale of her world swell again, everything glinted, echoed, towered. Gleaming tile stretched out like a glacial plain beneath Evan’s bouncing sneakers. Gold rimmed mirrors reflected row upon row of polished stations, chrome fixtures catching the overhead light like blades. The air was saturated with overlapping perfumes: citrus sharpness, powdery florals, the syrupy gloss of conditioner, undercut by the sterile trace of alcohol wipes.
To Charity, it was overwhelming, an aromatic jungle. The sheer magnitude of it all made her head swim.
She squinted up from Evan’s palm as they approached the far side of the room. The mirrored wall shattered Evan’s frame into infinite reflections, her wide grin, her glossy ponytail, her glitter dusted cheeks. And then, just beyond the counter: Vicky Watkins.
Charity’s breath caught.
Vicky had been her stylist for years. The woman had known precisely how to part Charity’s hair to frame her cheekbones, how to bring out the auburn undertones when she wanted to seem mature, the platinum streaks when she wanted to intimidate. She had been part of the ritual, the image curation, the armor, the transformation.
Now, Vicky blinked once, and her expression froze in mid-greeting. “Oh, Charity? Is that really you?”
Her tone held the same practiced warmth, but something behind her eyes flickered. Disbelief. A subtle, restrained sadness. And perhaps… pity.
Evan, meanwhile, beamed with pride, her hand tilting so Charity’s form caught the light like a jewelry display. “Yep! She’s mine now,” she said, her voice light, innocent, but loaded with possession. “I want her hair styled. Something super cute, blonde highlights, short, easy to manage. Just… you know. Little friendly.”
Charity’s stomach tightened. Little friendly. As if that was a hairstyle category now. As if she no longer had a say in what framed her own face.
“Of course,” Vicky said, setting down her comb and brush roll with slow, measured grace. “Would you like her hair washed before we start?”
Evan gave a delighted nod, practically bouncing on her toes. “Yes, please! And I want her to get one of the full scent treatments. The cherry vanilla one, you know, the one that lasts a few weeks?”
Charity flinched, barely perceptible to anyone but herself. The phrasing hit like a nail hammered gently into her chest. I want.
She had been held like a person once. Now she was cradled like a plush, something to be styled, softened, sweetened.
Vicky paused with her clipboard. “That’s one of our Signature Sweet treatments,” she said, keeping her tone professional. “Very popular with our younger Guardians. It’s warm, playful… comforting.”
Evan tapped her lip, her eyes drifting toward the product display. “Hmm. I do like cherry vanilla. But is there something fruitier? Maybe strawberry? Or cucumber melon? Something bright and clean?”
She looked down at Charity, as if reading a paint swatch. “She’s so tiny… would cucumber melon be too much? I don’t want her to smell like air freshener. Just, like, cozy.”
Charity stared up, expression blank. Her heartbeat hot and fast, but her face had gone still. Numb. Her limbs didn’t flinch. Her body had learned too well already, resistance only registered if it was noticed.
She wanted to speak, to remind them that she used to choose her scents. She wore sandalwood and jasmine, not bubblegum florals. Cedar and bergamot. Tones that lingered on silk and marked her presence in a room like punctuation. Scents that meant power. Agency. Intention.
And now they were weighing her like a scented candle.
“I think cherry vanilla is perfect,” Evan decided finally, nodding decisively. “It’s got that warm, sweet vibe. Like… a little cuddle muffin.”
She giggled. “That’s totally what she is.”
Charity closed her eyes.
A cuddle muffin.
That’s what the fragrance said about her now.
Vicky’s lips curved into something that tried to be a smile. She glanced at Charity again, just a flicker, but it held everything. Recognition. Sorrow. And quiet resignation.
It wasn’t just that she’d lost her voice.
It was that she’d been handed a new one.
Sweet. Soft. Palatable.
The towel draped around her shoulders had started to itch. Her fists clenched against the thick folds, her nails digging into the cotton loops. Somewhere deep inside, a piece of her began to pull away from the moment, not out of apathy, but self-defense.
They weren’t just deciding how she’d smell.
They were deciding how she’d be perceived.
Made warm. Made snuggly. Remade in someone else’s aesthetic.
A curated pet.
A branded presence.
It was cherry vanilla.
It was cute.
It wasn’t hers.
And beneath the layers of sweetness and approval and pampering, Charity realized something colder, quieter, more final than anything Evan had said aloud:
Her body was no longer hers to define.
It was Evan’s to design.
Vicky nodded softly, tapping the screen. “We’ll get started right away.” her smile dimming slightly as her eyes flicked back to the tiny girl in Evan’s palm. She didn’t say anything, but Charity caught it. That trace of sorrow beneath. this was someone she used to know, someone she used to greet with cappuccinos and a corner seat and the VIP rate, someone who had once snapped her fingers and expected a glass of cucumber water.
Now she sat in a not yet teenager’s hand, no taller than a makeup brush, trembling in a tiny towel and an ID tag.
“Evan if you would come with me we can start your head massage and hair wash,” Vicky said softly, stepping away. “I’ll have Brie take her for the scent treatment.”
Evan nodded, turning her attention back to her Little. “Charity, be good. This will make you smell amazing.” She giggled. “You don’t want to stink, do you?” Evan said before setting Charity down on the table and leaning back in her chair. Vicky started applying a hair and face mask.
Charity’s eyes narrowed. She opened her mouth to object, she didn’t stink, but the look Evan gave her silenced the thought. Not mean, just expectant. Like a girl dressing her doll.
Footsteps tapped in, light and fast.
“Ohhh my gosh,” said the new voice, young, chirpy, with just a hint of satisfaction woven into the false cheer. “Is this the Charity Stevens?”
Brie was older than Evan as she was around Charity’s age. Sixteen maybe. She wore a soft pink apron over her salon uniform, a glittered name tag clipped at an angle, her hair pulled back tightly behind her head. Her eyes danced with unspoken glee as she stepped forward.
“Yep!” Evan said proudly. “I adopted her earlier today. My first Little. Isn’t she cute?”
Brie beamed. “So cute. I mean, I used to see her name on the client schedule and think, wow, that must be nice. Custom blowouts every week. Reserved slots with Vicky. And now…” She leaned down slightly, her face filling Charity’s field of vision. “Now you’re getting the same treatments, but on our Little Services tray. That’s full circle, huh?”
“Take care of my little.” Evan said before leaning further back in her chair as Vicky started applying the hair mask to Evan.
“Sure thing,”
Charity stiffened, her fists curling as she looked at Brie.
“I don’t want this,” she said, voice small but firm. “I never agreed-”
“You don’t have to agree,” Brie interrupted, her tone deceptively light as she leaned in, a single finger lifting gently under Charity’s chin. Her skin smelled faintly of vanilla hand lotion and something chemical beneath, like fresh acrylic nails and teen shampoo. The gesture was mock soothing, the kind used for pets or toddlers, and Charity couldn’t stop the instinctive recoil that ran through her spine.
But she didn’t move. Couldn’t. She just blinked up at Brie, her heart ticking faster as the teenager loomed impossibly large above her, all lip gloss and gleaming braces and unearned confidence.
“That’s the nice part about being a Little,” Brie said with a shrug and a twinkle in her voice. “Evan gets to make all your wellness decisions now. Isn’t that, like, so freeing?”
Charity opened her mouth, words tumbling halfway into her throat before catching on the weight of shame.
“I used to—” she began, her voice frayed.
Brie didn’t let her finish. “We know, Charity,” she said, dropping her voice an octave, feigning sympathy but letting the smugness seep in around the edges. “Everyone remembers what you used to be. You loved being important, huh?” She gave a tiny, ironic laugh. “But now? Now your scent profile is your Guardian’s choice. No Jasmine today looks like its Cherry Vanilla.” Brie said looking at the order form.
Charity’s cheeks burned. She could feel Brie’s fingers idly stroking the top of her head, like she was some trembling kitten. Her stomach twisted beneath the towel Vicky had wrapped her in, the terry cloth heavy on her bare skin.
Brie walked towards Charity and pulled the small towel off of her which was really just a handcloth. Brie looked at Charity in a way that reminded her of a groomer looking at pet.
“Alright then let’s get those clothes off you. You’re my charge now Charity. Strip!” Brie commanded. “Don’t make me have to do it for you. I’d hate to have to give Evan a bad report.” Brie smirked as Charity squirmed under Brie’s gaze.
“I…” she tried again, but even the attempt felt small. “I’ve spent more money in this shop then you’ll make in a lifetime.” Charity managed to say with her meek voice. “And now you’re getting our finest little package we have. Now don’t make me ask again little.” Brie said in a tone reserved for an unruly pet.
This was practically her salon and now this junior stylist working under Vicky was giving her attitude. Telling her to strip like some common animal. Giving her attitude like she wasn’t Charity Stevens but then she remembered she wasn’t Charity Stevens any longer. She was Charity Kingsley now. Charity could do nothing but fume as she stripped before this junior stylist.
“Thats a good girl now.” Brie said giving Charity a pet like she would a dog who had done a good job. “Now we just need to exfoliate your little skin to fully open the pores, so they are receptive to the bath.” Brie said as she came with exfoliating cloth and began rubbing it all over Charity’s body. She tried to fight it off but she could do nothing to ward off Brie’s strength. Charity was helpless finally relenting to Brie and allowing her body to be scrubbed.
“They always relent in the end. You’re no different now Charity. Just another little client now.
“Vicky works on me,” Charity said finally, voice brittle, desperate to grasp a sliver of the past, of herself.
Brie’s smile widened. Vicky works on people Charity. Littles like you are handled by us Junior stylists. “Vicky’s all booked out with the high end clients. You know, big girls with actual appointments like your owner. Littles don’t really make it onto her schedule anymore. Like, it’d be so awkward, right?”
She pivoted again, this time holding eye contact with Charity, long, slow, unapologetic.
“You probably used to snap your fingers for her or whatever, didn’t you?” Brie said, her voice just low enough that no one else would catch it, but the dagger of it drove straight into Charity’s chest. “But now? You’re, like, a specialty shampoo project. A pamper me princess for someone else.”
Charity stared down, her fists clenching. She wanted to shout, to claw at Brie’s smug face, to demand to be taken to Vicky, to remind her who she used to be. But her voice was nothing here. Her size, her collar, her place was Evan’s Little, they all said everything louder than she ever could.
Brie lowered her hand. “In you go,” Brie said. Charity looked over at Evan knowing there was nothing she could do but walk into Brie’s hand. A feeling of defeat washed over her as she entered the teens hand. Brie picked her up and walked out of the room briefly. Charity washed them speed by a few rooms before Brie set her down on the counter in a kitchen. Brie opened the fridge pulling out a bottle of apple juice.
Brie lowered her hand once again leaving Charity to do nothing but obediently walk into the hand. Brie smirked slightly as she walked back into room.
“Ms. Evan I grabbed you a cold-pressed apple juice for you. It’s the one with a little dash of cinnamon, they are very delicious.”
Evan lit up. “You’re the best. Thank you!” Evan said.
“And,” Brie added without missing a beat, “I’d love to be your Little’s exclusive stylist. I mean, you deserve someone who actually gets it, you know?”
Charity’s heart sank. Her eyes flicked up to Brie’s glittered lashes and glossy smile, and she knew, knew, this girl had waited her whole life for a moment like this.
“I think Charity would love that. Can you book her into your schedule for the same days I’m with Vicky. Same treatments as today. The Cherry Vanilla bath with exfoliating scrub and a trim of her hair to keep the same look.” Evan said
“Of course, Done and done. We will make sure this little girl stays just as you like her.” Brie said smiling down to Evan, her eyes gave Charity a victorious look.
ugh i hate brie lol I almost think Vicky felt bad because she knew what was coming in Brie but couldn’t really stop it or wasn’t sure how to
You will be thrilled to know more Brie tomorrow.
Charity did treat the staff of the salon as if they worked solely for her
ugh lol just makes me feel bad. like i know charity made her bed thinking she was untouchable, and that if she wasn’t a little now nothing would have probably changed, it’s just hard to see people reveling in others misfortune and stuff. 10 years ago i probably would have had a different opinon, but life teaches hard lessons over long periods. a lot of it probably has to do with my dad too and a lot of self-reflection
I think being a little in this world can have a lot of upside if you play the cute card.
I look at people like Brie as good people that Charity can use her super power of the super cute little to win her heart over. Charity needs to look at her new way to control is still thru her looks, but not a dominate beautiful young woman but a super cute little girl that can melt any heart.
that’s definitely possible, and i’m hoping we see a little that can do that as it’d be a interesting perspective, I just doubt we’ll see it from anyone that’s a hybrid-little. I understand the idea of swallowing pride and just accepting it, but that’s a lot easier said than done in a lot of cases. Especially if you were a strong willed person to begin with. Dave Draveky and Ryan Vogleson from the SF Giants are good examples.
I used to a super athletic guy at 50 and of course fit the tall dark and hansom stereo type or that’s what my beauty full wife says but now that I am in a wheelchair I have to play up the my wife is running the our marriage and I’m a trophy husband. People love it. When we go to the malls I get complements about my trophy husband shirt from Guys and woman. I decided I wasn’t going to cry about losing my amazing life but make the best of what I am now in my second life because I did died in the accident and My wife talked me back from death when I was hooked up. I think Charity had less to lose then me and being a little is way easier so she can take control of her little life.
lol, got to have fun even it it hurts lol. your dad sounds like someone I would love to be friends with.
Can’t blame Brie or any of the other Salon employees for celebrating Charity becoming a little she used to treat them like shit and now she’s reaping what she sowed.
Brie and the majority of the staff weren’t treated great so it is charity reaping what she sows.
can you image the power charity would feel if she could turn on her super cute girl power and win over Brie to the point she goes from smug to kissing and cuddling her and giving extra care. That should be a storyline of Charity being smart enough to control any giant even those that remember her with her new little girl cute power.
A) I think of charity now as Evans little girl like a child so the new way she is treated at the parlor is how my wife and daughter were handled when they were getting their hair done up until my daughter started high school.
B) I love charity being made cute and cuddly, perfect for her new life as Evans little girl. I think Charity just needs to get rid of her pride and play up the cute little girl like she doesn’t remember being a stevens and make Brie fall in love with her so she doesn’t look a her as the bad big charity but the little loveable Charity.
1) “Her tone held the same practiced warmth, but something behind her eyes flickered. Disbelief. A subtle, restrained sadness. And perhaps… pity.” a fair way for Vicky to feel.
2) “Yes, please! And I want her to get one of the full scent treatments. The cherry vanilla one, you know, the one that lasts a few weeks?” like some sort of weeks-long perfume?
3) “Her body had learned too well already, resistance only registered if it was noticed.” very true of most things
4) “She wanted to speak, to remind them that she used to choose her scents.” Evan might listen to that, you never know.
5) “A cuddle muffin. That’s what the fragrance said about her now.” she’s been called worse.
6) “It wasn’t just that she’d lost her voice. It was that she’d been handed a new one.
Sweet. Soft. Palatable.” She has lost the fight.
7) “That trace of sorrow beneath. this was someone she used to know, someone she used to greet with cappuccinos and a corner seat and the VIP rate, someone who had once snapped her fingers and expected a glass of cucumber water” Vicky seems like she’ll miss Charity, lol.
8) “Is this the Charity Stevens?” No. It’s Charity Kingsley.
9) “Yep!” Evan said proudly. “I adopted her earlier today. My first Little. Isn’t she cute?” Evan is being so damn cute.
10) “You don’t have to agree, That’s the nice part about being a Little, Evan gets to make all your wellness decisions now. Isn’t that, like, so freeing?” I feel like Brie wouldn’t say that if she were a Little.
11) “Now your scent profile is your Guardian’s choice. No Jasmine today looks like its Cherry Vanilla.” I still think Evan might have listened if Charity spoke up
12) “Alright then let’s get those clothes off you. You’re my charge now, Charity. Strip! Don’t make me have to do it for you. I’d hate to have to give Evan a bad report.” I’m not sure how Evan would react to a bad report; she may blame Brie.
13) “I’ve spent more money in this shop then you’ll make in a lifetime.” “And now you’re getting our finest little package we have. Now don’t make me ask again little.” That went well for Charity, always a green flag when some calls a Little “Little” like it’s a name/s
14) “Telling her to strip like some common animal.” how does Charity think Animals work?
15) “They always relent in the end. You’re no different now Charity. Just another little client now.” rub it in why don’t ya?
16) “Vicky works on people Charity. Littles like you are handled by us Junior stylists” one would think Littles need to be handled by the more skilled and experienced stylists, but I guess not.
17) “demand to be taken to Vicky, to remind her who she used to be.” Not sure, reminding people of that’s a good idea.
18) “I’d love to be your Little’s exclusive stylist. I mean, you deserve someone who actually gets it, you know?” opportunistic bitch.
19) “I think Charity would love that. Can you book her into your schedule for the same days I’m with Vicky. Same treatments as today.” Evan, you naive fool
it’d be really funny if evan was all bubbly and what not, checked her phone to see Charity’s emotions, and went full on protective mom mode. “Excuse me, Brie. Why is my charity unhappy right now?” in a dark angry voice that would make brie poo her pants haha granted a little too late considering she’s cool with Brie being her hair stylist, but it’d be so good to see Brie get talked down to like nothings changed
That would be a cool bonding moment between Charity and Evan.
i think so too. Sarahs the only one that’s really done something like that, albeit i think it was in her interest to push back against maisy, it was still important to see from a guardian
Sara is always in mom mode, that is why I love her now is the new chapters. making sure Jordan goes out, making him look good and making sure Kelli always has perfect cloths because she wants Jordan to be the little prince to win over the amazing Kelli.
Bringing out Evans mom mode is another super power charity could use lol.
I think Evan will not listen to charity when It comes to what Evan thinks her cute little should be and that is a cute cuddly doll. That is what she wants and that is what she wants everyone to see. Charity like I said before needs to embrace what she is and use what she’s got.
I’m sure if Charity starts her request with “who know what would make me even cuter?” Evan would feel more inclined to hear her out.
you might be right, but I think its more about what Evan thinks makes her cute & cuddly because her old sent was when she was a Boss young woman.
This would have beenk posted sooner but the internet ate my post. So i’m having to rewrite everything.
1) Vicky had a good relationship with Charity. I felt it was important to show that she wasnt mean and cruel to everyone she was popular and quite social. So while she was mean and a bully. I felt it was important to show that other dimension she has. Where people did like her as well. Just like in reality oftem times the bully is more rewarded then the victim.
2) Well its kind of like a perfume. It is a scent that following the bath her body emits for 2 to 4 weeks. Charity falls in to 3 to 4 week range.
3) That is sadly true in real life as well.
4)That is fair and I agree. If she had advocated for herself a bit more here Evan may have listened but she is still thinking of things in a more alejandra way.
5) She has been called much worse but for charity who still tries think of herself as Charity Stevens. Falling all the way down to “cuddle Muffin” is a bit hard to grasp.
6) She has. not her will to fight but the ability to fight in a way she is used to fighting.
7) She will. They had a good relationship and had known each ohter for a long time. Vicky had been Charity’s stylist for several years now. So they were on very good terms. They were quite friendly. Vicky is just kind of powerless to do anything.
8) Pretty much
9) She is so proud and excited. I also wanted to make her a bit naive here where she is just gushing becuase is she happy and genuinely thinks she is doing good and this is best. ”
10)Maybe not, but Brie has been on the demanding and bossy side of Charity for awhile. So seeing the shoe on the other foot can be a bit fun.
11) SHe would have entertained Charitys opinion. Whose to say if she went withit but she would have taken it under consideration.
12) I could see it going either way truthfully. I think presentation would matter alot. Evan would atleaset listen to Charity so Brie would have to word things carefully.
13) That is fair. Being called “little” is never a term of endearment.
14) Apparently that they wear clothes and strip on command.
15) Brie will gladly take you up on that offer. Getting to demonstrate to Charity her new role in life is immensely soothing to Brie.
16) Well the more skilled people work on the people who are paying the big bucks.
17) Not some people that is for sure.
18) She is that. Always ready to pounce on a good chance. This could be her in to regular stylist work.
19) Lol she is 12. I mean what do you expect.
5) charity being known for being a cuddle muffin is my favorite part. I hope her friends cuddle her to their chests and coo her all the time, and charity has to take it because its Evans role for her lol.
Damn, that’d be annoying.
1) That’s good to see, she was very popular so it makes sense she’d still have fans.
“Just like in reality often times the bully is more rewarded then the victim.” Like Sara and Jordan.
2)Damn
4)Can’t blame her for that.
5) lol
6) I’m sure she’ll figure something out.
7) That’s true of many people who know Littles prior to infection.
9) It suits her, I find her quite a bit more likable in this story.
10) understandable
11) Maybe Evan likes Jasmine.
12) Yep
14) my dumb ass dogs are certainly incapable of dressing and undressing themselves.
16) makes sense
18) what do you mean? Does she just do littles?
19) pretty much exactly what happened.
18) no she can do normal people she just works under vicky assisting mostly. As she just works part time. As she is sitll a student. so she doesnt have a very large client list. She does people or littles.
Will Evan meet Sara in the future?
I hope so, they can trade Mother little stories and how charity is her cuddle muffin. Can you imagine seeing Sara grinning and cooing charity and cuddling her to her chest and calling her the best cuddle muffin in front of Evan and charity try’s to fight back but get hit in the face by Saras nipple and Sara giggles and coos more to charity’s last girl boss brain cell explodes so the only thing left is cuddle muffin charity lol.