“And introducing her Royal Highness, Princess Caroline!” called out the head trumpeter at the top of the purple velvet-laden stairs, blowing into the horn and followed suit by the two lines of players lining the wide staircase down to the grand hall below where the celebration was taking place.

                All heads turned out of respect as Caroline entered the hall, standing at the top of the stairs.  Her lithe and somewhat shorter frame absolutely glowed in the rays of sunlight, sitting playfully but modestly in her party gown.  Her hair, normally a magnificent golden brown color, shone in an almost angelic silvery tone in the light.  As she turned, her well-known comforting and friendly smile was seen, causing the various freckles on her pink cheeks to rise, and as she looked up at the windows, the light was reflected off of her baby blue eyes, glistening as if in a dream.  She held herself high, but at the same time strode in a way that she might have been mistaken for a commoner because of her complete lack of vanity or overt pride.

                Caroline, despite being at the tender age of 18, had already made quite a name for herself in her father King Richard’s domain.  At the age of 16, she had worked hard to create shelters for the kingdom’s poor and hungry, often visiting them and working to feed and clothe them herself when she wasn’t in lessons or off visiting a foreign land with her royal parents.  Particularly, her love of children led to several orphanages being built under her hard work and surprisingly selfless leadership.  Thusly, she was well-loved by almost everyone in the kingdom, young or old, not only for her incredible beauty but for her warm and kind soul.  As she was the oldest of the king’s children, it was known and fully accepted widely that she would be a great ruler once her aging father passed away, as her mother was not in the line for the throne.

                After pausing for a moment, all in the crowded hall began to clap as Caroline strode down the stairs, clutching the sides of her dress daintily to ensure she didn’t trip on the way down.  As she reached the base, she gave the crowd a friendly nod of greeting and of permission to be at ease, the crowd nodding back in respect and continuing the celebration, the chatter of speaking breaking out in a rumble back across the hall.

                A path was cleared as Caroline stepped across the hall to the thrones, where her father King Richard and mother Duchess Elizabeth sat in the tall, golden seats with ancient red velvet pillows used only by the royals.  Caroline took her seat in a smaller throne-like seat at the base of the two thrones, which were up on a several step incline, next to her two younger siblings, Anne, who was 13, and Phillip, who was 6.

                “Your hair looks like a cat’s tail!” said Phillip, leaning over to face his older sister; he always joked like this and Caroline knew he was never serious.

                “I’m sure it’s just because I live in the same palace as you,” said Caroline, equally as playful.  “You just seem to have this effect on me.  I don’t know WHAT I’m going to do with you.”

                “Don’t listen to Phillip, Caroline.  You look beautiful…” said Anne admiringly, who always strove to be like her older sister.

                “As do you, my young pupil,” said Caroline, who had recently been, despite her initial insistence that they weren’t necessary, been teaching her younger sister the final points of regal preparation and acting that their tutors just couldn’t quite get across to Anne.  Caroline gently tickled her younger sister’s cheek, causing them both to giggle.  “Did you comb your hair this morning before they helped you with it?” asked Caroline, somewhat sternly but not really meaning it.

                “Yes, I did, just like you said!” said Anne quickly, smiling.

                “Good.  Just continue that practice every morning, and your hair will always shine like the sun, just like your eyes,” answered Caroline sweetly, turning back to face the crowd before her.

                “My… eyes?  No…”

                “Yes, of course your eyes.  You have beautiful eyes,” followed up Caroline.  She had sensed for a while her sister had lower confidence, and it was her goal to help boost it up.

                “No, I don’t, not like yours…”

                “Now, Annie…” said Caroline, the only one who actually called her sister by that (secretly preferred) nickname.  “There’s no need to put yourself down like that.  Just be happy, and smile, for what you have.  There are many not as fortunate as you.”

                “Yes, I know,” said Anne sheepishly but with no sarcasm.

                “It’s all right. Just remember that, and you’ll do great things with your life.  That’s what I’ve always tried to do.”

                “Is Luke paying you a visit later?” said Anne playfully, looking sideways over at her sister to gauge her response.

                “Why, YES, as a matter of fact,” said Caroline in an overly regal manner, again just pretending.  “He’s coming to see me during my evening walk in the West Garden.”

                Both young women suppressed smiles for a moment before smirking playfully at one another.  Luke was a prince visiting from a neighboring and allied land, and while it wasn’t clearly stated of course, he had clearly come to court Caroline.  In the year and a half she had known him, Caroline had grown to like him as a friend, and then into something more than a friend she wasn’t comfortable wording.  Regardless, she looked forward to his visits with a great zeal.  Anne, fantasizing about her older sister’s position, loved to hear the details of their meetings and strolls through the palace gardens and grounds. 

“Come on now, let’s greet the people!” said Caroline brightly, taking her sister’s hand to help her stand up to go out into the crowd.

                “Well… okay…” said Anne, smiling, enjoying the times her sister used to help train her into a young woman for the people.  As they stood up, though, a massive thunderclap was heard throughout the hall.  Caroline and Anne fell back into their seats as a terrified hush fell over the crowd following a universal gasp of shock.  A dark cloud, as if from a thunderstorm, formed right under the ceiling of the place, unfurling in black puffs.  Anne, so shocked was she, began to cry a little, and leaned over next to her older sister.  Phillip, already beginning to weep, got up and dashed to his sister’s large chair, hopping in next to her and hugging her sides.  Caroline, confused and nervous, hugged both of her siblings to her as she looked on.

                As the cloud began to roll out, covering the windows and partially blackening the hall, Caroline turned and saw her father standing up, his old eyes trained on the darkness, frowning, as if he knew what was happening.  From the center of the cloud, a dark spire twisted down onto the ground, the scared crowd separating and moving back against the walls of the huge hall as far as they could, leaving the center entirely empty.  After a moment of the terrifying cloud spinning around in a mini tornado, it slowly lifted back into the cloud, which settled in but didn’t leave.  Standing on the floor was a woman in a simple dark red gown.

                “RICHARD!” came the loud yell of the woman as she strode confidently across the floor, the utter silence from the horrified crowd allowing the loud clack of her shoes to be heard on the marble floor.  Caroline turned and looked up at her father, confused to the identity of this woman, continuing to hug her younger and trembling siblings to her.  “Well, don’t you REMEMBER me, Richard?  Your dear, dear friend Catherine?” yelled the woman, detectable contempt in her voice, almost cackling as she spoke.  “I’m sorry that I had to make such an entrance, but as I received no formal invitation to your event, I was afraid I wouldn’t be let in the door!  And that would be a tragedy, wouldn’t it?” she said, almost mockingly now, as she finally stopped at the base of the small incline leading to the throne.

                “Catherine, you have no right to come here like this, on the day of this celebration of our kingdom.”

                “You old FOOL.  Do you know how long I’ve waited to finally have a chance of meeting with you?  I wouldn’t postpone it any longer for all the world!”

                Caroline was a bit taken aback, still a bit scared herself of this disrespectful and angry woman who evidently had some sort of supernatural ability, conjuring herself a storm cloud right in the hall.  Caroline had of course heard of these kinds of things, black magic and dark spells, but had never seen them firsthand.  She did, however, know that her father’s brave armies had banished them to the Otherlands, the outermost reaches of the kingdom where it was mostly desert and dead forest.

                “Catherine, I demand that you leave this space.  If we have a further quarrel, we will do it in a diplomatic way.  There is no need to be so dramatic and violent in your approach to this matter,” said the king slowly and confidently.

                “We will do it NOW, Richard.  Do you know what you did to me?  Your armies… pushing us so far back when all we wanted was our fair share…”

                “The kingdom is not a place of darkness like you would have it be, Catherine,” snapped Richard.  “And as long as I am king, I will see to it that your kind cannot sow the seeds of unrest in these lands.”

                “That, of course, may not be too much longer…” said Catherine spitefully, biting her lip and swaying casually side to side, as if nervous when she obviously wasn’t a bit.  A surprised and somewhat angry gasp blew over the crowd.

                “Catherine, I DEMAND you renounce those words…” roared the king finally, almost spitting.

                “Calm yourself, dear Richard, I don’t mean to kill you, I merely speak of your old, decaying body going just a bit past its prime…”

                “Catherine, if you do not leave of your own accord immediately, I’ll…”

                “You’ll do what?  I see no army here.  Your guards?” said Catherine angrily, waving an uncaring hand at the guards, which were steadily stepping toward them.  She pointed her finger, and instantly a flash of green shot out of the end, shooting toward a clump of three guards, their spears drawn as they advanced.  The green bolt of energy hit them, knocking them to the ground and sending them into convulsions.

                “You will NOT do this HERE!” yelled the king again, smacking his scepter down on the ground as a show of his seriousness.

                “I mean no harm to them if you’ll just let me say and have my piece, old friend.”

                “And what is that?” said the king, raising an eyebrow.  “Be quick with it, and then be gone from this place once and for all.”

                “Of COURSE, Richard.  After today, you’ll perhaps never see my face again.  Whether or not it’s because you’ve keeled over is an entirely different matter, but I swear to you I never want to see you again after this day.”

                “Good,” said the king, but Caroline detected a hint of uncertainty in his voice.  She herself was still scared, but was calmed marginally by the idea of this witch leaving soon.  However, she soon felt herself beginning to shiver down her spine as Catherine’s eyes met hers, and she took a step toward the eldest princess.

                “This must be your daughter, Richard.  The famous CAROLINE I’ve heard people speak of so much…”

                “Catherine, leave her…” began the king.

                “Hush, I’m only meaning to be polite and introduce myself since you’re not quite up to the task.  Hello, dear,” said Catherine, a devilish grin stretching across her face and sending a chill into Catherine.  The witch took several steps forward, stopping within reaching distance of Catherine.   “I’ve heard your beauty is matched only by your kindness, dear girl.  It seems at least half of it is true, and from what I’ve heard you’ve become quite the busy one around the kingdom.  Preparing for your duties after your father drops dead?” cackled the woman, throwing her head back in glee.  Caroline winced at these awful words, but didn’t speak up, both out of fear of repercussion and just general apprehension at what was happening.

                “Well, DO speak up, and show me the kinds of things you’ve learned under the tutelage of this dear man,” said Catherine, waving casually off in Richard’s direction. “I believe the proper thing to do in this situation is to curtsy? Come now, don’t be shy, I’m an old friend of the family…”

                Catherine bowed, and, trembling, Caroline did the same, keeping her eyes trained on the woman.

                “Well, it seems at least SOMEONE in the family received some manners.  I hear you put them to good use, feeding people and hugging the poor, poor, little children across your lands,” said Catherine mockingly again.  “Tell me, dear girl, are these things true?  Are you really as GOOD as everyone says?”

                “I…I…”

                “Come now, dear girl, a proper princess musn’t stutter so, you must be confident in your words…”

                “Catherine, that’s ENOUGH!” bellowed Richard, beginning to walk down the stairs to the floor.

                “It’s perfectly all right, Richard, I was on my way out.  It was a PLEASURE to see you all,” yelled Catherine out to the still frozen in fear crowds.  “And Richard…” she said, turning to face the thrones again as she walked to the center of the room, the king putting his arms around his traumatized daughter to comfort her.  “I hope you’ll never forget me…”

                With that, she extended her arm again, pointing directly at the king and Caroline.  In another bright flash, this time a deep crimson, what looked like an electric bolt shot through the air in less than the blink of an eye, striking Caroline squarely in the stomach.

                “NO!” roared the king, his voice cracking in fear for his daughter’s safety.  Caroline felt herself go limp, her vision going fuzzy as she collapsed to the floor.  The crowd all gasped and began to move toward Catherine finally, spurned into action by the possible harm of their beloved princess.  As Caroline blacked out on the ground, her terrified father trying to hold her up as guards rushed in to aid him, she saw Catherine disappear into another black spire, and finally the dissolving of the black cloud.

                Caroline awoke in her massive four-poster bed, the drapes drawn around it to block out the sunlight for her to rest.  Groggily, she ran a hand through her golden hair, trying to soothe her pained head.  Doubt flooded her mind, wondering what had happened.  As the spell had struck her, she expected that she might die, or at least become mortally sick with some terrible, incurable disease by the evil woman.  However, she felt fine save for the lingering soreness in her head, and she assumed that was just from the shock of the events taking place.  She groaned instinctively, yawning and stretching, wondering what time it was when the drape was quickly drawn, revealing her loyal maid, who bowed quickly.

                “Rose, please, I’ve told you before, there’s no need to do that when we’re here; you are a friend to me, and friends needn’t use such formalities.”

                “Oh, miss, even when something so frightful has overtaken you, you still find the time to say such things to me,” said Rose smiling sheepishly.  The woman was in her late fifties, and despite her petiteness had worked tirelessly over the years, practically raising the princess from an infant as her primary maid and servant in the palace.

                “What’s happened to me?” said Caroline curiously but still nervous, sliding her legs over the side of the bed to get out.

                “Miss, miss, please, stay in bed for now, your father and mother have requested it until we are absolutely certain that you are well again.”

                Caroline nodded, knowing.  Her parents always got like this when she was even mildly ill, and she had learned to just indulge them, as they worried about her so.  “Well, all right, if it will make mother and father happy.  I do so wish to get out of bed though.  How long have I been here?”

                Rose tilted her head sheepishly.  “For multiple hours, miss, it’s the middle of the night.”

                Caroline was a little surprised, and suddenly felt bad, knowing she had left Luke for their walk in the garden.  “Did Prince Luke…” she began to ask, suddenly nervous again and swinging her legs back out to the side of the bed to get up.

                “He did indeed call; he sent his warmest hopes for your speedy recovery, miss, for when you woke up from your slumber.”

                Caroline stopped trying to get up and laid back in the large bed, pulling the covers back over herself, basking in the caring of her possible intended.  “That was very kind of him.  If I could contact him in the morning by letter, I would appreciate it deeply.”

                “Of course, miss, of course.”

                It suddenly occurred to Caroline how suddenly Rose had reacted to her waking up.  “Rose… have you been sitting there for all this time, waiting for me to wake up?”

                “Well, it really was not much, miss, it was the least I could do…”

                Caroline actually felt some guilt for having caused so much commotion.  “I really do feel fine now, Rose.  I would sincerely like you to go and sleep, you’ve already done so much.”

                “No, miss, I couldn’t…”

                “Please, I wouldn’t want anyone being put out of place because of me.  Now get some rest.”

                “All right, then, miss, thank you.  I shall stay right here, though.  If you need anything, anything at all, just call for me and I will be here for you.”

                Caroline reminded herself again to be grateful for all her blessings, one of many being Rose.  “I will, Rose.  Now please get some sleep.”

                “As you wish, miss…” said Rose, beginning to cover the drapes again before opening them.  “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, I don’t know what came over me.  I suppose it was my excitement at your improved condition, miss, but your father and mother requested to be awoken, no matter the time of day, at any change in your condition.  I will send out one of the guards in the hall…” said Rose, tiptoeing to the door, opening it, and whispering into the hallway at one of the men standing guard.  She then returned and it was no more than five minutes later that both Caroline’s parents arrived to see her at the door.

                “My dear daughter…” cooed Elizabeth, rushing to her daughter’s side and kissing her forehead.  “Are you all right?  Do you need anything?”

                “I’m fine, mother, really,” said Caroline, smiling back, happy to see her parents again after the scare.  Her father stood at the edge of the bed, stooping slightly.

                “I always knew you were strong, Caroline.  Not even anything that horrible woman can hope to conjure could harm you.  You’re just like your mother…” he said, laying a hand on his wife’s shoulder, setting out his other hand for his daughter to grasp for comfort.

                “Father… who was that?” asked Caroline, still questioning.  His eyes narrowed a little in concentration.

                “It’s a story that goes far back into my youth, my daughter, and it is both long and complicated; I do not wish to trouble your heart with it.  I have already sent out some of the royal army to ensure no such beings pass through the palace again.  I’m so sorry for what happened today…” he said, seeming legitimately sorrowful.

                “It’s all right father, I understand.  Perhaps someday I will hear of it; the real story, I mean?”

                “Yes, my daughter, someday.”

                Elizabeth kissed Caroline on the forehead again before standing back up.  “Now please get some rest, Caroline, so that you may be well again.  The people have all expressed their sorrow and eagerly await your recovery.  They will be so delighted to hear of your good health in the morning.”

                “Yes, mother, and I intend to return to the closest house for the poor tomorrow…”

                “Please, Caroline, just rest for now.  We will talk in the morning.  We don’t want you getting hurt if you are not yet fully healed.”

                “Yes, mother and father.  Thank you,” said Caroline, nodding to them.

                “Good night, my dear Caroline,” said Richard warmly, letting go of his daughter and turning his wife back toward the door to leave, Rose closing the door behind them.

                “Now REST, miss.  I will sleep; alert me if there is trouble of any kind.”

                “Of course, Rose.  Good night,” said Caroline, rolling back onto her pillow and almost immediately falling asleep.

                Morning came sooner than Caroline would have expected, as she opened her eyes to see a crack of light coming in from the corner of the drapes around her bed.  She sat up, feeling even more refreshed than the previous day.  Pushing the drapes aside, she swung her legs out to stand up, brushing her cream white nightgown back down over her bare legs to stay modest.  As she prepared to stand, Rose came through the door holding a tray of food and milk.

                “I’ve brought something for you, miss, to regain your strength before you go back out today to the house of the poor.”

                “Thank you, Rose, I am so very hungry…” she said, planting her feet on the marble ground and standing up.

                Rose yipped, losing her air, and dropped the tray in shock.  As Caroline stood up from her sitting position on the side of the bed, she rose up.  And continued to rise up.  Stopping at full height, her nightgown barely coming down at all on her legs, Caroline stood at what must have been over eight feet tall, towering over her short servant and standing just about even with the top post of her bed.

“R-Rose?” said Caroline, trembling, looking down at herself.  Her nightgown, which normally reached the ground and covered her feet, was barely at her knees, if there, and it was stretched tightly around Caroline’s grown body.  Caroline, normally standing at a height of five and a half feet, had grown at least three feet taller.

                “Miss?” said Rose hesitantly, sounding nervous but quickly stooping to clean up what she had dropped.  “Are you… feeling all right?”

                “Well, YES, but…” said Caroline, drinking in what had happened; her friend and servant Rose, petite as she was, didn’t even reach the top of Caroline’s chest, when normally she was just a matter of inches shorter.  “Rose… what’s happened to me?”

                “I don’t know that I can say, miss…” said Rose, stepping forward to meet the princess in front of the bed.  “Perhaps it was the…” she began, but stopped herself.

                “Look at me!  I don’t… what’s…” said Caroline, getting flustered.  Wanting comfort, she held out her hands to Rose, who placed her own hands into Caroline’s, which closed around them in a friendly squeeze.  A shock went through Caroline as she looked at their hands, realizing her own hand so greatly dwarfed those of her friend.  Her hands were absolutely massive, her palms alone being just about as large as Rose’s small hands altogether.  In surprise, she let go of Rose’s hands, becoming more and more scared just by staring at such a direct comparison.  “Please, Rose…” she started.

                “Yes, I know miss, right away,” she answered obediently, not even requiring the sentence to be finished.  She calmly walked to the door and poked her head out, whispering to the guard in the hall before turning back, somewhat nervously, to face the now very tall princess.  “I told him to fetch your mother and father immediately.”

                “Thank you, Rose…” said Caroline, wondering what to do with herself.  She sat down on the bed, resting her chin on her upturned arm.  Even here, she was about as tall as Rose was standing up, and it as odd for her to suddenly be about back where she would normally view the room from in a standing position.  Minutes later, the king and his wife arrived at the door.

                “Caroline?  What’s wrong?” asked Elizabeth, stepping forward.

                “Mother?  I… I don’t know what’s happened to me!” said Caroline, standing back up at full height and taking a step forward, wanting the comfort of her mother.  Elizabeth gasped loudly, covering her mouth and instantly taking a step backward.  Despite knowing it was just an immediate reaction, Caroline’s heart sank a little bit to see her mother nervous around her, even for a fleeting moment.  Elizabeth quickly regained herself, however, and stepped forward to her daughter, looking up at her face.  Caroline looked down worriedly at her, swiping her long, flowing hair out of her face with a massive hand.

                “Dear…” said Elizabeth to the king, her eyes still locked with those of her enormous daughter. Caroline looked, still fearful of what was happening, over at her father for answers.  He was frozen in the middle of the floor.  Suddenly, his face began twisting into a frown, and for a moment Caroline felt she had done something wrong by growing so much.

                “CATHERINE.  That… that…” sputtered the king, stepping forward in a slight daze.  He stopped right in front of Caroline, looking up at her.  He held out his hands to her, to which she responded by holding out a single hand.  He grasped it to comfort her, shocked at touching her soft yet large hand, feeling how much it dwarfed his own.  He looked over her entire body, her nightgown straining to contain her massive form, rage at what had happened to her filling him up.  He squeezed at her hand, which closed around his own.  He could feel his daughter’s fingers trembling as they do so.

                “Father… please… help me…” said Caroline, growing more and more nervous as she stared down at her parents, the tops of their heads not even quite reaching her chin.  “What’s happened to me?  Was it that…” she started to say, beginning to piece it all together now.

                “Don’t trouble yourself, my daughter.  Just remain here.  Do not leave this room.  I intend to right this as soon as possible,” said the king firmly to her, squeezing her massive hand a final time before nodding to her and striding out of the room quickly to get to work.  Elizabeth quickly took up Caroline’s hand in her own, herself becoming shocked at the size difference

                “Don’t be alarmed, Caroline.  Your father will set this straight.  He always does.”

                “I know, it’s just…”

                “What is it?”

                “I’m afraid, mother.”

                “I know.  But please don’t worry.”

                “Mother?”

                “Yes?”

                “Would you remain here with me, please?”

                Elizabeth smiled, placing a hand on her daughter’s now-much thicker wrist.  “I will, Caroline, of course.”

                “Thank you,” she said, taking another seat on the bed, causing a loud creaking sound, as her mother took a seat on a stool.

                “I will… go and prepare breakfast again…” said Rose, still looking slightly nervous as she scurried out of the room.

                “Rose?” said Elizabeth quickly.

                “Yes, Your Highness?”

                “Ensure you don’t share what has happened here.”

                Rose nodded solemnly.  “I shan’t,” she said respectfully before leaving the room again.

                The next few hours passed slowly, with Caroline becoming more and more nervous of her current predicament, her mother’s soothing helping a bit but not greatly.  To pass the time, Caroline wrote a letter of apology to Luke for missing their garden meeting, but promising to actually do it once she was fully healed of her vague sickness.  As the afternoon came around, her father returned in the doorway, looking a little angry still.

                “My daughter… I… I am doing everything I can for you.  The people, you know how they love you, have been demanding all day to know of your condition.  I didn’t want to create further complications, so I informed them that you are still feeling ill and will address them when you are at full strength again,” he said curtly, stepping into the center of the room, clearly still worried.

                “It was… that woman, wasn’t it?” asked Caroline a bit fearfully, her mother placing a hand on her long forearm.

                “I’m afraid I don’t know exactly what’s going on, Caroline, and I don’t want to frighten you…”

                “Please, father, just tell me if you think you know.  Was it her?”

                He hesitated for a moment before breathing out.  “Yes, I believe it was her.  But rest assured, she shan’t get away with this.  I have dispersed my best and most trusted scouts, along with a small contingency of the royal army, to scour the places between here and the Otherlands in search of her.  This WILL be reversed, my daughter, of that I guarantee you.”

                “Are you certain, father?”

                “Yes,” he said, although Caroline could understandably detect a note of uncertainty in his voice, which she didn’t blame him for.  “I must return to the work, I am still doing everything I can.  We may have a doctor examine you later, is that all right?”

                “I suppose…” said Caroline.  “But I don’t imagine there’s anything a doctor could do for me.”

                “All the same, I shall return to work.  Do not be afraid, Caroline, this will be righted as long as I have breath in my body,” said the king triumphantly before exiting again.  A few minutes later, Rose, who had been bustling around trying to find things to make Caroline comfortable being cooped up in her room, slinked back through the thin opening in the door, carrying some pillows.

                “I’ve brought you some more pillows, miss,” said Rose, bowing a little as usual.

                “Thank you, Rose.  Have you… heard anything else from Luke?”

                “I’m afraid not, miss.  But… there was something else.”

                “What?”

                “Princess Anne and Prince Phillip very much want to see you.”

                Caroline thought for a moment, desperately wanting to see her younger siblings so they could brighten her dreadful day, but she decided against it.  “I’m sorry, Rose, but I think you had best tell them I’m too sick.  I… don’t want to frighten them.  Just… give them my love,” she said sadly, knowing that while they both cared very deeply for her, her siblings would surely not be prepared for what had happened to her.  Rose nodded.

                “Very good, miss, I’ll tell them for you,” she said, slipping out the door after laying the pillows on the bed next to Caroline.  Talking was heard outside the door, and a moment later Caroline heard a soft pounding sound on the other side of the thick double doors leading into her room.

                “But I want to see her!  Caroline!  Please, I want to come in!” called the soft voice of Phillip through the doorway, still hitting the door.  Caroline felt a wave of sadness flowing through her; she wanted to open the door very much and let her little brother in to see her, but she also knew that at his young age, he might not handle her changes very well.

                “Mother… please go see them and tell them I’m all right,” said Caroline, not wanting the incessant door pounding to continue so that she wouldn’t have to hear her sibling’s anguish.

                “Absolutely,” said her mother, rising and slipping out the door, careful not to let Phillip rush inside.  After a few minutes outside the door, Elizabeth returned, and the door pounding stopped.

                “I told them you would like to see them as soon as you’re well again, but you’re trying to rest,” said Elizabeth, placing a comforting hand on her daughter’s shoulder.  “And you WILL get well, Caroline.  Don’t worry.  You heard your father.  I know that he’s going to pour all of his focus into correcting the wrong that was done to you.”

                “I know, mother, I know…” said Caroline sadly, pulling herself back onto the bed.  As it was a large bed, it was still long enough, but her feet very nearly reached the end of the bed.  “At least it was only this much.  Imagine if I had grown as large as this room, or larger…” said Caroline, the possibilities at this point occurring to her and scaring her a bit.

                “Let’s not ponder such things for long, my daughter,” said Elizabeth, clasping her daughter’s massive hand again, not wanting Caroline to become more worried.  “The important thing is that, despite something having gone wrong, you seem to still be very healthy and lively.  Let us just thank the Lord for these small blessings,” said her mother, and Caroline felt a little bad for not having thought of this sooner.

                “Of course, mother,” she said, and they prayed together for a moment before Elizabeth rose again as Rose simultaneously re-entered the room.

                “I’m afraid I have many vital matters to attend to, Caroline.  But I PROMISE, I shall return to see you again this eve before bed.”

                “All right, mother, I understand, thank you for staying with me.”

                “I will always be here for you, Caroline.  Rose, please take care of her like I know you will,” said Elizabeth warmly to the woman before kissing Caroline’s wide forehead and leaving the room.

                “Yes, madam,” answered Rose shortly, scurrying in with even more pillows for Caroline’s bed.

                “Rose…” said Caroline with a small laugh.  “You needn’t continue bringing me soft things to lie upon, I assure you I will be plenty comfortable with the supply you’ve already brought me,” she said, patting the stack of dozen or more regal and fluffy pillows adorning the bed.  Even as a child in sickness, she always remembered Rose going above and beyond what might have been necessary in a frenzy of worry and belief that she had to be overworking herself during such occasions.

                “Please, miss, it makes me feel better to know you will have everything you could possibly need,” she answered, ignoring the comment about too many pillows and adding them to the stack.

                “But I already do!  Now, Rose, I know you’re tired.  Have you even eaten anything today yet?”

                Rose nodded slowly, and Caroline could see she was a little fatigued.

                “Really, Rose, I’ll be fine.  Please go and eat something; I want you to be with me, but I don’t want you to feel tired or hungry while you’re here.”

                “Thank you, miss, of course.  I shall be back in a quarter of an hour, and no more,” said Rose stepping out of the room before Caroline could have the opportunity to tell her to take a longer break than that.

                The rest of the evening was rather boring for Caroline.  She picked out a few of her favorite books from the large shelf in her room to read, but this could only distract her for so long, and as most of her books were rather small and meant for children, she found it cumbersome to turn the pages after a while with her long and large fingers.  Soon giving up on this, she resigned to looking out the closed blinds of her window down below, where she had an excellent view of the road that brought people up to the front courtyard of the palace.  She sighed, watching as two noblemen got out of a carriage in the roundabout in front of the steps leading to the front hall, knowing that she now dwarfed even some of the most tall and dignified men of the court or kingdom altogether, for that matter.

                She sat back, realizing how much she wanted to go and work at the shelter for the hungry like she so often did at this time of day, but realized how difficult it would be, as the halls of the shelter were short and narrow; Caroline considered it, and realized she would not even be able to fit inside of it, let alone help and feed the people without scaring or at least shocking them a bit.  To see a work of dark magic performed on such an important face of the public would not do them well, she decided.

                Her mother returned to sit with her after Rose brought her some dinner, but she hardly touched it, becoming glummer as the evening turned into night and Rose suggested she try and get some sleep.  Knowing there was little else to do, Caroline settled in, said goodnight to her mother, and listened to another reminded from Rose to call her if anything went wrong.

                Caroline went to sleep dreaming that none of this had happened, and that she was normal sized again, able to enter the house for the poor and comfort some of the kingdom’s neediest citizens, her truest passion in life.

                Suddenly, she awoke with a start to an odd, cold sensation in her feet.  It wasn’t painful, it was just chilling.  She squinted in the darkness to gauge what was going on.  She couldn’t even see her feet, which was odd.  She pulled the covers off of herself, and gasped loudly, looking down at herself.  An instant later, Rose had a candle lit and the shades pulled back, but she too screeched, nearly dropping the candle.

                Caroline stared down at her body in the stretched nightgown, the blankets now uncovered.  Her legs seemed to run on forever, actually going off the edge of the bed.  Her feet were cold because they were outside the reach of the blanket and bed.  Her nightgown, at this point, hung on by the seams, being very stretchy but even at this point not being quite enough.  Caroline stretched an arm into the air and was shocked to see how far up it went.  As she did, the nightgown seam tore at the shoulder, the strain finally too much.

                “I...I…” said Caroline, terrified.  Rose stepped back, giving her some room.  She tried to roll over, normally not a problem in her wide bed, but as she did she fell right out of the bed and to the floor.  To her surprise, even in a laying down position, she was about as tall as the bed.  She pushed off the ground, using her now-humongous bare feet for support, and stretched up.  And up.  And up.

                Caroline was now easily over twelve feet tall, Rose barely coming up to her waist.  She stared down at her, shocked to see just how small her friend and servant had become. Or rather, how large and tall she had grown.  Rose took a step back, holding the candle up to better illuminate her glowing but at the same time very large face.  As she stood at full height again, she felt another tear in the seams as the material broke along the side of her left leg.  Suddenly feeling exposed, Caroline sat down on the bed, trying to cover her almost entirely bare leg with a long arm, and almost felt the mattress give in under the smack of her bottom dropping so quickly onto it.

                “Rose?” she said, tears of fear welling in her eyes.  “What’s h-happened to me?”

                “I’ll fetch your m-mother, miss…” said Rose, her eyes bugged out in terror at her massive mistress as she dashed out the door and into the darkness of the hall.

An hour later, the doctor had arrived, with the king and his wife standing over to the side of the room, Elizabeth trembling out of fear of what was happening to her poor daughter.

                Caroline, tall enough now so that the top of her father’s head didn’t even reach her waist, looked up and realized that her head was a mere few feet away from the ceiling.  As the bed had become so short and cumbersome to her, she laid on the ground, allowing the doctor a better position to reach her. When the physician had first entered the room and seen the mountainous young woman standing before him, he had actually fallen over in shock.  Following his quick recovery, he was sworn by the king to never speak of what he saw in the room, and he was paid extra to ensure this.  Regaining his composure, the doctor began to take out his tools to examine the patient.

                He first knelt over Caroline, which was difficult at first since her shoulders were about three feet wide, but he finally managed to lean over enough to try and feel her heart, beating powerfully in her now-larger chest.  He then began to wonder if he could decipher anything by feeling for a growth, which he believed, to cause such violent height changes, would have to originate lower.  He began at her feet, bare and cold on the marble floor.  He took hold of one of them, searching for any sign of entry point for whatever dark spell had befallen on her.  As he did, her foot, now at around two feet long, wiggled a bit as his small hands tickled accidentally in search.

                “Please, doctor… do you… know what it could be?” asked Caroline softly as possible, her voice cracking a little as she tried to work over her sadness in her mind.  The doctor pressed his ear against the sole of the foot, hoping to hear anything that might indicate the witch’s curse had left a trace here.  This method had worked before on the very few cases he had seen involving otherworldly events.  He removed his ear, shaking his head and allowing Caroline to lower her foot to the ground.  As she did, she felt more seams in her nightgown tear along her left hip, and she quickly covered them up with her long hand and four-foot-long arm, feeling very exposed, both by her size and the growing immodesty of her attire.

                “I’m… sorry, Your Majesty.  I’m afraid I haven’t the slightest idea of what’s happened here,” he said, sounding a bit fearful to have to deliver such bad news to the monarchs.  Caroline shut her eyes, placing a large fist over her mouth to cover her returning sobs.  Rose rushed to her size, kneeling beside her and trying to soothe her forehead.

                “Doctor…” said the king, sounding nervous.

                “Yes, Your Highness?”

                “Is there anything at all you can do to help her?  Anything?”

                The doctor paused for a moment, thinking intently.  “Your Majesty, I am very sorry, but I believe the best course of action now for the princess is prayer.  Perhaps some tonic, as well, would do some good, if only to help whatever pains she may have.”

                “How much?” asked Elizabeth.

                The doctor looked down at Caroline’s massive form, her long and mostly bare legs actually a bit longer than his entire body.  “I would take… a sizeable quantity of it.  One can’t be too careful,” he said, and with a deep bow, he proceeded from the room at the king’s allowance.

                The king and duchess gathered around their daughter, with Rose, who was now leaning on Caroline’s large shoulder and calmingly stroking her hair.  Caroline was actually feeling somewhat comforted by this, despite the odd feeling that her servant was about the size of a toddler to her at this point.  Still, whenever she had had trouble, particularly as a young child, Rose had been there, and her presence was soothing.  Caroline couldn’t even remember the last time she had cried purely out of fear for herself and her own condition, as her tears were mainly saved for some of the terrible occurrences she saw in the houses of the poor, but for the first time in a long time, she actually began to worry about herself a bit.

                “Oh, Rose…” said Caroline, breathing quickly in a sob before continuing.  “What… what will I do?  What is to become of me if this occurs every night?  Will… will it ever stop?” she said, closing her eyes.  She rolled her head to one side, onto Rose’s lap, and it actually took up all the space across both of Rose’s legs.

                “Caroline, please…” said Richard, seeming completely helpless to aid his daughter, feeling terrible guilt rip through him as his daughter was being forced to pay for his own alleged sins as a younger man.  “I… will do all I can, I will work doubly as hard.  Please don’t cry, my daughter…” he said, leaning over.  He removed a handkerchief from his more casual night robes and handed it his daughter, who held the massive thing as if it was a thin piece of tissue paper and rubbed it over her glistening, wet cheeks, sopping up the hanky with two long swipes over her tear-ridden face.

                “I know, father, I know you will… I’m just… I’m just frightened…” she said, looking up at the ceiling.  “What will I do if this happens every night?  If I continue growing?  If it happens once again as it did this night, I am quite certain I will no longer fit into my room standing up.  And what of after that?  Suppose I become as tall as an oak, or even the whole palace…” she said, realizing that if this trend did indeed continue, it wouldn’t be easy to hide for very long.  “What… what would people think of me?”

                “We will discover a solution before any of that happens,” said the king assuredly.  “I must leave you now; I am going to continue work immediately in the library with some of my scholars.  There are books on every subject known to existence, Caroline, as you well know from reading from it so often, and you can know that we WILL discover a solution, perhaps even before my scouts return, having captured Catherine.”

                Caroline wiped her cheeks again from the fresh tears, blowing her nose a little as she tried to regain a slower breathing style, and nodded.  Her father was a wise and well-learned man, and she was confident that if a solution actually did exist in the library, he would find it for her.  Without another word, the king squeezed his hand around as much of his daughter’s wrist as he could, although he didn’t even come close to reaching all the way around, and left briskly to continue working.

                Rose and Elizabeth, each resting on one of Caroline’s shoulders, each whispered comforting things to the large girl, but both were equally in the dark as anyone as to what was really happening.  Wordlessly, everyone involved in this had the great suspicion that this was not going to be reversed without Catherine having been found.  Despite this fact, Caroline’s servant and mother spent the remainder of the night just sitting on the floor with her, helping to soothe her.  Rose, realizing without even being prompted how shamed Caroline felt by having her clothes tear so easily off of her body, dragged in a set of large, old drapes from a storage room and set about altering them to be a makeshift garment.  Rose was an excellent seamstress, and by morning, as she continued leaning against Caroline’s shoulder to comfort her while expertly weaving around and cutting the drapes, she had fashioned an outfit.

                Gratified, Caroline stood to full height, feeling a bit uneasy once again as she looked down at two of the people she loved most in the world, seeing them be less than half her height, but she knew that they would be there for her, no matter what happened to her.  The pair gave her some privacy, and Caroline stripped out of the tattered remains of her nightgown into the long drapes.  As she pulled them on, the slightly rougher fabric feeling nonetheless comforting because of its length, felt ironically similar to her old nightgown, being large enough to sleep in well but at the same time being a bit tighter around her body for easier mobility in the casual quarters of the palace.

                Rose and Elizabeth returned a moment later.  “I’m off to make you something good to eat for your continued healing, miss,” said Rose, scurrying off.  Elizabeth took a few steps forward, her head tilted all the way up to see her daughter’s face.  “I will go and check on your father, dear, and see what sort of progress he has made.  I will return to you very soon,” she said.  Caroline thanked her as she left, beginning to feel like a burden to her mother, who normally had a variety of important social functions and royal events to attend to; her mother was also avidly involved in helping the less fortunate, and she didn’t wish to use her mother’s company for more than her share, however helpful it was to have her there.

                Caroline stretched he arms over her head, quickly running out of room as her long fingers pressed against the ceiling for support.  She yawned, having not slept very well and already feeling more nervous about what was to come.  She was grateful at least that no one besides her parents, maid, and doctor had to see her like this.

                Suddenly, outside the door, she heard some light shouting, and then what sounded like the stern voice of the guard.  “I’m going to see her, I don’t care, I want to see her!” came the small voice of Phillip.  The door burst open, and Caroline watched, suddenly in fear, as her little brother, being shorter even for his young age, rushed in abruptly.  She guessed that his head didn’t pass much over her knee.

                “Phillip, DON’T!” she cried out, not wanting to be seen.  She backed up, knowing there was little chance of getting out of it now.  She watched as her brother’s eyes bugged out, his jaw dropping, as he looked over her, looking up to her face.  She smiled wide, hoping he wouldn’t be frightened of her.

                “Phillip?” she said as gently as she could, leaning over a bit to shorten herself artificially in an attempt to lessen the shock.  As she did, though, she saw her brother’s knees begin to shake, frozen to the ground.  She immediately took a step back.  “Phillip?  It’s… all right…” she cooed quietly.

                Phillip, finally snapped back into reality, began running, dashing past his sister’s massive tree trunk-like legs, diving for the nearest hiding place, under the bed.

                Caroline felt her eyes welling with tears again, feeling terrible for the fright she had just given her younger sibling.  She knew that, as she didn’t seem to be getting smaller any time soon, her siblings would most likely have heard about it, but she desperately wished it wouldn’t have been in such a shocking manner, instead planning on having her mother explain it calmly to Phillip and Anne before seeing them.

                Caroline, herself, also wanted the comfort of both her siblings as much as they wanted to see her, and at this moment she desperately wanted to reach down and embrace her baby-sized brother, but she of course knew this was impossible without terrifying him, which she felt she had already done plenty of by standing up taller than a one-story cottage in her bedroom before him, when all he had known prior was that she was sick.  She felt absolutely awful, knowing her brother had come just wanting to comfort his ill sister, and but instead was met with a literally massive shock.

                Carefully and slowly, Caroline knelt down on her haunches, placing a massive hand on the ground for balance, and lowered her head to look under the bed, pushing the cascades of yellow hair out of her face.  Her brother was crouching under the bed in the exact middle.  Caroline noted to herself that he was technically in reaching distance of her, as her arms had become so long, but she of course would never have just reached out to grab him.

                Before she could speak, though, Caroline looked in and saw his body trembling so hard it was almost going into convulsions.  As light reflected in, she saw his cheeks becoming wet as he cried silently, clearly too terrified to even make a sound.  Seeing this caused the tears welling in Caroline’s own eyes to begin cascading down her face and to the floor with an audible plop.

                “Phillip?” she said softly, and felt the equivalent of having a knife jammed into her chest as she saw her brother wince visibly in response to hearing his name.  “Phillip…” she said, lowering her voice to the softest whisper she could.  “It’s all right, Phillip, it’s me.  It’s your sister Caroline,” she said, stating the obvious just to try and bring Phillip into the situation easier.  He didn’t wince when hearing this, but continued shaking.  Caroline felt a lump forming in her throat, and she had to wipe her eyes to see more clearly again.

                “Please, Phillip… I’m not going to hurt you.  It’s me.  Please come out,” she said, beginning to sound more pleading.  “Please come out to your big sister.”

                Phillip’s shaking slowly stopped and he raised his head up from his tightly crouched position.  “C-Caroline?” he stuttered, hugging his small legs to his chest.

                “Yes!  It’s me, Phillip, it’s me…” she said, smiling widely at this recognition.  Slowly and as non-threateningly as she could, she placed a large hand on the marble, sliding it forward under the bed until it was within reaching distance of her brother.  Then, she turned it up, her massive palms nearly triple as wide as a normal person’s, laying it flat on the ground.  “Take my hand, Phillip.  Please.”

                It took a moment, but with great relief and happiness she finally saw her brother’s hand extend, and he placed it squarely in the middle of his older sister’s.  It scared her a little to feel her brother’s clammy little fist in her palm, reminding her of just how small he was now to her.  She closed her fingers around his hand, giving light little pulses into his hand with small pumps from her fingers in an attempt to comfort him.  “It’s all right, Phillip.  Just come out from there and let me talk to you.”

                Nodding finally, Caroline pulled back as Phillip, his hand still grasped protectively inside the massive hand of his sister, crawled slowly out.  Caroline stayed in a crouching position on the ground, her large head being at the about the place it would have normally been if she was her regular height.  Phillip came out and stood up, bravely looking her in the eye.  Despite the trust she seemed to have gained, Caroline could still see fear in Phillip’s teary eyes.

                “Please don’t be afraid of me, Phillip.  It’s still me. Something’s just happened to me.”

                “W-what happened to you, Caroline?” he managed to squeak out, covering his mouth a little in shock.  Caroline continuing squeezing at his small hand in her closed palm, which much to her glee, was not being tugged at, if he were too scared to be touched by her.

                She sighed slowly and deeply.  “I don’t know, Phillip.  Father is trying to find out right now so he can help me.”

                Phillip nodded, solemnly, his gaze fading as if he were staring through the walls.  “It was the woman, wasn’t it?” he said, confidence growing in his voice now.  “Did… did she do this to you?” he said, his voice cracking again.  Caroline saw the glistening returning to his eyes.

                “Please don’t cry again, Phillip, it will be all right, I promise.  I will be well again.”

                “I have a sword!  I can go find her for you!” said her brother bravely, beginning to march past her towards the door.  Caroline kept her soft yet firm grip on her brother’s little fist, keeping him from running off.  She was genuinely touched by her brother’s fierce protection of her, but also knew there wasn’t much of anything he could do for her.

                “I know you could, Phillip, but I don’t want you trying to get into trouble like usual.  Just let our father deal with this, all right?” she said gently, nodding her head suggestively at him in hopes of getting a response of agreement.  Her brother wrinkled his little nose in thought.

                “But… what can I do, then?” he said, sounding puzzled.  Caroline smiled.

                “You can stay with me.  I’d like your company,” she answered kindly.  Phillip nodded.

                “That’s all?”

                “Well, that’s all I want.  Will you stay here, please?”

                He nodded.  “Caroline?”

                “Yes?”

                “Would you… read me one of your books again?”

                Caroline absolutely beamed.  “Of course, Phillip.  Go pick one out,” she said, releasing his hand.  He turned and ran to the bookshelf, scanning it with his eyes.  Careful not to stand at her full height and risk scaring her brother again, Caroline went into a quick crouching position and sat on the bed, careful not to apply too much pressure and risk breaking it.  Phillip returned seconds later with a thick green book in hand, the binding slowly coming unstitched from so many readings.

                “That one AGAIN?” said Caroline playfully.

                “Please?  It’s my favorite one.”

                “All right, then, let’s see what King Arthur has been up to today…” she said, patting the side of the bed with her massive hand for Phillip to climb on.  He did, clambering onto the tall bed, but he didn’t stop, placing a small leg onto Caroline’s now reasonably thick thigh.  He then swung his other leg around, taking a seat on a single leg (more than enough space to sit) and leaned his upper torso against his sister’s stomach, holding out the book.  Caroline felt like crying again, but for a totally different reason this time.  Holding out her hand, he placed it in, and she gingerly opened the cover up to reach the first page.

                “Ahem,” she said, clearing her throat and smiling down at her brother’s face, who grinned back at her; already, he was back to his normal, goofier self.  “Once, there was…” she began.

                For the first time in two days, she felt like everything might turn out all right.

Elizabeth had returned and poked her head in the door after checking on Richard, just like she had said, but after silently seeing her large and saddened daughter, reading a book to Phillip, who was sitting calmly and unafraid on her leg, she decided not to disturb them, backing up and leaving.

                “…and that was the end of that adventure for Arthur and his knights,” said Caroline, her voice beginning to get tired from reading the entire book.  She placed the book on the bed next to her and looked down at Phillip, smiling at him.

                “Do you feel better now, Phillip?” she asked.  He nodded.  Slowly, she moved her long arm up from its resting place on the bed and hugged it around her little brother, pulling him closer and wrapping her long fingers around his shoulder protectively.  “I’m glad.”

                “Caroline?”

                “Yes?”

                “When you become queen someday, will you still read books to me?”

                She smiled, swooping her long hair back over her shoulder.  “I’m not certain there will be much time, but whenever there is, I would be glad to.  But surely by then, you’ll be older, and enjoy reading books on your own much more?”

                He shook his head no.  “No, I’ll always want you to read them.”

                Caroline giggled at his response.  “Well, then, how about we just read many, many books right now, while I’m still just a princess?”

                “I’ll go get more!” chirped Phillip, hopping off of her leg and running back to the bookshelf.  Caroline cleared her throat in preparation for more reading, delighted that her brother had warmed up to her changes so quickly.  He ran back over, playfully placing his feet on top of Caroline’s gigantic, two-foot long feet, swaying from side to side.

                “Ouch!” said Caroline, and Phillip looked a little guilty at first, but then she smiled at him.

                “It was just a jest, Phillip, you can’t really hurt me,” she said, casually raising up her toes, having become strong enough at this point to actually lift up the back of Phillip’s heels as he stood on her bare feet and toes.  Phillip nodded, holding his arms out as if for a hug.  Smiling, Caroline reached down, placing her massive hands on his sides, and easily lifted him up like a doll, gently placing him back on her waiting leg.

They spent the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening reading every book that Phillip could get his hands on.  Phillip had actually shown great promise in the many fields required of him like geography and science, but had frankly had some slight difficulty with reading, still trying to learn how to do it well at the age of 6; Caroline always felt reading to him and allowing him to read the words along with her would help.  Rose came by with a tray of food for both of them at dinner, but was instructed by Elizabeth, who was very touched at the scene, to leave immediately afterward.

As evening turned to night and the moon shown through the drapes of the bedroom, Caroline could feel her brother beginning to nod off, his head resting against her stomach, and she actually had to keep him supported on her leg despite him still being awake.

“You look tired to me, Phillip.  Perhaps some sleep would do you good.”

Phillip shook his head, pretending to wake up more.  “No, no!  I am awake now, I promise, just one more book?”

Caroline laughed but shook her head.  “That’s very sweet of you, but I really would not want you to be deprived of your rest on my account.”

Phillip hugged himself into her arm, which held him more snugly.  “Can I… stay here?”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Caroline nodded.  “Of course you can, then.  You’ll have the bed, and…”

“You don’t want to sleep in the bed?”

She looked down at herself.  “Please, Phillip.  Do you really think I can fit in the bed now?” she answered jokingly.  He smiled.

“I… I guess not.”

“I don’t think so either.  Now, let’s just tuck you in, and…” she said, beginning to swivel around to lay Phillip in the bed.

“But… I’m not tired yet!”

Caroline ran a single long finger through her brother’s hair, stroking it and rubbing the top of his small head.  “Yes you are.  Come on now, try and shut your eyes.”

“Sing to me?”

“SING to you?”

He nodded.  “You know… like you did when I was smaller.”  Caroline nodded her head, noting the odd irony of the fact that her brother was about the same size now to her as when she actually used to do that.

“I don’t have much of a singing voice, I’m afraid, Phillip, you probably just don’t remember or you were too nice to tell me to stop,” she said jokingly.

“Please?”

“Errr…”

“I’ll fall asleep if you do!”

“I doubt that, it may make you just want to get up and cover your ears, but if that’s really what you want,” said Caroline, smiling.  She thought through the small number of lullabies she actually knew, then began to recite the one she knew best, her soft voice the only sound heard in the room.  After a half an hour or so of repeating the same verses and moving on to the other melodies she knew, Caroline saw her brother’s eyes getting droopy.  She slid the arm hugging him under his back, then placed her other large hand under the top of his legs for support, and lifted him up, holding him against her chest in a cradle.  He didn’t react, allowing her to do it as she continued singing.  To help him nod off faster, Caroline slowly stood up, watching Phillip’s reaction.  His eyes opened wider for a second, and she felt him shift his weight nervously, but eventually he adjusted to the feeling as Caroline stood at her full height, holding her younger brother in her arms.  She began to sway, rocking side to side on her feet, moving at her knees in rhythm with the song.  This got her brother to nod off pretty quickly, and with that she leaned far off, crouching next to the bed, and placed Phillip into it, pulling the covers over him for warmth.  She patted his head, then laid back on the marble floor.  It wasn’t comfortable, but her draped makeshift robes were thick enough to help with that.  Soon after, Caroline felt herself falling asleep.

Caroline’s eyes snapped back open, her knees in pain.  She looked down and realized her feet were pressed hard against the bookshelf.  She curled them inward, surprised, knowing she hadn’t fallen asleep that close to it, and then she remembered.  It must be time already.  Carefully, with no light except from the moon, she placed her hands on the ground and stood up, forgetting the rate she had been growing.  Her head smacked into the ceiling with a loud smash, sending some small chunks of debris to the ground.  She immediately ducked down, clutching at the top of her head and moaning a little at how hard she had hit the ceiling; from there, she went back into a crouching position, amazed to look down and realize that her head was roughly level with the top post of the bed in this spot.  Unaware of what to do with herself, she tried to sit back down, but her foot caught on the hem of the old drapes, and she slipped, hitting the ground with a massive bang.  Her foot slipped outward, striking the bookshelf with great force and cracking it cleanly in half, sending all the books scattering to the ground.

“C-Caroline?” came Phillip’s voice as he hopped out of bed, feeling through the dark.  Caroline’s skin went cold with fear when she felt Phillip’s hand gently touch her neck.  It felt like being touched by a doll, his hand small and icy.  Instinctively, she raised her hand up to cover it and warm it, her hand completely engulfing his little fist.  Instantly, he pulled back in the pitch darkness, evidently surprised.  Caroline felt a little tug on the edge of her robe as he tripped backward, bonking his head on the marble, and beginning to cry a little.

“Are you okay?” she cried suddenly, turning around carefully, sliding her hand across the cold marble to find her brother in the dark.  She found him, running her hand along his stomach and up to his head.  He felt like he was just tall enough to go up half of her shin.  Caroline wrapped her fingers around his thin sides, lifting him up like he was nothing, and bringing him up to her torso, where she pressed him against her in a hug, rocking side to side.  She stroked his hair and patted at his back, feeling his chest heaving a little as his crying slowed.  “Shhhh… it’s all right now, I’ve got you…” she whispered.  Shifting into the moonlight where she could see him, the shock went through her again.  Despite the fact that she knew how small she was, now that she could see him, so small and just leaning against her in her lap, it was shocking, like looking down at a child’s toy.  Immediately, Caroline became afraid, wondering if she shouldn’t be holding him for the risk of hurting him in her now relatively much stronger arms.

“Don’t cry, Phillip, it was just a little bump,” she cooed.  He sniffled, wiping his nose, and looking up at her.

“You’re…” he began.

She sighed.  “Yes, I am.”

“How?”

She paused.  “I don’t know.”

There was silence again as Caroline continued to massage the top of Phillip’s head, finally having a moment to herself to think.  Obviously she was growing more and more each night, the increments becoming larger.  What the exact amount was, she couldn’t be entirely sure, but one thing was for certain: another few days, at most, and she wouldn’t even be able to get out of this room.

She began to question what she might do.  Even if the scouts did manage to capture Catherine with whatever sorcery her father knew about and brought her back, a trip and back to the Otherlands would take a month at least, if the travelers were going day and night.  How big would she be by the time they returned?  She went through it in her head.  Easily double as tall as the whole palace.  The thought sent chills down her spine.  To be so large that everyone would see her.  She wouldn’t be able to work in the poor houses anymore, or feed the hungry on the streets.  Her loved ones would be so small she could probably fit them in the very palm of her hand, and she would of course never do this for fear of dropping them or crushing them on accident.  The amount of food she would need would be catastrophic, depriving the poor of so much food, so many people giving up food that would have been donated just for her monstrous form to have enough to eat at a single meal.  She would have to sleep in a field somewhere, perhaps even the mountains.

And Luke.  She so badly wanted to see him, and while she didn’t want him to have to see her like this, practically a beast as she grew into something unhuman, she reflected on the fact that he would, indeed, see her very soon like this, and there was nothing she could do.  Surely he would want to run off, consumed by the horridness of it all.  She would of course understand, but it would make her so sad she didn’t know what to do.  She felt the tears returning, splashing down her face and into the hair of her little brother.

“You’re making my hair all wet, Caroline,” came the soft voice after a minute.  She sniffled, wiping her eyes, and raggled at his hair to help dry it.

“I’m sorry, Phillip, I’m just…”

“Were you crying?”

“No.”

The soft, cool hand moved up and tapped at her sopping cheeks in the dark.  “Yes you were.”

“I’m just fine, Phillip.”

“Do… do you want a hug?”

“Yes…” she answered, smiling again a little.  She felt his small arms press against her torso, just barely reaching around to her sides for a minute.  It was small, but it felt good to her to have such love coming from her little brother, despite his fear about what was happening to his older sister.  After a minute, she felt him let go, wishing a little that he’d continue.

“You didn’t hug me back,” he said, sounding a little surprised.

Caroline felt her eyes welling again.  She desperately did want to hug him back, but wondered seriously about whether or not she could do it without snapping her small brother’s back.  “I don’t think…”

“Please?  I want a hug, too.”

“Oh… Phillip, what if I…”

“I want a hug,” he said, almost pouty, but still not in a whiny way.

“Okay,” she said, closing her eyes to brace herself.  She brought her arms around her brother, pulling him in more tightly, and felt just how thin he was against her stomach.  She felt his arms wrap back across her front, and she finally put some pressure on in a hug, tilting around and swinging her brother’s upper torso side to side.  It felt so good to hug someone without fear of harming them.  She leaned over and pressed her lips against the top of her brother’s head in a kiss.  He looked up, a little weirded out.

“For your bump,” she said, smiling.  He wiped at his hair.

“You got my hair all wet again,” he said, but it was in a joking way.

“Oh, really?  Then WATCH OUT,” she said, getting more playful, pulling him back in and kissing the top of his head in rapidfire succession.  He struggled as if roughhousing, knowing he wouldn’t get out of it, wrapping his arms around his sister’s wide biceps for support.  But at the same time the feeling of his legs and arms struggling against her forearms scared Caroline again.  She knew that with a single arm, she could easily confine her brother against any attempt at escape he made, if she so chose.  Finally settling in, she fell asleep, using the mattress as a high pillow, her brother stretched out along her stomach and lap, one of her massive hands pressed protectively over his back, almost covering the whole thing.

Caroline awoke to sunlight streaming in.  She furled and unfurled her fingers, realizing Phillip was gone from using her upper torso as a bed.  Quickly getting up, she looked underneath her back, terrified for a few seconds that she had dropped him in her sleep and rolled over him.  She stood back up, now getting a good perspective of the situation, careful to bow her head.  She pressed her hands against the ceiling, feeling for the places she had knocked loose during the night.

A minute later, Phillip, holding the hand of Elizabeth, with Richard and Rose in turn coming as well, pulled them all in.  “See?  She’s… she’s bigger now…” said Phillip worriedly.  He stepped forward bravely anyway, standing next to his sister’s humongous bare foot, nearly three feet long now.  Apprehensively, Caroline rippled her toes against the cool marble, ruffling her hair with one hand, the golden cascades falling over her face.

“Good… morning, everyone…” she said sheepishly, smiling as best she could down at their shocked faces.  "I think... I might have gotten a little bit bigger..." she finished, accidently kicking over her bedside table with her heel as she arched her foot against the marble in embarrassment.

“Richard…” said Elizabeth worriedly, standing next to her daughter. However, even standing up straight, Elizabeth only actually came up to just above Caroline’s knee, but she hung on, calmly massaging at Caroline’s powerful calf to calm her down.  The king broke in before something else could be said, looking up at his daughter and raising his voice enough so he could be heard very clearly.

                “Caroline… I sent some of my scouts out to survey the surrounding province of the kingdom the day before last, to see if they could find anyone knowledgeable to black magic and how it may be cured!”

                “Really?” said Caroline hopefully, bending at the neck just a bit to see her father better and ensure she didn’t knock more of the ceiling down.  He nodded.

                “Yes.  And one of the scouts returned just this morning.  He believes he’s found someone who might be able to cure you.”

                “Father…” said Caroline, the hope flowing back out and being replaced with doubt.  “I… I know you mean well, but…”

                “I know you have doubts, Caroline, I do as well.  But… we’ve got to try SOMETHING…” he said, almost sounding frustrated, and she knew at that point he was right.  “Of course, we also have another matter.  If it doesn’t work, I doubt that in two short days you will be able to leave this room.  We’ll have to move you.”

                She nodded.  “All right.  Where?”

                “The Great Hall.  Surely the largest room in the palace can hold you for a few days more.”

                “Very well, let’s go then.  Where… where is Anne?” said Caroline suddenly.

                “She is… in her room, Caroline,” said Elizabeth.  “She was afraid she would make you sicker if she didn’t allow you to rest.”

                “Does she know?”

                “No.”

                “Well…” said Caroline slowly.  “I think she should best find out soon.  Mother, could you…”

                “Of course, dear.”

                “Thank you.”

                “W-wha…” whimpered Phillip all of a sudden.  Caroline looked directly down, surprised for a moment.  While they had been talking, she hadn’t even noticed that her brother had snuck up to her leg, sat on her foot, and was hugging himself to her ankle.  She giggled, and couldn’t help but note to herself how adorable he looked.  She took extra care to stay on balance so she didn’t knock him off.  “What are they going to… to do to her?” he said, sounding fearful.

                “Just some… new methodology than we have seen before, Phillip, something new, to try and make your sister well again!”

                “But… what if it makes her sicker!” said Phillip, hugging himself even tighter against the huge ankle.  Caroline sighed.

                “It’ll be all right, Phillip.  I’m ready for anything, they can’t hurt me at all.”

                He lifted his head up, resting his chin against her leg so he could look up at her.  “Are you sure?”

                She smiled and nodded, pushing the hair out of her eyes that had fallen into her vision while looking straight down.  “Yes, I’m very sure.  You can go with me if you want.  Would you like that?”

                He nodded, turning his head the side and pressing his cheek back against Caroline’s warm ankle for comfort.  It sent a small tingle up Caroline’s leg to have something so small and cool touching against her ankle.

                “All right, father.  Is the man here?”

                “Yes, they’re ready for you when you are ready.”

                “I’m ready now, father.  I’m ready for this to be overwith.”

                “Very well, my daughter.  Let us move to the Great Hall…” he said, leading the way, followed closely by Rose and Elizabeth.

                “What about… those who haven’t seen me yet.  Should we, perhaps, warn them?” said Caroline sheepishly, suddenly remembering that the entire staff of the palace besides Rose was about to see her gargantuan, twenty-foot tall form lumbering through the halls of the palace for the first time.

                “I have already handled that, miss.  They shan’t bother you or stare rudely.”

                Caroline nodded, knowing in the back of her mind that she probably wouldn’t be offended if they did stare at her in utter shock.  “Then let’s go…” she said, taking several steps and suddenly remembering that her brother was still hanging on to her ankle.  She had lifted and moved her leg normally, with no concession for the miniscule body of extra weight attached to her.  “Phillip?”

                “Yes?” he said, sticking his head back up but keeping his arms wrapped as far around his sister’s leg as they would go.

                “I think it may be best if you walk for the rest of the way there, Phillip, I may have to do a bit of twisting to get through the palace halls,” she said kindly in a low voice, having learned that at this size, despite the fact that he had gotten over the shock, her brother was still more receptive when she spoke softly and soothingly as possible to him.

                “But I want YOU to take me!” he said.  Caroline was touched again, seeing that her brother had accepted her enough at this size to trust her transporting him somewhere, but she still didn’t think it was a good idea.

                “I’ll carry you once we get there.  Is that all right?”

                “Yes…” he responded glumly, loosening his chilly grip on Caroline’s ankle, standing up on her foot and walking off of it.  Caroline arched her foot ever so slightly and wiggled her toes against Phillip’s rear end to tickle him.  He jumped at first, but then turned around to face her, and the pair started giggling.

                “Come now, Caroline.  We shall see if we can resolve this matter today,” said her father, smiling at the friendly exchange between his children but waving at them to continue on.  She nodded, ducking down into a crouching position as her brother dashed on ahead to the hallway.  Lowering herself into a laying down position, Caroline pulled herself forward, grabbing on to the frames of the double doors with both hands and pulling forward, dragging herself carefully through them.  The walls creaked a little as the young woman’s now-massive weight put some strain on it, but Caroline was careful to move slowly and not apply too much pressure, lest she bring the hallway crashing down on all of them.  Then, bending at the waist, Caroline was able to pull her legs through.  It was uncomfortable, but with a bit of twisting, she managed to finally pull her feet through and come into the thankfully wide and tall hallway.  Going back into a crouching position because of the slightly lower ceilings than in her room, Caroline began crawling carefully along the hall, her posse of loved ones walking alongside. 

As they turned a corner, though, Caroline felt the underside of her foot press up against something that quickly toppled over, pushing against her sole in protest.  She swiveled around as quickly as she could, pushing against the ceiling to ensure she didn’t hit her head, and found a guard laying on the ground, rubbing at his temple in dizziness.

“Oh!” she gasped, covering her mouth and pulling herself back along the carpet-draped marble of the hallway to the guard.  She stopped, practically directly over him, reaching her large hands out but unsure of whether or not she should touch him.  “I’m… I’m so sorry…”

He shook his head a little to clear his vision, then grinned hesitantly.  “Perfectly all right, princess, my mistake for just milling about.”

“No, it’s not, it’s mine, it’s just… I’m…”

“I understand, Your Highness, really,” he said, waving his hands in an attempt to halt her embarrassed explanation.

“Are you hurt?” she said, placing her hand on her cheek in worry.  He shook his head.

“Just a bit dizzy, I’ll be feeling right again in but a moment’s time…”

“Here…” she said, balling her huge hand into a fist and extending her pointer finger down into his reaching distance.  He gratefully wrapped his hands around the finger with both fists, and Caroline pulled back, barely having to put much effort into pulling him up from the floor.  She guessed this man, who looked reasonably tall, only came up just past the middle of her knee.  Feeling that he was friendly enough not to be offended, she brought her hand behind him and gently wiped off his back of the dust that had accumulated in his tumble.

“Thank you, princess,” he said cheerfully, dusting his front off and returning to his post.

“Please, Caroline, come?” said Elizabeth, sounding very eager to possibly help her daughter.

“Yes, I’m coming,” she answered, turning herself back around, looking over her shoulder to ensure she didn’t kick anyone else on accident.  They continued on, eventually reaching the Great Hall.  Caroline stepped in, and it felt great as she stretched up, standing at full height.  She stretched her arms up over her head, yawning.  Then, she looked down at the other four below her, who looked a bit taken aback.  They had already seen her standing up, but she now realized this was the first time she had stood at full height and actually reached her arms up into the air.  She imagined it made her look absolutely gargantuan.

“Excuse me…” she said, covering her mouth as daintily as possible.  The king and his wife took their seats in the thrones of the Great Hall that only days ago, Catherine had appeared in and created a drastic problem for the royal family.  It felt odd for Caroline to be standing in it.  Her whole life, this room had felt like a canyon, the walls stretching up in the twisting architecture of the pillars, the smooth stone rafters with angels carved into them watching over her.  As a child, she would come here when she managed to escape her lessons and run around the endless space, calling out and listening gleefully as her echo came bouncing back.  Now, however, she looked to the stairs, which her head actually rose above now, and remembered when she was small enough to come through the regal looking double doors at the top by simply stepping on through. 

Several guards took their posts around the perimeter of the room, two of the larger ones standing next to the throne.  Rose scurried over to Caroline, tugging at the hem of her robe to get her attention.

“Yes?  What is it, Rose?”

“Don’t be nervous, miss,” she said, smiling up at her.  Caroline never ceased to be amazed at how well her servant knew her, able to read her expressions so effectively.  She wondered if it was any easier to detect her skittishness in her face, now that her features were so much larger.

“Thank you, Rose.  I won’t be.”

Nodding, Rose stepped off to the side, staying close by in case she was needed.  Caroline looked down and saw Phillip standing on her foot once again.  She smiled.

“Hello, Phillip.  Are you ready to do this together?” she asked.  He nodded vigorously.  “Do you want me to hold you now?”  He nodded again.  She sighed deeply and happily, bending over at her waist, her arms reaching out.  She placed her hands around her small brother’s sides and easily lifted him up, feeling like she was just picking up one of her childhood toys.  Returning to a standing position, she gently shifted her grip on him, realizing she could hold on to him pretty effectively with a single arm by allowing him to lay along her palm and forearm like a recliner, his head just underneath her shoulder.  He realized this, laying back against her arm, which she curled in against her chest ever so slightly to ensure he didn’t fall.  Richard saw this but wasn’t worried in the slightest, knowing his daughter to be perhaps the most careful and gentlest person he had ever met, confident in the fact that she wouldn’t let go of Phillip or forget that he was there as long as she had him.

“Send him in,” called the king out to a guard who was posted up against the wall in the far corner of the room.  His eyes had been locked to the mountainous girl before him in apprehension, but he was snapped awake by this order and quickly opened the side door, leading in to the room and spoke quickly outside.  A moment later, Caroline watched as a man hobbled in, one of his legs looking pretty useless, and he hunched over a bit, making him look shorter than he probably was. He stopped when he got within a certain distance of the group and bowed deeply, almost falling over on his leg, then stood back up as the king allowed him to.

“We understand you feel you have a solution for our… unique predicament,” said the king.  “Explain, please, your proposed methods.”

The man nodded, quivering at the shoulders, and reached into a large bag he had slung over one shoulder, pulling out a coil of very thick rope and holding it out.  “Your Majesty, the limbs are just like… rubber.  When they…” he said, looking uncertainly up at Caroline’s optimistic but unsure face, “…STRETCH out a bit more than usual and lock, it’s simple a matter of unlocking them and allowing them to pull back into place.  It’s really a very simple matter, I’ve seen it done numerous times to great success…”

“But have you,” began the king, “seen it work in a case quite like this before?”

The man, rubbing pensively at a bald patch in the middle of his head and panning his gaze up from Caroline’s massive bare feet, up the towering folds of her robe, and up to her head, outlined by her billowing ropes of golden hair and sprinkled with freckles.  “No, no… I’m afraid I haven’t seen a case QUITE like this.”

“What sorts of cases HAVE you seen?” asked Elizabeth.

“Errr…” he said, swallowing hard and thinking.  “The last patient I attended to had grown, err, perhaps not QUITE as tall as her Royal Highness has, but…”

“How tall?”

“A bit, perhaps, say… a matter of inches?” he said, grinning as optimistically as possible.

Caroline could already feel her heart sinking; she had a feeling this wasn’t going to work.

“That’s hardly, I’d say, a great similarity between your last patient and the princess,” said the king, not rudely but beginning to feel slightly miffed that this fact had been overlooked in the peasant’s hiring.  “But I will not judge it until I have seen your method.  How do you, as you say, plan to allow her limbs to stretch back into place?”

The man shook a little, clearly excited that he wasn’t being tossed out already.  “It’s quite simple, really…” he said, unraveling the rope.  “We shall simply tie one measure of rope around the princess’s wrists, and attach them to a post, perhaps a wall.  Then, we shall tie another measure of rope to her ankles, tie those to horses, and allow her to pulled, quite literally, right out of the snap her limbs have become trapped into,” he said cheerily.  Caroline didn’t like this already.  “Of course, Your Majesty, I’m afraid we shall have to bring in horses to your glorious dining hall.  I’m sorry, but it’s the only way it can be done.”

Caroline felt her brother’s hands twisting themselves up in the deep folds of her drape robes nervously for her; she looked skeptically over at her father, who seemed to be thinking.  After a moment, though he nodded, clearly desperate for anything to save his daughter.  “Very well.  We shall see if your methods work.  How many horses will this require?”

“Well…” said the man, looking back at Caroline and rubbing at his chin to judge.  “Normally, it would only take one horse, but I’d say, in the princess’s,” he coughed, “SPECIAL case, I would suggest, say… eight of them…”

The king looked a little surprised but nodded, snapping his fingers for his attendants to get to work.  A short time later, all eight horses were gathered nervously into the Great Hall, an attendant following behind them to clean up any mess than made.  Caroline stared down at them, recalling how she had ridden one of them only last week.  They were the size of lapdogs now.

“Now, Your Highness, if you could just… lay down on the floor here, we can begin the procedure…” yelled the man, unable to judge accurately how loud he had to speak for Caroline to hear him clearly.  She nodded to him and looked down at Phillip in her arms.

“It’s time to go down, now, Phillip,” she whispered, using a finger from her other arm to brush the hair out of his eyes as gently as possible.

“Okay,” he answered back.  She went back into a crouching position, lowering her arm and allowing him to slide easily to the floor.  Then, making sure everyone was out of the way, she sat down on the floor and stretched out, her bare heels making a squeaking sound as they slid across the somewhat slick marble floor.

“Sorry…” she said, hoping it hadn’t hurt anyone’s ears.  She continued stretching, upturning her feet into the air and fully extending at her knees.  Finally, she laid back, lowering her shoulder blades to the ground and stretched her arms out to the sides, careful not to swat at anyone as she unfurled her nearly foot-long fingers onto the cool floor.  The man walked up by her face, holding the rope and handing some of it off to the king’s attendants.

“Now just remain perfectly still, Your Majesty, while we prepare the procedure, and then we shall attempt to cure you of your ailment.”

Caroline calmly stayed in place, feeling the small hands of the men pressing against her thumb for support, the rope tightened around her wrists, an attendant down at her feet straddling her ankle to get at a better angle for typing the knots.  She was too polite to do it, but what she really wanted to do was roll her eyes and groan, as this odd spectacle was beginning to get on her nerves.  She had figured something like this would happen if anyone got wind of the fact that a royal was in need of otherworldly medical treatment.  She felt ridiculous as she tugged a little at her wrists, feeling the ropes tied tightly two pillars behind her.  However, as she tested the give, she could feel in the tug that if she pulled hard enough, she could break the rope without much trouble.  She lifted her head, looking down below as the horses were strapped up, four attached to eat of her feet, each with a rider sitting atop.

“On my mark, fine riders!” called the man near Caroline’s ear.  “Three… two… one… PULL!”

Caroline felt the pressure slowly building up in her ankles and wrists as the horses strained against her incredible weight, trying to drag her out.  She actually did begin to feel the slightest bit of pain in her back, but no sooner did this occur to her, and the horses were stopped in their tracks, backing up.  The riders slapped them to go on, but the several thousand pound young woman was just a bit too much for them.  Caroline looked over at her father, who was rubbing his furrowed brow.

“Err… perhaps, if we were to get more horses, or perhaps an elephant if you have access to one…” said the man sheepishly, walking toward the king.

“I believe we are at an end here today, sir.  Thank you for attempting to be helpful.  My servants will help you find the out,” he said curtly.

“B-But…” said the man, looking around for support as the servants took his arms and his bag to wheel him out.  After he’d left, the king stepped off the throne and walked over to Caroline’s face.

“I’m sorry about this, Caroline.  I’m afraid we aren’t going to be… getting anywhere with methods like that.”

She grinned, trying to stay positive.  “It’s all right, father.  I didn’t believe that it was going to work anyway.

“I must see if any of my scouts have returned, either from the outlying provinces or with news from the Otherlands; I will report back what I find,” said the king determinedly, patting her huge cheek before turning toward the door and striding out confidently.  Caroline felt a tugging on the side of her robes, and looked over to see her brother clambering onto her belly using the folds of the ropes.  He took a crosslegged position right over her stomach as she placed her hands behind her head to use as a pillow, sighing.

“It will be okay, Caroline,” he offered.

She smiled at him, her chest rising and falling more slowly as she calmed down from the oddities of the morning, raising him up and down slowly.  “I know it will be, Phillip.  We’ll find out what must be done to change me back.  And then I can return to just being your big sister.”

He laughed.  “But you still ARE my big sister…”

They chuckled together as Caroline continued reclining on the marble of the Great Hall, her brother sitting on her stomach.

Caroline strode around the Great Hall, reaching up towards the ceiling above.  Everyone had left to give her some time alone.  She traced the carved panes of the stained glass windows with her fingers, marveling at the detail contained in them.  This was all she could really do to keep herself from worrying about what might happen in the very near future if her father was unable to find help for her condition.  She looked pensively up at the carvings of the ceiling, comforted for the moment by the fact that she couldn’t reach it; at the same time, she knew that with each passing night, she would grow (literally) closer and closer to the point where she would have to bend over to even fit in this room.  The thought sent chills down her spine.  She would have to be moved outside.  Everyone would see what had become of her, filling her with embarrassment and hopelessness, completely exposed to the people she so much wanted to help but at the same time would have no true way to interact with them safely without harming them or creating a nuisance.

                This was the other of Caroline’s greatest fears.  Once she became large enough, contact with her family would be nigh impossible if she wanted to keep them all safe.  As she grew larger and larger, no matter how desperately she needed the comfort of her loved ones, getting near them would be dangerous.  She had learned of the potential future risks just crawling into the Great Hall from her room when she knocked over a guard just by accidentally shifting her foot outward.  Caroline tried to picture what such an occurrence might be like when the equivalent size of a person to her now was the same size as a building after enough days had passed.  She could easily topple a stone structure at such a height without even noticing.  She would have to be more careful with each movement she made to ensure she wasn’t destroying something, or, heaven forbid, actually harming someone she cared about.  Being near them was one thing.  Once she was large enough, she could technically hold them in one hand with ease.

She stopped tracing the window with her finger and opened her hand up, looking at the lines running along her palm.  It terrified her to know that at some point in the future, without a true solution, she would easily be able to hold her entire family in the palm of her hand, watching them trip helplessly over the creases of skin in her palm, liable to fall to their deaths at her ankles if she shifted her wrist even an inch too far to the side.

                As Caroline quickly closed her hand into a tight fist so she wouldn’t have to think about this, the shivers running back down her body, she heard the creak of the servant’s door in the Great Hall.  Her eyes shifted to it as her younger sister Anne peeped her head out from behind the door sheepishly.  Just as when her little brother had entered her room the previous day, butterflies filled her stomach, and she froze, wondering how to react.  Would her sister be able to handle this as well as Phillip had?

                The two sisters just stared at one another: Anne poking her head out from behind the small door, Caroline standing like a monument in her draped robes, her hands behind her back as she twiddled her fingers nervously, her whole body rocking a little as she teetered on and off the balls of her huge feet while creating a small suction sound with the marble floor as she did so.

                “Annie?” whispered Caroline slowly, smiling and nodding.  “You can come in.”

                Slowly, in a wordless response, Anne inched her way through the door, closing it, and kept her hands clasped at her waist, looking up at Caroline.  The elder sister was glad to see no abject fear as she had seen in her brother’s face, just confusion and almost awe.

                “It’s okay, Annie.  It’s just me.”

                After a second of both sisters tottering nervously like small children on their heels, Anne dashed forward across the hall in a sprint, almost surprising Caroline a little, and walked right onto her massive foot, clasping her arms around her older sister’s calf.

                “CAROLINE!” she yelled, almost in an upset wail, squeezing as hard as she could on the huge calf, which of course was but a minor pressurized sensation to Caroline.  “I’m so GLAD you’re ALL RIGHT!” she yelled before swaying side to side as she hugged her sister’s leg, pressing her cheek against the soft, wide shin in a full embrace.

                “I’m very happy to see you too, Annie!” giggled Caroline, pushing the hair out of her eyes as she looked straight down at the ground, filled with relief that her other sibling had taken to her so much more quickly than her youngest.  Caroline had sort of expected this, but had mostly just hoped that the special bond she had with her sister would be enough to let Anne see past the gargantuan mountain of young woman before her and just see her trusted and loving older sister.  She waited a few more minutes, allowing her sister to hug her powerful calf until her relatively small arms had no strength left before she stepped back, craning her neck to see Caroline’s face.

                “How… how do you feel?” she asked quietly.  Caroline smiled, and began to kneel down very slowly, casting a massive shadow over her sister as she slowly bent back onto the balls of her feet and toes, laying her knees down with a thump right in front of Anne.  She then folded back, taking a seat on her calves in a very low kneeling position.  Even having cut down this much height, however, the top of Anne’s head was still essentially face to face with Caroline’s stomach.

                “I’m feeling just fine.  And I feel a lot better now that you’re here with me, Annie,” she said sweetly, sighing a little, so glad that she now had the full support of her entire family.  She unclasped her hands, which she had folded neatly over her quads, and raised them up, outstretching her fingers in a gentle, non-threatening manner.  She saw Anne’s ankles shift for the slightest moment, as if in a double take, but she remained motionless, smiling up at her beloved mentor.  Caroline slowly curled her fingers around Anne’s sides at arm level, easily covering up most of her arms with her massive hands and fingers, resting her fingertips on Anne’s back in a sort of impromptu return embrace.

                “Do YOU feel all right?” asked Caroline, rubbing at her sister’s arms a little to calm her.  This was something she did a great deal to help soothe her oft-nervous sister, but that was of course when she just had to hang on to her shoulders.  Now, she was able to shake her sister’s entire body with simple hand motions, although she was careful not to make the motions too fast or violent for fear of making Anne uncomfortable or nervous at her sister’s power.

                “Yes… I am, but… you… you…” she said, flustered.  Anne curled her arms back up, taking hold of Caroline’s soft pinky fingers on each side for extra comfort as her sister’s large, warm hands continued kneading at her arms and shoulders.

                “I know, something’s… wrong with me…” said Caroline, shaking her head, unsure exactly of how to word it.

                “I’m sorry I didn’t come and see you sooner, Caroline,” said Anne, sniffling a little in regret.  “I was just afraid that if you weren’t able to get well properly, something might…”

                “Oh, no, no, NO!” said Caroline, shaking her head quickly and hastening the pace at which she rubbed at her sister’s arms.  “That was NOT your fault; please don’t apologize to me, you were just doing what you thought was best for me.  That’s a wonderful trait, and it’s something I admire in you, little sister,” Caroline followed up, anxious to emphasize the faultlessness of Anne.

                Anne chuckled a little, finding this last to be funny.  “LITTLE sister…” she said, smiling.

                Caroline almost laughed with her, but first raised an eyebrow.  “I’m sorry, Anne, I didn’t mean it like that…”

                “I know you didn’t, Caroline, it’s okay.  I like it when you call me that…” answered Anne.  Caroline nodded, gratified.

                “I like it too, little sister.  But just remember, no matter how big or tall I get, that name has NOTHING to do with my or your size, all right?”

                “Yes, I know,” said Anne, smiling.  Caroline could feel the slight tremors in her sister, perhaps from the raw high of seeing her sibling like this, beginning to slow and disappear as she continued rubbing at her shoulders.  However, despite the growing infrequency of the barely noticeable tremors and her sister’s smaller face (which made it harder to recognize discrepancies in her countenance), Caroline could sense something else was up.

                “Is something wrong?” asked Caroline, slowly removing her hands from her sister and folding them neatly back over her knees.  Anne shook her head no, breaking eye contact and locking her eyes instead on the wide set of drape-clad knees before her.  “Are you sure?” she asked again.  Anne nodded, and Caroline tsked quietly.  “Annie… we’ve talked about this before.  You can tell me anything you want to, and I’ll help you.  You know that, right?”

                Anne nodded.  Caroline shifted her weight, pulling herself back into a tall kneeling position.  Using her feet and shins, she scooted back a little across the marble floor, making some room, then sat down off to the side of her legs, standing one leg up, her foot flat on the floor, before bringing it back down, laying it over the other as she took a cross-legged sitting position on the floor before Anne.  She laid her hands down palm face up, one on each knee, as if taking a moment of reflective peace.

                “Please talk to me, little sister.  You can tell me anything.  I’ll try to help you.  I’ll help you think of an answer.  And if I can’t think of an answer, I’ll tell you.  Deal?” said Caroline, tilting her head to the side a little in a pleading way.  Anne raised her eyes back from the ground, where she had been staring at the reflection of Caroline’s large toes in the marble, looked up into her sister’s eyes, and nodded, taking a few steps forward.  However, she stopped short, scanning around the empty room.

                “I… I don’t want anyone to hear me…” she mumbled, standing on one foot absentmindedly in embarrassment.  Caroline bit her lip, thinking.

                “You can say it in a hushed voice, little sister.  No one will hear you but me, we have this hall all to ourselves,” offered Caroline, but Anne still shook her head.

                “I’m sorry, Caroline.  I just… don’t want anyone to hear it, I’m afraid someone will tell someone else…”

                Caroline was beginning to feel worried at this point, and was determined that she find out what her sister was hiding to ensure that Anne wasn’t aware of any danger to herself or others that could be prevented with some guidance and aid.

                “Just come closer to me, Annie, and speak in a low voice.  If you say it just as you have often been instructed in lessons, by making your speech a whisper, “your words simple blossoms floating in the breeze,” as the tutors say it, then no one will hear you.”

                Finally, Anne nodded, taking a final step forward.  She went into a crawling position, grabbing onto the folds of Caroline’s drape robe as she pulled herself over both of her sister’s ankles before slipping into the small space inside the circle of Caroline’s legs right in front of her torso.  Pleased, Caroline pulled her legs in just a bit tighter, ensuring her thighs and calves weren’t putting any pressure at all on her sister; still, she wanted Anne to feel secure in speaking to her.  As she pulled them in, the billowing folds of the drapes wrapping over one another, Anne accounted for this, pulling herself into a tight, almost fetal position as the massive thighs slowly moved in protectively around her.  Caroline lifted one of her opened palms and pointed her thumb, stroking over Anne’s hair soothingly to make sure it was out of her eyes before returning it to her knee, looking down at her sister’s face with undivided attention.

                “Go ahead, little sister,” Caroline whispered, smiling.

                Anne cleared her throat.  “Well… I was taking a walk with one of the tutors yesterday afternoon after I had finished my lessons.  It took some persuasion, but I managed to convince her to walk with me down one of the main streets closest to the palace, where we could see the poor houses, and perhaps say hello to the people there…” she said.  Caroline absolutely beamed down at her sister, but didn’t speak, allowing her to continue.

                “And she didn’t want me to stop, but I did anyway, and I started talking to some of the people there.  They were very kind, and they wanted to know when you would return to see them because they all missed you so much…”

                This thought filled Caroline to overflowing with bittersweetness at her predicament and the desire to see her people again, but she again allowed her sister to continue.

                “Well, there was a boy there.  I think he was my age, I’m not sure.  But he was building, adding stone to the poor house in the corner where it had worn away.  I thought it was kind of funny that someone so young would do such work, so I stopped and spoke with him, and I asked him why he was doing it.  And you know what he told me, Caroline?” said Anne, tightly gripping a fold of her sister’s robe in growing intensity and thought.

                “What?” beamed Caroline in answer.

                “He said it was because he HAD to.  He said if he didn’t, then more mice would get inside and bite their toes at night.  He said he was doing it to help everyone inside be able to sleep through the night.  And I didn’t even know what to say to him.  I must have looked pretty silly, right?” she mused.

                Caroline shook her head.  “You were doing something good, Annie.  You were just trying to offer your understanding.  It’s all right to not know how to react when just beginning your work with the poor.”

                “Oh… okay, then.  So since I didn’t say anything, I thought maybe I should help.  I quickly ran around a few of the houses three times, and in that short passing, I managed to lose the tutor!” she giggled.  Caroline snickered in unison with her, her thighs vibrating ever so slightly, shaking Anne almost unnoticeably.  “And then I came back, and I tried to help him…” she said, shrugging.  “I tried to pick up some stone.  It was really heavy, but he helped me, and we almost finished covering up the hole when my tutor found me again.  She was not pleased with me…” said Anne, noticeably unconcerned with the reaction of her teacher.

                Caroline couldn’t stop smiling, tears welling in her eyes as she looked down at her little sister, who had managed to come out of her shy shell enough to try and do something good for the people who needed it most, almost as if filling in for her older sister in her days of invalidity.   Caroline heaved her shoulders in a deep, happy sigh.

                “I’m so PROUD of you, little sister.  Did you enjoy yourself?” she asked, beginning to wonder what all the fuss had been about in telling her this.

                Anne nodded readily.  “Very much!  And I would like to return tomorrow again, and maybe again with you once you become well again.  Is… is that okay, if I come with you?” asked Anne uncertainly.

                Caroline ran her thumb back over her sister’s fair hair, brushing it back.  “How can you even ASK me that, Annie?” she asked, smiling.  “I would love it for you to accompany me out to the poor houses.  With the two of us working together, I’m sure there is much we could get accomplished for the hungry and needy!”  she said, clasping her hands around her ankles, her arms stretched to the sides of Anne, almost creating a small tent of draped robe fabric around her sister.  “But… I do not understand.  You seemed so afraid of telling me what took place yesterday, but what you have told me is nothing to be ashamed of it, it is to be celebrated!” she said, still a bit confused.

                “Well… that’s why I wanted to say it to you, Caroline…” said Anne, crossing her arms sheepishly.  “I… want to see that boy again.  I didn’t even learn his name, but I know I want to see him again, that’s all.  Could you… could you…” mumbled Anne, clearly unsure of how to word her feelings.

                Caroline squeezed her fingers more tightly around her ankles, instantly understanding the embarrassed musings of her sibling and becoming more excited with each passing moment.

                “I think I understand now, little sister,” she said, and Anne was glad that she didn’t have to explain another word to her humongous protector and counselor.

Caroline blinked, her vision a little blurry, as she pulled her resting head up from her propped up arms.  She looked forward, and almost fell back in surprise as she realized she was still in the Great Hall, but suddenly it was like a cavern, the ceiling far away.  She looked down at the ground and instantly realized she was sitting in a chair: a normal, person-sized chair.  She gasped with utter shock and joy at this, grabbing the arms of the chair to ensure it was all real, clasping the wooden edges of the chair with her fingers hard.  She shut her eyes tightly, willing herself to focus and clear her mind.  She opened them again, and sighed loudly with happiness as she realized she was still sitting in the chair.

                She suddenly became aware that she was sitting in front of the long table used for mealtimes with the family, a bountiful feast stretching before her.  Her breathing began to speed up a little as she adjusted to her surroundings, still completely surprised.  How had it been done?  Had her father come up with a solution to fix all of this and not told her?  Had the spell simply run its course and worn off?  Caroline didn’t particularly care about the answer at this moment, so great was her glee.

                Blinking again, she realized that she wasn’t alone; the table was lined with her family.  Richard sat at the opposite end of the table, with Elizabeth by his side.  Anne and Phillip sat on opposite sides of the long section, hungrily digging into their food.  Caroline wondered why she hadn’t noticed them a second before, but quickly wrote it off to the shock of just being regular again with them.

                Richard looked up from his food, which he had only been picking at, looking over at Caroline with concern.  “Is something the matter, my daughter?  You appear worried.”

                Caroline frowned a little in confusion, wondering why her father hadn’t leapt up in happiness at her change.  Had she been like this for a while and not realized?

                “Father!” she cried out joyously.  “I… am well again!  Look at me, I’ve returned to my normal size.  Did you manage to remove the spell?”

                Now it was her father’s turn to look confused.  “Return, Caroline?  Normal size?  What are these things you speak of?  I apologize to tell you I haven’t the slightest idea of what you mean.”

                “But… but father, of course you do!  The spell Catherine cast on me!  The dark spell, the one that caused me to grow taller and taller without stopping.  I was almost capable of touching the ceiling of this hall!  Please, tell me what’s happened, how I was reverted back to my normal self?”

                Richard shook his head, then looked over at Elizabeth, who was now listening with some curiosity.  “Elizabeth, could you instruct Rose to acquire a special sleeping extract for the princess tonight?  It is my feeling that she is in need of some proper rest…”

                Elizabeth nodded.  “Of course, my dear…”

                “What?  But FATHER, I’m not tired at all!  I feel very rested, I feel incredible… better than I have in days!  Just tell me how it’s happened…”

                “Really, Caroline, I believe you’ll feel better after a good night’s rest.  Just finish your meal and Rose will escort you back to your room,” said the king, sounding a little perplexed still at his daughter’s incomprehensible rambling.  Caroline decided to hush up at this point, picking up a utensil next to her plate to take a bite, still wondering what was going on.  She couldn’t possibly have dreamt the last few days, could she?  Everything had been so vivid and so immediate.  The growth, the pains of hitting the ceiling and walls, the emotion of seeing the apprehension in her family’s smaller eyes.

                “Caroline?” came the soft voice of Phillip, and she quickly put down the fork, looking up at her brother, who had turned his head to toward her.

                “Yes?” she answered, trying to push the confusion from her voice.

                “I don’t feel very good…”

                “You don’t?  What might be wrong?”

                “My stomach hurts a lot… I think I ate too much.”

                “I’m sorry to hear that.  Do you need anything?”

                “I want another hug…”

                “Oh, Phillip,” she cooed.  “You’ll feel all right in no time, I’m sure of it.  Come here.”

                Both siblings pushed their chairs out and stood up, walking toward one another on the side of the table.  Caroline was refreshed to see the face of her brother so relatively close to her own, as his head was just below her chest, just like normal.  She stretched out her arms and wrapped them around him in a hug that he quickly returned, and they rocked on the ground for a moment, Caroline relishing every second of being able to hug her sibling without a single fear in her heart that she would harm him or crush him in her powerful arms and hands.  However, after a moment or so of this, Caroline felt her arms becoming empty.  She looked down, and realized that Phillip still had his arms as far around her body as he could get them, but his head was going lower.  And lower.  And lower.  A moment later, his head was about level with her waist.  Caroline threw her arms back in surprise.

                “Oh, no, it’s happening again…” she said, grasping her forehead and trying to take a step back.  “It’s happening again.  Phillip!  Please, step away, you’ve got to stay away from me, I’m starting to…” she gulped, stepping back, but her brother remained tightly wrapped around her, even as his grip shifted to her thighs as he continued shooting downward.  “Father!  Look at me!  Please, look at me, help me, it’s happening once again!” she called out, but with some surprise realized that her father, her mother, her sister, and the table were all still normal sized.  She looked up and realized that the ceiling was getting no closer than it had been minutes ago.  Then she looked down at the ground, and realized what was happening.

                Caroline dropped to her knees, her hands on the ground to get a closer look as her brother continued shrinking, finally becoming about as tall as her knees.

                “Oh, Phillip, no, no, no, this cannot be happening.  It can’t be YOU.  Catherine placed the spell one ME, not YOU.  Oh, no…” she said worriedly and helplessly, unable to do a single thing as her brother actually continued becoming smaller, descending in height past her knee and down her shin, becoming even tinier to her than he had been when she was gigantic.  Phillip didn’t even seem to notice what was happening, ceasing to hug his sister and instead looking up strangely at her.

                “Is something wrong, Caroline?  I just want a hug…”

                “What?  Of course it is!  I mean…” she said, cutting herself off, not wanting to scare her brother more than he probably would be in a moment.  “You’re… it’s… you’re becoming… I don’t know…” she mumbled, biting a fingertip as she tried desperately to think of a solution.  “FATHER!” she cried out, wondering what had taken her parents so long.  “FATHER!  Please, help, please… it’s Phillip, something’s happened to him, a spell or…” she said, and looked down to see her little brother less than half a foot tall, being only a matter of inches above her ankle.  She almost screamed in fright at what was happening, but quickly jammed a fist over her mouth to avoid this.  Still, her breathing became heavier and more labored as she struggled to grasp what was happening.  “FATHER!” she yelled out, and looked up.  The rest of her family was all looking down at their food, picking at it, not even granting Caroline eye contact.

                At the brink of tears at the lack of support she was getting and the complete confusion running through her brain, Caroline looked down and gave a muffled gasp, her fist still over her lips, as she saw her brother, no more than a few inches tall, sprawled on the floor.

                “Oh, Phillip… what’s going on?” she said, her breathing becoming harder and harder.

                “Caroline… I want a hug!” said Phillip happily, as if nothing strange was going on.

                “What’s happening to you?” she said, the tears finally rolling down.  However, she quickly wiped them away as she watched several large droplets fall like rocks toward her pint-sized sibling on the ground, pulling her head back to avoid soaking him or even hurting him with her tears.

                “Nothing’s happening to me, Caroline.  Please, hug me?” he said.  Caroline, not knowing what else to do and fearing that her brother would soon be harmed by the world around him without help, slowly reached out her hand, her fingers extended, lowering her palm toward the tiny human being before her.

                “Don’t… don’t be afraid, Phillip, I just want to help you…” she said, slowly wrapping her soft fingers around the miniscule body of her brother.  She gasped again to feel the feather weight of him, his fragile frame hugged comfortably into the folds of her palm flesh.  Lifting him a few inches off the ground, she quickly swooped her other hand, palm up, underneath her fist to ensure she wouldn’t drop him.  As she pulled herself back into a standing position, Caroline gently released her grip around her brother, allowing him to stand in her upturned palm.  She almost felt like shaking, but forced herself not to as this would send Phillip reeling, as she looked down at him, probably just over an inch tall now.  Instinctively, she curled her fingers in a little to protect him, her thumb standing up.  Her brother’s feet tickled her smooth palm as he marched confidently across her hand, reaching her thumb and throwing his arms around it in a hug.

                Caroline, feeling the oddly small amount of pressure being exerted on her finger, was taken aback, wondering why her brother wasn’t terrified of his current situation.  She wiped her eyes and cheeks with the other hand for safety before moving her face in closer, taking slower, more controlled breaths out of fear that she might accidentally blow her brother right out of her hand to the death drop below.

                “Phillip… do you…do you feel all right?” she whispered softly, worried her no-doubt booming and powerful voice would startle him.  Phillip released his hug on her finger, and she had to squint a bit to make out his facial expressions as her brother shrunk to less than an inch tall.  Despite her attempts to quell her growing terror, Caroline felt her hand quivering, and she watched helplessly as her brother tumbled over, tripping into a sprawled position in her palm.  “PHILLIP!” she yelped, quickly remembering the punch of her voice’s volume and covered her mouth, her breathing becoming heavy again.  “Oh, I’m so sorry… are you hurt?” she whispered.  “What’s going ON?” she moaned, completely unable to do anything as her brother became half an inch tall, his face so small she couldn’t even tell what he was doing.  She heard the faintest of sounds, and realized he was speaking, but she couldn’t quite make it out.  She moved her ear closer to him, turning her head, her hand still quivering slightly as she curled her hand in further, cupping her brother into the very center of her palm.  She couldn’t hear anything, and almost fell over when she turned her eyes back to him, his body becoming so small she doubted he was half as long as her thumbnail.  The tears running anew, her body beginning to shake all over, Caroline covered her mouth, clenching her fingers into her cheeks as the watched this unfold, confused, angry, and terrified at what was happening.  A frozen minute of painful silence passed as Caroline found herself having to pull her hand closer, searching the now-canyon like creases of her palm for any sign of her brother.  There was none.

                Caroline gasped as she woke up, a cold sweat running down her forehead.  She scrambled into a kneeling position, and looked straight ahead, finding herself able to peer upward and see the stained glass windows looking so close to her as moonlight shone through them in glistening rays.  She pressed her fingertips against the cool marble, standing up, and shot upward toward the ceiling in the darkness, looking all around the moonlit hall, realizing it had just been a dream.  Her brother hadn’t become so small he had been lost in her hand.  She was still absolutely gigantic.  She turned to the window, and at this moment realized that her eyes were now just above the level of the highest stained glass window.

                It had happened again.  She knew it.  She didn’t even need people here this time for comparison to be able to see it.  The night must surely have already nearly passed, because Caroline could tell now that her daily growth spurt had already taken place.  And it was at this moment she realized that while her dream had been a reversal of reality, and had taken place in a very short amount of time, it occurred to her that if this continued, the scale at which she had seen her brother shrink would be just as real to her as her monstrous size was to everyone else.  Except it wouldn’t just be her brother.  Caroline gulped hard, instinctively standing up straighter and keeping her bare feet perfectly next to each other on the marble floor, imagining what it would be like.  The kingdom would become like an ant far, each person like mosquito, so tiny and seemingly insignificant that they could be killed so easily, even if she was just holding one of them.  Or holding dozens of them, as she knew she would be fully capable of.

                Caroline a few steps, out of the moonlit area of the hall, and stopped on the darker half.  Then, taking a final step, she felt her foot press down into something brittle and thin, snapping it easily as she pressed her weight down, not even realizing what had happened.  She quickly removed her foot, feeling splinters of wood stuck to her sole as she dropped into a crawling position and inched forward to get a closer look.  As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Caroline realized it was the same, long dinner table that her family ate from each day, the same one from her dream.  Instantly, her mind shot to the dream again.  Her entire family had been sitting around that massive table, and her foot had just snapped it in half like a piece of bark.  Supposing her foot had happened to fall over a place where one of her parents or siblings had been seated, she knew without a doubt their body would have been squished into the marble just as hard as the wood had.  She shivered, crawling back frantically to push this thought from her mind, and felt her feet slam against the stone walls of the hall, her rear end quickly following suit and ramming into a flag that hung sideways, knocking it to the ground with a clatter.  Caroline chose at this moment to cease movement, fearing the breaking of something else with a single, unconscious movement on her part.

                A couple hours later, sunshine began streaming in through the windows, lighting everything in sight.  Caroline carefully stood up, marveling at the splintered mess she had left of the table, and realizing that the ground had become even further away in the night.  Not long after, her entire family and Rose stepped uncertainly into the room, their eyes widening as they walked closer to Caroline.  Anne dashed over without hesitation, standing at Caroline’s side and grasping the hem of her robe, tugging at it.  Richard and Elizabeth put their arms around each other, Richard’s face contorting a bit in worry, Elizabeth shaking her head in doubt as she tried desperately to think of something she could do for her daughter.  Caroline watched as Phillip knelt by her foot, rapping his tiny fist against her big toenail as if wondering if she was real.  He backed up quickly as she wiggled her toe in instinctive response to the touch and bumped against his hands, his mind subconsciously surprised that the toe was actually part of such a large living thing.

                “Rose…” said Elizabeth, breaking the silence at last.  “Please fetch Caroline something to eat…”

                “Yes, right away, your Highness,” squeaked Rose, dashing away.

                Caroline stared down at them all in utter shock.  Her brother, now standing at her other leg and tugging at the other end of her robe hem, was just barely as tall as the base of her calf, if that.  Her sister didn’t come up much higher than that, and her father, normally the tallest of all of them, didn’t even quite reach her massive knee with the top of his head.

                “Caroline, please… just have patience.  This will be over soon, I assure you of that!” said the king confidently, taking a few steps forward.  “I have instructed all my scouts to return this morning and report their findings.  Surely a new method will be discovered, and we can return you to proper health!”

                A few minutes later, Rose returned, dragging a cart behind her that contained a few loaves of bread stacked on top.  She stopped it right next to Caroline’s right foot, taking a few steps back to give her some room.

                “Thank you, Rose,” said Caroline, stooping slowly and casting a darker shadow over her family, her fingers reaching toward the cart.

                “Of course, miss, of course.”

                Caroline grasped a single loaf of bread in her fingers, raising it up.  It appeared to be only a matter of inches long now, just a bit wider than Caroline’s palm.  Shrugging, she raised it to her lips, opened, and inserted half of the loaf into her mouth, chewing it quickly into a pulp and swallowing.  She realized how rapidly this had happened, and resolved to take smaller bites to avoid draining the food supply.  She bit down as daintily as she could at her size into the remaining bites of bread loaf, feeling it break off like a dead leaf into her mouth.

                “Father…” called out the over-25-foot-tall Caroline, taking another massive swallow and doing a small double take as her louder voice echoed through the hall.  “I think it may be time to try something else…” she finished, looking down as her nearly doll-sized siblings each took a seat on a huge foot, hugging their bodies to Caroline’s thick ankles.

“What do you mean, something else, my daughter?” asked Richard, taking several steps forward, looking peculiarly at his two youngest children while they hugged their sister’s gargantuan legs before gazing back up at Caroline’s eyes.

                Caroline took a deep breath.  “I do not believe we should attempt to hide this… occurrence any longer, father.  I believe I should reveal myself to the people.”

                Richard was taken aback.  “REVEAL yourself, Caroline?  You mean go to the streets and show the people what has become of you as a result of Catherine’s treachery, reveal the fact that you are ill and we are, as of now, unaware of what might reverse the effects?”

                She nodded.  “That is precisely what I mean, father.  Think of it.  If I can simply persuade the people to accept me by revealing myself now, before I have become… so large I may frighten them, it may be easier to receive help in reversing these effects.  Perhaps by speaking to EVERYONE, not just the doctors or medicine men your scouts have located in the outlying provinces, we may more quickly discover a solution?”

                Richard rubbed at his temple, trying not to reveal his slight doubt.  He knew that Caroline did have a point.  She was already absurdly large, nearly as tall as three regular houses stacked on top of one another.  Already, he knew, she would not be accepted by everyone of the kingdom.  However, he also knew that if they waited until Caroline could no longer fit in the Great Hall or even in the palace courtyard, they would be forced to reveal her to everyone, except by that point she would be so large that he was afraid nearly everyone would be afraid at best, and see her as a destructive monster at worst, no matter how much good work she had done as a regular sized person.

                Still, despite this fact, he worried sometimes that Caroline was being too naïve.  She did all she could to help the poor and hungry, often going far out of her way to do it and do it well, losing lots of sleep and missing many meals just from working so hard.  She wasn’t unaware of the detriments of these practices, of course, but she brushed them aside easily.  He wondered if she was taking a similar outlook here in believing that she would be immediately accepted by everyone who suddenly found a towering young woman standing in their midst, capable of killing them with one misplaced footstep.

                “PLEASE, father… just let me try.  I know if I am able to speak to them, I can make them understand…” she begged, clasping her hands together as if in prayer, bending at the knees slightly to make herself look more respectful to her father in this request, despite that this had little effect on the fact that her father’s head still didn’t rise above her knee.  “I know that I am capable of making them see me inside this body, no matter how large it becomes.  I know that the poor I have come to know will recognize me, they must.  Please, father, let me try.”

                Richard stroked at his chin, shaking his head, knowing that no matter his doubts, his daughter’s determined persistence and wise nature would guide her in the correct direction.  “Very well, my daughter, you shall leave the palace and greet the people.  Allow me just a few hours to assemble the people of the kingdom.  We shall do this properly for you.”

                Caroline breathed a sigh of relief.  “THANK you, father.  Yes, I will gladly wait…” she said.  Her father snapped for a servant, who ran over; Richard whispered into his ear before waving him away and turning to leave.  “I must greet the returning scouts and discuss their findings, as well as prepare for my address of the people this afternoon prior to your presentation,” he said with a nod, turning to leave.  “I shall return for you later, Caroline, and we will find a way to transport you… outside…” he said, suddenly realizing this new wrinkle in the plan but nonetheless thinking hard as he strode for the door and left.

                Caroline looked down and chuckled, amused that her two siblings were still hugging her ankles.  She didn’t want to kneel and risk hitting them on the head with her shins, so she simply put her hands on her hips, staring them down.  Finally, after a few more minutes, Anne let go and stepped off of her sister’s massive foot.  Caroline lifted her foot from the marble for the first time in half an hour with a soft peeling sound and swiveled her foot at the heel, wiggling her toes as the tingly sensation of having the small weight from her foot removed tickled her leg.  She set it back down, gently.

                “Phillip?  Are you ready to get up now?” she said, grabbing at a corner of her robe to get a better view of her brother, who was hidden by some of the folds.  She was surprised to find him fast asleep, his arms still locked around her ankle.  Anne began to chortle loudly at this sight, doubling over.

                “He fell asleep, Caroline, he just fell asleep sitting UP!” she snorted loudly, covering her eyes in feigned embarrassment.  Caroline shook her head.

                “I suppose he must have been tired.  It’s all right, he can get up when he wakes up…” said Caroline.  Ever so slowly, she swiveled the foot holding her brother side to side, as if rocking Phillip.  He murmured a little and shifted his grip but didn’t wake, still clenched around her ankle like a bracelet.  She shrugged, and slowly lowered herself to the ground, taking a seat but leaving her foot flat on the ground, bent at the knee, so Phillip wasn’t shaken, before leaning against a purely stone section of the wall.  She crossed her hands over her stomach, twiddling them, then peered over at Anne, glad to finally be alone with her.

                “Well?” she said, a grin breaking out across her face.  “Are you not going to tell me about it?”

                Realization dawned on Anne’s face, and she scurried over to her reclining sister.  Grabbing on to the folds of the drape robe, she managed to clamber onto Caroline’s stomach, where she took a seat, leaning against her sister’s inclined right quad, which was still propped up to ensure Phillip didn’t awake.  Both sisters giggled, excited to discuss their little secret at last.

                “Did you return to the same house of the poor?” asked Caroline.  Her sister nodded.

                “Was the same boy there?” she continued, and Anne nodded again.

                “Did you speak with him?”  Another bashful nod.

                “Please, little sister, are you truly going to force me to beg to hear about this?” said Caroline, hardly able to contain her eagerness.  Anne nodded.

                “His name is David.”

                “Yes…”

                “His family used to live on the outer provinces, near the border to the Otherlands.  But his village was attacked and driven out by the rebellion armies of the forests, they had to move in closer to the kingdom to be safe,” continued Anne, sounding a little sadder.

                “Oh…” said Caroline, subconsciously wondering if Catherine had anything to do with this.

                “And his… his… father…”

                “Yes?”

                “His father was… killed fighting the people of the Otherlands while the rest of the village escaped…” said Anne, her voice cracking in soft sobs.

                “Annie, Annie…” said Caroline, reaching a large pointer finger up and gently stroking her sister’s now-wet cheek with the tip.  “I’m so sorry.  Did you try to help him?”

                Anne sniffled, letting her sister’s humongous finger wipe away some of the tears.  “I… I tried to, but… I didn’t know what to say to him…”

                “There’s nothing you have to say, Annie.”

                “What?”

                “You don’t have to say anything at all to him.  When one means well, and intends to provide comfort and guidance to someone, presence alone is sufficient.”

                “I don’t… have to say anything?”

                Caroline smiled, knowing her sister was trying hard to understand.  “No, little sister, you do not.  You are his friend now.  If you can be with him when he feels lost or alone, you can make those feelings go away by being present for him.”

                “Really?” said Anne, wiping her eyes as Caroline’s finger retracted.

                “Really,” replied her sister gently, raising her eyebrows and nodding.

                Anne cleared her throat.  “How do you know so much, Caroline?”

                “A great deal of experience, Annie.”

                “Oh, really?” she answered jokingly.  “You’re not THAT much older than me!”

                “Perhaps… but I’ve still got the advantage!” snickered Caroline, reaching her finger back up and tickling her sister gently.  Anne began to convulse with laughter, half-trying to push the massive, soft fingertip away, but it remained there for several minutes as both sisters giggled gleefully, Anne’s sadness about her new friend having improved significantly.  Gripping her hands around Caroline’s finger, the larger sister finally ceased her relentless assault and retracted her finger a few inches, allowing Anne to catch her breath.

                “So… all I have to do is be with him today?”

                Caroline nodded, twitching her finger playfully as Anne continued hanging on tightly.  “Of course.  Be present with him.  Hear what he has to say, what he wants and needs.  You may find you have much more in common than you might initially guess.”

                “Okay.  Thank you, Caroline.”

                “Of course, little sister.  Anything you need.  That’s why I’m here,” she beamed, crossing her hand back across her chest as her sister let go of her finger.  At that point, Caroline felt the slightest weight shifting on the top of her foot, and she peeked around her leg to see Phillip rolling off of her foot onto the marble floor, a little disoriented, as he stood up.

                “It looks like someone finally got all of his required beauty sleep!” smirked Caroline over at her brother, who dusted himself off.

                “I wasn’t sleeping!  I was just sitting there!” he said, quick to defend his believed reputation.

                “Yes, yes, of course you weren’t, you were just playing the statue game to see how still you could remain!” said Anne jokingly, crossing her arms in attitude.

                “I told you, I wasn’t sleeping!” whined Phillip, clearly embarrassed to have fallen asleep while leaning against his sister’s massive ankle.

                “It’s all right, Phillip, you can “sit there” anytime you desire!” winked Caroline, and Phillip smiled, knowing she meant it.  He stepped over to Caroline’s other side, and clambered up onto her stomach as well.  Seeing this, Caroline bent her other leg at the knee, propping it up and inclining her quad, leaving it available as back support.  Phillip quickly leaned back against it, crossing his legs and making himself comfortable.  Caroline tittered at this, covering her mouth.

                “Comfy, m’lord?” she said in the most serious voice she could, entirely meaning it to be a cheerful jab at her brother.  Returning her sudden formality in kind, Phillip straightened up and nodded curtly.

                “Yes, m’lady, thank you very much!” he shouted out gleefully, keeping a straight face to go along with the game.  The lips of both Caroline and Phillip began to quiver in the effort to keep this up without laughing.  Anne shook her head in fake disapproval.

                “You two can be so bizarre at times…” she said, but a smile crept across her face at last.

                “Permission to SPEAK, m’lady!” called out Phillip, keeping up the charade.  Caroline quickly tilted her head back to face her brother, almost robotically.

                “Permission granted, m’lord!”

                “We of the council request a STORY, m’lady!”

                “A story?  I see.  What might be the reasoning for such a movement by the council?” said Caroline, keeping a stiff upper lip and stroking her chin slowly as if in deep thought.  She shifted her legs ever so slightly to get into a more comfortable position, rocking her siblings side to side a little as she did.

                “To… um, to…” said Phillip, struggling to continue the improvisation with clarity.

                “To review the history of the lands!” said Anne at last, joining the game.

                Caroline’s head swiveled to her sister.  “Oh?  And to what end?”

                “We must review such things, lest we forget them entirely and repeat our same mistakes over and over!” she said quickly.  Caroline nodded.

                “A wise point, m’lady, and it is duly noted,” answered Caroline.  “Very well.  What aspect of…” she said, fighting back a chortle.  “…HISTORY shall the council review today?”

                Both siblings came out of character for a moment to throw out a dozen or so different story names each.

                “Now, now, now!  Let’s all remain calm!” said Caroline coolly, holding both hands in the air and flattening her fingers out as if soothing the room back to serenity.  “That’s a lot of history to review, indeed.  I suppose it might be prudent to begin work, yes?” she said, re-crossing her hands.  Her siblings nodded obediently, quietly themselves and listening as Caroline started the first story to tell them.

                A couple hours later, when Caroline was beginning to wonder if she would run dry on stories (despite the consistently rapt attention of her siblings), the door swung open as Richard stepped in.

                “How are you feeling, Caroline?” he asked, stepping to her side and eyeing his other two children sitting on the eldest sister’s stomach with a smile.

                “I feel just fine, father.”

                He tilted his head quickly in regards to Phillip and Anne.  “I suppose you two haven’t got any lessons to attend to this afternoon, have you?”

                Both quickly shook their heads no rapidly and defensively, and Caroline laughed, her stomach vibrating both of them a little as she did.  “I see…” said the king, scratching at his beard.  “And what might have caused such a mysterious disappearance of your education?”

                “We’re LEARNING, father!” called out Phillip dramatically.

                “Indeed.  What, pray tell, are you learning about?” continued Richard.

                “History, father.  We’re reviewing history,” suggested Anne hopefully.

                “Oh, HISTORY, is it?” said Richard sternly, although Caroline could sense he wasn’t serious.  “What sort of history?”

                “All kinds!” said Phillip, standing up and leaning against his sister’s thick, robe-laden quad.  “Like… the White Stallion!  And Alexander the Lone Warrior!  And… The Violet Oasis in the Vast Desert!  And…” he said, trying to recall what had been told by Caroline.

                “Of course, of course.  THAT sort of history.  Very well, I suppose you’ve received all the education necessary for today,” said the king, keeping a straight face.  Both of the younger siblings grinned, cheering quickly.

                “Father?” asked Caroline at last.  “Are they…”

                “Yes, my daughter, they are,” he said, taking a deep breath.  “The people are gathered at the gates of the palace, and they await your appearance with great anticipation.”

                Caroline took a deep breath, both of her siblings turning to face her, worry beginning to fill their faces.  She reached both hands out and took hold of a shoulder on each child sitting on her stomach in her fingertips, gently kneading at their shoulders to help soothe them.  “I’m ready, father.  Let us go and address them.”

Freezing winds whipped through the decaying trees of the deepest forests of the Otherlands, the omnipresent bone dust-mixed dirt settling in thick layers over anything that had potential to grow or bring forth plant life.  Half a dozen stories below ground, though, in the dank caverns constructed hundreds of years before by the old builders of the forgotten Otherland empire, there was life, and plenty of it.

                Two scout soldiers of the Otherlands army marched through the dark and wet halls, wary of any intruders while walking toward their final destination.  Their sallow and leathery skin, worn from the sand and dead air, was stretched taut over their dense bones, lean muscle coating them, their black eyes shifting and gleaming from light reflected in the occasional puddle from the torches lining the walls.  Their skin lit up particularly brightly as they strode past the torches, being roughly the same burnt orange tone, looking as if they were made of partially rotted sweet potato.  None of the soldiers could quite remember what had brought them here, or whom they had descended from.  It was told often that they used to be humans, still having many of the characteristics of man like four limbs, eyes, a mouth and nose, but little else was similar.  Their language, infinitely more complex than that of the humans, granted them a feeling of superiority, which only fueled their rage in being forced into seemingly eternal exile in the Otherlands for so many years by King Richard.  Regardless of what they were, they simply went by the name “Others” by all who had heard of or seen them in person.

                Trained to be warriors from a young age and having the chainmail armor shackled to their bodies before they could walk or speak clearly, the Others had been brought up for the singular purpose of building a force capable of standing up to Richard and his brave military.  Despite their thinner frame and shorter stature, being roughly five feet tall each, all of them made up for their lack of individual brute strength in sheer quantity and scrappiness in a fight, known to work together quickly to eliminate targets, usually in pairs, on the battlefield.  Every soldier had a partner, and they were assigned to stay together until one of them fell permanently.

                The two that were walking together down the hall at this moment stopped in front of a pair of steel doors, which was held together by a massive crank lock and chains on either side.  In front of the door stood two Others, two of only a few that had been born with what many of the Others called a defect, causing them to grow to a much larger height, over eight feet tall, which made them ideal for combat and guard work.  Knowing the two soldiers were expected there, the two guards parted, a sneer on their lips as they wrenched the chains downward, opening the steel door.  The two entered the room, stepped down another long, dark tunnel to a spacious hall at the end, where Catherine awaited them.

                “You’ve taken entirely too long, miscreants.  What NEWS have you brought?” she scowled at them in the language of the Others.  Despite appearing youthful and very human herself, Catherine had learned the language very well for being here for so long.

                “We apologize, m’lady, it was just…”

                “Never MIND whatever frivolous reason you think you have, just spit out the words!”

                “Very well, m’lady…” coughed one of the Others, retrieving a rolled up piece of leather from the pack on his back, stepping forward to hand it to her.  “We’ve brought more than news; we think we’ve found it for you.”

                “Ahhhhh…” sighed Catherine, her mood instantly improving as she strode over to the pair, swiping the leather pouch up from the Other’s hand without looking him in the eye.  “If this is what I think it is, perhaps I will stay my wrath upon you two for your tardiness.  You didn’t TOUCH it with your filthy claws, did you, wretch?”

                “No, no, no m’lady, of course not!”

                “See to it that you aren’t lying to me, or so you shall see what I am like when upset.”

                “Understood.”

                “Good, good.  Now begone, lest I take ill from being forced to stare at your faces for so long,” she said with an arrogant swipe of her hand.  The pair quickly darted back down the hallway.

                Her eyes glowing smugly, Catherine walked back to her original position in the room.  The hall she inhabited was lined with tables covered in old spell books and cauldrons, most of them boiling over with so many concoctions Catherine herself could barely keep track of them.  An absolutely massive fireplace, standing at over ten feet tall, had a roaring blaze inside of it to help warm the cooler atmosphere of the Otherlands’ tunnel systems.  Catherine stopped at a table she had cleared on the extremely off-chance the two scouts she had sent out actually returned victorious, carefully unwrapping the crude leather packaging.  Her breath caught in her chest, her heart swelling with joy, as she stared down at the small violet crystal shard lying in the center.  The light of the fire reflected instantly into it, shining multicolored shades across the room in a surprising display.  Catherine quickly placed a tall spell book in the way of the fireplace to block the effect, not wanting attention drawn to the item.  She hardly dared touch it and risk breaking it, she was so pleased.

                “Daniel…” she called out musically, in stark contrast to her tone of only a minute ago to her scout soldiers.  “Look what I’ve FOUND!”

                From the dark corners of the room, a figure in a drab cloak covering most of his body swept over to Catherine in a flash, moving so quickly one would almost swear he wasn’t touching the ground at all.

                “Found… what, m’lady?” he hissed in a low voice, scratching irritably at the massive scar covering most of his face and swiping a hand over his smooth, bald head.  His skin was a darker orange tint, similarly to the Others, but his taller stature and humanlike build made it difficult to determine exactly what he was.

                “It.  What I’ve been looking for for all these years, I’ve FOUND it, and it was practically under my nose, a mere two thousand miles.  Truly, I had been coming very close to it now for months, I nearly had it in my grasp, but I finally pinpointed its location, and I was right!”

                “As usual, m’lady.  Nothing changes,” cooed Daniel in his gravelly voice, obedient.

                “Of course it doesn’t, Daniel.  I knew it, and you knew it, that I would have success soon.”

                “But… m’lady, I mean no intrusion on your moment of celebration, but I note that you have but a shard of the actual product…”

                “Do I appear a fool to you, Daniel?  Of course I’m aware of this fact, we are still missing one half of it.  Luckily, that’s all we need.  Believe me, there are certain… benefits to being me!” she said slyly, and with a wink she picked up the shard, a rumbling sensation emanating through her body.  She took a deep breath as the chill hit her and she adjusted to it, closing her eyes and humming softly.

                “Erm… m’lady?”

                “DON’T interrupt me, Daniel!” she growled, humming more loudly before finally, with a loud yelp, releasing the shard in her fingers to the table again.

                “Are you all right?” shouted Daniel, rushing forward to help her stand up straighter, but she slapped his hands away.

                “Lay a finger on me, Daniel, and you shan’t be getting it back.  No matter, though, I’ve DISCOVERED it.  Even all these years later, Richard never ceases to amuse me, these… games he tries to play with me…” she mumbled, rubbing her hands together.

                “Pardon me, m’lady, but do you know… where the other piece is, that we might retrieve it?”

                “Of course, Daniel, of course… all in good time…”

                “Where is it, then?”

                Catherine turned to him.  “It was so simple, I’m insulted that I hadn’t thought of it myself, free of the spells’ aid.  It’s in the Black Mountains, on the eastern side, nearest Richard’s… err… MY kingdom, as it shall be soon!” she corrected herself, stroking her chin.

                “That sounds simple enough, m’lady.  I can have the troops ready to embark and seek it out, I’m certain that this particular mission will not require the stealth work of your two scouts.  A brute force should be able to easily recover it, I’m…”

                “Silence, Daniel, I wasn’t finished.  It’s in the caves of the mountains…”

                “Still, an easy task, it will simply require more time to…”

                “Do NOT interrupt again, Daniel, and listen.  It’s not just in the caves, it’s in ITS cave…”

                Daniel’s brow raised, his orange skin wrinkling in thought.  “I see, m’lady… perhaps, then it would be best to find an alternate solution from the troops…”

                Catherine cocked her head at him.  “As usual, Daniel, you seem afraid to meet a challenge, but once again, it’s no matter; this will be most easily solved without our involvement.”

                “With… out our involvement, m’lady?”

                “Not that I don’t trust your IMPRESSIVE MILITARY force, Daniel, but yes, that’s precisely what I mean.  All it will take is the proper application of ingredients in the correct place such as, say, in the palace…”

                “This sounds like more than we are currently capable of handling, m’lady…”

                “Well, perhaps YOU, but not to fear, I am here to pick up the pieces when you constantly fail me.  Do you forget who you are talking to, and what I am capable of?” asked Catherine, a few blue sparks spilling from her fingers as if in show.

                Daniel cleared his throat.  “No, m’lady, I do not forget.  How soon will you be able to clear the cave for us to retrieve your prize?”

                Catherine smirked, crossing her arms.  “Perhaps a few days, I’m uncertain to the exact time.  You may remember that it’s feeding season?  The younger one won’t be the problem, nor will it be the ultimate solution, it shall simply be the bait…”

                “Bait, you say, m’lady?”

                “Yes.  All it will take is a little… push, and my plans will proceed like smooth clockwork.  Prepare your best scouts, we have work to do.”

Caroline stood behind the massive gates of the palace’s front courtyard on the interior path leading to the palace, looking up towards the sky.  The fresh air she had been craving for a matter of days now filled her lungs, and she sighed deeply, trying to remain calm before her appearance in front of the kingdom’s people.  She raised her chin up, looking at the sky, enjoying the feeling of being able to look up, fearless of knocking her head against something.  The top of the thick metal gate was nearly three times as tall as her, easily able to keep her concealed.  Behind the gates came the dull roar of a few thousand people, crowded around the massive walls of the palace in waiting.

                Richard had already made his way up to a balcony to address the people once again from the ramparts.  Stepping back, Caroline could see her father far above the top of her head, overlooking the people and much of the kingdom, which was easily visible as the palace rested on an elevated section of the land.  She couldn’t quite make out what he was saying, but she saw him holding his arms high in the air dramatically to make it easier for the people to understand what he was getting at.  She swallowed hard, a lump in her throat, as her heart began pounding a little more quickly.  She knew she could do this.  She was perfectly capable of making the people see her true self, despite her monstrously large body.  Caroline held out a hand, wiggling her fingers, realizing the terrible power she contained within them, and briskly crossed them behind her back, rocking on the balls of her feet again nervously.

                What made Caroline more apprehensive than the entire crowd of (to her) one foot tall people outside the gates, though, was the realization that if Luke had happened to show up for this occasion, he was going to be treated to the very same shock that every man, woman, and child of the kingdom was about to be exposed to.  The man she had begun to realize she had genuine feelings for, and she hoped returned those feelings, was about to watch the young woman he had been courting for a while now step through those gates at nearly five times her normal size, looking capable of lifting a carriage over her head.  She cringed at this thought, and clenched her eyes shut, going into a small, impromptu prayer that Luke would be able to listen and see the true “her.”  She hoped she would be able to scan the crowd of onlookers quickly and find him.

                “Caroline!” came a yell, although it was a little difficult for Caroline to make out or even notice at first because of the volume of human voices emanating from behind the high walls of the palace.

                “Caroline!” shouted the voice again, and Caroline looked down to her side to see Anne, cupping her hands around her mouth to project her voice, while Phillip stood behind her.  Caroline smiled, stooping down on the stone path to hear them better.  “Good… Good luck!” said Phillip, a bit hesitantly.  Caroline knew he was having the exact same fears and thoughts she was.

                “You can do it!” offered Anne, stepping forward.  Caroline’s hands were splayed out on the ground for balance while she knelt, and Anne patted her massive thumb, trying to be comforting to her huge sister.  “You’ll be great, I know you will.”

                “Thank you, little sister.  I really will need both of you to help me.”

                “How?” asked Phillip.

                “I’m not entirely certain, Phillip.  Would you stay here with me?”

                “We’ll be right behind you!” said Anne, stepping back to give Caroline some room to stand.  The eldest sister pushed off the ground and stood back up, stretching out her arms high into the air.

                “Thank you again, both of you.”

                “PRINCESS!” called out a new voice from behind Caroline.   She swiveled around to find a trembling page boy standing below, attempting to judge how loud he had to yell to get her attention.  She saw his knees shaking, no matter how much he tried to hide it, so she stooped again to get her incredible height down to a more visually digestible level.

                “Yes?” she said softly with a slight smile, resting her forearm on her knee.  The page’s legs continued quivering, but he spoke again.

                “The king requests I inform you that the gates are about to open in preparation for your address of the people, your… Highness…” he said, gulping hard on the final word as he pondered how oddly ironic it was.

                “Yes, thank you,” she said, biting her lip in slight remorse as the boy took a few steps back.  “What is your name?”

                “P-Patrick!” he squeaked out, clearly surprised by the question.

                “Are you all right?”

                “Yes!  Yes!  Oh, I’m… I’m… my apologies, princess, I…” he said, grabbing ahold of his knees to stop them from shaking.

                “No apology is ever necessary to me, Patrick.  Please don’t be nervous, I don’t mean to be intimidating to you.”

                “Intimidating?  No, no, no…” he mumbled, his face flushing red.

                “Please, it’s all right, I understand,” said Caroline, holding out a massive palm in the air as if to quell his speaking.  She retracted it immediately as he ceased speaking, realizing she had probably just inadvertently scared him into being quiet rather than calming him.  “I am beginning to get used to this.  I hope you aren’t afraid of me.”

                “No, of course not!” he said, although Caroline could still see his knees fighting to shake violently.  This wasn’t looking good for any possible success she might have in convincing the people to accept her.  She thought hard, realizing that at this rate, she would probably have the entire population of the kingdom breaking into a cold sweat and fainting at the mere sight of her.  She had seen this page boy running around on errands in the palace, and she knew that he had seen her often, even though they had never directly spoken.  It made her nervous to imagine the reactions of people that hardly ever seen her, that had perhaps only seen her a few times in their lives: in particular, she worried about the reactions of the youngest children of the kingdom.  Her own little brother, loving, carefree, and joking as he was, had been forced into sheer, unknowable terror at their first meeting at her new height, and he had known her since he was capable of committing faces to memory as a baby.  She gulped.  What could she possibly say, she wondered.

                “You may go now if you like, Patrick, to see if there are other matters to attend to,” she said finally, deciding it was best to let this drop for now.  “I hope you feel better,” she said hopefully, grinning as sweetly as she could.

                “Yes, your… Highness, yes!” he said, dropping to his knees in a bow before turning and dashing off, perhaps more briskly than normal.  Caroline sighed.  This was going to be much rougher than she had initially anticipated.  She turned back to her siblings, two of the scant human beings that, after the next few minutes, would most likely actually accept her still as a person.  Anne stood on her tiptoes, waving her arms and giving her a thumbs up.  Caroline giggled quietly, sticking her huge thumb up in the air in return as the gargantuan stone doors began to creak, the chains groaning under the pressure of opening them.  Caroline heard the crowds outside cheering loudly; Richard must have announced that he was presenting her.  Closing her eyes one final time and opening them, Caroline blinked the sunlight from her eyes as the doors opened and she raised her foot into the air and planted it back onto the stone outside the palace walls in a massive step, standing now before a massive crowd of people: as many citizens as could make it to the event as soon as they heard the news.

                Caroline gulped, wringing her sweaty palms behind her back.

A hush fell over the crowd, the din of speaking and movement broken through in half an instant by sheer, mind-numbing silence.  Caroline cleared her throat, preparing to see just how well her voice would project.  She could feel dryness in her throat, and she wondered if she would be able to get the words out clearly.

                “Hello, everyone!” she bellowed out, surprised at how far she could hear her voice echoing.  The entire crowd flinched as a unit, but still didn’t make a sound, as she spoke.  “Please only hear what I have to say before you try to decide what it is that stands before you all…”

                The hush continued.  Caroline could feel a bead of sweat forming on her forehead, from the heat and from the fear swelling inside of her.  Just speak, she willed herself.  Speak.  They will hear.  They must.

                “I know that you may have been confused about my absence.  You’ll ordinarily find me walking these streets every morning and evening as often as I can to see you all.  And I have missed you all so very terribly, but I have, as my father, King Richard has informed you, been ill.  We still are unaware of what has caused my sickness, and… as you may be able to see plainly, it is not a sickness of normalcy, that one might see any day in those who are afflicted with worldly diseases.”

                The hush continued.  Caroline was listening hard, but she heard no screams yet.  A good sign, such as it was.  Her eyes also darted around the sea of small faces below her, all of their eyes locked to the huge woman standing at the gates of the castle.  She couldn’t make out anyone she recognized at all, but she definitely didn’t see Luke yet.

                “This illness is not contagious, and as of now, I do not believe my life is endangered.  However…” she said, and finally she heard, in the silence of the area, a wailing sound, followed by a flop.  Her eyes darted over to a spot in the crowd, where several people were gathered around an opening in the otherwise shoulder-to-shoulder, tightly packed crowd.  Someone had fainted.  Caroline felt a tear rip through her heart, but she swallowed hard in her bone-dry throat, continuing.  “H-However… this sickness of mine was not brought about by any known means.  It was brought about by witchcraft…”

                At this, a collective gasp sounded over the entire crowd.  Caroline heard another flop somewhere, although she wasn’t quite able to make out where the second person had fainted.  She cleared her throat, feeling herself swaying a bit in nervousness, and continued.

                “And… and as such, we… have no particular solution at the present time.  We have… tried several methods, and been unsuccessful.  So while this is ailment is not of a life-threatening nature now… I cannot imagine what sorts of problems it might arise far worse than what has already happened if it is allowed to continue…” she said, wiping a large hand across her damp forehead, pushing the golden hairs from her eyes.  She looked up at the sky, hoping for more guidance, her baby blues glistening like beacons far above the awe-struck peoples. 

                “Now… I ask that everyone of this great land, all who are here to listen to me, understand that…” she said, her voice breaking off a little.  “…that…” she mumbled, feeling weaker and unable to continue.  Then, she felt a slight sensation down by her foot.  She looked down to see Phillip, who had wandered out from his hiding place with Anne, around the corner of the massive gates, where he was now standing at Caroline’s left foot, patting her left pinky toe in an encouraging way.  When they made eye contact, he ceased tapping on her toe and grabbed ahold of her robe hem again, hugging it a little and nodding at her.  Caroline sighed deeply, thanking the heavens for the sort of family she had been blessed with, and turned her head back to the masses.

                “We… this kingdom… are a people.  All of us, are a single unit.  When we experience a victory in battle to defend ourselves, we celebrate together, or in a painful defeat we mourn the losses of our brave ones together.  When we find a prosperous abundance in the crops, we share them, and when we find drought and famine ravaging those same crops, so drastically reduced in number…” she said, gulping but holding firm, “… we SHARE them…”

                The slight murmur that had begun developing amongst the crowd as a third person fainted was halted again by these later words.

                “So, today, I ask not that you offer me a solution.  I have doubts that a simple one exists.  But what I ask for is for what I try to give to each and every one of you every day of my life, even though I have never met so many of you,” Caroline continued, gathering drive.  “I ask that you… accept me, and what I have become, and help me to stand so that I may also help you.”

                A silent calm pervaded the air as Caroline finished her brief anecdote and wiped her brow again, squinting in the sunlight, realizing how heavily she had begun to breathe.  For a few minutes, all Caroline could hear was her slightly faster heartbeat, her breathes coming in gentle but more rapid sighs.  She closed her eyes again, darkening her world briefly.  Let them see me, she thought.  I’m here.  Let them see me in here.  The dark silence continued as Caroline rippled her fingers at her side a little and felt the slight tug of her brother hugging her robe near her foot.  Let them see me, she thought again.

                Caroline opened her eyes, the brightness forcing her to readjust her vision, as a murmur began to break out.  Not like the one of before, full of quick speaking and tangible doubt.  It was higher pitched.  Someone far off in the distance cheered so loudly Caroline was certain his vocal cords must have been injured.  Another followed this, and an instant later the entire crowd of citizens erupted in ceaseless cries of jubilation, applause rippling across only seconds after that.  As the sounds rumbled through the air, Caroline felt her fears dissipating and tears forming in her eyes to see the people she loved so much, small now as they were, coming around so quickly in the face of her frightening predicament. While the sounds continued, Caroline felt a tug on the other side of her robe, nearer to her knee.  She turned down to see her father standing there, looking up at her and beaming with the proudest smile she had ever seen.  He nodded, not even needing to say anything, and she nodded back, wiping her fingers across her eyelids to clear her vision; she laughed a little, joyous at the reactions of the people.

                “I KNEW you could do it!” said Anne, hopping up and down gleefully once everyone was back in the Great Hall.  After the cheering had died down outside the gates, quite a few people had actually come up to greet the princess.  Some had just wanted to touch Caroline’s massive robe to ensure that their eyes weren’t playing tricks on them with the illusion of a tower-sized young woman, but to her joy, many of them just wanted to give her a pleasant hello and a bow (the bow she didn’t particularly care for, it was more the acknowledgment).  Already, despite the looming feeling of probably growing again on this night, Caroline felt much better, even more than she had in the morning when spending time with her siblings.  The acceptance of her family had been the most important thing to her, but the acceptance of the people was on such a massive scale, she wanted to believe that her curse could be conquered now with so much support.

                “I’m sorry to have ever doubted you, my daughter,” said Richard, patting Caroline’s calf through her robe.

                “I understood completely, father.  I almost did not believe I could do it, myself.”

                “Well, now that doesn’t matter, you have the support of the people.  I’m very proud of you.”

                “Thank you.  I’m simply glad it’s over…” said Caroline, wiping her brow one final time.  She sat down on the floor, this time stretching her legs all the way out and reaching her arms into the air, nonchalantly playing with the carvings high on the walls with her fingers.  She yawned loudly, resting her head on her right shoulder in relaxation, wiggling her toes.  “I’m not certain I should, but I do feel very tired after the excitement, father… I feel like I might try to rest…”

                “Very well, Caroline, we won’t keep you then… you’ve earned it,” said Richard, nodding and heading toward the door.

                “Dear?” asked Elizabeth from her daughter’s hip side.  “May I?”

                “Of course, mother.  I shall see you later,” said Caroline, leaning far over, closer to the ground, so her mother could kiss her cheek.  With a smile, Caroline waved good-bye to her mother, who exited along with Rose.

                “I think I will continue hemming your new garments this evening, miss… just to prepare,” said Rose hesitantly, obviously knowing exactly what was going to be happening before the sun rose again.  Caroline nodded.

                “Yes, I think that would help very much; thank you, Rose.”

                “I will return once you awaken, miss, with more food!”

                “Oh, please don’t trouble yourself, Rose, I’m plenty full from earlier,” said Caroline quickly, knowing her objection was probably fruitless.

                “Yes, miss, but we must keep you healthy… I’ll be back later, and you can decide then if you require sustenance.”  The huge princess shrugged at this, still marveling a bit at how far her friend was willing to go in the name of ensuring Caroline didn’t experience a single instant of discomfort in her life.  Closing her eyes and resting her hands on her stomach, Caroline quickly drifted off, completely exhausted.

                Caroline opened her eyes, her vision blurry.  She looked down at her hands and was perturbed to find herself no longer in the Great Hall.  She scrambled to her feet, realizing she was in a field of flowers.  As she pressed her fingers into the ground for support pushing up, she killed dozens of them, and realized that she was still gargantuan.  She stood at full height, looking around, refreshed to be completely in nature, surrounded by trees (most of which didn’t each reach her chin) and wildflowers.  When she wasn’t helping in the poor houses or in the streets, one of Caroline’s favorite things to do was ride a horse or simply stroll out into the fields.  Looking around, she realized she was in one of her favorite groves just behind the west wall of the palace, with the little glade hidden by trees.  She had hardly recognized it at this size, but it didn’t take long to feel right at home again.  She quickly sat back down, spreading her arms out comfortably in the soft grass, the cool breeze washing over her.  She didn’t know how she had managed to end up here, but she was in too much blissful comfort amongst the flowers to truly care.

                Gleeful with the freedom of motion she had out in the field, she giggled with joyful unawareness of the world like she had as a small child: for just a moment, she felt like she was Phillip’s age again, still learning to enjoy the wonders of the universe.  Closing her eyes and laughing loudly, listening to it echo, she rolled over several times through the short grass and flowers.  Suddenly, she felt her shoulder hit a tree.  It didn’t cause her much more than a fleeting second of discomfort, but as she pulled back she watched the tree breaking off near the base, so hard had she hit it.  Caroline rolled into a sitting position and watched with a bit of regret as the tree tumbled over to the side.  However, her regret quickly turned to a chill ripping through her stomach as she heard a yelp of pain.

                Quickly going onto her hands and knees, Caroline crawled back to the fallen tree, looking around the side.  Underneath the thick branches, she realized there was a body.  Wailing out in terror at what she had just done, Caroline went into a kneeling position, grasping her long fingers around the bulk of the tree and lifting it up without much effort.  She tossed it to the side, sending it crashing into another tree as she moved her eyes back to the body under the tree; it was Anne, lying limply in the grass, moaning softly.  Caroline quickly covered her mouth to try and contain the inevitable shriek, her hand shaking as she held it warily over her sister’s body.

                “ANNIE!” she screamed out in a panic, unable to contain herself.  “No!  No, I… I couldn’t have, I didn’t see… no, no, no…” she mumbled, leaning over and sliding her hands under Anne’s body.  She lifted her up as if she were a newborn, going into a standing position and cradling her in her arms, curling her fingers around her legs and sides to keep her safe from being dropped.  She rocked her gently, looking her over and stroking her cheek with her huge pointer finger.  Anne appeared to have gone unconscious.  Her clothes were tattered, and Caroline thought she saw small scratches along Anne’s cheek and stomach, some of them red.  “No!  Oh, no, please no, no…” mumbled Caroline, her voice cracking, utterly helpless to do anything.  “I’ll… get you help… oh, no, no, no… Annie, please… I’m so sor…” she said, her voice breaking off as she began jogging forward, dodging the trees that were nearly as tall as her.  With her height advantage, she was able to see over the tops.  However, as she continued running, she saw no palace wall, which was normally but a few minutes walk through the least dense part of the forest.  All Caroline could see in all directions surrounding the flower field were trees stretching on endlessly, and beyond that was a thick, gray layer of fog covering up any line of sight Caroline might have had.  Panicking even more and feeling a cold sweat breaking out on her back, Caroline looked back down at Anne and felt her own legs quivering.  How could she have done this?  She had knocked a tree down on her little sister, who looked up to her so much.  She may have even killed her.

                “No!  No, she’s not, she’s not going to…” cried Caroline suddenly at this unknowable thought, her tears trickling onto the limp form of Anne.  She tried to shift her head to the side, but it was pretty useless with the waterworks cascading down her cheeks.  She had no idea what to do.  “Please, please, please wake up, little sister, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to…” she rambled, having no other resource other than her sorrowful words.  She watched as her large tears streaked down her sister’s dirty clothes and face from the tree, her hands and forearms quivering.  “Please, Annie, don’t… leave me, don’t leave your big sister… your… big…” she said, looking down at herself, disgusted.  She looked up at the sky and yelled out as loud as she could, releasing her rage all at once, tightly gripping the body of her sister in her arms like a baby.

                “BIG!” called out Caroline, her voice echoing around the Great Hall as she awoke from her nap in a cold sweat.  “B-b-big…” she said, looking down at herself, realizing she had never left and breathing a sigh of relief.   It had only been another terrible dream.  Caroline was, while she enjoyed her rest, beginning to resent her mental nighttime activities.  They didn’t seem to be doing her health or her outlook at the future any favors.

                Suddenly, in a crash that hurt even Caroline’s ears, she felt a rumbling like an earthquake actually hit her through the floor, and yet nothing happened in the Great Hall.  She heard yelling from some distant hallway of the palace, and a moment later the sound of steel being clashed against steel.

                Both curious and worried for the safety of everyone outside, Caroline inched her way to the door at the top of the tall entrances stairs, the direction from which she had heard the yelling.  Mentally cursing her massive and cumbersome body, she leaned herself along the length of the stairs, propping herself up by pressing against the marble with her toes and sticking her head through the small double doors, unable to fit anything else, to find out what was going on.  She ran her fingers through her long blonde hair, trying to sweep her bangs from her vision and back out the door to ensure she had the best view.  The hallway stretched in both directions with no doors and no openings.  The only remarkable part of the whole hall was a small table with an ornate vase containing a large wildflower on it, but this had already fallen to the ground and been smashed to pieces.  There were no more crashes or earthquakes, but she heard more rumbling, and an instant later, she watched as two guards dashed right past her face, not even taking a moment to look at her.  She noted how much of a hurry they must have been in, as the large head of an over two-story tall young girl protruding from a doorway isn’t something she assumed they saw very often.  This alone worried her, and with nothing else to see, she pulled her head out, listening worriedly to the yelling and wishing she were her normal size again so she could go find her family and ensure their safety.

                “COME!  COME, QUICKLY!” came the call of what sounded like the head of the guards as Caroline turned her head to the other door.  Half a dozen other guards followed in front, followed by Richard, Elizabeth, Anne and Phillip.  Behind them came over a dozen other guards, all marching in pairs of two.  “We need to keep moving, get them together, get in front!” barked the head of the guards to his troops, drawing his sword and moving closer to the larger double doors that Caroline had used the day before to enter the Great Hall.  Everyone seemed to be facing these doors, keeping a measured distance away from it in the corner.  The yelling continued from far off in the winding halls of the palace.

                Anne and Phillip quickly darted to their sister, who was now sitting cross-legged on the marble floor, looking around dazed and confused.  Phillip grabbed on to her hand, which was hanging loosely by the ground, and buried his face in her massive palm, hugging his arms into the spaces between her fingers.  “I’m scared, Caroline!  What’s happening?” he moaned, shaking.  Caroline quickly wrapped her warm fingers around his shoulders and chest protectively, trying to quell his quivering despite the fact that she had no idea what was happening either.  Anne grabbed on to a clump of loose robe by Caroline’s hip and hugged herself to it, wrapping herself partially inside of it and shaking almost as hard as her brother.

                “Father?” asked Caroline quickly, but her father looked up at her quickly, shushing her with a hand and moving to the guard to speak.  Richard rarely did this to anyone, so she was certain that this was not some ordinary event taking place.  She looked down at her mother, who was also standing nearby, and whispered, “Mother?  Please, tell me what’s going on, I’m so very confused… why is there such commotion outside?  Has the earth been shaken?”

                “Please, Caroline, we cannot… just… just remain still, remain quiet, please, help your siblings, but please…” she said, looking worriedly over at her husband, who was busily speaking to the head of the guards in hushed tones.  Caroline looked around as several more guards filed in, posting themselves at the several doors around the room, but mainly the two largest double doors used by Caroline to enter.  Spears drawn, shields held up, over a dozen of the now-very numerous troop quantities sat in waiting, whispering last minute specifications to one another.

                “Get ready, soldiers!” shouted out the head of the guards.  “Shields UP!”

                Caroline’s breath caught in her chest as the two doubles doors were smashed in an instant into splinters and sawdust by whatever was on the other side, sending the entire line of troops posted at the door sprawling on the ground.

Phillip, still hugging himself to Caroline’s hand, felt himself pushed to the floor as Caroline smashed her massive palm to the ground, standing her arm like a pillar, blocking her two siblings who stood behind it.  She blinked several times, trying to grasp what she was staring at as the dazed guards yelped for back-up.

                It was a creature of some kind, a beast, but it wasn’t anything Caroline had ever set eyes on before, and she had thumbed through over half the archived books in the palace library containing illustrations of as many creatures as were known to man.  Yet this one was a mystery.

                It looked larger than an elephant, standing on four legs with a hairy tale.  It’s entire body, thick and rounded, was layered with matted dark brown hair, twisted together by dirt and grease.  Its head, though, was its most striking feature, looking rather squat and wide compared to the rest of its body.  The beast’s eyes stretched long across its face at an odd angle, gleaming a terrible sharp yellow around its slit-like pupils, accentuated by the thin, serpentine nostrils just beneath its eyes.  It opened its mouth, its gargantuan jowls widening into what almost looked like a smile as it bared glistening fangs, drooling like a dog all over the floor as it perked its short, pointed ears up.  To Caroline, it almost looked like a huge, bloated, reptilian wolf covered in a layer of muscle and grime, and yet just enough of it was different so that it didn’t quite look like it belonged anywhere on Earth.  She shuddered, scooting back a few feet and gently pushing her siblings back as well, pressing them against the wall with her palm and fingers just enough to ensure they didn’t try to move out.  The beast inched forward, still across the hall from the terrified royal family and other guards, cutting down the distance with each placement of its padded paws and fingerlike claws.

                “Get ready, men, regroup and fire!” bellowed the head of the guards, drawing his bow and adding an arrow.  A dozen other soldiers beside him placed arrows into their bows as well and fired, most of the arrows hitting the beast directly in the face.  It cringed for a moment, but shook its long hair around on its face and padded forward with renewed resolve, beginning to bend at the shoulder blades against the ground like a cat preparing to pounce.  The soldiers thrown aside by the smashed door crawled desperately to the sidelines, grasping for their weapons.

                Caroline looked over at it, and felt a chill go down her spine as she realized it had locked eyes with her as it continued moving forward, probably simply because she was the largest and most attention-drawing being in the room besides itself.  It almost seemed to squint at her, and as it did a long, gray, forked tongue lapped out almost like a frog’s, poking at its own jaw.  The beast came nearer and nearer, less than fifty feet away, as the line of troops continuing firing arrows uselessly into the beast’s face.  One arrow actually hit the beast squarely in the eye, and it stuck for a moment before the monster batted its leathery eyelashes, breaking the thing like a twig.  With a grumble from its throat, it began to screech, sounding like a distressed eagle about to dive bomb on something attacking its nest.  The sound was startling, and Caroline could feel tears dampening the palm of her hand as she continued pressing her siblings against the wall, probably mostly from Phillip who was still trembling fearfully against her fingers.  She felt herself beginning to tremble as well, but somehow she wasn’t even afraid of what the beast might do to her once it reached them.

                The beast’s gaze shifted away as its head cocked down towards Caroline’s side, near her father.  It stopped in its tracks at a distance of only ten or so feet away.  Caroline felt her skin going cold as this thing the size of a very large dog (to Caroline, no less) pressed its chest against the ground, wiggling its back feet against the ground with a few scrapes, as if getting into position.

                “That’s it, then!  Move forward!” roared the head of the guards, and with that every troop in the room rushed forth, their swords drawn.  Quickly coming out of its focused state, the beast swiped its massive paws around, sending a few soldiers flying onto their backs, their weapons dropped.  The soldiers that came from behind were kicked back down in the face as the beast used its back legs like those of a horse, smacking directly backward at the oncoming attackers.  One man actually managed to reach the beast, and he plunged his sword into its side.  With another blood-curdling, bird-like screech, the beast swiveled around and slashed the man straight down his front, incapacitating him violently.  Caroline blinked, feeling a shot of pain for the man who had just taken a blow for the safety of herself and her family.  Then, moving its long, hairy toes down to the spot in its side where the hip sword was still lodged, the creature actually wrapped its claws around the blade as if using its paw like a human hand and yanked it out with a small groan, dropping it to the ground with a metallic clatter, a small pool of dark green blood settling in around it from the relatively small wound.  The head of the guards charged last, actually managing to dodge a paw slash, but as he went in for the kill the beast opened its jaws, clenching its teeth around him and tossing him aside like a ragdoll against the stairs.  With the troops all taken down in what felt like a matter of seconds, the beast pressed itself back against the cool marble, grumbling a little as if ready to pounce again.

                Caroline’s world seemed to slow down, and she felt her heart pounding against the bars of her ribcage, almost wanting to rip out of her body as her breathing became faster.  She watched the beast’s paws press down against the marble, its “fingers” splaying out with pressure before pushing off, the angle of its lift-off pointed directly to her side, at her mother, father, and a few of the wounded troops who had managed to crawl back.  Caroline felt her hand releasing its hold against her two siblings against the wall, and swatting out into the air with such speed she could hardly blink before she saw her hand smacking against the surprised face of the beast, which was already in midair in its pounce.  In a wide arc, she slapped it, following through with her shoulder as if swinging a hammer and sent the thing rolling backward, squealing slightly as she had hit it directly on the nose.  Grasping its snout between its claws, it wiggled its ears and turned around, its teeth baring through its closed mouth, a hot puff of steam fired from its nose.  Caroline gasped, looking down at her hands and realizing the amount of power she had just dealt in a single strike, quickly moving to her knees to get into a better point of leverage.  As she looked back up, though, the thing was already leaping for her, and she wasn’t prepared this time.

                Caroline’s back hit the stone wall with such force the hall actually shook, sending down a few stray blocks and some stone dust from the ceiling as the beast pressed its front claws against her chest, moving its face in and opening its jaws wide to take a bite out of her face.  Grunting uncomfortably from the feeling of its claws on her chest, Caroline clenched her fists and brought her arms back up, taking ahold of one half of its jaw in each hand, straining her muscles as she tried to push it back.  Its teeth gnashed, trying to outlast the strength of Caroline’s fingers and hands, as well as trying to bite off her digits which gripped the greasy beast’s face just out of reach of its chompers.  It lapped its tongue out, sending another chill down Caroline’s spine as the leathery muscle snapped like a whip against her fingers, but she held firm, beginning to push outward.  She felt sweat forming on her brow again, and she gritted her teeth, finally pushing the thing back against the stairs with a loud smack, sending more stone dust from the ceiling as the thing’s sheer mass took down half of the railing on the staircase.  Releasing her arms from the strain, she flopped back against the wall, breathing heavily and trying to regain her stamina, already smashing both of her hands powerfully against the ground to gain leverage and stand up.  She pressed upward against the ground, going into a full standing position just as the beast turned back around, rearing its back, its hair standing on end like a monstrous house cat.  Caroline took a quick side step, planting her massive feet in front of her entire family and the wounded soldiers, tightening the muscles in her arms and legs as if in preparation for the brunt of another seemingly unstoppable force.

                “Caroline, NO!” screamed Elizabeth, rushing forward and grabbing at Caroline’s calf, but Richard leapt forward, pulling her back and placing her hands on Phillip and Anne, who were both frozen in fear and shock before whispering something quickly to her and rushing forth to his daughter.

                “CAROLINE!” he yelled out, tugging at the hem of her robe helplessly, but she didn’t even look down to acknowledge him, already knowing exactly what he was going to say.  “Please, Caroline, don’t… we must retreat, it is too LATE!” he yelled out, tugging madly at the fabric but receiving no response, unable to shift even a fraction of his daughter’s mass in this action.  Caroline knew he wasn’t going to move from that spot no matter what she said or did, and as he continued standing behind her and the beast reared itself for another attack, Caroline arched her foot and lifted her large heel into the air, pressing it against her father’s chest as gently as she could, knocking him to the ground on the side just as the beast lunged at her again, smashing her down to the floor right where Richard had been standing with a deafening crash.  Richard crawled backward, shocked out of his daze of trying desperately to get his daughter’s attention.  He moved back next to a wounded soldier, who instantly saw the king and lifted up his sword, placing it in the king’s lap, his arm flopping weakly to the side immediately afterward.  The king grasped the man’s hand, holding his arm up for him.

                “You are a brave soldier.  You are remembered for this, sir,” said the king, shaking the man’s hand vigorously.  The man nodded and smiled, passing away from his severe wound across his chest where the claws of the beast had ravaged.  Richard gripped the blade, tossing it between his hands as he stood up again, looking over at his family and pointing toward the door.

                “Get out, now!  Take them!” he yelled out to his wife, tilting his head toward the door.  Elizabeth gave him a look of hesitation while shifting her ankles as if to take a step.  “NOW!” he roared, and she hurried them out of the room and back down the small hallway they had come down.  Richard gulped, shifting the sword in his grip as he looked at the sight before him.

                Caroline’s fingers were pressed back against the jowls of the beast as it gnashed hungrily at her features, spraying its spittle all over her face.  She closed her eyes, turning her head to the side and pressing her cheek against the cool ground to put as much distance between her face and those fangs as possible.  The appendage-like claws of the beast dug into the now-much thicker skin of her chest, and she could feel scratches developing painfully along her upper torso.  Richard saw this and dashed forward, standing by his daughter’s hip, leaping to the side as the beast’s back right paw slipped off of its position on Caroline’s quad, grasping for balance as it tried harder and harder to break past Caroline’s powerful forearms and hands to reach her face.  With the long, hairy leg sitting right before him, Richard seized the opportunity and plunged the sword into the beast’s leg, hoping to give his daughter a moment of reprieve.  The beast screeched painfully as Richard yanked the blade out, driving it back into the same spot and twisting hard in a full circle as Caroline continued hanging onto its jaw.  Finally, it snapped its head and focus away from the massive young woman it was sitting on, turning its gaze onto Richard by its back foot and hissing.

                “Father, STOP!” grunted Caroline painfully, lifting her head back up with the few second break she was given.  The beast kicked its now-bleeding leg out, knocking Richard to the floor again.  However, this was all Caroline needed.  Taking her hands off the beast’s jaws in a terrifying, dangerous moment, Caroline grasped her fingers around the front legs of the beast and squeezed, pushing it back off of her.  It quickly noticed this and tried to reach for her face again, but she had already pushed it back down her long torso.  As it saw a direct strike at her face wouldn’t be possible, the creature realized its mouth was now free and it went for Caroline’s hands.  She felt its fangs pierce her skin lightly on her pinky and ring fingers just as she gained enough leverage to push off on it.  Caroline pushed her pinned elbows against the marble and tossed the beast outward, sending it skidding back across the hall, where it smashed into and splintered a dining table.

                “Father!” cried out Caroline, quickly moving back into a kneeling position and shifting to a position directly over her father.  “Are you hurt?” she asked, laying her fingers gently on his chest and tapping at him.  Richard groggily shook his head around, having had the wind knocked from him, and stood back up as Caroline removed her fingers.  His eyes widened as he took a defensive position, his arm trembling at his pointed back across the room at the beast.

                “Please, Caroline, I’ll be FINE, don’t turn your back on it!” he yelled out, afraid it would pounce on her while she was worried about his wellbeing.  Caroline looked over her shoulder and saw the beast already creeping back over, limping slightly from where Richard had wounded its back leg.  She could see a thin trail of its green blood leading across the slick floor.  Backing up so she didn’t accidentally harm her father, Caroline scrambled to her feet, holding her hands out, her fingers bent inward like claws themselves in preparation for keeping the beast at bay.  She sighed deeply, realizing that the cold sweat was now trickling down her forehead and back from a combination of the exertion and realization that she had no honest idea of how to take this thing down.

                Caroline crossed her right foot over her left, bending at the knees a little to take a stronger position on the ground as she walked to her side, ensuring she didn’t turn at all.  The beast realized what was happening and locked itself into a similar circling motion, the two of them stalking one another, their eyes locked.  Caroline frowned, determinedly, using two fingers to swipe the sweat off her brow quickly before holding her hand back out in front of her face for protection.  She tilted her head at the beast, as if willing it to try something else, and it returned the gesture, turning its head with what must have been an extremely versatile neck like an owl.  Caroline wasn’t really sure what she was gaining by attempting so uselessly to intimidate it, but she figured it was either this or lose her cool in the heat of the moment, dooming her father and anyone else in the palace.  She had realized this several minutes ago.  If she wasn’t able to do anything to stop the creature in its murderous aims, it seemed unlikely the beast would be stopped before quite a few many more lives were lost or harmed.  And Caroline had no intention of letting that happen.  She clenched her massive fists together tightly.

                The beast didn’t even bother settling itself against the ground for a well-aimed strike, instead choosing to push off from the ground with whatever leverage it had there and leaping at Caroline.  Its clumsiness, though, was paid for as Caroline grabbed it around the stomach like a dog.  She wasn’t able to hold it up because of its heaviness, but she was able to use its own momentum to send it flying much further than it had anticipated, right into a stone carved wall with a powerful smack.  Before it could even get up, Caroline was already striding over to it.  Stepping over it, she planted her right foot in a loud stomp onto the marble ground, straddling the beast and sitting on it to keep it down.  It grunted under the sheer weight of the young woman, flailing its sharp limbs around to try and get at Caroline, but she was ready, grabbing on to each of its front limbs at the elbow and pinning them down.  She leaned forward ever so slightly, applying enough pressure to ensure that only the beast’s back legs could struggle now against the marble.  She clenched her muscles, concentrating.  As long as she was still awake and conscious, she didn’t intend to let the monster get back up and endanger her family or loved ones again.  Having a solid submission hold on the beast from up front, Caroline raised her legs ever so slightly by pressing against the ground with her toes, allowing her to slide her legs back, resting now in a sort of kneeling position so her legs could have more room to spread out and make contact with the ground.  The beast continuing struggling for several minutes, growling louder and louder, spraying an enraged mist of its drool into the air, even trying to bite the marble, but it finally gave up.  Just as it ceased struggling, a cavalry of guards appeared in the doorway.  Richard stepped over to them, limping slightly from when he had been kicked aside by the beast’s back foot.

                “Your punctuality is appreciated.  Now, if you would be so kind as to acquire for me some…” he said, looking back over his shoulder in thought at his daughter.  The jaws of the guards dropped as they watched the young and beautiful princess, known throughout the land for her gentleness and peacefulness, single-handedly keeping the 5-ton beast down for the count using only her arms and body weight.  “…errr, some chains, perhaps.  THICK chains!” said Richard, holding up a finger to make sure they heard the emphasized word.

                “Y-Y-Yes, your Royal Highness, of course…” said the guard at the head of the pack. Most of them turned and left to acquire the proper tools to restrain the monstrous creature, the rest staying to help the wounded soldiers and attend to the king himself.  Shooing them away, Richard cautiously approached his daughter, who was trying to slow her breathing, still sitting on the now-docile beast, its limbs still pinned firmly down by the titanic young lady.

                “My daughter…” said Richard, shaking his head in disbelief, but somehow managing to smile with pride and gratitude for what he had just witnessed his beloved Caroline doing.  “How… I never…”

                Caroline grunted, settling into a more comfortable position.  “Father, I don’t mean to trouble you, but… I do believe my garments may be somewhat soiled from this… animal’s coat,” she said, whipping her blond hair back over her shoulder and gripping the beast’s front legs even more tightly in her powerful fists.

“Father, is all of this truly necessary?” asked Caroline with a slight smirk, turning her head to the side to look at Richard.

                “Don’t speak, Caroline, or you may stir your gracious helpers from their work…” he said soothingly, hugging his smiling but still traumatized wife to him tightly.

                “I what?” asked Caroline from her laying down position, her eyes suddenly shifting back up.  The maid who happened to be seated on Caroline’s stomach was rolled onto her side, laying flat on the young girl’s massive abdomen as the rumble of Caroline’s voice startled her from her precarious position.  “I’m sorry, I…” began Caroline, realizing she was vibrating her stomach again.  “I’m sorry…” she whispered this time, nodding.

                “Not to worry, your Highness, ‘twas but an accident,” offered the maid, sitting back up and continuing to scrub with her sponge at the small exposed spot on Caroline’s stomach where the beast’s claws had left a long scratch.  Not wanting to destroy the entire garment (as it was all the massive princess had to wear), Rose had taken charge of Caroline’s healing process, discovering all the places the awful monster had left a mark before cutting the seams in that area to make a small enough opening for a team of maids and nurses to wash the wounds.  Rose herself was already hard at work at lengthening the curtain robe along the back and hem, as it was already beginning to feel tight on some areas of Caroline’s body. 

While the scratches looked rather severe to the eyes of a normal sized person, to Caroline it felt like she had simply rolled down a hill into a thicket on accident, something she had done as a child, and while it was a painful experience, she felt as if she was being treated medically after returning from the front lines in a war, having only received a few bruises.  There were at least ten of the staff surrounding her at different places.  She had one woman on her stomach, two on her left leg, one on her right leg, two on her right arm, two on her left arm, one next to her head, and one on her chest.  While she didn’t want to admit it and certainly wouldn’t for fear of embarrassment, the sensation of this procedure was the equivalent of having kittens, monkeys, or some other small animal crawling all over her body, their light weight barely registering, their tiny feet tickling Caroline.  She slowly tilted her head back to the side, feeling the nurse behind her head feeling for any bumps or scratches while simultaneously dealing with how frazzled her hair had become.  “But… really, father,” she whispered as gently as possible so as not to disturb the woman on her stomach again.  “Really… is this all necessary?”

“Please, Caroline, you musn’t speak so much… I don’t want you to be hurt,” said Elizabeth slowly.  “You must return to health.  Your brother and sister would like to see you.”

“Could they not return now?” asked Caroline.

“We had hoped they would not become frightened by your wounds,” said Richard, shrugging slightly.  “I will allow them to re-enter once all of your injuries have been attended to.”  Despite how much Anne and Phillip had wanted to see Caroline after they were told the palace was safe again, they had been shooed to their rooms until the situation could be dealt with.

“But mother!” whispered Caroline again with the slightest of laughs.  “I truly do feel perfectly fine.  Minor, minor scratches, all of these.  I feel much improved already.”

“Nonsense, miss, nonsense.  We can’t have you going about until we’re absolutely positive you are going to be well again,” said Rose, scurrying past Caroline’s ear with a massive patch of new fabric dragging behind her like a shawl.  She pinned it against Caroline’s shoulder, stretched it down to her elbow to check the length.  “Yes, yes… this should do very well…” she mumbled, folding the fabric back up over her shoulder and marching back to the corner of the room, where she had been working with several other maids who were just as skilled as seamstresses.  Caroline sighed, raising and lowering her chest in a controlled manner, again remembering that she had a small human being sitting on her body, trying to help her.  She had a feeling it would be best to just let the kind nurses and maids do their work so she could sooner end the massive fuss that had been put up over her in the last hour or so since she had taken down the frightful creature almost by herself.  With several dozen of the kingdom’s strongest men brought in, along with some armored carts, the creature had been chained down, first twisted around its body and then attached in crisscrossing patterns along the carts to ensure escape was nigh impossible.  Then, using the might of the men, the carts were transported out of the room and outside the castle walls; Caroline was unsure of what exactly had transpired once the beast was outside.

Suddenly, a new thought struck Caroline.  From the commotion of the day, beginning with her nerve-wracking speech to the people and followed by her brawl with the awful intruder, she had completely forgotten to wonder about Luke.  Had he been out in the crowds?  Had he seen her?  Surely he must have.  Caroline swallowed hard, licking her lips to try to moisten her mouth again and make speaking clearly an easier task.  “Father?” she whispered.

“Please don’t trouble yourself with anything now, my daughter, just rest…”

“Was Luke present today?  At the address?”

There was silence for a moment.  “I don’t believe so, Caroline.”

Already, she wasn’t feeling good.  Had her intended heard about her condition through some sneaky word of mouth and not bothered to show up, having already made up his mind about the woman that was probably going to be his wife someday?  This thought instantly consumed Caroline’s mind, and she wanted to tear up a little in her eyes, but she figured it was best to hold it back now and avoid the sharp dipping and rising of her chest that would come as a package deal with the inevitable dry sobs.  She didn’t feel any better, though.

“Do you… do you know… why?” she asked, not wanting to know the answer at all but at the same time requiring it of herself.  Richard nodded, and could probably sense the fear and doubt in her voice, because he was quick to step forward, waving his hands as if to hush her.

“Yes, my daughter, and believe me, it has nothing to do with you at all.”

Caroline wondered if her father was being truthful or simply trying to cushion the situation for her in her state of slightly disturbed health, but she chose not to press that particular aspect of his answer.  She giggled lightly as the maid sitting on her stomach scrubbed across the scratch very gently, creating a tickling sensation.  The woman looked up, worried for a moment but smiling herself.

“Apologies, your Highness…”

“None required, you’ve lifted my spirits some…” smiled Caroline, lifting her head slightly to make eye contact with the maid before laying her head back on the ground and turning to face her parents again.  “What was it then, father?  I did so desperately want to see him, I would have hoped… to have had the opportunity to explain matters to him.  Have you…”

“Yes, Caroline, I have indeed seen and spoken with Luke.”

Her heart stopped in her chest.  What could possibly have transpired?  Caroline had the irresistible urge, just as when she was a child knowing her parents were deliberately withholding information, to leap up and jump up and down with eagerness, but somehow she had a feeling such an action would not end comfortably for the majority of the people in the room.  She swallowed again, feeling particularly dry in her throat at this new development.

“When did…”

“This morning, my daughter, this morning at a very early hour.”

“Please, father, what has become of him?”

The king grumbled uncomfortably, looking down at the ground, and Elizabeth took over.  “Caroline, we would so like if you would simply rest.  These matters will wait until later,” she said soothingly, stepping closer to her daughter’s face.

“But… I cannot rest, mother.  I must know where he is, I must speak with him as soon as possible.”

“Really, Caroline.”

“I… shan’t be able to shut my eyes until I am fully aware of his whereabouts,” said Caroline, growing more and more worried.  The king rubbed at his temple as Elizabeth stepped back, defeated.

“Very well.  During the night, we heard stirrings near the entrance into the Black Mountains.  I must confess, I had a feeling that the… being who so graciously paid us a visit today was traveling towards the kingdom, so I gathered together a force to head it off at the cave entrance to the mountains.  Having some prior knowledge of it, I knew it would take no route other than the darkest and least navigable, which called for a rather specialized group…” said the king, clearing his throat.  “I gathered two dozen of my finest and bravest before the sun even rose this morning in the hopes that they might meet the threat and end it before steps were forced to be taken.  And… Luke must have heard a whisper in the wind, because he arrived too, wanting to join the force…”

Caroline’s breath caught in her chest again.  It couldn’t possibly be.  Her father couldn’t have actually allowed Luke to venture out towards the mountains and face the beast.  Despite her best efforts, her chest and stomach began to rise and fall a little more quickly.  She felt both maids ceasing their work and hanging on to the fabric of her robe to avoid falling off the gigantic princess’s torso.

“Father, you can’t mean…”

“My daughter, I swear to you, I tried multiple times to persuade him into not going, but he would have none of it.  He informed me he was going to march out toward the mountains of his own accord, and it would be… my choice to try and protect him.  There was little I could do.  I handed him a blade and shield to ensure the safest journey possible.”

“No… no…”

“Please, Caroline, try to understand… he was intent on going.  He said that he refused to let anything potentially harmful reach the walls of the palace.  He told me… he intended to make sure you were safe.”

Caroline shut her eyes tightly in an effort to dam up the waterworks, but regardless felt the tears streaming down her dirt-powdered cheeks, the small hands of the woman tending to the scratches on her cheek retracting at the sight of the massive, salty droplets.  She tried to hold back the sobbing, but she couldn’t and soon felt her chest and stomach heaving a little.  It wasn’t much, but it was enough to ensure the two maids actually sitting on her body couldn’t work.  Both quickly slid off of her sides, knowing that this could get worse reasonably quickly.  Caroline wrinkled her nose and clenched teeth, hoping to stop herself and not force the entire staff of nurses and maids to halt their work while she wallowed in doubt.

“Father, please, tell me… where IS he?” she said through a cracked voice, trying to bat the wetness from her eyes.  Richard grumbled again.

“Caroline… we…”

“Father.”

“Yes… I’m so sorry, my daughter.  None of the men have returned yet.  We have heard no sign of them,” he answered grimly.  At this, Caroline broke out into full-on weeping, her large, rosy cheeks becoming fully stained by her tears.  A slippery puddle began to form by her head, and the maid trying to work her hair out slipped right onto her back after trying to take a step through the steadily growing puddle.

“Ohhhh…” moaned Caroline in further embarrassment and annoyance at the fact that she couldn’t even cry anymore without nearly breaking someone’s back.  “He… w-why…”

“Please understand, my daughter, I gave him the best armor and weapons I could, he was set upon going.  Everything he did, I know he did it for you.”

Caroline could feel the small hands of the maids drawing back to give her some room to settle.  Her arms free, the princess brought her massive hands up to her face, trying to wipe at the little river of tears flowing down both cheeks, her breath catching uncomfortably in deep sobs.  After a moment of simply squeezing at her cheeks, the dampness now coating the spaces between her fingers, Caroline took her hands off of her face and smashed both of her fists down onto the ground in rage, knocking down several of the people in the room with the shockwave through the ground, her sobs loud and frequent as a rapid-firing ballista.  Her hands trembled then, her fingers opening up and drumming along the cool marble.  She refused to believe it.  He couldn’t be dead.  He simply couldn’t.

“Oh, mother…” said Caroline, sighing deeply in a failed attempt to cease the sobbing.  “’What am I to do?” she asked helplessly.  Elizabeth stepped forward, patting her daughter on the soaked, glistening cheek and kissed it.

“Please just rest now, Caroline, it will be all right, I’m sure of it… the soldiers, all of them, shall return home.  They are, as your father said, the best of the kingdom, some of the finest warriors available.  They surely are simply wandering home, wearied, from their journey; I know you are aware of the distance, it is over a dozen miles just to reach the entrance of the caves!” she offered, stroking her daughter’s cheek.  Caroline sniffled, clearing her throat again.

“But… but even if they are… all right…” she said, terrified at having to make the distinction when in regards to anything involving Luke.  “…the caves, so deep, so winding, like a labyrinth!  Are they not, father?” she asked worriedly, new fears trickling into her mind rapidly.

“Y-Yes…” he said quietly, coughing.

“Then… what sort of odds…” moaned Caroline, scrunching her face up in mental agony.

“Caroline, I BEG you to not think on these matters so deeply and further threaten your heart,” said Elizabeth, her own voice sounding wavy but refusing to break in order to help soothe the gargantuan princess.  “These are the BEST, not only in battle, but in knowledge of the world and geography, of plotting a course to the destination with precision and accuracy!” said Elizabeth as optimistically as possible.  “If anyone is to find their way through the caves as if taking a leisurely stroll, you can rest comfortably in the knowledge that it is THESE men and of course Luke.”

Caroline tried to work this through her mind.  Luke was indeed very smart, and could find his way out of the thickest, unknown forest blindfolded, earmuffed, and handcuffed.  While he was still very young, having just recently turned 20, he was no doubt one of the most skilled navigators to ever visit the kingdom, and she had little doubt that he was capable of standing up to the challenge of the caves and leading the men to safety.

But then again, Caroline had never seen the caves with her own eyes.  She had been brought near the mountains with her father, years before as a young child, as the royal family traveled to a neighboring province along with a massive escort of guards to keep them fully secure.  She had seen the mountains, towering, terrifying beacons as the caravan of royals, guards, and carriages had traveled through the deep valleys, the monuments of stone death standing overhead as if watching them.  She had felt frightened then, and had never actually traveled in that same direction since, only seeing some of the mountains from her view from the palace ramparts, although even this was difficult at times because an oppressive layer of fog constantly covered the mountains, becoming even worse near the top.

This thinking was doing her no good, and despite her efforts to forget it for now and rest, Caroline felt the tears flowing anew down her cheeks.  She covered her face again, not wanting to be looked upon by all of these people who couldn’t quite grasp her pain.

“Evening approaches, dearest Caroline, I would so like it if you would attempt to get some well-deserved rest…” said Elizabeth, kissing her daughter’s cheek once more before slowly retreating toward the door, shooing the maids and nurses away in the process.  Richard nodded to his daughter solemnly, knowing there was little he could say to comfort her.

“Caroline… if I hear anything, a single breath of news…”

“I know you will, father, thank you… I just want to be alone…” said Caroline, resting her hands on her chest and stretching her legs out.  He nodded, exiting, leaving his daughter to continue weeping, stewing in the fear that her one-foot-tall essentially-betrothed could be lying painfully in a cave somewhere, wishing someone would come and help him.  She closed her eyes, picturing what the strapping young man would look like to her from her stature.  She could almost see him, lying pained on a cold and wet cave floor, trying aimlessly to right himself.  Caroline stretched out her hand into the air, curling her fingers slowly with desperation; she so badly wanted to wrap her fingers around Luke’s sides and pull his small body to hers in an attempt to save him, but there was nothing there.  She retracted her hand quickly, the sobbing continuing as the sun set.

Caroline wiped her eyes uselessly, trying to correct her oddly blurry vision despite the absence of tears, as she dashed quickly through the nearly pitch-black tunnel, her bare feet splashing the freezing puddles of water as she stomped through them, soaking the hem of her dress.  This didn’t deter her, though, as she tried to pick up her pace, listening desperately for the sounds again.  All she could hear, though, were the constant drippings of ice water from the dank, rocky ceilings of the cave.  Absent-mindedly, she noted she had no idea where she was now, how she got here, or how to get back where she came from, but her fear of this fact was trumped by her fear of not hearing the sound again.  She got down on the ground, pressing her body against the rock and turning her head to the side to listen better.

                At first, there was nothing but the continual dripping sound, a pebble rolling off the rocky wall somewhere in the distance.  With a sigh, Caroline pulled her ear from the rock, but quickly pressed it back down as she heard the sound again.

                “Caroline…” the voice said, a mere whisper, but it was distinguishable, and finally Caroline recognized the sound.  It was Luke.  She hadn’t noticed it at first, since Luke was normally an outgoing person, speaking proudly without becoming prude or showy.  This voice, though, was so different sounding; she had never heard him like this.  The voice was weak, questioning, uncertain.  None of these were qualities she had ever heard come from the lips of the young man, and yet she knew it had to be his voice.  She listened again.  “Caroline?” it asked gently, barely audible against the seemingly deafening crash of each water droplet as she strained her hearing, waiting for another clue as to Luke’s whereabouts.  She had to find him.  Even if she didn’t know the way out, if she was with him, she knew they could do it together.  And if not, they would be together all the same.

                “LUKE!” she called out, cupping her hands around her mouth to project her voice.  The sound echoed through the winding cavern tunnels, the halls themselves having impressively massive diameters.  Caroline was reasonably certain they were nearly two stories high from ceiling to ground, which was all the more alarming when she considered how truly deep and long the tunnels went underneath the ground, leading to the valleys at the center of the Black Mountains.  The caves were a twisting network of massive, nearly identical rock formations smoothed over thousands of years by the constant trickling of water from the rivers running above ground.  “LUKE!” she called again, becoming more and more worried about what would happen if she didn’t find him in time.  She didn’t want to think about it, but for all she knew he was already dead.

                She pulled herself back up, closing her eyes, and walked forward, stamping back through the puddles while trying to register in her mind the direction the call had come from.  She knew it was forward, not behind her, so all she could do was keep walking.  Already, her legs were getting tired, her feet becoming pruned from walking in the puddles as if she’d just taken a long bath.  There was no way of knowing how long she’d been in the tunnels, but from the reaction of her body, it must have been a while.  She took a seat, leaning her back against the damp wall to catch her breath and rest her legs.  However, as she sat there trying to regain a normal heart rate, she felt as if she was jamming a knife deeper and deeper into Luke’s chest, wherever he was lying, by simply resting.  She didn’t take more than a minute before continuing on with renewed determination, moving at a decent jog down the tunnels.  After a while, she heard it again, loud enough that she didn’t need her ear pressed to the ground or even utter silence.

                “Caroline!” came the call, sounding slightly more urgent but not nearly as energetic as Luke’s voice normally was.

                “Luke!  I’m here, I’m coming, I’m…” she called out, hoping for a response.  “Answer me!  I don’t know where you are, you must help me, please.”  She stepped more slowly, straining her ears again, but she heard nothing.  The feeling of helplessness flooding her was incredible; she was so close, she could hear his voice very plainly, and yet she couldn’t reach him no matter how far down the tunnel she walked, no matter how quickly she moved, no matter how little she rested.  Her mind refused to listen to her body, though, and Caroline forced herself to move her bedraggled body further and further into the twisting madness of the dark caves.  In the darkest parts of the cave tunnels she had passed, it was pitch black, and she had been forced to feel along the walls in total unawareness until she managed to find an area lit by barely visible cracks leading up through the caves, where dim sunlight was allowed to creep through.  This was barely enough to see where she was at checkpoints, though, and the majority of the cave, particularly this far into the tunnel, required her to feel along the walls with her hands.  Had there been forks in the road?  Alternate paths?  Had she split off on the wrong one long ago, cutting off any chance of hearing Luke’s increasingly weak cries?  It was almost too much for her to bear.

                “CAROLINE!” screamed the voice, very close.  She reacted instantly, sprinting through the darkness, completely forgoing her careful plan of feeling along the walls.  Almost immediately she tripped, painfully slipping on the slick, rocky ground, but she pulled herself up again, yanking her soggy hair out of her eyes.  And with the aid of a small crack of light, beamed directly into a sharp corner of the cave, she found Luke, laying on the ground, unmoving.

                “Luke!  Oh, please be all right… please be all right…” she moaned, dashing to his side and dropping to her knees.  She covered her mouth and gasped as she got a better look at him.  His eyes were closed, his lips quivering.  His fingers were clenched tightly together but were shaking.  Across his midsection, he had three large slashes in the distinct shape and distance of the massive beast’s terrible claws.  Caroline placed a hand on his cheek, and was shocked at how icy it felt.  “Luke… Luke, please wake up, please wake UP!” she shouted desperately, running out of options.  She placed both hands on his cheeks, trying to warm him, before moving to his equally cold hands and fingers and squeezing them.  Caroline didn’t even have the energy to cry or mourn his possible demise, so drained was she from the experience of finding her way down the tunnels.  However, after a few minutes of gently patting at his cheeks and hands, he stirred, groaning in pain.

                “Luke!  Oh…” she said, raising her head briefly up towards the crack of light.  “Thank you…”

                She turned her attention back down to Luke, who hadn’t even opened his eyes yet.  “Luke, don’t speak, please don’t speak, you must conserve your energy.  I’m going to get you out of here…” she said, sliding her arm around his shoulders.  “I will help you stand to your feet, Luke, but you must help me, I can’t carry you alone.”  He groaned again but made no acknowledgement of the princess, no words or even a movement of muscle to indicate his effort to stand up.  “PLEASE, Luke, we haven’t much time.  We must get you to a doctor, you can be helped, I know it, just please help me… stand up, Luke, stand up.”

                But he didn’t budge.  Caroline placed a hand on his chest, and he cringed, but she kept it there, feeling his beating heart struggling to continue on.  “No…” she said weakly, feeling it come to a stop.  “No!”

                Sweat dripped off Caroline’s forehead, only the moonlight illuminating the Great Hall ever so slightly as she awoke.  Ironically, she felt as if she had just fallen flat on a puddle like in her dream, because her back and face were covered in freezing perspiration, her heart pounding in her chest nervously.  The effect was made even more uncomfortable by the fact that her clothes were feeling particularly tight against her skin, the flowing drapes of yesterday beginning to feel like a corset hugging her midsection almost painfully tightly.  She pressed her hand against her midsection, the small flap of fabric still dangling by a few stitches on her stomach from where Rose had detached it to attend to her wounds, her cold fingers shocking the warm flesh of her stomach.  The fabric was stretched very thin, similarly to the way her nightgown had been on the first night of her growth.  She didn’t even bother trying to be surprised or upset at this point, she already knew perfectly well why this was happening, so she simply laid her hand back on the cool marble and tried to regulate her breathing again.  Her new height, whatever it was, wasn’t the priority for the moment.  Luke was.

                She rolled her head back, pressing against the ground to lean up slightly, and looked upside down at the wall behind her.  Despite the darkness, the dim lighting afforded to the corner by the moonlight allowed Caroline to make out the massive amount of fabric folded up, where Rose had been busily preparing the gigantic princess’s garments for another growth.  Most of it appeared to still be in one long piece, having not been altered from its original purpose of window hanging yet.  The gears of Caroline’s mind were already twisting, constructing new thoughts about her options.  She pulled herself into a sitting position and stood back up.  The scratches still stung slightly, but it was only a mild distraction.  Caroline turned her head to the wall as she stood to full height, her eyes rising above the windows.  Once again, with no direct comparison of another human being, she couldn’t be entirely sure of how large she was at this point, but Caroline was willing to guess her growth spurt had actually been a larger increment than any of the previous days.  This thought alone normally would have terrified her further, but she was far too focused on the formulating plan in her determined mind.  She strode over to the corner containing the folded drapes, her ears noting the slightly louder slam of her bare feet hitting the marble with each step.

                She stooped, scooping up the thick, lengthy drapes with one hand as if it were a hanky and raised it up, the ends finally lifting from the ground as she brought it to her face, rubbing it with her fingers slowly.  The material was very sturdy, made of satin-lined velvet around the outside but becoming thicker in the middle to withstand old age and wear.  If it became needed, it would do.  Caroline held it to the moonlight so she could see more clearly, moving closer to the large exit doors for the brightest square of moonlight being reflected through the windows (and so she wouldn’t have to stoop to get the best view) and began bringing the ends of the drapes together, crossing them over and tying them together.  With a few quick twists, Caroline had it knotted at two different ends.  She then set about doing the same along the midsection, using the lengthy and rope-like tassels to attach the middle part of the drape together until it formed a large pouch shape of sorts.  Gripping it tightly and gulping her fears out of mind, Caroline leaned down, pinching her huge fingers around the golden handle of the door and swung it open with ease, careful not to pull too hard for fear of snapping it off the hinges and awakening someone.  A tingling sensation went up her arm as she did this; she felt almost as if she was a little girl again, playing with the incredibly sized doll’s house her father had commissioned for her from one of the kingdom’s finest carpenters.  But it was a real door this time, and a pretty large one at that. 

Caroline stared at it doubtfully.  She had entered the room the previous day on her shins, her forearms used as support.  She began to question how possible this would be this time.  She flattened her body against the ground, her exposed lower legs feeling the coolness of the marble as she began inching through the doorway, propelling herself forward with her bent back toes.  She got her arms through first, tossing the tied up drape into the hallway to give herself some room.  Claustrophobia began to drift into her mind a bit, but she shrugged it off as she wormed her way through the doorway, pressing off against the outside walls of the hall with her hands to be pulled through.  Her hips came last, and Caroline was a bit ashamed with herself at how she had a slightly harder time pulling them through, but they came a second later.  Now was the hard part, her long legs still inside the Great Hall.  She looked up through the cramped confines of the hall, towards the direction she had to go.  The halls would become a little wider after this initial turn, and from there it was relatively easy to reach the entrance hall of the palace, which would in turn give her access to the front gates.  And from there, she could leave the palace and go off on what might very well have been a useless search for Luke, wherever he was.  Caroline didn’t really know what kind of odds she had of finding him in the caves, considering the size and depth of them, and especially considering the fact that he would be even harder to spot due to the fact that he was less than a foot tall in comparison to the princess at that point.  Still, after what she had seen in the dream and the pain in her heart, she knew she would never be able to live with herself if she didn’t at least try to find him.

Pressing against the wall and inching herself along it to make a better angle for her legs to come through, Caroline reached the furthest point she could reach, her knees catching on the door frame.  With a little wiggling, she pulled them through, allowing the rest of her legs and finally her feet to slide through, her toes bumped uncomfortably by the door.  Now in the tunnel of the hall, feeling slightly warm already just because of the proximity of solid objects to Caroline’s body, she grabbed up the loose drape and began to crawl, stretching her incredibly long arms out before her and pulling forward, inching along, careful not to kick the walls with her feet and awaken someone.  If this was going to work, Caroline knew she could alert no one.  Her parents would never allow this.  Ironically, she noted, there was little they could probably do to stop her in her endeavors anyway if they knew, but she at least wanted to have the decency to not have to directly defy them to their faces.  Turning a final corner of the hall, Caroline found herself in the much larger and more maneuverable quarters.  She crossed these quickly, passing by the many ornate doors and tapestries of the hall, finally reaching the opening into the entrance hall.  She climbed out, reaching a leg over the edge of the one story staircase leading up from the ground, and easily climbed down, able to stand up at full height once again.  As she stepped to the large doors, Caroline stooped once again and pinched at the door handle, having to try a few times to get a good grip in her thick fingertips, but she finally succeeded and was able to drag the doors open with some effort.  As she opened it, allowing the moonlight to directly bathe her from outside, she realized with a little surprise that a steel hold had been placed in the door from the outside to prevent its opening by anyone without a key, but she had bent it cleanly in two and snapped it at the ends just by pressing against the door.  She sighed, having a feeling her parents wouldn’t have needed any clues to decipher what her plans were.  Gripping the drape tightly in her hands, she brought it up to her head and looped it around her neck like a loose-fitting scarf, finally exiting as she bent a little at the waist to fit through the doors.  The front courtyard was the final threshold.  She figured she would be easily seen exiting through this gate by any townsfolk happening to be walking around, and she didn’t want her exact whereabouts so easily discovered.  She had a feeling that as soon as her destination was discovered, Richard would send out a search party for her, thusly endangering even more lives on her account, and Caroline was determined to cut off such a possibility.  She took a leisurely stroll around the grounds of the palace.  She passed several guards, but by bending over a bit she realized they were sleeping, leaning against the stone as if waiting for trouble to happen and awaken them.  She giggled softly, the small guards looking like babies to her in their regal colors and sleeping so peacefully.  Caroline had the sudden irresistible urge to pick them all up in her arms and put them to bed, as was often her job at the houses of the poor with the many children, but she quickly laughed this off, knowing she had to concentrate.

She reached the correct gate facing the forest and glade, followed by the long walk to the Black Mountains.  Caroline considered the distance: she knew it was over a dozen miles to a normal person.  Caroline figured, though, to her it would most likely only feel like a few, three or four at worst, if she kept a steady pace and went in the correct direction.  She crouched down by the chain locks normally pulled either by a mule or one of the strongmen guards.  With two of her fingers and a slight tug, she had the heavy metal gates rising up, sheer muscular strength being exerted through her soft digits.  Once the gate was up, she stood back up and stepped out, grabbing onto the underside of the gate and allowing it to close slowly so it didn’t crash to the ground and alert everyone.  She smiled at her success of exiting the palace unnoticed as she allowed the metal grate to slip almost silently back to the ground.

Turning to face the challenge before her, Caroline took a deep breath of fresh air, gripped her hands tightly around her drape-scarf, and took a step.

The fire of Catherine’s underground sanctuary roared particularly loudly as Daniel crept back into the room, watching his mistress point toward the blaze.  She chanted a few words, then held her harm steadily in the air as a stream of light blue sparks fell from her fingers, followed by a thicker stream, rippling in the air and barely able to contain itself with energy.  Catherine planted her feet on the ground for a better leverage point, and continued holding firm as she fired the light into fire, still with no response.  Grumbling in irritation, Catherine released her hand and stepped back, catching her breath.

                “Any… luck, m’lady?” asked Daniel cautiously.

                “NO, Daniel, nothing yet, in case you couldn’t tell by looking upon the flames with your own eyes.  No, I’m afraid I am incapable of conjuring such information alone.”

                “M-my apologies, m’lady.”

                “Whatever you say, Daniel.  It is not of importance, very soon it won’t matter whether or not I can successfully pull off that particular charm.”

                “Why… not?”

                Catherine cocked her head at him, her hand grabbing for a long ladle.  Daniel did a double take, afraid she was going to throw it at him or worse, but she simply began furiously stirring at one of the hall’s numerous bubbling cauldrons.  Still, her eyes narrowed, not breaking contact with Daniel’s.

                “It seems you haven’t been listening at all while I’ve been discussing this with you, Daniel.  I’m not entirely certain it is even worth my time trying to get it back through your thick skull, but I’ll make the attempt anyway,” she sneered.  “As soon as we have access to the second half, the item itself will be able to tell us the answers we seek.”

                Daniel’s eyes shifted curiously over to the table, where the small purple crystal shard still laid in the leather pouch, and he raised an eyebrow.  “It will… tell us, m’lady?”

                “YES, Daniel, that is precisely what I am saying.  Bring both pieces together, and you can find where they belong.  Like a key to the keyhole.  It’s quite simple, really, I’m surprised even your feeble mind couldn’t have grasped this on its own.”

                Daniel coughed, pacing around the room a bit.  “Sorry…”

                “Don’t be sorry, just cease your incessant questioning.  Believe me Daniel, everything I have been promising will come to fruition very soon.  We WILL have that wretched land for ourselves, and we will remake it, in our image!  Everything we’ve dreamed of…” she said.  Mentally, Daniel knew perfectly well that she meant “I” when she said “we,” but he was accepting of this fact.  Any chance to get out of the Otherlands would be an improvement in his opinion, so he never tried to complain about it because of this fact.  That, and the fact that he was pretty sure Catherine could fry him on the spot with a simple flick of her finger if she disliked his comments enough.  It was almost silent for a few minutes, save for the crackle of the now-calmer fire and the uneasy bubbling of Catherine’s liquid concoction in the pot.

                “Well… m’lady, I’ve… brought news of… IT,” said Daniel sheepishly, scratching at his bald head nervously.  Catherine’s hand stopped stirring and she looked over at him, annoyed.

                “Why have you waited so long to inform me, then, Daniel?  Do these matter never cease to slip your mind?”

                “I…”

                “No matter about that, just tell me what you found now.”

                Daniel gulped, bracing himself.  “Well… err, m’lady, you see…”

                “Spit it out, please, and stop wasting my valuable time.  I have work to attend to!”

                “Right, yes, of course… apologies.  Well, we received word just minutes ago.  The smaller did, indeed, find its way into the palace.  It was attracted to the concoction, just as you said it would be.”

                Catherine smiled smugly.  “Of course it did, Daniel, of course it did.  VERY few beings are aware of the exact specifications required to make that mixture work.  Done wrong, it can be… quite disastrous.  Not that wasn’t, anyway…” she said, realizing the irony of her words and she cackled.  Feeling it was appropriate to join in, Daniel began to guffaw heartily, clutching his stomach, but Catherine silenced him almost immediately.

                “No time for this, Daniel, what happened next?”

                “Well… this is, perhaps, where it doesn’t go quite as we may have liked, m’lady.  It did, indeed, manage to tear through the guards, I heard it had killed over a dozen of them and wounded quite a few more…”

                Catherine clasped her hands together, pleased.  “Very good, Daniel.  Well, what happened next?  Go on.”

                Daniel swallowed again, grinning optimistically in hopes of softening the blow of the next part.  “Yes… RIGHT, m’lady, next.  Well… it seems that after it reached the royal family, just as you knew it would...”

                “Right.”

                “Yes, well, it reached the royal family, almost killed the king, actually… but, it seems… the princess stopped it.”

                “What?”

                “The… princess… STOPPED it, m’lady, it seems,” said Daniel, bracing himself for the inevitable repercussions of having to deliver such news.  Catherine tapped at her lips, biting them, as she began to pace back and forth.  Finally, Daniel her a soft sound emanating from her.  He drew back for a moment, assuming it was an enraged growl, but it turned into laughter an instant later.  “Are you… all right?” he asked shyly, wondering if this was a good time to enquire on such things.

                “Oh, this is PERFECT, Daniel, much better than I could possibly have expected or hoped for…”

                “Errm… why might that be, m’lady?”

                “Daniel, are you truly this naďve?  Truly this… stupid?”

                “N-n-no, no, I’m simply confused about…”

                “There’s nothing to be confused about, Daniel.  This was precisely what we needed to happen all along.  To be honest, I was apprehensive at first that this little scheme of mine wouldn’t work properly if… it… simply tore through the palace, leaving none left, before returning home, but THIS…”

                “Pardon me, m’lady, but should we not be more alarmed by the fact that a single… girl… was able to stop it?”

                Catherine looked at him puzzled for a moment.  “Oh.  I suppose your scout wasn’t able to tell you WHY she was able to fell the beast with such ease?” she said.

                “I suppose not, m’lady…” said Daniel, getting curious.

                “The curse I placed on her, Daniel, it’s quite simple.  A growing spell.  She’s been becoming larger and larger each night.  I would suspect she is quite large indeed at this point, easily larger than IT.  I would even go as far to say it was nothing more than a small dog to her when she subdued it,” said Catherine thoughtfully, pleased with herself.  Daniel was taken aback, his eyes bugging at this idea, thoroughly confused now.

                “L-larger, m’lady?”

                “Yes, Daniel, larger.  She’s a rather BIG girl now, I suppose we might say,” she said with a sly grin.  “Don’t look so strangely at me, Daniel.  Every part of her grew proportionately, she’s not some freak of nature like you are in her strength or power.  I highly doubt she’s even much of an impressive physical specimen naturally, being a LADY and everything in the court of dear, dear, Richard,” she sneered.  “So, really, it makes a great deal of sense.  MY only worry was that the girl wouldn’t attempt to fight back, but I had a feeling from what I’ve heard that she wouldn’t just sit there like a sap while she watched her family become ravaged…” she said, steepling her fingers together and drumming them in rhythm as if thinking further.  Daniel swallowed hard, digesting all of this.

                “I see, m’lady.  I’m afraid, though, that I still am at a loss for the exact benefits of the princess being capable of defeating… it… in combat.”

                “Oh, Daniel, it seems I truly MUST spell out everything with stunning clarity so that you may begin to comprehend it.  Let me put it this way: A mother’s child has gone missing.  What does the mother do?”

                “She… goes in search of it?”

                “Precisely.  And what, pray tell, might said mother DO when she discovers her child has not only been lost in one of the most dangerous of places, but was physically harmed, AND captured.”

                “She will… become angrier?  Try to, perhaps, take vengeance?”

                Catherine nodded.  “You’re getting it now, Daniel.  Try to think about that little fact.  I’m sure the truth of my brilliant plan will occur to you if you stand there long enough, no matter how small that mind of yours is.”

                Caroline wiped a hand across her sweating brow from the gathering heat.  The sun hadn’t even risen yet, but it was already becoming irritatingly warm outside.  She had been wandering through the sea of trees that didn’t even reach her chest in height for several hours now.  She knew that, with the distance of three or four miles of walking distance (to her) to cross what was, technically, well over a dozen miles, should have been accomplished already, if not for one wrinkle she had been unsuspecting of.  Having finally breaking through the sea of trees and walking along the fields, which steadily became less and less populated with vegetation as she walked, she had a better view of the mountains, still reasonably far off.  However, as she came nearer, she found herself face-to-face with a deep gorge, extending an impressive distance outward.  She guessed that the gorge was easily quadruple as wide as she was tall, and this was quite an accomplishment in her mind.  There was a rope bridge extending all the way across that she had a feeling Luke and the scouts had used the previous day.  It looked like a well-built bridge considering the precarious location, and looked sturdy enough. 

Sturdy enough, that is, for people comparatively less than a foot tall to Caroline.  She had a feeling that if she set a single toe on the walkway, it would snap like a leaf.  She peered over the edge.  Despite her size, the drop still looked like it would be (to her) a two-story drop, and that could easily injure her very badly.  She swallowed hard, shaking her head as she pulled back the bits of her yellow hair that had become matted to her damp forehead and licked her dry lips.  Her eyes shifted to the distance across the gorge rather than the distance down.  It was a long shot, and she had serious doubts she would be able to jump it safely.  She had a feeling it was possible, but in her increasingly tightened clothes, and with the prospect of such a sharp drop below, Caroline just couldn’t quite wrap her head around it.  If she was going to be able to save Luke, she would be no good to him with broken legs, slumped at the bottom of the gorge, her massive body damming up the creek below.  No, she would have to walk around, and she knew it.  Shrugging, she set off with a new resolve, following the gorge and waiting for it to become thin enough to manually climb over.

While it didn’t seem to be getting any narrower, with satisfaction, the princess realized that the gorge was becoming shallower.  If she went far enough, she had a feeling she could simply climb into it, walk across, and climb back out on the other side.  From there, she would have seemingly no other distractions before reaching the Black Mountains.  She had turned around several times, but she now realized she had entered the thick haze of fog that coated much of the area between the palace and the mountains themselves.  Her home was no longer visible, all she could see behind her was a wall of rolling, cloudy silver.

Caroline sighed deeply, raising her hand and gripping the fabric draped around her neck like a scarf to warm her chilly fingers.  She murmured pleasurably, her digits already feeling warmed, but she nearly jumped into the air in shock when she felt the scarf move.  She stopped in her tracks, unlooping the scarf from her neck and holding it out.  She peered into the spaces between the tied tassles of the pouch-like drapes, and found her brother lying inside.  She quickly bunched up both ends of the drapes into one massive hand, leaving her other one free.  She pocked her pointer finger through the openings between the tassles to get a better view of the small boy inside her makeshift scarf.

“PHILLIP!” she said in surprise, opening her hand up and reaching all of her massive fingers into the scarf.  She gently touched him with her fingertips inside his warm pocket of the drapes, then retracted them to get a better view of him.  Mixing in with her shock that he was in her scarf was the fact that she finally had a better comparison with a person.  From the looks of it, Phillip couldn’t have been much taller than seven or eight inches to her.  His weight was so slight and barely noticeable, she hadn’t even felt the extra pressure as she had wrapped the scarf around her neck.  “How did YOU…” she said worriedly, blinking a few times.

“Please, Caroline, I’m so sorry, I just wanted to… well, I saw you leaving, I couldn’t just…”

“What were you THINKING?” said Caroline, not yelling but becoming rather stern with her (very) little sibling.  “It is NOT safe for you out here!” she scolded.  “You might have been hurt coming along with me; I have something very important I must do.”

At these words, Phillip burst into tears, bunching the thick fabric of the drape around his face to wipe off.  Caroline suddenly felt a little guilty at the harshness of her words.  Despite how she had tried not to yell, the fact that her humongous face was dealing out such irritated words to her young sibling was probably enough to do the job.

“Phillip…” she cooed more gently, extending her fingers back through the drape tassles as if they were cage bars.  “It’ll be all right, don’t cry…” she said, stroking him gently with her soft fingertips.  Phillip grabbed onto her pointer finger, hugging it to himself, which Caroline calmly allowed while she waited for him to catch his breath.  “Don’t cry…”

“I’m SORRY…” he moaned through choked sobs.  “I had to make sure you didn’t get hurt all by yourself.  I thought… you might want someone to be with you.  I know if I was by myself out here, I’d be really, really scared!” he stated mater-of-factly.

After this, Caroline couldn’t possibly condone herself with being upset with her brother’s choice to tag along.  She pressed her fingers deeper into the tassle pouch, wrapping them across the top of her brother’s small body.  “Thank you, Phillip.  I know I can always count on you to protect me…” she said, giggling happily, finding it funny and sweet at the same time that her brother felt the need to help protect his 35-foot-tall sister.  “But you know that nothing can hurt me now, don’t you?”

“Really?” he said, hugging himself to her soothing, soft fingers.  She nodded.

“Of course not.”

“Not anything?  Not even the… big hairy… MONSTER th-thing?” he said, sounding frightened at the mere suggestion of the beast.  Caroline squeezed her fingers around Phillip’s side to quell his slight shivering, nodding again.

“NOTHING.  Not a single thing.”

“Then… what am I supposed to protect you from?” he said questioningly, legitimately confused by this apparently newfound conundrum.  Caroline retracted her fingers from the pouch, bringing her hand underneath the drape and wiggling her fingers underneath, tickling her brother’s small form inside of it.  He convulsed a little, snickering, as she tickled him, Caroline’s face widening into a smile.

“I’m not certain, Phillip.  Maybe you can just be here to keep me company.  I think I’d like that.”

“All I get to do is keep you company!  I wanna HELP!” said Phillip, sounding frustrated as Caroline’s gentle tickling ceased.  “I wanna stop the bad people.”

“And you will, someday, Phillip.  But for now, I don’t need some knight in silver armor.”

“But that’s what’s in the stories…” offered Phillip, confused.

“I know it.  But sometimes you don’t need someone like that to help you.  You don’t need armies, or brave warriors with swords and shields, or magical men with wands and potions,” she said.

“Who do you need, then?”

She grinned, then puckered her lips ever so slightly and blew him a soft kiss in midair, which made him snicker again.  He did a double take simultaneously, a little bit surprised, as he hadn’t ever heard a kiss’s sound of suction quite so loud, because on Caroline’s massive, plush lips, even such a small gesture was loud.  He quickly recovered, though, sticking his tongue out at her playfully.

“I need you, Phillip.”

“Me?” he said, sounding a little shocked.

“Yes, you.  I need someone to help me find the way there, and I’ll bet you know all kinds of things about the wild, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes!” he said, proudly, crawling closer to the tassle ties and sticking his clementine-sized head through the opening to see her better, his eyes squinting a little at the light as the sun began to rise, filtered through the fog.  “A lot!  I can help, I promise, I know all kinds of…”

Caroline raised a hand up to his face, placing a massive fingertip inches away from his mouth to help calm him down.  He instantly stopped speaking, but didn’t look at all intimidated.  “I’m sure you can.  So let’s continue our journey.  And this time, I can protect YOU,” she said, her fingers reaching at the tassles and beginning to undo the ties.  Phillip felt the drape rocking a bit, but Caroline kept it at a steady angle so that he wouldn’t fall out.  After she had opened three of the tassles, leaving space enough for Phillip to crawl out of the drape pouch, she cupped her right hand, palm side up, directly underneath the pouch.  “Come, Phillip,” she said, her fingertips tapping at the fabric directly in front of him.  “Don’t be afraid.  Trust me.”

Without a second thought, Phillip lowered his feet into his sister’s massive, two-foot wide palm, slipping his entire body in and sitting cross-legged to avoid falling.  Caroline’s hand bobbed ever so slightly downward as it adjusted to the new weight filling it, but she adjusted almost immediately, raising her hand up closer to her face.   Her brother was roughly the size of a pigeon to her, his body filling out her hand pretty fully.  Still, it was a stark contrast to when she very recently had to use both hands to lift him up safely by his sides.  She curled her finger against his back so he could lean again them, and laid her thumb across his lap, putting down the slightest amount of pressure to help keep him down.  Her soft finger flesh was soothing and gentle against his legs, and Phillip took hold of her thumb as if her hand had become a carriage for him to ride.  He beamed up at her, and Caroline, gratitude flooding her body for how quickly he had been willing to do that, smiled back. Her baby blues reflected sunlight as they absolutely glowed down in joy at the little boy in her hand.

“Are you ready?” she said, rocking her hand side to side gently, Phillip’s face tickled by the breeze from so high in the air.  Phillip bounced up and down a little in his sitting position, nodding vigorously to make sure he was seen.

“Yes!  Let’s go!” he said excitedly as Caroline looped the drape scarf back around her neck, pulling her long blond hair out from underneath it.

“Then let’s get moving,” she said firmly, resuming her trek along the side of the cliff, her brother nestled comfortably and safely in her warm palm.

Caroline flattened her hand and placed it over her eyes to get a better view with the sun bearing down on herself and Phillip.  It hadn’t been this bright for a while, but they had apparently hit a patch where the fog wasn’t as thick overhead, allowing some heat to get through.  Despite the warmth of the early morning, Caroline had actually found it reasonably chilly once she got moving.  This was a bit surprising when she considered that they had most likely walked what felt to her like six or seven miles.  It was most likely mid-afternoon at that point, and she knew her parents would have already sent out a search party for her.  She hoped they wouldn’t scold the guards too terribly.  She was also becoming more and more nervous with her chances of crossing the deep gorge.  The level below had started becoming shallower, though still not safe enough for her to climb into to cross the indented river.  However, as she continued walking, it seemed to only be getting lower again.  Caroline had been walking for so many hours now, her legs becoming so weary, she decided it was best to just keep walking, hoping it became shallower soon again rather than losing all the time she had spent trekking along the side of the gorge.

                She did a double take as she felt a tugging at her hair, almost forgetting that she had placed her brother on her shoulder a while back so her hand didn’t get tired from having to stay perfectly straight outward while holding him.  He was wrapping her long, silky ropes of golden hair around himself, snickering, probably for better security.  She was perfectly fine with this, as it allowed her to worry a little bit less about the possibility of her brother plummeting straight off her shoulder and most likely to his death.  After he’d wrapped himself thoroughly in it, he began to rock around, testing hair’s ability to hold him up when leaning in one particular direction.  It didn’t hurt Caroline, but it made her nervous.

                “Thank goodness for me I have you to deal with my hair.  I don’t know WHAT I would do if it weren’t looking pretty and proper all the time,” said Caroline in fake haughtiness.  Her brother laughed and stopped rocking around, knowing full well she didn’t believe a single word of any of that.

                “I’m just getting bored, Caroline.  What are we waiting for?” 

                “We are waiting for the gorge to become less deep so that we may cross it in safety.”

“When are we going to be able to get across?”

                “Soon, Phillip, soon.”

                “How soon?”

                She turned her head a little to the side, her face inches away from her brother.  Her hot breathe tickled his face as she smirked at him.  “You do ask a great many questions, don’t you?”

                “I just want to know!” he said, shrugging.  She sighed and turned her face back to the land before them, running a hand through the hair on the top of her head as she thought hard about their next move.  There were fewer and fewer trees the further in this direction they went.  The sparse grass on the ground had long ago disappeared, replaced with a dusty, rocky cliff side.  Caroline’s feet were actually beginning to get very uncomfortable from the uneven, rough terrain, and she was pretty sure she had several blisters already.  And they weren’t even to the caves yet.  That was going to be the other challenge, Caroline realized.  She had seen the caves in her dreams, and they looked large enough to fit her.  But was that just what she wanted herself to believe?  If Luke was lying somewhere in the caves, and the caves themselves happened to be much smaller in diameter than Caroline was hoping for, there wouldn’t be much she could do beyond rush back to the palace and bring a search party back.  But by then, there wasn’t much chance of Luke still being alive.  There wasn’t much chance of him being alive even when she got to him, she noted sadly, a lump forming in her throat that she quickly swallowed.

                Caroline finally came to a stop, rocking back and forth off her heels and the balls of her feet to give herself a momentary rest, then decided if she was going to have adequate strength to go through the caves, find Luke, and come out safely and strong enough to take her brother home, she was going to have to take a rest.  Silently apologizing with all her heart to Luke, wherever he was, she came to a stop on the rocky ground.

                “Why are we stopping, Caroline?”

                “I’m afraid I must take a rest, Phillip, we’ve been walking for hours already, do you see the sun?”

                “Do you need me to walk by myself now?” asked Phillip.  Caroline giggled.

                “I’m not certain that would make it significantly easier to walk for me, Phillip, you weigh so very little.  But thank you for the offer.”

                “I can keep up, though!”

                Caroline raised a hand and patted the top of her brother’s head with a fingertip.  “Perhaps for a short time you could, but we must keep a brisk pace if we are to get there in time.”  She opened her hand that had just patted him into an open cup.  “Can I give you a lift?” she said gently.  Phillip unraveled the vines of soft hair surrounding him like a canopy and slipped into the fleshy palm.  Holding the very small child level with her shoulder, Caroline lowered herself into a sitting position, laying her hand flat on the ground and allowing her brother to climb out.  Now free to relax, Caroline stretched her legs out, wiggling her weary toes in the breeze and sighed contentedly, leaning back on her hands.  Phillip, full of energy, dashed toward the edge of the gorge quickly to get a better view.

                “Phillip, STOP!” Caroline almost shrieked, leaning forward immediately.  Just as Phillip came to rest at the edge of the gorge in a crouching position and peeked his head over the edge, Caroline’s fingers wrapped around him and dragged him roughly away from the edge as quickly as possible.

                “Aww, Caroline, I just want to see how far down it is!” said Phillip, half-struggling against his sister’s firm and unmoving fingers as she pulled him back to her side without much effort.  Caroline shook her head, tsking at him.

                “I’m sorry, Phillip, but as long as you’re with me, I won’t have you getting so close to the edge.  Do you know how easy it would be to slip?  There would be nothing I could do to help you if you fell.  Do you understand that?” she said firmly but with enough gentleness that he didn’t become upset again.  He was much easier to deal with when he wasn’t on the verge of tears, she had found, and at his young, delicate age, it was important to use the proper wording and treatment.  He nodded.

                “Can’t I even take a little peek?”

                “No.”

                “Not even if it’s really, really, REALLY fast?” he pleaded as Caroline cautiously released the slight pressure on her his body with her fingers, waiting to see if he dashed for the edge again.  She admired her little brother’s curiosity, knowing that at his age, she would most likely have been trying the exact same thing.  However, becoming a young woman had taught Caroline to be much more aware of situations, her safety, and usually more importantly, the safety of her loved ones.  Already finding herself partially beginning to deal with the possible loss of Luke, Caroline doubted she could bear losing her brother as well in such careless fashion.

                “I’m afraid not, Phillip; I’m responsible for you, and that’s the way it is.  Why don’t we do something else?” she said, slowly lying back on the rocky ground, using her hands as a pillow.  It wasn’t especially comfortable, but it was a welcome reprieve for her legs and feet.  Phillip looked disbelieving for a moment but didn’t sprint back toward the edge, much to Caroline’s relief.

                “Like what?”

                “Well…” said Caroline, trying to come up with an activity that didn’t involve her brother risking his life.  “I could tell you another story.”

                “Nahh…” said Phillip, shaking his head.  “You’ve told me a lot of stories, I want to try something else now.”  Caroline shrugged.

                “I suppose you have a better idea, then?” she said, but saw Phillip’s eyes glowing with a new scheme and quickly added, “It CANNOT involve peeking over the edge of the cliff.”

                “Awww…” groaned Phillip, crossing his arms in frustration.

                “Well, there’s no need to be too upset with me, Phillip,” answered the princess, mildly amused at her brother’s sentiment but refusing to show it.  “Believe me, there is plenty one might do while out in the wilderness to amuse oneself that does NOT involve trying to hang off the edge of a cliff!”

                “Really?   Like what?” challenged Phillip, not disrespectfully but having difficulty with the concept that there was something more interesting to do than looking into the gorge.

                “Oh, I don’t know… let’s see…” said Caroline thoughtfully, tapping her lips with a finger and looking up at the sky.  Her eyes followed the shifting clouds that were just visible through the almost bottleneck opening in the fog haze above.  “Why don’t you come and have a look at these clouds, Phillip?”

                “Clouds?” he said, sounding bored already.  Caroline chuckled.

                “Do not discount the clouds, they can tell many wonderful tales to those who listen hard enough to them.”

                “You can’t fool me; clouds can’t talk.  Clouds don’t even do anything!” said Phillip smartly.

                Caroline waggled a huge finger at him.  “That is very untrue.  Come here, I’ll show you what I mean.”  Shrugging, Phillip ran towards his sister’s hand, which she had flattened against the dusty ground for him, and was lifted up to the flat plane of her stomach, where he climbed out.  “Now look at them closely, Phillip.  What do you see up there?”

                There was silence for a moment as Phillip studied the clouds questioningly, not really daring to believe there were actual stories inside them.  “I don’t see any stories, and I don’t hear the clouds talking because clouds can’t talk, Caroline.”

                “You’re not listening closely enough, then.  Try again, I know you’ll see.”

                Both siblings turned their chins back towards the sky, looking for a story.  “Caroline?”

                “Yes?”

                “There’s a flag up there?”

                “A… flag?” she asked, at first missing what he was saying.

                “A big, white one, in the cloud…” he said a little dreamily, his eyes locked to it.  Caroline beamed as her brother finally grasped the point, then nodded, following suit.

                “There’s a warrior up there too, Phillip.  He has a sword, see?” she said, stretching her long arm far into the sky, pointing at it.  Phillip squinted, then nodded happily.

                “Yes, I see it!”

                “What’s he doing, do you suppose, with a flag?”

                “He’s claiming the land for his people!” stated Phillip proudly.

                “I suppose that may be true, yes.  What else do you see?” said Caroline, the cloud-laden blue skies filling her field of vision.

                “I see a panther.”

                “Oooh, now that IS an interesting twist to our story.  Where is it?” she said, looking around for what her brother had seen.

                “Right there.”

                “Right where?  By the flag?”

                “No, by your hand,” stated Phillip, and suddenly Caroline’s heart caught in her chest as she moved her head to the side to see a panther the size of year-old kitten crouching right next to her arm.  Just as she began to shift into a leaning forward position, the creature leapt into the air, landing skillfully on Caroline’s stomach, within striking distance of Phillip.  Before either her little brother or the bloodthirsty beast could react, Caroline had a hand wrapped around each one, pushing her brother right into her palm using her thumb and cradling him.  With the other hand, she gripped the cat across its back, scrunching up the scruff of its fur into her fingers, its claws creating a few small tears in her taut robe as she peeled it off her body and held it at arms length.

                The panther screeched and roared, flailing its legs and tail around, a few of its tiny claws actually catching on Caroline’s skin.  They managed to cause a couple of cuts that made her flinch, but it wasn’t able to do any sort of serious or permanent damage as she continued holding it in midair, well away from reach of her brother, who was sitting quite calmly in her other hand.  As it continued clawing angrily, Caroline brought it closer to her face, pursing her lips.

                “Shhhh…” she whispered at it, not putting enough pressure on its furry body to be painful.  “Shhh.”

                “Caroline, what are you doing?” asked Phillip, confused.  Caroline waited a few more seconds as the cat continued screaming before lowering her voice to an even more base volume.

                “Shhhhhhh…” she cooed in a low murmur, her hand rocking side to side, her massive fingers stroking at the beast’s coat.  After a few seconds of this continuous treatment, the panther ceased struggling and screaming out.  She nodded in satisfaction as it stared blankly at her, realizing it wasn’t going to do anything by flailing like a maniac in her palm.  “Good, little one.  Now, if you please, leave us in peace,” said Caroline simply, placing the cat back on the ground.  It looked at her for a moment, flicked its tail, and bounded away.  Caroline brought her brother back into view of her face as she stood up again to her full height.

                “How did you…” said Phillip with a slight gasp, but his sister just smiled.

                “I think we’ve rested long enough.  We must continue on and find a shallower point in the gorge.”

                “Can I go back on your shoulder?”

                “Of course…” she said gently, raising her hand back up to her shoulder and smiling to herself as her brother wrapped himself back around her yellow hair as if he was getting tucked in to his bed back home.  As they walked, Caroline felt like the depth of the drop was indeed becoming less sharp once again, but this time it was happening more rapidly.  Hoping desperately to herself, Caroline felt that if the pattern continued, she would soon be able to cross the gorge and find a way to the caves at last.

                “Phillip?”

                “Yes?” came the soft reply, directly into her large ear.

                “Perhaps next time, you might give me a bit more advance warning when you see a beast prowling around next to me?”

Night had begun to fall, and it was getting harder to see exact details of the gorge’s depth, but squinting into it, Caroline felt she could see the bottom getting closer and closer, probably within reaching distance of her legs if she was very careful.  Stooping by the edge, placing a hand over her shoulder to ensure her brother couldn’t fall off, Caroline peeked into the dark depths.

                “I thought you said we couldn’t peek over the edge?” came the cutely snide remark from Caroline’s shoulder.  She smirked.

                “No, I believe I said YOU couldn’t peek over the edge.”

                “But why do you get to and I don’t?”

                “I’m older.”

                “So?”

                “When you are my age, Phillip, there are more things you’re allowed to do.”

“Really?  Like what?”

“Oh, I suppose I can’t name them all at command, but let’s see: going out of the palace alone, eating a second helping of dessert in the Great Hall, staying up long past the sunset…” she said, very deliberately listing off activities Phillip often complained about his inability to do with permission.

“What about looking over the edge of the big cliffs?”

“That’s a special one.  When you reach your eighteenth birthday, you will be permitted to look over the edge of cliffs as often as you like.”

                “Eighteen?  THAT old?”

                “Oh, Phillip,” she laughed.  “You do flatter me so with your words.” Caroline went into a sitting position, dangling her legs over the edge of the shadowy cliff, having decided it wasn’t too deep to climb into.  She reached for the scarf drape around her neck and unhooked it, holding it out for Phillip.

                “What?” said Phillip.

                “I need you to climb back inside, Phillip.”

                “Why?”

                “Because I have to jump down, and I want to make sure you’re safe when I do.”

                “Why can’t I just hang on to your hair?”

                This prospect made Caroline laugh, but she knew this would probably not work.  “Trust me, I’ll put you right back on my shoulder once we get to the other side of the cliff.  How does that sound?”

                “You never let me do anything fun…” mumbled Phillip as he crawled off her shoulder and slipped into the safety of the pouch.

                “Thank you.  Now just stay still…” she said calmly, re-tying the tassles of the pouched drape and hanging it back around her neck.  She pulled the ends a bit tighter than before to ensure her brother wasn’t tossed painfully around the inside of the scarf like a ragdoll.  Then, taking a deep breath, Caroline grasped the edge of the cliff with her fingers and slipped over with a rocky rumbling as her massive weight passed over the edge.  Her feet touched the ground an instant later; the drop had become just under 50 feet deep, so while the landing was uncomfortable, Caroline managed to right herself a moment later.  Her feet had taken such punishment from the day’s walk, it didn’t even faze her.

                Caroline’s stomach rumbled loudly like an avalanche.  She hadn’t eaten since midday the previous day, and she guessed Phillip had done the same.  It would behoove them to find some sort of vegetation, but Caroline had a feeling there wouldn’t be much near the entrance to the Black Mountain Caves.  They would have to move even more quickly now, because not only did they have to make sure they found Luke in time, they had to get there and return in enough time before the dehydration really did some damage.

                Caroline walked across the length of the gorge, the cool, shallow river water feeling soothing against her overworked and blistered soles.  She stopped for just a moment, closing her eyes and allowing the water to flow past her ankles, the fish the size of insects to her to slip over her toes.  It felt great, but she knew there wasn’t time.  Lifting her feet from the water, she stepped up to the other side of the gorge and stepped up a small incline of boulders that allowed her some extra height.  From here, she was able to crouch down, then spring into the air and grab the cliff’s edge.  With some effort, she managed to pull herself back onto the other side of the gorge and unhook the scarf for her brother to get out.

                “Are you all right?  You’re not hurt, are you?” she said, pressing an eye against an opening in the tassles of the drape.  Phillip shook his head dizzily.

                “N-n-no, I’m ok-kay!” he said, his voice wavering still from the sudden rushes of movement he had experienced in his sister’s makeshift scarf.

                “Are you certain?” asked Caroline, smiling a little.

                “I’m j-just a little d-DIZZY!” said Phillip, holding his head steady to try and correct his vision.  Giggling, Caroline untied the tassles, which caused Phillip to roll out onto the grass in his disoriented state.  The massive princess was delighted to realize that she and her brother were sitting on grass.  Not only would they have something other than rough rock to sleep on, the presence of grass had to indicate that vegetation was around the area, and that meant there had to be something edible around.  Caroline had a feeling they wouldn’t be able to find enough food to satisfy her own proportionately tremendous hunger pangs, but she could at least make sure her brother got something to eat.

                “Phillip, I think we should rest for the night, right here.  Does that sound agreeable?”

                “Okay.”

                “Now, let’s see…” said Caroline, squinting in the growing darkness as she tried to find a more suitable place.  She spotted a small tree not far off that seemed to almost reach her knee in height.  “There’s a tree just over there, Phillip.  Why don’t you go lay down underneath?  I’m sure there are lots of leaves you might use as a pillow there.”

                “Where are YOU going?” asked Phillip nervously.

                “I’m going to be right here, near the edge, so I can stretch out,” said Caroline, patting the grass.

                “But I want to sleep with you!”

                “That’s very sweet of you, but I really don’t think that’s the best option right now.”

                “Why not?”

                “Well…” mumbled Caroline, not wanting to have to explain the potential danger of killing her brother in her sleep if she rolled over.  “I’m not going anywhere.  If you need me for anything, for any reason, just come over and wake me up.  I promise you, I shall remain in this exact spot until the morning.”

                “Okay.  What if you leave without me?”

                Caroline reached out a hand and rubbed both of Phillip’s shoulders with her fingers.  “I told you; I’m not going anywhere without you, Phillip.  I need you to help me find out where I’m going, remember?”

                “Yes.”

                “Okay, then?”

                “Yes.”

                “All right.  Why don’t you try and get some rest?  I’ll be right here, don’t worry,” she said, removing her hand and shooing him away.  As he turned to face her, she palmed her hand up under her chin and blew him another kiss.  “Sleep well, my little brother.”

                “Nighty night, Caroline.”

                “Good night, Phillip,” she said as she laid back on the soft grass, running her blistered feet over the cool plants to try and soothe them before another rough walk in the morning.  Looking over at the tree, Caroline sighed contentedly as she saw her brother lay down under the tree and remain motionless.  After watching him for a few minutes to ensure he was all right, Caroline’s heavy lids fell down and she drifted off to sleep.

                The rising sun pulled Caroline from her peaceful slumber.  Despite the somewhat chilly conditions and the fresh layer of morning dew covering her body, Caroline felt refreshed enough to reach the caves and go in search of Luke.  She stretched both pairs of limbs out as far as she could, and felt her stomach flip over as her feet actually slipped off the edge of the cliff and began swaying in the breeze.  She thought she had lain down far enough from the cliff, with plenty of space for her inevitable nightly growth spurt, but evidently, she had been wrong.  Caroline scooted herself back onto the grassy cliffside, then pushed off the ground and stood to her full height.  She watched as the trees fell away right past her.  Many of the tallest ones that had been just below her chest the previous really only reached her stomach, and most of them were smaller than that.  Taking a few steps and stretching again up to the sky, Caroline walked to the tree her brother had gone to sleep under.

                “Phillip?” she said sleepily, rubbing at her eyes.  “It’s time to continue onward, it’s morning and we must make the most of all the light we have before the fog thickens again.”  But there was no answer.  Realizing how tired he probably had been the previous night, staying up so much later than usual, she stooped slowly to the grass, placing her large head against the soft, green plantation and looked at the tree.  “Phillip?  Wake up, it’s…” she started, but felt her throat go too dry to continue when she saw nothing but the bed of leaves he had used as a bed.  “Phillip?” she choked, her eyes darting around.  Instantly, she was back on her feet and cupping her hands around her mouth.  “PHILLIP!”  she screamed, terrified now, looking around, but instantly realized she would have much more luck at ground level, so she planted her hands back on the ground in a crouching position with a massive wham that shook the cliff side.  She heard a few rocks shake loose and tumble over the edge, but she paid them no mind, so great was her fear.

                “Phillip!  Oh, please ANSWER me, PHILLIP!” she yelled, shifting her head side to side to try and look between the trees.  Could he have wandered off?  How far could he have gone?  It then occurred to Caroline that he might have attempted during the night what he had promised her he wouldn’t do.  She dashed back to the edge of the cliff, wanting so desperately to not have to look into it, but knowing she had to look.  Thankfully, she saw nothing but rock and the thinner part of the creek.  She knew he couldn’t have fallen in and been carried off by the current, as the shore was far too wide for him to have jumped or fallen that far.

                Caroline turned back to the woods, sitting up on her knees and feeling more helpless than ever.  In the span of two days, she had managed to lose the two most important men in her life besides her father, and possibly for good.  She was beside herself, and as usual, couldn’t keep herself from reacting emotionally, her tears soaking the grass as she crawled between the trees on her shins and forearms, looking for a sign of his disappearance.  Could there have been wild animals on this side of the cliffs, too?  Perhaps, but Caroline also had a feeling that if a panther or other wild beast had wandered along looking for meat, it would have devoured her brother on the spot, leaving some sort of clue to its presence.  The only explanation, it seemed, was that Phillip had stood up and walked off.

                After crawling for half an hour or so in circles along the edge of the cliff, Caroline found herself in a thick patch of mud between the trees.  She wiped it off her hands, then froze in place as she realized what was in the mud.  Tiny footprints, probably a man’s.  There were multiple sets, in fact.  The sets of imprints in the mud were a bit messy because the ground was so liquid-like and not well formed, but it looked to Caroline like there were at least three sets, although it became harder to tell as they crossed over one another, as well as the fact that each print was just over an inch long to Caroline.  However, now having a trail to follow, she decided it was best to look into these people, whoever they were, and see if they had any idea of Phillip’s whereabouts.  While the steps were very small, Caroline was able to tell that they were reasonably fresh, as they were probably as deep into the mud still as if someone had just walked through them.

                After carefully following the trail for a while, between the winding trees, Caroline’s heart sank as she saw the mud slab come to an end, turning back into grass.  She was just about ready to give up when she stood back up and looked over the tree tops.  A little ways off was what appeared to be a small rock formation rising from the ground that appeared to be about double as tall as Caroline herself.  It wasn’t part of the mountain range, which was still off in the ever-closer distance, but it was something, and Caroline had a feeling that no one simply lived out here in the middle of nowhere, near the Black Mountains.  It had to be travelers, or campers.  And the most logical choice would be to set up camp in the likely cavern of the inside of the formation.  With renewed resolve, Caroline set out walking, sliding herself between the increasingly more dense trees.

                As she neared the rock formation, however, it occurred to Caroline that whoever was in there might not have attended her address of the kingdom, if they were just travelers.  And that meant that they would suddenly find themselves face-to-face with a blond-haired, blue-eyed, drape-wearing, 45-foot tall young woman, and Caroline knew she didn’t have the time to wait around for them to get ahold of themselves before she could ask them if they’d seen Phillip.  There wasn’t much she could do to soften the shock, but Caroline decided it was best to get back on her lowest level to the ground to help create the mental illusion that she wasn’t over four stories tall by that point.  Dropping again, Caroline began creeping rather quickly between the trees, using them as grips to help maneuver herself through without breaking them.  This ended up snapping a few of them slightly around the trunk, as her massive, powerful hands were able to reach all the way around many of the trees.

                After crawling for several more minutes and knowing that she was probably nearing the formation, she heard a rustling in the trees along her sides, just above her head.  Wondering if it was a hawk or even a panther that had clambered up, she looked around to find half a dozen men, all of them around eight inches tall, wearing rags, dirty faces, and aiming bows at her, arrows already in them.  She froze, not wanting to become confrontational here, as she needed them in a good enough mood to try and tell her where her brother had gone.

                “Good… morning, friends!” she said as cheerfully as possible, still not moving.  A couple of the archers put down their bows and slid down the tree to be face to face with Caroline, although the others stayed up in the air, their bows trained on her head.  The two men walked up to her, looking rather stern.  Caroline wondered if they believed she was trespassing.  “I sincerely apologize if I startled all of you…” offered Caroline tentatively and politely, looking upward at the men in the trees, standing very tensely in preparation for an attack if provoked.  “I don’t know if any of you know who I am…”

                “We do, indeed, know who you are, Princess Caroline,” answered one of the men standing right in front of her face, curtly.

                “Oh!  Well, then…” chuckled Caroline in the nicest way she could.  “Friends, I’m afraid I must trouble you for help.  My brother Phillip has become lost in these woods.  Please, I must know, have any of you seen him?”

                “No.”

                “He’s very small for his age.  He has yellow hair, and he was wearing a… let me see, a blue tunic and… a small green scarf.  Do you recognize…”

                “No.  Haven’t seen any of those things on anybody.”

                “Nothing?” she said, becoming more worried with each word of this conversation.

                “None of that.  None of us have seen anything but trees and mountains for the last week.”

                “Are you… are you certain?  Completely?”

                “Yes, we’re certain.  None of us have seen him,” answered the man, his face unchanging but his voice clearly becoming miffed with the questions.

                “Well…” began Caroline, looking uneasily up at the still-drawn bows.  “Please, there is no need for such hostility, I mean none of you any harm, I simply require…”

                “Princess, you would do well to leave this place.  This is not a land for royals, especially one in your… particular condition,” answered the other man, grinning just a little too creepily for Caroline’s liking.  She grimaced back at him uneasily, not at all liking the situation.

                “V-very well, then,” said Caroline, beginning to feel a little scared about the number of people with weapons pointed at her, whatever their sizes were.  “I will just be on m-” she began, but cut herself off when she began squinting at one of the men standing proudly in front of her face.

                “What are you looking at, missy?” sneered the man, taking a step back and clutching at his shoulder in a dignified way despite his disheveled appearance.  “What?  What is it?”

                “You have a…” drawled Caroline, looking at the object tied around his arm like a patch.  It was an olive green piece of fabric, worn from use, and tied around his arm.  It was the only part of him not thoroughly coated in filth.  And on the piece, which Caroline realized was a bandana, was a small blue design, stitched into the fabric.  It was Phillip’s.  The fear drained almost instantly from Caroline, and her eyes narrowed.

                “Are you SURE you don’t know where my brother is?” she asked more sternly.

                “Look, your HIGHNESS…” said the first man rather sarcastically.  “If we had SEEN your brother, we would have TOLD you, but we DIDN’T, so if you would… be… so… KIND…” he growled through gritted teeth.  “Leave my men and I in peace.  We have work to…”

                “Then why are you wearing my brother’s scarf?” she said, raising an eyebrow at the one man.  He quickly grabbed at his arm and tore it off.

                “This?  I found it months ago, just under a rock…” he said, but saw the increasingly angry look on Caroline’s face.  “Listen, missy, we’re not going to take this any longer.  We gave you a pleasant answer, and now we want you to leave.  And I think you’d better do it now, because this conversation is over!” he said, and both he and his friend drew their swords, pointing them threateningly at Caroline.  Up above, Caroline heard the bows, which had all relaxed during the conversation, re-tightening at the order of their superior.

                “You are making a mistake now,” said Caroline, tilting her head at them condescendingly.  “Please put your weapons away and tell me where my brother is.”

                “Until the count of three, missy, and then we have to act.  One…”

                “Please,” stated Caroline calmly.

                “Two.”

                “I won’t ask you again, gentlemen.”

                “Three.  That’s it, princess, leave us ALONE!” yelled out the man angrily, waving his arm over his head.  Caroline’s back was pelted by tiny, needle-like arrows that bounced easily off of her.  She was tempted to giggle a little, as the sensation tickled a bit, but she didn’t feel like enraging them any further than she already had.  Caroline calmly planted an elbow in the dirt, resting her chin calmly on her upturned fist as she continued looking down at them.

                “Wha… I… FIRE again!” bellowed the one man, taking several steps back.  The second man who had the scarf, though, charged forward, his blade drawn.  As he pulled back to take a hard swing at Caroline’s arm, though, he found his weapon immobilized as Caroline pinched two of her fingertips around it effortlessly.

                “S-Stop that!  Let go of my…” began the man, but an instant later Caroline had bent the sword so far that it snapped like a twig.

                “Your sword doesn’t appear entirely trustworthy, perhaps it is time for you to find a more skilled blacksmith?” she said, and very calmly, Caroline wrenched the ruined sword fro his hands and then reopened her fingers, curling them gently around him and pinning him into her soft palm.  She lifted him easily off the ground, holding him closer to her face.

                “Retreat!  Retreat!” shouted the other man fearfully, waving at his archers, who all leapt desperately from their treetop perches and dashed off in different directions.  Caroline could feel the man clenched in her hand trembling out of control, sweating profusely into the creases of her palm.

                “P-P-Princess?  P-Please don’t hurt me, I didn’t want…”

                “Sir, I see little point in discussing anything further with you, whatever it was you intended to do.”

                “Oh… God, no, please…” he said, grabbing fruitlessly at the fleshy embrace surrounding him so powerfully.  After grunting for a few silent minutes from trying to fight Caroline’s fingers off of him, he threw his hands together in prayer towards the sky.  “P-Please…”

                “Don’t be afraid of me, I have no intention of harming you or your friends, just as I said.  But now, I would appreciate your help.”

                “ANYTHING!”

                “Thank you very much!” said Caroline cheerfully, raising her other hand to brush the hair from her eyes before tapping her chin thoughtfully, smiling at the man to make him feel more comfortable.  “If you please, now, tell me where you’ve taken my brother, and then you shan’t have to see what I am like when upset.  And you may trust me fully when I tell you I am FAR more disagreeable when upset!” she said sweetly, her soft palm and fingers still gripped firmly around the squirming man. 

                Caroline stamped slowly but deliberately towards the rock formation, now in a standing position again, with the man still held gently in her hand.  She didn’t squeeze him or try to cause him harm, but still held her fingers together firmly enough so that escape was impossible.  She looked back down at him trying fruitlessly to wrestle her smooth digits off of his body, and just shook her head with a soft chortle.

                “You may stop struggling if you like and save your energy, I have no intention of releasing you until I see with my own eyes that no harm has befallen my brother, and you and your friends return him safely to me,” she said matter-of-factly, rippling her fingers around his body as if to make her point clearer.  “What is your name?”

                “It’s-It’s Samuel, and l-Listen, P-Princess…” grumbled the man, terrified and confused at the whole situation.  “I-I wasn’t one of the men who went out and picked up the Prince, that was all Peter’s…”

                “Who is Peter?”

                “Peter is our leader, the one calling all the orders out.  He saw you over the trees when you crossed the gorge, thought maybe it was worth investigating!”

                “Who ARE all of you, precisely?”

                “Look, we’re just travelers, Princess, we’re no invading army or enemy of the state.  We’re just a bunch of people with mouths to feed who aren’t given the opportunities.”

                “There are plenty of opportunities, Samuel, there always are.  Perhaps you haven’t looked hard enough before resorting to kidnapping innocent young children like this.”

                “That’s not how it is, all right?” said Samuel, crossing his arms in frustration, his voice settling down as he realized he wasn’t going to be killed in Caroline’s hand, nor was he going to escape with any amount of effort expended.  “We don’t just go grabbing up kids.  I hate the kind of work we do.  But it’s necessary.  Your DADDY’S nice fancy kingdom way out there isn’t fit for people like us, and we do what we have to to make sure we’re still alive next week.”  Caroline considered his words, and sympathized a bit with his plight, having been exposed to a great many poor and hungry people in her life.  She had heard many similar stories from these people as well, and she knew perfectly well that many of them still were forced to lie and steal to make ends meet, just as this man was.

                “Be that as it may…” said Caroline, bending a tree slightly out of the way so she could get through.  “I’m afraid I cannot allow you to take my brother away.  And if a single finger has been laid upon him…”

                “Don’t worry, Princess!” said Samuel suddenly, clearly picturing what the humongous princess was like when angered.  “They simply intended to use him as ransom against the king, none of us truly WANTS to harm anyone.  It was nothing personal.”

                “It would certainly make it easier for all of you if he truly is still all right, Samuel,” she said, kindly as ever.  She brought her other hand up to Samuel’s face, pinching her fingers ever so slightly as they neared him, and he flinched hard backward against the warm flesh of her palm.  “It seems my statements have fallen on partially deaf ears, Samuel; I truly do mean I do not intend to inflict harm on you.  I simply wish to have my brother’s scarf returned, if you please?” she spoke, tapping her fingertips together.

                “Of… of course, of course…” he said, struggling desperately with the material tied around his arm so as not to keep the gargantuan young lady waiting on him.  “Take it, please, please!” he gasped, wondering if he had taken too long untying it as he deposited it between her fingers.

                “You have my gratitude,” she said simply, flattening her palm vertically and allowing the tiny scarf to tumble down into her sleeve for safe keeping.  “I suppose it would be prudent of me to enquire as to how, exactly, many men are inside this hovel?” she asked, looking ahead and realized she was but a minute’s leisurely walk from the rocks.  Upon closer examination from here, they seemed to form a miniature bottleneck canyon, becoming closer together at the top, so dark shadows protected most of the underlying area.  Luckily, it looked tall enough for Caroline to step into and stand up straight at the same time.

                “I’m not certain exactly of our numbers, Princess, but I would suppose around twenty, if not a few more.”

                “Twenty?  You are certain?”

                “Yes…”

                “Thank you.  Will many of them be armed?” she asked sternly, feeling oddly as if she was speaking to her brother after he’d broken a rule and lied about it.

                “All of them.  I would guess that the ones you scared off arrived moments ago and they’re all preparing for you.”

                At this, Caroline felt a chill go down her spine despite the fact that she was in utter control of the situation.  “They wouldn’t harm Phillip now, would they?”

                “I would surmise they will not harm him, Princess, but simply use him as leverage.  I have serious doubts they are aware of your kindness, and most likely will assume that without a bargaining tool, you will destroy them all in no time at all.  I’m frankly quite certain you could, if such a thing occurred to you,” said Samuel, still quite terrified.

                “Never.  I could never kill a living creature, Samuel, and it always makes me sad when people feel they must resort to such cruel and desperate measures to achieve their aims,” she said, nonchalantly raising an eyebrow at him, clearly referencing his brutal attack attempt.

                “For what it is worth, your Highness…” he said, much more respect in his voice.  “I am sorry.  You may not believe me, and simply think that I am saying this because you’re holding me in your hand and I am unable to get away, but I would like you to know.”

                Caroline nodded at him.  “You’re right, Samuel, I find it hard to believe you.  However, it is my hope that after today, you will attempt to find alternative methods to make your way in life.  I know that things are difficult, but I’m certain you can do it.”

                “Really?”

                “Yes, I am.  You were the only man of your company willing to rush forth and attack a young woman who stands above you like a mountain.  Perhaps rude, yes, but someone willing to do such a thing is either incredibly vacuous or very determined.  You seem to speak rather intelligently, Samuel, so I can only assume it is the latter option.”

                Nodding and feeling encouraged by her words, Samuel looked over at the formation as Caroline approached it from the other side.  “They will no doubt have both saw you coming, and felt it in the ground, Princess.  I should think there is little point in attempting to sneak inside at this point.”

                Caroline smiled.  “I am flattered that you thought me capable of such stealth at this particularly cumbersome size, Samuel.  Yes, I believe you’re correct, I should think just stepping inside will solve this rather simply.”

                “I wouldn’t jump to conclusions, your Highness.  Pardon me, but despite your great and newfound strength at your stature, there is but one of you, and many of them.”

                “Then it seems you underestimate my negotiation skills,” said Caroline, winking cheekily at the small man in her fist.  “Leave this to me.  I intend to walk away from you and your friends today with my brother completely unscathed.”

                “Good… luck, then, Princess, and thank you for your words.  But… p-please, you w-will let me go, will you not?”

                “You are most welcome, Samuel, and yes, I will release you in time, unharmed; of that I assure you,” she said, giving him the slightest, gentlest squeeze she could as if embracing him with her fingers before holding her hand behind her back, concealing him from view.  “Now… let us greet your company.”

                Caroline stepped confidently into the rock formation, and watched with amusement as over twenty men in dirty brown tunics, surrounded by hastily constructed tents, leapt into frenzied action like startled gophers and drew their weapons.   Some had bows and some had swords, but all began yelling over each other in a confused cacophony.  In the very back, nearest the other end of the miniature canyon, Caroline could see her brother, held by the scruff of his hair by a very large and tall man, standing easily over six feet tall.  Caroline guessed that if she were to reach over and pick him up, he wouldn’t even fit fully inside her fist.

                “Phillip…” whispered Caroline, terrified to see him in such peril, and took a step forward, the hand not gripping Samuel extending.

                “STAY BACK!” roared the man in back holding Phillip, whom Caroline could only assume was Peter.  “Get back, or I end the little whelp’s life.”

                Caroline felt uncontrollable rage building up inside of her like magma rising in a volcano.  For the briefest moment, she caught her subconscious wanting to run forward, grab up the evil man in her hand, and squeeze the life from him for making such a threat to a member of her family, but she kept her cool, bringing Samuel out from behind her back and into view.  The entire group flinched again, poking their weapons at the empty air and yelling out in shock.

                “Release the man now!” yelled out Peter, taking a few steps back and dragging Phillip along with him.  “I swear I’ll do it, if you don’t comply!”

                “Caroline!” called out Phillip’s small voice, but Peter tugged on his hair quickly to shut him up.

                “Listen to me, everyone,” boomed out Caroline, her voice echoing around the area.  “No one has to be hurt.  I will let all of you go, with no repercussion, if you allow my brother to go free, unharmed.”

                “And what if we DON’T?” yelled out one of the men on the ground, very near to Caroline’s foot.  And feeling that formal diplomacy wasn’t going to be as viable an option as she had previously hoped, Caroline looked down at him, smirking, and even giggled lightly, covering her mouth with her hand.

                “If you DON’T?  Then I’m afraid there will be some unpleasantness taking place amongst us.”

                “Would you listen to her talk?  She sounds like she just came from a tea party in the garden!” yelled out a different man, causing most of them to guffaw heartily, including Peter.

                “EXCUSE me!” bellowed out Caroline as loudly as ever, causing the laughter to instantly cease.  “I feel it only fair to warn you gentlemen that your weapons will have no effect on me whatsoever.”  At this word, though, the break ended and the laughter resumed louder than ever.  Through choked breaths of hilarity, another soldier still spoke up.

                “Perhaps you’ve got a point, there, miss, but you forget that there are MANY of us, with LOTS of weapons.  And you’re just a girl.  A sad, sad, little girl without even a blade to protect yourself in these woods.”

                “Pardon me, sir,” said Caroline slyly.  “But I would not exactly characterize myself with the term “little.”  Frankly, you are nothing more than small animals to me.  Like mice.  Or rats…” she said thoughtfully.  “Yes, I believe rats is the word I was looking for.”

                “I’ve heard ENOUGH!” roared Peter, shaking violently enough in a combination of fear and rage that Caroline could see it clearly, even from her further off position.  “Let the man go, then disappear.  Walk as far as you can, to the Black Mountains, to that peak right within view of this gorge.  You reach that point, climb to the top, and sit there.  And then you may rest assured that I shan’t harm the precious little PRINCE!” he sneered at last.  “Listen, your Royal HIGHNESS; I don’t think you know who I am!”

                Caroline leaned far over toward the ground, squinting at Peter.  All the men yelled out, brandishing their weapons, but all of them took a quick step back in fear.  “That is where you are incorrect.  I do know who you are.”

                “Oh?  And who might that be?” he asked snidely.

                “You’re a terrible, terrible man.  You’re also a very, very small man.  And if you don’t let my brother go right now, I will demonstrate what I am capable of doing to a man as small as yourself…” she growled, and everyone in the room, even little Phillip, was chilled to the bone to some degree.  Caroline herself felt fearful at her newfound attitude, and realized just how enraged she could become when someone she loved was endangered, particularly when she was in a position to do something about it.

                Caroline and Peter stared off for a few more moments before the cruel man cackled loudly at her.  “Kill her,” he stated simply, throwing Phillip to the ground and drawing a sword to help his men.  Caroline lowered her hand near the ground and released Samuel, true to her word.  He scampered past her and outside the rock formation so as to avoid any other form of confrontation.

                Three men dashed forth, their shields out front, most likely to bludgeon her.  Snickering at their attempt, Caroline waved her hand out, palm facing them, and pushed them backward before releasing them with a flourish, sending them flying backward for ten feet or so.  In the next second, Caroline felt a sting on her toe.  She looked down to see a man repeatedly stabbing her toe with his broadsword, although only the smallest bead of blood had appeared.  Caroline flicked at the sword and sent it flying out of the stunned man’s hands, and before he knew it, she had gripped his ankle between her fingertips and was lifting him up in the air, right in front of her eyes.

                “Now that wasn’t a very kind thing to do, little one,” she said, smiling nicely at him, her big blue eyes, accentuated by her long eyelashes, filling his vision.  The man screamed bloody murder, flailing his limbs around helplessly as Caroline gently lowered him to the ground.  He backed against the wall, crouching and trembling.  Looking down, Caroline saw two more men running at her, spears drawn to try and spike her feet.  As they reached her, though, Caroline flicked her big toes into the air, smacking them in the faces and sending them straight onto their backsides with a painful smack.  Both men dropped their weapons, grasping at their sore noses.  Helplessly, they watched as Caroline curled her big toes against the rough earth, then flicked outward, striking each man hard enough to send him rolling backward.  The rest of the men hung back, their arms quivering in horror at the princess’s raw power, but they managed to hang on to their weapons.

                “Please, all of you…” she appealed to them.  “This does not have to happen.  Let myself and my brother leave, and we will gladly forget this and let you all go on with your lives.”  As she said this, though, she heard a slight rumbling sound.  She looked above her head to see a shifting boulder blocking out her view of the sun for the slightest moment before it plunged over the rocky edge, pushed by three of the group’s strongest men.  “Oh, dear, none of this will do at all, gentlemen…” she cooed while simultaneously tsking at them and shaking her head.  She quickly reached her arm up, palm and fingers extended, and caught the ball in her hand, the large thing resting on her appendage and above her head like a regal tray.  It did feel a bit heavy, but not so much that Caroline couldn’t hold it over her head with ease.  It reminded her of a ball she used to have in her childhood nursery back at the palace in its size and weight.  Bending at the elbow a little to gain some leverage, Caroline grunted as she lunged forward, throwing the boulder.  It sailed through the air until it landed with a deafening crash far beyond the confines of the miniature canyon.  Everyone turned slowly to look at it, then looked back at Caroline.  She crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow, and tapped her foot against  the ground, shaking them all with each rumble.  “Now…” she sighed, and that was all that was needed for every man to throw his weapons to the side and drop to his knees in respect.  She smiled.  “Good men.  Thank you.  I’m grateful it was not necessary to continue this game with you all any longer.  Now, if you please, my brother…” she said, and suddenly realized her brother had disappeared.  So had Peter.  “Where… where is Phillip?” she gasped, the fear returning.  One man, his arm trembling, stood, and pointed toward the opening on the other side of the gorge.  Leaving a pathway wide enough for the massive young woman’s powerful footfalls, the men dashed to the sides as Caroline marched quickly to the other side of the rock formation, emerging in the blinding sunlight again.  As her eyes adjusted, Caroline squinted and realized that the main river gorge she and Phillip had been walking along must have curved inward toward the mountains at a certain distance, because as she looked outward she realized that the edge of the cliff was no more than a couple dozen steps away from her.  And despite the bright light, she saw two figures standing right by the edge of the cliff.  She walked forward immediately, stopping at a distance roughly four steps away from the edge for her.

                “That is QUITE far enough, you… you…” roared Peter.  Grabbing Phillip by the front of his tunic, he pushed him toward the edge of the cliff.  Caroline screamed with fright, the sound echoing through the gorge for miles, but held her breath again as Peter skillfully caught Phillip again by the tunic with one arm, allowing him to lean precariously over the edge at least a foot.  Her breathing became heavy again, and Caroline covered her mouth with both hands to avoid a further outburst.  She didn’t want to startle Peter and cause his fingers to release their grip on Phillip, thus dooming her brother.  “You… you… MONSTER!  You disgusting, freakish…” he snarled, and despite herself, Caroline felt a deep sense of hurt in her heart, having not yet had such words spoken to her aloud, even though she had been thinking them all along during this terrible process.

                “Please…” she said, feeling no more strength to use toward intimidation, so great was her fear for her brother’s life.  “Just… just let him go.  He hasn’t done anything to you.  It’s me you want.”

                “Be that as it MAY…” he said, the volume of his words fluctuating irregularly as if his brain was just a bit off.  “I highly doubt there’s anything I could do to you, or rather, any way I could hurt you, as opposed to the sweet little prince here, if I had to.”

                “But why do you have to do these things?” asked Caroline, her voice cracking.

                “Because NO one will GIVE me what I DESERVE!” he yelled out with such passion Caroline herself almost did a double take.  “Our lives… everything we have… it’s all some terrible mess caused by that kingdom, and your FATHER.”

                “Never…”

                “You don’t seem to understand the world very well, “Princess,” so allow me to explain.  This is what happens to the members of your perfect little society that don’t quite fit in.  That don’t have a purpose.  We can’t make anything, we can’t stay and SURVIVE at the same time!” he spat.  “So we’re forced out like revolting insects to the furthest reaches of the kingdom, and usually even further.  And that’s why we have to stay on the move, never staying in one place for too long, so they don’t force us out.  Nomads.  Where else can we go?”

                “But, the kingdom, the poor houses…”

                “Don’t flatter yourself, princess, not everything can be solved by bringing a goblet of water and a crust of bread out to the starving little babes of your pathetic attempts at charity.  Remember that.”

                “There are always places to go.”

                “Such as WHERE, exactly, Princess?  Where?  The kingdom isn’t an option.  And if we tried to stay in the Otherlands, we’d be eaten alive by those… things… after a few days, no matter how tough and ready my men are to face a challenge.  We have wives.  Children too.  And there’s not a thing we can do or say to them to convince them positively that they will be alive a year from now.  No.  There’s nowhere.  Nowhere to go.”

                “I’m…” said Caroline, a single tear rolling down her cheek.  “I’m sorry, Peter.”

                “Well, thank you so much!” said Peter, putting on a fake smile and sounding as falsely energetic as possible.  “I’m so GLAD you’re feeling a little something for us.  You’ve given us everything we ever wanted.  You’ve solved all our problems, forever, just like you permanently solve the problems of each and every one of your lazy, grub-munching poor people.  What a wunderkind you are, Princess.”

                Caroline wiped the back of her hand across her damp cheek, sympathy and rage mixing into one very complex and indescribable emotion.  “Let… my… brother… GO…” she murmured in a low and determined voice.

                “With pleasure, your Highness,” shrieked Peter with glee, releasing his hold on Phillip over the deep gorge.

Everything that happened next seemed, in Caroline’s mind, to happen over a rather blurry and painful hour, when it was a simple matter of quick instants.  Her scream echoed louder than ever before across the lands; she would have been unsurprised if someone back in her father’s kingdom had heard it as a distant whisper in the wind.  Bending her foot back against the ground, Caroline rocketed herself forward, diving for the edge with an ironically determined abandon.  Her hand outstretched, her fingers wiggling desperately in the wind, Caroline heard the whole word go silent for a single second save for the terrible sound of her breath catching in her chest.  She felt her brother’s impossibly small form wrap safely into the soft sanctuary of her hand, just as the rocks below slammed into her head and shoulders, painfully, as she landed in the gorge below just as the world snapped back into a normal passage of time.

                Dizzily, Caroline blinked, looking into her nervously sweating hand.  Her brother, looking just over five inches tall, quivered like a mouse in her palm, hugging himself to her thumb, coughing.  But alive.  She breathed a sigh of relief just before shifting her gaze upward to see the same boulder she had thrown out the gorge exit leaning over the edge.  It must have landed much closer to the edge than she had expected.  Peter’s face appeared from the other side, grinning satanically down at her, cackling softly.  Caroline’s head was swimming so much, though, that she couldn’t even find the strength or cognitive power to figure out how to move away.  The shock of hitting the sharp rocks so suddenly, combined with the near loss of her brother’s life, had left her immobilized.  She stared up helplessly at the boulder being tipped closer and closer.

                “You can take your apology, Princess, and bring it right back to wherever it is you… freaks… go when you just can’t carry on any longer.  Have a pleasant journey there…” he said, but was suddenly pulled from view, grunting loudly as he was.  But the boulder was still teetering on the edge.  Caroline, her vision becoming blurrier and blurrier, tried to reason through what was going on, the sharp pain in her head still very much present.  Suddenly though, she found her field of vision filled with the sight of her brother, waving his arms.

                “Come ON, Caroline!  You have to get up!” he yelled, leaning down and tugging upward at the robes directly around her neck as if he could move her.  “Please, please, please get up, Caroline, don’t stay here, the big rock…” he said, pointing.  But she didn’t budge, her mind still returning to normal as the a few pebbles tumbled down the edge like a warning.  “Caroline, get UP!” yelled Phillip authoritatively.  He stepped forward and slapped her cheek as hard as he could.  It was only a minor sensation, but it was enough.

                “Phillip!” cried Caroline, grabbing him up in a gentle fist and stretching her arm out to remove him from harm’s way.  With but an instant left, Caroline rolled off to the side as the boulder landed with a loud smash where her head had been and rolled down into the river.  Bringing him back to her face, Caroline opened her hand up and allowed him to sit in her palm, which was a much easier prospect than yesterday, where he had practically been falling out of her hand.  At this point, he was able to sit quite comfortably, still using her fingers as a back rest.  She stroked her fingers against his shoulder blades, looking him over carefully.  “Phillip, I need you to tell me… does it hurt anywhere?”

                “I’m FINE, Caroline, really… are you okay, though?”

                “Don’t worry about me, just answer me honestly.  Are you hurt?  Do you need help?” she said, softly laying a fingertip on his stomach and shifting it around his torso to feel for injuries.

                “Please, Caroline, I’ll be okay,” he said, gently pushing the massive fingertip off of his body.  “Nothing got me.  You caught me.  Thank you.”

                “No, Phillip.  Thank YOU.”

                “Why?”

                She smiled.  “Don’t you know?  You just saved my life,” she said gently and gratefully.  She pulled him in, and with the utmost care, pressed his face against her plush lips in a soft kiss, tightening her lips ever so slightly against him with suction.  As she pulled back, Phillip stuck out his tongue, feigning disgust, and wiped at his face.

                “Awwww… you’re getting me all messy.”

                She giggled, covering her mouth.  “My apologies, brave sir.  That’s what a princess must do when a knight rescues her.”

                “R-Really?”

                “Of course.  I wouldn’t be doing my duty, neglecting you so!” she said smugly, rocking her hand back and forth to cradle him before pulling her hand back in, playfully.  “But perhaps the first didn’t take quite right…”

                “No!  No!” he laughed, holding out his arms and pushing against her incoming lips with his hands.  She giggled at him, pulling back her face.

                “Well, if you’re quite certain you’ve had your fill, good Sir Phillip, then perhaps it is time we got out of here…” she said, grasping at the side of the cliff for support as she stood up.  As the cliff wasn’t quite as deep here, Caroline was able to leap upward and catch the edge with her arms.  Using one hand and the wrist of the hand grasping Phillip tightly, Caroline was able to drag herself up.  Panting a little from the excitement, she looked curiously in front of her to see Samuel and Peter hanging onto one another’s shoulders, pushing each other, fighting for control.  Breaking contact for a moment, Peter delivered a devastating right hook to Samuel’s temple that sent him reeling.  Using the moment, Peter lunged at him, pinning him to the ground.  Around them now had crowded most of Peter’s men who were cowering in fear still inside the rock formation.  All of them looked up apprehensively at Caroline as she stood up, casting a shadow over all of them, but didn’t retreat.  Only Samuel and Peter didn’t look up or notice her.  Caroline watched with surprise and then fear as Peter began choking Samuel, pinning his limbs down with his thighs.

                “You will BURN in HELL for this betrayal of our people, you filthy, slimy, mangy…” hissed Peter, but before he could finish the sentence, he found himself gripped tightly in the other fist of Caroline.  Cautiously, Caroline placed her brother on her shoulder, who quickly wrapped himself in hair for support, while she studied Peter.  She felt him begin to shake almost immediately.

                “It seems you are not quite as confident when you do not have a child to threaten, sir,” said Caroline, an air of coldness pervading her words.  Even at this sentence, his trembling picked up significantly.

                “Have you anything else to say?  Anything else you… failed to mention, perhaps?” she said, raising her eyebrows.  “Don’t be shy now.  You are among friends here, and I trust your men always share everything with one another.  Don’t you, now?” she said, looking down expectantly at the men.  The soldiers, not wanting to find themselves dangling thirty feet in the air next, all eagerly shouted some variation of affirmation to this question.  “That’s what I thought…” she drawled suspiciously, shifting her grip on Peter.  Instead of holding him in a fist, she pinched her fingers around the back of his rags just below his head, dangling him in the air and allowing his limbs to swing freely in the breeze.  He grabbed upward at them, trying to get a good grip, but found it impossible to escape her clip of muscular flesh.  “Stop struggling with me, Peter, and look at me.”  But he refused.  “Pardon me.  Little man.  Look at me, please, while I am speaking, it is only the polite thing to do when in the presence of a lady.”  He looked up at her, nodding, dropping his hands from her fingers.

                “Yes.”

                “That’s much better.  Now I want you to listen very carefully to me.”

                “W-what is it?”

                “You’re through here.  Your leadership of these people.  You tell me you have no opportunities, but I realize now it’s because you’ve never tried to work with your fellows like you should.  Share your burdens, and you will find solutions.  You have not put this into practice, and for this reason you have driven yourself and your people into the ground.  Let me find out something…” she said, crouching down but still keeping Peter dangled helplessly over the ground.  She made eye contact with another man in rags.  He looked no older than Luke.  “You,” she said, pointing at him.  This of course made him jump back in surprise, but she continued on.  “Please, tell me your name.”

                “J-J-J…” he sputtered, his legs quivering.

                “I won’t hurt you.  Just tell me your name.  I’m going to help you.”

                “J-Jacob…”

                “Thank you.  Tell me, Jacob, has Peter here…” she said, swinging her hand side to side to shake Peter.  “…ever INCLUDED your people in his decision making?  Given them a fair voice?”  Jacob looked ready to speak, but then looked up at Peter, terrified.  Caroline saw this, quickly adding, “He won’t hurt you.  I’ll make sure of it.  You wouldn’t hurt Jacob, would you, Peter?” she asked sweetly.  Peter shook his head vigorously no.  “You see, Jacob?  You are completely safe.”

                “N-No, he doesn’t.”

                “He doesn’t?  Not ever?”

                “Never.”

                “I see…” she said, biting her lip and turning her gaze back to Peter.  “This is why you haven’t been accepted in the kingdom, this is why you didn’t fit in.  Our kingdom is about peace and companionship, about love and equality.  But you show none of these qualities, and yet these men are willing to fight for you.  I see it in someone like Samuel; they don’t wish to help you forever, because they see what they could have if they were willing to stand against YOU,” she said, bringing him so close to her face her hot breath washed over his face, forcing him to close his eyes and cover his face.  Lowering her hand away from her face but still holding Peter at a reasonably dangerous distance above ground by allowing her arm to hang at her side, Caroline looked over the small group of men standing before her as Peter dangled helplessly in her grip, her blond hair whipped dazzlingly over her shoulder in the breeze, shining brightly against the sun behind her.  She gazed kindly at them and smiled.

                “I want all of you to trust me.  Do you still want to follow this man that you have followed so blindly?  This man that has led you to capture a child and nearly kill him for the sake of money?  I know you have families.  Think of your own little ones.  Put yourself there.  You may not be able to do it as simply as I make it sound, but I ask that you at least consider what I mean by all of this.  Follow THIS…” she said, raising her arm back to shoulder height, rippling her fingers over Peter’s rags to shift her grip as she displayed his helpless form.  “…man, or you can follow someone who understands the difficulty of your situation truly and is willing to understand that something new can happen for all of you.  Like your second in command, for instance…” she said, her gaze shifting down toward Samuel, who was lying battered and bloody on the rocky ground.  “And that would be you, wouldn’t it, Samuel?”

                “How did you…” he said questioningly, wiping the blood from his lips.

                “Don’t trouble yourself by thinking on it.  Just know that you have my thanks for what you just did, and you have my acceptance of your apology.  And then tell me: are you ready to lead these people?”

                “I…” mumbled Samuel nervously, returning to his feet.  “I mean…”

                “YES, he is!” roared one man from the lot.  “Samuel could lead us better than Peter ever has.  She’s right, you know.  All of you.  She’s RIGHT!” he called out triumphantly before looking upward at the soft and fair face of the princess.  “I understand, your Highness.  I truly do.”

                “Thank you.  What about the rest of you?  Are you ready to do what you must to protect your families’ futures, or are you going to continue letting this man push you like pawns wherever he wants, acting like puppets at his whims?”  It was silent for only a few more seconds before the group cheered loudly in unison, moving forward to help Samuel to his feet and pat him on his back.  Caroline grinned down at all of them before returning her gaze to Peter.

                “As for you, little one…” she said, squinting a blue eye at him calmly and batting a few eyelashes while holding a cupped palm under his dangling body.  “I sincerely hope that I never again here word of you or your deeds.  But I have a feeling I won’t.  Will I?”

                “N…” he mumbled, getting dizzy.

                “They always taught me to speak clearly and effectively the first time I spoke a word to someone.  I would suggest you try out the same method.”

                “NO,” he groaned, finally defeated, letting his limbs hang loosely without a single other attempt to struggle.

                “I’m glad to hear it,” she said, letting go.  He flopped carelessly downward, landing in her cushiony palm with a soft plop.  Orienting himself frantically, he flattened himself against her hand, fearful of being dropped, actually being forced to hug the plush flesh to ensure he was completely secure as his legs dangled uncomfortably off the end of her fingers.  Caroline laughed.  “You had your people right where you wanted them.  In the palm of your hand.  But now, I hope you know how feels to be in the same position in mine.  And I trust you will never try it again,” she stated, her rosy cheeks lighting up a bit pinker than usual at these words.  “Now leave my sight, please, and never return to it.”  Stooping, Caroline lowered her hand to a position right above the ground, tipping her palm over and allowing the pathetic eight-inch tall form of Peter to flop to the ground.  He didn’t even bother standing up.  “Good-bye, everyone.  Please remember my words to you.  I hope you never forget what you have seen today,” she said, beginning to walk back toward the rock formation to continue her journey towards the Black Mountains.  “And Samuel?”

                “Yes?” he said groggily, rubbing at the back of his head.

                “Thank you again.”

                “It was a pleasure, Princess.”

                With a final nodding bow, Caroline turned to walk away, but turned again at a slight shuffling sound to see each and every man still in a standing position drop to his knees in a respectful bow.  She nodded back to them, giving them permission to stand back up, and they did.  Caroline turned her head to her brother, the lingering fear that Luke was beyond saving still sitting in the back of her mind.  “It is time for us to go, Phillip.”  He smiled and nodded wordlessly as the princess, her little brother once again safely in her possession, marched with newfound confidence towards the ever-closer Black Mountains, leaving the crowd of dumbfounded yet changed men behind.

It was just before noon when Caroline and Phillip found the forest ending, a relatively short field of dirt and dying plants stretching before them before the elevation rose up into the mountains.  Knowing there would be little opportunity for such things once they entered the caves, Caroline had taken a brief detour and found a fresh spring in one of the cleaner sections of the forest.  After she and Phillip had drunk their fills, they managed to find a small grove of edible plants and mushrooms.  It wasn’t much for Caroline, but the grove was large enough that she managed to take in enough mouthfuls to last her for at least a while longer.

                “Luke is… in there somewhere?” asked Phillip uneasily as he and his sister stared into the dark mountain canyons before them, stretching up so high that Caroline almost forgot how large she was in comparison until the little boy on her shoulder spoke up.  She nodded.

                “I believe so, Phillip.  And it’s our job to find him and take him home safely.”

                “Do you think he’s okay?”

                “I’m… I’m quite certain he is, yes, but we must find him soon, nevertheless…” said Caroline as confidently as she could, not wanting to appear upset before her little sibling.  “We must be courageous, Phillip, just like the people in the stories.”

                “I’LL keep us safe!  I know ALL about monsters and everything!” said Phillip, leaning forward a little and tugging at his sister’s golden locks in excitement.  Caroline giggled and began trudging across the field, her feet being forced to once again meet the hard, uneven ground.  In about fifty paces, Caroline had crossed the field and stepped onto a plateau where the rock turned smoky gray color.  As she placed her foot on it for the first time, her toes wiggling against it, she could instantly feel the icy sensation of the rock rushing up through her, and it shocked her.  She leaned down to make sure she wasn’t just imagining it, and touched her fingertip against the freezing cold rock.  Caroline had trouble imagining what could cause such a phenomenon, but there wasn’t time to ponder such things.  She had a job to do.  Bravely taking several more steps, Caroline and Phillip set off through a shadowy, black chasm in search of the cave entrance.

                Despite the sunlight, the path through the twisting canyons and rock formations of the mountain range entrance was extremely dark, feeling more like late evening rather than midmorning to Caroline.  After walking for less than an hour through the endless dark canyon passageways, Caroline stopped in her tracks as the ground went up a sharp incline.  After several feet up, the black wall opened into a wide, circular opening leading into absolute pitch blackness.  The entrance to the Black Mountain Caves, she was sure of it.  There had been no other openings along the path, nor any forks in the road.  The opening was surprisingly large, similarly to how Caroline had imagined it in her dream.  It looked like it could easily fit her through it in a crawling position, which she was grateful for.  Unfortunately, that didn’t save her from the fact that it was going to get very claustrophobic very quickly inside the dank tunnels once she and Phillip had traveled far enough.  For once, she was grateful for the oddly and unnaturally stone-cold touch of the mountains; it would help counteract the muggy conditions in the cave’s deepest regions.  Caroline stepped up the pebble-laden path, crushing solidified mud formations beneath her blistered toes, and crouched next to the opening, placing a hand just above the top rim to peer inside.

                “T-That’s the CAVE?” gasped Phillip.

                “Yes.”

                “It’s… It’s really dark, isn’t it?”

                “Yes, it is.  Very dark.”

                “Do you know if there’s another side?”

                “I’m afraid I don’t,” she answered, feeling it was best to be honest with him up front.

                “Oh…”

                “Courage, Phillip.  Courage.”

                “Right…” he gulped, burying his face in his sister’s hair and shivering.  Caroline went into a full crouching position, very near to the ground, but placed a hand under her shoulder to catch her brother as he slid off of it.  Without a word, she pinched him around the waist with her thumb and pointer finger and raised him back up and allowed him to roll gently off of her fingers and onto her right shoulder blade, where he could sit on the now-horizontal surface of her back.  Not even struggling, Phillip continued hugging at her hair and watched as Caroline entered the darkness of the cave, swallowed almost instantly into the shadows.

                The crawl through the tight quarters of the tunnel began to wear thin on Caroline’s mind very quickly.  Her hair and back had become very damp from the dripping ice water covering the ceilings, as had Phillip just from where he happened to be lying.   The taut fabric of the drapes wrapped around Caroline’s forearms, which she used to guide herself forward, tore after crawling for no more than half an hour, leaving Caroline’s bare forearms to be scratched, battered, and half frozen by the ground.  Her legs and feet were suffering a similar fate, except in much less time because of the fact that her drapes were so tight now, they didn’t even drop below her knee.  Caroline felt her massive big toes stubbed repeatedly, and she cringed at first, but after a while, she found a rhythm to stay in to ensure she just kept moving and ignored this.  With the deep sense of unknown and claustrophobia setting in, not even Caroline’s deep and burning desire to save Luke would be enough to convince her mind to keep trudging onward eventually.  She felt like she was under the ice in a frozen pond with her oxygen slowly depleting, the cool mist of her breath visible in the air if not for the darkness.  The illumination of the cave entrance had disappeared a ways back, and Caroline was determined to not even turn around to check her progress.  After moving forward steadily, her breathing becoming more labored, Caroline found some tighter turns in the tunnel, and had to use some clever maneuvering to get through.

                Luckily for her, though, Caroline found that these turns contained the slightest of openings in the ceiling that allowed rays of light to come in from the outside world.  To Caroline, they weren’t much larger than a pinhead and provided no real guidance through the darkness, but they were still comforting, as they were yet another realistic confirmation that her visions in her terrible nightmare were at least accurate representations of the cave tunnels.  Caroline briefly wondered how she had been able to recall this information, but pushed it from her mind in favor of moving onward.  With each motion forward, Caroline was forced to stretch her fingers out into the blackness, feeling for a possible turn or roadblock to ensure she didn’t crash into anything.  With each of these stretches and with each successive step further into the gullet of the Black Mountain Caves, Caroline felt as if her fingers were going to be bitten off by the pitch darkness itself, a beast similar to the nameless one she had fought in the palace.  But there was nothing she could do to stop this particular foe.  No amount of application of her gargantuan strength would be able to prevent something from happening to her in this cave, or her brother, or perhaps even Luke.

                Luke.  Was he alive?  Caroline had been trying her best to avoid this question, but she had to face it now, with no other objective in her mind other than to breath, and keep crawling forward in the darkness.  Could he be alive?  It was technically possible, Caroline noted.  The icy confines of the cave held lots of water.  It wasn’t salt water; so much of it had dripped down from the ceiling that it had covered Caroline’s face, and several had dripped through her lips and into her dry throat.  It tasted sweet.  Caroline had a feeling that water from either a clean river or a spring flowed just over the cave, allowing these droplets to fill the halls through the small openings.  So, technically, she said to herself with a confident head shake, he could have drunk the water and stayed alive.  There was no food to be found in the tunnels, but perhaps he had some on his person from the trip.  Perhaps he had taken traveling clothes when they had set out that morning for the long trip, and was able to use them as a blanket to shield himself from the cold.  Yes, thought Caroline.  Luke is a very intelligent young man.  If he was capable of doing it himself, all of this would have occurred to him and he would surely be doing all he could to stay alive in the hope of recovery or rescue.  If he was capable.  If he wasn’t dead.  Caroline blinked, and couldn’t even tell her tears from the icy water trickling down her face from the drippy ceiling.

                Another thought occurred to Caroline as she continued moving on, her fingers shaking almost uncontrollably as she reached forth again into the unknown.  She had no idea how long the caves were, just as in her dream.  For all she knew, Luke’s weak and possibly even dead body was lying just a few feet away from her.  Or perhaps he was a mile into the cave.  Perhaps ten miles.  Caroline had no idea how deep the caves went, and from the look of the depth of the Black Mountains themselves, it could have been almost anything.  It could take days of crawling, unable to stretch herself out and get a truly fresh breath of air, before finding Luke.  She and her brother would have no food to eat, nor a place to actually fall asleep.  Caroline had a feeling that she might be get some sleep if her body was drained enough of energy, despite the chilling touch of the rock, the soggy array of puddles, and the uneven and rough terrain.  She could make it work, if needed.  Luke would be found.

                The thought of sleep, though, quickly brought around another thought, and instantly made her forget the hope she had just convinced herself of.  Sleep.  Sleep meant nighttime.  And the next nighttime could very well find Caroline, at her current rate of growth, at a size so massive she wouldn’t be able to get out of the caves at all, even if Luke was found.  Her body would become stuck against the rock.  Caroline couldn’t even picture the unimaginable pain and fear.  If she was unable to get out, growing and growing, she would simply get so large that the cave couldn’t hold her, and her own body would be essentially chewed up by the cruel, damp walls of the cave.  She shuddered even more than she already was from the cold and sadness, resolving to not think on this any longer.  She tried to move at an even faster clip despite the protesting of her tired limbs.

                Occasionally, Caroline stopped for the briefest moment to raise a hand to her shoulder blade and feel it to ensure Phillip hadn’t fallen off.  This wasn’t necessary most of the time, as she could feel her damp hair being tugged around, as well as his shivering body vibrating lightly against her back.  After having crawled for what felt like over an hour, Caroline made her pit stop to ensure Phillip was still there.  He was still there, but so violent was his shaking, that she couldn’t bear to leave him like that before continuing on.  Wherever Luke was, she knew that he would insist upon helping the ailing Phillip first.  Leaning her body against one wall and laying herself out flat, her legs stretched out completely for a rest, Caroline took hold of her shoulder and walked her fingers along her shoulders blades to find her brother, where he was resting just below her still-horizontal back.

                Using the utmost care, Caroline wrapped her wet fingers around her brother’s shivering form, feeling great pain in her heart for how cooperatively he had put up with this terrifying on-all-fours trek through the caves to find a young man that had a very high probability of not even being alive to save.  She was shocked by how cold he felt, and instantly began squeezing at his body against her damp palm to try and warm him up.  Gripping him in a firm embrace in her powerful digits, Caroline pulled Phillip up to her face where they could hear each other better.

                “Phillip?” she asked.  “Phillip?”  She knew he was conscious, as he had still been sitting up straight when she plucked him from her back.

                “Y-Y-Yes?” he asked as naturally as possible, the stutter coming not from fear or nervousness but his voice wavering in the cold.

                “Oh, Phillip…” she sighed, fearful for his wellbeing in the current conditions.  “Are you… cold?”

                “Y-Yes…”

                “How do you feel?”

                “I… I d-d-don’t know, C-Caroline.  I feel very s-s-stiff…” he said, and Caroline had a feeling he had gone numb in most of his body from the cold.

“You… You poor thing.  I’m so sorry about all of this.”  She placed her other hand over his body in her cupped palm, rubbing her palms together with him sandwiched in between to create some friction and hopefully warm him up.  She wrapped her fingers around him, applying just enough pressure to keep him as warm as possible without inflicting pain or harm.  Caroline remembered when she had first started growing, feeling apprehension about treatment of her brother when he was taller than her knee.  Now, he was small enough for her to cup into her soft palms, but she felt an odd calm as she worked to help her brother’s temperature rise.  She felt almost as if she were working in the poor houses again, applying blankets to the cold and sick.  Caroline felt no different now,though, than she had when trying to save a person of normal size.  Even Phillip’s miniscule form and the potential to harm him didn’t scare her any longer.  He trusted her, and she actually trusted herself now.  Caroline felt herself almost as a supernatural force of the forests, swooping in, scooping up a dying child in her massive but practiced hands, and then saving him with the remaining reserves of warmth she had left in her body to give, imparting energy into him.  “Please feel better, Phillip.  Please… oh, you… you…” she cooed in an almost sing-song voice.  “You… you little…” she mumbled, not knowing exactly what she meant.  All she could use to explain it was her unearthly desire she had begun experiencing only moments ago just from picking up Phillip in the dark.  She had to help the small life form that was clasped so trustingly between her fingers, this tiny, tiny boy that loved her so much because she was his protector.  She couldn’t fail him in this moment of need.

“Hey.  I’m not t-t-that little… not anymore.  I’m g-g-growing up,” he said, with a weak little laugh that turned into a cough.  Caroline couldn’t help but give a single chortle of relief and a deep sigh at these words.  He didn’t sound altogether better, but already her brother was poking fun at her words, meaning he was at least improving.

“Perhaps, but you will always be to me,” she whispered softly, her words almost lost in the occasional drip of water in the winding caverns.  “You always, always will be little to me.”

“W-w-why?” he said, weakly but with curiosity.

“I’m your big sister, Phillip.  And as long as that continues being the truth, you will be my responsibility to protect.  And I promise you… I WILL protect you, no matter what it takes…” she said, rubbing her cool fingertips over his chest.  “I promise.”

“What a-a-about…”

“Please, don’t speak anymore.  Conserve your energy.  There’s nothing you need worry yourself about, Phillip.  I’ve got you now, and I’m going to take care of you,” she cooed, placing a fingertip across his hair.  “Are you still cold?  Don’t speak, just nod your head for me.”

He did, his head actually shivering a bit, and she could feel it under her fingertip.  She quickly drew her hand back in to continue squeezing him and running his body between her wet palms.  She bit her lip, wondering what else she could do; after thinking for a moment, she had the solution.  Caroline opened her fingers up, pulling Phillip closer to her mouth.  Then, sucking in air, she breathed out as slowly as she could, allowing her hot breath to wash over his body.  She felt him shiver for a second at the sudden temperature change, as well as the relative lack of oxygen in Caroline’s warm breath clouds, but it seemed to be working.  As he was still using Caroline’s two soft hands as a bed, she could feel him shaking less and less throughout his body as she continued sucking in air, then breathing it out as slowly as she could before requiring more oxygen like the mouth of a colossal fireplace.

After several minutes of this, she felt his body stop shaking completely.  She drew her hands away from near her lips to let him get some fresh air before closing her fingers protectively back around him.  Already she could feel a difference in his temperature.  “How about now?” she murmured quietly, not wanting to startle him.

“I feel much better now.  Thank you,” he replied, the teeth chattering gone.

“Are you entirely sure?” she asked, massaging his legs with the heel of her hands just to make sure she had thoroughly warmed all of him.  “If you need me to do more, just tell me, Phillip.  Please.”

“I am all right now, Caroline, really.  We must hurry!” he said determinedly, waving his arms in his sister’s fingers, wanting to continue on.  Touched by his selflessness, Caroline raised him back up to her shoulder and placed him on her back again.

“I’m sorry it took me that long to notice how cold you were.  If you need me again, whisper in my ear and I will do my best to help you.  We will come out of this cave, both of us, well.  Just like all of the adventurers we’ve read about.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.  Imagine the stories we can tell now.  Imagine it, Phillip…” she said, raising her back up slowly again and continuing the steady crawl through the tunnels with revived confidence.  “Just imagine what it will be like.  We’ll be in our own stories, the pair of us, and our adventures.”

“Our OWN?” squealed Phillip with delight as he wrapped himself back in Caroline’s hair.

“Yes, of course.  People will speak of us for all time to come.”

“Wow…” sighed Phillip, settling comfortably back into position.  They were silent for no more than a few minutes, though, when something caught Caroline’s eye.  It was another pinhead of light coming in from above in the ceiling, but it wasn’t the light.  It was the detail it happened to strike on the ground.  The spot wasn’t a sheer onyx rock formation like every other square inch of the caves was.  It was a dark green, and it had no sheen like the waterlogged features of the tunnels.  It was simply there.  Caroline couldn’t even take a breath before she was crawling over as fast as possible, stopping herself over what she could now see, barely illuminated by the pinhead of light, was Luke, sprawled on the ground. 

Lowering herself into a lying position for a closer look, Caroline felt a gasp forming in her throat and blocked it with her tight fist, but was unable to do a thing about the new waterfall of tears cascading down her cheeks.  The sight of finally seeing Luke with her own eyes, in such a state of extreme vulnerability, was simply too much.  Her breathing cut off in deep, throaty sobs as she struggled to collect herself rather unsuccessfully.  Then, using her other hand, Caroline extended her pointer finger, and with the most tender touch she could render at her size, gingerly pressed her soft fingertip against Luke’s icy chest.  A slow but determined pulse was felt inside his body, radiating up into the pad of her fingertip.

Caroline breathed deeply, wiping a hand across her sweaty forehead as she leaned against one of the largest walls in her father’s palace, her legs stretched out across the paths of the royal courtyard.  Her father paced in front of her, while Elizabeth stood next to Caroline’s side, just stroking her thigh to help her not be as upset by Richard’s reaction.  He was not even able to look her in the eye as the sun began to fade.  She steepled her fingers together and flexed them at the joints nervously, twiddling her thumbs in the process.  Her eyes pleadingly followed Richard as he walked, but she was unable to get his attention.  His stare remained firmly locked to the ground.

“Father…” she moaned, the silence killing her.  “Please, simply hear what I have to say.  There was nothing I could-” she began, but she was cut off.

“YES, there WAS, Caroline!” he practically spat out.  “I… I can barely fathom what you’ve done…”

Caroline’s eyes welled.  She felt like a small child again, the way her father was speaking to her.  “He would have died, father.  He needed me.”  Richard just shook his head disbelievingly.

“And Phillip?”

“I… I was not aware he had come with me…” she sighed sheepishly.  “He crawled inside the extra drape I brought along as a scarf.  He wanted to come along, and knew I would never allow it if I knew.  I was not alerted to his presence until…”

                “Yes, that is precisely my point, Caroline…”

                “What, father?”

                “You were not aware.  Think of it.  What might have happened if you had tripped and fallen?  You, perhaps, would have been unhurt, but think of your brother.  He might have been killed if such a thing had happened, completely by accident, and you wouldn’t have known until you opened the drape!”  At these words, the tears began flowing again, warming Caroline’s cold cheeks.

                “I know father.  And I am truly, truly sorry.  I would never want anything to happen to-”

                “Of course you would never want anything to happen to him, Caroline.  He is your younger brother and you love one another.  This is not a question of that.  This is a question of the risks you take just by leaving so.”

                “It was my own choice, father.  I knew I had to do something to save Luke.  I never asked for anyone’s help.  And when Phillip came along, I protected him with everything I could.”

                “Be that as it may, my daughter, you simply must begin thinking of these things.  You are your siblings’ heroine.  They worship you, Caroline.  Did you truly believe that neither of them would try to do something if they knew you could be endangered, out in the wilds, in the Black Mountains, no less?”

                “I… I… suppose…”

                “Regardless of what you might have thought, Caroline, it is the truth.  And with your… newfound condition becoming more and more extreme, you can simply not afford to make such reckless decisions.  Because very soon, your decisions may impact many of us.  Perhaps all of us.”

                “Father…”

                “I’m sorry, Caroline, but I do not believe I can continue this conversation now.  I must go and continue my work with my scouts.”

                “Please, wait, father.  I beg of you.”

                “Yes?” he asked calmly, turning around from walking back toward the door into the palace.

                “How is Phillip?”

                “He is well.  Some warm blankets, a bath, and some soup, and the nurse says he will be fine by tomorrow.”

                “Good.  And… what about…”

                “Luke hasn’t spoken, but he is awake.  The doctor says he will live.”

                Caroline, despite the tension between herself and her father, laughed lightly and joyfully at these words.  They had done it.  The journey hadn’t been all for naught.  She wiped her teary cheeks.

                “Where is he, father?  I so desperately would like to see him, even just for a moment…”

                “He is there, my daughter, the bedroom reserved for regal guests,” said Richard, pointing upward.  Caroline looked up to a window roughly five stories in the air, the window and attached balcony being just above the top of her head from a standing position.  “However, I do believe it might be best to let the doctors do their work before you see him, Caroline.”

                She nodded.  “I understand.”

                “Good night, my daughter,” said the king, his voice softening a bit from earlier as he exited.

“Good night, my dear.  Oh, please don’t leave us again like that…” said Elizabeth, looking sadly up at her daughter.

“I’m sorry, mother,” was her only response.    The queen nodded and exited.   All seemed well again, or at least relatively so.

                The journey home had been an uncomfortably frightening and rough one.  Having little other option, Caroline had pulled her scarf off in the darkness, and laid it on the damp cave ground like a stretcher.  Then, acting as if handling a baby bunny, Caroline had slipped her fingers under Luke’s battered body and lifted him up with almost no effort before placing him in the scarf.  She had then picked it back up and tied it around her neck, letting Luke swing in it like a hammock so he was out of her way (and the possibility of harm).  To ensure she left no other brave soldiers behind, she crawled just a bit further into the darkness, searching for survivors or even other bodies, but she found none.  The next part was the slowest and most agonizing part of the journey, not just from Caroline’s sore forearms and toes, but because she had no idea of knowing how long Luke had before drifting away from the earth.  And she was determined to not let that happen when his salvation was so near at hand, if she could just move quickly.  Gathering her focus, Caroline had crawled backward through the Black Mountain Caves.  It took a bit longer, as it was harder to feel out turns in the tunnel, but she had made it in nearly the same time she took to crawl that far inside the cave because of her resolve. 

Emerging from the cave, she had taken in a massive breath of fresh air, letting the sunlight warm her bruised body, then tied the scarf tighter to ensure Luke didn’t flop around inside of the garment.  Phillip she had lifted from her back and placed back on her shoulder, and he leaned against her neck for warmth, still wrapped in golden, sopping hair.  And then Caroline ran.  She didn’t sprint, knowing that would more easily throw Phillip from her shoulder, but he was tightly wrapped enough that her hair was able to hold him in place.  In around half an hour, Caroline was exiting the Black Mountains and dashing back across the dead fields into the forest.  This journey took far less time than the wandering amble through.  Soon, Caroline found herself back at the large gorge she had only this morning nearly lost her brother in. 

Looking at it now, she realized the only reason she had been forced to take the detour around the cliffs was because she wasn’t quite big enough to safely make the jump.  But with her determination in full force and her height a full ten feet higher than when she had initially decided this, Caroline realized that it was a viable option.  Stepping back over a hundred feet for a good running start, Caroline gripped one hand around her brother on her shoulder, and the other around Luke’s limp form in the scarf.  Then she sprinted forward, gaining incredible speed and shaking the ground beneath her feet.  Pushing off at the very edge of the cliff, Caroline propelled herself forward, flying across the distance of the cliff.  She landed uncomfortably in a crouching position on the other side with an earth-shattering slam that knocked quite a few rocks loose into the canyon.  The journey the rest of the way home had taken almost no time.  Caroline was pushing herself to the limit, staying in a full sprint for almost the entire time before reaching home and handing over both her little brother and her tiny betrothed to the palace’s doctor and nurses.  And then she found herself back in the courtyard, unable to re-enter the palace.  She wouldn’t have been able to fit back through the hallways anyway.

Her eyes shifted up to the window, wondering how Luke was doing.  He was awake, they had said, but surely his fight was far from over.  Would he be able to walk soon?  Speak soon? Would he even recognize where he was, or be able to remember what happened?  Caroline had seen no massive scrapes across his body like in her dream, but then again, he was so small he might very well have had lots of scratches her huge blue eyes couldn’t notice alone.  She shuddered at this thought, hoping the rough ride home in her scarf pouch hadn’t worsened the situation.

A bit later, the door opened and Rose, along with half a dozen guards in tow, stepped through.

“Hello, miss.  How are you feeling?” she gasped, running forward to see her friend.

“Oh, ROSE!  I’ve missed you so terribly, I needed you so much…” she said. Rose walked between Caroline’s outstretched legs, standing between her thighs and looking up at her with a huge smile.  Caroline laid a massive hand across her back, her alternative to a hug.  Rose patted the hand, squeezing at Caroline’s fingers.

“You… have indeed grown quite healthily, have you not?” she asked as cheerfully as possible.

“I’m afraid I have, Rose.  Quite a bit, in fact.”

“The rest of my staff has been hard at work upon mending the extra material to extend your garments, miss, of that I assure you.  They are ready to add them on to your articles.”

“Thank you dearly, Rose, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Well, I suppose you might run short on clothing…” she joked, tittering as she walked back toward the door.  Caroline laughed, and looked up at the six guards.

“What is this?” she said kindly, looking at the men.

“Washing up,” said Rose, and the six guards grabbed behind the doorframe, yanking into view a sponge nearly the size of a carriage.  “I presume you have been wanting to.”

“Oh, THANK you, dear ones,” said Caroline.  The men dragged the sponge halfway into the courtyard, then marched respectfully out with a quick bow.  Caroline grabbed it up in her fingers, delighted at the prospect of having something to hold that made her, just for a moment, feel as if she was normal again.  She squeezed it, and felt fluffy soap suds rush over her powerful fingers as they clenched into the supple material.

“You may, of course, use the pond, miss, for water.  We have a second drape as well for you to utilize for drying.  I shall leave now, but remain outside this door if you should need anything.”

“Rose…” said Caroline uncertainly, suddenly realizing what she had to do.  “All of these windows…”

“Have no fear, miss, I instructed all the staff to close each window tightly, and to stay away from them as well until I give the signal.  I know you may feel uncomfortable, but I promise you, you shall have total privacy.”

“Thank you,” smiled Caroline, unable to come up with any other words.  “I shan’t be long.”

“Oh, please, don’t hurry on our account, miss.  I know you’ve had a weary few days.  And after what you did for him…” she said, pointing up toward the window.  “I have a feeling you may be… wanting to look your finest for when you see him.”

Caroline understood immediately, gratified; she hadn’t thought of this yet.  “That sounds wonderful, Rose.  All right.  I’m going to bathe now.  I shall alert you if I need anything.”

“ANYTHING at all, miss, anything,” she answered, scurrying out the door.

Caroline breathed deeply, then slowly began pulling her arms back inside the drape garment, working down her body to the base.  Her fingers fumbled with the folds Rose had worked in just above Caroline’s thighs in order to cover up her body underneath the robe and ensure she wasn’t made immodest by anyone who happened to look underneath.  Rose’s talented sewing work had ensured that no undergarments were necessary.  After working at these folds for a moment, Caroline slipped them apart.  Then, gripping the sides, and she lifted the robe up and over her head, leaving herself completely in the nude in the middle of the royal courtyard.  Despite Rose’s insistence that no one could see her, as well as the fact that all the windows were indeed covered, Caroline felt horribly ashamed being so out in the open.  Deciding it was best to just get it over with, Caroline strode to the pond, the calming zephyrs soothing every inch of her body, and dipped the sponge into the water to get it wet.  She then set about scrubbing the thick layers of sweat and grime from herself.  She intentionally turned herself away from Luke’s window.  She felt terrible knowing that, even though he was too weak to move, and the window was closed, that if he happened to stand up, walk to the window, and stand on the balcony, he could very easily see the woman he loved completely naked, and their possible future marriage was just barely developing in both of their minds.  Such an event would be unspeakably humiliating, so Caroline used even more speed while cleaning herself to avoid this fractional possibility.

Her golden yellow hair, damp and matted with dirt clumps, became smooth and sleek once again, absolutely glowing as the sun began to set.  Despite the threat of embarrassment, Caroline found herself in total bliss as she felt the tiredness and soreness itself begin to wash away as the soap suds ran down her legs and collected between her toes.  Finally, feeling satisfied, Caroline plucked up the towel drape and wiped herself down, feeling more relaxed than she had in days before redressing herself in the other clothes.  It was a tight fit getting back into them, and she felt several tears pop on certain spots.  She hoped the staff would be able to work quickly and get the new pieces attached.

They were indeed able, and as soon as Caroline alerted Rose that she was finished, Rose instructed the princess to lie flat on the ground.  For the next three hours, the work being finished by torchlight, a dozen maids crawled over Caroline’s body, letting out seams and attaching new pieces where necessary.  It was tedious just lying there, and Caroline was bored very quickly, but she knew how necessary this was, and was grateful to the maids for their hard work.  As the last stitch was added, Caroline stood to full height as the maids admired their work.  She stretched her arms out and plumped at the cascading folds of her garment along her legs, which now was just above her ankles, as before.  She smiled and flapped the billows, enjoying the feeling of having extra room in her clothes.  Rose had purposefully made the outfit a bit baggier than the first time, and while it was slightly cumbersome at first, it made Caroline feel secure.  Rose sent the maids off with Caroline’s continuous thanks before stepping up to the princess a final time.

“Please get some rest, miss.  You deserve it so.”

“Thank you for everything you’ve done, Rose.  I believe I shall.”

“Good night, miss.”

“Good night, my friend,” sighed Caroline, settling her head into a patch of soft, leathery-leaved bushes for use as a surprisingly comfortable pillow.  She drifted off rather quickly, saying a prayer to the heavens that Luke would be all right.

Caroline blinked aimlessly at her blurry vision, looking around the courtyard.  Something was changed.  But what was it?  The bushes and plants remained the same.  Her oddly constructed outfit remained the same.  The palace remained the same.  And then she saw.  The plants were not as blades of grass to her, but trees and bushes.  She was normal sized again.

                Her brain had no time to even think of processing this, though, when he eyes caught something.  Luke, standing before her, just ten feet away.  It was him, smiling, looking overjoyed and excited like normal, his arms extended for a hug.  He was just a few inches taller than her, like normal.  She dashed forth, hardly daring to believe it as she threw her arms around his lanky but still reasonably built form.  He rocked her side to side for several minutes as she ran her hands through the back of his hair, twirling it around her fingers to make sure it was real.  He lifted her up, and she kicked her legs into the air to give him some room as he spun around, continuing to hold her tightly.  It was what she had been wanting more than almost anything else for days now, and it felt so glorious to be standing here with him again.  “I’ve missed you…” said Luke, finally releasing her to a standing position.

                “Oh, Luke…” she said, grasping his shoulders tightly but still keeping her eyes locked.  “You will never know how much I have missed you as well.  How it’s been.  Oh, how could you have DONE that to me?  Gone out to the caves, risked your life… you could have died!” she croaked, her voice cracking uncontrollably from the mix of emotions.

                “I had to.  There was nothing else I could do.  I had to ensure your safety, my dearest one.  I could never allow something to threaten you.  I’m just sorry I was unable to protect you…” he said regretfully.  Caroline threw her arms back around him in a hug, squeezing him as tightly as she could.

                “Oh, you musn’t say these things, Luke, you MUSN’T.  You did all you could, I know.  It’s just… what would I have done without you?  If you had left me?”

                “I would never have left you, Caroline.  Never.”

                “But… you almost did.  You… were almost dead when I found you, I thought…” she said, her face scrunching up as the tears flowed anew.  “I thought I would never hear your voice again; I thought you would never look at me in the eyes again.”

                “Shhh… it’s all right, Caroline.  I’m so sorry, for everything, for what I’ve put you through,” he soothed, hugging her back.  “Everything is right again.  I’m here.  But you shouldn’t have done that.  You must promise me never to do what you did again.”

                “Oh, NO!” she sobbed, soaking his shoulder in her tears as she buried her face in the fabric of his simple tunic.  “No, no, no… that’s just what father said…”

                “Your father is a very wise man.  Perhaps you should listen…”

                “NO!” she almost screamed at the mere idea.  “I… couldn’t leave you.  I had to help you, no matter what it took.  You were in pain, all alone… I couldn’t stop thinking about you.  I had to do something.  I couldn’t leave you.  Not that.  Not that…” she mumbled as Luke continued shushing her soothingly.

                “It’ll be all right now, Caroline.  It doesn’t matter what’s in the past now.  What matters is that we’re here, together, at long last.”

                “Yes… yes…” she repeated.  “I’m just glad everything is back to normal now…”

                “Normal?”

                Before Caroline could answer, she felt a tingling sensation in her toes.  It moved up along her sole, and through her ankles, then zipped up her legs and into the rest of her body, ending with a soft crackling feeling inside her fingertips like pent-up static electricity.  “What’s… what’s happening?”

                “What do you mean, my dearest Caroline?  There’s nothing happening.”

                “No, no, there is, there is!  My fingers…” she said, and suddenly found herself short on air as she watched her eyes become level with Luke’s eyes.  Then the top of his head.  Then the tallest bush in the gardens.  She stumbled back, looking down, terrified, as she started growing again, becoming tall enough that Luke only reached her stomach in height.  “Luke!” she yelped, making him jump.  “I’m so sorry!  I don’t know what’s happening now… it’s… I’m…”

                “Dear Lord!” gawked Luke, taking a step back.  “What…”

                “Luke, please, try to understand… it’s a curse… a terrible, terrible CURSE!” screeched Caroline in emotional agony.  “I’m not doing this!”

                “What… what ARE you?”

                Caroline felt her heart snap cleanly in two inside her chest at these words.  She watched, absolutely crushed, as Luke reached for his sheath and drew his sword.  “You’re… you’re a MONSTER, Caroline!  A freakish, terrible BEAST!  And it’s my job to protect the people…”

                “No, please…” she sobbed.  “You don’t understand.  I mean no one, and certainly not you, any harm.  You don’t know… how I feel about you, Luke, I care so much for you, and…”

                “SILENCE, WRETCH!”

                Caroline watched her tears pool in a salty puddle at her feet.  Luke’s hand quivered as he took another step forward.  “Luke…” she moaned, wiping desperately at her eyes and taking a step away from him in fear and hurt.  “How can you do this… Please, oh please… It’s only me, it’s only me…”

                “There is NOTHING left of you left inside that… monstrous, disgusting body.  Nothing.  Leave my sight, you filthy creature.  Or I shall slice you from nose to knee, and let everyone see the darkness that truly lies inside you!”  Caroline turned and ran, her mind swimming, her heart so thoroughly crushed she didn’t even feel a particular urge to continue living. 

As she continued running, Caroline felt herself take in a deep breath of oxygen when she awoke from the nightmare, staring into the purple sky.  It would be sunrise soon.  She shifted her arms.  The outfit felt a bit more form fitting.  Not tight, but definitely not baggy like it was the previous night.  But that was not her concern, nor did it remain on her mind for more than a fleeting heartbeat.  She turned her head upwards, toward Luke’s window.

Luke groaned, lifting both his arms into the air and twisting his wrists to try and get the sensation back into them.  His vision was still blurred, and his head was still pounding, but overall he felt infinitely better than he had while lying on the bed the night before.  He knew he had made it back to the palace of Richard somehow, presumably by a scout sent out to find him.  This was already a point of guilt for him, as he would never have wanted a person or, heaven forbid, a group of people to risk their lives to bring him back, but he was infinitely grateful all the same to be safely returned. 

His back was still in a great deal of pain from where the beast had managed to strike him during the fight.  He had been lucky to have been left in the cave, as the beast must have thought he had been killed.  None of his comrades had been as lucky.  Each and every one had been ravaged in the initial confrontation, despite their incredible training and combat experience.  Luke had had no other option than to duck into the caves and try to find a better place to face the creature in close quarters.  Out in the open, in the canyons of the Black Mountains, the creature had the advantage, and he didn’t stand a chance out there alone.  He didn’t even stand a chance in tighter halls with the element of surprise for his use.  This was a fact he was keenly aware of as he ran for his life into the darkness of the caves from the opposite side.  To his surprise, he had managed to land a few blows on the beast, but nothing permanent, and in the end it had slashed him as he attempted to duck out of the way, leaving him for dead in the freezing cave.  He couldn’t possibly imagine how someone had managed to find him in that place, but he desperately wanted to find them and ensure they were aware of his thankfulness.

Lying semi-conscious in the cave, Luke had managed to drink the fresh water dripping down from the roof of the cave.  He had no food left in his pack, as most of his effects had been abandoned in the brutal battle with the beast outside the caves, but he had been lucky enough to have an extra cloak still on his person for use as a blanket.  Without it, he had a feeling he would have been killed by the infamously freezing temperatures of the Black Mountain Caves.  Eventually, he had blacked out, coming to a blurred and groggy consciousness only a few times before drifting off to sleep again.  Ironically, the painfully cold rock of the caves had actually served to stop the bleeding on his back and prevent his premature, painful demise in the caves.

Pulling himself up dizzily from the bed back in the palace, Luke blinked and tried to get his bearings, realizing Richard had placed him in the finest guest room.  He smirked.  Richard was a great king and a fair leader, but first and foremost, he was a good man, and always was putting Luke on a higher pedestal than he thought he deserved.  But perhaps he had just been trying to make a good impression of the royal family for the benefit of Caroline.  But Luke had no need of such frivolities.  He would have loved Caroline if her entire family was made of bloodthirsty cannibals.  Her heart and soul were purer than any he had ever encountered, her strong will and determination to stamp out the world’s wrongs undeniably admirable, her desire to help the less fortunate more vast than any he could ever hope to sum up in himself.  She was so fair in every way, and she thought only of others, never thinking twice about risks or detriments to herself, so long as everyone was content (and in most cases, blissfully delighted).  He had never felt the way he felt about Caroline about another woman ever in his life.

Their correspondence had started when they were a bit younger, when they each found out that they were being shepherded towards a courtship by their respective kingdoms.  Luke had begrudgingly agreed to contact her by letter in hopes of getting to know her before traveling to meet her.  What he hadn’t been expecting to encounter in her reply was her spunky wit and sharp intelligence.  He soon found himself matched for his wonder and curiosity of the world in Caroline, whom he soon found out enjoyed reading every book she could get her hands on to learn more about the world, a desire he shared with her.  Having been exchanging letters for a year, when they finally met, Luke was nearly knocked on his feet.  He had not been expecting Caroline’s pure, angelic beauty.  She practically glowed from her every fiber when he first met her out in the sunlit courtyard amidst the rose bushes.  They had giggled like little children at their first introduction, having learned so much about one another already and eager then to create a true friendship.  They leapt into their conversations then as if they had known each other for fifty years.  And from there, very early on, Luke could sense how rapidly (for him, at least) it wouldn’t just be a friendship.

Luke was shaken from his thoughts by a loud rapping at his window.  He was startled by this at first, wondering who could possibly have been able to reach the balcony.  He assumed it must have been a servant who had become trapped on the roof and managed to make his way to the balcony.  Knowing whoever it was probably needed a helping hand, Luke stood and stepped drunkenly forth, orienting himself better with each step.  His back still stung greatly, but the bandaging applied by the doctor helped keep him on an even keel.  Within a few more steps across the glistening marble, he caught hold of the thick velvet drapes keeping the sunlight out.  He decided it was just as well.  Some light would do him no harm.  Gripping the drapes tightly, he swung them out to the side.  As his eyes blinked away the fresh sunlight, he felt his throat drop into the pits of his stomach.  He fell to the ground, shaking his head disbelievingly as he saw a human hand about as long as himself just outside the window, a massive pointer finger tapping lightly at the window, the hand looking effeminately soft and petite despite its gargantuan proportion.

Evidently, he wasn’t as well as he had hoped.  He was hallucinating up a storm. 

Crawling backward, he pulled himself to his feet and gripped his throbbing temple.  It wasn’t helping.  The hand was still there.  And as his vision focused, he saw not just a hand.  He saw an arm attached to it, stretching back to a shoulder.  Right beyond this was the very top of a torso, and a head in full view of the balcony.  He guessed the top of the head was about level with his own head if he had been in a standing position on the balcony.  He blinked, shaking his head no at no one in particular.  This wasn’t happening.  Long ropes of shining yellow hair, flowing over itself like a river of gold.  The soft, peachy skin.  The massive cheeks a healthy shade of rose.  The eyes a gorgeous baby blue, like staring into a freshwater spring and watching the ripples dance.  It wasn’t a dream.  It was Caroline.

Scrambling to his feet, Luke yanked the doors open, hanging on to the handles.  Their eyes met.  Luke felt himself freeze in place, just looking over the gargantuan face before him.  She did the same, her mouth hanging open, in shock to see him as well, it seemed.  He couldn’t possibly imagine what reason she had better than his, though, to make such a face.  She drew her hand slowly back, gripping around the edge of the balcony with fingers just about the same size as each of his legs.

The silence was deafening.  An eagle shrieked somewhere high in the sky, breaking it for a moment.  The trickle of the water in the pond five stories down in the courtyard slowly came into Luke’s frame of consciousness, his eyes locked so firmly upon the face of the young woman he had been wanting to see ever since he had nearly perished in battle with the terrible beast.  Finally, it ended.

                “Hello, Luke,” she whispered nervously, running a hand through her hair before letting it fall back to her side.  “I… I’ve wanted to see you.”  Luke was unable to sum up a word.  “Catherine.  The witch.  At the ceremony.  The spell she cast.  I wasn’t ill.  I’ve never been sick.  I’ve been growing.  A little more each night, and there’s nothing I can do about it.  I’m very frightened and I don’t know what’s happening to me, but all I’ve wanted is to be with you,” she sighed, pleading for acceptance with her eyes.  Luke stared into the blue wells of those eyes, almost seeing a cloud swirling inside of each one with her angst.  His mind was frozen.

                “Please.  Oh, please, please… say something to me, Luke.  I can’t do this alone.  Please.”

                Caroline watched fearfully as Luke took several steps forward, staring at her face, clearly still very shocked.  She didn’t blame him in the slightest, but at the same time was terrified of his reaction.  Would her dream come to fruition?  Finally, he was here, right in front of her, and Caroline wanted to establish some kind of physical contact with him while he was aware of her presence, unlike in the cave.  It was all she wanted.

                “Please…” she murmured in the lowest voice she could.  She had nothing else to say, nor the emotional energy to say it.  Luke came to a stop in front of the balcony, in touching distance of her face if he were to reach out as far as he could.  He looked at her fingers, larger than life, gripping the stone balcony as if ready to tear it right from the palace.  He had no doubt that if she were so inclined, she could release her grip and grab him up as if he were a frog into her palm.  She could probably crush the life from him with little effort, too.  But Luke felt himself very calmly remain standing where he was.  He made no sudden movements.  He couldn’t even blink.  Then, reaching out his unshaking hand, he placed it on Caroline’s curled pointer finger.

                “Caroline,” he breathed, snapped back to reality at last.

                “Luke…” she sighed in response, smiling wide with so much joy, she was certain her heart would burst.  Her dream wasn’t living out.  This wasn’t a dream.  She wasn’t asleep.  It was real.

                “I’ve thought of you so much.  Nearly every waking hour, while you were ill.  I couldn’t bear it any longer, Caroline,” he said simply, looking confused into her face.

                “I know, Luke, and I’m sorry.  But why… why did you have to leave me?”

                “I didn’t leave you.  I never would.  I did only what was necessary to guarantee your safety.”

                “But… your life is…”

                “My LIFE… is worth nothing if you are not in it,” he said at last, placing his other hand on her finger.  In response to the gentle touch, her finger flexed, and he could feel the raw, muscular power inside this one soft digit.

                “Luke… how can you say…”

                “Because it’s true.  I did what was necessary.  So, in a way, you might say I was selfish…”

                “How?”

                “I had to ensure I had a reason to continue living, didn’t I?” he said with a sly smile.  Caroline could see his old self beginning to emerge.

                “Oh, you… you… you FOOL!” she said, her voice choking as a huge tear rolled down to her chin and plunged to the ground below.  “You dear, dear, DEAR fool…”

                “A fool, yes, I suppose that’s precisely what I am.  But I’m a fool wiser to the world than most of the learned men, Caroline.  And that’s something I would never trade for anything.”

                “I feared I should never see you again.  What would I have done if you hadn’t been able to be returned safely?”

                “Oh… yes.  Caroline, could you tell me, please, who it was that saved me?  That brought me back from the Caves?”

                Caroline kicked her foot sheepishly behind her other ankle, although he obviously couldn’t see this.  She rippled her fingers on the balcony, summing up the courage to say it.

                “It… it was me, Luke.”

                “Y-YOU?” he struggled in disbelief.

                “Is it so hard to accept?”

                “I… I suppose not, now, but…” he regarded her, shocked and remorseful beyond belief for the danger she had been placed in to save him.

                “You made your choice to protect me.  So I made mine to do the same for you.  For I am just as you are.  I could not have carried on alone.”

                “But Caroline, such danger… you have a family…”

                “I do.  But they’re not you.  None of them are.  And the hole you left would never have been filled.”

                “Oh… my dearest…” he said, and he too began to cry, hanging his head.  “I can never apologize enough… the pain you must have been put through, the unknowing, the danger of traveling alone through the forests and the caves…”

“Please don’t, Luke, you’re going to make me cry even more,” she said with an optimistic smile, sniffling and wiping the back of her hand at her damp cheeks.  She slowly brought her hand up, her pointer finger extended, and softly wiped his cheeks of their wetness before moving her finger under his chin, lifting it back up to look her in the eye; the ability to finally touch him of her own accord and not have him draw back in fear sent a wave of bliss and pleasure into Caroline like a lightning strike.  “There is nothing to be sorry for, Luke.  Nothing.”

                “But…”

                “None of that matters anymore, none of it.  Because we are here, together, now, in THIS moment, free from the dangers of the outside, the Black Mountains, the forests… all of it.  Please be here with me.  Don’t ponder the past, the decisions we’ve made.  Be HERE with ME.  Please…” she begged, moving her face even closer and leaning her head down.  Luke reached out and placed his small hand on the skin just below Caroline’s right eye, not a single shiver as he felt the warmth of her rosy cheeked face.

                “I am here, Caroline.”

                Another moment of silence passed between them much different than the first of awkwardness and confusion.  Now, it was one of understanding and hope.  Caroline felt a force radiating between the two of them like nothing they had ever experienced before.  And it had nothing to do with the vast difference in their sizes.  “I was so afraid, Luke.  I had no idea of what you might think of me.  I’m… what I’ve…”

                “Please don’t even think on such things.”

                “Why not?  It’s the truth…” she moaned lightly, not wanting to ruin the moment but feeling helpless all the same.

                “No it’s not.”

                “Why not, then?” she said almost defensively.

                “Because you are the single most beautiful creature to ever walk upon the earth.  And I can tell that no wicked curse has been able to change that.  You threw yourself into a dangerous place for the sake of one life.  One life, that you placed above your own, perhaps wrongfully, perhaps against the odds, but you did it anyway.  You are more of yourself than ever before.  And if no one has been able to see it, then they are blind.”

                “Luke…” she breathed, unable to come up with any word in response to this.

                “My lady…” he said, dropping to his knees.  Caroline’s jaw dropped as he took her pinky finger in his hands and kissed it gently, before rising up from the bow.  “I am at your service forever.”

                Caroline quickly retracted her hand and placed them over her face to wipe the new wave of tears away, unable to say anything, so great was her ultimate, unadulterated happiness.  She tried to mute her sobs for a few extra silent minutes, but it was impossible.  Luke waited patiently on the balcony.  “My lady?” he asked after a moment.

                “Y-Yes?” she swallowed, trying to clear her voice.

                “A request.”

                “A… a re…” she repeated, confused and still baffled by his words of moments ago.

                “I want to be nearer to you, my dearest.”

                “I’m… I’m right here for you, Luke, and I’m not leaving.”

                “No.  That’s not what I mean.”

                “What is it, then?”

                “I want you to hold me.”

                Caroline’s heart stopped beating in its tracks.  She had managed this with Phillip all right, but somehow, looking so far down to the ground and at the young man she cared for so much before her, somehow she couldn’t gather the courage to answer yes.  She realized she was terrified of him changing his mind about her if she allowed it.

                “N-No… No…” she said, shaking her head instantly.

                “Why not?”

                “It’s… it’s too dangerous…”

                “No it’s not.”

                “Please, Luke, try to understand this… I almost lost you once.  I do not think I could bear to do it again.  Please, don’t ask me to…”

                “It’s not a risk such as what you speak of.  I have seen your kindness, your gentleness.  You are a sacred lamb among the people of this kingdom.  And no matter your size, that hasn’t changed.”

                “But… I could never…”

                “Yes you could.  What are you afraid of?” he asked, his confidence with the situation growing, his puzzlement with her fears attempting at a solution.

                “For YOU!” she said, her voice cracking again.  “Only for you.  Please, it is… the risk, I just want you to be well again.”

                “It’s not about me, Caroline, it’s about you.  I can see how afraid you are.”

                “Yes, of course I’m afraid, suppose if I should…”

                “I don’t mean for me.  I mean for yourself.”

                “M-myself?”

                “Yes, it’s pouring out of you, and it makes me so sad.  I can’t look at you like this, while you are so terrified that you have become some world-destroying monster that you can’t bring yourself to hold me in your hands.”

                “Please… please…” she begged.  “Don’t ask me to…”

                “I won’t,” he said with a warm smile and a wink.  “But I would surely appreciate it if you thought it over…” he said, and with that, he grabbed onto the edge of the balcony and pulled himself over.  Caroline yelled out in fright, moving with such lightning quick speed, throwing her hands underneath him like a cushion, he had only just fallen past her chest when she caught him.  She felt goose bumps stand along her body as she finally had this beloved man of hers literally lying in her hands.  She breathed a sigh of relief that she had been able to catch him.

                “Many thanks, my dearest lady.  I quite think a landing in the grass rather than your hands might have proved unpleasant, at best.”

                “How… how could you…” she said almost accusingly, but she was so grateful that he was all right, and grateful in almost equal measure that he had managed to purge her of her fears, that she couldn’t sum up a single coherent or cross thought.  She cupped him in both hands, curling her fingers around him in a wall, allowing him to prop himself against them.  He gripped her soft fingertips, kissing one of them.  Caroline felt a great weight drop from her shoulders.  Luke had just single-handedly rid her of the very last of her apprehension.  She felt no dread for the future or for her current actions.  She felt peace.  And she felt an attraction far beyond the material world, as if her heart had found some intangible connection to the one belonging to the tiny, wonderful human being in her warm hands.

                Bringing him near to her face, Caroline nuzzled him against her tear-soaked cheek, letting her hair fall back over her shoulders, before bringing him back into view.

                “How could I, you ask?” he responded at length.  “Who else do you think would be willing to do that for you?”  Caroline smiled, her heart glowing, as she continued cradling the feather-weight form of Luke in her protective fingers and palms.

Catherine turned irritably to face Daniel as he meandered back into the hall, nearly knocking over a cauldron that happened to contain an enflamed concoction in the process.  “Daniel, I simply cannot understand it.  I simply cannot.”

                “What is it, m’lady?”

                “The tardiness of each and every one of these so-called “loyals” to me.  Even one such as you, only half the blood of your disgusting brethren running through your veins, and yet you find it even more difficult than the lowliest of them to keep time.”

                “My apologies, m’lady, I just…”

                “Keep your messy jaws shut and give it to me.”

                “Yes, m’lady,” he gasped fearfully, bowing and handing over the burlap bag he had in his pocket.

                “Excellent, it looks nice and fresh…” smiled Catherine, ripping a tan, wriggling object from the bag before tossing it into the pot.  The fire roared upward for a second and turned blue before settling back down.  Catherine watched it without blinking, but Daniel nearly fell onto a table in shock.

                “Try to contain yourself Daniel.  Tell me… any word yet from your pathetic scouts on the whereabouts of the…”

                “YES, m’lady!” he answered confidently, knowing this would only put her in a good mood (or at least Catherine’s version of a good mood).

                “FINALLY!” shrieked Catherine, throwing her arms toward the ceiling and releasing a lightning bolt that nearly knocked a brick loose.  “Tell me the details, Daniel, before my patience is tried.  Where was it?”

                “Well, you see, they haven’t actually SEEN it yet…”

                “WHAT?”            

                “T-t-that is, errr, they haven’t laid EYES upon it, but they have all given me their strictest word that it is where they have said.”

                “You speak gibberish, Daniel.  How could those puny minded fools have been able to realize such a thing without seeing it?  This is no ordinary beast, Daniel, as you are well aware… it knows the necessary tricks to keep beings off of its trail.  Your scouts would have been a job capable of taking care of in its sleep.”

                “Yes m’lady, indeed, but they did find…”

                “WHAT?”            

                “Footprints.  Lots of footprints, leading along the canyons from the entrance to the Otherlands and into the Black Mountains.  Its cave is located near the center of the mountains, but it tends to venture further this way for hunting season.  As you know, its child already wandered into the realm of Richard by way of your brilliant scheme.”

                “Mmmhm yes, indeed…” cooed Catherine, reminiscing on her perfect completion of the difficult magical concoction.  “Continue.  I am intrigued.”

                “The footsteps indicated to my scouts that the creature had been moving in its usual stalking pattern, crisscrossing in random patterns to shake followers.  But… when it had gone only a few miles into the Mountains, the prints become further and further apart.  Like the beast was… running.”

                “The creature is fully capable of running; this tells us nothing, Daniel.”

                “You misunderstand, m…”

                “WHAT?”

                “No, no, no, not a misunderstanding, ahem, but… it is like this, you see, m’lady.  The creature does NOT run unless agitated, either in battle, or when it feels threatened.  Or… in this case, when its child is threatened, which we’re quite sure it is already aware of…”

                “Of COURSE.  That NOSE…” sighed Catherine admirably.

                “Precisely.”

                “You have done adequate work, Daniel.  You may give your scouts an hour’s rest for this before they return to their training.  We must make preparations soon, Daniel.”

                “Already, m’lady?”

                Catherine grinned and cackled, practically shaking the walls of her lair.  “Now it is YOU who misunderstands, Daniel.  You clearly do not understand the special bond of mother and child.  And you can believe that faster than Richard, his family, or the pathetically overgrown wench can catch their breaths… MOTHER will be paying a visit…”

                Daniel shivered at this thought.  He had seen the younger beast in action only once, and he had barely escaped with his life.  He didn’t want to picture what might befall those who stood in the way of the mother, particularly when it was enraged.  “M’lady?”

                “What?  Make it fast, I’m quite busy, as you might be able to tell if you look close enough…”

                “Busy?  But m’lady, oughtn’t we to move out as quickly as possible to reclaim the second half of your… jewel?” he asked, eying the purple shard.

                “Why don’t we try this instead?  YOU take the orders I give you and take them to your lessers, and I’LL make the decisions.  Does that sound entire satisfactory?” she sneered at him.

                “Yes, yes, of course, m’lady, I suppose I was just wondering then if you would like me to have the Others prepare to enter the caves as soon as…”

                “Silence yourself, Daniel, and listen closely.  You shall send three dozen of your… “men”… to the caves, along with yourself, to retrieve the shard.  I cannot afford mistakes here.  None.  Not a single hiccup, or lapse of judgment like you seem to usually enjoy entailing in your assignments.  Is that understood?”

                “Understood, m’lady.”

                “Fine, then.  Now try to avoid scratching your half-animal self for one moment and listen even more closely.  I shall require, shall we say, oh… ten of your troops to accompany me on a separate mission…”

                “Separate mission, m’lady?”

                “That’s correct.  I’m going to have one last reunion with Richard before our victory. There are… things we must discuss.”

                “But why?”

                “BECAUSE Richard will be able to know once I have discovered the second shard, and he WILL try to stop me.  I cannot be foolish in this matter; it must be dealt with efficiently and…”

                “Pardon me, m’lady, but King Richard is… well, he is an adequate military leader, no doubt, but he is only a man.  What could he possibly…”

                “SILENCE,” yelped Catherine, sounding personally insulted.  “This is why I am in command, and you are my lesser, Daniel.  Because you are stupid, and foolish in the tactics of battle, despite any number of inferior victories you may have achieved for me.  Yes, Richard is just a man, possessing no power of his own accord, but you would be wise to not underestimate him.  As you know, we never speak of it, but he has defeated me once.  Therefore, I know what he is capable of.  And I intend to never let it happen again.”

                “V-Very well, m’lady,” stuttered Daniel, catching his breath.    “What about the jewel, then…”

                “It is not a JEWEL, Daniel, not in the slightest.”

                “But…” he chuckled, cracking a smile.  “It’s just a sparkling piece of…”  A second later, he found a wisp of crackling electric energy twisting itself around his neck like a noose, his feet leaving the ground.  He looked down, terrified, to see Catherine pointing up at him, the light energy emanating from her fingertip.

                “You shall not demean this sacred tool in my presence, Daniel.”

                “YES, m’lady!” he screamed obediently, eager to get some air from the painful grip of the spell around his throat.

                “Perhaps you do not understand.  Without this tool, we are nothing.  Without it, we shall remain here until we rot in the disgusting, dying lands that Richard so generously gifted to us.  But with it… yes, with it… we shall become so unstoppable, that not even Richard’s finest troops, a million strong with magical abilities of their own, could halt us for more than an instant.  Look upon me, Daniel.  Do you believe me… powerful?”

                “YES!  YES!” he squealed, struggling to reach the ground again and breathe.

                “Well, you would be right…” she said, laying a hand over her heart as if embarrassed and impressed with herself at the same time.  “But you cannot POSSIBLY hope to picture in your feeble mind what I am capable of once we bring the two shards together, and place them into the keyhole.  And once we HAVE the second shard, I shall be able to discover the location of the keyhole.  And then…”

                “We win?” gasped Daniel, as Catherine finally released her electric grip on his neck.  She nodded approvingly.

                “PRECISELY, Daniel.  We.  Win,” she stated, gleefully, grinning a terrible, toothy smile and cackling loudly.  Her laughter echoed through the hall, shaking loose cobwebs and roosting bats from every dark corner.

                Caroline rubbed her hands together as she leaned against the courtyard wall in a sitting position, waiting anxiously.  She could hardly stand the anticipation much longer.  Luke had begun to get tired after they had been speaking for an hour, and retired to his bed for a mid-morning nap.  Caroline had held his somewhat still weak form in her hands for the entire time without complaint, and she didn’t want it to end.  Despite the nagging sense in her better judgment that it wasn’t safe, Caroline felt so loved to be so thoroughly trusted by Luke that she regretted having to set him safely back on the balcony.  Besides, despite her logical and intelligent side knowing it wasn’t possible, she liked to think that giving him a warm, soft place to lay, in the care of someone who felt for him so deeply, would help with the healing process.  She had never quite believed this, but her mother had insisted upon the goodness of presence for those who require physical healing.  Now that someone truly required it, though, Caroline was only too obliged to try and help.  Secretly, she hoped it worked, and she hoped equally that he felt the same.  He had promised her after he slept some more and regained his energy that he would come down and visit her in the courtyard. 

Rose and some of the maids came out while Caroline waited amongst the bushes, dragging cartloads of bread and lettuce, followed by a large container of fresh water.  Caroline thanked them and ate the meal rather quickly, devouring loaves in several bites without thinking about it much.  She slowed herself down after this realization, but it didn’t last much longer anyway, even with her small, half-loaf bites that she could barely feel as they were swallowed down her throat like paper stones.  It didn’t matter.  Caroline was too eager for more time with Luke to be even think of hunger.  Once she was alone, Caroline heard a creaking door along the side of the courtyard leading to the main path around the palace she had used not long ago to escape in the dead of night.  Breathless, she turned her head, scrambling to a crawling position to get closer to the gate.  Luke had finally come.

Caroline was met with a peculiar surprise to find not Luke, but what appeared to be an old beggar woman, hobbling inside the garden in a suspicious, darting fashion.  The princess found this rather odd and a bit troubling.  Perhaps the poor woman had wandered in on accident; the way she moved, Caroline wouldn’t be surprised if she was suffering from some illness of the mind.  Hoping to not startle the woman, who probably hadn’t even noticed her, Caroline cleared her throat.

“H-Hello?” she asked optimistically but still confused by the woman’s presence.  Moving closer, the old woman stopped just short of Caroline’s bended knee, turning her head up at her slowly.  Caroline slowly moved her own face closer in the most non-threatening way possible to get a closer look at the woman’s features.  The hag was draped in a tattered gray rag that covered every part of her body except her face, which hung over her wiry hair like a hood.  Her face was craggy and wrinkled, and her eyes seemed twitchy, as if she wasn’t quite used to being herself yet, even at what appeared to be an advanced age.

“Greetings, your Highness!” smiled the hag, bowing as low as she could, her voice shrill.  She almost tripped, as her knees were rather decrepit, but the kind and quick-thinking Caroline extended a finger to help her stand up, which the woman accepted immediately and shook a bit as she staggered to her feet.

“Are you all right?” asked Caroline uncertainly.

“Yes, yes, yes…” the woman whispered, brushing herself off as soon as she let go of the soft finger.  “I apologize if I… startled you, princess.”

“Do not trouble yourself, madam, I was afraid it would be I doing the startling, not you.  What is it that you require?  As you may be able to see, I am not capable of doing much, but if you have an issue that needs resolving, I could of course ensure that you find a…”

“No, no, princess.  That is not why I’m here.  I’m here to see YOU.”

“Me?  Well, I’m flattered then.  What is it that you need?  Tell me, and I promise I shall do my best to help you,” offered Caroline sweetly, feeling it would be the nice thing to do to humor the poor woman, whether or not she truly did have an issue to address with her.  It allowed her to get the warm feeling again she received when helping the less fortunate, which she had been deprived of for the last few days.

“I don’t have long, princess, so you must listen to me closely.  I… believe I may be able to help with your… illness, as you have called it.”

Caroline smiled down at the little old woman, having a good idea that she could do nothing at all to help, but she was touched by the woman’s determination to bring the news to her, having found her way inside the walls apparently without detection or an escort.  This in of itself was slightly alarming, and made Caroline briefly wonder what had made it possible, but the woman seemed far too well-meaning to have dark intentions.

“That is… very kind of you to offer.  I don’t suppose you might share with me your proposed methodology?”

“Yes, yes…” muttered the hag.  “I… have some family remedies, I suppose you might say, that I believe would fix you up in nearly no time at all.”

Caroline’s doubt had just gone from slight to complete at these words, but she found the gesture sweet nonetheless.  “Errr… yes, yes, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try something new, would it?  Might you bring them to the palace?  I’m afraid travel is rather inconvenient for me at the moment…” shrugged Caroline, giggling kindly.  The woman shook her head quickly.

“No, no, no, my dear, I’m afraid I cannot come to the palace again.  I do not believe they take kindly to me here.  I regret to say, I entered without the knowledge of your guards.  I hope this does not frighten you, it was merely to ensure I could gain an audience with you.  No, no, you must come to my home.  It is near the Black Mountains, just along the edge…”

“You have traveled all that distance?”

“Indeed.  It was vital that I see you.”

This made Caroline terribly uncomfortable, but she managed to stay strong and answer against what she wished could say to the hopeful old face before her.  “I regret to inform you, then, madam, that your kind journey was nonetheless for naught.  My father has forbidden further travel from the palace until I am healed.  I am truly sorry.  However, if you could tell me of the location of your home, I’m sure something could be arranged, perhaps, if you are… certain your remedies would have some sort of effect…”

“Princess, princess, it is not that simple.  But I suppose it couldn’t hurt to share; my home is located almost exactly two miles west of the main entrance of the Black Mountains, along the incline leading towards the first summit.  I’m sure you know of it, the entrance, I mean; the canyons that eventually lead to the Caves…”

“Yes, yes, I am very well aware of this location you speak of…” answered Caroline, shuddering slightly at the thought of the caves.  “I’m sorry that I cannot come to find you, it is simply the word of my father.  And as he is king, I must…”

“Please, Princess, reconsider.  It is so important that you come to see me.  I may be the only one who can help you.  Do you truly believe that Catherine will willingly revert you to your normal form upon your finding of her?  IF you find her?” asked the woman, becoming more intense in her words.  It unnerved Caroline slightly, but she could tell the woman was determined.

“What, precisely, do you believe you can do to help me?”

“I’m… afraid I cannot revert the effects completely.  But I do believe I could stop the growth process with the correct application of resources.  However, this is not the true reason I have come…”

“What is it, then?”

“It is Catherine.  She is… planning something.  Something she has been planning for the last eighteen years.  She lacked the ability pull it off until now, but she is drawing ever closer.  And after today, I believe she may be in striking distance.”

“Of… what?” asked Caroline, becoming more and more confused.

“Of us.  Everyone.  Once she has achieved her aims, there will be no stopping her like last time.”

“LAST time?”

“Your father.  Last time he stopped her.  He saved us all.  But this time… I do not believe he can repeat it.”

“What… what are you… how do you know of…” sputtered Caroline, now beginning to grow fearful.  “Please, dear woman, you seem to be ill, perhaps not thinking straight…”

“No, no, no!  You must LISTEN to me, Princess!  If you do not heed my words, there will be…”

“Please, madam, allow me to help you find someone who might be able to aid you in your confused state.”

“Please, Princess, take this,” said the woman, shuffling through her rags.  Out of it, she pulled what looked like a thick metal ring with a single, clear rhinestone in the center.  She held it out to Caroline.  “Take this as… my gift to thank you for hearing my words.  That is all I ask, and I shall leave willingly.”

“I could never take this from you… when you seem to need it so much more than…”

“PLEASE,” begged the hag, her knees quaking violently.  “Take it, or I shall throw it away.  I have no use of it, no use at all.  Please, please, you must take it.”

“Yes, very well…” said Caroline hesitantly, reaching out two fingers and pinching the object into her grip.  To Caroline, it looked the perfect size to be a ring.  She stared at it for a moment and, noticing the woman’s insistent stare, slid it onto her left ring finger, the stone glistening in the sun.  “It is… very lovely, thank you.  It is far too generous of you.”

“Do not take it off, Princess.  Do not take it off,” repeated the hag, taking steps back towards the exit as promised.

“I shall not, believe me; such a thing of great beauty should be worn for all to see!” smiled Caroline, fully intending to sell the item to create more alms for the poor once she knew the woman was far away.  She knew the gift came from the heart, but Caroline detested having to wear extravagant jewelry such as this.  “Thank you for your time.  Are you certain you would not like me to alert a…”

“No, please, thank you, and good-bye…” muttered the woman, edging out the door.  “You must know, Princess, before I go.  It was… your mother.  Your mother has caused all of this.  It has all come to fruition because of her.”

“Please… I wish to be alone now…” shuddered Caroline, troubled by this last suggestion.

“Remember my words, Princess.  Remember.”  The hag disappeared, darting around the corner from sight.

Caroline shook her head in slight disbelief, having difficulty chewing over what she had just heard.  Her… mother?  What did she have to do with any of this?  Sighing deeply and writing it off at long last as the poor, tired ramblings of an elderly woman who had become confused by dreams or possibly things she thought she had seen, the princess leaned back against the courtyard wall.  She hadn’t been there long, though, before the door from the palace opened.  Luke began pacing in slowly, looking slightly pained but trying not to show it.

“You’re here!” squealed Caroline, feeling as giddy as a young child once again.  She covered her mouth, embarrassed by her own outburst.  “You will excuse me, Luke.  I was simply unprepared for the gift of your presence.”

“The fault is all, of course, mine, Caroline.  But let us not think on these things.  I have such tales to tell you…” he grinned, stepping nearer to her.

“Are you feeling all right?” Caroline asked immediately upon noticing his slight stagger.  “Do you need anything?”

“Still slightly under the weather.  You understand, my dearest, but I assure you, as soon as I find a place to rest my legs, I shall…” he started, looking around for a place to sit.  Caroline, seeing the opportunity, slowly lowered her cupped hands to the ground right in front of him.

“Would this do?” she said gently, smiling comfortingly at him and splaying her fingers out in invitation.  He nodded back to her.

“Your kindness is seemingly never ending, Caroline, thank you…” he said, stepping forward.  Wearily lowering himself down, he took a seat in Caroline’s soft palms and was raised several feet off the ground, nearer to her face, so she could see him better.

“The pleasure is all mine,” she answered warmly, giving him a smug grin.  He laid a hand upon her thumb for support, shifting into a more comfortable position.  “Are you situated, good sir?” she asked in a faked formal voice as if speaking at a royal dinner.

“Indeed, my fairest maiden.”

“Now, about those tales…” she cooed, locking her deep blue eyes with his despite the drastic difference in the sizes of them, where they remained gazing into one another’s stares for over a minute, a calming silence falling over.  It was simply Caroline and Luke, and no one else, for that instant.  However, the moment of silence was broken by an earth-shattering scream that seemed to shake the very foundations of the palace.  It was followed by another.  And another.  And another.

Caroline listened intently, and from what seemed like miles away, she heard a new sound: a bloodcurdling, tooth-gnashing, metal-grinding roar of pure anguish and rage.

“What was that?” asked Luke suddenly, his head turning in the direction of the call.  Slowly, so as not to knock Luke from his perch in her hands, Caroline stood to her full height, listening.  There were no more roars, but she heard more distant screams.  It didn’t appear to be coming from the palace, though.  It was further off, beyond the front gates, in the village itself.

                “I’m not certain, Luke,” she whispered, squinting into the sunlight and trying with all her might to hear.  Inside the walls of the palace, she heard yelling.  Probably the captain of this squadron of the guards.  They were moving out; she heard the clanging of armor and weapons as they filed through the halls.  Then, just outside the gate that led to the palace perimeter, she heard even louder clanging as more soldiers filed through.  There seemed to be a great deal of them on the move, one hundred, if not more.  Whatever was happening, Caroline realized, her father had mobilized the men quickly.  This comforted her, but at the same time, the roar had shaken her to the core.  Worse still, in her gut, she had the terrible, foreboding feeling of familiarity.  She had heard such a sound before, but with much less intensity, passion, and volume.  And if it was any indication of what was going on, she didn’t particularly want to see what was happening with her own eyes.  Then she looked down at the small man in her hands, looking up at her expectantly, and she knew what she had to do.

                “Dearest Caroline, please, listen to me…” said Luke.  “I haven’t an idea of what’s going on, but we haven’t much time; please, return me to my balcony, so that I may gather my weapons, and prepare for… OOF,” he began, tripping as he tried to stand in Caroline’s hand.  She gasped, but he landed softly back in her palm, using her fingers to right himself.

                “What happened?  Was it your wounds?” she asked fearfully, cradling him as she lowered her massive, glowing face toward him.  “Please tell me you are not hurt, Luke; I could never forgive myself if you were harmed while under my care.”

                “I am perfectly all right, Caroline,” he answered straightly, dusting himself off.  “I simply tripped on the uneven terrain of my present surroundings.  But please, we must make haste; take me back to my balcony, my dearest, I beg you.”

                Caroline stared down at him, swallowed hard, then shook her head no.  “Luke… you cannot.  You are hurt.  You would not be able to…”

                “Caroline, I simply MUST.  It is my DUTY.  I must defend the people, and… most of all, you…”

                “Luke, you have done so much for me already, I could not possibly ask you to do more without feeling eternally guilty.  You must stay here, and await my return…”

                “Your RETURN?  What do you mean by this?” he answered quickly, becoming more worried with each passing second.  “You… you can’t mean you intend to…”

                “I was all that stood between my family and their destruction last time, Luke.  I have to.  I must protect everyone; it happens to be MY duty in this instance, not yours.”

                “Caroline…”

                “And I must protect you, too… my prince.  I could not survive without you…” she answered softly, raising a finger to gently stroke his shoulder.  He placed his hand on the soft digit, but kept his eyes locked to hers.

                “Caroline… you are a gentle lady, one who strives to help the poor… you found me in the caves, and that was danger enough.  How could you expect me to condone you placing yourself in such risks again?”

                The princess gulped, finding the next words to be some of the most difficult she had yet spoken to her love.  “I do not expect you to condone it, Luke.  I simply ask that you forgive me.”

                “ForGIVE you?  What…” he began, and suddenly realized what was happening.  Caroline, still barely balancing the prince in one hand, had reached down along one of the balconies on a lower floor, and plucked a long red banner off that hung regally over the doorframe.  Then, bringing it up toward the prince, he pulled back, gripping one of her fingers.  Both of them already knew what was about to happen, and as much as it pained each, they knew it was perfectly inevitable.  “Caroline, no… you musn’t.  I have to HELP!” said Luke uneasily.

                Caroline’s eyes welled with tears, her hands quivering with how upset she was becoming.  “I am so sorry, Luke.  This is… so hard for me, you must understand that.  You must.  But please… I cannot bear to lose you again, and I don’t intend to.”  With that, the hand still holding Luke bean curling inward, and despite the attempt he made to fend off the gigantic fingers, Caroline had him in the gentlest grip she could an instant later, pinning his limbs to his sides.  The tears now rolling down her rosy cheeks in full force, Caroline’s heart heavy as she was forced to restrain Luke against his will, she wrapped the red banner around him, tying it in a firm bow.  It wasn’t enough to harm him, but it was thick enough that she doubted he could pull it out, or at least for a while.  It would buy her some time.  Cupping the subdued Luke in her hands, Caroline wept over him, her tears dropping down onto his head and salting his hair as he struggled with his bonds unsuccessfully.

                “No… please, Caroline, don’t… don’t do this, you cannot…”

                “You have no idea what I feel for you, Luke, and that is why I not only can, but I must,” she sniffled, rubbing her damp eyes quickly on her sleeve.  “Be peaceful, and know that I shall return to you,” she said gently, walking Luke over to a fourth floor balcony that she knew would be locked and unused.  Placing him with great care on the balcony, she moved back, tying the other end of the banner around the bannister of the balcony with a quick snap of her powerful thumbs.  For extra measure, she tied another flap of the banner around the door handles of the balcony to ensure no one could come and get Luke while he was there.  As she did, Luke struggled to a crouching position; despite his tied hands, Luke grasped weakly at the humongous, soft thumb that worked quickly to further his bonds.  It pained Caroline even more to feel his gentle touch on her hand, but she shook it off, and, with another teardrop, pulled away from him.  Then, turning to go, she headed for the low wall that she could step over into the perimeter around the palace, where she might be able to reach the front gates of the palace and, ultimately, the frontlines of whatever was happening outside.  She turned tearfully to Luke, waving one last time before wordlessly stepping over the wall.  She moved quickly, knowing if she stayed for too long, she might feel too guilty and release him, thusly placing him in great danger. 

A minute later, Caroline had found her way to the front gate, which had been closed behind the guards in an effort to keep the palace secure.  There was no one left to turn the chains and allow Caroline out through what was the quickest way into the village.  But she was not about to let this deter her; squatting down by the gate, Caroline latched her fingers around the grates of the bottom, and utilizing her massive quads, began to lift up.  Sweat dripped down her forehead, and she grunted through gritted teeth, but finally the gate began to budge, going up with a rusted groan.  Lifting it to an acceptable height, Caroline slipped her legs underneath, sliding under while keeping the gate held up until she was adequately outside.  Pulling herself up, Caroline was not at all prepared for what she saw.

The plaza before the palace where the crowds had gathered to hear her address not long ago was deserted, although, strewn on the ground, Caroline was saddened to find half a dozen guard corpses.  She dashed past this to the winding road leading on the decline to the village.  From here, she could see much of the visible kingdom.  And what she saw shocked and terrified her.  Smoke rose from dozens of structures.  Flames rose from several more, like tiny, flaming beacons of the danger stretching uniformly across the space.  Caroline shuddered.  What could possibly have done such a thing?

A second later and she was sprinting through the village, in between the tight allies and the narrow streets.  She glanced downward fleetingly, looking for any people attempting to flee the danger, but found none, allowing her the freedom to run without the fear of killing anyone.  The houses shook with each of Caroline’s enormous footfalls, but not enough to shake them down.  As she ran, Caroline saw the corpses of the soldiers and guards that had been sent out to defend the kingdom.  Stopping for an instant, she propped one leg up on her bent knee, and looked at the bottom of her foot.  It had become stained a rusty mahogany shade with the drying blood of the corpses.  Gasping, she tried to rub it off onto the ground, scraping her foot against the dusty brick, but it was no use.  Sickened and saddened for all of the lost lives, Caroline continued jogging through the lengthy thoroughfares, hearing the screams continuing all the while.

Stopping again, Caroline listened, trying to collect herself and discover which direction she should be headed in to maximize time.  She bent lower to the ground, wondering if this would help at all.  The screams became more apparent in one direction.  As she turned her head to the left absentmindedly, she found herself face-to-face with a small girl, peeking out of the window of a second story cottage.  The girl was sucking her thumb nervously, her eyes locked.

“Hello, little one,” whispered Caroline gently.  “Don’t be afraid.  I’m going to make all of this right again.”  The girl nodded, wordlessly, as the princess stood to full height.  Now with a more clear sense of direction, Caroline ran off again, beads of sweat from the heat leaking down her back.

Catching her breath, Caroline looked toward the ground again, trying to listen and examine for any passerby so she could avoid crushing them.  And then she heard it again.  The organ-ripping roar, screaming through the sounds of human yelps so loudly it almost seemed like the air before had been tranquil and silent.  It tore through Caroline’s eardrums, and she had to clutch her palms against her ears to try and remedy the situation.  She heard the clanking of metal: swords, armor, shields.  She heard the word “retreat” cried out in a terrified voice by what she presumed to be one of the soldiers.  And then her heart stopped in her chest as a massive, stone-splitting crash took place, knocking over three houses that stood right next to Caroline in a spray of old brick and grout.  She coughed, regaining herself and blinking the dust from her watery eyes.  And as the dust settled, the air becoming clearer again, Caroline’s hair stood on end at what stood before her.

                “Elizabeth… take the children.  Now.  Go,” ordered Richard sternly, his younger daughter and son hugging themselves to his sides.  “Please.”

                Elizabeth nodded knowingly, her face pale and terrified, as she took the hands of her screaming children and began to pull them down from the throne steps.  Leaning forward, she stepped up to Richard herself and kissed his battered cheek before darting back down the steps with the children.

                “NO!  N-N-NO!” moaned Phillip.  “We can’t!  I can help, really!”

                “Where is Caroline?  Is she all right?” cried Anne, wiping at her cheeks.  “What if she…”

                “Please, children, come… NOW!” shouted Elizabeth, not wanting to scare her children but also realizing the direness of the situation.

                “Take them to the…” whispered Richard.

                “Yes, I know where,” answered Elizabeth quickly.

                “You will be safe there.  No matter what happens, do not come out until I return for you.”  Elizabeth nodded and rushed the children and herself through the back door leading to the servant quarters of the Great Hall.  Turning to the guards remaining in the room, the King pointed to the door.  “You must defend the kingdom.  Please, leave me, join your brethren.”

                “But… your Highness…” protested one of the guards.  “And leave you here alone?”

                “I am capable of taking care of myself, soldiers.  I haven’t lost that quite yet,” answered the king solemnly, shifting his robe to reveal a sword sheathed at his waist.  The guards nodded.

                “V-Very well, sire.  We shall return after the beast is slain.”

                “May God give you his blessings in your times of need, men.  Good luck.”  The soldiers bowed and also darted from the room, leaving Richard alone.  His hands now beginning to shake slightly, the king took a step forward, moving for the stairs.  Just as he did, though, the stained glass windows across from the throne on the other side of the hall were smashed to pieces, a bolt of glowing energy flowing through.  It smacked into Richard, electrocuting him and sending him flying backward against his throne.  Groggily, he raised his head to find Catherine standing calmly at the bottom of the stairs, smiling.

                “Hello again, Richard.”

                “Catherine…” growled Richard, beginning to stand up again.  However, another bolt struck his hand, forcing him back into the throne as Catherine flicked two of her finger and began striding up the stairs.

                “Don’t get up; I wouldn’t want you to be… put out on my account, dearest Richard.  You’ll forgive me for not bowing, though.  My knees, you see… when one gets older, things seem to just… fade away, don’t they?” she asked, running a hand through her bountiful, fiery red hair, her large hazel eyes glistening with a quiet rage.  To anyone else, this would have looked ridiculous, as Catherine looked young enough to pass for thirty, while Richard was pushing his mid-sixties.

                “Of COURSE not.  Such formalities shouldn’t exist between two very, very old friends,” answered Richard through gritted teeth, his hand sliding slowly for his waist to reach his blade.

                “I feel exactly the same way, Richard, exactly.”

                “Have you returned to right your wrongs, Catherine?”

                “My WRONGS, Richard?  Well… yes, in a way, I suppose you might say that.”

                “It was you who wrought this terribleness upon the lands, wasn’t it?”

                “Well aren’t you just the sharpest king around.  Yes, it was me.  Are you impressed?  Didn’t think it was possible to control it, did you?”

                “No, I didn’t.  Because it CAN’T be controlled.  You’ve simply directed it with a few of your parlor tricks.  You don’t know what you’ve unleashed… There is no need for so much destruction when all you really want is me, Catherine.”

                “PARLOR tricks?  I am disappointed with your short-sightedness, Richard.  Surely you remember what I am capable of, even in my weakened form such as now?”

                “Perfectly.  And that’s why I ensured you will never be able to accomplish it again.”

                “Then it seems you know why I’m here already, don’t you?” she asked, squeezing her fingers together.  Richard received another painful shock, grunting.  “Tell me where the keyhole is, Richard.”

                “Y-You…” groaned Richard, his head in a great deal of pain.  “You won’t get anything from me.  I’ve been tortured far worse than anything you could hope to dream up with your sparks and smoke.  And if you KILL me, you’ll never discover anything you want to know, not ever.”

                “And that is where you are sorely mistaken, Richard.  You see, victory is, at this point, not only within my grasp but inevitable.  So I offer you this choice.  This final, ultimatum, because of the bond we used to share: I owe it to you to make one last decision.”

                “I can hardly contain my excitement.”

                “Glad to hear it.  Pledge your allegiance to me.  Become my subordinate, my servant.  And I shall spare you and the rest of that wretched family of yours.  Bow before me… and you shall have a life more worthy than you have ever had trying to serve as king of my lands here.”

                “I’m afraid I shall have to decline your offer, Catherine,” grinned the king slyly.  Catherine cackled.  She had been hoping for this.

                “Then you choose destiny, Richard,” she said, squeezing her fingers together again, sending another bolt of cracking energy into the king.  However, as she did, his hands grasped around the hilt of his sword and he pulled it from his sheath, pulling it into the air.  Catherine saw it and sent a bolt of electricity toward Richard, but he held the blade perfectly straight in front of his face, deflecting the bolt directly back at Catherine.  She fell backward, rolling down the stairs, and righted herself in shock.  “I see…” she muttered, smiling after getting over the initial surprise.  Richard clutched the blade confidently.

                “Did you really think I would be unprepared for another of your pleasant visits, Catherine?  I shall not stoop to your levels and practice the black arts, but I can at least be prepared to defend those I love with a trick of my own.  Now it is time for you to hear one of MY ultimatums.  Revert my poor daughter to her original form.  Then leave this land, never to return, never to threaten my family again.  And I shall forgive all of today’s transgressions.”  Catherine threw her head back in full-on laughing, hardly able to breath as she wept tears of hilarity, clutching her chest for support.

                “You haven’t changed, Richard.  You always manage to put me in a good humor.  So how about you try another one on me, and show me if those old bones of yours can move as fast as they used to?” she sneered, snapping her wrist and sending another bolt of energy at Richard.

                Caroline swallowed dryly, her skin running cold.  She could still, of course, hear the screaming and the kindling of flame along the destroyed homes, but for this moment, her vision was focused very squarely upon the monument of might and destruction that stood before her.

                The beast was big.  Very big.  It was the first thing that caught Caroline’s attention.  She was as big as a fully grown bear to Caroline.  It stood on four legs, like its child, but somehow stood more hunched, lower to the ground; this had little effect on the fact that she was still gargantuan.  Its face folded in on itself, leathery and thick, looking like it had received severe burns.  The mother beast’s eyes glared a striking shade of blood red, looking glossed over from age; below this were her snakelike nostrils, puffing black steam like a train.  A long tongue stretched out and licked the lips that were so wide they seemed to stretch all the way around her head, hiding two rows of razor sharp teeth.  A pair of ivory horns like a buck’s curled from the sides of her head, bending downward almost like tusks that had grown from the side of her head.  Her hair was even longer than her child’s, being so dark it wasn’t even brown any more, but more of a jet black, looking sticky, as if tar coated every inch of her fur.  Some grays were speckled along her fur, showing their age, but were harder to make out amongst the matted mess of dirt, grease, and rock clutched in the ragged coat.  Its legs bent back powerfully, having haunches that looked a little too long and thin to be proportionate to its size.  Caroline also noted how long each claw once, looking so long they weren’t so much like human fingers as sharp eagle talons, clawing menacingly at the ground.

                Caroline had only an instant to examine the vision of horror before the beast was pressing off of the ground, similarly to its child, for a pounce.  Being much more experienced, though, the beast knew precisely how to act quickly and efficiently in a hunt, and before Caroline could take a breath, the beast was already planting its claws on her, throwing its full weight upon her.  A smoldering house smashed beneath Caroline’s back as the beast pinned her to the ground.  Despite the beast’s girth, it wasn’t as heavy as it looked in size.  What it lacked in technical mass, though, it made up for in sheer, stringy muscle coating around its arms, rippling even around its neck as it lapped into the air just in front of Caroline’s face.  The princess grasped her hands around the legs of the beast, grunting with all her might as she tried to throw the beast from her, but all she could feel were the trembling layers of fat and muscle, as it inspected its hopeful kill like a wild animal.  Glistening saliva dripped from the beast’s mouth, sopping Caroline’s cheeks; its long, tendril-like fingers grasped around Caroline, smushing its beaten paw pads against the princess’s cold skin, and gripped tightly.  Beads of sweat slipped off of Caroline’s forehead, and she felt great fear enter her heart as the monster’s face neared her own, its jaws fully extending to such a blood-freezing distance that Caroline could see every single tooth inside of its mouth as it approached her face hungrily.

                Richard held his sword in the air, a beam of light connected to the tip of the blade as Catherine struggled to overcome the weapon.  With a snap of her fingers, though, Catherine’s own strength won out, and Richard’s wrist fell to the side, knocking him over from the blasting power of the spell.  He struggled to his feet, wiping a small bloodstain from his forehead, and grimaced, grasping the blade more tightly.  Catherine fired another bolt, and Richard easily deflected it.  However, he was unprepared for the rapid-fire follow-up, and a volley of three blasts hit him, knocking him off of the throne stand to the marble ground below.  He clenched his eyelids, groaning from the pain, as he tried to pull himself to his feet.  Catherine sauntered smugly down the steps, walking to the king’s side.  She looked down upon him, pulling her head back regally and bouncing her frazzled red hair over her shoulders.  She caught her breath before speaking down to the tattered form of the king, who still couldn’t quite stand up.

                “Richard, I believe thanks are in order.  I had been becoming so… BORED… with ordinary foes, I had quite forgotten what it was like to work up a sweat in the heat of battle.  Believe me, I ought to take back most of what I said about your decidedly decrepit age.  You seem to be in nearly good form.  I hadn’t been expecting you to stay standing for more than two minutes, but look how well you’ve fared: five minutes.  I’m afraid I must confess myself… impressed, Richard, and very much so,” she said, false kindness in her voice as she smiled at the king, several cuts still bleeding on his body, his arms lined with bruises.  “What do you think?”

                “You… will not be able to…”

                “Richard, Richard, Richard… you seem to not give me enough credit.  When a woman like me wants something, and she wants it badly enough, she tends to get it.”

                And then, to Catherine’s shock, Richard began to chuckle, albeit weakly.  “You don’t understand even now, Catherine.  Your constant brute force approach to any and all problems was what lost you everything before.  No matter how many spells you conjure, how many beasts you foolishly call down, how many innocent young girls you attempt to ruin through your cruel tricks… none of it will allow you to regain your former power.  No army in the world that might ever exist could hope to do it.  And that is why, whatever you decide to do, you will fail.”

                “Perhaps, Richard, perhaps…” cooed Catherine, rippling her fingers.  A magnetic force echoed from her palm, forcing the blade from Richard’s shaking hand and into her own.  “Perhaps it won’t be immediate.  But I have grown far too wise in all these years since your grave betrayal to allow anything to stop me.  I WILL retake my power, of that you can be well assured.  And my only regret?  Once I do, I won’t be able to look you in those old, vacant eyes of yours and SMILE!” roared Catherine, gripping the blade.  She plunged it downward, sending it right through the stomach of Richard.  She spun the handle, cruelly twisting it.  The king convulsed for a few painful seconds before passing.

Caroline closed her eyes to avoid the steaming drops of bestial saliva coming from the hungry jowls of the monstrous thing pinning her hopelessly to the ground.  Her hands quivered as she continued trying to force the beast off of her, putting all of her strength into the effort, but it was no use.  Breathing heavily, Caroline gasped silently as a glistening fang touched her forehead.  Before any pressure could be applied to the princess’s skin, though, a flash of sparks and flaming oil exploded against the head of the beast, causing it to pull back in shock.  Caroline rolled her head to the side and saw, at the far end of the street, a crowd of a couple dozen soldiers operating a large catapult that they had rolled down the street to meet the beast.

                Screeching wildly, the side of its head still on fire, the beast pulled its front legs off of Caroline and began batting at the flames.  The tower-sized royal quickly slipped herself out of the beast’s grip, taking several steps back, out of the way of the catapult’s range.  She looked over worriedly at the group of men, already loading up the next shot.  Her gaze shifted back to the other side, where the beast had managed to wipe out the last of the flame, leaving a smokestack piping from the side of its face.  Caroline cringed to see a large patch of fur missing from the beast’s left cheek, leaving a raw red patch steaming painfully in its wake.  The mother grumbled, shaking its head side to side and smacking one of its horns cleanly through a house that was miraculously still standing before turning back to face not Caroline, but the catapult.  The princess looked back nervously at the weapon, which still wasn’t loaded.  It was less than three feet tall to Caroline, and next to something that was as big as a bear, the odds made her nervous.  Her heart pounded in her chest again as the beast began lumbering towards the end of the street, sending shockwaves through the ground and crumbling another house as it passed.  The soldiers panicked, attempting to more quickly load the launcher, but they weren’t moving quickly enough.

                Throwing caution for her own life to the wind as usual, Caroline pushed off from the ground, sending a spray of cobblestone into the air as she leapt at the beast, grabbing onto its side.  It had been so focused on the catapult, it was completely unprepared for an offensive move, and smacked down onto an already collapsed structure.  Its legs flailed wildly as it tried to regain its standing position, and Caroline straddled its back, feeling that being above it, where its claws and jaws would have a much more difficult time reaching her, would be the safest option.  She climbed forward along its rippling, greasy shoulder blades and wrapped her arms around its neck, hugging herself to it.  The beast gasped in surprise, clearly having never had a foe attack it in this way, and it turned around several times, momentarily forgoing its terrifying, satanic visage in favor of spinning around like a confused dog.  It began to screech, distressed, spraying spittle all over as Caroline continued clinging to it.

                After a minute or so of this, though, the beast became a little smarter and stood still, reaching a back claw up with surprising dexterity, acting like a gorilla and using its toes like fingers, and yanked Caroline roughly from her perch on its hairy back.  The princess’s massive weight smacked into the ground, crushing a couple of abandoned fruit carts underneath, as the beast turned to face her again.  It opened its mouth and uttered the same raging roar that Caroline had heard from all the way inside the castle.  The princess covered her ears in a futile attempt to keep out the noise as the beast opened its jaws to the nearly full extend, echoing its battle cry across the land.  Then, it planted a padded paw on the ground, coming toward the cowering princess again.  But before it could act again, another fiery explosion took place against its side.  The catapult had loaded up again.

                The beast screamed in agony, trying to reach the burning spot with its paws, but it was a little more difficult due to its girth, and the awkward place the fiery blow had been struck.  Caroline watched, almost feeling the slightest grain of sympathy for the monster, as the fire began to spread across its greasy fur, the oil allowing the fire to catch quickly along its body.  The beast body-slammed to the ground, knocking over a few smaller structures around the area and rattling Caroline’s body as it dropped onto its side, rolling around roughly against the stone ground.  It kicked its legs in squalor, trying desperately to force the spreading flames from its body, kicking over an entire three-story building.  The princess grimaced, praying that everyone in the area had been smart enough to flee for cover.  After a moment of rolling, the beast had extinguished the flames.  As it stood, shaking slightly from the pain, Caroline’s mouth hung open as she saw most of its side having been completely ravaged of fur, leaving the bald, burned spot with several bleeding cuts along it from how hard it had rubbed itself against the ground to put out the fire.  It looked to the sky, shaking its face from side to side again, and howled like a wolf into the glaring sunlight. 

Then, without warning, it spun back to its feet and began bounding diagonally toward the catapult.  The troops had already begun setting up a new load, but the beast’s angle was far too tricky to reach, and it was already nearly in pouncing distance.  Caroline pulled herself to her feet, rushing forward.  The monstrous mother beast was fully prepared, though, and without even stopping to give the princess the time of day, raised a back claw into the air and scraped it hard along Caroline’s forearm.  The young girl cried out in pain, clutching her bleeding wound that spanned (what looked to Caroline like) at least six inches long.  Fighting back tears of pain, she pushed forward, but the moment she had taken for herself had already cost her too much.  The beast pummeled the catapult with two swipes of its claws, sending a shower of wood and flaming debris raining down into the street; the soldiers were forced to flee for cover in different directions to try and regain some coherency to their plan.  Over the houses, Caroline could see several dozen more soldiers dashing bravely to aid their comrades.

She gulped, looking at the beast as it returned its attention to her.  Her fingers shook with fear as blood droplets began trickling between them and to the dusty ground far below.  The beast’s snakelike nostrils twitched, smelling the blood from its safe distance.  Its tongue lapped back across its blackened lips.  Caroline’s skin ran cold again, as she began taking cautious steps backward.  The partially deformed beast, missing massive patches of skin on its side and face, blood beginning to trickle disgustingly from a variety of locations on its wounds, starting stalking determinedly back toward its enemy, leaving a small trail of dark brown in its footprints.

Caroline’s eyes fell back to the destroyed catapult.  Blinking a few times in the blistering sunlight, she realized that there were two support structures used along the length of the actual catapult arm, emblazoned with bronze.  They were the only parts of the machine that had survived intact, being made of a thick, heavy metal to ensure the arm didn’t snap.  Each one looked, to Caroline, to be a couple of feet long, each with a wider base where they attached to the cart, becoming thinner and sharper along to the top.  And then the princess got an idea.

Luke had been madly struggling with his tight bonds for a while now, his incessant grunting and violent motions not doing him any good.  Despite his impressive physique, he was embarrassed to find himself unable to break free.  He had been immobilized completely by his love.  He was a bit embarrassed to admit this fact, but at the same time found his feelings for Caroline multiplying by the second.  He only hoped he would live a long enough life to finally reach the extreme level of care and compassion Caroline already possessed as an 18-year-old.  She had, admittedly, done what he doubted he would have had the bold, uncompromising determination to do in the face of impossible odds, were he in her position.

Twisting his shoulder into an awkward position, the prince grunted in pain and quickly pulled back into his original spot, until he realized he had felt the slightest bit of slack falling along his bonds.  Smiling in satisfaction but at the same time wary of what he knew was necessary, the prince gritted his teeth.  This was for Caroline.

He twisted with all his might in the uncomfortable and unnatural position.  He heard his shoulder pop as he pulled it out of the socket, but felt the slack growing.  A bit further, he thought painfully.  Sweat now rolling down his forehead, he roared mightily as he yanked his arm out of the tight bond, draining the blood from it and twisting it a final time.  He gasped for breath, his arm throbbing as blood flowed back through it, returning color to it.  But there was no time for rest.  He quickly set about slipping his hand into the tie of his other arm.  With some effort and a great deal of pulling, he managed to slip the other arm loose.  This was made difficult and all the more painful because of his shoulder, but it was necessary.  With his other arm free, the prince grasped his shoulder with his free hand and clenched, snapping it hard up and to the right, back into place.  It cracked loudly and he yelped in pain, heavily breathing for a few moments as dizziness pervaded his vision.  He cursed at himself for how long this was taking, then set about on the other bonds on the railing and doorway.  In very little time, he had these undone as well, and found himself back inside the palace in a guest room.  He charged through the empty halls, as all guards had departed for battle while the staff were aiding the hiding royal family.  Taking the palace steps four at a time as he raced up the three flights to his room, he practically kicked his bedroom door in as he raced for the corner of the room, where his effects all rested neatly, newly polished, on an armoire.  He grasped the hilt of his sword and yanked it from the sheath.

Locking eyes with the steadily approaching monstrosity, Caroline slid the ball of her foot across the wracked cobblestone ground, bending at the knee.  The beast seemed to sense this, twitching along one leg as it placed its padded foot back on the ground.  The princess narrowed her eyes, concentrating.  She clenched her fists together, hearing them crack loudly in a sound that echoed for a few village blocks.  Her tongue licked her upper lip slowly in thought, her vision trained on the catapult.  Then she ran, pushing off from the ground like a sprinter and dashing for the rubble.  The beast pounced but was too late to sink its claws into the gargantuan maiden, landing with a smash into another line of deserted homes.  Caroline stooped low to the ground as she reached the pile of destroyed catapult, curling her toes against the stone ground to stop herself.  A cloud of dust rising into the air as the massive woman came to a stop, she slipped her fingers around the cold, battered steel of the supports and raised them up, holding them like a pair of dual-wielding short hip blades.  She pointed one of them directly at the monster to keep it at bay, using the other to hold at a diagonal angle across her chest for defense.

The beast seemed undeterred by this development, refocusing itself and coming nearer to Caroline, this time with more resolve, an angry grumble echoing from its foul throat.  The black steam shot from its nostrils again as it came to a stop at pouncing distance from Caroline.  The princess’s mind rushed into overdrive, trying to recall everything she had ever read about sword-fighting in the countless books she had read, detailing sword clashes both real and fictional, with human opponents and voracious beasts.  She recalled her time as a young child where part of her schooling had incorporated some basic maneuvers using a blade.  Many had frowned upon this practice of letting a delicate lady such as Caroline take a blade up in hand at the tender age of 10, but Richard was insistent, saying he needed to know his daughter could defend herself should the worst ever arise.

“And now it has arisen,” gulped Caroline quietly to herself, her hands beginning to shake and grow sweaty as her fingers were clenched so tightly around the metal blades that her fingers were drained of their blood.  The beast’s hind legs quivered.  Then it pounced.

Caroline felt the adrenaline take over as the beast lunged through the air at her, its massive girth looking strangely graceful as it leapt through the air.  Caroline swerved to the side, planting her right foot onto some rubble with a firm smash and flash of dust, and she held both arms out, laying both blades in the path of the beast.  The relatively blunt end of the blades carved along the side of the beast, slicing off greasy hair and cutting into the outer layer of its flesh.  With a scream, the beast’s practiced landing faltered, and it staggered for a moment, turning its head to look at the now-bleeding slices on its side.  Then it turned to Caroline, bearing its teeth like a dog and rocking its horned head to the side.  The princess couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for the battle-hardened mother beast, seeing so many wounds on it, and yet it continued moving.

“I’m so sorry…” whispered Caroline, wishing with all her might that the animalistic terror would understand her perfectly truthful words.  She looked down at the bronze beams still held in her hands, each one stained with a spatter of the monster’s brown blood.  She flicked them quickly, knocking stray beads of the fresh blood to the ruined ground, and then wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.  The beast didn’t bother setting up a pounce this time, and instead chose to bum rush the princess.  Her own arm still bleeding and staining her dirt-covered sleeve crimson, Caroline reared back and swung at the beast.  She felt one blade meet thick muscle in the monster’s front left leg, but her other blade was suddenly forced from her fingers as the beast sank its claw into her wrist.  Both Caroline and the monster yelped in pain, pushing off of one another and backing up, having found themselves at a draw on that particular strike.  The wrist of the arm not bleeding was now beginning to dribble, although it wasn’t as deep a cut as the one on the princess’s arm.  Biting her lip and muting a continuous moan of pain, Caroline looked around rapidly for her other blade.

She wasn’t given time, though, as the beast was suddenly rushing at her again.  Caroline frantically backed up, keeping the blade pointed straight ahead at the beast.  It bounded toward her, smashing a few more houses with its footfalls and batting upward at Caroline with a meaty padded paw.  This attack was met with a swift stroke from Caroline’s blade, and the beast pulled back, rethinking its tactics as it continued pushing Caroline further and further back down the street, moving closer to the palace.  Caroline swiped several more times, trying to stay focused, but ended up with a few more scratches on her fingers as the beast clawed aggressively at her, refusing to back down despite her weapon, its back hairs bristling threateningly as if closing in on its terrified kill.  Caroline began hyperventilating, then almost tripped as her calves were backed against a stone terrace; it was a change in elevation in the village that went up.  She stumbled, dropping to a crouching position to avoid falling, but ended up with the beast standing right over her, its paws planted on either side of her; shocked, her knees gave out and she found herself lying down, leaning against the terrace.  Her hand still hung in the air, gripping the bronze blade tightly, her hand clamming up.  She locked eyes with the bloodshot stare of the mother beast, whose child she had caught, and she could almost feel the hatred of the beast burning down into her eyes.  Her fingers weakened with this realization, her skin growing ice cold, and the creature calmly batted at Caroline’s hand, sending the blade flying off to the side before planting its paws squarely on Caroline’s elbows, pinning the princess deftly to the ground.  Its tongue lapped around its throat one more time before it emitted its loudest roar yet, shattering windows for a mile around.  Caroline felt her ears pop, and her head rattled with the strain, her eyes watering.  Her throat went dust-dry as the beast re-opened its mouth, descending upon her face.

Caroline’s heart dropped into her stomach as she found herself once again hopelessly pinned to the ground by the massive, kingdom-wrecking beast.  The princess, who had felt such a terrifying sense of power within in herself in the last few days as she grew, suddenly found all of that fear of her own destructive abilities transformed into pure apprehension of her fate.  She felt like a little girl again, lying on the street she and the mother beast had mostly destroyed in their catastrophic tussle, wanting someone to tell her it was going to be okay.  But she had a feeling it wasn’t going to be.  Because she was the one who would have had to tell the people that they would be safe.  She had even promised the little girl in the house she had passed that she would defend the kingdom, and rid it of the evil that had come.  But this was not going to pass.  She had failed.

                As the monster’s glistening fangs neared Caroline’s soft, flushed cheeks, the princess heard a horse whinnying somewhere behind her head on the terrace as it came to a screeching halt.  This was followed by footsteps, soft at first, but growing louder second by second, like raindrops on a window.  The beast’s vermillion death stare with Caroline was broken as it raised its head, cocking its neck; it did, however, keep its fangs fully bared in protest at the oncoming force.  A huff of hot air was released from its throat, like a warning growl.  Caroline tried to turn her head, and as she did, she had to do a double take seeing Luke charging forth, a slight hobble in one ankle.  He gained speed in his sprint, his body level with the crouching beast’s hairy face, his sword drawn high in the air.

                “LUKE, STOP!” screamed Caroline in terror, trying fruitlessly to force her arms out from under the weight of the monster’s body so she could block his approach, but it was no use.  She grunted desperately in futility as Luke charged to the end of the terrace; her jaw dropped in shock and horror as he went flying forward, over her head, and directly into the opened mouth of the beast.  Caroline yelled again, convulsing with the strain of what was happening to the both of them.  The beast held its mouth open for a moment, confused by the strange act.  Luke crouched inside its jaws, having climbed over its teeth.  Then, grasping his blade, he jammed it directly upward into the roof of the mother monster’s mouth.

                This caused the desired effect; the beast flung its claws off of the princess, allowing her freedom of motion again, as it swung its head from side to side in an attempt to knock Luke from his perch.  It even clamped its jaws closed a few times, but Luke wasn’t in range of its fangs.  Brown blood began to trickle from its black lips as Luke twisted harder in different directions with the blade, hanging tightly to his handhold on his silver sword.  Caroline heard him yelling loudly from the strain of hanging on tight enough to not lose his grip and tumble on top of the rows of razor choppers.  The beast eventually became wiser to this, though, and stopped shaking, rippling its throat.  Caroline could see already that it was trying to swallow him directly into its throat.  With a screech of determination, Caroline lunged into a sitting position, taking hold of the beast’s jaws with her tremendous hands, trying to force them back apart.  The sheer adrenaline spike hitting Caroline’s brain allowed her to exert every ounce of strength she had left into opening the beast’s jaws.  Surprised by this act, the monster opened its mouth all the way just as Luke was yanked roughly back towards its greasy throat.

                “Oh, no you DON’T!” growled Caroline at the monster, shooting her arm out.  She wrapped her fingers around Luke’s saliva-covered form, ripping him from inside the beast’s throat.  As she did, her hand and arm became soaked in the monster’s blood, which by now was spouting out, filling its mouth and forcing it to spit it out.  The stuff was also rushing down its throat as the monster began hacking wildly and desperately for air.  With a final stroke, Luke shredded the entire top of the monster’s mouth roof, dragging his sword all the way across and leaving it lodged just behind the top row of teeth with all of his remaining might, collapsing into Caroline’s sweating fingers.  Pulling Luke out and cradling his limp form against her chest for warmth, Caroline grasped the terrace edge and lifted herself up, backing up several steps and watched the murderous monster.  It stumbled to the ground, not getting enough oxygen, a massive pool of brown collecting around its head.  It sputtered a few times, then gurgled inside its throat, unable to take full breaths of air.  Shaking slightly and lying prone on the ruined cobblestone ground, the mother belched one last wave of brown blood and bile before dying, choked to death on its own gushing fluids.

                Caroline sat on the terrace, looking fearfully at the still-twitching body of the greasy, hairy, bloodthirsty monster, half-expecting it to crawl back to its feet for a final stand.  But it didn’t.  It was over, all over.  Everything seemed all right again.  As she caught her heavy breath, Caroline looked down at her upturned hand, squeezing her fingers around Luke, but then gasped as she found blood dabbed onto them.  It seemed that as he dove inside the creature’s jaws, he had snagged himself coming across its teeth, leaving several scratches stretched across his chest.  Already, he was breathing heavily, staining his shirt with blood.  Crying out in anguish, Caroline cupped him into her other hand, trying to keep him level, and dashed forward down the village street for the river, which for Caroline was just over twenty massive strides away, rumbling the houses as she did.  She barely had the energy to look for any possible people in the streets to avoid trampling them under her bloodstained soles, but every non-military person had fled within a one mile radius, the rest hiding fearfully in their houses or the alleys.

                She walked down the sloped hill to the water’s edge, quickly crouching in the grass.  She gently laid Luke on the ground next to her left knee, then briefly scanned herself with her eyes.  Her wrist was already looking better, but her arm was not looking very healthy.  Grasping at her dirt-lined robe hem, she tore a strip from the bottom, feeling guilty for destroying Rose’s handiwork, and wrapped it as tightly as possible around her forearm to stop the bleeding.  It stung badly as she tugged at the makeshift bandage, but it would do for the time being.  Luke was the priority.  She moved back to him, almost afraid to touch him when he was so delicate to her massive fingers, but found the strength to place her soft fingertips upon his body, applying almost no pressure.  She pinched at his tunic, which had been all but shredded by the beast’s teeth, and tugged at it.  It easily fell from his body, revealing his bloodstained torso.  Caroline squinted down at him.  His chest was still rising and falling, and his face was contorted painfully, but he was still alive.  Breathing a sigh of relief, Caroline tossed the blood-soaked shirt to the side and quickly slid her fingers back under his body, lifting him back up into a sitting position.  His arms hung limply against her cool fingers, and it scared her, but she knew if she could act quickly, he might yet be saved.  Bringing him back closer to her chest and leaning him against it with one hand, Caroline scooped the fingers of her free appendage through the rushing waters.  This happened to be the hand with the finger wearing the mysterious and beautiful ring from the hag.  As she swiped her fingers through the water, she couldn’t help but feel a slight tingling sensation along her finger.  She quickly stared into the stone of the ring, a dizzying feeling spreading throughout her limbs.  She rubbed it against the grass to dry it and switched her grip, sliding the brutally battered prince into her other palm.

                Shrugging off what had just happened, Caroline scooped up a massive handful of water and brought it to Luke’s body.  Tipping her fingers slightly, she allowed the refreshing liquid to wash over his dirty, grimy, bloodied chest.  He moaned as the cool water rushed into his burning wounds, allowing the princess to catch her breath.  He was awake again, if only for a moment.  She lowered her head nearer to his body, blowing lightly through her pursed lips to help cool him down.  As the last of the water from her hand was used, she dipped back into the river for a fresh supply.

                “Luke… can you hear me?” she whispered, as some of her hair fell over her shoulders, surrounding Luke in a forest of silky gold.  “Give me a sign… something.  Move your hand if you can.”  He grumbled, shifting his weight.  Then, his arm extended, his hand reaching out for something to grab onto.  Caroline quickly curled her thumb inward, laying it just above his chest.  He gripped it tightly, squeezing as hard as he could into the cool plushness, to help with the pain, which of course didn’t affect Caroline at all.  Finally, with a soft sputter, he managed to speak.

                “C-Caroline…” he choked, coughing and taking full breaths again.

                “Shhh…” she whispered, blowing more cold air over him and emptying another slow handful of fresh water over his wounds.  “There is no need to speak now, I just needed to know you were all right.  Oh, Luke…” she said, shaking her head.

                “Caroline…”

                “Please don’t speak, Luke, I really do mean that.”

                “No, there is something I m-must say…”

                “What is it, then?  Make haste; you must rest yourself.”

                “It is more of a s-suggestion.”

                “Very well,” she answered gently.

                “If you are going to bind me in the future…” he said, chuckling so weakly barely any sound came out.  “…I would suggest using a better restraining material, like chains, or perhaps an army of armored warriors.”

                Caroline couldn’t contain herself, beginning to giggle and cry a little at the same time.  She wiped her eyes before scooping for more water.  “How… how can you SAY something like that?”

                “It is the simple truth.  I think it might be more prudent of our time for you to hear it now.”

                “I should have tied you more tightly, my sweet Luke.  I didn’t want to have to leave you there, it hurt me so much, but it was necessary.”

                “Believe me, princess, you would only have detained me for perhaps a few minutes longer.”

                “Thank you… thank you…” she breathed lovingly.  “Luke… how could you have come after me?  Look at yourself… you’re barely here.”

                “Would YOU have been here if I hadn’t come when I did?”

                She sighed.  “Quiet yourself, my prince.  There’s no need to have worry anymore, or concern.  Don’t you see where we are?”

                “The river.”

                “Yes… but not just any river.  In my childhood, my mother… she would tell me stories of the very old days, when the land itself contained magical property.  She told me this river contains the ability to heal wounds physical and in the mind, and is the only left of its kind,” she said dreamily, not believing a word of it but being comforted anyway.  Luke smirked, knowing this, as he hugged her cool, damp thumb against his burning wounds.  He shivered for a second, but eventually felt better having thick pressure applied to his wounds, particularly when it came from such a soft and reassuring source.

                “I thought you didn’t believe in those sorts of things?  In that kind of magic… wishes of the lands themselves, not just the people… fates…”

                “We aren’t given fates, Luke, we decide our own.”

                “Perhaps… but without fate, how could our creator plan the miracles… surely you believe in them?” he answered logically.  Caroline smiled softly at him.  Bringing a fingertip up to her lips, she kissed it softly, then lowered it to Luke’s body, pressing it gently against his cheek. 

“I think I’m starting to now,” she whispered, allowing her hand to slide back into place underneath Luke’s frame.  She cradled him for several more minutes, and then began to hum the same slow tune she had used to calm Phillip when he was first afraid of the night, when she had started growing.  It felt like so long ago, after how far she had come, and yet it wasn’t so long ago at all.  Her humming grew louder, and delved eventually into a low, lyrical whisper of the music, letting it permeate the air along with the serenity that had followed the monster’s terrible destruction.  Luke drifted off to sleep from exhaustion and pain as Caroline stood back up, her arm stinging more than it ever had in her life, but she didn’t care for this moment.  She continued singing the song lightly as she walked carefully back to the palace, knowing somehow that Luke would be all right. 

What awaited her at home, though, she could never have prepared for, not if she had known it a century in advance.

A chilling mist settled in as night fell.  Only the crickets could be heard in the gardens.  Caroline laid on her side along a stretch of grass, her tears frozen to her face, her cheeks having been drained of their color.  She had nothing to say or think or feel.  She held her hands close to the crook of her neck, where her two siblings had huddled themselves against her for comfort, their own tears soaking Caroline’s warm palms as they quivered against her skin, finding almost no solace, even in the tried-and-true embrace of their loving, gigantic sibling.

“C-C-Caroline…” squeaked Phillip through muted sobs, but Caroline quickly hugged him more snugly against her palm, pushing him against her neck.  He cuddled against her fingers and was shushed.

“Not now, Phillip… just wait…” she choked out, her own voice cracking heavily.  Inside the palace, the servants and guards stood at a respectful distance from Elizabeth, who was crouched on the ground, trembling, over Richard’s bloodied corpse, her handmaids trying uselessly to soothe her as she cried rivers of tears, her grief so deep she couldn’t even hear anyone’s words, or barely see anything at all for that matter.  Luke laid in his bed, being nursed back to health by the doctor, but somehow felt himself feeling worse even as his wounds were bandaged up and treated, his own face cold and stoic, shocked at what was happening.

Outside the walls of the palace, every citizen of the kingdom who could make it to the palace by nightfall stood, weeping on one another’s shoulders, bringing lilies and laying them alongside the palace walls, and many of them holding torches of respect up into the air, above their heads, alighting the darkened crowds with glowing orange orbs.

All Caroline could do was hold her siblings, her mind so thoroughly crushed that she wondered how she would ever carry on without her wise father, or how the kingdom would be able to withstand future attack.  Or, for that matter, how she might ever find herself shrinking back to normal size without his tactical decisions and smart planning.

It then occurred to her how selfish she was in thinking this, which only caused her to weep harder, pooling her salty tears on the stone path of the garden.

The crowds of multiple thousand orange-tinted humanoid creatures, the Others, bellowed like animals from the muddy depths of their training caverns, where they normally prepared for combat and forged their weapons in the volcanic pits.  At this moment, however, they were all crowded around a muddy cliff high above, where Catherine was perched victoriously, her fist raised into the air, her youthful face smiling smugly out across the endless waves of disgusting creatures.  She was thoroughly revolted by having so many of them devoted to her, but at the same time, she knew they were finally about to prove their worth.  She laid her fingers upon her throat, a blue light passing into it, which allowed her voice to be projected across the halls for everyone to hear.

“The rumors are true.  King Richard HAS fallen!” she boomed triumphantly, sending the crowds into a violent roar of victory, clapping, and happily clanging metal.  “He was slain… BY MY OWN HAND!” she screamed with glee out to them, the volume only rising as she said this. 

“SIIIILLLLLEEENNNNNCCCCEEEEEE!” she screamed with such fervor that she quieted every single Other throughout the cavernous hall.  “You must all listen to me now, and listen well.  Richard has fallen, but the fight is not over until we retake the land.  MY land.  We shall mount an offensive the likes of which the pitiful fools of those lands have never before witnessed, and we shall CRUSH them into the dust beneath our feet, retaking what has rightfully been ours for decades!” she yelled, and a quick whoop of approval came up from the crowds before they were quiet again.  “We WILL have vengeance.  And I…” she said breathlessly, “…will finally have SATISFACTION!”

                Behind her stood four of the tall brute Others, standing guard by the door.  To her left and a little back, respectfully and quietly, was Daniel, clutching his hood over his face.  She looked to Daniel with a sly grin, and he nodded in his silent approval.  “So, I give this message to you all…” restarted Catherine, touching her throat again with the small flash of light.  “Awaken your bones.  Prepare your weapons.  Dust off your armor.  And show the sort of allegiance to me that you have SUPPOSEDLY possessed for all this time, because this day shall be ours, THIS day shall be the one where we finally fulfill the dreams of all your fathers and mothers, THIS day shall be the one where our glorious force is made known to the world, for ALL TIME!” she bellowed again, ending her speech.  The crowd of creatures erupted into cheering, and most were already pushing past one another to eagerly fetch their weapons and clap on their chainmail.  Nodding with success to herself, Catherine stepped away from the ledge and back into the dank hallway that led back to her private quarters again.  Daniel followed obediently behind.

                “Ensure your troops have followed my orders well, Daniel, I’ll want them ready in precisely three hours to move out.”

                “Yes, yes, of course, m’lady, but… is it the one you wanted?  The piece of…”

                “It is indeed, Daniel,” she said, smiling.  “The shard fit perfectly with its brother, and revealed to me the precise location of the keyhole.”

                “WHERE, m’lady?” asked Daniel excitedly.  Carline moved closer to Daniel’s face, disgusted with having to be in such close proximity to him, but this was a special occasion.  She cupped her hands against his ear.

                “It’s UNDER the palace itself.  UNDER it.  Richard has had it hidden right beneath my nose for all this time.  That clever, clever, CLEVER old fool…” she mumbled admirably, quickly pulling away.  “It’s so LOGICAL… I am insulted that I missed it for so long.”

                “You jest, m’lady.”

                “Never, Daniel, never.  Despite his carefulness and the despite the fact that yes, he managed to hide this rather obvious fact from us for decades, Richard’s own careful planning shall be the death of his beloved kingdom with even more ease.  You see, while your troops march upon the hapless villages and provinces, myself, you, and a small cadre of your “finest” ones shall find our way inside the palace and place the crystal inside the keyhole, thusly unlocking my true abilities once again from bondage.”

                “That sounds all well and good, m’lady…” said Daniel.  “But, despite our numbers and the courage of our men, I have my doubts we shall last more than a few days.  With the passing of King Richard, their troops shall have a bloodlust nearly equaling our own, and their ranks far outnumber our own.”

                “Don’t be ridiculous, Daniel, without Richard’s military guidance, the troops wouldn’t be able to organize correctly.  And even if they could, it doesn’t matter.  All we need is for your troops to hold OFF the armies for long enough for me to retake what is mine, underneath the palace, and then I assure you, I will be able to wipe out the opposition with a few waves of my hand.”

                Daniel stood back, aghast.  “You truly are… this powerful once your abilities are returned?”

                She winked devilishly.  “You haven’t the slightest idea, Daniel, not the slightest one.”

                They reached her private quarters, finally, the massive brute guards churning the chain-locked door for the returnees.  “Stay back, Daniel, I have something I must attend to.  Go forth, and prepare our armies for battle.  Our time has finally come.”

                Daniel bowed deeply, then stood at attention.  “Of course, m’lady,” he answered, hardly able to contain his own excitement about the coming conquest.  “Good luck.”

                She cackled deeply as she disappeared inside her hall.  “Who needs LUCK?”  Stepping toward the fires of her hall, alone at last, Catherine sighed deeply, then pointed her fingers at it, sending a spray of sparks out of her palms.  The fire turned purple, then dark green, and finally blood red.  It grew in size as she kept her trembling hands trained on the fire, her concentration unbroken.  She closed her eyes.  She had pulled this one off successfully only a few times before since she lost her abilities.  She had doubts it would work this time, and yet the animalistic, killing spirit that had been rising up in her since she finally defeated her greatest foe was fueling her desires, and she actually found herself projecting a fuzzy image into the fire.  She was succeeding.

                Dark eyes appeared in the fire.  Then a nose.  Then soft lips.  A matted head of golden hair appeared next, life and color coming to the image in the midst of the fire.  Grunting from the effort to keep the spell intact and sweating profusely down her back, Catherine clenched her fists together, bringing a full picture of Caroline’s sleeping face into view of the fire.  Then, she began to spin her wrists from side to side, clenching at empty air, contorting the space.  Finally, she saw the image of Caroline’s face twitch, uncomfortably, and she smiled.  “Sleep well, “little” princess.  Sleep well, and dream of pleasant things…” she sang, gleeful that she had pulled off the spell.  Her concentration now so focused she knew the spell would be played out like a puppet on strings, she began curling and uncurling her fingers in practiced motion, her eyes fixed like iron locks on the image of the sleeping, giant princess.

                Caroline rolled over, waking up in another blurred world.  Blinking didn’t help, as usual.  At first, she thought she was lying down, but upon rolling her head groggily up, she realized she wasn’t lying down, nor had she been sleeping (she thought), because she was reclining in a large, golden throne.  Upon looking around, she realized she was back in the Great Hall, sitting in her father’s throne.  She gasped to realize that she was once again, inexplicably, her normal size again.  Before she could even react further, though, or stand up to go rush to find any of her loved ones to show them the miracle, she threw her hands out and they suddenly touched against a table, solid gold as well, its cool touch shocking her, as she hadn’t even noticed it there before.  It was tightly pressed against the throne, so she couldn’t stand up anyway.  Then, blinking again, she found a large bowl, also solid gold, sitting on the table.  Trembling, and very worried about what was going on now, Caroline stooped forward, and felt her air disappear from her lungs at what she saw inside.

                Her father, her mother, her sister, her brother, and her beloved prince were all cowering at the base of the bowl, hugging one another together.  Each one looked like they couldn’t have been more than two inches tall or so, Phillip and Anne even smaller.  Caroline grasped the sides of the bowl in her hands, careful not to shake it or knock it over.  “No… no… NO!” screeched Caroline in terror.  “ALL of you?  No, it can’t be… what’s going on… it’s supposed to be ME, not you all…” she cried out, her heart beating faster.  “I’ve… I’ve got to do something…”

                “Caroline!” squeaked Anne from the middle of the bowl.  “Please help us!”

                “Yes, little sister, of course I shall!” whispered Caroline.  Gently, she lowered a hand into the side of the bowl, and all of her family looked at it, unnerved a bit by the size of the princess.  She knew that she must look nearly three hundred feet tall to her terrified, crouching family, but Caroline knew she would have to keep them safe.  She softly tapped her fingernail against the metallic bowl, clicking it louder than she meant, which made her whole family flinch.  “Please, everyone, don’t be afraid of me… it’s just me, it’s Caroline.  I… I must protect you all, you all have become… so small, you might be hurt.  Please, you’ve got to trust me; climb into my hand!” she whispered with force, but gentleness at the same time so as not to scare them.

                “Thank you, dear!” shouted out Elizabeth to ensure Caroline heard, and her entire family began loading themselves into her hand.  She began to raise her arm back up, her entire family cupped peacefully inside her palm, which she helped cover with her other hand.  Suddenly, however, in a blink of flashing green, she felt her wrists freeze in place, quivering as she tried to continue moving her family out of the bowl.  Suddenly, through no fault of her own, her hands parted, dropping her entire family back into the bowl, which to them was a story-high distance.  They all screamed as they smashed against the metal bottom, as did Caroline upon seeing what she had done.

                “Oh, no!” gasped Caroline, her eyes almost flooding with this act alone.  “I’m so sorry!  Please, oh please, tell me you’re all all right!  You must be, I can’t have…” gasped the princess, shrinking back in fear of her destructive power.  “I… I cannot touch you,” she uttered quietly, terrified now.

                “CAROLINE!” yelled out the tiny voice of Phillip from the bowl.  “What’s going on?”

                “I don’t KNOW!” she shouted out to the echoing hall with great pain.  “Why does all of this keep happening to me?  I don’t know what to do…” she said, placing her hands on her cheeks.

                “Perhaps not.  But I certainly do…” came a cold, calm voice from the bottom of the stairs leading up to the throne.  Caroline looked up, and felt her entire body quaking, half in fear, and half in blind rage to see the witch, Catherine approaching without apprehension.

                “YOU!” she yelled out in anguish.  “You’ve caused ALL of this, EVERYTHING!”

                “Oh, so you’re a fan, dearest princess?” laughed Catherine.  “I would have hoped you’d like my poor little tricks.  I’ve been practicing them for years, after all.”

                “But… but WHY all of this hatred, this pain, this loss?”

                “For a very simple reason… Caroline,” answered Catherine.  “Those are all the things I faced for more years than you could hope to count when regarding such things as hatred, pain, and loss.  I was forced to drown in those three, while your noble father feasted heartily on the fruits of his success, allowing all of us to rot in the depths of the Otherlands.  Not a fair trade, I daresay.”

                “What HAPPENED between you?  What caused such agony?”

                Catherine smiled.  “He never told you?  I suppose he wouldn’t have, it doesn’t exactly reflect well on him… nor me, for that matter…”

                “WHAT?” yelled Caroline desperately, the tension killing her.  “Tell me!”

                But Catherine was no longer listening to the upset young monarch; she was instead allowing her gaze to fall into the bowl.  She smiled widely.  “Quite the… nice little family you have, young princess.  I sincerely hope you take care of them well…” she said, and Caroline’s heart skipped a beat as she saw Catherine’s smooth, claw-like hand descending slowly towards the contents of the bowl.

                “NO!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.  “STAY AWAY FROM THEM!  LEAVE THEM ALONE!”

                “Now, now, now, princess…” tittered the witch.  Her hand rose from the bowl, and Caroline saw, with blood-chilling horror, that her fingers were clenched around King Richard, who was struggling violently.

                “Put me DOWN, Catherine, I DEMAND it!” he bellowed in a small voice.  Caroline leapt forward, her hands outstretched to rescue her tiny father from the horrible, monstrous woman, but Catherine simply snapped her fingers.  Instantly, the princess felt an invisible force on her stomach, which slammed her hard against the back of the throne.  She kicked and struggled, flailing her limbs, but she couldn’t even get out of the throne.  She began to breathe more heavily.

                “Richard, dear…” said Catherine dramatically, holding him up to her face.  “You are indeed a spritely little fellow, aren’t you?”
                “Catherine… I don’t understand how this has happened, but you SHALL reverse the effects at once!” he roared.

                “Of course, your grace, of course,” she said, smiling slyly over at the struggling princess, before returning her gaze to the king.  “It’s a simple matter of… squeezing you back into your decidedly much taller, normal frame.  Allow me to demonstrate…” she said, and suddenly she was squeezing with all her might around the body of the king.

                “PLEASE!  STOP!” screamed Caroline again, tugging so tightly against the invisible, magical bonds it was cutting off her air supply.  But she didn’t stop, and a moment later, Caroline heard the soft crunch of the king’s bones.  He went limp in the gigantic hand of Catherine, who parted her fingers and allowed the once-again destroyed king to fall to the ground.

                “Perhaps I used too much force.  What do you think, dear?” she asked pleasantly.  The princess screamed madly at her, shaking her hair around, wriggling her wrists in vain.  “Calm yourself, princess, you shan’t have to watch anymore of this.”

                “R-Really?” sputtered Caroline, a tear rolling down her cheek.

                “Of course not.  I wouldn’t want you to become bored.  No, you’re going to participate now.  Go ahead,” she said, holding her hand out toward the bowl.  “Take one.”

                “N-N-NO!” stuttered the princess, having trouble processing the request in her heart and mind.  “I would NEVER hurt my family.  You’ve… you’ve… you’ve killed my FATHER!”  The tears began flowing down her soft cheeks.

                “Relax, dear Caroline… he was days away from it anyway, have you seen that white hair of his?” she asked jokingly.  The princess became stoic, her face turning a pasty white.  She didn’t know what to do but sit and stew in her mental wallows of grief.  “Very well…” stated the witch.  “If you can’t be bothered to take one…”  she said.  “I suppose I am inclined to lend you a helping hand.”

                Suddenly, Caroline felt the magical bonds tugging her away from the throne.  She struggled against them as her body was dragged forward toward the bowl.  And then her arm reached out, her fingers forming a violent looking claw shape as they reached for the contents of the bowl: not in the soft, slow manner that Caroline had taken up when scooping low to pick something up, but in the aggressive manner Catherine tended to act with.  Fighting to pull her arm back, Caroline watched helplessly as her fingers wrapped around the body of her mother, who had leapt up from weeping over Richard’s loss and was trying to dash away.  It was no use, though; a second later, Caroline’s fingers were wrapped around the frail form of her mother and she had lifted her out, holding her before her face.

                Her mother squirmed in Caroline’s grip, which was much rougher and tighter than the princess would ever dare try to hold a person, and she began to cry harder, her face soaked, as she was unable to do anything but watch the ensuing terribleness.  “It… it will be all right, mother…” she said through her choked voice as her mother was helplessly compressed against her normally gentle fingers, although she had a feeling it wouldn’t be all right.  “P-Please…” she begged, looking up at Catherine.  “Stop this…”

                “Of course…” spoke Catherine icily, raising an eyebrow.  She clenched her own fist, and as she did, Caroline did as well with a powerful and authoritative squeeze, crunching her mother between her fingers with a loud snap, followed by a terrible, wet squish.  Caroline screamed at the top of her lungs, convulsing, feeling her hand go cold from lack of blood.  Shaking uncontrollably, Caroline’s fingers released, allowing her mother’s broken corpse to drop to the ground.  Caroline began to sob, breathing so heavily she couldn’t even get a full swallow of oxygen.

                “No… mother… no…” she mumbled, unable to process what had just happened, her jaw dropping.  Her skin hurt she was in such shock, like a sheet of ice settling in over her.  She was barely conscious of the world around her, staring down at the little body lying on the ground, her tears splashing down and forming a puddle around her.  Suddenly, she became aware that her stained hand was back in the bowl, fishing around.  Her fingers pinched against a pair of legs that instantly tripped, allowing her the ability to grab them up.  She dangled Luke by his foot as she pulled him from the bowl, bringing him to her face.  Her teary eyes met his, and he looked at her as reassuringly as he could, although she could understandably see the fear.

                “I think I’ll let you two lovebirds have a quick moment together…” said the witch.  “Go on; I won’t be kept waiting, though.”

                “Luke…” coughed Caroline, shaking so much that Luke began to vibrate in her forced grip around his ankles.  He nodded groggily at her.  “Please for… for… forgive me…” she wept, the tears splashing down to her lap, blurring her vision even more.

                “Caroline… it will be all right, I know it will…”

                “What?  How can you say…”

                “It just will.  Don’t feel bad, or wrong.  I know it’s not your doing.”

                “But LUKE…”

                “Time’s UP!” called out Catherine, and suddenly Caroline’s hand holding Luke was outstretched, and Luke was tumbling downward, into her lap.  He rolled along the folds of her dress and then stopped as Caroline’s thighs snapped together, where he was held in the space between her clenched legs.  The princess tried to part her legs, grunting loudly from the effort to part her limbs, but this wasn’t going to happen, and suddenly, the incredible weight of her quads was pressing in against the prince.  He moaned in pain, and the princess began to feel she wouldn’t be able to stay conscious as she watched her helpless love mashed in the space between her legs, just below her knee.

                “STOP!” screeched the princess up at the witch, who just shrugged at her.  “PLEASE!”

                “You won’t want to look at me, Caroline, that handsome face of his won’t be intact for much longer.” 

Crying, and reaching her fingers out to save him from his fate, she found the bonds holding her wrists back.  All she could do was look on, her face bursting into a new wave of convulsions and tears as she felt the squishy pop in the folds of her dress.

Her hand descended back in to the bowl, Caroline’s face despondent.  She felt legs kicking against her fist, and her fingers flicked outward all by themselves, striking the body hard.  It began to shake in fear as Caroline felt her sweating palm wrap itself around the next helpless body, subdued with the simple motion of her fingers, removing it from the bowl.  She looked on with horror to see Anne held in her fist.

“No… please, my sister… spare her…” cried Caroline, struggling so hard to put her sister back in the bowl that her arm began to violently ache.  “She’s only a CHILD!” she screamed in anguish at Catherine, who had crossed her arms in amusement.  “You… you cannot.  Look upon her; she has d-done you no wrong, Catherine.  Please… you have… you have taken so much from me already…” she wept, hanging her head in defeat.  “I will do anything you ask of me, if you will allow my siblings safe passage away.  Anything, just… just let them go.  Please…” wheezed the princess, hardly able to breathe, the pits of her stomach twisted so much she had cramps all over her body.  “Please… have mercy.”  Catherine tsked at her.

“Noooo… no, princess, I’m afraid that’s not on our agenda today…” giggled Catherine, leaning over the table and causing Caroline to wince.  Anne was struggling in her fingers, and Caroline felt, with dismay, her fingers crushing in further.  Anne began to weep.  “C-C-Caroline?” she whimpered.  “H-Help me.  P-Please?” she cried pathetically.  Caroline had to look away from the tiny girl in her hands as she continued clenching around her, forcing the air from her lungs; she couldn’t bear to look on it any more.  Her lips quivering, she pushed herself as hard as she could against the magical bonds.  “PLEASE!” she cried at the top of her lungs.  “LET HER GO!”

Without another word, Catherine wiggled her fingers, and Caroline was leaning over towards the ground.  Her fingers released, allowing Anne to drop to the ground.  Caroline breathed a sigh of relief.  There really was mercy deep inside the broken, dark soul of Catherine, somewhere.  Caroline felt her breathing calming, as despite the life-wrecking losses she had just directly incurred, her sister would live.  Suddenly, though, as Anne began to crawl away, her ribs probably cracked, Caroline’s bare foot rose up from the cool ground, moving toward the hapless girl, wiggling her toes in a predatory way.

“Wait… no… NO!” screamed the princess.  The ball of her foot pressed down on her sister, rolling her helplessly under her sole.  She mashed down hard but slowly, working her into the solid ground, and a matter of seconds later, Caroline felt warm wetness covering the bottom of her foot.  She closed her eyes to avoid seeing the sight as her foot was calmly ordered by Catherine’s spell to move back to its original position with a damp smearing sound.  At this point, Caroline was beyond response, it seemed, her eyes glossed over.  There was almost nothing left for her.  Nothing, except…

“Don’t slack on your duties, princess.  There’s another yet!” cackled the queen, and Caroline felt like she was swallowing her heart into her stomach.  It couldn’t be.  Catherine’s heart couldn’t possibly be black enough to…

Her hand shot forward, gripping the side of the bowl and bringing it close to her chest.  Caroline looked down at her screaming and crying brother inside, and her tears began to pool anew at the base.  She had nothing left to yell, and barely any words.  “Catherine…” she croaked, so beyond spent she doubted she could go on much longer without fainting, or dying.  “Please… forgive my father.  Forgive… me… and don’t punish my brother.  He’s… he’s all I have left in the world.  Please don’t take him from me…”

“Why, my dear princess, I don’t know WHAT you speak of; you will ALWAYS be with that brother of yours!” she said, flipping her hand over.  Following suit, Caroline’s own cursed hand tipped, allowing the bowl to tilt toward the open side.  Phillip tumbled out, falling over the edge into Caroline’s waiting hand, which clasped around him and shattered Caroline’s heart once again as she felt him fighting uselessly against her strength.  She brought him nearer to her face, and was forced to look him in the eye as her fingers began squishing into his sides.

“C-Caroline… w-why are you… h-hurting me?” he whimpered.  “I… I l-love you, big sister!”

Caroline felt like a knife was being wrenched through her body and down to her toes as she realized that Phillip wasn’t aware of what was happening to her.  “I love you too, Phillip.”

“Please… l-let me go, Caroline, let me go…” he cried, before screaming out in pain as a bone broke in his body.  “It h-hurts so m-much.”  Caroline brought her other hand, which she still had control of, up near his face, rubbing it along his hair.

“Don’t… don’t be afraid, Phillip.  I’m so… I’m so sorry… for everything…” she wept, trying to comfort him with one hand while simultaneously torturing him with the other.  After a few minutes of this, Caroline felt her jaws being pried open by the spell, and Phillip’s limp, but alive form, being lifted toward her waiting lips.

“Told you you’d be with him forever, princess,” grinned Catherine satanically, pointing her finger out dramatically.  Caroline used every ounce of strength she still possessed, but it was no use; her fingers gently released Phillip’s body, still convulsing with pain and sobbing, over her own teeth.  Caroline began to scream anew, but hardly any sound was able to escape.  She waved her freed arms around, trying to grab her brother out of her mouth, but it was no use; there were more invisible bonds around her wrists, and the longer she yelled, shredding her vocal cords, the more pain her body felt as Phillip was plopped onto her tongue, becoming soaked in her saliva.  She felt him writhing against it, and she heard his tiny screams still coming from inside her mouth as he started drowning in her warm froth.  With a final tear falling down her cheek, Caroline felt her brother slip down her slimy throat toward her stomach: the tiny, 6-year-old corpse of her sweet, unassuming little sibling about to be used to nourish her body.  Caroline gagged and wretched, laying a hand on her stomach and crying to think of her beloved sibling roasting inside of it.  More tears poured down her cheeks at her inability to save him, or any of the rest of her family.  She felt sicker than she had or would ever feel in her life, and she collapsed, silently screaming into darkness as Catherine laughed like a madwoman over her.

“Dream well, princess.  Dream well.”

Caroline jolted awake, her entire body soaked with sweat, her chest convulsing so hard she was in pain, clutched her hand quickly against the damp skin of her neck, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief to find her siblings still nestled against her neck, asleep, as the first lilac tones of sunrise began to peek over the horizon.  She relived the dream painfully: her entire family killed, by her own hand, simply because Catherine’s wicked spell had ordered her to for her own amusement.  But it was only a dream.  Only a dream.  It hurt her head, almost making her want to scream across the lands.  She had a feeling, though, that if she screamed with the kind of anguish she had in the dream, quite a few windows would be smashed throughout the kingdom.

                Of course, not all of her dream was false.  Her father was still gone, and she had no idea what she might do without him.  Laying a hand over her eyes, she tried to think of the wonderful things still in her life.  Her mother, pained as she was.  Her loyal, loving siblings.  Her beloved nurse and confidant, Rose.  Her foolishly brave and protective Luke, who, despite the very serious size advantage she had over him, was desperate to do any and all he could to ensure her safety.

                Her palm still cupped around the sleeping bodies of her siblings, Caroline at once remembered that another night had nearly passed, and she suddenly realized just how tiny and fragile they felt; she had only not realized it, because in her dream, she had become accustomed to her entire family being so tiny and so much smaller than one of her fingers, she could have snapped each one of them cleanly in two with her pinkies.  She shuddered, gently stroking her siblings, humming a lullaby to them, and hoping they had slept more soundly than she had.

                The serenity of the morning was shattered by the crashing sound of fire and crackling smoke striking the side of the castle.  Caroline felt her siblings jolt awake under the tent of her hands, herself shaking slightly at the trauma rattling through the ground.  She sat up, careful not to harm her stirred brother and sister, and listened, hearing another crash of flame, closer this time.

                “Caroline!” squealed Phillip.  “What’s going on?”

                “Help them, Caroline!  You’ve got to do something,” said Anne, tugging at Caroline’s pinky finger, which rested on the ground with her flat hand.  She nodded down to them.

                “Stay here,” she said, going into a standing position.  The two siblings, and the gigantic princess, gasped as she stood up, coming in at what must have been roughly seven stories tall, the largest spurt she had had yet.  She looked far below at her siblings, each of them only a few inches tall, and stepped towards the courtyard wall, making the ground tremble with her steps as she stood on her tiptoes to look over the wall, grasping at it in her massive fingers.  She had to duck, though, as a fireball came hurtling at her, nearly missing her face and smashing through a wall behind her, on the other side of the courtyard.  “GET DOWN!” she bellowed down at her siblings, and they took refuge under a stone bench together.  Looking back, Caroline was horrified at what she saw: fires raging across homes all over the village, larger and brighter than anything caused by the mother beast the previous day.  Smoke filled the sky.  Caroline realized her dream state must have been so deep, she had missed it.  It puzzled her that such a thing hadn’t awoken her; curiously for a moment, she wondered if it had been a magic-induced slumber, but quickly scoffed at this as she continued surveying the scene.  Far off, she could hear metal clashing and swords crashing, soldiers yelling, and the gurgle of some odd, otherworldly being she had never quite heard before, or would ever be able to describe.  She couldn’t quite make them out, but saw waves upon waves of orange-blotched beings racing over the village hillsides for the palace.  And at that moment, Caroline realized how far gone they were.  Inside the palace itself, she could already hear shouting and metal clanging.  She began frantically thinking, wondering how she could get her siblings away, regroup, and find help.  There had to be something.  The kingdom, she was sure, was depending on her, and as she stood there, she remembered about her bloodline: she was the new queen.  It was her duty, then.

                “The village is ready to fall, m’lady,” said Daniel triumphantly, standing outside the palace doors as his men rushed around, gathering up regals to use as hostages.  “And we have nearly taken the palace as well.  It only took us just over an hour, I believe.”

                “Did I not tell you, Daniel?  Did I not?  Without Richard, this place crumbles like a kingdom made of sand.  I suppose it might also have to do with the fact that they were so… BRUTALLY… ravaged by the dear, dear mother of the Black Mountains…” chuckled Catherine, very amused by this fact.  “They lost many troops, many armaments, and many homes.  Rather convenient for us, I should think, Daniel?”

                “Indeed.  Very convenient.  I would assume that by noon of this day, we shall have the survivors taken down, and the stragglers rounded up for use as leverage, if necessary.”

                “Excellent.  This is going off surprisingly without problems.  Frankly, I’m a little shocked…”

                “Do you… doubt my military leadership, m’lady?”

                Catherine turned her head to him in disbelief.  “Don’t be ridiculous, Daniel.  Of COURSE I doubt it.  But that’s not at all what I refer to.  No, I refer to the noticeable lack of our titanic mistress of love and peace…” she said, looking around.  “Your troops didn’t happen to find a golden-haired mistress as tall as a high tower stomping around?  Or, perhaps, stomping ON them?  I doubt they would notice her coming, now that I think on it…”

                “Err… no, m’lady, no such reports.”

                “Perhaps she is frightened?  No doubt she is still obscenely traumatized by the death of her poor old father.  Who knows, she may even have developed fearful respect for ME?” said Catherine, planting a hand on her chest as if she had won a major award.

                Daniel nodded with reverence.  “An uncharacteristically wise choice on her part, m’lady.”

                Catherine furrowed her brow at him in disgust.  “If you want to kiss the ground I walk upon like that, Daniel, I would suggest the literal form.  It would amuse me more.  No matter.  Find the princess herself, and the younger ones as well.  They may come in useful later.”

                “Y-Yes… yes, m’lady…” answered Daniel, clearly fearful of the princess’s destructive power.

                “Have you located Duchess Elizabeth?”

                “Yes, she is already with some of the Others in the palace’s Great Hall.  They are waiting for you there.”

                “Excellent,” said Catherine, reaching into her robes and removing the repaired crystal.  As she held it, it shone more brightly than ever before, the purple blinding both of them for a moment before the display was trapped back inside, Catherine’s hand clenching harder around it as she moaned in pleasure.  “Daniel… it’s close…”

                “What’s…”

                “Don’t be a fool, not now.  IT.”

                “I see… how close?”

                “Very close.  And so is my power.”

                “M’lady?”

                “WHAT?”

                “The princess… errr… what are we to do when we… well, what I mean to say is…”

                “Cease your blabbering, Daniel.  I am perfectly aware that the princess could annihilate a pocket of your troops with the nail of her smallest finger.  I simply ask that you find her, and point her out to me.  I shouldn’t have much difficulty at all subduing her, no matter how large she’s gotten.”

                Caroline knelt near the ground, studying her terrified siblings’ faces and thinking as quickly as she could on a method of escape.  She laid her hand flat on the ground in front of them, palm up.  Both quickly dashed out of the cover, clambering into her hand.  At this point, she was able to rather easily hold both of them in one hand, although she cupped her other hand around them softly just in case.  “I’m going to get us out of here.  Just cover your ears and shut your eyes…” whispered Caroline.  They nodded, doing so, as the princess looked around in vain for a solution.  She knew she could climb over the wall and probably exit the palace without much of a scene, but she could tell that with the rapidly firing flame balls hitting the palace, the foe had a great many catapults, and she would be a sitting duck crossing directly out front.  She was large and powerful, she knew, but the oily projectiles had managed to burn away most of the fur of terrible mother beast.  She had a feeling she wouldn’t hold up long under extended fire.  And then no one would ever hear from the fallen kingdom again; she had to get help, she just wasn’t sure how.

                And then, it occurred to her.  The ring.  The old hag, seemingly crazy at the time.  It water.  It was at this instant that Caroline had a feeling deep in her gut that Catherine was responsible for this cruel follow-up attack to her taking of Richard’s life.  And despite her size, she had another feeling that she would be no match for the awful witch in a face-off, no matter how much advance time she got to stop her.  Physical, brute strength would do her no good against black magic and spells, and that was all the princess had besides her wits, and even despite these, she knew the witch to be terribly cunning as well.  This made her all the more frantic to think of an escape route, and her mind kept wandering back to the ring.  As it had touched the water, it had rumbled, like it had magical properties itself.  Perhaps if the woman really HAD been telling the truth, thought Caroline, then there was a possible way of salvation for herself and her siblings until they could fetch reinforcements.  She was running very low on options as the roaring of the Others inside the palace grew louder, the screams of attacked civilians growing louder.

                Hardly knowing what she was doing, and certainly not thinking more than a few seconds ahead of herself, Caroline bent toward the ground, lowering her hands toward the pond.  Her siblings looked uneasily at her.  “Don’t be alarmed, I’m not going to drop you.”

                “What ARE you doing then, Caroline?” asked Phillip, confused.

                “I don’t know yet.  Hold still,” she said stoically, dipping the ring into the water.  She closed her eyes, feeling the rumbling pick up again.  “C-C-Caroline?” came Anne’s voice.  “What’s happening?”  But she said nothing else, knowing the fear of the unknown was going to fill her siblings until the effects wore off.  She shushed them gently, keeping her lids shut and feeling a warm sensation rush through her, followed by an ice cold one.  She shivered, but soon found an odd feeling of mist touching her skin from every angle.  Finding this odd, she opened her eyes, and nearly tripped over onto the ground far below at what she saw before her, realizing that the ring had worked.

                Luke had dragged himself from bed, hearing the commotion, and retrieved his blade.  Two Others had rushed as a pair into the room, and even in his wounded form, the prince had easily bested them with his sword.  However, six more rushed in, ready to face the prince, and Luke was ready as well, holding his blade high despite his quivering and tired arms, his back sore and stinging still.  They rushed forward, easily pinning him to the ground, with a large Other about to deliver the killing strike to the enraged Luke.

                “STOP!” shouted Daniel in the language of the Others, marching into the room.  All the soldiers frozen, still pinning Luke to the ground.  “HE lives!” Daniel spat at the one standing over him.  “Do not lay a finger upon him.”

                “But he’s killed two of our rank, look!” growled the one.  “I’m finishing him off…”

                “FINISH him, and I’ll finish you as well,” grunted Daniel, holding his blade against the hapless neck of the soldier, who began to quiver with fear and aggression.  “You are expendable, soldier, if you step too far out of line and disobey orders like this, do not forget that.”

                “Aye, sir.  And for what purpose might you prevent me from destroying this pathetic weakling?”

                “CATHERINE, our great LEADER, has decreed it.  There are certain people not to be touched, and he is one of them.”

                “Are you certain that this is the one they want?  Because I’d certainly hate to be deprived of his death for no reason,” hissed the Other, squinting one eye at Luke’s defiant, unblinking stare.

                “We don’t make mistakes, soldier.  Now remove your blade, or I shall be forced to remove your head from your neck,” answered Daniel authoritatively.  The Other dropped his blade, and Daniel gave him a slight cut on his neck, which the made the creature yelp and grasp painfully at it with his claws, a few drops of blood dribbling between his fingers.

                “What was…” growled the Other.

                “For your insolence, soldier.  Now return to work.”  Shoving his shoulder more roughly than was necessary against Daniel as he stood, the Other walked out of the room with the other five of his remaining ranks.  Leaning over Luke’s angered face, Daniel ran a hand over his own bald head.

                “You are lucky, human.  As you can see, my men are none too quick to dispense mercy, particularly for those who carelessly fell their comrades.”

                “Believe me, there was nothing careless in my actions,” spat Luke.  Daniel slammed an armored shoe on top of his chest, forcing the air from his body.

                “Choose your words wisely, prince; if Catherine finds no use for you, I may ask for you myself, and then you shall find yourself without that petty smile upon your face.”  Unsheathing his sword, Daniel smacked the butt of his blade down into Luke’s face with such raw, muscular force that it knocked him unconscious.

                “Daniel!” called the voice of Catherine as she stepped into the room.  “Have you rounded up all persons of note on my special guest list?” she asked, holding out a hastily scribbled note.

                “Almost, m’lady.  We’re missing three, I’m afraid.”

                “THREE.  Three is not “almost,” Daniel, three is three.  Three is a long way from zero, in fact.  And which three might it be that you are missing?”

                Daniel gulped.  “Prince Phillip.  Princess Anne.  And… Princess Caroline.”

                Catherine stared at him in utter, disgusted disbelief.  “Caroline,” she repeated coldly and blankly.

                “Y-Yes… we can’t find her anywhere…” he mumbled.  “I suppose that…”

                “CAROLINE!” bellowed the witch, practically spitting into Daniel’s face.  “How have you not FOUND her yet?”

                “Believe me, m’lady, we’re searching; my men are scouring the palace, she’s nowhere to be found.”  Catherine began striding angrily toward the door, waving her hand at him.

                “Come, wretch, to the Great Hall to say hello to our established guests.  And you still have a very tall young princess to find, don’t you?”

                “But… m’lady… she’s nowhere…”

                “Daniel, just SHUT your despicable MOUTH for a short instant so I can think and speak!” she roared as they marched down the hallway.  “She shouldn’t be this difficult to FIND, she’s seventy feet TALL now, she should tell YOU where she is with a simple footfall!”

                “I suppose we might have missed her…” mumbled the defeated Daniel, hanging his head.

                “MISSED her, Daniel.  MISSED her.  You never cease to amuse me, never, never, never…” grumbled the witch, feigning a smile for an instant before breaking into another shrieking rage.  “Well, perhaps you’ll NOTICE her when her big toe is crushing your puny head against the ground like a CRANBERRY!”

                Caroline and her siblings, having become completely invisible through the power of the ring when in contact with water, were already busily sneaking out of the palace gates, past the raging destruction of the combatants.  A few times, Caroline had felt a tiny troop brush against her foot.  As the sun began to rise, she could make out who was the enemy and who wasn’t: knowing she couldn’t get too involved for fear of breaking her cover and delaying their run for reinforcements, Caroline had swatted with her toes at a few passing Others, but had continued moving on as she did.  After sidestepping burning houses and wreckage, still cupping her shivering and fearful siblings in her palms, Caroline had begun the slow descent down the hills, toward the forests that would eventually lead near the Black Mountains.

                Hardly having a plan, all Caroline could do was pray that her mother and Luke would be safe, as she dashed unseen through the forests toward the mountains in the far off distance and rumbled the earth with quakes, where she might finally get some answers from the strange old woman who was, it seemed, right about several things that Caroline intended to investigate.  Her people were depending on her, and she intended to use every last breath in her body to ensure they weren’t let down.

Caroline was sprinting as quickly as she could between the trees, the dry branches scratching along her exposed calves.  She had cupped her hands around her siblings and was holding both of them closely together.  She hated to have to do it, knowing it would get hot, muggy, and cramped between her fingers after not very long, but it was necessary to ensure she could move at full speed without fear of losing either one of them.  Dropping either of her siblings would spell instant death for them, and as she couldn’t actually see them or even her own limbs, she couldn’t afford such a risk.  The princess was beginning to grow tired, but didn’t cease her incredible speed, moving at nearly one hundred and thirty miles per hour, smacking her gargantuan feet against the ground and making craters with each landing, sending dirt and rock spraying behind her.  But she was unmindful of this.  She had to keep moving.  She found herself exiting the forest in a surprisingly short amount of time, and after a couple minutes more, reached the gorge.

                Still in full sprinting mode, she took a flying leap and landed safely with plenty of extra space behind her on the other side, not even stopping to catch her breath.  She quickly parted her fingers as she began running again, though.

                “Are you all right, both of you?” she asked downward into the warm pod her hands had created, despite the fact that she couldn’t actually see it.  They nodded, unseen, hanging tightly against her soft palm flesh for balance as they were rocked against her fingers before speaking up.

                “We’re fine.” 

“Can you breathe all right?”

                “Yes, Caroline.  But… but where are you taking us?”

                “We’re going to see someone who might be able to help us.”

                “Who?” asked Phillip.

                “An old woman.  The one who gave me the ring that allowed this… strange magic to take place.”

                “What was her name?”

                “I… I do not know.”

                “How do we know she can be trusted, then?” piped in Anne.

                “I’m afraid we can’t know that, little sister.”

                “But, Caroline…”

                “Her ring led us safely from the palace.  Clearly, she intended for us to use its magical properties and escape.  Someone with this sort of ability must have some way of helping us.”

                “How?  Caroline, all we need is YOU!  You can stop all the bad men!” chimed Phillip.

                “Perhaps, Phillip.  I’m sure I could stop all the bad men for you.  But… there is one I cannot…”

                “The woman, isn’t it?” asked Anne, sniffling.  “The one who killed Father…”

                “Yes.  She is powerful, far too powerful for an attack.  We shall have to find alternate methods than physical force, and I believe our best option will be to investigate the location of the house of this old woman.  She tells me she lies precisely two miles west of the entrance to the Black Mountains…”

                “T-t-the B-Black Mountains?” sputtered Phillip.

                “Rest assured, Phillip, we shan’t be re-entering the mountains or caves themselves, simply using them as a guide to find her home.”

                “Okay…” he mumbled uneasily.  “This is… kind of scary.  I think I’m flying…” he said, looking out at the endless expanse of forest that was laid far below his perch in his sister’s gigantic, invisible hand.

                “Just shut your eyes, Phillip, and use your sense of touch.  I’ll keep you safe in my hands, you don’t have to worry about anything,” answered the princess.  “Try to relax.  Maybe you should get some sleep, I know we had a rather restless night this last eve…”

                “Yes…” cried Anne.  “C-Caroline?”

                “What is it, Annie?”

                “How do you suppose mother is doing?”

                Caroline swallowed hard, very glad that her sister couldn’t see the worry stretched across her face.  “I’m sure she’s doing just fine.”

                “Why?”

                “Because… because she is a very strong woman.  She is wise, and she is brave, and she will seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict; I’m sure of it.”

                “But… what if they…”

                “She won’t have been harmed, Anne,” said Caroline, wondering what was causing her to make such blind assumptions.  She herself was so desperate to believe them, it seemed, she was trying to instill the idea into her impressionable younger sister just to drive the point home.  This last phrase seemed to satisfy Anne sufficiently for the moment to get her to leave Caroline alone about the matter, which the monumental monarch was glad for.  She knew she had no sure answers, and she could only repeat the same wish that her mother was all right so many times before she started to question its validity.  “I’m going to close my fingers again so I can run again and not worry about the pair of you.  Are you comfortable?  Secure?” asked Caroline.

                “Yes!” shouted Anne, her voice cracking a little.

                “Very well,” nodded Caroline.  “Hang on tightly.”  Resealing her siblings in the warm, invisible pocket of her finger flesh, she began sprinting through the forest toward the Black Mountains.

                Catherine pushed the doors open to the Great Hall with a regal flourish, sauntering down the same steps that Caroline had stepped humbly down not long ago at the party the witch had so fatefully visited.  The room was scattered with resting Others, cleaning their armor from the fight and regrouping for the next plan of attack to take on the reinforcements all around the provinces.  Daniel estimated that they would be attacking the walls of the palace by mid-morning to try and retake it in a last resort for victory.

                In the center of the room sat a row of ten of the king’s closest advisors, and finally a stoic Elizabeth.  A pair of Brute Others stood by her side to ensure she didn’t try to run off.  She sat in a golden dining throne Catherine had fetched specifically for the duchess.  Stepping toward her, Catherine extended her arms as if wanting a hug.

                “Elizabeth, my darling…” she cooed.  “I know we didn’t have time for a more formal greeting at my last visit.  I was busy with certain matters, as I’m sure you’re aware…” she giggled, studying Elizabeth’s unflinching face, frozen like stone.  “But let us not allow any bad blood between us.  After all, I’m going to owe you a very large thank you very soon…”

                “For what?” hissed Elizabeth.  “If you’re looking for groveling, you’ll find none.  Your animals here will have to beat me into the ground.”

                One of the Brutes grumbled, clearly insulted.  “Now, now, Elizabeth, dear… I’ve spent a lot of time around these fellows.  Much more than I’d care to remember.  And I assure you, when they are angered sufficiently, there is very little that can stop them in their tracks.”

                “Stop all this, Catherine.  What is it you’re trying to achieve?”

                “Achieve, dear?  ACHIEVE?  Why, I suppose nothing particularly unique from your husband, or…” she said, correcting herself, “… LATE husband.  It is power.  The desire to be above my lessers, to control their fates, to force them from my sight and from my mind.  You would not argue Richard possessed these qualities, will you?”

                “It was for a greater good, Catherine, he did what he had to.”

                “Oooohhhh…” sighed the witch deeply, pretending to understand at long last.  “The… what were your words?  The GREATER GOOD… I see, I see entirely…” hummed Catherine, biting at her nails in feigned nervousness.   Taking a few more steps, she stood right in front of Elizabeth, within reaching distance.

                “It’s nothing someone like you would ever understand, or hope to understand.”

                A hard slap cracked across the duchess’s pale face from Catherine’s swiftly moving hand.  “Do not underestimate what I understand, dear, dear, Elizabeth, do not ever… EVER… pretend you understand more about the world than me.  Although, it wouldn’t be an implausible guess, considering your looks these days,” she chuckled, indicating toward the middle-aged woman.  “Be a little nicer to me, tell me all I’m interested in hearing, and perhaps I’ll share a few of the secrets that help me stay a bit younger looking than my actual age would normally indicate,” smiled the strikingly youthful looking witch.

                Elizabeth rubbed slowly at the red, raw spot on her cheek where she was struck, her eyes unblinking at the woman.  “You still don’t understand, do you, Catherine?”

                “What, Duchess, understand WHAT?”

                “You’ve come all this way, thinking you’ve won, crushing us in a terrible moment of weakness…”

                “Weakness, my dear?  Perhaps you will remember it was us who brought on all your troubles, and rightfully so.  Think of it not so much as a cheap shot, but more as brilliant and devious tactical planning.”

                “But it doesn’t MATTER!” smiled Elizabeth, feeling self-assured now.  “No matter what you do or try, no matter how many tricks you whip up, you shan’t ever have what it is you really want.”

                “Please don’t tell me you’re going to tell me it’s “love,” dear, because I do believe this conversation is over if that’s what you’re going to say next.”

                “Well…” laughed the duchess.  “That would have been my second option.  But no, what I refer to is your beloved keyhole.”  Catherine had started pacing, but turned slyly to face Elizabeth, squinting at her.

                “Then… you are aware of…”

                “Yes, I am.”

                “Perfect.  Then you shall tell me how to get through.  How convenient for you to have been here at my party, Elizabeth.  How… how… fortunate…”

                “You can save your breath, you…”

                “You what, Elizabeth, you WHAT?” asked Catherine harshly, rushing at her and clutching her chin in her fingers.  She poked painfully at Elizabeth’s neck with her long, sharp fingernails, causing her to flinch.  “Finish that sentence, dear, go on.  In fact… I ENCOURAGE you to finish it.”  But Elizabeth said nothing, choosing instead to glare at the murderer of her husband with everything she had in her.  “No, dear, nothing?  Nothing at all?  Very well,” said Catherine, releasing her chin and continuing to pace.  “EVERYONE!” she bellowed, getting the attention of the roughly one hundred Others hanging around the room.  “Stand BACK!”

                There was a great rumbling across the floor as the Others shuffled to take their places against the walls, dragging weapons, armor, and wounded brothers back out of the witch’s way.  Once they were all back, the witch balled her hand into a fist and plunged it into the air, holding it over her head.  After a moment of this, her fist began to glow with bright blue light and crackle with swirling electricity, engulfing her arm.  With a piercing shriek from the energy, a bolt shot up toward the ceiling.  Instead of smashing against the stone carvings and sending a rain of dust down, though, it instead began to fill across the ceiling, as if the energy were inversely relative to gravity.  It began to pool like water along the ceiling, filling it several feet downward along the carvings, before Catherine clenched her fist, stopping the stream of energy.  It remained clumped heavily against the ceiling, swirling about in blue clouds.  She pointed directly at the center of the floor, clawed her fingers, and twisted her wrist sharply.        Instantly, all of the energy began flowing downward in a twirling tornado of rippling navy and silver, shredding directly into a spot in the ground.  Marble was shorn away in large shards that sprayed across the room, hitting the stained glass windows and shattering them.  Once all the marble was torn away, leaving a hole roughly thirty feet wide, the whirlwind continued digging, tearing through rock and soil underneath.  This went on for several minutes until all the crackling energy from the ceiling had been poured out and expended into the ground.  Catherine and a few of the Others stepped forward, peering into the deep pit.  The witch gasped with pleasure and success, and several more Others dashed forward to look inside as well at whatever wonders were held within.  The Brute Other standing directly behind Catherine nudged her roughly in the small of her back, nearly knocking her over, to tell her to get moving.  She did, and soon everyone in the room was tightly packed around the pit for a closer look, some of the Others crawling onto the short shoulders of one another to see better.

                “Come to me…” hissed Catherine into the darkness, holding out her hand to the unknown.

                Completely out of breath, Caroline came to a stop in front of a tiny cottage nestled between two large black rocks, two miles west of the opening to the Black Mountains.  Kneeling, she laid her hands in the lush grass, which suspiciously only surrounded the cottage and nowhere else for miles, and opened her fingers up.  “Wake up, little ones.  I think we’ve arrived,” she said gently.  Still unable to see them, the princess heard soft groans as her brother and sister woke up, followed by the barely noticeable weight in her palms rolling off into the grass; both of them suddenly became visible again.  Realizing how the magic worked, Caroline clapped her unseen hands together with some difficulty, and grasped at the ring.  She popped it off and dropped it into the grass.  She and the ring both returned to visibility.  Her siblings turned and smiled.

                “We DID make it!” shouted Anne.

                “I’m glad to see you again,” laughed Phillip.

                “I’m glad to see ALL of us!” smiled the taller princess.  “But let us not doddle.  We must…”

                “Princess!  You’ve come!” shouted the old hag, emerging from her house.  Instantly terrified and repulsed by her visage, Caroline’s two siblings dashed over to her, climbing onto her foot and huddling themselves together.

                “Forgive them, they are simply traumatized by the…”

                “Yes, I am aware of what has happened to your kingdom, princess… I could see the smoke from here,” she said, pointing backward.  Caroline turned around and could see a spire of black clouds formed in the far distance.  Somehow, she had a feeling that those clouds weren’t simply created by fire.

                “I don’t know who you are, madam,” said Caroline, slowly kneeling so she could better hear the hag, careful not to crush her siblings under her shin.  “I must thank you for allowing our safe escape from the kingdom.  However, you obviously have some command of the magical arts.  So… I must ask, who are you?”

                “Who I am is not of importance, princess… what is important is that I believe I can help you.”

                “Excellent!”

                “Just stand still for a moment… your brother and sister may want to move.”

                “Please, you two, shoo, shoo!” said Caroline, gently tapping at her siblings with her fingertips.  They leapt off of her foot, standing off to the side at a safe distance from the hag.  “What are you going to do?”

                “Just… remain still.  It is a spell, and a very difficult one.  I am not certain if I can be successful.  It will require some tools, as well.”

                “Tools?”

                “Behind my home, princess.  If you could…”

                “Certainly,” smiled Caroline, dropping to her knees and crawling forward.  She reached around the side of the house, and her fingers met cold steel.  She gripped them and brought them into view.  “Are these your implements, madam?”

                “Yes, yes!  They must be lodged in the ground, in a circle… like so…” said the hag, making wide circular motions with her arms.  “You see?”

                “Yes, I see.  Stand back,” answered Caroline.  The hag took a few steps back just to make sure, and Caroline separated the steel rods, six in all, into her palm.  Taking each one in her fingers, she smacked them downward, driving them several feet into the frozen earth.  After she had placed all of them in a circle, she sat back.  “Is that all?”

                “Yes, yes, that should do nicely…”

                “How… will this work?” asked the princess apprehensively.  Despite the seeming goodwill of the woman, Caroline decided she had had quite enough of magical people pointing their fingers and spells at her.  Her current predicament, brought on by a curse, was enough to want to put her off of it for life.

                “You must stand still, princess, and I shall… do my very best to perform the spell correctly…”

                “What, precisely, will this accomplish?”

                “I told you, princess, I shall do my best to remedy your currently… larger size.”

                “You mean to say you can return me to my normal form?” asked the princess, delighted.

                “Well… no…”

                “Oh…” sighed the princess, somewhat dejected.

                “But… but I do believe I can prevent the process from continuing… that is, if I still possess the correct power.  I’m afraid I’m much older than I would care to think of.”

                “Just… do your best, please, I believe you can. Your power saved myself and my siblings once, and I’m certain you can do it again.  You will forever be in our gratitude.”

                “I… I am not entirely certain I deserve your gratitude, princess, but your kind words are appreciated.  Now…” she said, taking a steady stance in the center of the steel pole ring.  “This will only take a moment.”

                Caroline held her breath as the woman held her hands out, a few stray sparks shooting from her palms; her arms began to shake violently as if she was lifting something heavy.  Finally, after a few minutes, a glowing white light started along her shoulders, coming out from under her hooded shawl, and moved steadily along her arms, ending at her hands.  Then, the light began shooting from her fingertips, beaming into the adjacent poles.  The light quickly curled in winding circles around the poles, spinning faster and faster.  Caroline released her air, but quickly gasped it back in as the beams culminated in a large glowing orb the size of her own fist above the hag’s head.  It shot forth, flying at Caroline’s chest.  She winced, but as it made contact with her and disappeared against her body, she felt no painful force or even anything solid.  A tingling sensation that gave her goose bumps flowed through her body, from her heart and into her fingers and toes.  The hag collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

                “It… it must have worked…” smiled the woman, catching oxygen finally.  “I suppose I’ve still got some of it left in me.”  Caroline stooped down, laying a hand gently under the hag and lifting her back into a standing position.  “Thank you, princess.”

                “No.  Thank YOU.  Now I no longer have to worry about becoming so large, I won’t fit in the kingdom anymore!” marveled the princess, accidentally reminding herself of the mission.  “The kingdom… we musn’t waste any more time on my own wellbeing!  Please, how can you help us?  I am aware that you are not as skilled in your magical craft as you once were, but surely you have something that could aid us?  Anything?”

                “No magic, princess… no magic will help you now.”

                “What will, then?”

                “You must run!  Through the Black Mountains… the great beasts that once guarded it have been felled, there is no longer anything to fear there beyond getting lost in the chasms.  But… at your size, it shouldn’t be terribly difficult.  You must go, quickly, using the daylight!  If you are still in the mountains at nightfall, your eyes begin to play tricks on you, your…”

                “No, no, no!” gasped the princess.  “We have no intention of trying to leave!”

                “I don’t understand, your Highness.”

                “We shall not try to escape!  My mother, and my…” she said, stuttering, “…my prince are there, as are the rest of the helpless citizens of my father’s great kingdom.  Please, you’ve got to have some way for us to return and stop Catherine before she destroys everything!”

                “Princess…” began the hag solemnly.  “I know you cannot bear to hear it, I know it.  But you cannot return there, no matter how desperately you wish to, no matter how many loved ones you have there.  Your survival is…”

                “NO!”

                The yell echoed through the mountains, and Caroline covered her mouth, surprised at her own volume.  She looked down at her siblings, who had flinched at her outburst.  They looked at her, unspeaking; clearly, neither of them knew what to think about all of this.  “Please, please, princess…” begged the hag.  “You cannot hope to defeat Catherine.  This spell you have just seen me perform?  It was successful, but just barely, and I required tools.  But Catherine?  She could have done the same with a snap of her fingers in a single heartbeat of time.”

                “I… I am well aware of the terrible witch’s great power.  But surely there must be SOME way to defeat her… she must be stopped, the people are depending on me!”

                “Princess…”

                “Madam, I thank you for what you have done for me.  I truly am.  But if you can give me no more guidance on what to do for my people, then I have no choice but to leave now and try to help them while there is still a chance.”

                “Then you doom yourself, princess.  You doom yourself by the hand of your father’s love.”

                Back in the Great Hall, the Others had backed up in fear as Catherine held her arms over her head, barely visible waves present between her hands and the bottom of the pit.  After a few moments, though, something appeared from the darkness.  It had an indefinable form, looking no larger than an average treasure chest.  With a loud clomp, Catherine released her magnetic hold as the object crashed onto the floor of the Great Hall.  The Others moved in to examine it, but Catherine pushed them all away with a quick swipe of her hand and a flash of pink sparks.

                “Stay back!  It… is… MINE!” screeched Catherine gleefully.  She took a few steps forward, eyeing what appeared to everyone else in the room to be a misshapen, somewhat small boulder with various shades of charcoal and brown.

                “M’lady?” asked Daniel, taking a few cautious steps forward, leaving Luke’s unconscious form lying on the ground behind him with a guard of four Others.  “Are you certain that…”

                “YES, Daniel, I am quite certain that this is it.”

                “But it is just…”

                “Daniel, I ask that you cease speaking to me immediately, lest something unfortunate happen to your vocal cords.  I have never been more sure of anything in my life.  Now, if you will stand back…” she hissed, turning her wide gaze back to the rock.  Daniel quickly ended the conversation, shrinking back to stand near Luke, whom he greatly looked forward to brutally destroying once given the chance.

                Catherine laid a hand on the rock, running her fingers along its hard grooves, and finally her fingers found a hole about ten inches deep, carved into the rock with such smooth care and precision it couldn’t possibly have been done with natural means.  The witch ran her fingertip around the opening of the rock formation, beginning to giggle so deeply her whole body shook.  She could still hear the battle raging outside the palace, but she cared not for this anymore.  Turning to face everyone in the room, she grinned and reached into her robes, pulling out the crystal in preparation for the dark deed.

“My vengeance… is now complete…” she cackled, rattling the entire Great Hall as she poised her arms to jam the crystal into the opening.

                Silence filled the air around the Black Mountains as Caroline stared, frozen, into the old eyes of the hag, standing in complete seriousness with her words before her.  Anne and Phillip continued hugging one another together, wondering what could possibly happen next between the two wise women.  Caroline made the first move.  She reached her hands out, her fingers outstretched for the woman.  The hag flinched, falling over, but Caroline’s soft fingers were there to catch her.  She scooped her easily into her palm and lifted her from the ground.

                The woman began to shake as Caroline took her to her face.  “I’m not going to hurt you.  But I must know, now, who you are and how you know so much?  What do you mean, my father’s love?”

                “P-P-Princess…” stuttered the hag.  “You are so young, there are many things you shall not understand until…”

                “NO,” bellowed Caroline.  “Madam, understand me very clearly.  I have had to grow very, very old in the last day.  You have no idea the things I have been forced to see… and foresee in my mind’s eye.  And now, I must know… NOW… about my father, because you seem to know far more than I or anyone still alive would know or be willing to tell.”

                More silence floated about, the woman’s shaking finally ceasing, and she began to breathe a little more heavily, not out of physical fear, but apprehension.  “Yes, you have grown older, haven’t you, your Highness?” she breathed.  “I am sorry.”

                “As am I for this method I am using to acquire the information, madam; I normally make a point to not pick up individuals without permission, unless it is a dire situation.  This happens to be one of those.  Again, I say, I have no desire to harm you, and I shan’t harm you even if you don’t tell me.  But I must know now, and I ask you out of the goodness of my heart, one last time: Who are you?”

                The woman took a deep breath and sighed.  “My name is Christine.  Catherine is my older sister.”

                Catherine, in the Great Hall of the palace before a crowd of Others and the royal hostages, held the poised crystal in the air above the rock.  Licking her lips, the tantalizing truth of her coming future abilities already beginning to fill her, she stabbed downward with all her might, half a century’s worth of unbridled rage unleashed in one stroke.

                Catherine’s fingers were wrenched apart by an invisible force, and the crystal went flying backward with such speed it released an ear-splitting scream in its wake.  Others leapt to the ground to escape the projectile as it whizzed right through the air where their heads had been.  One of the orange soldiers wasn’t too lucky, and the crystal sliced his head cleanly in half as it continued flying forward.  Meeting a large wall-mounted stone pillar, the crystal lodged itself halfway into the wall.  The witch’s eyes bugged out, looking into her hand to decipher what was going on.  She was legitimately bewildered.

                “Was that supposed to happen?” snorted one of the Others, half laughing.  Catherine, without even looking at him, flung her hand into the air and pointed at him, whereupon a sword-shaped bolt of purple energy shot from her fingertip.  It slashed directly through his armor and into his chest, dropping him to the ground dead instantly.

                “Does anyone ELSE have a question?” whispered Catherine, although everyone had become silent so quickly they could hear her.  “Any opinions, anything?  Good.  Because I don’t intend to hear them if you do.”  She strode across the room, Others leaping out of her way then to clear a path.  She stopped in front of the wall and waved her hand.  A shimmering silver glow appeared around her hand and the crystal, and it plucked itself from the wall, returning to her grip.  As she took a step back toward the rock, though, she found she was unable to take another step forward, as if there was an invisible wall in front of her.  Leaning over, she calmly placed the crystal on the ground, and took a step forward.  She stepped past the barrier without any problems.  Gripping the precious key back in her fingers, though, she found herself unable to continue forward again.  She paced back and forth, slamming her fist against the barrier as Others dispersed more to make a path, but there was a distinct circular perimeter around the rocky keyhole by that point.  Rearing her hand back, Catherine sent a spray of sparks at the wall.  They passed through with no problem, but still didn’t allow her to walk through.  Breathing slowly and taking several minutes to charge up the energy in her fists, Catherine sent a volley of her strongest, most powerful combative curses in the direction of the perimeter.  They all passed through as well, shattering large sections of the carved ceiling.  A large chunk of rock fell down from the ceiling, crushing one of the Others underneath it.  And still, Catherine couldn’t pass through with the crystal to begin getting close to the rock again.

                “Richard, Richard, Richard…” chuckled Catherine under her breath, rubbing her chin in frustration.  “Even in death, you continue to amuse and challenge me… DUCHESS!” she suddenly screamed out, a smile on her face, at Elizabeth.  “Good news: the time for your use has come.  I request a conference with you!” Catherine waggled her pointer finger and yellow electric bonds wrapped themselves around Elizabeth, and promptly flew her across the hall, to a point right in front of the witch, where she hovered above the ground.  “I think you know what I want already, but in case you’re too busy wallowing in grief over the loss of your beloved kingdom, I’ll be very clear about what it is I want: How, might I ask, does one remove this barrier from around the keyhole?”

                Elizabeth grimaced at her, then spoke up with the slightest of smiles.  “I’m afraid I’ve forgotten in my old age, Catherine.”

                “I see.  Indeed, indeed…” answered Catherine tapping at her lip in thought.  “Perhaps a little perk would jog your memory,” she quipped, clenching her fist together and tightening the electric bonds around Elizabeth, who grunted loudly in pain.

                “You’re… you’re…” sputtered Caroline in surprise at the tiny old woman in the middle of her palm.  “You’re… Catherine’s…”

                “Yes.  I didn’t want to have to say it, princess…”

                “Why do you help me, then?”
                “I am no longer loyal to my flesh and blood, I…”

                “No LONGER?”

                “Yes… that is the other fact I had hoped would be unnecessary in this process, but I see now your determination princess, so I see no further reason to keep it hidden from you.  I used to be in league with my sister, and I used to be nearly as powerful as she.  But then I had an epiphany: I saw the great harm she was causing to the world, and the harm she could further cause if we continued our work.  So I voiced my opinions to a very angry witch who happened to be more powerful than myself.  One thing led to another, and I found myself locked in this haggard body, almost all of my powers removed.”

                “So… you’ve become good, then.  Why haven’t you shown yourself before?”

                She sighed again.  “It was your father’s own goodness that ensured I had a place to be.  You see… I participated in Catherine’s original plan that very nearly toppled your father’s kingdom.  I was instrumental in the near destruction of hundreds of thousands of citizens and soldiers.  It was only my last-moment realization that allowed such a thing to be prevented.”

                “My father’s goodness?”

                “Yes.  He forgave my transgressions, and allowed me to leave in peace, as long as I stayed away from the kingdom for the rest of my life.  My sister and her armies, on the other hand…”

                “He forced them from the land completely.”

                Christine nodded slowly.  “Yes.  Rather violently, I might add, and yes, he wanted to ensure they could never return without the threat of annihilation.  So he weakened them to the point that, at the time, it seemed Catherine could never return and complete what she had started.”

                “How?”

                “I should think it quite obvious.  While I was locked in combat with my sister, after I had shared with him my plan to stop my sister, he was busily crafting something with his alchemists, from my previous supervision, that could finally prevent Catherine from hurting anyone again.”

                “What was it?”

                “Or rather…” coughed Christine.  “What IS it?  It is a lock, of sorts… a door, holding the power of Catherine and all in her bloodline within it.  As I was near death, Catherine having brutalized me with so many curses that I ended up in this frail form, Richard arrived.  He saved me, actually.  Catherine, though more powerful than I and on the verge of victory, was weakened, and your father took his chance.”

                “How?  What happened?”

                “He used a very, very old curse that not even Catherine was aware of, and I only happened upon from something in my childhood, so many centuries ago, from my own mother.  My mother could always see the ambition in Catherine, the drive to take what wasn’t hers and turn it into something that not only WAS hers, but was powerful enough to swallow up everything around it, like a sickness.  And so, she taught me a curse… well, melded it into my memory, at least, as I was too young and far, far too weak at the time to successfully perform it, but it was there, and I gave it to Richard.”

                “What did he do with it?”

                “He disempowered Catherine, while she was in a weakened state.  He locked nearly all of her power and the power of her descendants into a container… in this case, an unassuming boulder… that he buried beneath the palace.  From there, he was able to retake the fight in his favor, save me, and save his people from destruction.  Without Catherine, the Others and their ilk are nothing.”

                “But… but…” stuttered Caroline, trying to process all of this at once.  “What’s prevented her from retaking her power?  Surely there are ways to retrieve it?”

                “Yes, indeed there are, princess.  Your father was aware of this too.  The only way to release the power is to place the key to the keyhole inside, which happens to be a pure, simple crystal.  Your father split the crystal into two and hid them in very far off lands where it seemed Catherine could never find them.  Splitting them into further pieces simply isn’t possibly, the magic doesn’t allow it.  Well… Catherine was consumed with regaining her power, as you might imagine, and she’s spent the last several decades searching for them, a witch possessed.  And now, I believe she’s found them, which is why she’s returned to the kingdom, not only to retake it in her name, but…”

                “To retake her power, as well…” breathed Caroline, growing more fearful with each new piece of the puzzle that was revealed.

                “Precisely.”

                “Then… then… she might have it already!  She might…” gasped Caroline, total dread filling her heart.

                “No, princess, not yet.  Your father would not have been so clumsy.  For added insurance against this possibility, he placed another series of interwoven curses around the keyhole.  Catherine does not possess the necessary ability to get past them.”

                “She… she is not powerful enough to overcome a spell?” asked the princess, her heart rate returning to normal for the time being.

                “It is not a question of power, princess, but one of pure, simplistic possibility, and this doesn’t happen to be a possibility.”

                “Then what… shall she do?  I cannot imagine she will be satisfied with this.”

                Christine sighed deeply, laying a hand on the soft heel of Caroline’s hand as she continued sitting in it comfortably, trying to sum up the words.  “No, she shan’t, princess.  And rightly so.  Because there is a method around it, there always is.  But it has nothing to do with how many charms or curses she can summon to stop it; it, just like the crystal to the stone, has a key.  Your father, as I’m sure you know, was never one for dangerous simplicity when it came to the protection of those he loved.”

                Caroline’s eyes welled with a few tears at this reminder of her father’s fierce protection and sacrifice.  “Yes, I know.  So… there is a way to undo it, but Catherine is unaware of it?”

                “Yes… it would require one person other than Catherine herself to place the crystal into the rock.  The spell was cast with the express intention of this one person being able to unlock the vast source of power contained inside that simple stone.  I know it was not your father, as he was unable to choose himself as the one when he cast the spell.  There was a great deal of complexity involved in the plan.”

                “Who is it, then?”

                “I… I am afraid I don’t know.  It could be…”

                “Mother?” she gasped, shaking a bit with fear.  “What if they…”

                “THAT is why you should listen to me, princess.  You need to run.  I’m certain they won’t kill the duchess, because you and I both know she won’t place the crystal inside the rock if she can help it.  And the only thing that would make her do it would be the possible danger of her children.”

                “You mean…”

                “Leverage.  If you are there, Catherine WILL use you and your young siblings to her advantage, make no mistake of that, and I also have a feeling Duchess Elizabeth won’t have the strength to watch the three of you tortured in Catherine’s cruel and unusual ways.  She WOULD place the crystal into the rock, and then all of us are lost.”

                Caroline closed her eyes, a tear rolling down her cheek to the grass far below, and she swallowed hard.  She knew these words were correct.  And yet she knew there was no escape, as Christine seemed to believe.  “Your words are true, Chrstine, but it doesn’t change the fact that Catherine WILL get her hands on her power eventually, no matter how long she has to scour the Earth for us.  And… someone, particularly of my size, wouldn’t be hard to track down.  It would simply be delaying the inevitable, magic ring or not.  Do not lie to yourself, Christine, you must know this better than anyone who has ever lived or will ever live.  Catherine cannot and will not stop until she has everything she’s ever wanted, and everything else lies burning beneath her feet.”

                It was Christine’s turn to be silent.  She began to quake a little with fear of the inevitable.  “I know, princess.  I… I have heard of your wisdom, from so many of the traders who pass through and have seen you working with the poor and vulnerable.  I admire you, princess, I hope you know that.”

                “There is no time for this, Christine; I appreciate your words, but we must act.”

                “What do you intend, your Highness?”

                “We have to take the fight to Catherine.  It is the only hope.”

                “Why?”

                Caroline smiled confidently.  “Because she won’t be expecting it.  She thinks we’re running for the hills, and when she finds she herself is unable to unlock her powers, she’ll take her time sending someone to find us, knowing it would only be a matter of time before we were captured.  But if we go now, when she is still vulnerable, while some of the loyals still defend the kingdom… she will never again be as weak as she is at this moment.  Once she stamps out the remaining opposition, she will have no one left to stop her once she finds us and forces my mother to complete the unlocking of her power.”

                Christine shook her head in proud disbelief.  “You are just like your father, Caroline.  You are kind, wise, and sweet, but in the hour of greatest need, when ones such as myself have few answers, you are willing to stay standing and face the threat like a lone warrior.  You will be an amazing queen, truly unrivaled for the rest of existence, in this kingdom.”

                Caroline blushed.  “Thank you, Christine, for your words and help.  Now…”

                “If you are set on this plan, princess, there is little I can give you, but there is at least something I can do to help you.”

                “What is it?”

                “To begin, you shall wear the ring back into the kingdom.  Don’t allow Catherine to know you are there until it is absolutely necessary.”

                “Will she know that…”

                “Yes, she will sense your presence very easily.  She has been around long enough to be attuned to such things, whether or not someone is visible.  But it will give you more time and, more importantly, give you an advantage in facing her armies, which no-doubt will have turned the kingdom into a fortress-like battleground.  You’ll need every advantage to pass them.”

                Caroline nodded, swallowing dryly.  “Yes, I know of this.  What else?”

                “I can create a shield around you and your siblings.  A very, very weak one.  It won’t be much, and it certainly won’t hold up under Catherine’s curses, but it should help protect you from most physical attack and, for a short time, magical as well.”

                “Very well.  Thank you.   Do you require the poles again?”

                “Yes.  If you could place me back on the ground, gentle princess, I might perform the necessary functions…”

                “Yes, of course,” answered Caroline.  “I hope you will forgive my bluntness in discovering the truth.”

                “I will indeed, Caroline.  You… you have earned to hear what I have told you after so much deception, uncertainty, and pain.  I am sorry for your loss.”

                “Thank you.  Now…” said Caroline, allowing Christine to slip from her fingers back into the metal pole ring.  “Phillip?  Anne?” she said, holding out her hand.  The siblings, who had been waiting patiently on the ground, unable to hear the conversation, scurried forward into Caroline’s hand.

                “What did she say?” asked Anne.

                “She was telling me of how we are going to prevent Catherine’s victory,” answered Caroline straightly, deciding this was not the right time for the siblings to hear the whole story.

                “What are we doing, then?” squeaked Phillip.  “Do I get to carry a sword now?”

                “No, Phillip,” laughed the gigantic young woman.  “But you will get to march with me into the kingdom again.  We’re going to save everyone, just like the warriors in the stories.”

                “Just like them?  All of them?”
                “Yes.”

                “Like… heroes?”

                “We shall see, Phillip, we shall see,” answered Caroline.

                “PRINCESS!” yelled Christine, the energy already charging up in her arms and through the ring of the poles.  “Stand still!”  Caroline, Phillip, and Anne all stood their ground as Christine’s energy orb shot forward, engulfing all of them in a brief flash of light.  Looking tired but satisfied, Christine nodded her small head up to Caroline, indicating that it had worked.

                “What happened?” piped Phillip.

                “She was giving us protection for entering the kingdom, Phillip.  We shan’t be harmed by the fires and arrows of our foes, so we needn’t fear them.”

                “But… what about the scary witch woman?”

                Caroline paused, having no clear answer.  “Do not fear her.  I shall deal with her, and ensure everyone’s safety.  I will protect you.  I am sure of it,” lied Caroline.  Her brother nodded quietly, seemingly satisfied.  Placing her siblings back on the ground, Caroline snatched the ring back up for later, then moved her hand back to Christine again.  “Might I have another brief word before parting?” she asked.

                “Of course, your Highness, anything,” said Christine, hobbling over the bump of Caroline’s finger and into her palm, which rose up into the air.  Caroline took her close to her face again so she could whisper, out of earshot of her siblings.

                “Christine… you said… you said I would be destroyed by… my father’s love.  I do not understand.”

                Christine sighed.  “Princess, I did not mean to say such a thing.  Please, just go now while you still have the chance.  It is not necessary to your noble aims, and with each passing moment it will become more and more difficult for you to succeed.”

                “Please.  I must know,” begged Caroline, her dried tears on her cheeks glistening in the sunlight.  “I am no longer a princess, remember.”

                Christine closed her eyes, pulling her hood from her head, revealing her matted hair and looking up uncertainly at the gigantic monarch’s clear blue eyes, pleading silently with her for answers.  “No, you are not a princess anymore, your Highness.”

                “Please.”

                “Caroline… dear, dear, Caroline… I simply meant it in the sense of Catherine’s near takeover of the kingdom.”

                “Yes.  How did it happen?”

                “She didn’t just waltz in and attack your father’s powerful nation.”

                “What do you mean?  How did she do it then?”

                Christine gulped.  “She was not your father’s foe to begin with.  She was, what he thought, his first love.  Catherine used to be the queen of Richard’s kingdom, because they were once husband and wife.”

                Two of the Others patrolled a tower overlooking the forest that, if one walked long enough, would lead to the Black Mountains.  It was mid-afternoon by then, and there were very few remaining human troops to find and destroy, or take in if they surrendered.  Many of those who surrendered were slaughtered anyway, though, when Daniel wasn’t looking.  The Others had been waiting just as long as Catherine for their triumphant return, and refused to take it calmly back without a few very well-deserved slaps in the face to Richard’s kingdom.   Now, with little left to do except walk back and forth along the tiny walkway of the tower, the two took a brief rest.  Their job was to look for any troops or citizens who tried to escape into the woods.  Any they saw were to be killed on the spot, and these two Others in particular had shown great skill with a bow and arrow.  At the distant range they stood at, where a person would only appear to be an inch or so tall to the squinting archer Others, the target would be picked off with ease in a single breath whether or not it was night.

                Many citizens had been killed, although most had realized the direness of the situation and retreated to their homes.  A warning had been issued that if any citizens exited their homes for any reason, they would be killed as well on the spot.  Several had tried, leaving to aid the remaining troops to attack an Other who had already killed a family member or friend, but this had ended in a few messy encounters in the street ending with the civilian being brutally felled, so this idea was quickly abandoned by all in the surrounding villages and provinces that had been taken by Catherine’s forces in favor of cowering in their homes, praying for a miracle they had a feeling wouldn’t come.  Some, namely the poor, hung on to the hope that their titanic savior, Caroline, would come in their hour of need, although, from her absence, most assumed she was already in the clutches of the powerful witch, or even dead.

                The pair of Others, leaning against the stone frame of the tower, leapt into action, straining their eyes into the distance.  They thought they had seen a large patch of ground simply caving in on itself into the ground, as if some massive force had pressed it down into the stone underground.  Of course, there was nothing there to be seen.  One of the Others fired an arrow that landed directly in the center of the crater, but it struck nothing.  They looked at one another, suspicious, and soon the other drew his bow as well, training it on the crater.  As they did, another crater appeared, this time closer to them, and they instantly released another couple of arrows that struck the center of the crater again.  Now that the hole in the ground was closer, they could begin to make out its shape.  It wasn’t circular, or even particularly irregular.  It was long and rounded, with the ground churned in smaller holes on the narrow end closer to them.  As soon as a third crater, even closer to them, was being formed, they fired their arrows, which met nothing but air.  This time, though, it was close enough to see with better detail.  The pair wiped their eyes, bewildered, as they looked far down and away at what looked like a ten foot long footprint smashed into the damp ground.

                The next puzzling thing came as they heard a tree in the forest creaking.  They couldn’t be sure which it was, but they assumed it was falling down.  However, their suspicions were quickly aroused again as they heard the snap of tree bark, but no loud thump as the tree hit the ground.  They craned their necks over the edge of the tower, deciding at length that perhaps one of them should go and investigate.  It took a moment, as neither of them wanted to do it, but after a brief tussle, the shorter and marginally weaker of the pair was pinned firmly against the walkway ground, and so was forced to go.  He climbed down the tower in record time, alighting on the ground below.  The Other still perched in the tower looked on as his battle comrade marched cautiously down the hill, and into the trees.  After a moment, the Other heard and saw the trees being rustled.  They were a bit too far off for an accurate shot, but he began to fire quick volleys of sharpened arrows into the trees.  He wasn’t sure if he had managed to actually pierce something, since the trees had ceased shaking, but after a few more minutes, the alternate Other still hadn’t returned.  Just beginning to resolve to go and get reinforcements to help him investigate the strangeness, the Other noticed something else odd.

                A tree, mostly likely the same that had been snapped, emerged from the cluster of forest.  He cocked his head, drawing his bow in its direction without firing so that he could observe it safely.  It appeared almost to be walking, tottering from one side of its roots to the other, still nearly level with the ground as it rocked back and forth, coming further and further into open field.  The Other fired his arrow, striking the tree in its branches.  It paused for a moment before moving again, but instead of going to the side, it began to rise, going up and up into the air until the Other had to level his arrow with his eyesight to have a clear shot.  He was dumbfounded as the flying tree began to hover, spinning ever so slightly.  This continued for several minutes before, finally, the invisible Caroline, her siblings tied tightly into her hair and resting on her shoulders, flung the tree with all her might.  It shattered against the tower with such force that it collapsed, killing the Other still on top.

                Waves of Others heard the smash and began rushing toward the hillside pass into the forest next to the palace wall, egged on by their superiors.  After a few moments, a cluster of around two hundred Others, with more on their way, had gathered around the destroyed tower, confused, as they saw simple tree branches and leaves floating around the stone wreckage.  It seemed impossible: not only had a tree been wrenched from the ground in one piece, it had been driven with enough force to stagger stone to the ground in one stroke.  They shivered in confusion and even slight fear that apparently some threat still loomed, but were quickly forced into a more focused mode by their superiors, falling back into march and position, overlooking the empty fields which made no more sound or random craters.  All that could be heard were a few vultures cawing far overhead in the sky, the whistle of the chilling winds, and an odd, nearly indescribable creak coming from the ground as Caroline tiptoed closer and closer to the Others.

                With a loud, somewhat high-pitched battle cry, Caroline kicked outward, swiping her foot right through the crowd of Others.  She knocked most of them down, and the others that she didn’t went down with another swift swing of her foot.  Smacking her foot back into the earth, she realized an Other had gotten his arm stuck between her of her toes, and she had just mercilessly dragged him into an unconscious state.  She wriggled her dirt-covered toes, releasing him, as she turned back to the bewildered army.  Many Others had drawn their blades and bows but were unsure of where to strike.  Raising her massive foot into the air, the princess planted it downward, mashing several Others into the ground with a single stroke, and she continued, gasping as she felt them smush into the dirt beneath her soles, going deeper as she ground them into the mud with the twisting ball of her foot.

                By this time, the troops had regrouped, and some had even discovered Caroline’s position.  However, as one drove his sword down against the top of her still-invisible foot, he received an electric shock from the magical shield Christine had placed around them, which sent him flying back.  Several other troops found this to be true, and as Caroline continued stomping out the army, more troops began filing in, seeing the commotion.  Most of them, however, quickly were either mashed into the dirt under her raging feet, kicked aside by a sweep of her toes and the hem of her robe as she stooped, or they found themselves shocked into a prone position upon striking the magical shield.   Some fired arrows, but these disintegrated on contact.  More and more troops continued pouring in, and one Other on a rooftop used a bugle that echoed across the streets of the kingdom, calling reinforcements.

                “CAROLINE!” called out Anne in worry, seeing the oncoming waves.  “They’re coming back!”

                “I see them, little sister, I see them…” whispered Caroline in a deep sense of focus, hardly noticing her sister’s words as she methodically picked where to make her next step or kick.  Finally, the creatures began to wise up, and starting piling themselves on top of her feet.  This was remedied quickly as she kicked them off, but soon, they got another idea.  A few Brute Others had showed up, each carrying chains wrapped around their arms.  Unraveling them, they tossed them to one another, stretching them across Caroline’s feet.  Then, working in tandem, they began to swing around the circumference of Caroline’s reaching distance, lightly roping the chains around her ankles.  Caroline was too busy at the moment to notice.  An Other had started climbing up her invisible dress.  She plucked him off between two fingers, placed him in her outstretched palm, and then flicked him with two fingers: the strike sent him flying with a terrified shriek through the air, rolling down the hill.  Meanwhile, the Brutes all twisted, pulling together over twenty of their strongest chains, which, despite the electric shock, allowed them to force Caroline’s ankles together.  This caused her to lose her balance, and the princess went down with a large crash against the dirt that knocked over every Other that was still standing within a one hundred foot radius, and crushed quite a few more underneath her back.

                “Ohh… what…” groaned Caroline dizzily, clutching her head, rubbing her palms against her siblings to make sure they had made it all right; she was pleased to find that her hair had broken their falls, but her eyes widened again as she saw the Others dashing at her.  Already, a few dozen had piled onto her legs, trying to hold her down.  They weren’t incredibly heavy, but she could see the fierce determination in all of them as they appeared to be hanging in midair, gripping her bare shin.  Several tried to climb up the bottom of her foot, but she quickly smacked them back to earth with her toes.

                “Caroline…” gasped Anne uncertainly.  “Errr…”

                “Don’t be afraid, Annie…”

                “Caroline…” she breathed again.  “I really think that…”

                “Hold ON!” grunted Caroline, squinting and looking at the Others in determination as they continued piling onto her.

                “CAROLINE!” screamed Phillip as Caroline’s entire front side was covered in Others.

                “Now; hang on!” yelled Caroline.  She pushed herself over, rolling over in a complete 360, instantly mashing every single Other on top of her into the dirt, most of whom were knocked senselessly unconscious.  With the army scattered and a few hundred at least having been felled, Caroline saw her opening, and began to dash through the village, around the palace wall.  However, instead of wrenching the gate open, Caroline dashed past it, going toward the deep cliffs of the river that ran through the kingdom.

                “Caroline?  Where are we…”

                “Just hold on, Annie, I have an idea.”

                Catherine paced around cheerfully in the Great Hall, no Other daring to breathe a single word to her.  Elizabeth laid on the ground, shivering a little with pain, as she had been wracked so thoroughly by Catherine’s electric bindings.  “And so… having come this far, my dearest Duchess…” cooed Catherine, leaning over closer to her face.  “I ask you… ONE… MORE… TIME… How do I get past this barrier?”

                Elizabeth, breathing hard, spat a wad onto the ground in tiredness and then looked up at the witch, weakly.  “Perhaps if you sing a lovely enough song, the curse will take pity on you and allow you through.”  Catherine, rather than resorting to magic, kicked Elizabeth in the face while she was down, causing her to grunt and grip at her nose painfully.

                “Richard’s taught you well.  You’re just as stubborn as he is…  If only he had found you before me, hmm?”

                “That’s one thing I suppose we both shared in our past times with him,” smiled Elizabeth.  “The difference… of course… being that when I became his wife, it wasn’t through witchcraft.  It was love, something you would never be able to understand.  Something like marriage was just another trick to you, but I suppose that once you realized no one would ever be with you unless they were under the influence of black magic, you had to do what was necessary.”  Without even answering verbally, Catherine reared her hand back, charging it with a glowing orange orb that quickly turned red, pulsing, as her fingers curled, her face flushing purple with pure rage.  Elizabeth flinched, awaiting her final fate.

                However, before Catherine could deal the fatal blow, a deafening crash sounded through everyone’s ears, and a moment later, a large hole had been blown in the widest wall of the Great Hall, sending a rain of shattered glass down to the Others that were cowering underneath it, killing many of them instantly.  A Brute was even crushed underneath a cascading chunk of pillar.  Catherine covered her face, backing up for protection, before opening her eyes wide at the figure standing in the opening, outlined in a silhouette against the blinding sunlight.  At first, she thought it was Caroline, but suddenly, the shadow reached a hand-like claw inside the Great Hall, going onto its haunches, snorting black smoke through its snake nose, clanging its broken chains against the marble.  The beast’s child had been set free from its prison by the cliffs.

                Catherine sent a quick few bolts of energy into it, and forced it to take a moment to collect itself, but it kept moving on forward with relative ease.  As she saw her relative ineffectiveness on the slowly advancing beast, its sizzling drool being left in a trail as it padded directly toward the nervous witch, she pointed forth.

                “Don’t just stand there, buffoons!  Kill it!  Drive it out of here, NOW!”  The Others, themselves in a state of shock, picked up their weapons and advanced on the beast.  It swatted several of the Others aside, but the more agile ones advanced in their larger crowds, jabbing their weapons into the beast’s feet.  It yelped in pain as over a dozen spears were prodded into it, and it swatted everyone to the ground before clambering back out of the Great Hall and running down the descending road to the village, swatting Others aside like paper wads as it went.  “Get moving now!” called out Catherine.  “It could severely weaken our troops, and until my power is returned, that is not a risk we can take.”  Most of the Others immediately filed out of the place, but Catherine raised a hand before the remaining dozen could leave.  “Not you.  Someone must guard my special guests.”  Nodding, the Others returned to their posts, as Catherine looked down at Elizabeth’s still cowering form, her back to the massive hole in the wall.

                “So, once again, my dear, we find ourselves at a seeming impasse.  I need you to tell me how to get through this barrier, and you… well, I assume you want to survive, unless the pain of Richard’s loss is weighing just a bit too heavily on your soul,” she mused, already charging her fists with glowing energy again.  “Let’s make it easier.  Tell me within the next ten seconds, and I promise you… I will NOT take a full two hours to end your life.”  But Elizabeth only stared up at her, hate in her eyes, before closing them again, a tear trickling to the cold marble as a chilling breeze began to settle in.  “Very well,” cackled Catherine.  “One.”

                Nothing.

                “Two.”

                Still nothing.

                “Three.”

                Nothing visually took place, although Elizabeth felt what must have been a separate draft from the one blowing about the mostly destroyed Great Hall.

                “Four.”

                Elizabeth felt the slightest rumble in the ground touch her cheek.

                “Five.”

                Elizabeth pressed her hands flat against the ground, feeling the slight rumble grow larger and larger.

                “TEN!” laughed Catherine, becoming bored with linear counting.  “And…” she began, but before she could strike out at Elizabeth, she instead curled her hand back over her shoulder, gripping her fist.  With a loud smack, Caroline, who had been reaching forth, invisibly, to grab the witch and subdue her, fell to the ground with a deafening smack, compelled by Catherine’s impromptu counter spell.  With a flick of her wrist, Catherine sent the ring flying off of Caroline’s finger, exposing herself and her two siblings into view.  She clapped her hands together, then swung them apart, ripping Phillip and Anne from Caroline’s hair, dragging them quickly across the ground into the arms of an Other each.  “See that they don’t get away from you.  You can handle children, right?” she asked sarcastically, to which she received incessant nods from the Others, before turning her attention back to the princess, sprawled on the floor.  Caroline began to quickly arch her back, pulling herself into a kneeling position and outstretching her hand again to grab the witch, but Catherine waved both arms, easily locking Caroline against the marble in what looked like a net of glowing green strands, attached to the ground.

                “PRINCESS!” bellowed the witch.  “So glad that you could join us…”

                “I wouldn’t have missed paying you a visit for all the world, Catherine,” growled Caroline.

                “My, my, my, this IS a different greeting than the last time we found ourselves in this room.  Tell me, girl, do you still harbor those feelings of goodwill and peace toward EVERYONE you meet?”

                “Of course.”

                “Even ME?”

                Caroline hesitated, blowing out air to slow her increasing heartbeat.  “I wish you no harm, Catherine.  No matter what you’ve done, I don’t feel I should have to destroy you.”

                At these words, Catherine cackled deeply.  “Oh, I see… YOU don’t feel you should have to destroy ME!”  Caroline nodded solemnly.  “I see, I see… Elizabeth, dear!” called out the witch.  “I am aware that you may take a little longer standing up, so I feel I ought to give you fair warning that you are going to want to do it very… soon…”

                “Mother…” gasped Caroline, trying to reach out a hand to help her sprawled parent, but she couldn’t outreach the green, magical bindings.  Then, suddenly, the bindings were tightening as Catherine held out a hand, clenching her fingers.  Caroline grunted in pain as the binds made several cuts into her skin, grinding against her with their electric energy.

                “You continue lying there, Duchess, but the sun continues rolling over the horizon… and your dear, dear, monstrously sized wretch grows nearer to death.  So, what do you say?” she asked, clenching particularly hard and causing Caroline to scream with a pain that echoed over most of the kingdom.  Phillip and Anne began crying for her, struggling uselessly against the strong arms of their Other guards.  Elizabeth studied her daughter, tears rolling down her cheeks, her hand shaking, for more than two minutes before she leapt to her feet, grasping the crystal in her hand.  “Now, it seems we’re moving along, finally,” laughed the witch, releasing her grip somewhat on Caroline’s slicing magical binds, allowing the princess to gulp up oxygen with a rapid fervor, stinging pervading her entire body.  “Place it inside.  Go on, I’ve been waiting half a century for this… practically nothing of my life, you can continue on.”  Shaking, Elizabeth approached the barrier, holding the crystal.

                “MOTHER, STOP!” screeched Caroline, reaching out, but her body was quickly crunched by the bindings, causing her to shriek in pain again.

                “Tsk, tsk, princess… mother knows best,” quipped the witch, watching Elizabeth intently.  However, as the duchess reached the barrier, she found herself at an invisible force that didn’t allow her to pass.  She, too, was the incorrect candidate.

                Groaning in disgust, Catherine waved a hand, knocking Elizabeth’s battered form back to the ground, taking the crystal away from her and back into her own hands.  She turned, her face contorted with rage, but then softened when her eyes fell upon Caroline’s subdued body, her soft eyes shut tightly from the discomfort, her arms writhing at their sides in an effort to break through the green streams of energy that had roped her down.  She had just realized something.

                “Oh, Richard.  Dear, dear, Richard…” laughed Catherine, studying Caroline.  “I see your game now…”

                “You SEE?  There is no way to do it simply by walking through, Catherine.  She is not your key, so just leave her ALONE!” shouted the princess.  The witch nodded in agreement.

                “You couldn’t be more correct, princess.  And that’s why I need not her, but you.”

                Caroline’s throat went dry.  “ME?  B-B-But why would it be…”

                “YOU?  Well, I’m not entirely certain, dear, but I would be willing to bet every last ounce of my current abilities that it is, indeed, you, who must walk through the barrier.  It all makes so much more sense now…” she muttered, waving her hand.  Caroline, still bound in the green energy ropes, was pulled into a standing position.  She floated backward, far out of the range of the keyhole barrier, and was slowly deposited on the ground, the bindings fading away.  Instantly, the princess was back on her feet, her hands outstretched for another go.

                “Ah-ah-ah-AH, princess… I wouldn’t want to go testing my limits now!” shouted the witch to ensure Caroline could hear her.  “MEN?” she indicated loudly.  Two Others, on each end of the room, each held one of Caroline’s siblings.  “You may be a very large young woman, dear, and you may be physically powerful, but you possess no magic ability like me, and therefore have no chance of reaching both of your siblings before they are slaughtered by the hands of my men.  And THEN…” she drawled.  “I’ll make you put the crystal into the keyhole ANYWAY.  Your choice, dear,” she said, smiling wickedly, and waving her hand  to send the tiny blue crystal floating out toward Caroline, who caught it nimbly between two fingers like a grain of rice.

                Caroline gulped, her eyes shifting between her two siblings, her body shaking and tears welling in her eyes.

                “NOW, princess, or we begin the carving.  And believe me, the Others have TERRIBLE self-control at the first smell of human blood…” chortled Catherine loudly, indicating toward the Other holding Phillip.  It shook him violently, gripping for an instant around his throat, causing Caroline to flinch in pain for her brother for a moment before the creature released him.  Tears began to roll down Caroline’s face, and at that point, she knew she wouldn’t have the self-control for much longer to stay standing there, with the crystal pinched tightly between two of her soft fingertips, refusing.  She knew that all of them would be brutally tortured if she didn’t comply.  But putting the crystal inside the keyhole would doom the rest of the kingdom.  Her eyes fell over to Anne, who had been dropped and slammed against the ground, nearly knocking her unconscious and causing a small, bloody cut to form on her forehead.  And, choking the tears in her throat, Caroline knew she had run out of options.

                She was going to do it.  She had failed.  She took a step forward.

                “GOOD, princess, good…” laughed Catherine.  “Keep going, now, don’t be shy.”

                Caroline continued trekking forward, and, taking a deep breath, placed a foot inside the magic barrier, and then pulled the rest of her body in, still gripping the crystal.  Catherine shrieked triumphantly at the success.  “Oh, I KNEW it.  I just KNEW it!” she cried out, breathless, as her victory became ever-closer.  “Don’t STOP!”

                Caroline came to rest in front of the tiny boulder, a mere skipping stone at her feet.  She knelt down to ensure she would fit in the Great Hall, and extended her hand over it, her fingers pinched tightly still around the precious crystal key.  Horror had been filling her heart all the way on the walk to the stone, and yet, somehow, another thought was filling her mind: not of fear of the future, or even for anyone’s lives.  It was something Christine had said, before departing at their first meeting:  “It was… your mother.  Your mother has caused all of this.  It has all come to fruition because of her.”

                Caroline glanced over at Elizabeth, wondering, knowing Elizabeth had not been particularly, integrally involved in the whole plan that had doomed Richard and his kingdom as well.  And then another, seemingly random, thought entered her mind.  They were more words from Christine.  The stone had locked away the power of Catherine… and her descendants.  And her descendants.

                Her descendants.

                It was… your mother.  Your mother has caused all of this.  It has all come to fruition because of her.

                Her descendants.

                Caroline’s blood ran cold as she looked from herself to Catherine, gulping hard, and suddenly, a feeling of warmth flooded her body, completely against the feelings she ought to have been experiencing in such a dire situation.  It reminded her of the comfort of her father, when she knew he was doing everything he could to protect his family.

                At that moment, everything became perfectly clear to Caroline: goose bumps ran along her arms, and she had to suppress a nervous smile as her arm began to shake.  Richard had done it.  He had saved her again.  She took a deep breath, thanking Richard in the heavens.

                “DEAR!” shouted Catherine threateningly.  “Take much longer, and I’ll have to shred all of your little friends into the supper of the Others.”  Caroline looked to her, nodding, allowing more tears to fall down her face, but this time only for effect.  Her hand quivering, she released her fingers, allowing the crystal to drop.  Some magnetic force instantly grabbed the crystal from the air, pulling it toward the stone in a slow, rotating circular motion before it inserted itself into the formation in the rock.

                “NOW!” laughed Catherine, dashing forward, closer to the rock.  “Give it back to me NOW, Richard!” she screamed dramatically, holding out her arms.  The rock began to glow, and then, without warning, began to glow a pale red, shooting beams of light all around the destroyed Great Hall.  It began to smoke, then, as a glowing lava-like liquid began seeping out the pores of the stone.  Finally, as the beams continued pouring from the lava, the ground began to shake.  Caroline backed up, standing up fully, allowing her head to pass through a very large hole in the ceiling that had been created earlier, as she continued looking down.

                “GIVE IT TO ME!” screeched Catherine, and as she said this, a beam of red light rattled through the air, attaching itself roughly to Catherine’s chest.  In a spray of sparks, she began to convulse, tossed to the ground, screaming with pleasure as she felt her former power returning.  The Others holding the children and Elizabeth quickly backed up to make some room, and even Daniel, his hand around the scruff of the prince’s tunic, was frightened, so he backed up as well.  Groggily, Luke came to, blinking and looking around, but not revealing his consciousness to Daniel.

                Finally, the beams ceased roaring, and shot back into the oozed lava, the glowing stopping altogether.  Smoke settled over Catherine’s body, which still was lying on the ground, breathing heavily but laughing.  Her eyes began to fog over, becoming a solid black color as full control re-entered her body, and she pulled herself to her feet with a loud smack that sent a rippling crack in all directions, creating an indent in the marble floor.  Staggering as if slightly drunk for a moment, she looked at her fingers closely, watching microscopic streams of electricity and energy flowing between them without even trying.  She touched two fingers together, watching a roaring fire that didn’t seem to singe her skin appear in her palm; she closed her hand, smiling widely, and extinguishing the flame.

                “AT LONG LAST, I HAVE RETURNED!” roared Catherine, rising into the air in flight, spinning around with her arms outstretched.  “AND NOW, ALL OF YOU SHALL BOW BEFORE…” she began, but was interrupted by a gentle coughing sound.  She turned to see the seventy foot princess staring at her with a hard grimace, her upper lip contorted.

                “It is time for you to leave, mother," she mused triumphantly, thrusting out a gigantic hand and sending an absolutely massive bolt of blue electricity at Catherine from her own long fingers, her fully recharged powers restored again by the stone, sending the witch flying directly through the stone wall of the Great Hall in a spray of dust and colored glass.

Caroline watched, surprising herself, as a cloud of dust settled right over the spot Catherine had flown from the room, then looked immediately down at her massive hands, watching the same tiny electric sparks bouncing between her fingertips.  Flowing through her mind, she felt a strange warmth, tingling in the recesses of her brain.  Knowledge: new knowledge, in her subconscious, all there, locked away for her entire life until this moment.  Spells, magic, and curses, all of their wisdom coming to the forefront as if Caroline had been practicing her whole life for it.  It took a moment, but she finally had figured it out.  Everything.

                Her father and Catherine, wedded around fifty years ago, under the influence of a dark spell.  When Catherine tried to take control of the kingdom, their bond was broken Richard saw the terrible error of his ways, and barely managed to throw her from the kingdom with help from Christine.  All he had left was the child they bore together.  Caroline.

                Caroline, showing no real magical aptitude, must still have presented something as a child, before she could remember it, to her father.  She tried to remember having done anything, but she simply couldn’t.  What was important that her father had recognized her as having the same abilities locked away somewhere as her mother, who was apparently unaware of this.  When choosing the person to be the barrier key around the boulder, he chose the failsafe: the one person who, if Catherine ever found her way back to power, might have a chance of stopping her, because by returning Catherine’s powers, Caroline was given all of her own back as well.

                All Others in the room, as well as her family, stared at her in slack-jawed shock, allowing her a moment to ensure her family’s safety.  She waved a hand and sent the Others holding her siblings flying against the wall before clapping both hands together and magically dragging her siblings and her mother across the floor, to the center.  The Others rushed at them to catch them, but in another second Caroline had snapped her fingers, forming a protective barrier around them that crackled and spat out sparks that knocked out cold six of the advancing Others before they could even get within striking distance of the bubble-like shield around her family.

                Before Caroline could even take another breath, she found an unfurling wall of purple fire flowing right at her from outside, belched directly through the hole in the wall like a volcano.  She raised her hands to block it but was far too late, and the fire engulfed her, dragging her straight backward.  Caroline’s enormous girth was pulled right through the wall, sending a new shower of debris to the ground as she landed with an earth-shattering smash in the pathway just inside the palace wall.  She pulled herself quickly to her feet, dusting off her taut drape robe as she saw Catherine flying straight toward her face in midair.  She came to a stop directly in front of Caroline’s eyes, allowing her a good view.

                For once, Caroline was able to see Catherine looking surprised: completely and utterly shocked beyond belief, her jaw dropped, her blackened eyes widened with incredulity.  “It… it can’t be…” she gasped.

                “Oh, I believe it can, mother.  It can,” whispered Caroline menacingly, squinting at Catherine.  Both women raised their hands and flicked their fingers simultaneously.  Catherine was sent softly smashing against the stone wall of the exterior to the Great Hall, while Caroline was sent flying cleanly through the outer wall of the palace.  She fell to the hill, rolling downward, but righted herself at the bottom, near the trees and the wreckage to the lookout tower she had destroyed upon entrance.  Her eyes darted around, and she saw Catherine speeding toward her like an arrow through the air, right for her head.  Caroline bit her lip in concentration, squinting again in the sun, and just as Catherine was about to strike directly at her face, she raised a titanic hand, blocking her face with her palm.  Catherine pancaked helplessly against the hand, which quickly closed around her.  Caroline smashed her fingers together, crumpling her mother up into the soft flesh with incredible, body-crushing force.  She then spun around, tossing the witch as far off into the trees that laid before her as she could with.  She wiped her hands off, placing them on her hips and waiting, knowing it wasn’t over.  Then, through the trees, she saw a flash of red light, followed by a screeching pop that blew out several of the trees directly around the flash with an electric bubble.  Smoke began to rise upward, far disproportionate to the size of the reaction, billowing upward directly from this one spot in a towering spire of blood red mist and soot.

                Caroline gasped loudly at what she saw next.

                Back in the Great Hall, Luke had opened his eyes and was watching the blue bubble Caroline had created around her family.  It hadn’t been up for long, but with the intense concentration that was required of the young woman outside the palace, the spell was beginning to fizzle out, allowing the Others to continue advancing.  Grunting, knowing he would have no other moment to react, Luke rose to his feet, surprising Daniel.  He punched him, momentarily stunning him as he yanked one of his blades from the sheath and began dashing at the advancing Others.  They all turned on him, but in their shock, he had already managed to cut down three of them clumped together.  As the rest advanced, he ducked to the side of the crackling, dying energy bubble, allowing them to be knocked helplessly to the side.  He dashed upon these Others and impaled them against the marble before they could have a chance to rise, just as the bubble popped out of existence, leaving the battered Elizabeth and two siblings exposed.

                Daniel pulled himself from the ground and wiped a blood smear from his lip where Luke had struck him, drawing his other blade.  He dashed for the royal family, promising himself he would save this debacle for his true queen, Catherine, as he held the blade high over his head and roared.  As he neared them, though, Luke saw him in his line of sight.  Ripping his bloodied blade from the corpse of the last remaining Other, Luke ran toward the family, who had begun running in the other direction, Elizabeth shielding her little ones as Daniel approached quickly.  Luke was too far off, though, and Daniel was already almost upon them as they were cornered against a back wall, next to the crushed corpse of an Other whose sword was still clasped in his cold, orange fingers.  Luke suddenly tripped as a still-alive Other grasped at his ankle, bringing him down to the marble with a crash.  Elizabeth hugged her daughter and son to her, quaking, as she looked upon the determined, charging half-man, half-Other whose sword was raised above his head.  She closed her eyes, clenching her fingers around their shoulders.

                Phillip, blinking, saw the sword on the ground, and had an idea.  He broke his mother’s grasp, who screamed for him to come back, and grabbed ahold of the sword from the grasp of the dead Other.   He tried to hold it up, but was at first surprised by the weight, so he dropped it, but quickly picked it back up, trying to hold it steady in front of himself.  Daniel stopped running, coming to a stop in front of Phillip and lowering his blade.  They locked eyes for a moment before Daniel started laughing wildly, clutching his chest, allowing his blade to hang at his side while the small boy courageously held the pointed blade out in front of him, his arms shaking from fear and the strain of holding the blade perfectly straight.  Wiping a tear of laughter from his face, Daniel glared into the eyes of the child, mostly to intimidate.

                “That’s an excellent weapon you’ve got there, young prince.  Do you know how to use it?”

                “Y-Yes!”

                “Oh, you do, hmm?  Well, that’s a talent.  That is a talent indeed.  To be able to wield a blade of the Others is no small feat, it takes YEARS of intensive training to master its intricacies.  You must be the youngest one to have accomplished it.  Congratulations.”

                “T-Thank you!” squeaked Phillip, more terrified than ever before in his life.

                “Let’s see how well you can handle it, shall we?” he asked, raising his own blade back up and bowing in feigned respect as if about to participate in a duel.  “Godspeed.”

                “NO!” screamed Elizabeth, running forward and grabbing her son’s hand, pulling him back as Daniel continued laughing, advancing several more steps forward.  However, as he drew his blade back, he found a hand roughly grasping his shoulder and spinning him around.  Luke kicked hard against Daniel’s stomach, sending him reeling to the ground, surprised.

                “You wanted your chance to take me, abomination of two worlds,” snarled Luke.  “Here I am.”

                “Here you are,” smiled Daniel, repeating him in the same satisfied tone.  “I shall enjoy watching you die, and I shall enjoy even more sprinkling your blood along the wall as a sign to my mistress of our success.  And, perhaps even more, I shall look forward to my duel with this fine young solider,” he cackled, indicating at the scared Phillip.  “I should think he will present a greater challenge than you.”

                “If that is the truth, then he shall triumph over you with very little problem!” shouted Luke, swinging his blade back into view for a strike.  Daniel was ready, though, hopping back to his feet and expertly blocking the stroke with his other blade.

                “Let us find out, filthy human.”

                Caroline’s eyes bugged out as she watched the red smoke spire curl higher and higher toward the sky, becoming wider as well.  She couldn’t tell exactly what was going on, but somehow she had a feeling it didn’t bode well for her ultimate success.  Then, as the smoke began to clear, Caroline felt her heart catch in her chest.

                Catherine was emerging from the smoke.  From ALL of the smoke.  Her head reached the very tip of the spire far above Caroline’s head.  The princess looked apprehensively upward, biting her tongue and taking a few steps back.  Catherine stretched her arms out, reaching toward the sky, before peering down with a devilish grin, flashing her solidly black eyes at the princess.  Caroline gulped.  The witch’s fiery hair, crazily tossed over her shoulders, hung like a forest in of itself.  Catherine’s dark robe ran down her body like a watchtower wrapped in ornate rugs, billowing loudly in the wind, deep waves of fabric being formed as it rippled.  She took a step, crushing a tree under her thirty-foot-long slipper, and in a couple more steps, managed to emerge from the forest.  She stood nearly triple as tall as the princess, who didn’t each reach her waist.  Before Caroline could react, Catherine was leaning down, snatching her up by the front of her robe and lifting her up as if she was filled with feathers.  The gargantuan princess suddenly felt personally and physically very vulnerable for the first time in many nights, finally looking into the face of someone who was actually larger than she was.  She began to shiver with fear, then cried out in pain as Catherine’s long nails dug directly through the robe, clawing at her chest.  Catherine smiled, holding her arm above her head so that Caroline had to flail her legs, kicking at her for release.  It was no use, though.

                “Struggle, little princess,” growled Catherine.  It seemed that as a by-product of her growth, her voice had decreased in pitch, and as she spoke, it seemed almost as if she was grumbling like a wild animal deep in her throat.  “Fight your fate.”  Caroline stopped fending for a moment and held out her hand, charging up more energy in her palm, but one of Catherine’s enormous hands completely engulfed it, her other hand easily supporting all of the princess’s weight, extinguishing the energy into her own fist.  Then, crackling the stolen energy between her fingertips, she touched it lightly to Caroline’s forehead and released all of it into her body, causing the princess to scream and thrash in pain.  “Trust me, my dear daughter… I’ve been doing this a much, much longer time than you have.”

                “C-Catherine…” gasped Caroline, wheezing from the shooting pain in her forehead.  “You c-can’t just take everything you s-see like this…”

                “I can’t, can I?  Would you care to explain why not?”

                “It’s a world, with real people, who have desires and dreams of their own.  You have no right to take it away from them.  The world… it’s not a toy,” gasped the princess, gripping her fists around Catherine’s very large wrist.  Catherine turned back to look at the palace, and saw a tiny troop of around ten surviving human soldiers dashing for them to aid the princess.  The colossal witch turned to study her daughter’s terrified expression, then looked back down at the ground.  As the soldiers approached, Catherine carelessly kicked her foot out, sending half of them flying backward into the dirt.  Caroline struggled, wanting to help them, but found it impossible.  Next, Catherine opened her hand, sending yellow-tinted waves flowing out from her palm.  They attached to a still-standing soldier on the ground, and he was yanked violently from the ground, right into Catherine’s fist.  He looked no more than two inches tall between her fingers as she calmly brought him closer to Caroline’s face so she could see.

                “A very noble thing of you to say, dear daughter.  But here is the truth in it:  you are entirely wrong.  Because the way I’m looking at it…” she suggested, pinching lightly at the helpless soldier and causing him to scream in agony.  “…the world IS my toy!”  She then began to increase the pressure with her fingers, and Caroline began to whimper with sympathy for the poor man.  Then, with everything she had left, she outstretched her hands, her fingertips turning bright red with light, as she started forcing Catherine’s fingertips apart.  Both women gritted their teeth, grunting loudly, with one trying to crush the tiny man between her massive fingertip pads, the other clenching her convulsing fists in an effort to save him.  The light shows coming from both of their glowing hands starting crossing over, blinding them, and with a final stroke, a sudden force pulled both magically gifted, gigantic females apart.  Catherine stumbled back, dropping both Caroline and the bite-sized soldier.  Caroline landed on her feet, and quickly thrust her hands into the air, feeling the miniscule man bounce into her palm, which she quickly secured by closing her fingers around him and lowering him to her face.

                She peeked at him between her fingers, his body shaking in pain, fear, and adrenaline, as she lowered him toward the ground.  “P-P-Princess…” he gasped, sweating.

                “Thank you for your bravery, little one.  I’ve got you now.”

                “Oh, t-thank y-you…” he sighed gratefully as the muggy pocket of her hand flesh opened, allowing him to drop back to the ground and run off.  Looking back up at her mother, who was already recovering and charging up some black, smoking tendrils of slime around her wrists, Caroline frowned, crafting her own spell along her arms in glowing yellow light, drawing power from the earth.

                “Your time here is over, mother.  You shall leave this place, and never return,” she said, raising her glowing fists up to eye level.

                “You sound far too much like your father, dear.  And look where HE ended up,” retorted Catherine, the shadowing gloom of the black smoke furrowing around her arms in wider puffs.  Without another word, both women thrust their arms forward: Catherine’s tentacle-like shadows twisting up with Caroline’s glowing beam of light.  Each one planted their feet harder into the dirt with a loud smack, creating another crater.  However, as Caroline struggled to stay standing, the hulk of a witch began stepping forward, smashing a few small saplings under her heel as she advanced, the stream unbroken.  Then, reaching her daughter, she plunged her hand directly through the light, grasping her daughter hard by the throat and slamming her directly to the ground, quaking the earth and knocking down several trees with a deafening crack.  She kept her hand firmly locked around her neck and began to dig into her skin with her sharp nails, causing Caroline to gasp weakly for air and out of pain as the light from her hands was extinguished, the swirling blackness of Catherine’s spell slowly engulfing her body like a python.  “Go to sleep, little princess.  Sleep, and let yourself drift permanently into your dreams.”

                Luke and Daniel both reared back and took a swing, clashing blades together and struggling for the better footing.  Unfortunately for Luke, Daniel had far greater upper body strength, and after pressing for a few moments, pushed the prince to the ground.  Luke scurried back, holding his sword out to block any cheap shots as he shot back to his feet, barely blocking a follow-up strike from Daniel.  However, he wasn’t prepared for the Other-hybrid’s tricky maneuvering, and he soon found the wind knocked from him as Daniel kicked him backward.

                “I feel as if I’ve fought you before,” snarled Daniel.

                “I doubt it.  You would not be standing before me if you had.”

                “No, that is not to what I refer.  I suppose it’s your tactics,” he offered as the pair quickly traded parries and blocks, clashing the metal together as the pained Elizabeth crouched against the wall and her two children comforted her, cowering away from the highest general of Catherine’s army.

                “And what do you mean by that?” asked Luke, hopping to the side and circling around Daniel.

                “Humans in general.  Yes, that’s what it is.  You all fight exactly the same.”

                “Oh, I see… so you’ve fought many of us before.”

                “Yes.  You all… use such speed, and what you believe to be cunning, but what you’re truly doing is walking right into a slowly tightening noose.  You overplay,” he said, smashing hard against Luke’s blade, causing him to back up.  “You overplay, and you suddenly find yourself in a hold you can’t possibly get out of.  It always makes it that much easier to end your lives.”

                “You’ve killed many humans, then?”

                “Yes.  Many.  Far more than I could ever count,” sniggered Daniel, running his claws over his bald head again, ruffling at his rags.

                “But… you are not so far from one yourself, are you?” asked Luke.  At this, Daniel slashed forward toward Luke’s head; the prince dodged, but was too late to avoid it entirely, and ended with a large cut along his cheek.

                “You throw your words about so carelessly, prince.  Sooner or later you will meet one with a shorter temper than my own who will refuse to tolerate your casual remarks.”

                “I see.  So you intend to surrender?”

                “No.  I refer to your future debacles in the pits of hell.”

                “If that’s where we’re headed, I intend to make sure it’s with you.  Wouldn’t want them to make to easy on me, would we?” asked Luke, expertly cocking his wrist to the side and slashing directly forward in a surprise attack, drawing blood from Daniel’s arm that carried the sword.  He dropped the weapon, stunned, and wrinkled his face at Luke, baring his teeth like a dog.  “Perhaps you will want to try and smile a bit more like us humans.  You do make yourself so very unattractive to the young ladies with that particular expression,” quipped Luke, smiling and brandishing his blade.

                “You hold your head so high, prince…” growled Daniel, picking his blade back up.  “But I feel I should warn you: hold it high enough, and someone is likely to chop it cleanly off.”

                “I suppose that would be you, then?” laughed Luke, moving back into an offensive position with his sword.

                “It would be my absolute pleasure,” Daniel smiled back, lunging forward with his blade.  Both individuals grabbed onto their shoulders, holding one another back with all their strength.  Immediately, Luke began to lose the tussle, until he slipped his thumb, allowing his blade to slide closer to Daniel’s neck as he held onto him.  It tapped against his neck gently, but because of the weapon’s sharpness, it pierced the skin.  Daniel gasped, realizing how precarious a situation he was in, and roared loudly, tossing Luke to the side like a ragdoll before clutching at his neck to feel the bleeding.

                “Be more careful, Other.  The high head lost today may just as well be yours,” whispered Luke seriously, pulling himself to his feet.  No longer even speaking a word, Daniel threw his blade directly at Luke.  Surprised by this seemingly fatal tactical error, the prince dodged coolly to the side, but a second later found the rough-and-tumble general leaping upon him like a jungle cat, his fingers outstretched.  As he pinned Luke to the ground, the latter’s sword tossed to the side, long nails extended from his fingers like claws, and they dug deeply into the flesh of Luke’s shoulders, driving entire, muscular fingertips into Luke’s body through the skin.  The prince yelled out with pain, trying to push the hybrid off of him, but it wasn’t going to happen in his disadvantaged leverage position.  Clenching his clawed fingers, Daniel raked his hands all the way down Luke’s upper torso, causing blood to trickle all along the ten long wounds.  The prince began to whimper in pain, unable to move.  Daniel smiled, standing up triumphantly, and turned back to the royal family.  They gasped, the children crying at the seeming loss of Luke, and cowered against the wall again.  Elizabeth struggled to her feet, hobbling forward to block her children, but Anne and Phillip were quick to stand up and hug themselves to their mother’s side.

                “Like I said: very predictable.  ALL of you!” said Daniel, stooping to pick up the blade of a fallen Other as he advanced on the helpless trio.  As he reached them, he pulled his blade back to strike, and Elizabeth closed her eyes, ready to take the first severe body blow for her children.  It didn’t come, though.  She opened her eyes to see an odd expression on Daniel’s face.  His eyes had rolled back into his head, and an unsettling gurgling noise was escaping his parted lips.  He slumped to the floor, then, a massive bloodstain forming right in the center of his chest as Luke pulled his blade out of the hybrid general’s back where he had sliced cleanly through his entire torso using only one arm.  Elizabeth gasped, covering her mouth, and both children quickly retreated behind her back.

                “Perhaps most are, Other.  But not this one!” sighed Luke, trying to catch his breath as he clutched his bleeding scratch wounds.  After he did, he dropped to a crouching position, having little strength remaining, as Daniel’s claws had managed to cut very deeply into his flesh.

                “Luke!” cried Elizabeth, hobbling to his side, her own body still in pain but not in imminent danger like his was.  She placed both of her hands onto bleeding scratch marks as Luke’s entire tunic became stained.  Thinking fast, the duchess tore the rags from a dead Other and began wrapping them tightly around Luke’s torso, cutting off the bleeds.  He grunted in pain as she put all her strength into tugging.  It seemed to help for the moment, although it wasn’t going to last.  “Just sit still for a moment.  I… I must go and find if Caroline is all right…”  She began hobbling toward the hole in the wall on the far side of the Great Hall where Caroline had been tossed through.  She had heard loud crashing outside and seen some sparks fly, but had no way of knowing what was going on.

                “Duchess?” he gulped.

                “Yes, Luke?”

                “Perhaps it is not my place, but…”

                She smiled.  “It deserves an explanation, although this is not the time for all of it.  It is a long tale of Catherine’s deception and foolhardiness.  It is also why I am duchess and not queen; divorces are frowned upon, as you well know, and it was upon Richard more than myself to amend the terrible situation.”

                “Was it love?  Between them, I mean?”

                She blushed.  “I should think not.  A spell was what she used; her intention from the beginning was to gain access to the kingdom itself and overthrow Richard once she was strong enough.”

                “And… it worked?”

                “Oh, not entirely.  It never does.  A spell being used to fool someone into something like love… the very idea.  It is guaranteed to backfire every single time.  And that’s what happened.  And that’s why we still have something here even worth fighting for.”

                “So… Caroline is not your daughter in blood, then?”

                “She needn’t be.  I love her as powerfully as I love my own children; I raised her from a babe, through childhood, and I like to think I helped make her the amazing young woman she is now.”

                “I see,” smiled Luke, feeling inspired despite his intensely stinging wounds.  He rose groggily to his feet.  “Come.  She needs us.”

                “No!  Stay here, I must find help…”

                “Duchess, I shall tell the same thing to you that I told your daughter: if you want me to stay out of it, your only options are tying me down with steel, or felling me permanently.”

                Caroline sucked air in as the black, shadowy rope began to bind around her body, hiding most of her inside the dark fog, leaving only her mouth and eyes.  Catherine stood up, standing over her and looking even larger as her hapless daughter laid on the ground.  The witch placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head.  “I must say, dear, I am moderately impressed by your effort.  Considering you have never cast a spell in your life, you held out reasonably well.  I truly do believe with some proper training from me, you could have become one of the most powerful sorceresses to ever roam the earth.”

                “I would NEVER…” gasped Caroline, her lungs compressing under the cold weight of the spell. “…NEVER… try to use these abilities the way you have.”

                “And what, exactly, would you have used them for?”

                “For…” choked Caroline, the black fog settling around her throat.  “For helping those who need it most.  Those who weep for food, water, and shelter.  For good.”

                Catherine threw her head back and cackled, her newly deeper, throatier voice rumbling across the Black Mountains themselves.  Wiping her watering eyes, she looked back down at her daughter.  “It ALWAYS starts like this, my sweet, sweet, SWEET, daughter.  Always.  You have a goal.  You have a vision to carry out.  And what do you do?  You try so hard to get it, you forget what it was.”

                “Didn’t y-you have one?” gasped Caroline, her breaths coming in shorter puffs now.

                Catherine sighed.  “Yes, I suppose I did.  But like I said…” she answered, shrugging.  “I can’t possibly remember what it was.  I was born almost nine hundred years ago, Caroline,” she grinned, her daughter’s skin running cold.  “Do you expect me to remember every detail of my life?”

                “It’s… i-it’s not a detail…” stuttered Caroline.  “Your visions… are what should guide your life.”

                “They are what STARTS your life, daughter, do not mistake these ideas for one another.  It is your beginning.  If you allow yourself to be tied down by the lowered expectations of your past self, you will never achieve anything.  I mean… just LOOK at me!” she bellowed, holding her arms in the air.  As she looked back down at Caroline, though, she was puzzled.  A smile was suddenly spread across the princess’s face, and the witch wasn’t quite able to explain it, but she continued anyway.  “I am the most powerful being in the world.  This place… everything you can see, or can’t see… belongs to me now.  And if you had learned that a long time ago, your abilities would have manifested, and you might have been thrust onto a similar path of glory.”

                “There is no glory in what you do, mother,” answered Caroline, still smirking.

                “I see.  What, then, is there?” spat Catherine, stomping her foot and shaking the kingdom for miles around.

                “Darkness and loss, in two measures each.  The rest is nothing.”

                “Nothing…” mumbled Catherine, disbelieving, as her choked daughter, her entire body nearly cocooned into the charcoal streamed spell, continued smiling cheerily at her.

                “There is nothing inside of you, mother.  You’ve stripped yourself of it with every evil action you took.  Every innocent you struck down.  Every black spell you cast.  Every heart you broke.  Or… the heart you broke,” she answered, still smiling but allowing a tear to roll down her cheek.  “But mother?  I want you to know something.  I forgive you.  I forgive everything… all of it.  The people.  The kingdom.  My father.  Because I can see that there is nothing left inside of you, and therefore… there is no one to truly blame for what took place.  M-My heart…” gasped Caroline.  “My heart bleeds terribly for you, mother.”  The princess’s tears began flowing quietly into the black smoke, leaving Catherine at a total loss of words for a few seconds.

                “WHAT are you SMILING at?” she screamed, unable to take it anymore, utterly bewildered by her daughter’s display of undeserved empathy.  Caroline nodded, looking past her mother’s shoulder.  Catherine turned to see Christine, looking like her much more youthful self, the curse having been lifted from her as well, standing right behind her a similar height of two hundred feet.

                “Greetings, sister,” smiled Christine.  She blinked, and both of her eyes became completely white, practically spitting light as she glared at her older sibling.  She threw both of her hands into the air, instantly lighting Catherine’s entire frame, locking her in place.  She mumbled a few words, her eyes locked with the mortifying glare of her sister, and Caroline was finally able to take a few fresh breaths as the black smoke dissipated.  She stood up, looking up at her towering aunt and mother, Christine’s hands still firmly held in place, her fingers clenched like claws, to keep Catherine subdued.  For an instant, Caroline marveled at her aunt, from whom the aging curse had been removed.  Christine now possessed the face of a woman in her late twenties, looking slightly younger than Catherine, with many of the same features, but of a face more of sweet beauty than striking power and poise.  She recognized her eyes: they were the very same ones that had sat on the small, leathery face of her ancient form, now renewed to her normal self.

Already, Christine’s arms were shaking from the effort to keep Catherine in place, but Caroline was quick to assist, conjuring her own spell to lock her mother more firmly.  However, even with the combined strength of Caroline and Christine, both of them could feel the magical bonds surrounding Catherine loosening, and after a few more seconds, the most powerful witch thrust her arms out, breaking free of the lock and sending her sister and daughter flying off in opposite directions.

                Caroline’s body careened through a dozen trees before coming to rest in a mud slick.  Christine, meanwhile, rose to her feet, preparing another spell, but was pushed back again by a flick of Catherine’s fingers.  As Christine’s back smashed against a rocky slope, dazing her for a moment, Catherine planted her foot hard into the earth, and zipped forward in the blink of an eye to close the distance between herself and her smaller daughter.  Caroline was down on the fallen trees, and before she could realize it, Catherine was standing over her in a spray of sparks that had caught the grass behind her on fire.  Grasping her daughter’s throat, Catherine lifted her off the ground, holding her in the air.  Caroline gasped for breath, and felt her neck start to break.  Before it could, though Christine was behind her again, creating an electric connection between herself and her sister.  This momentarily halted Catherine’s attempt, allowing Caroline some breath and saving her from having her neck crushed.  Catherine, still holding her daughter in the air, reached behind and held out a cupped palm, beginning to reflect the green electricity back at her sister.  Christine was prepared though, and soon found both of them bouncing the energy back and forth between their hands like a pair of opposing mirrors, all the while with Caroline fighting fruitlessly to slip her mother’s iron fingers from around her neck.

                Then, hardly realizing what was happening, Caroline reached out an arm, extending her fingers, trying to reach her mother’s face.  She couldn’t quite make it, and felt her world slow down as Catherine’s nails began to dig into her neck again; all she could hear were the gritted-teeth screams and grunts of both sisters as they each attempted to win the exchange, a massive orb of electricity forming in the midst of the volleying stream, spiraling quickly out of control and burning the ground and trees around it into a crisp.  Caroline flailed her fingers, trying to reach her mother’s face, and watched her vision become blurry again, but refocused suddenly at what she saw next.

                She blinked, thinking her pained eyes were playing tricks, but it was real.  Luke was dashing down the slope of her arm, his sword outstretched, limping slightly from the effort to stay standing.  He practically rolled off the edge to what would have felt to him like a 250-foot drop.  Caroline tried to grab him, swiping her other hand along her arm, but he was too quick, rolling downward and nearly tripping as he came to a landing on the back of her outstretched hand, his momentum still maintained.  Coming out of the roll, Luke took a flying leap forward, just as Catherine’s face turned to grimace at her daughter.  His sword drawn, he plunged it directly into the tremendous nose bridge of the witch, digging it in all the way to the hilt and hanging on tightly.  This was all it took.

                Catherine, screaming from the pain, broke her concentration for a brief instant, allowing Christine’s last volley to strike her in the side, the rings of spiraling, out of control energy all concentrated onto one target.  Catherine flew backward hundreds of feet, causing an earthquake when she landed that crashed down several abandoned houses in the village.  Luke was flung helplessly up into the air, yelling with fright, as he began the long descent back to the ground, along with Caroline, who was let go the instant Christine’s spell made contact with her mother.  Landing on her feet, Caroline threw a single hand up into the air, feeling immense relief wash through her sore, pain-wracked body as Luke plopped into her palm.  Having no time to address him directly, Caroline clasped her fingers comfortably around him and dashed forward to Catherine, who was already standing up.  Christine rose into the air, floating above the ground, and flicked her fingers toward her sister, shooting a spray of sparks out that culminated with a long stretch of flame, roaring as it raged through the air.  Catherine, clutching at her bleeding nose, formed a wall of ice in front of her face that instantly extinguished the flames and ice into hot mist that rose up into the air like a storm cloud.  Batting her hand, Catherine knocked her sister back to earth, trying to recover her standing position. 

But this was all the time Caroline needed as she came to a stop by her aunt, reaching her hand up to her shoulder and quickly tangling Luke up into her long, dirt-stained blonde hair to keep him safe.  She clasped the humongous hand of the weakened Christine, a blue spark igniting between them, and, nodding knowingly to one another, they both raised their hands, balling their fingers up into fists and pulling back over their shoulders.  Two blue strands of translucent light, like mile-long ribbons, unfurled like rugs through the air, crisscrossing dramatically in midair toward the bewildered Catherine.  They each latched onto one of her arms, pulling her forward slowly toward them, uprooting more trees as they dragged her forward.  She roared angrily, trying to start a fire between her fingers to fight back, but to her shock, the fire went out.  As Caroline and Christine continued pulling, with Catherine trying out newer spells each passing second that only seemed to fail more and more quickly, the witch came to rest, face first, in the mud in front of her daughter.

Christine held out her hand, causing a dagger large enough to be wielded by her to materialize in her palm, and clasped her fingers around it, rearing back to stab down into Catherine’s head, but Caroline caught her elbow, holding her back.  Christine gave her a confused look, but with a single glance into Caroline’s deep ocean blues, there was no questioning it.  Feeling guilty, she wiggled her fingers and the dagger poofed out of existence.  Instead, Caroline leaned down over her unconscious mother, laying a hand on top of her matted red head.

“Please, mother… let the darkness fill you no more,” she whispered gently, and in a blinding blue light, all of Catherine’s powers passed over to Caroline.  The light began to grow brighter, spreading over the whole kingdom.  All the remaining Others could feel the loss of power taking place, as if Catherine were speaking directly into the fibers of their brains.  Most either retreated for the hills at that point or surrendered to the rebellion troops that had begun making their way through the provinces.

Almost immediately, Catherine’s body began reducing in size back to its original form.  Caroline squatted down with Christine over Catherine’s unconscious body.  Christine closed her eyes, shrinking down a bit until she was proportionately sized to Caroline’s 70 feet again.  She lowered a hand, and plucked her tiny sister from the ground.  Caroline gave her a stern look, but she just nodded back to her.  “I shan’t kill her, princess, of that be assured.”

“I believe you, Christine,” she said solemnly but kindly, placing a hand on her aunt’s shoulder as the massive young-looking witch turned, as if about to transport herself back to her home.  Caroline raised her eyebrows, somewhat surprised.  “Will you not stay, now?”

                Christine smiled.   “You are kind, my dear niece, and you are wise beyond your years.  Not only that, you have freed me from my former prison and given me back my powers.  That is enough for me.”

                “But… you saved me!  You saved all of us.  You… you can’t leave,” pleaded Caroline.

                “My actions today do not absolve me of my former and numerous sins, princess,” answered Christine.  “I have all I could have ever wanted.  Now, I only wish to go forth and try to repay the goodness that was done to me today.  To try to right some of the wrongs I’ve seen,” she said, looking down at the tiny body of her sister in her palm.  “And it will begin with her.”

                Caroline nodded approvingly, placing an arm around her shoulder.  “You will always be welcome back here.  I hope I shall see you again someday.”

                “And I, you… Queen Caroline,” smiled Christine, disappearing in a gentle wisp of purple smoke, along with her sister.  Caroline stared into the remaining smoke for a few seconds, mind-blown by what had just occurred, and she held out her hand, running her fingers through the intangible final shades of purple hanging in the air where her brave aunt had been only moments ago.  Then, feeling the tugging in her hair, she frantically placed a cupped palm under the flailing body of Luke as she carefully began wrapping her fingers through her twisted hair to untangle the prince.  He dropped with a soft plop back into her hand.  As she brought him into view, though, she nearly stopped breathing to see his blood-stained shirt, his breathing becoming labored.

                “C-Caroline…” he gasped, running short on air.  “L-Listen to me please…”

                “Luke, no… no… no…” she repeated, unable to believe that she was in the same position as before, except this time, Luke’s wounds appeared far worse.  She brought him closer to her face, blowing cool air on him through pursed lips to comfort him.  “After all of this, everything we’ve gone through…”

                “It’s all right now.  You don’t need me any longer.”

                “Don’t SAY that!” she screamed, her hands shaking as the tears began dripping down onto Luke.  “P-Please d-don’t say that to me, Luke.  I… I…”

                “Shhh… be calm, Caroline, be calm.”

                “WHY?  Look at you, Luke… what’s going to…”

                “Just listen to me,” he said sternly, gulping hard in his dry throat for air.  Caroline nodded.  “I’ve never… never been able to…”

                “Luke, I know how you feel, it’s all right.  Just save your energy.  Breathe.”

                “No, Caroline, I can’t save it any longer.  This is more important than my energy, or my breaths for that matter.”

                “Yes?” she asked in the lowest voice she could, terrified she would miss a word.

                “You’ve been my friend for such a short chapter of our lives, and yet I feel I’ve known you forever… as if our lives were intertwined from the start.”

                “Fates?” she asked disbelievingly.

                “Yes.  That’s what it is.  When I first saw you, I was truly terrified of you.  Such a person, I thought would never exist.  So angelic on the exterior, but with a caring heart and a mind sharper than most of I’ve been exposed to.  You… you… you are…”

                “Shh…” wept Caroline, her tears pooling around Luke’s body in her cupped hands.  “Luke…”

                “You are nothing short of the savior for this land.”

                “But…” gasped Caroline.  “This doesn’t mean I don’t need you any longer, Luke.  P-Please stay strong.  I need you.  I need you.”

                He smiled weakly, his eyelids drooping, his hands clasped over freshly bleeding wounds from the jostling he received minutes before.  “There’s more, my dearest princess, and I must ask you to let me say it before we run out of time.”

                Caroline nodded.  “Say it, Luke… say it.  I’m here,” she whispered, cradling him softly from side to side.  Luke gulped hard, the words barely coming out of his barren vocal cords, and he had to swallow a few times to be prepared to speak as his blood began mixing with the large tears surrounding him in a pool from Caroline’s rosy cheeks.  “Speak to me.”

                “I… I love you, Caroline.”

                Their eyes met, and Caroline felt energy like none other binding them together in this moment for the rest of existence, no matter what happened to Luke in the coming minutes.  The tears still pouring down her cheeks, Caroline brought him closer to her lips so he could hear.  “I love you too,” she whispered, gasping from the emotional strain.  Knowing time was running out and unable to hold back any longer, Caroline brought him to her lips.  She pressed his face as gently as possible against her soft, pink skin as she began to kiss him, creating a suction effect on his face no matter how slight she tried to make her movement.  Luke, his face becoming wet from the damp, plush skin inflating against his face, used his remaining strength to prop himself up and kiss against them too, pinning his face into the crevice where Caroline’s lips parted.  Luke joined his love in crying as they held each other against the others’ lips, rocking from side to side, feeling one another more strongly than they ever had before, their vast size differences having been forgotten long ago.

                Then, as Caroline continued, rubbing her lips all over his soaked face, she felt her hands drying.  She looked down, pulling back ever so slightly, and saw no more red stains covering her fingertips.  No blood anywhere.  Her mouth hung open to see the last bloodstains shriveling up into Luke’s tunic.  Gasping, she couldn’t help but see a tiny pink spark spill from her lips, a byproduct of the spell she had just inadvertently cast onto her dying love, healing him again.  She stared at his glistening eyes, a smile spreading across her lips, and she began to cry anew, now with tears of absolute joy.  Luke stood up, holding his arms out.  Grateful to oblige and still sniffling with shock, Caroline closed her eyes and lowered her chin back toward her upturned palm.  Luke hugged his entire body against her wet and waiting lips, pressing his face back against them in a passionate kiss, while Caroline gently reacted, undulating her lips with soft puckering sounds against his face and upper body.  As this continued, both parties with their eyes shut tightly to more thoroughly savor their moment, Caroline felt Luke becoming larger in her hand.  Blinking through her tear-filled vision, she let Luke slip from her palm and to the ground, which was suddenly right next to her again as she returned to normal size.  She looked down at herself, and then at Luke, who was once again slightly taller than her.  Both smiling once again with the same childlike innocence and happiness they had shown at their first meeting in the palace garden, Caroline flung herself around her love, hugging him as tightly as possible and pressing her lips against his, the pair finally able to complete their moment together as cool tears of release trickled down their cheeks. 

Caroline looked over Luke’s shoulder and saw her siblings rushing down the hill toward her, screeching with delight.  She pulled back, looking at Luke’s eyes.  He nodded over his shoulder, smiling at her to go and greet them.  She gently pecked at his lips one final time in thanks before letting go and running to her siblings, locking both of them in a hug that lasted for several minutes, the princess relishing the feeling of safely hugging both siblings to her at once, but barely having room to do it.  When Caroline felt her arms and sides starting to go numb, she opened her eyes again to see a large crowd of villagers and remaining rebel soldiers, who had come out of their homes at long last, forming in rows of hundreds along the hilltop.  At their front came Elizabeth, closely followed by the tottering Rose.  Caroline stood, her siblings still latched onto her sides, facing her (to her) only real mother as she approached.  They locked hands, gripping their fingers tightly.

“Thank you, Caroline… thank you.”

“What for, mother?”

She looked back at her, confused.  “What do you mean, what for?  You’ve… you’ve saved us.  All of us.”

“Mother, do not thank me for this, please… not ever.  I did only what father would have done.”

She nodded, leaning forward and kissing her daughter’s cheek.  “I suppose you’re correct.  And he would have been so very proud of you on this day, dear,” smiled Elizabeth.  “The people will never forget what you’ve done.  They seem to wish to see you more clearly.”

“Please, mother,” smiled Caroline, blushing.  “I… I couldn’t possibly…”

“They want to see you so desperately, my daughter.  Do not deny them,” sighed Elizabeth happily, squeezing her daughter’s hands.  Nodding, Caroline stepped forward to face the villagers, her siblings walking alongside her, still with a death grip on her hips.  Caroline held out her arms in a show of simplicity and humbleness, smiling hopefully at the crowds.  An instant later, they burst into roars and cheering that echoed across the whole kingdom, heard by all, even those who were too far to make it.  All across the kingdom, knowing the victory had been attained as the Others retreated or surrendered, joined in the cheer.  The joyful sound pulsed across the lands and could be heard through the forests, the deep gorge separating the kingdom from the wilds, the caves, the Black Mountains themselves, and even the deserted Otherlands.  Caroline felt another tear roll down her cheek as she looked upon them.  Rose kissed her cheek, quickly passing by with a respectful nod and standing behind her. 

Caroline felt each of her hands suddenly clasped into another.  She looked to her left at her beaming mother, who held out one hand, gesturing toward her daughter while presenting her to the people.  Caroline blushed, flinching a little at this sight, but continued grinning at her mother as she shifted her gaze to her right side, where she saw Luke.  He tilted his head forward in a sign of respect, his eyes glowing in tandem with his deepest love’s, once again requiring no words to get his message across.  Biting her lip to keep from sobbing with overcome ecstasy and solace, Caroline stared back into the crowds, smiling warmly with desire to take care of all of them for the rest of her life, to live up to her father’s name and care for the kingdom he had left in her fully capable hands.  For a moment, Caroline thought she felt the rough hand of her father alighting on her shoulder, but when she turned around there was no one to be seen.

Taking one final reassuring glance at Luke before turning back to the still-roaring crowd of people, Caroline sighed, having a feeling everything would be all right from then on.