“Come on, show me one more time! Don’t give up now, you’re getting the hang of it!”

Princess Valerie threw the sword down at her feet, feeling discouraged. For several hours now, her husband, Prince Alban, had been trying to teach her how to use a sword in battle. Having never done such a thing before, she found all of the stances and moves she had to learn needlessly complicated and difficult to remember. Besides, she thought, the whole exercise was kind of pointless – what enemy could there possibly be in the world against which she’d have to use a sword.

Valerie was a giantess, standing thirty times as tall as a regular human woman. Being the last of her kind, as far as she knew, she couldn’t think of any threat she’d have to face in the defence of her land and its people that could come close to her in size. Perhaps, in the distant mountains far to the east and south of Vandan (her homeland), there might be dragons or similar beasts that were bigger than her, but she couldn’t picture them venturing this far away from their homes anytime soon.

She sat down on the table on which Alban was standing. Her husband was taller than most men his age (they were both in their early twenties), but compared to her he was smaller than a doll and scarcely larger than her thumb. Despite their huge difference in size, the two young royals were deeply in love and had gotten married, despite it resulting in Alban’s father, King Mildar of the nearby land of Elgon, disowning him. Alban had never been on good terms with his father, always preferring the company of his mother since he was little. But, unless his father were to change his mind about Valerie, or pass away – which wasn’t too unlikely, given his excessive lifestyle – Alban was essentially cut off from his own home city and family. But he had begun a new life now, one which demanded all of his time and effort.

The ancient giant castle of Vandan was mostly in ruins, but one section of it was still standing, and here Valerie had taken up residence. Outside the castle’s outer walls, a small town had begun to spring up. Its inhabitants were humans – lower-class farmers, poor people, those who were outcasts or who had been persecuted in their homelands and had fled here. They had all heard about the giant princess, and that she was kind and compassionate and willing to protect those who were without protection. So, they had come here and settled, and built houses and begun to sow crops. By now there were several hundred of them, living in a cluster of houses that formed the new town of Rismark, or in scattered smaller settlements in the vicinity. They all looked up to Valerie to lead them and rule over them, though she didn’t call herself their queen yet. But if many more came, she might yet find herself the ruler of a new kingdom. The old Vandan, the cruel, oppressive realm of the giants of old, was just a memory now. The new Vandan, Valerie promised herself, would be a place where everyone was equal and no-one would need to live in fear or poverty. That was her vision, but making it a reality would require a lot of work.

That was why she found this sword training to be a waste of time. Though she knew Alban was just trying to help her, she’d much rather spend her free time with him in a more romantic fashion. She wrapped her long, delicate fingers around him and picked him up, then began to smother him with kisses. He struggled to break free from her grasp – unsuccessfully, of course.

“Valerie, not here!” he said, as soon as his face was free from her lips. “We could be seen!” They were sitting in a small courtyard, on the other side of the castle from the town, and in fact just outside the door leading to the castle’s kitchen.

“No, we won’t!” Valerie reassured him, hugging him to her chest and caressing him. “No-one but us ever comes here, you know that!”

“But what about your training?”

“Oh, forget the training, Alban! I’ll never master a sword like you have. Why would I want to? I’ll never face a dangerous monster that’s any higher than my knees, and even a great warrior like you, darling, isn’t able to reach higher than my ankles! I took on your father’s entire army, remember? That was right after I saved you from that horde of dangerous bandits, which I did all by myself too…”

“Yes, I remember – how could I ever forget?” Alban interrupted. “I’ve still got scars from that experience…not to mention losing Turas and Shardon.” He grew quiet as he remembered his late friends, who had died on the same adventure in which he’d first met Valerie. She remembered them too, and she squeezed Alban tighter against her chest, covering him in her hands.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save them too, my love,” she said softly. “I was too late that day, but I managed to save you, and I’ll never let any harm come to you, as long as I live. Nor will I let anything happen to the people who have come to live here. I’ll be all right, Alban. I know you worry about me too, and I’m glad that you do, but I can take care of myself. If you really want to help, I’m sure there are many young men in Rismark who’d love to learn how to fight and defend themselves and their loved ones. You can show them how, and then they needn’t be afraid whenever I’m not nearby, which I won’t be all the time.”

“Yes…yes, you’re right. It’s just…well…difficult for me to accept the fact that my darling wife is thousands of times stronger than the strongest man who’s ever lived. What can I say? I’m just a man after all, and when I’m with a beautiful woman whom I love, I feel the urge to protect her, even though she’s really the one protecting me. But I’m still learning, my dearest Valerie…learning how to show you how much I love you and care for you, and how to be the husband that you want me to be. So please forgive me, and bear with me whenever I come up with ideas like this.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, Alban, my sweet little prince,” she said, kissing him again, but with more restraint and tenderness. “I adore you with all of my heart and I appreciate all that you do for me…but we have others who live under our protection now, and we have a responsibility to them as well. Come on, let’s head over to Rismark and see how our little townsfolk are doing today. But first, I think a nice, soothing bath would be good idea. Just to wash away all of the sweat, and to change into something that’s more appropriate for a princess to appear in public in!”

She placed him on top of her shoulder, which was his usual spot whenever she carried him around. From up here, he had a great view of everything around him and could talk to his beloved princess at the same time, without being overheard by the people on the ground below. He was also looking forward to Valerie’s bath, since she almost always took him with her when she bathed, and they could have all sorts of sexy fun in the tub. It was just one of the many bonuses that came with being married to a giantess.

Far away to the south, a lonely inn sat on a dusty hot road stretching across the empty plains of Ruokan. It was almost deserted, the only occasional patrons being travelling traders who journeyed across the plains, carrying their goods in wagons. In a shadowy corner of the inn, however, sat a man who was there almost every day. He was a surly, evil-looking man who never spoke to anyone else, not even when ordering another drink. One of his legs was amputated below the knee and the other was clearly broken, since it was bent at an uncomfortable angle, and he could only walk around with difficulty using a crutch. His left arm was broken too, bound to his body in a crude sling, but his right arm still worked perfectly. This was made clear to the handful of unfortunates who had decided to start a quarrel with the man, only to find themselves being run through by a sword, which had been concealed under his dirty robes. Eventually, everyone who visited the inn knew to avoid the man, and could only speculate as to who he was – or who he had been.

But, on one otherwise unremarkable day, an odd-looking old man in a red robe happened to visit the inn. He had a long black beard which contrasted with his pale, wrinkled skin, and his eyes appeared to have a faint yellow gleam in them. He also refused to give his name or say where he was from, but he was friendly enough and he seemed more-or-less harmless. Most likely a hermit who wanders around the plains, who only came by to remind himself what civilization was like. So thought the innkeeper and the other customers. But the old man had only one thing that interested him – the crippled man who sat in the corner. He approached this, despite the warnings of the innkeeper, and addressed him.

“You there – I know you!” the old man said, without a trace of fear in his voice. “I’ve seen you before, yes I have! You’re that outlaw, aren’t you? Bargar? You used to be feared throughout the lands to the north. Even the king left you alone!”

The man called Bargar glared at the strange old man, with a look that clearly suggested murder was on his mind. Within seconds, he’d pull his sword from underneath his robes, hurl it across the table and end the life of this strange fellow who somehow knew his real name. But the old man was quick-witted, and as he kept on talking, Bargar decided to let him live just a bit longer.

“Oh yes, you can’t deny it, can you?” the old man went on. “You have the look of a killer, a man who can end a life without batting an eye. I know all about you – you had me trapped in one of your cells once, long ago, when you and your army of thugs still commanded the respect of all the other brigands in the forests of Elgon.”

“Is that so?” Bargar spat, his patience growing thin. Behind the old man, the other patrons had already begun to make a surreptitious exit from the inn, knowing what was to come. “Then how is it you’re standing before me now, hmm? Seems I made a mistake in not ending your life when I had a chance!”

“Perhaps, but you would have failed. I am a conjuror, you see – not the kind you see in travelling fairs, mind you, but one who works with real magic. Shalmat is my name, and escaping from your little fortress wasn’t too difficult for one as skilled as I am.”

“Skilled? We’ll see about that!”

As quickly as he spoke, Bargar flung his sword straight at the mysterious visitor. Had the old man been lying, he’d have been impaled and killed instantly, so powerful was his throw. But the sword simply passed through him as though he were made of smoke. Bargar gasped, only to see what had looked like a patch of shadow on the wall move forward and assume the shape of the same old man, unharmed and still very much alive.

“Do you doubt me now?” Shalmat challenged him. “Now you have no weapon, bandit, and I can kill you in turn! But I did not come here to kill you, for I am not a killer as you are. Come with me, and I will restore you to your full strength and make you the most fearsome warrior who ever strode these lands. Then you can help me achieve my goals.”

“What goals would that be, may I ask?” Bargar said, barely managing to sound polite. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you at once... ‘conjuror’. But I can think of no reason to let myself become your servant, not even to heal my legs and arm.”

“Oh, I think you’ll agree to help me, from what I know of you. You see, I desire to take possession of the old castle of the giants, Vandan. Its vaults and cellars hold many treasures and secrets, some magical and some not, accumulated over the centuries that the giants of long ago pillaged and terrorized the lands of men. Those items are what I want, but unfortunately there is a problem. You see, the castle has a new tenant – a young princess who also happens to be a giant…the last giant who still lives.”

“Valerie,” Bargar swore under his breath as he said the name. Then he faced the old man again and said out loud. “Very well, conjuror, I’ll help you get rid of her. But I want two things in return. First, the return of my old fortress, or a stronger one, and a group of loyal, obedient men who will fight for me, like I used to have. Second, I want to have the use of any weapons you may find in the vaults beneath the giant castle. You can keep all the treasure and anything else you find, but I must have powerful weapons if I am to be feared again. Do we have a deal?”

Shalmat didn’t reply immediately, nor did he make mention of the fact that Bargar had actually made three demands, instead of two. However, eventually he nodded his head, stepped forward and offered his hand to the crippled outlaw. Bargar refused his offer of help, though, and arduously stood up on his own, using his crutch and the chair for support. Then he half-walked, half-stumbled forward and lay his hand down on the old man’s shoulder.

“Lead the way, friend,” he said, in a manner not sounding all that friendly. “Show me how I can help you kill this giant menace.”

They walked out of the inn, to the astonishment of those others who were present. Bargar needed no further encouragement: he owed his entire downfall solely to Valerie. After capturing Prince Alban of Elgon and intending to ransom him to his father for a fortune, his plans were ruined by the sudden appearance outside his stronghold of a colossal maiden, who demanded that he release Alban and all of his other captives. Naturally, he refused, after which she had made short work of his followers, before coming face-to-face with him as he stood on top of his fortress’s highest turret. He could’ve surrendered to her then and agreed to her demands, but he had remained defiant and continued to insult her, so she had dispatched him with a flick of her finger. That was the last thing Bargar remembered, before waking up and finding himself lying in a heap of branches and leaves deep in the forest, and in almost unbearable pain.

From then on, merely staying alive had been a massive struggle. He had lost three of his limbs, his strength and skill in combat and his followers, who he assumed had all scattered in the aftermath of Valerie’s attack. But he was still alive, and he had slowly and agonizingly made his way south, getting as far away as he could from that infernal girl. He had managed to get enough money to live by, by pretending to be a beggar sitting by the roadside and stabbing anyone who came close enough with the intention of giving him alms. But it was no life for a man used to living with power and prestige, and he could no longer satisfy all of his cruel desires. But if this old conjuror was as powerful as he’d boasted, perhaps Bargar could have his revenge yet. He swore that he wouldn’t rest until Princess Valerie’s head was removed from her shoulders, by whatever means it would take.

Meanwhile, everything was calm and peaceful in the town of Rismark, apart from the sound of new houses being built. Valerie herself was busy helping wherever she could, which at the moment was at the site of new building that was to be the town’s school. She had had the idea of decorating the grounds with giant-sized flowers from the castle’s garden – roses, lilies and tulips. These flowers were as tall as trees to the human inhabitants of Rismark, but much more colourful and striking to behold. Valerie planted them in neat rows stretching out from the school building, which brought both shade and a dash of prettiness to the town. Clad in a plain dress and sturdy boots, the young giantess resembled a peasant girl more than she did a princess, but she knew that it wouldn’t be wise to come dressed in a fancy gown and ballroom slippers when she had work like this to do.

She had also struck up a friendship with a woman named Alenia, who had been a healer in the village of Troian, north of Elgon. But she had been forced to flee her home when many of the villagers had begun accusing her of using black magic in her healing practices, despite the fact that they themselves benefited from her skills. Though she was skilled in creating potions and ointments with powerful healing effects, Alenia didn’t consider herself to be a full-fledged practitioner of the mystical arts. She had no desire to stay in Troian and be tried as a sorceress, which would have most likely led to her execution, so she left her home in the middle of the night and fled, first to Elgon and then, upon hearing the rumours that were flying around concerning the giant princess, to Vandan.

Now she was standing beneath a row of flowers fifty feet in height, speaking to a young woman over three times taller still, who wanted nothing more than to know about her and the knowledge she had. In her fifty-three years of life, Alenia had never found herself in circumstances that were anything like this.

“There, that’s the last one,” Valerie said, as she flattened the soil around the rose that she’d just planted. “If they’re well-watered and looked after, these flowers should grow just as beautifully here as they do in my garden.”

She lay her open hand just in front of Alenia and asked her to step into it (after apologizing for how dirty it was). Then she stood up to her full height, carrying the older woman carefully in her palm. Alenia had to admit to herself that the view from 150 feet above the ground was astonishing. The houses of the village, including the newly-built schoolhouse, looked like little doll’s houses scattered among the oversized flowers, which looked like an ordinary flowerbed from up here. The people walking around on the ground below were barely recognizable, which made her realize just how much care Valerie always took when she was walking around in the village, to avoid stepping on anyone.

“It’s wonderful, Your Highness!” she told Valerie, who was smiling down at her. “When I first heard of this place – well, I never thought it would look like this. But I’m happy that it does.”

“Oh, this is just the beginning!” Valerie assured her confidently. “More and more people will come and settle here, and Rismark will keep on growing. Twenty years from now, mark my words, and we’ll have a city here that will rival Elgon in size. You will scarcely be able to recognize it, if you could go there right now.”

“I hope you’re right, Princess Valerie, but you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t share your optimism. You are still young, and when you’ve seen as much of life as I have, you’ll know that there’s never any good without some bad creeping in as well. Sooner or later, there’ll be problems cropping up, unfortunately.”

“Oh, I’ve seen enough bad things to last me the rest of my years, believe me! What I saw during my childhood…the things my family did to humans, and what they tried to force me to do…no, I don’t want to talk about any of that right now. Yes, of course there’ll be problems in the future, and challenges to face, but I won’t give up trying to create a home and a refuge here, for any and all who have no other place to live, and no-one to take care of them.”

“That’s a noble ideal to have, Princess, but, if you don’t mind me saying so, I do wonder if you’re not being too big-hearted here. Why, just yesterday, I overheard some men right here in the street outside my home talking about me. They were discussing how inappropriate it was that a woman – me, that is – should be allowed to work as a healer, and how it would be better if a man were in that position here.”

“Well, what do you want me to do about it – chase them out of town?” Valerie said, laughing. When she saw that Alenia didn’t think it was that funny as well, she continued:

“I’m not going to forbid people from coming to live here just because their opinions are backwards and disagreeable, Alenia. Now, if any of them were to threaten you or demand that you stop your work, like they did to you in that place you came from, then that’s another matter, and you can count on me to deal with that. But, when it comes to the sort of thing that you described, the best course of action is to teach people how wrong they are. Once they see for themselves how skilled and competent you are in your art, they’ll quickly change their tune. Remind me to tell you about when Alban and I first met sometime – he wasn’t all that different from the men you just described, believe it or not. But I taught him a thing or two…hey, speaking about teaching, we’d best start finding suitable people to teach at our new school, don’t you think?”

“Yes, Your Highness…not that I know anyone here all that well already. But I’ll look around and see if I can find…”

“Actually, I was thinking of you,” Valerie interjected. “I’ve been hearing lots of good things about you, Alenia – you see, people here are already beginning to accept us women in new roles other than what they are used to – and I think you’ll be the ideal candidate to teach the young of Rismark about your knowledge. Not just healing and medicine, but about plants and animals, which I know you have a lot of knowledge of, and how we men and women can best make use of the natural world around us.”

“That…this is a huge honour, Your Highness,” Alenia answered, feeling more than a bit overwhelmed by Valerie’s confidence in her and her abilities. “But I don’t know if I’m ready for such a responsibility…I mean, I’ve never taught anyone my skills before. I don’t even know if I can!”

“That’s only because you’ve never met anyone who’s willing to listen before, but that’s no longer the case, is it? You can do it, Alenia, I believe that fully. I won’t force you into such a role, though. You’ll have to choose it on your own. Take a few days and think about it. There’s no hurry, our schoolhouse still needs to be completed and furnished, and of course we’ll need to find additional teachers as well. There may not be all that many children in Rismark at the moment, but that’ll change before you know it. You’ll see!”

She carefully set the older woman on the ground at her feet and said goodbye. Valerie didn’t share Alenia’s doubts – everything she’d seen up to now had convinced her that her idea of creating a haven for people here would work. Even the soldiers in the service of Alban’s father, King Mildar, who had spent many weeks harassing and waylaying people who were migrating to Vandan, had been heard of less and less in recent days. No doubt the fact the Mildar’s younger brother, Monar, who had been a lot more popular among the soldiers than Mildar ever was, had come over to her side had something to do with it. But even human soldiers hadn’t been a big problem for Valerie to overcome. Most soldiers only knew how to fight, she’d found out, and when faced with a foe many times larger and more powerful than themselves, they usually either surrendered on the spot or ran off in a state of confusion. She never took revenge on the soldiers, however, and merely taunted them as they fled back to Elgon. Some, however, were so impressed by her great size – and her gentle nature – that they decided to abandon the service of the king whom they despised and come and live in Vandan, among the people they’d been ordered to treat as enemies.

On the way back to the castle, Valerie did in fact run into a column of soldiers. These, however, were young men from the village of Rismark who were eager to join the newly-formed company of castle guards. Alban, seeing that most of them were youthful and inexperienced, had decided to train them himself in the art of fighting. To help with this task, he relied on a young fellow named Ansur, who had been a lieutenant in Mildar’s army before deciding to join Alban instead. The group of about two dozen men had just been on a long march into the countryside and back, to build up their stamina, and Valerie thought they looked pretty much worn-out as they came marching back along the dusty road. She decided they needed a little reward. She stood in the road in front of them, effectively blocking their route. Alban, who was leading the group, looked up at her towering figure and waved.

“Did you have a good time today, darling?” she asked him, amused by the gaping expressions of the soldiers-in-training as they stared up at her. Most of them – and the rest of the villagers, in fact – were still really uncomfortable in her presence, no matter how sweetly she behaved towards them. But she knew it was to be expected, given her gargantuan size.

“Yes, it was a very successful day, I think,” Alban answered. “The cadets are really starting to get a feel for the kind of strenuous conditions that they might have to face in battle someday. Isn’t that right, soldiers of Vandan?”

A cheer arose from the company of soldiers, but it sounded rather feeble and half-hearted, and Valerie did her best to suppress a giggle.

“Why don’t you and your brave little soldiers come inside the castle, and I’ll give you all some cool, refreshing lemonade?” she suggested. “I made it myself just yesterday, from the lemon-tree that grows in our little courtyard. Come on, I’ll even carry you all the last little bit of the way!”

Before Alban could either accept or refuse her offer, she knelt down, the impact of her knees causing the ground to quiver. With one hand, she lifted up the fabric of her dress, forming a little pouch just below her hips. Then, with just four scoops of her other hand, she swept up the whole troop of soldiers and dropped them carefully into this hollow. They lay there in a pile, some of them crying out in distress, before realizing that Valerie was just playing a little joke on them and they weren’t in any actual danger. After putting Alban on her shoulder, as usual, she stood up and continued on to her castle, carrying twenty-five young men carefully in a fold of her skirt. She really did enjoy being a giantess sometimes, Valerie thought to herself.

Sleep refused to come to Bargar as he lay on a crudely-fashioned bed in the dark of a cave. The pain rushing through his arms and legs didn’t allow him to sleep. After following Shalmat to the wizard’s hideout – a crevice that cut deep into an enormous cliffside, before gradually becoming a labyrinth of caves – he at once demanded that the old man fulfil his end of the deal and restore to him the use of his limbs. Shalmat handed him a large flask filled with a liquid that resembled blood, and told him to drink it to the last drop. Bargar did so, not without extreme difficulty, for the liquid tasted foul. Then he watched in astonishment as his broken arm straightened out on its own accord, almost as if the fluid he’d drunk was pushing the shattered splinters of his bones back into place. His broken leg mended too, and the one that had been amputated regrew in a matter of minutes, like a shoot of grass pushing up through the ground.

Bargar was elated, but only for a moment, before an agonising pain made itself felt in his reconstituted limbs. At first, he thought it was only a side-effect of the potion he’d drunk, but after waiting and waiting, without any sign of the pain going away, he knew it would be permanent. He cursed wildly and looked around for Shalmat, meaning to kill him at once, but the old man was nowhere to be found. Since then, it had been two days, but the pain continued unabated, and Bargar wished he’d never accepted the wizard’s bargain.

After a week, however, he’d begun to think differently. His arms and legs were still in working order, even better than they’d been before. He was able to pick up large rocks, boulders even, and split them in two with a swing of his sword. He also found that he could run at full speed for miles without feeling tired or even breaking a sweat. Eventually, he even took a liking to the constant feeling of agony in his limbs. It kept him awake, but it also kept him focused and alert, almost forcing him to constantly be on the move, driving him towards his ultimate goal of revenge on the giantess Valerie. Once she’d been dealt with, he’d consider coercing Shalmat to undo the potion’s effects, but until that was the case, he’d force himself to live with the pain and discomfort.

When, after a fortnight, Shalmat did eventually return to his hideout, Bargar put on a façade of civility and friendliness. He greeted the old man pleasantly and thanked him for the return of his strength and fighting capabilities, and asked him when he’d be allowed to leave this desolate area and head north to Vandan, to fulfil his one and only current desire.

“You can do as you please, Bargar, you are not my servant,” Shalmat said in reply. “But you may wish to follow me and see what I can offer you next. The strength of your restored arms is greater than that of other fighters, but it is still insignificant compared to the might of a giant – even a female one. However, for many years now I have been working on a weapon, one that can defeat a giant. I would like you to wield it when you confront Valerie.”

“A good idea,” Bargar agreed. “I can’t wait to make that damned overgrown wench sorry she ever crossed paths with me! Come on, show me this weapon!”

He followed Shalmat along the foot of the long cliffs, a route that Bargar had often walked the last two weeks. He felt sure that he’d have seen any miraculous weapons if they’d been lying around in the vicinity, but he was astonished once again by what he saw. Shalmat, standing before a nondescript section of the cliffs, suddenly lifted his arms and shouted an unearthly-sounding incantation. The cliffs then began to crack and, as the two men ran backwards for cover, suddenly collapsed in a landslide, revealing a hidden cleft behind, larger than the conjuror’s own lair. Inside, lying on the ground and almost filling the floor of the cleft, was a gargantuan suit of armour. Next to it lay a colossal sword, as long as a tree was tall.

“A relic of days long past,” Shalmat explained to the former bandit, who stood and stared open-mouthed at the extraordinary thing lying before him. “I found it where it lies, the bones of its former owner still inside. It took me many, many years to clean it, place my enchantments on it and hide it away as you saw just now.”

“It’s…it’s huge…bloody huge!” Bargar stammered. “As big as that stupid girl Valerie, or even bigger! But how exactly is it supposed to help me…us, I mean? We don’t have a giant who could wear it into battle…or do you have some kind of spell up your sleeve that’ll turn me into one?”

“No, such magic is beyond me,” Shalmat said, smirking slightly. “But, as I’ve said, there are many enchantments which are known to me, and which I’ve perfected over many decades of study. The mystical arts are more varied and effective than your unsophisticated mind can comprehend, Bargar! Let me show you what I mean.”

They walked around to the other side of the armour, Bargar ignoring the insult lobbied at him. The cuirass was attached to a rudimentary collar, but there was no helmet attached to this, as would’ve been expected. Instead, the steel collar was topped by a small platform, also made of steel, but inscribed with rows and rows of arcane symbols. Shalmat pointed at this curious feature.

“Whoever stands there can command the armour, as surely as if he were wearing it himself,” he explained. “If I pronounce the words of the spell written out in those symbols, then whoever stands on them becomes one with the suit.”

“You’re not joking!” Bargar exclaimed. “Well, what are we waiting for, then? Say the words, and let me take command of this monstrosity! Then we can make for Vandan right now, and I can have my revenge!”

“If that is what you wish…very well, since there is no reason to delay, go ahead and mount the platform, and prepare to become the mightiest warrior since the days when giants were still a threat to be feared.”

“Not as feared as I will be, old man! I will make the witless peasants of Elgon…no, of every nation…wish that the giants were back instead! But first, I will make Valerie scream with the pain she so richly deserves!”

He awkwardly climbed onto the steel platform and stood in its centre, all the while urging on Shalmat to give him control of the armour. The conjuror then did his part and recited an incantation, and Bargar watched with amazement as the rows of magical symbols that were inscribed on the place where he stood rose into the air. They formed long strings of characters that whipped through the air like tentacles and began wrapping themselves around his arms, legs and body. But, instead of ensnaring him as they would have had they been solid ropes, the symbol-strings penetrated beneath his skin and he felt as though some living thing was moving inside him. He also for the moment forgot about the pain he was feeling in his restored limbs.

“Now is the time!” Shalmat cried out. “You and the armour are joined together – now control it!”

The brigand lifted up his arms and, slowly and ponderously, the colossal steel behemoth arose from the ground and stood upright. Bargar was carried upward as he tried to maintain his footing on the platform, until he found himself standing over 150 feet above the ground, where the suit of armour’s missing head would have been positioned. He then lowered his arms to his sides and, on either side of him, a pair of eighty-foot-long steel arms did the same. Then he took a small step forward, and gave a cry of wonder as the massive armour suit obeyed his will and stepped forward forty feet.

“Ha-ha-ha, incredible!” Bargar cried, his pain completely forgotten now as he contemplated the limitless possibilities his newly-gained power could achieve. “Now I can truly be the master of all I can see! No army on Earth would dare to challenge me – I’ll crush them underfoot like worms! As for Valerie – well, we’ll just see if that face of hers still looks as pretty after I…”

He made a fist and struck forward with his right arm, and again the suit of armour mimicked his movements. A metal fist, twice the size of a man, crashed into the nearby cliffside, cracking its rocks as though they were glass and causing boulders to fall down onto the ground far below. Bargar laughed loudly and was about to do it again, when a booming voice called up to him from somewhere near the armour’s boots.

“Careful, Bargar, do not let this newfound strength make you take leave of your senses!” Shalmat warned him, using a magical technique to make his voice heard over the din Bargar was causing. “Remember, you still need me! If I were to die, so would my magic, and the steel giant that you now control would return to nothing more than a large heap of metal. Also, don’t forget our arrangement! You can have the giant girl and do with her as you please, but to me belong all of the knowledge and treasure that’s locked away in her castle’s vaults.”

Bargar took two steps back and bent forward, in order to see the old wizard on the ground beneath him. He placed his hands on his hips and stamped his foot on the ground, but if he had hoped to intimidate Shalmat, he was disappointed.

“Yes…yes, very well,” he agreed. “A deal is a deal, right? So, when do you want to leave, old man? I’m ready now! Every second that Valerie still lives, is one second too many for me.”

“Do you wish to leave for Vandan at once? All right, then I suppose there’s no stopping you. But you’ll have to carry me along too, or else I won’t be able to keep up with you.”

Bargar didn’t argue. He stooped down and lowered his left hand, until the left gauntlet of the armour slammed into the ground. He watched as Shalmat climbed into the open palm of the gauntlet, while also picking up the giant-sized sword with his right hand. The oversized weapon must have weighed at least forty tons, but when he lifted it, it only felt as though he was lifting a couple of pounds with his physical arm. He couldn’t wait to test it out in battle – but would it really be proper to call it a ‘battle’, he thought, when he swung his sword into whole neighbourhoods of houses, or against the towers of castles in Elgon and other cities? He would be an unstoppable force, and he didn’t plan on letting anyone or anything stand in his way to gaining supreme power.

The only thing that irked him was the presence of Shalmat. He wondered if the wizard was telling the truth or not, when he’d said that his magic would fail if he were to die. He didn’t like the idea of having to share his brand-new might with anyone but himself, or of being dependant on someone else in order to hold on to his power. Perhaps, in due time, he’d find a way to get rid of Shalmat and his hold over him somehow – perhaps once he’d taken care of Valerie, and amassed a large-enough army for him not to need the giant armour anymore. But being his own master again would have to wait. There was someone else who had it coming first, and Bargar couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she sees the man whom she’d treated with such disrespect return and claim his revenge.

Alban awoke from a troubled sleep and found it was still dark. He was thankful, though: he’d had another bad dream and preferred to stay awake. There was nothing fanciful about his recent nightmares. They were memories, which he tried hard to suppress, but which still found a way to torment him while he slept. Memories of his capture and imprisonment by the vile warlord Bargar, who was responsible for the death of two of his closest friends, and who had kept Alban chained up in a filthy cell, starving and torturing him for his own amusement.

He had been lucky to escape alive, thanks to the timely arrival of Valerie. She had rescued him from near-certain death, despite the fact that he’d spoken rudely and abusively to her beforehand. But she was a much better person than he had been to her, and she had carried him away from Bargar’s clutches and deep into the woods, where she cleaned his wounds, fed him and restored him to his old self. It was during that moment that he had fallen in love with her, while she nestled him in her tender hands and let him lie him down on her soft chest. The same chest he was lying on now, as she lay sleeping upon the vast bed in her chambers on the giant castle’s upper floor.

Only very rarely did the two of them sleep apart. Each night, Valerie took her tiny beloved husband, undressed him completely and lay him down between her ample breasts. He felt himself completely immersed in her essence and he couldn’t imagine feeling safer than he did whenever she kept him this close to her heart. When he was alone with her up here, he could surrender himself completely to her and let her do whatever she wished with him. He had no fear that she would abuse her power over him, however. She was a most considerate lover, playful in bed and willing to experiment with new techniques of making love – experimentation being the best way to describe it – but never at the cost of making him feel uncomfortable or unsafe. She enjoyed being the dominant one in their relationship – in bed and elsewhere – but she never made him feel inferior or unequal to her.

Alban managed to wriggle his way out from between her breasts and walked up towards the base of her neck. Her chest beneath his feet undulated as she breathed, unperturbed by his insignificant weight. But suddenly she began to breathe more rapidly, and her chest began to heave up and down in quick succession. Alban tried in vain to keep his footing, before he was thrown from her torso as she suddenly sat upright, shrieking. He himself barely had time to scream as he flew through the air, before landing unharmed in a fold of the bed’s blankets. Valerie sat and gasped for air for a moment, before instinctively placing her hand on her breast to feel if her husband was all right.

“Alban?” she cried out, after realizing he was gone. “Alban, darling, where are you?”

“Over here!” came a muffled voice from somewhere in the pile of blankets. “I’m all right! I’m not hurt! Just get me out of here, would you?”

She quickly stuck her hand into the folded fabric and pulled him out, then kissed him and pressed him against her bosom, apologizing for what had happened.

“I’m really sorry!” she said, holding him tightly. “I didn’t mean to scream like that, it’s just…a nightmare! Oh, it was horrible!”

“You too, huh?” Alban replied. Then, when she looked at him inquiringly, he continued: “It’s the same nightmare I keep having, sweetheart. You know it by now. I’d still be trapped in it for real if it hadn’t been for you. Don’t worry about me, it’ll stop coming to me before long. It’s already beginning to fade, the longer I stay with you. But I can’t remember you ever having had a bad dream before. It’s not going to be a regular thing from now on, is it?”

“I…I don’t know…I really don’t know…”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“All…all right…but not in here. Come on, I want to get some fresh air.”

She placed him down on her pillow and lit a candle that stood by her bedside. Then she rose from the bed, giving him a fine view of her shapely unclad body in the flickering candlelight. She quickly put on a simple gown, fur cloak and slippers. Alban didn’t bother getting dressed himself: he knew where Valerie wanted to go and that no-one else would see them there. He also knew that she’d hold him in her hands the whole time, which would keep him safe and warm. Once she was warmly dressed, she picked him up with one hand and the candle with the other and left her bedroom, heading for the castle’s one remaining tower which still stood intact.

She headed down the hallway outside her room to the winding staircase at the end of it. It led up to the roof of the tower, which wasn’t exceptionally high from her point of view, but which soared well over five hundred yards above the ground from the humans’ perspective. Up here, she had put a chair and a small table, making it a nice, secluded place where she could sit and think, read or talk to Alban in private, while giving her an unmatched view of the lands surrounding her. Since it was still dark, she didn’t spend any time admiring the view, but sat down and placed the candle on the table. Valerie held her husband snugly between the fingers of both hands, enjoying the warm feeling of his miniscule nude body against her own skin. She knew that he was a grown man who was well capable of looking after himself and who didn’t need her for protection – but, whenever she held him like this, she couldn’t help but think of him as fragile and in need of her tender care, though she never told him so. She loved him immensely and she promised herself each day to never let anything bad happen to him.

“I dreamt about my childhood,” she told him. “Back when my father was still king in this castle, when the giants still ruled over all of the lands for hundreds of miles around us. It was so long ago for you, I know, but for me it’s still a fresh and vivid memory. As long as I could remember, I had hated the thought of harming humans…but my family…my father and brother…the things they had made me see, when I was just a child…Alban, I hated every moment I was forced to spend with them! Watching them treat humans like cockroaches, murdering them in all kinds of twisted ways, while all the other giants at my father’s court cheered them on, and themselves took part in the whole horrid affair!”

“Valerie, none of that was your fault! No-one here blames you for things that happened hundreds of years ago.”

“I know…but if they did, I would understand. They say that the giants…my people…that they were wiped out by a plague centuries ago. Well, I think that’s the best thing that ever happened to this land! How could they…how could we…have been so cruel, Alban? What made them look at humans, at people who were so much smaller than them and defenceless, and made them want to hurt and abuse and kill them?”

“I…I don’t know, my love,” Alban said, trying his best to offer his distraught wife some comfort. At times like this, when she needed his emotional support, he wished he was as tall as she was, that he could sit next to her and wrap his arms around her and let her lay her head down on his shoulder. But he couldn’t, so he hugged her thumb instead and kissed her, over and over.

“Cruelty exists in humans too,” he continued. “We can be as vicious to our own kind as the giants were to us – it was just easier for them, since we couldn’t fight back. You have nothing to apologise for; you’ve told me many times how you did everything you could to help humans, back in those days. And just look at how many people you’re helping now, how many families with children who had nowhere else to go, for whom you’ve created a new life and a new home here. This is just the beginning too – wasn’t that what you told me the other day? I think, my dearest wife, that the good that you will do in this world will be so much more than you can imagine right now.”

“Oh, Alban, now you’re just being melodramatic…but thank you!” She lifted his head up to her lips and kissed him long and slowly, savouring every second.

“I just wish that there had been others back then,” she said afterwards. “Other giants who thought like me, to whom I could relate. Yes, I have seen how humans can be cruel, but so many of you are not…while I never met another giant who didn’t think of humans as disposable playthings or worse.”

“But you also had a very sheltered life, Valerie. You told me how you were almost never allowed outside the castle. Who can say what the giants who didn’t belong to the royal court thought? Perhaps some of them…perhaps many, even…shared your views on humans.”

“Perhaps…yes, maybe you’re right. And maybe…maybe some of them are still alive today, living far away, where the plague…if that’s what it was…couldn’t reach them. Maybe, someday, they’ll return home – but until that day, I’ll do the best I can to restore the people’s faith in me. My size and strength are gifts, and I will use them as best I can, to make sure that cruelty, terror, oppression and war have no place here in Vandan.”

She kissed Alban once more, then slipped him in underneath the bust of her dress, so that he lay snugly between the gown’s fabric and the bare skin of her breast. She could feel his feet touching her nipple and knew that he was probably getting very aroused right now. She herself was on the verge of returning to bed for some more lovemaking with her little man, but when she saw that the eastern sky was beginning to grow lighter, she decided to stay up here and watch the sunrise instead. So, she took Alban out again, against his protests, and set him down on her shoulder. Although he was naked, he could easily cover himself by wrapping his entire body up in her long hair. Together, they watched as the sun rose over the serene landscape of Vandan, no longer the land of dread and terror it had once been, in an age long ago.

“I think I’d like to do something special for our people, Alban,” Valerie said as she headed down the stairs and back inside the castle. “Something that’ll show them how much they mean to me and that’ll make them feel at home here, if they don’t feel so already.”

“What do you have in mind?” Alban asked.

“Oh, I don’t know, something where I can invite them all to the castle, and get to meet some of them in person. Not a great festival or a ball – something like that would be too grand, and I don’t have the time and patience to organise and prepare for such an event in any case. But I’ll give it some thought and see what’s practical. That will have to wait, though; right now, it’s time for a bath and a nice breakfast.”

“I can’t wait. Your hair feels lovely when I’m wrapped in it like this, but it’s a bit lacking when it comes to keeping away the cold!”

“You just have to make a fuss about everything, don’t you, sweetie? Come here, I’ll keep you warm!”

She plucked him out of her hair and put him feet-first into her open mouth. Alban protested again, but with his head pressed tightly between her lips, there was nothing he could do about it. So, he resigned himself to the situation and waited patiently until his wife took him out, once she’d prepared her bath. He knew that she was only playfully teasing him and that she’d reward him by letting him explore all over her body while she bathed. He also hoped fervently that no word of the intimate activities he and Valerie got up to when they were alone in the castle would ever spread outside its walls.

Five days later, Valerie invited all of the people of Rismark to the special event she had planned all week. It was a huge feast held in the castle’s throne room, which had been specially decorated for the occasion. Seven gigantic tables were arranged in a semicircle, and upon them had been placed a multitude of human-sized tables and chairs, providing enough room for five hundred guests to sit at. Even more people showed up than she’d planned for, but there were no more chairs to be found anywhere, so they had to be content with sitting on the giant tables themselves. Great candles the size of small trees stood on the tables, providing ample light for the occasion. Each table also had a huge wooden ramp fitted which led down to the floor, so that visitors could come and go as they pleased, and which also freed Valerie from the task of having to lift the hundreds and hundreds of arrivals up to the tabletops herself. Finally, she’d placed a row of small boulders around the perimeter of each giant table, to prevent anyone from getting too close to the edge and accidentally falling off. She’d handled most of these preparations herself, since she was the only one strong enough to move boulders and super-sized furniture around easily.

She also did most of the cooking for the feast. This mostly consisted of fruits and vegetables from her garden, all of them from giant-sized plants, which meant that there would be more than enough to feed the whole town. Sadly, there were no longer in any giant livestock or poultry to be found in Vandan, so the meat had to procured from the many farmers who had settled in the area and brought their animals with them. Valerie paid the farmers more than enough gold for all of the livestock that she needed for the feast, and since she also prepared all of the meat dishes for the occasion as well, she still considered it her gift to the people. As for the drinks, she left that up to her subjects to provide for themselves. Though there were giant grapevines in her garden, she didn’t know how to make wine from them and she had never been fond of drinking it.

On the evening of the feast, Valerie sat on her throne in the centre of the room and watched as throngs of people began to arrive, making their way onto the tables via the ramps. Alban sat on her shoulder as usual, although he planned on joining the guests soon enough. Once a large enough number of people had arrived, Valerie stood up and raised her hands to silence the crowds. She was only partially successful, but it didn’t really matter: her voice was clear and powerful enough for everyone in the enormous room to hear her. Wearing a voluminous white royal gown with golden embroidered patterns on it, she was a magnificent, commanding presence and she soon had everyone’s attention.

“Welcome, everyone, to this evening of celebration,” she said. “I have not met most of you in person, and the few I have met I have not known for very long, so I have decided to invite all of you, citizens of Vandan, my subjects, to this feast. I know that for many of you, moving here with your families and leaving behind the life you were familiar with, has not been an easy decision to make. I also know that many of you are still fearful or distrustful of me, and, having seen first-hand how my own people treated you humans long ago, I don’t blame you for your fears. But, beginning tonight, I hope to be able to get to know you a bit better, and for you to come to know me better as well. More and more people are arriving in Vandan every day, so a feast like this where everyone is invited won’t be possible for very long. That is why tonight is important. I hope you will all enjoy yourselves, that you will come to know many of your new neighbours here in Vandan better as well, and that you will head home tonight knowing that there is nothing I won’t do, as your new ruler, to ensure that your lives here are peaceful and fruitful.”

There were cheers and toasts to her health from many of the tables, but, as Valerie had predicted, most of the guests remained silent, or simply resumed talking amongst themselves. But she wasn’t disheartened. She set Alban down on the nearest table, where many of his own family members, and other upper-class folk from Elgon who had moved here, were sitting, and he took a seat amongst them. She, on the other hand, picked up a nearby chair and went and sat at the furthest table. The people on it were not so well-off, but instead were mostly poor peasants, those who had lost their homes, belongings and families in wars, or else those who had grown up on the streets of cities like Elgon in the worst poverty. For many of them, a meal like this consisted of more food than they were used to eating in a week in their old lives.

As she talked to her guests while they ate, and answered their questions, Valerie realised that her own childhood years, difficult and traumatising as they had been, didn’t represent the only kind of bad experience a person could have. Now, faced with the task of providing a new, better life for hundreds of people, she suddenly felt out of her depth. She was still so young and inexperienced, and no wiser than a child in many areas, but she didn’t want to give up on her dream now. With the help of her loving husband, and with the skills and knowledge of all the men and women who had come to Vandan so far, and those still to come, she would try her very best to create the greatest kingdom the world ever knew.

Concealed in the forests surrounding Vandan’s castle, two individuals kept watch as the guests at Valerie’s feast began making their way home later that night. Even though the journey here had been long, Bargar and Shalmat had managed to cover the distance with incredible speed, thanks to the conjuror’s giant enchanted suit of armour. They had also travelled mostly at night and kept away from any settlements that lay in the way, so as not to give away any news of their surprise attack on Vandan. Now that they had finally arrived, however, they were at a disagreement about how to proceed next.

“I believe we should attack now, while no-one as yet knows about our presence here,” Shalmat argued. “We can despatch with the villagers in a matter of minutes and capture Princess Valerie unawares as she lies in her bed. Then I can finally claim that which I’ve sought for so long…”

“I say we wait!” Bargar snapped back. “We’ve come this far; we can be patient a few hours longer. I want to see the faces of the little vermin in the light of day when I stride into their town, destroying their wretched houses with every step I take. And I don’t want to catch Valerie when she’s asleep, I want her to come running out of her castle and beg me to stop harming her people. Then I can make my revenge on her so much more satisfying! Besides, I need to catch some sleep as well. Your precious items will still be there in the castle’s cellar tomorrow morning, Shalmat.”

“All right…all right, I agree – but we must wait no later than dawn, Bargar! Once daylight arrives, we run the risk of being detected here, so close to the village.”

“Who cares? With this armour and this sword, I can take care of anyone who dares to oppose me, day or night! You can keep watch if you want, but I’m getting some well-earned rest.”

With the giant suit of armour leaning upright against a vast tree trunk, the two of them were safely out of reach from any normal humans on the ground below them. Only Valerie herself could have stood any chance of defeating them while they rested in the forest, but she had no idea, that an old enemy from her past had returned for vengeance. Instead, she went to bed with Alban as she did every night, hoping that her nightmares would spare her tonight. Until she was sure she was rid of them, she insisted that Alban sleep beside her on her bedside table, and not in her bosom as he usually did. He agreed, although he secretly thought she was being unduly concerned. But, unlike Valerie, he had drunk quite a lot of wine during the feast and was having difficulty staying awake for the last hour as the final guests said farewell and returned to their homes in Rismark. By the time Valerie was ready for bed and was carrying him upstairs, he had already begun to snore. She smiled and gave him a quick kiss, then folded up one of her dresses, placed it on her bedside table and lay him down on it. She herself was asleep within minutes too.

Valerie was awake early the next morning, and she wasn’t surprised at all to see Alban still lying fast asleep on the fabric of her dress. She yawned and stretched, then stood up, slipped on a robe and walked over to the window. She always enjoyed looking out over her little town each morning, before taking her customary bath and getting dressed before heading downstairs. Nothing made her day brighter than reminding herself what she and Alban had accomplished here. But on that specific morning, she was in for a shock.

Instead of the peace and quiet that usually lay over the landscape this early, she could hear the faint sounds of people screaming in terror. She looked down and saw that the inhabitants of Rismark were fleeing towards the castle in droves. Streams of people were rushing out of the village and she could see at once why. A giant stood on the other side of the town! Valerie couldn’t believe her eyes; she had never expected that any other giants would ever show up here, and now one had simply arrived on her doorstep, completely out of the blue. He was wearing a suit of armour and brandished a lethal-looking sword in his hands, but – and here Valerie was sure that her eyes were deceiving her – he appeared to have no head!

“A ghost…a ghost of a giant warrior, who had died long ago…no, that’s impossible!” she said to herself. “No, there has to be an explanation for what I’m seeing…but first, I need to make sure the people are safe. Whatever that thing is, it’s clearly hostile. Oh, what do I do? What can I do?”

She knew she needed a closer look at the apparition, whatever it was, and she urgently needed to make sure everyone in Rismark managed to reach the safety of the castle. She proceeded to wake Alban, not even giving him a gentle prod first to ease him out of his slumber, but picking him up by the waist and shaking him awake. Luckily, he was still wearing his clothes from last night, having fallen asleep before he could get undressed.

“What is it?” he yelled, clearly upset at being woken in such a rude manner. “Valerie, what on earth is going on? Put me down! You’re hurting me!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” she blurted out, immediately loosening her grip on him and dropping him in the palm of her hand. “Alban…Alban, something strange is happening out there! Here, come and see!”

She took her husband to the window, where they were both alarmed to see that the armoured, headless giant had moved into Rismark itself, and was busy demolishing its houses with his feet, one-by-one, in a slow and deliberate manner. They were too far away to see if any people were still in those houses, but Valerie knew she couldn’t risk staying up here another second. Whoever or whatever this being was, it clearly wasn’t friendly.

“I’m going down to the village right away!” Valerie said. “Maybe I can stop this giant…if that’s indeed what it is…from harming or killing any of the people. Maybe he came here expecting to find other giants, and instead found humans living in what used to be the giants’ land.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Valerie,” Alban cautioned her. “That thing looks even bigger and stronger than you are, and if it means you harm as well, then – well, there isn’t anything you can do about it, is there?”

He took another look at the strange visitor. Now that it had moved closer, he thought he could make out a tiny figure – or perhaps two tiny figures – standing on a platform just above the shoulders. He had never seen anything like this monstrous apparition before, but he could see that it was no ghost – and he didn’t think it was another giant come for a visit either.

“There’s something very strange about that thing,” he said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say there was magic involved in it somehow.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying that…that it’s some kind of magical entity, that can’t be hurt by ordinary weapons?”

“Maybe…or maybe it’s just a regular suit of armour – albeit a giant-sized one – that’s been brought to life with some kind of sorcery. Either way, we need to stop it somehow, before it destroys the entire town!”

Valerie thought hard about her options, realizing that every minute she spent up here could potentially mean that another citizen of Rismark was crushed beneath the giant visitor’s boots. She knew that, in the end, she couldn’t avoid confronting it. But first, she had another priority to take care of.

“The people must be taken somewhere safe, as soon as possible,” she said. “I can take care of that: they’re already fleeing to the safety of the castle’s outer courtyard, so I can just open the doors and let them all in. I can even carry those who have been injured, who can’t move quickly enough to escape.”

“Yes, yes, that’s a good plan! The whole town’s population can easily fit in the throne room. Then you can lock all the doors, which’ll hopefully slow that monster down until we can figure out what it is and how we can stop it. Maybe…yes, that’s it! I’ll sneak right up to it and get a closer look, then make my way back to the castle and tell you what I’ve learned.”

“Alban, no! What if that thing sees you? It could crush you to death in an instant!”

“See me? How’s it supposed to see me if it doesn’t have a head?”

Valerie didn’t laugh at his attempt at a joke, and he quickly caught on that now wasn’t the time for humour.

“Don’t worry about me, darling,” he told her, taking one of her fingers in his arms and kissing it. “I’ve faced foes that were much larger than me before I even met you – ogres and such creatures – and I know how to be careful around them. I’m not trying to be a hero or to take any unnecessary risks. I just want to find out what we’re dealing with here, then I can pass that information on to you when it’s time for you to face that monster and save the day.”

This time she did smile, but she also felt herself shiver at the thought of having to deal with an unknown, possibly supernatural, enemy. She quickly put on some shoes and a cloak, then, with her beloved held firmly in her closed hand, she ran downstairs to open the castle up to the villagers. She remembered her fighting lessons with Alban from a few weeks ago and secretly wished that she hadn’t given up so quickly in learning how to handle a weapon. Then she remembered something else: the sword she’d used in the practice sessions. It had been one of many swords that were hidden away in the castle’s cellars and dungeons, far below the main level of the building. There had been other weapons in there too, as well as suits of armour very similar to the one currently terrorising the village. Most of them were too large for her to wear, having been made for the male soldiers of Vandan ages ago, but there might be one that fit her.

“I have to take a look down there, once all the people are safely inside,” she thought. “I can’t fight whatever that thing is like I am now, unarmed and vulnerable. I don’t want to fight it at all…but what if it’s the only choice I have?”

Outside the castle’s doors, a large crowd of people had already gathered, having fled the village in a state of panic. They were relieved beyond words when Valerie opened the immense wooden doors and ordered them to come inside at once. She put Alban down at her feet, where he was quickly surrounded by the men of the newly-formed town guards of Rismark.

“Prince Alban, what are your orders? Do we attack?” asked Ansur frantically. Alban’s young second-in-command was already dressed for fighting, as were almost all of his soldiers, making him felt rather out-of-place in his fine clothes from last night’s party.

“No, we don’t attack, not yet,” Alban replied. “We have no idea what that being is, and even if we did, we don’t stand a chance against an opponent of that size, not even if we had a thousand men.”

“But it’s destroying our town! It’s already begun levelling the houses nearest the forest! If we do nothing…”

“We’re not doing nothing either! Ansur…I know it’s hard for all of you to hear this, but you and I both know that Princess Valerie is the only one here who’s strong and powerful enough to deal with this threat. She’ll try her best to stop that giant in its tracks, but first she has to make sure our people are out of harm’s way.”

He looked over his shoulder and saw Valerie busy picking up groups of people – small children, elderly men and women and any others who couldn’t keep up with the main mass of the crowd as they hurried to the throne room. But her time was running out. Although the castle’s outer walls blocked their view of Rismark, they could clearly hear the giant out there stomping on the ground, as well as the distinct sound of buildings being destroyed. He turned back to his men again.

“You’ve all seen that the monster has no head? Then you must have realized that it’s no ordinary giant, like the princess is. Some kind of dark magic is making that behemoth move, but we’ll need to take a closer look in order to find out. Ansur, you and one other come with me! We’ll sneak around behind it and see if we can’t figure out what it is. Maybe we can even find a weak spot in its armour, if it has any. The rest of you, make your way into the village, but try as best you can to stay out of sight. If there are any other people still trapped in there, they’ll need our help in rescuing them. Apart from that, there’s nothing more we can do, until we know more – so let’s not waste any more time and go!”

All of the men were more afraid than they’d ever been, but none of them refused Alban’s orders. Spreading out into a dozen little groups, they set off in the direction of Rismark, hoping there’ll still be a town standing when they got there. Valerie watched them go, but she was too caught up in the task of helping her people to safety to say goodbye to Alban.

“Please come back alive, my love,” she said silently to herself. “Please don’t make me have to go on without you after today.” But she had no time for further regrets, and quickly resumed helping her subjects. Before the day was over, she knew, she herself would have to risk her own life as well.

Bargar soon grew tired of crushing the newly-built houses of the town underneath his giant-sized steel boots. Nor did he bother chasing after the screaming crowds of men, women and children who fled before him. Mere helpless insects in his eyes, he contented himself with kicking over their homes with his feet, and occasionally lowering his feet on top of anyone who wasn’t fast enough to escape and listening to their pitiful cries as they died. Still, this wasn’t really a challenge, and he soon grew bored. He would’ve loved it if the men of the town had formed a militia and attempted to resist him. Then he would’ve enjoyed crushing them all to a pulp under his feet or smashing them with his fists. But every inhabitant in the whole town seemed to be making as quickly as they could for the safety of the castle.

“Ugh, I’m wasting my time here!” he said aloud. “They’re all hiding inside the castle now, the little fleas – no doubt cowering underneath the skirts of their overgrown princess! What do you say, Shalmat? Shall we make for the castle and announce our presence to the lady of the house? Shalmat?”

He turned around but saw no sign of the wizard on the platform behind him. Nor was he to be seen on the ground below, where he would have undoubtedly lain had he fallen off the suit of armour. Bargar was confused: the old man had been standing by his side just a few moments ago, but he’d been so caught up in the fun of destroying the town that he hadn’t noticed him disappear. He only looked around for another couple of seconds, though, before returning to his plan.

“That old idiot must’ve given me the slip – or maybe he ran away because things were getting a bit too exciting for him. Huh, who cares? Let him do whatever he wants, I’ve got everything I need right here! Now, where is that oversized little harlot? I can’t wait to get my hands on her and show her what it feels like to be smacked around a bit…or a lot!”

He laughed and put his hands on his hips, the armour still copying his movements exactly. Bargar felt quite comfortable being in control of this superweapon by now and he was confident that he could handle Valerie quite well, even if she decided to get a little feisty and fight back, which he hoped she would do. He began to walk briskly in the direction of the castle, taking a hundred feet with each step.

Unseen by the merciless bandit, Alban and his two companions had managed to sneak around behind the giant armour, keeping under cover behind what remained of the houses around them. Despite the widespread destruction of buildings, Alban was relieved to see that almost everyone had managed to flee to safety. However, here and there he saw the bodies of those few who had been too late to escape: men and women who had been trampled underneath the giant’s feet, some of them barely recognizable after being stepped on. He felt a cold rage fill him up and he wanted nothing more than to get rid of this monstrous abomination, whatever it was. All he could tell from ground level was that the giant’s whole body appeared to be nothing more than just the armour itself, with no flesh underneath, since he could see the sky behind its joints whenever it moved. But there was something up there where its head should have been: he could hear a voice, seemingly speaking to itself and occasionally laughing maniacally.

“I have to get up there, all the way up on top of the giant,” he told the two soldiers who were with him. “It would be a waste of time to try and attack the armour itself, and our arrows have no hope of striking the top accurately from ground level and hitting whatever is up there that’s in control of the thing. So, I’m going to try and climb it. Don’t try and follow me, Ansur! You two should continue to search through the town. There may still be survivors who need your help, trapped beneath the ruins of their houses.”

“But…sir…you alone, against that…that giant demon!” Ansur stuttered. “Forgve me for disobeying…but wouldn’t we stand a better chance against it if there are three of us instead of just one?”

“No…no, I don’t think so. I have no idea what we’re dealing with here, but I believe I’ll find out if I can reach whatever’s up there. And I’ll stand a better chance of succeeding if I go alone. The giant is more likely to see three men climbing up its side than one, and if he does, then we’ll be done for either way.”

Ansur sighed and looked conflicted, but after a moment’s hesitation he obeyed Alban’s orders. Taking the young soldier next to him by the arm, he wished Alban good luck and swiftly ran off into the town, looking for more villagers who were in need of aid. Alban steeled himself and snuck up behind the giant. The sheer size of the monster was overwhelming, even though he himself was married to a giantess of roughly the same size as this colossus. Had Valerie been malevolent, though, she would have made as frightening a foe as this new enemy; Alban hoped she was prepared to do whatever it took to stop its rampage.

He made his way right up to the heel of one of the metal boots of the armour, then grabbed hold of a protruding bit and hoisted himself up. Climbing all the way to the top wouldn’t be easy, he knew, but he was in as good a shape as he’d ever been and as long as the behemoth just kept on walking towards the castle, without breaking its routine, he knew he had a chance. Luckily for him, the surface of the armour was corroded and chipped over most of its outside; it was obviously very old, ancient even. So, he wasn’t lacking for handholds and footholds. All he had to do was hold on, continue climbing, not look down and not think about what might happen to him if he was discovered by whoever was in control of the armour.

At long last, just as the giant was entering the outer courtyard of the castle, Alban reached its shoulder. He was completely exhausted by the effort it took to climb up here and was in no condition for fighting – which was a pity, he thought, once he saw what was happening up here. He now realized who was controlling the giant armour. A man was standing between the armoured shoulders, a normal-sized man, and whatever movements he made the armour duplicated. Alban crouched low on top of the shoulder, still unobserved by the man, who was busy looking around for a way into the castle. After staring at the stranger for a couple of moments, he suddenly recognized who it was, and he gasped in surprise.

“No, it cannot be…you’re dead!” he exclaimed, forgetting that he should remain quiet. “Bargar! How is it possible?”

He suddenly abandoned caution and charged forward towards his old enemy, unsheathing his sword as he did so. Bargar didn’t respond in similar fashion, however. He merely lifted his arm to his shoulder and mimed the action of picking something up. Then Alban saw how foolish he’d been. He’d hoped to attack the outlaw and quickly subdue him, but he hadn’t reckoned with Bargar’s ability to control the giant suit of armour, which could move a lot faster than he could. Just as he was about to reach his quarry, Alban found himself snatched up by an enormous steel hand and left dangling high above the ground. Bargar looked at his captured foe with amusement, before in turn realizing who he was dealing with. He burst into laughter.

“Can it be…Prince Alban himself?” he cried out in glee. “Well, well, well…looks like you’ve once again stumbled right into my clutches. I could so easily kill you right now…but wait! With you in my possession, does that mean your, ahem, ‘lady love’ will come charging to your rescue, just like last time?”

“Valerie is not afraid of a lowlife like you, Bargar!” Alban yelled back, hoping and praying that she was indeed on her way to do just that. “She defeated you easily once, she’ll do it again!”

“Oh, will she? Will she really? You wretched little shit, I really should have done away with you when I had you in my power the first time! But don’t worry – once your girlfriend arrives, she can watch as I drop you to the ground and step on you…slowly…crushing you flat beneath my boot! Then it’ll be her turn…and I won’t be giving her a quick and easy death either!”

“You’ll be the only one who dies today, Bargar, you bastard!” Alban yelled. “You’ll be sorry you came back here!”

“Is that the best you can come up with?” Bargar laughed again. “Ah, but you’re already too late, ‘Your Highness’. I have already begun reducing your little town to dust! After I take care of you and your inhuman whore, all of your people and your entire kingdom, pitiful as it is, will belong to me! I will found my new empire here, where the giants once stood, and I will be more powerful and more feared than they ever were! Shalmat…wherever the hell he is, the old fool…can have his bits and baubles from your cellar, and I will have everything else!”

“Aren’t you ever going to stop talking?” a defiant voice announced in front of them. Bargar stopped paying attention to the man he held in his grasp and looked ahead, only to see an extraordinary sight. Princess Valerie stood before him – but she looked nothing like the scared, helpless girl he’d been expecting to see. Wearing a suit of armour nearly identical to the one he was controlling (though it appeared to be in a much better condition) and brandishing a sword even bigger than the one he himself had, she stared directly at him with a look that showed she meant business. Standing nearly as tall as his own armour did, her fierce appearance actually made Bargar gulp in shock. But he quickly recovered his bravado when he realized that he held her beloved husband in his hands and could end Alban’s life in an instant.

“Stay…stay where you are!” he shouted, and was dismayed to realize that his voice didn’t sound nearly as loud and commanding as hers had. “Take one step closer, Princess, and your little pet princeling will find out what a bug feels like when it gets stepped on!”

“And then what, Bargar?” Valerie shouted back. She didn’t dare show it, but she was scared to death that the bandit would really carry out his threat against Alban’s life. But she knew that showing any trace of fear or weakness was exactly what her enemy wanted, and that she had to make him believe that she was the one in control.

“What happens after you kill him?” she continued. “Do you think I’ll just lie down and weep and let you kill me as well? I will fight with every ounce of my strength to protect my husband, my people and my land, and if you so much as harm one more person, whoever it may be, you can be assured that you will share their fate!”

“Really? And who will stop me, hmm? You? You’re just a child – a female child at that! What do you know about combat? About facing an opponent who’s infinitely more skilled than you’ll ever be? Nothing! I can take you on with one hand tied behind my back!”

“Then stop talking, you little creep, and do it! Fight me like the man you claim to be! If I’m such a pushover, then surely you can take care of me first before you hurt anyone else.”

Bargar thought for a moment, but in the end the thought of wanting to kill Valerie right here and right now was much too tempting.

“All right, you big bitch!” he snarled. “We’ll do it your way! Your little pet can stay and watch as I make you scream in pain, then I’ll do him afterwards!”

He bent down and dropped his captive on the ground from a low height. But before Alban had a chance to flee for cover, the colossal boot of Bargar’s armour came swinging towards him, striking him full-on. Valerie watched in horror as Alban was sent flying across the courtyard, before hitting a stone wall and falling in a heap on the ground. He didn’t get up, but just lay motionless where he fell. She took a step towards him to see if he was still alive, but at once decided against it. If she took her attention off Bargar for even a few seconds, the fiend would come charging at her. So, she turned back to her enemy, forced back the tears behind her eyes with all of her willpower, and lifted her sword high.

“You’ll be sorry you did that, Bargar,” she said quietly. “This time, I’ll make sure you stay down.”

Bargar simply laughed at her and swung his sword idly by his side. He didn’t for one moment think she stood any chance against his superior strength and skill. As long as he could prevent her blade from reaching anywhere near the platform on which he stood, something he felt confident he could achieve, he’d be safe.

“Oh, this will be fun,” he thought to himself. “It’s about time I had some fun for a change!”

Valerie rushed in at once, bringing her sword down forcefully in an attempt to strike Bargar directly where he stood. He quickly blocked her attack, however, and the shock of the impact sent her staggering backwards. Then it was his turn to attack, and, though she managed to block his sideways blow as well, she barely managed to stay standing, so powerful was the force of his strike. She quickly recovered and lifted her sword up high again, but she looked a little less sure of victory than she had before.

“What’s the matter, little girl?” Bargar taunted her. “Looks like you’re not nearly good enough to go head-to-head with a man like me, are you? If it weren’t for your size, you’d be nothing but a weak, whimpering woman, same as the rest of them!”

“If it weren’t for that armour, Bargar, you’d be nothing but a stain on the sole of my boot!” Valerie retorted. “Why don’t you come down from there, then we’ll see how much of a real man you are?”

“Oh, I don’t think so. Not yet, at least. Not before I’ve had the chance to see what you look like without all of that unladylike stuff you’re wearing. Once I’ve beaten you, I’ll strip you naked and drag you through what’s left of your kingdom, and all of your little worshippers can see what you really are – a stupid girl who should’ve stayed in her castle and minded her own business!”

He charged again at full speed and Valerie immediately tried blocking him with her sword. But the supernatural strength of his armour was too much for her and he broke through her defensive stance and knocked her to the ground. Her sword was wrenched from her grip and quickly kicked away by Bargar’s foot. She tried to scramble to her feet and take it back, but Bargar was too quick for her again. He grabbed her arm and pulled her upright, then spun her around and shoved her face-first into a nearby wall. She tried to struggle free from his grip, but once again his armour’s strength was too great for her to overcome.

“I must confess, I’ve never been more disappointed in an opponent,” she heard Bargar’s voice say right behind her ear. “I had hoped you would at least make me sweat even a little bit, Princess, but you couldn’t even last a full minute against me. But no matter – now I can have some proper fun with you!”

He rammed his fist into her side, trying to make her bend over in pain, but her armour managed to protect her and she felt only a small bump. Then she realised that she’d made a grievous mistake in not wearing a helmet. She’d hoped that, by seeing her face and that she was unafraid, her opponent would think twice about attacking her and back off. But now she saw that instead she’d left her most vulnerable body part exposed and defenceless – and Bargar saw it too. He swung her around and grabbed her jaw in his hand, squeezing until she began to whimper with pain. All the while she tried to struggle against him and strike him with her fists where he stood on top of his armour, but he successfully kept her subdued and at bay.

“You’re finished, you outsized slut!” he yelled at her, giving her a slap in the face that made her scream. “I knew you never even stood a chance against me, but you didn’t even meet my very low expectations of you! Now get down on your knees before me and beg me not to kill you!”

He hit her again on the other side of her face, and this time she fell down sprawling on the ground. Bargar put his foot on the back of her head and knew that he could kill her right there just by stepping down with force. But he didn’t want it to be over so quickly. He wanted to break her first…he needed her to submit to him and acknowledge him as her superior. Perhaps another threat against her true love Alban would finally do the trick? He looked around for the prince’s body, but before he found him, he was distracted by a sound coming from underneath his foot.

To his great surprise, it sounded as if Valerie was laughing. He lifted his foot and grabbed the princess’s hair, then used it to pull her up to her feet again. She shrieked when he did so, but once she stood before him, she immediately began laughing again. Another punch from his fist against her cheek made her cry out in pain, but she continued to laugh afterwards, as though she had just been told the funniest joke she’d ever heard. Bargar began to feel himself becoming unsteady with anger. He tried to rip her armour from her body, but his hands were fumbling from his rage and all he managed to do was scratch at her ineffectively. Her face was bruised and bloody, but she didn’t seem to care as she carried on giggling hysterically at him.

“You think this is funny, do you?” he bellowed at her, giving her yet another slap that did nothing to stop her hysterics. “Your town is destroyed, your prince lies dead at my feet and your people will soon be joining him, and you think it’s all some kind of joke? I’ll pull your tongue out of your mouth, do you hear me?”

He pulled her face towards him, ready to carry out his threat, but she didn’t look afraid at all.

“No, I don’t hear you,” she said suddenly, and Bargar froze. “All I hear is the squeaking and tittering of a tiny insect – a tiny, puny, worthless insect that thinks it’s a man. You’re not a man, Bargar…you’re not even human…you’re as cruel and callous cold-blooded as the giants who once stood here long ago, and now you’ll be just as dead as they are!”

She didn’t move a muscle, but puckered her mouth and spat at him. A lump of saliva mixed with blood, almost as large as he was, flew through the air and hit Bargar dead on, covering his whole body. He yelled in disgust and lifted his hands to his face to wipe off her spit, letting go of Valerie. It was the last thing he ever did.

Valerie watched as the arms of the gigantic suit of armour copied his movements. Its hands mimicked the action of a man trying to wipe his face clean, but there was no face for them to wipe. Instead, they moved straight towards the platform where Bargar was standing and knocked him off without any effort. Not showing any emotion, Valerie kept on watching as the villain fell from his high platform 150 feet above the ground. Before he had even stopped falling, the suit of armour, now masterless, began to come apart. It broke apart into its various components, all of them clattering down upon the ground and making a great racket. For a brief moment, Valerie thought she saw Bargar’s body move ever so slightly where he lay upon the floor, before a breastplate the size of a large house crashed down on top of him, crushing him flat beneath it.

Without wasting another second, she ran over to where Alban was still lying on the ground. He hadn’t moved at all during the fight and Valerie feared the worst. She fell to her knees next to him and ever so gently lifted him up in her hand, taking care not to hurt him with her metal gauntlets. He was bleeding all over and he still didn’t move a muscle, but she could just about see his chest rising and falling, showing he was still breathing and still alive.

“Alban!” she called out softly as she began to cry. “Please wake up, my dearest. Please don’t leave me now! It’s all over – we’ve won! You can wake up now, the danger is gone!”

He didn’t wake up, no matter how often she said his name, and eventually she stopped and just carried on weeping. But she was no longer alone. From within the safety of the castle, people were beginning to emerge into the outer courtyard. They had heard the dreadful sounds of the giants fighting, and also the crashing noise of Bargar’s armour falling in on itself, but when the silence that followed became too much to bear, a few of the soldiers had decided to see what had happened. Even though, they ordered the townsfolk to remain behind, many came with them anyways. No-one wanted to be left in the dark, not knowing whether their brave princes had vanquished her foe or whether she herself had been killed.

Valerie barely noticed as people began to crowd around the heap of metal that lay where Bargar had fallen, or when several of the soldiers and villagers cautiously approached her to see if she was alright. She remained kneeling, holding Alban up against her lips and tenderly kissing him, hoping it would work. Only after what felt like hours, during which his condition didn’t improve at all, did she finally hear a voice calling up to her from somewhere next to her knees. She looked down and saw that it was her friend Alenia who was calling her name, surrounded by a dozen other men and women from Rismark. Valerie blinked in surprise, and her dinner plate-sized tears fell onto the heads of the people below, drenching them.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, her voice sounding strained. “I didn’t see you down there.”

“That’s all right, Your Highness,” Alenia replied. She was shocked to see how bruised and beaten Valerie’s face looked, but she realised that Alban was in greater need of care at that moment. “Let me have a look at Prince Alban, please. His life can still be saved.”

“Yes, of course,” Valerie said. She quickly composed herself, before lowering her hand, with Alban in it, to the ground. Alenia stepped into her palm and briefly examined the unconscious prince, before summoning three men of the village to her and ordering them to take Alban into the castle.

“His wounds are serious, Your Highness, but if they are treated at once, he will live,” she said. “Don’t worry about him; I will use all of my skill to make sure he is healed. But you yourself have been hurt, Princess Valerie. If you lie down on the ground, I can take a look at your face and make sure no serious harm has been done.”

Valerie brushed her cheek with her hand and winced from the pain. She would have liked nothing more than to lie down and drift off into a restful sleep, but her work was not yet over. She remembered the damage that Bargar had done to the town and realised that not all of the townsfolk could have made it out of there before the attack began. So, she stood up and placed her friend down by her feet, then took a few steps back and surveyed the scene.

“Thank you for the offer, Alenia, but it’ll have to wait, I’m afraid,” she said. “There may be many others still in Rismark who need your healing skills more than I do. I’ll go and have a look around, and bring back anyone I find. In the meantime, please take care of Alban – he risked his life for me, and I would give anything that I have for him to return to his full strength.”

“Of course, Princess,” Alenia called up to her. “I’ll make sure he’s comfortable at once. With your permission, we’ll continue to use your throne room as an infirmary. There’s plenty of space, and many people still there who can help take care of the wounded.”

“Permission granted. Go at once, and save him if you can!”

As Alenia and her helpers took Alban away, Valerie looked down at the rest of the people standing at her feet. They were just milling around, unsure of what to do, and most of them looked up to her for guidance and reassurance.

“People of Rismark,” she said to them, managing to sound commanding in spite of the pain she was in. “The enemy who attacked us today has been defeated, but the harm caused by his actions remains. Please, if there are any of you who wish to help, follow me to Rismark and help me to look for survivors. There may be many of your fellow citizens out there who are injured or trapped beneath what remains of their houses. Also…and I know this will not be easy…but those who died today…they need to be given a proper burial, and their families told of their deaths, as difficult as that will be. Is there anyone who’d be willing to help me with this?”

At least twenty people, both men and women, raised their hands and promised their assistance, as well as all of the soldiers whom Alban had asked for help earlier. Valerie thanked them all, then knelt down and let them climb into her open hands. She didn’t scold those who weren’t interested in helping, but told them to head back to the throne room and help and comfort those who were there. Then she headed off towards Rismark. Despite the devastation that had hit them, she took comfort in knowing that it was all over now. They had begun with nothing here, and she knew with confidence that Rismark could be rebuilt and restored to what it had been.

In the depths of the castle’s cellars, Shalmat was searching desperately for the object he was after. He had left Bargar just before the latter had begun wrecking the town, using his craft to slip down the side of the giant armour and make his way unseen to the vast castle of Vandan. Climbing down the steps to what he presumed to be the cellars, he had only narrowly missed being stepped on by Valerie as she came striding up the stairs, having just put on her own armour. She was heading off to fight Bargar, Shalmat knew that, but he scarcely cared who would win or lose up there. What he was after, once he had obtained it, would make him more powerful than either the princess or his unhinged bandit companion.

So, he began to climb over piles of old, dusty and decaying scrolls, some of them the size of houses, searching for the one he knew must be here. A scroll, spoken of in many mystical texts, written long ago by a giant who had been a fellow mage. Supposedly, reciting the words written on the scroll would give whoever uttered them the power to increase or decrease his own size and that of others, however he wished. Many believed it to be only a legend, but Shalmat knew better. Princess Valerie herself was proof of this. Had she herself not been shrunk down to human size, many centuries ago, before being put into her ageless sleep? Shalmat had seen her himself, many years ago, while she still lay and slept, waiting for her ‘true love’ to awaken her with a kiss. He had had an opportunity then to search through the castle’s rooms for the scroll, but other concerns had forced him to leave before he could do so.

Now, however, there were no obstacles to his search. He knew the first word of the spell that was written on the scroll, but not the rest of it, it being written in the ancient language of the giants, whose script he could read but not understand. But if it was truly here…

“There!” he suddenly cried out, his voice echoing through the huge, dimly lit chambers. “What’s that sticking out from beneath those books? It has to be…it is! The word of power!”

His eyes lit up as he saw, written on a scrap of paper that stuck out between two ship-sized tomes, the letters of the very word he was looking for. With a blaze of magical energy from his fingertips, he sent the book that lay on top flying off. Then he approached the paper, hoping his eyes had not deceived him and that it was indeed the spell he sought. But there it was: the unmistakable initial word of power which so many of his own books spoke of, followed by several more lines of easily-readable script – the full text of the spell that would grant him supreme power.

“After all these years…” he said to himself as he took the twenty-foot-long piece of paper and folded it up as best as he could. “My search is at an end. I will finally be given the power that the giant sorcerers possessed once, the power that made them unstoppable! I will rule where they once ruled, and beyond…but first, let’s go back upstairs and see who won that little scuffle in the courtyard. I rather hope it’s dear Princess Valerie who’s emerged triumphant. Poor girl…just when she thought her troubles were at an end…”

The afternoon was turning into evening when Valerie decided to head back to the castle, after spending many hours in what remained of Rismark, looking for survivors. She was horrified whenever she came upon a body of one of Bargar’s victims, but she knew she couldn’t dwell on every death that was caused. Throughout her childhood, the killing of humans for sport had been a constant feature of her life and she had hoped she could put such sights behind her for good, but, as Alban had told her, humans are as capable of being cruel and murderous to one another as the giants had been long ago.

Thinking of Alban reminded her that she hadn’t checked up on him in several hours, so she hurried back to her throne room. There she found him still in the care of Alenia and the other women who assisted her. She knelt down on the floor next to them, taking care not to inadvertently crush any of the tiny people around her.

“He’ll make it through safe and sound, Princess,” Alenia told her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “Prince Alban is an exceptionally strong and healthy man – it’ll take more than a kick from that monster’s boot to bring him down. It’ll take a few weeks, but he’ll be fully healed with time, I promise.”

“Thank you, Alenia. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to you for taking care of him like this. If there is ever anything you would ask of me, please do so. I am in your debt. If he’s no longer in danger, I’m afraid there are more patients on their way who need your healing skills as well.”

“Very well, Your Highness…but first, I must insist that I take a look at your face. The cuts and bruises need treatment at once, or an infection might take hold. Lie down for me, please, then I can take a closer look at you.”

Valerie obeyed and lay down on her back, glad to spend some time off her feet for a change. The weight of the armour she was still wearing was starting to become unbearable, since she was not at all used to it. She couldn’t wait to take it off and head upstairs for a cleansing bath, and then go straight to bed. As Alenia and the nurses cleaned her facial wounds and rubbed them with ointment, she kept on thinking of her opponent from earlier. Bargar’s body still lay where it fell, crushed to death underneath the breastplate of his armour. She had no wish to get her hands dirty today by burying it, but decided to leave that task until tomorrow.

Valerie knew it had only been through sheer luck that she had defeated Bargar. If he hadn’t fallen for her ruse…if his pride hadn’t been so easily wounded…he could have killed her as she lay helpless on the ground. She realized now that she’d been foolish not to carry on training for combat with Alban and promised herself that she’d ask him to do so again, once he had fully recovered. She had no idea where Bargar, a mere thug, had managed to find an enchanted suit of armour, but now that she knew that such weapons existed, she could be more prepared for another such attack in the future.

After her wounds had been tended to as well as the tiny nurses could manage, Valerie thanked them and gave them permission to continue using her throne room as a makeshift hospital. She knew that there would be more and more injured people arriving as the night continued, and that most of them no longer had homes to stay in, thanks to Bargar’s destructive actions. So, she headed to her kitchen and filled several small bowls she found there with water. Then she carried them back to the throne room on a tray, which she then put down where the nurses and volunteers were still busy looking after the wounded.

“Here, you can use this water for washing, and one of the bowls should give you enough water to drink as well,” she told them. The bowls were each the size of an average room in a human-sized house, so there was plenty of water to go around.

“Thank you again, Princess Valerie,” Alenia said, and her words were echoed by all those who stood nearby. “But please, go and get some rest now. You look worn out to your very bones.”

“Yes, you’re right, I am tired…but even so, I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep as long as I’m worrying about Alban…and what if we’re attacked again during the night? I can’t be sure that Bargar was the only enemy who had come here, there could be others.”

“If we see any indications of another attack, I’ll send someone upstairs at once to wake you, Your Highness,” came the reply from Ansur, who had only just joined the group in the throne room. “But if there are any more of those monsters out there, they’ve had plenty of time to attack already. Perhaps, by defeating Bargar, you’ve managed to frighten them off – assuming that there were more of them in the first place.”

“Yes, perhaps…ugh, I don’t have the strength to think about it now. I’m dying to get some sleep…but I’ll be up early tomorrow morning and return to helping you, I promise.”

She bid all of her subjects who were in the room a good night, then headed off in the direction of the cellars, there to take off her armour and store it safely away again. Having never had the responsibilities of a ruler before, Valerie was constantly concerned whether or not her people were satisfied with her leadership, and whether it might not be better to just let Alban rule by himself from now on. So far, she had not heard of any complaints against her or dissatisfaction with her rule, but it could simply be the case that none of her subjects were brave enough to tell her so themselves…

“Oh, what am I thinking?” she said aloud to herself, stopping her negative train of thought. “Why on earth would they hate me, when I’ve given so much to them already? Do they blame me for what happened today? How could they, when I did everything that I could to stop Bargar as quickly as possible? If only I was one of them…if only I was human…then I would know that they trusted me!”

She leapt down the last few steps into the main cellar, nearly stumbling due to her weariness. She couldn’t wait to remove the armour and be rid of its suffocating weight. But before she could do anything, she noticed something odd. A man was standing on the floor in front of her. She had barely been able to see him in the flickering torchlight that lit the cellars, since he was only human-sized, but now that her eyes had adjusted, she could tell that he was quite elderly, and also that he was standing on what looked to be an unfurled scroll of paper.

“Who are you?” she asked, looking down on the man from her colossal height. “How did you get down here, and what are you doing here in my castle?”

“Who am I?” the old man repeated in a mocking tone. His voice sounded strong and resonant, despite his age and small size. “Oh, you’ll soon find out, don’t worry! I take it you’ve managed to defeat dear old Bargar then, Princess?”

“Yes, of course I have…wait…you’re with him, aren’t you?”

She stepped forward and knelt down, but was hesitant of reaching down and simply grabbing the old man. He didn’t seem frightened of her, but stood his ground on the paper scroll.

“I was with him, but thankfully I no longer have need of his assistance,” the stranger answered. “I am Shalmat, o great and powerful Princess of Vandan, and I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to hand over your kingdom to me, your new lord and master!”

“Hand over…don’t be ridiculous!” Valerie said, chuckling in disbelief. “I’m sorry, my little friend, but your scheme has failed. Your ‘friend’ is dead, crushed flat by his own stupidity. As for you, I’m afraid I’ll have to take you to one of our dungeon cells. I’ll decide what to do with you in the morning.”

She lowered her hand to pick him up, then recoiled when a sudden bright light streamed from the mysterious man’s fingertips. The light filled the air around him and lit up the words written on the scroll beneath him. Looking down, Shalmat began at once to read those words, which Valerie realized were written in the old language of the giants, which she had not heard since her childhood.

“That’s enough!” she cried out. “You’re coming with me right now!”

She reached down once again to grab him, just as he read the last few words on the scroll. Almost at once, however, Shalmat began to grow in size. It happened so quickly that Valerie leapt back in astonishment. Within seconds, he had increased in size from a mere five-and-a-half feet in height to a size matching hers. She could now look him directly in the eyes, and he was staring back at her malevolently.

“Ha! Not so bold now, are you, my child?” he sneered at her, grasping the magic scroll in his hand. “If only you knew what powers lay hidden in…in…wait, what’s happening?”

Almost as quickly as he’d grown to giant-size, a new change came over the old sorcerer. Starting from his feet and moving upwards, Shalmat began to turn into stone, his clothing as well as his body. He screamed in panic and frantically tried to read from the scroll again, but the transformation was too fast and his head and hands were petrified along with the rest of him. Valerie stood and stared, dumbfounded, without the least idea of what she’d just witnessed. When it was obvious that Shalmat wasn’t going to suddenly return to life again, she took a few cautious steps forward. She reached out and plucked the scroll from his stone hand, silently read what was written on it, then breathed a sigh of relief and understanding.

“You had no idea what you were reading, did you?” she asked the wizard, who was now nothing more than a statue standing on the cellar floor. “Perhaps next time, you’ll try and learn a language first, before reading its words. Not that you’ll get another chance, obviously.”

Then, turning around, she called out several times for any remaining enemies to show themselves and surrender to her. When no-one appeared, and satisfied that she won’t be getting any more unexpected surprises, Valerie sat down and begun the laborious task of removing her armour. The pieces of metal fell on the floor with loud clangs, but she left them where they lay. Cleaning the place up could wait until tomorrow: now it was time for a bath and then bed.

She headed back up when she was done, making sure to lock the cellar doors behind her this time, and made her way up to her chambers. In her hand she carried the fateful scroll which Shalmat had read from and which had caused his demise. What to do with it, she didn’t yet know. In the right hands, it could be a valuable thing to have – but she was also afraid of its power and that it might fall into the clutches of another foe who meant to do her harm someday. So, she locked it away in a small drawer in her cupboard, and reminded herself to speak to Alban about it once he was back to full health again.

“What a terrible day,” she thought to herself, as she lay in her bathtub and washed away the gallons of blood that stained her body and clothes. “I never want to have another like it – but there’ll be more, won’t there? More enemies who seek to harm me and my people, and who knows what else besides? But I’ll be ready for them next time, and the time after that, and the time…”

As she slipped away into such thoughts, her drowsiness became to much to resist and she drifted away into sleep.

The weeks went by and, while Alban lay in his chambers and gradually recovered from his injuries, Valerie helped her subjects to rebuild their town, as quickly and efficiently as they could manage. By sheer luck, Bargar had managed to overlook the newly-constructed school building, as well as the rows of flowers Valerie had just planted, and they still stood untouched. But the remainder of Rismark was in a sorry state and would require a lot of time and effort to repair. But Valerie had time, and lots of it, and she threw herself into the work that was required of her, finding that it helped her take her mind away from thinking of those who had lost their lives in the attack. The victims of the attack, however, also necessitated the addition of a new feature to Rismark: a cemetery.

But the great majority of the townsfolk had survived, and all of them knew that they had Valerie to thank for their survival. Any remaining doubts as to her ability to rule effectively over and protect her people were quickly vanishing. There were even talks of holding another feast in the castle to celebrate her victory over the enemy, but she ruled against it, at least for now. For her, the fact that she’d come so close to losing Alban, and her own life as well, was very sobering. She now knew that she wasn’t as invincible as she’d always believed she was.

Bargar’s body was buried in a distant field, unmarked and unmentioned, and his gigantic armour was taken to Rismark, where the town’s two blacksmiths were given the task of breaking it up into smaller pieces and refashioning it into all manner of useful articles and weapons. Whatever magic had once possessed it seemed to have disappeared. As for Shalmat, Valerie told no-one about her encounter with him in the cellar, with the exception of Alban. She also couldn’t bear looking at the stone statue he had been transformed into, so, one day, she took a large hammer she found nearby in the cellar and smashed it to bits. It was, after all, just a statue now.

A couple of months later, and Alban’s wounds had healed almost completely. He was lying on top of one of the immense pillows on Valerie’s bed, thankful to know that he’d be able to walk around outside again from tomorrow morning onwards. It was night-time now, and Valerie would soon be joining him in their bedchamber. They had slept apart from one another while he was still recovering, but he felt ready tonight to share her bed again. She soon entered the room, looking worn out after a hard day’s work, as she usually did. He beckoned her over, but she instead headed for one of the cupboards on the opposite side of the room. She unlocked a small drawer and took something out of it, then came over and sat down at the foot of the bed and looked down at her husband.

“Valerie? What’s wrong?” Alban asked, as he realized that she didn’t look in the mood for lovemaking. “Did something happen?”

“No, nothing happened…Alban, I have to show you something.”

She laid a giant-sized scroll of mouldy paper down on the pillow next to him. He looked at it with distaste, but, taking her hint, he unrolled it as best he could and looked at its contents. Then he looked up at her, puzzled.

“I don’t understand. What is this thing?”

“It’s the magic scroll he used…Shalmat, that is. He found it in the castle’s cellars somewhere. It’s what he used to become giant-sized, like me.”

“Shalmat…that evil wizard? The one you think was behind all of this? But…didn’t you say he’d somehow been turned to stone?”

“Yes, that’s right.” She pointed at the scroll and Alban now saw that there were two sentences written on it, though he couldn’t read either one of them.

“This is a spell that turns the reader into a giant,” she explained, pointing at the first sentence, “and this second passage is an incantation that turns objects to stone. It is supposed to be directed outwards, but Shalmat must have invoked it upon himself. He could read the letters of our language, Alban, but he didn’t know their meaning…so he just read the entire scroll, believing it was all one spell.”

“Then he…did it to himself?”

“Yes. He knew enough of the giants’ tongue to recognize the scroll itself, but not enough to know when to stop.”

Alban took another look at the ancient relic and sighed. He wondered how many other scrolls, such as this one, were hidden down there. Perhaps he and Valerie should have a look tomorrow, maybe get rid of a few of the things.

“So…now what?” he asked her. “What do we do with this thing?”

“That’s…well, that’s up to you, dearest.”

She looked at him in a funny way, then reached down and lifted him up carefully in her hand. She held him softly against her bosom and he relished in the feeling of warmth and tenderness. It had felt like ages since she’d last held him like this: she’d been too afraid of harming him while his wounds were not yet fully healed.

“Alban,” she said softly. “You have a choice to make. If you wish you can read the spell on the scroll…the first spell only, of course…and become a giant, like me. Then we can both be equals, you and me. We can have the same relationship as you’d have with a human woman.”

“You mean…if I read from that thing…I’ll become as big as you are?”

“Yes, my darling, you’ll be a giant too. In fact, since you’re a man and I’m, well, a woman, you’ll be even taller than me.”

“I…but…but I don’t know how to read those words on the scroll!”

“I’ll read them out for you first, my love, and you can just repeat them after me.”

She saw how uncertain he looked, so she tried to reassure him and added:

“Don’t worry, it won’t have any effect on me! I’m already a giant myself…in case you haven’t noticed!”

“Valerie…are…are you sure about this? Is this what you want me to do?”

His voice began to tremble and she quickly put him down on the pillow. He was frightened, she could tell. Perhaps it was the fear of ending up like Shalmat, locked into stone for an eternity – or perhaps it was the thought of becoming a giant that terrified him? She lay her head down next to him and looked at him with affection.

“Alban…my dearest Alban…what I want, is for you to be as happy as you could be with me, here. I don’t care what size you are, …I just want it to be what makes you the happiest, that’s all!”

He walked over to her face and pressed himself against her lips. They felt so soft and comfortable, and he couldn’t imagine ever not being able to feel their embrace again. He ran his hand across the skin of her cheek and she responded by pressing her lips more closely against him.

“I fell in love with a girl,” he whispered. “A girl who was taller than any tree, and who could hold me in the palm of her hand. I was no larger than her thumb…but she loved me as much as any woman had ever loved a man. That’s the girl I want to spend my life with.”

He kissed her upper lip, then continued:

“Valerie, being here with you, in your bed, like this…I can’t imagine ever being able to feel happier, than right here, right now. Every morning, when I look up at you as you rise from bed…so tall, so beautiful, so magnificent in every way…I just feel so safe and…and so gratified with you, my goddess…my gorgeous giantess. When you hold me between your fingers, or caress me with your lips, or let me lie between your perfect breasts, then I feel like I never want to leave or be anywhere else. And after all we’ve been through together, I can’t think of you in any other way. I want you to be my lover and protector and wife, as gigantic and as stunning as you are right now. Perhaps there was a time when I would’ve wished you to be the same size as I am, but now…no, I’m sorry, but you’re perfect as you are right now. So, if you want me to join you as a giant…well, that’ll have to be your choice, darling, not mine. I’ll do it for you, if you wish it, but not otherwise.”

Valerie lay silent for a moment, regarding her tiny partner with newfound amazement. She had expected him to jump at the chance of becoming a giant like her, having believed all along that he was secretly resentful of the fact that she was so much larger and stronger than him. But, now that she could see what his true feelings were, she was overjoyed.

“Oh, Alban, that’s wonderful!” she exclaimed. “No, of course I don’t want you to change just for me – you’re perfect to me like this too! Being a giant wouldn’t make me love you any more than I already do. Human or giant, what does it matter? There’s no difference to me, my dearest husband. You can stay as you are, and I promise to love you, cherish you and defend you from all dangers, as long as I live! As for this scroll…”

She took the crumbling piece of paper and held it to the flame of one of the candles on her bedside table. It flared up with a bluish flame for an instant, then fell from her fingers as nothing but a little pile of ashes. She leant in closer and blew them away.

“There!” she said, lying down beside Alban again. “Good riddance to that. Any magic that can be used for evil doesn’t deserve a place in Vandan.”

“Yes, I agree,” Alban replied. “So that’s that…looks like it’s just going to be you from now on, my dear…the last living giant on earth.”

“For now…”

“For now? What do you mean?”

Valerie smiled shyly and gave Alban a little caress with her fingertips.

“I’ve been waiting to tell you for weeks now, darling. Alban…we’re going to have a baby!”

Alban went suddenly stiff upon hearing the startling news.

“You mean…you’re pregnant?”

“Yes, I am!”

“And the baby…it’s…it’s going to be giant-sized?”

“Yes, it looks that way.”

“Then…so…look, are you sure the child is mine, then?”

Valerie suddenly looked cross, and gave him a flick with her finger, which sent him sliding across the pillow.

“Now who else’s child could it possibly be, hmm?” she said, upset at the accusation. “Do you think I’ve been seeing other men behind your back, is that it?”

“No! No, of course not!” Alban yelled. He stood back up and approached her, realizing how insulting his slip of the tongue was to her.

“I’m really sorry,” he continued. “I shouldn’t have said that…it just came out, that’s all. I know you’ve been faithful to me, Valerie, as I have been to you. It’s just…well, I’ve never really given the notion of having a child any thought. I mean, I’ve always wanted to be a father one day and raise children of my own…but, if the baby’s giant-sized…”

She saw how ashamed he looked and knew that it was a lot for him to take in. They were both still young and neither of them had much knowledge of the effort it takes to raise a child. But Valerie saw an opportunity for something good, something wonderful, to come out of this. She placed her hands on either side of Alban and folded them around him. His miniscule body fit in snugly between her palms.

“I forgive you, my love,” she said. “And I understand why you’re concerned. Raising a child is hard enough for any parent, and if that child is big enough to step on you or swallow you whole just by accident…yes, I can see why you’re so anxious. But I’m convinced that having a baby is the right thing to do.”

She squeezed him against her own body, before continuing:

“Alban, I’m a giant – the last one on earth, as you’ve said – and because of this, I can do so many things, things a normal-sized human cannot do, things that can help and defend Vandan and its people. If our children are born giant-sized too, that means that they will also be able to do those things. The race of giants could come back into this world, darling, through us – and, this time, they will not be remembered for their cruelty or their hatred of humans, but as humankind’s guardians and protectors, who’ll use their great strength and power to make this world safer and better for all those who live beside them. You don’t have to be worried about a thing, Alban…I’ll take it upon myself to raise our children, and I promise you, they’ll grow up learning to respect and care for humans. No son or daughter of ours will ever be like the giants of old, I swear it.”

“No…no, they won’t be. I believe you, Valerie. I know that no child could hope for a better, more devoted and more loving mother than you. And you won’t have to do it alone – I’ll be there for you, and for our child, all the time. We’ll make it work, somehow, and, one day, when this baby of ours is all grown up, and takes over from us as ruler of Vandan, he…or she…will make us proud.”

Valerie’s eyes were beginning to grow moist, but they were tears of happiness. She and Alban, against all odds, had found their place in the world, together. They had overcome great dangers and obstacles, and they would have to do so again, but they were determined to stick together through it all, as loving partners and…soon…as a family too.