This choice: Azura shrinks to a quarter of her original size • Go Back...Chapter #7A quarter of Azura by: Arnsley   The dragon vein responded to Azura, its power welling up. This one was taking quite a bit more effort from the small singer, was it because she was smaller? She could hear Corrin still fighting, spurring her onward. Though she didn't think it helped, she sang once more. The song soothed Corrin, and he felt calm in the midst of battle. Fighting harder now, he cut down two enemies with a single swing. He glanced over to Azura, somehow sensing danger. An enemy appeared behind her, leaping over the rubble, but Corrin did not feel worried. Instead he merely closed the distance between them in a split second, and parried the attack. He fought on, stepping around Azura and defending her from all directions.
A loud rumble filled the air. An island covered in ruins levitated towards them, colliding with the one the royals occupied. The impact jolted Corrin to the side, but didn't seem to affect Azura. Perhaps the power of the dragon vein was keeping her in place. The remaining enemies vanished as before, and rocks gathered to form a path to the new island. The power fading, Azura dropped to her knees.
"Azura!" Corrin shouted as he jumped to his friend. She was already getting to her feet when he reached her.
"I'm all right." she reassured him. "But that dragon vein felt like the other one did."
"You mean..." Corrin's question formed, but he already had his answer. She was glowing again, and the same bubbles were floating off her body. She shrank again, gazing up into Corrin's eyes.
"No, please..." Corrin pleaded, arms on Azura's shoulders. "Please don't leave me, Azura!" He could only hope that she wouldn't shrink out of existence as she descended to his thighs.
Azura's eyes widened. Then she smiled at Corrin. "Don't worry about me. You will be fine, even without my help."
Though it was still early in Corrin's journey, he had already seen so much loss. He couldn't bear to lose anyone else. He stared down at Azura, trying to think of anything that could stop her from getting smaller. Before he could think of anything, the glow faded. Corrin had bent over quite a bit, his hands still on Azura's shoulders. He let her go and stood up, as she looked around in wonder. Azura had dwindled below the level of his knee, now well under 2 feet tall.
Though she was now much smaller, Corrin was overjoyed she was still with him.
"Azura!" he cried out, lifting the princess into the air. She yelped in confusion, but didn't struggle. He raised her up above his head. "I'm so glad you're ok!"
"Me too." Azura said, worried about how high up she was. "I didn't want to leave you just yet."
Corrin could see she was worried, so quickly put her back down. He quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have picked you up like that."
"It's all right." Azura said, a small smile on her face. "I trust you, though I have to admit you startled me!"
"I'm sorry!" Corrin apologized again. "I was caught up in the moment!"
Azura's expression turned serious. "While I'm glad I'm still around, it's not good being this small." she said. "I won't be much use in battle like this."
Azura's small stature coupled with her serious demeanor was too much for Corrin. He wanted to give her a big hug, she was so cute! But he restrained himself. Probably becoming too much like Elise, he thought.
"Don't worry, Azura." he said. "Just leave the fighting to me. You still have your song, right?"
"Yes." Azura agreed, grasping her pendant. "I suppose I'll just have to support you and stay out of direct combat."
"Indeed. Just stay close." Corrin said. "Shall we?"
The pair walked over to the new bridge. Made from seemingly random rocks, it was much less ordered than the previous bridge. Looking over to Azura, Corrin thought that was probably a good thing. She probably wouldn't have been able to get up the steps on her own. While he would have been happy to help her, she probably wanted to be as independent as possible. They would be quicker if he simply carried her, but he was afraid of suggesting it. She clearly wasn't too comfortable with being touched. At such a small size, the princess looked even more delicate than before, like something he shouldn't touch. He would have to be more careful in the future, he told himself.
When he wasn't looking, Azura glanced up at her giant companion. She had been quite surprised when he lifted her up like that, but oddly calm when she was over the initial shock. Despite not knowing Corrin for long, she trusted him completely. He had followed her to this land, and had made sound decisions so far even under difficult circumstances. The rough rocks of the bridge were quite sore on her tiny feet. Perhaps she could ask Corrin to carry her? She blushed slightly at this thought. Such a thing was too embarrassing to think about! She decided to just tough it out, at least for now.
It didn't take too long to cross the bridge, though longer than it should have given Azura's diminished size. On this island were the remains of seemingly several different buildings. Only one seemed to still be standing, its dark entrance beckoning to the travelers.
"Do we go in there?" Corrin asked.
"I think we should look around a bit first." Azura suggested. "It's probably dangerous, and we might not need to go in..."
The two royals searched the island, but didn't find anything. This landmass was quite small, and revealing nothing to them. The only unexplored place was the dark passage, which seemed to lead into the ground. They stood at the entrance, neither keen on venturing in.
"It seems we have no choice." Azura said, peering into the dark.
"Indeed." Corrin agreed. There was no telling what waited for them down there, and with Azura shrunken in size he could only rely on his own power. He summoned his courage, and led the way. "Stay close." he reminded Azura.
The steps led down into the ground. At first Corrin had only the glint from his Yato blade to help him see, but torches on the wall mysteriously lit themselves as they went downward. His blade drawn, Corrin carefully went down the stairs. He stopped, looking to his side when he head a small grunt from Azura. The steps were quite high for the tiny princess, her legs not quite long enough to cross them in a single bound.
"Do you need a hand, Azura?" Corrin asked nervously.
"I'm fine." Azura answered, not wanting to relinquish independence just yet. She was slowing them down, but perhaps that was a good thing for now. Their slow speed was forcing Corrin to be cautious.
They eventually reached the bottom of the stairs, finding a room in complete darkness. Corrin stayed just at the edge of the stairs, wary of venturing in further. Without warning, two large torches lit themselves to reveal...   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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