A Giant's Heart: Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Back in my study, surrounded by the familiarity and comforts of home, I stand with my eyes closed and my fists clenched at my sides.  I focus completely on each slow deep breath.  In…out…in…out.  It takes time but eventually I am able to settle my racing heart then I feel my shoulders and then my hands relax.

In.  I open my eyes.  Out.  I release a long sighing breath.

I look out through the window that over looks the untamed acres of my vast estate.  I had been granted property right on the frontier between the civilized land to the East and the wilds to the West.  The thinking of the King being that a warrior of my renown could repel any trouble that might make its way toward the estates and settlements to the East.  My wife complained vehemently of having to move to such a far flung corner of the kingdom but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.  I liked the wilds, it was the one place I could reliably find peace.  Up until today anyway.

My eyes sweep across the trophies and honors that lined my walls from all corners of the world and beyond.  Hero of the Realm.  Honorary Knight Valiant of the Golden Order.  Savior of the Battle of Hell’s Gate.  Champion of Chautan.  Slayer of the Simbraug.  A twinkling stargem gifted to me by the goddess of light herself.  And so many more.  The bards call me a living legend.  The warriors call me the greatest of all time.  Yet here I am hiding in my room after having run from a fallen and harmless amber eyed giantess.

Oh how I ran.  I scrambled through that wood as if the hounds of hell were snapping at my heels every step of the way and I didn’t stop until I was safely locked here in my study.  My reflection in the surface of the polished silver globe floating in the corner, a treasure bestowed upon me by a platinum dragon that only existed between this realm and the Dreamlands, showed me a disheveled and bleary eyed man I barely recognized.  My clothes are nicked and dirty, my graying hair tussled and full of twigs and leaves, my hiking boots soiled and still on my feet, I had a full body sweat that was only now beginning to dry, and my temples streaked with tears.

What happened to me out there?

I shake my head hard then lick my fingers and wipe the shameful streaks from my skin.  I hoped none of the staff saw me coming in.  I didn’t remember seeing anybody but it was all a blur.  My gaze flits for a moment toward the liquor cabinet but I hold my ground.  I had slain that demon once already, that was a path I dared not walk again.

A light knock comes to the door.

“Yes?”  I say in a dry gravelly voice.

The door creaks open a crack.  “Master Drake?  Mistress is home.  Her carriage has just entered the gate.”

“Thank you Tali.”

The head servant pokes her head through.  “Would you like to me to take your boots sir?”

It was her way of saying that I ought to have taken off my outdoor footwear at the entrance.  I give her a kindly smile.  “No.  Apologies, sorry I messed your floors.”

She smiles back and nods.  “Not a worry Sir.  Are…are you alright Sir?”

I give her a wave.  “I’m fine.  Go meet the Mistress.  I’ll be right down.”

“Yes Sir.”  With that she disappears and closes the door behind her.

Using the otherworldly orb of inestimable arcane power as a grooming mirror I brush the leaves from my hair and straighten my clothes as I prepare myself to go greet my wife.  I glance once more toward the window and the thickly forested hills beyond and wonder about the giant.  She was in bad shape when I left her.  Hungry predators and the elements would finish what her parents had started.  She wasn’t a danger to anyone, though I felt guilty that I couldn’t end her suffering more humanely.  Reminding myself that she, no…it, was a creature of evil I do what I can to push the thought from my mind.

I wipe my face with my sleeve and leave the room.  I track dirt back out of my study, down the grand curving stairs, across the white marble entry hall, and out the front door.  I arrive just in time to see my wife’s silver gilded carriage pulling up to the mansion.  Tali was already there to greet the lady of the house.  We wait side by side as the carriage comes to a stop in front of us.  The coachman pulls the break then hops down to open the side door.

Out steps my wife, the elven princess Lanaestra Inianthe.  With long silky hair the color of spun gold and eyes as blue as the clearest Summer day she was a willowy graceful woman of transcendent grace.  A timeless beauty that never failed to take my breath away.  It was so easy to forget she was older than my grandmother.  She doesn’t so much step as glides from the carriage, her lady-in-waiting following in her wake as always.

Tali curtsies.  “M’lady.”

I step forward and take her into my arms.  She does not embrace me back but neither does she pull away.  “Lana, how was the city?”

She does that smile without smiling thing the dignified elves had a knack for.  She looks me over, taking note of my nicked clothes and flustered appearance.  “Were you hunting again?”

“Just a walk.”

She pats my cheek.  “You could be ruling this land Caspian.  Instead you take walks in the woods.”

I give her a long silent look.  My wealth kept her in the lifestyle she was accustomed to but her ambitions for me and my own were night and day.  “I happen to like walks.  How was your trip my dear?”

“Interesting, very interesting.”  She says.  “I will tell you over dinner.”

Damn.  I was hoping she’d just say “fine” or something to that effect.  Interesting meant politics, social intrigue, or more unsolicited offers.  Why couldn’t they just leave me and my wife out of their plans?  I would politely listen, as I always did, and then decline whatever the new thing was, as I always did.

I lean in with a sly smile and whisper.  “He he he.  I was thinking after supper we might…”

She places a slender finger over my lips.  “I am very tired my love.  It was a long ride home.”

I sigh. “Of course.”  The thing with elves that I discovered only after marriage is not only are they long lived but their natural physical cycles were much longer and slower moving than humans as well.  Lana was fertile one week in twelve and trying to get anything out of her those other eleven weeks was a constant negotiation.  I kiss her and let her go.  She gives me a customary bow and continues into our home.

I watch her go and catch the subtle scent of rose blossoms as she wafts by.  By every measure she was enchanting, gorgeous, intelligent, charming.  The perfect woman.

Chapter 3