Thalia entered the princess’ chambers, then placed breakfast on the nightstand, near the immense bed where her princess slept. She opened the curtains to let the morning light in. Immediately, her mistress turned the other away. Thalia returned to the bed and knelt down, waiting.

“I know, I know. I’m awake” said the princess groggily. A mass of blonde hair arose from the bed sheets, revealing the statuesque face of her beautiful mistress. Her blue eyes slowly opened and looked at her. “Hi there, Thalia. How are you doing?”

“Good, mistress. Thank you” said the elf, smiling at her.

“How many times do I have to tell you, you don’t have to call me mistress. You are not a slave, you are my maid.”

“I know, mistress” answered Thalia, with a brief giggle.

The princess stood up and stretched, letting out a very unladylike yawn. Her perfect, regal body in full display under the revealing night gown. She was easily a full head taller than Thalia, who almost felt like a child next to her mistress, her delicate elven body was no match for her imposing beauty.

She sat back down on her bed and began consuming her meal. She was soon done, and leaned back satisfied. The maid moved forward, towards her crotch, ready for the next step in their morning routine.

As usual, her mistress slept without underwear, so she had easy access to her womanhood, standing before her bare and eager to receive her attention.

She gently prodded her folds with her tongue, eliciting a low moan from the princess. Her excitement rose as she passionately lapped her clitoris. Her mistress placed a hand on her head, gently caressing her black hair “God, you’ve got so good at this. Keep going.”

The maid eagerly obeyed, slowly building momentum as her princess became more and more aroused. Her juices soon covered her face. It was not long before her mistress started buckling her hips forward, while her hand pressed her against her pussy, grinding her labia against her face. Her breathing became shorter and shorter. Soon after, her orgasm came, as her barely contained gasp of pleasure vibrated through her body.

The princess sighed, delighted, then let her servant go. “Oh, how I love that tongue of yours” said, with tender eyes. Thalia looked up at her, full of pride and adoration.

The princess suddenly stood up, put her hands on the maid’s waist and lifted her up, to lay her on the bed immediately after. She placed herself over her, her minute body completely covered by hers, then gently kissed her. While the maid was lost in the sensation, her mistress brought one hand over her womanhood. A soft gasp escaped Thalia’s lips, as her fingers probed her already excited vagina. Her princess broke the kiss, and started caressing her folds, enjoying Thalia’s lustful expression. Soon enough, she plunged one finger inside. The maid moaned loudly. The princess immediately covered her mouth “Shhhh, you know father does not like it when I play with other girls. We don’t want him to discover our morning routine, do we?” said, as Thalia struggled to contain her pleasure. She inserted another finger inside, and started fingering her, at first slowly, then picking up speed as Thalia got closer and closer.

Finally, she came. Thalia’s pussy clenched around her mistress’ fingers, while she bit her own tongue to hold back her scream. They laid there for a few seconds afterward, the maid in a puddle of pleasure, the princess admiring her handiwork.

She stood up “Time to do princess stuff. Is the bath ready?”

“It should be, mistress.”

“All right, let’s go.”

Eliza concluded her morning toilette soon after, with the help of her little maid. When she finally got dressed, a male servant knocked on her door. “Princess, the king requires your presence in the war room.” He left with a bow.

She turned towards Thalia, her delicate elf silently staring at her with those sweet violet eyes of hers. “That sounds serious. I’m afraid I cannot skip this one. I’ll see you later, all right?” said as she gave her a caress on her soft cheek. The maid nodded, then bowed and left the room.

Eliza advanced through the halls of the castle, guards and servants bowing at her passage, until she reached the war room. She could hear the angry shouts of her father from behind the thick wooden door. She entered.

“So tell me exactly how we discovered only now that the empire is mustering its armies?” said his father, the king of Astila. The years had not been kind to him: his wrinkled face looked always tired, while his protruding belly made it obvious he enjoyed more than one evening in the sole company of beer, food and wine. His voice, however, sounded as powerful and authoritative as ever.

“I don’t know, sire” answered one of the nobles sitting around the circular table occupying the center of the war room.

The king caressed his beard. “How soon can we expect them to move?”

“I believe part of their army is already marching towards us. They probably hope to storm the border before we can answer with enough numbers” said another noble.

The king raised his gaze “Daughter, you’re here. For once you’ve came” said, relieved and annoyed at the same time “Now help me with these idiots.”

“If you hadn’t spent the better part of the last three years going after that useless trinket, maybe we could have prepared for this, my dear brother” said her uncle, irritated by the king’s accusation. The rest of the nobles remained silent, but their eyes clearly showed they agreed with him. Contrary to his brother, her uncle aged well, only his white beard showed his true age.

“That useless trinket will be our salvation! The Titan’s Tear is one of the most powerful artifacts in the world!”

“It is” conceded her uncle “but it is useless if we cannot figure out how to use it. Our wisest wizards and bravest champions failed to do any progress whatsoever. As of right now, it is a pretty stone sitting in your vault.”

“Damn it! you’re right, I know” said the king, sighing “Our only option is to take what troops we can gather here and send them to protect the river crossings. That might give us enough time to muster enough men” he looked at his younger brother “Would you be willing to lead my men, Richard?” Her uncle nodded “Well then, if there is no other bad news, I think we’re done. You are dismissed. Richard, you stay, and you too Eliza, you need to learn how to plan a war, my child.”

Eliza huffed, then joined her father, while the rest of the nobles left the room.

Thalia woke up in the middle of the night. She could hear voices and loud noises coming from the poorly lit corridors of the castle. Sensing danger, she took a lamp, determined to reach her mistress and help if necessary. The trip from the servants quarters to the royal chambers was relatively short, but the noises kept coming closer, sounding more and more like there was a fight going on in the halls around her. She finally reached her princess’ chambers, where she spotted a corpse in front of the door. She barely managed to hold her scream at the sight of blood and viscera spilled over the floor. With wide eyes, she got to the door and entered, fearful of what she would find inside.

As she got in, a hand grabbed her from behind, a cold blade against her throat.

“All right you bastard. Now you’ll tell me what… Thalia!” Her princess immediately let her go.

“Mistress, are you all right?”

“I’m fine. I’ve been better. They’re doing worse” said, pointing at the two bodies near her bed. Only now did Thalia notice her nightgown was soaked in blood, but she did not seem in pain “Not mine, don’t worry. We need to move.”

And so they did. They left her chambers behind and navigated the labyrinthine halls of the castle, finding more and more bodies, and a few battered guards here and there. Breaking into a side hall, they found themselves in front of two assassins, ready to face them. Her princess stood in front of her, nothing but her knife to fight with. As they were about to attack, a blinding light invaded the hall, when it finally died down, the two assassins fell to the ground, unconscious.

From a side door, a little red head appeared. She adjusted her glasses, then quickly bowed “It’s good to see you in good health, princess. I am Lemi Nocus, senior apprentice, I was tasked with protecting the Tear. Please allow me to accompany you” said, showing them a red, tear shaped crystal under her cloack.

“Thanks for the help. Of course, you can follow, we’re going to find my father.” The human redhead nodded.

They were about to leave the hall, when one of the assassins managed to stand up, took one of his knives and prepared to launch it. Her princess and the mysterious mage were checking the nearby hall, they were not aware of the danger.

He was about to throw. Her princess…

She had to protect her princess.

She threw herself in the trajectory of the blade. A sharp pain in her chest. Then nothing.

The earth turned into mud hours before. It kept raining and raining and raining. Her little shelter in that dark alleyway was damp, dirty and threatening to collapse, the only light coming from the nearby houses as dusk left the town. There Thalia stood, almost immobile. Barely breathing. Wrapped in a worn blanket she stole weeks ago.

She heard voices coming from the street. Drunk men going home after wasting their money in the tavern.

“Look here, lads, a lost elf girl. What are you doing all alone, knife-ears?” said one of them, standing in front of her.

She did not respond. She knew what was about to happen. Her body trembled as her mind filled with terror. She looked around with the corner of her eyes and bolted away. “Come back here, you little cunt!” shouted the man, giving chase. Soon the rest of his company joined him.

Weakened by hunger and cold, she could not escape them for long. After a minute of chase, she could already feel her legs burning. She looked around for a hole to hide in, spotted a dark side street, went in. It was a dead end. Soon her hunters would get her.

“Look, lass, all we want is to have a little fun! We can pay you, you know. We’re not monsters” said one of them.

“What the hell is happening here?” suddenly shouted a feminine yet powerful voice. The silhouette of an imposing figure appeared behind the group.

“And who the shit are you now? No matter, you’re a bit taller than I’d like, but I don’t mind” said one of the men, coming closer to the unknown figure.

An even taller individual joined the other, wearing armor and wielding a sword “I suggest you to fuck off” said calmly. The men did not wait long to disperse.

The woman approached her “Are you hurt?” She shook her head.

“Good. You shouldn’t be in the streets alone at night” said, then took a small sack off her belt and threw at her “This should be enough to get you a room for a few days. Stay safe, little elf.”

She took the sack, heavy with coin. The female figure turned around. For a moment she could see her beautiful face, then the shadows hid her again.

She left, together with her companion.

Thalia woke up, feeling pain all over her body. She tried to move, but failed. It took several attempt before she could finally feel her fingers respond to her command, then slowly the rest of her body followed. She carefully stood up, wary of her weakness, then looked around: She was in what looked like a wizard’s laboratory, full of mysterious books and vials filled with strange substances.

“Oh, you woke up. I wondered if you would.”

Thalia turned around and saw the mage they found at the castle. She tried to speak, but nothing came out.

“Give it time, you’ve been comatose for a couple of weeks now.”

Thalia tried again “… week… I… princess?”

“The princess is fine, don’t worry. The king not so much, he has been gravely injured. Your prinecss had been quite busy cleaning up the mess” said, then added with a sweeter tone “But she should be coming here today. She finally found some time to come and relax, and visit you I imagine. She will be happy to see you awake.”

“...I… where… where am I?” Said, finally managing to make a coherent sentence.

“The summer villa. You were brought here after the assault. The princess stayed for a day, then went back to the capital.”

Suddenly Thalia froze up. A shiver traversing her. A sensation of pressure against her skin. Then nothing.

“You all right?” asked the apprentice, worried.

“I think so. I felt really weird for a moment there.”

She felt something trying to get her attention behind her. She turned around, but none was there. All she could see was a tray with what appeared to be glass shards.

“Yep, somehow the Tear shattered during our escape. I have no clue how, I just found it in pieces inside the bag it was in” she sighed “In a very cynical way, I am lucky the king is bedridden and the princess had been so occupied, I imagine they would want my head for somehow destroying one of the most powerful items in all the kingdoms.”

Thalia was not listening. As soon as her eyes saw the shards, the feeling of unease and pressure came back, ten times more powerful. She was sure she was about to die, or explode.

All of a sudden it disappeared.

Then she felt something, like a gentle pleasant sensation.

Then it became pleasure. Intense pleasure. Enough to make her moan.

“Are you sure you are all right?” said the mage, coming near her.

As she stood to her side, she gasped, wide eyed.

Thalia turned around and looked down.

She looked down. She was taller than her. She was taller than a human. A human that just seconds before had inches on her petite body.

“What the hell did you do?” asked the mage, worried.

“I didn’t do anything! What did you do to me?”

“All I did was healing your wounds, knife-ears, have some fucking gratitude! Now what the hell is happening?”

Thalia was about to reply, when she felt another wave incoming. She mentally prepared herself, but this time it was even stronger. She could clearly feel the almost painful build-up in pressure, and the sweet pleasant release. She could not help but moan again, with her eyes closed.

When she opened her eyes, the mage was at eye level with her belly button. Her body now stood naked, in the rush of pleasure she did not even realize she shredded her clothes.

“Don’t look!” Said, embarrassed, as she covered her nudity with her hands.

“I…” attempted to answer the mage, then turned around “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare! But we need to get out.”

“All right” answered the elf, already feeling pressure building up inside her again. They quickly navigated the halls of the villa. They were almost out, when she felt the pressure stop, and the pleasure begin.

She stumbled down, her mind too occupied to process this new overwhelming sensation rather than bringing her to safety outside. Her body grew, stretching out against the walls and the ceiling.

“Come on we need to get you… Oh” said the mage, coming back inside.

At this point the elf barely fit within the hallway, while on her knees.

Her pleasure was quickly replaced by fear. Will she be crushed by her own growing body? Will she die under the building as it collapses against her?

“All right. I need you to keep moving, elf. Thalia, right? Please keep moving, the exit is there, you can do it.”

The elf looked at the entrance, then at the mage in front of her and nodded. A spark of hope in her eyes. She forced her body to move, the walls grating against her skin. Slowly, she dislodged herself and made it to the entrance. As she reached the wooden door, she felt the pressure build up beginning again.

“Oh damn.” She gritted her teeth and pushed through the entrance. With barely enough space to maneuver, she had to slowly inch her way out, limb by limb.

The pressure reached her peak when she had only her leg inside. Before she could move, the rush of pleasure began, immobilizing her in terrible bliss. By this point, her moans were so loud, she was attracting the attention of all the servants in the villa, who rushed to see what was happening. Guards started pouring in the entrance plaza. The mage ran to them to stop them from charging the growing elf.

Finally the growth stopped again. Her foot, however, was left stuck inside.

She pulled, trying to get herself free. Without much effort she tore the wall apart, freeing her foot and shaking the entire structure.

Thalia took a deep breath, then stood up. Her jaw dropped.

She was immense! Easily 50 feet tall. She looked down at the scared squad of soldiers and the mage, her mind racing to find a logical explanation for what was happening.

Thalia could not believe it! How did that happen? She lifted one foot to take a step forward, placing it not to far from the mage. It was big enough to cover her entirely.

She looked around. The majestic villa was barely as tall as her hips, it looked so fragile from up there. The servants from its balconies looked her in awe. Suddenly she was again aware of her nudity. She covered herself, embarrassed, and knelt down.

“What is happening to me?” asked, panic rising in her chest.

And then the pressure came back.

“No, no, no. Not again!” Said, as she stepped over the crowd in front of her and rushed towards the fields surrounding the villa. This time the build-up did not last long, it was fast and powerful, even painful. And then the rush of pleasure began.

She crumbled on the ground, again. Her fall causing a quake in the surrounding area, enough to be felt by the still stunned witnesses at the villa.

She grew. And grew. And grew.

And the pleasure was so great, she could not stop herself from masturbating, openly in front of her audience. Her powerful moans making the tiny people around her tremble in confusion and fear. Her rhythmic rubbing of her womanhood sending tremors into the ground.

A good full minute afterwards, the growth finally stopped. And now she was truly gigantic.

She looked at the villa, the tiny people there looked like barely 4 inches tall, maybe even less. Now the villa barely reached her knee. The trees nearby were not fearing much better, most of them did not even clear her hips.

If before she was scared, now she was getting terrified. What if her growth does not stop? It did not give any sign of slowing down, if anything it was getting more and more intense. What would she do? What would she eat? Would she be able to see her mistress? Would she want to see her?

She skipped a heartbeat. That thought truly terrified her.

In that moment, her eyes wondered towards the mage, barely recognizable from her height and distance. She was pointing at something… The road? Thalia turned around and saw horses riding towards them. And in front of the group a tall, regal figure. Her princess.

“Mistress!” shouted, as she crawled towards them.

She stopped.

The pressure came back.

Her eyes were wide open.

“Stop mistress! Don’t come closer!” shouted. Her words so powerful the horses panicked, unsaddling a few, and stopping the group in its tracks.

The pressure got to the breaking point. The pleasure came. And with it the growth. She gasped, fell to the ground for the third time, and plunged her fingers in her dripping womanhood, humping the earth under her. Her growing body bulldozed everything in its path, from small trees to immovable rocks, crushed under her relentless growth.

After two minutes, it finally stopped. Thalia let herself go, her body quivering in exhaustion.

It took her several minutes to gather the strength to lift herself up. She sat down, hugging her knees, tears flowing from her eyes, of shame and terror.

A lone rider approached her. It was her princess.

She almost could not believe it. She was there. Saving her once again.

She barely heard her shouts. She was calling her.

Finally she stopped in front of her gigantic body. She lowered her eyes, too ashamed to eve look at her mistress.

“Thalia! Can you hear me?” shouted the tiny woman waving her arms in her direction. She was not even two full inches tall from her perspective.

Finally she gathered the courage to move: She bowed down, as low as she could.

“Mistress. I don’t know what is happening to me. I don’t know how to stop it, what if it doesn’t stop? Please, help me!” said, releasing all her pent up fear in her words, with enough force to blast away the vegetation from the patch of terrain directly under her mouth.

After a few seconds, she felt something touching her. She slowly raised her head, her eyes met with those of her princess.

“Hi there, Thalia. I’m here now, you don’t have to worry, all right? Will you calm down for me?” said. Her beautiful mistress did not even reach her nose in height, yet her words carried so much strength. Her princess wiped away a tear the size of her hand from her face, and gently caressed her. “My sweet little elf” said, chuckling.

Thalia managed a timid smile.

She no longer felt the pressure. She felt at peace.

Her princess was with her.

“So any idea of what happened?” asked Eliza, looking outside from the window of the laboratory. She could see the titanic body of her sweet elf from there, her chest rhythmically moving up and down. She fell asleep shortly after her arrival and it seemed it would be a while before she would wake up again.

“I have a theory” answered the apprentice, adjusting her wavy red hair “The power that was infused in her is that of the Tear, the magical imprint is the same. As for how or why that is, I am less sure. There are several possibilities that I am considering, none of them feel particularly promising.”

“Will she keep growing?”

“No idea, but I think it’s unlikely. Her essence was in complete disarray during her growth, now it’s quiet, actually it looks pretty normal, aside from the little fact that it is about 40 times more intense than mine or yours.”

The princess sighed “Is there something I need to be worried about?”

The apprentice shrugged “I’m sorry, princess, but our records do not have much on the Tear and its effects. All we know is that whoever wields its power is pretty much unstoppable. I guess the only danger is the state of her mind: Even if the Tear does not cause any negative effects on her psyche directly, her newfound power may provoke changes in her personality anyway.”

Eliza did not like the sound of that, but she had to recognize that annoying little mage had a point. Still, they were talking of Thalia. If anyone could resist corruption, it was her. “Well then, we are lucky the Tear chose her. I have no doubt she will remain her old self.”

“It might be in fact the reason she was chosen. The power of the Tear is unquestionable, yet we have very few records of previous wielders building empires or going on rampages. It is possible the Tear chooses precisely those that are likely to resist abusing its power.”

Eliza felt a bit of weight taken off her shoulder. That was the first good news of the day. “Well, if you don’t have anything else to add, I will go. I need to catch some sleep” said as she left the laboratory.

Eliza reached her room and threw herself on the soft bed. The image of her sweet little elf standing above the tree line, with desperation in her eyes, was still very vivid in her.

A monster! Shouted one of her guards. The giants are back! Another.

She could not blame them, the giants’ invasion of the human kingdoms was one of the darkest moments in humanity’s history, though no naturally born giant as big as Thalia ever existed. But that was no monster, nor a cruel invader, it was her sweet little elf, in need of help.

Thinking back to that moment, she is not sure of how she managed to simply walk up to her with no fear in her. The adrenaline of the moment, likely. Her size was absolutely breathtaking.

She was a princess, she rarely found herself in a position of utter powerlessness in her life, yet that how she felt before the immense face of her maid. It was not a pleasant feeling.

Still, things went well. None died, she is fine. Her men even managed to crack a few jokes afterwards, of the sexual kind, of course. She wanted to punish them for that, but she managed to rest her hand, after all humor is a good way to release tension, and she herself was guilty of ogling the beautiful curves of her maid.

She slowly fell asleep. Dreaming of Thalia’s gigantic, delightful body.

“I need you to hide under the bed, all right?” said her father. “Take this.” He handed her a bag. “Now go.” The knocking on the door became more insistent. Her father looked at her, his gentle eyes staring into her own, his smile warm and calm. “It’s going to be all right, child.” He hugged her then pushed her under the bed.

Thalia sobbed. Not too long after, two elves, a female and a male, joined his father.

“May the light of Midia guide you to safe harbor” greeted her father.

“So you refuse to convert?” asked the female elf, disgust clear in her voice.

“No, I refuse to blind myself to the truth.”

“Be careful of what profanities you spew.” replied the male.

“My apologize, it was not my intention to offend you.”

“It is a bit too late for that” added the female “We gave you plenty of time already, Rydel. The grand priest patience is running thin. Do you renounce your faith or do you prefer to throw your life away?”

“I am afraid I cannot follow the clan down this path.”

“You know what that means, right?” said the female.

Her father nodded.

“Then I am forced to officially recognize you as heretic. You are now under arrest, resistance will be punished.”

“I won’t resist” simply said. As they left the room, he looked at her, with a faint smile on his lips.

“Stupid old fool” whispered the male elf, exiting the room.

Thalia remained still for what felt like an hour. Tears flowing down her cheeks. She finally come out and emptied the bag he gave her. Coins, food, a few clothes, a map with a marked name. Her father wanted her to flee the clan’s territories, into the human kingdoms.

She threw everything back into the bag and sneaked away, after one last look at her home.

Eliza woke up, more sleepy than usual. She waited for a few moments to wait for her maid to enter, but none came. Then recalled what happened the day before “Ah, gods, what the hell am I going to do?”

She wondered if she woke up from her slumber. It has been almost a full day at that point.

Suddenly, she was disturbed by the sensation of being watched, but she was sure the room was empty. She looked around until she saw movement near the window. The view was entirely filled with a strange white, wet surface, with at the center two concentric circles, one an intense dark red, the other a deep black.

“Oh fuck!” screamed, when she recognized what she was looking at: the eye of her maid.

“Mistress!” said a voice coming from outside “I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s-It’s all right, Thalia. I just wasn’t expecting to see you” answered, still staring directly into her pupil. The window was easily seven feet by five, and she completely filled it with just her eye. Her red eye.

Wait… Red?

“Did you eyes change color?”

“I… don’t know? Did they?” asked her maid back, confused.

“No matter. How are you feeling?”

“Good. I think. I am in no pain, mistress, in fact I never felt better, physically at least.” She paused “I am terribly sorry for the horrible spectacle I gave yesterday, mistress. I don’t know what came over me, I could barely control myself, and...”

“Don’t worry, my sweet Thalia. I understand. Besides, you didn’t cause any irreparable damage, outside of a few ruined breeches I guess.” She chuckled. “Now it feels a bit awkward to talk to your eye, do you mind if I get outside?”

“Of-of course, mistress!” said her Thalia “I will wait you at the entrance” added. She removed her eye from the window and stood up. Eliza could easily feel her footfalls through the floor.

“Well, this will be an interesting day” said, as she prepared herself to face her gigantic maid.

After a few minutes, she reached the entrance, where a few workers were diligently trying to fix the hole left by Thalia’s foot.

And there she stood. On her knees, silently waiting, while the villa’s workforce did their best to avoid coming too close to her, or looking at her nude body.

Despite her gigantic size, her maid still looked as delicate and fragile as ever. Her adorable cute face, her gentle eyes, her lithe body and soft skin, her delicate hands, her modest but perky boobs, her little bubble butt.

Well, she could no longer call it little.

She noticed patches of dirt and debris stuck against her skin, feet, knees and hands in particular. That gave her an idea.

“Thalia!”

“Mistress!” said, trying to keep her voice down, but failing to conceal her excitement.

“Can you bring your hand down here?”

Her maid was confused for a second, then slowly brought her hand near her, palm up. Eliza admired the enormous appendage, large enough that she could fit on it laying down, and still have plenty of space left. She took a deep breath and stepped on it.

She could hear Thalia gasping in surprise and relief. She moved her hand upwards, towards her face.

Eliza jumped in surprise, but quickly recovered. Her maid was staring at her, with a sweet smile.

“Well, we’re quite… high up” said Eliza, to break the silence. Only then she noticed all the workers near them stopped to see what the giant would do to their princess.

“So, Thalia, there’s a lake nearby where we can get you cleaned up and have a chat in peace. Hopefully when we come back, they will have some clothes for you ready.”

“Of course, mistress” said, slowly standing up.

The sense of vertigo was clearly palpable for Eliza this time. She had to go down on her knees, since she didn’t feel comfortable standing up. When Thalia noticed it, she further slowed down her movements.

The princess admired the view, she could see for miles around her! The entire villa looked like a toy building, the kind her father gifted her when she was little. The servants looked like ants, moving so slowly around the structure and her giant. It was incredible. And exhilarating. And empowering. She felt like she could do anything! She felt a tinge of envy, but it was short lived.

“All right” said, trying not to look amazed “let’s go.”

A few minutes afterwards, they arrived at the lake. Its crystalline waters perfectly mirroring the surrounding land.

The giant stopped and very carefully put her down, then sat on her knees again. “Let me get my clothes off and we’ll have a swim, all right?”

“Of course, mistress!”

“There’s none around here, Thalia. You can use my name, you know?”

“All right, mistre… Eliza” said the towering elf.

The princess smiled and undressed, then ran into the water “Come on, get in!” Shouted to her gigantic maid.

She obeyed. She carefully moved into the water, very aware of the waves she was raising. In the lowest point, around the center of the lake, the water barely reached over her knees. She sat down, submerging her head for a second.

“There! Fresh water feels great, right?” said Eliza, placidly swimming around the colossus, far enough that she did not have to worry about her movements.

The elf did indeed seem pretty content. Her muscles visibly relaxed, as did her expression.

“You are right, mistress.”

Eliza sighed, then swam in front of her “So, how do you feel, really?”

“Good, really, mistress. I mean Eliza! At first I was really scared, but now I feel good.”

“Scared? Scared of what?”

The elf fidgeted uncomfortable “You.”

Eliza raised an eyebrow “Me? Why? Scared I’d tickle you to death?”

Her maid giggled “No, mistress, I was afraid you would not want me near you.”

“Oh, my sweet little elf… so what if you’re grown a little? That just means there’s more of you in the world, which as far as I am concerned can only be a good thing” said. The elf looked away from her, her cheeks reddened.

The princess smiled wickedly. “You know, we skipped our morning routine today. In fact, it has been quite a long time since we had fun together. What do you say?”

“Am I not a bit too big for that, mistress?” asked Thalia.

Eliza sighed, she went back to mistress of course. Oh well, one day…

“Can’t hurt to try” she answered.

A timid smile appeared on her maid’s lips. She brought her hands under the princess, raising her from the water and bringing her close to her head. Her gigantic face was more than twice as tall as her, she completely blocked the sun just by standing over her naked body. It was humbling to find yourself so close to such a huge being. She was completely at her mercy. She could not help but feel a bit fearful, but she reminded herself it was her Thalia, not a mythological monster. Her sweet little maid would never hurt her.

She looked directly into her eyes and she saw nothing else than love and adoration.

Yes, it was still her. The same girl she found on a street years before. The same girl that took a knife for her.

“I’ll be as gentle as I can, mistress. Please tell me if I hurt you.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you won’t” said Eliza.

The elf smiled, then opened her mouth, easily large enough to swallow her whole. She gently extended her tongue, and delicately touched her skin. The enormous muscle felt heavy on her, and the saliva sloshing down her body left her a bit uneasy, but it was not an unpleasant sensation.

Relieved by her reaction, the elf took a slow, sensual lick of her entire body. It felt great! Like a wave of blissful massage traversing her body. A moan escaped her lips. She could feel the heavy breath of her maid on her, washing her with heat and humidity. Her cheeks flush with excitement.

“You taste good, mistress!” said the elf chuckling, evidently pleased by the effect she was having on her.

“Oh, Shut up and keep going, you tease!”

Another giggle reached her ears. She gently closed her lips around her tits and applied a very light suction, eliciting another deep moan from the princess, lost in the sensation.

The tongue came again, large enough to cover her body from head to toe. This time, she aimed at her sensitive parts. She delicately lapped at her womanhood. The huge muscle made her pleasure centers scream in ecstasy. Gaining momentum, Thalia kept servicing the princess, ever so gently applying greater pressure and speed. Eliza could barely hold her impending orgasm back. Her hips started thrusting against the warm tongue on their own, as her arousal reached its peak.

She came. A powerful gasp shook her from deep inside, as her mind was flooded with pleasure. She let herself fall down, against the soft and delicate skin of her maid’s hand. Panting, she looked up “That was… fantastic, Thalia. Thank you.”

Her maid was bursting with satisfaction and pride. “Happy to be of service, mistress!”

Eliza finally recovered from her orgasm “Well, it’s only right I return the favor.”

The elf immediately changed expression “Are-Are you sure, mistress? I don’t know if it’s safe. You know I tend to move around when I am about to… you know.”

“I am sure I can handle it. Now come on, get to the shore and lay yourself down. I got a big girl to please.”

A shy giggle rose from the elf. She excitedly obeyed, laying down on the sandy shore, on her back. She left the princess get down from her hand on her stomach. Immediately, Eliza bolted towards her face, surprising the maid, and jumped to reach her chin. There, she made another jump, landing against her nose “I want you to stay still, Thalia, all right?”

“Yes, mistress” said, struggling to focus her eyes on her.

Eliza jumped down and ran to her boobs. She took an instant to admire the fact that she was walking on her friend. Her chest was big enough to host her entire bedroom!

She reached her nipple, the puffy organ was big enough to comfortably sit on, but she had a better plan in mind. She hugged it and showered it in kisses. A delighted gasp came from her maid. She redoubled her effort, until she could feel her excitement in the fidgeting of her gigantic body. The temperature of her skin kept rising together with her arousal.

When she finally felt she had teased her dark haired maid enough, she ran across her flat stomach, towards her waiting pussy. There, she climbed down and pushed herself between her labia, big enough that they did not even move while she applied pressure to support herself.

She carefully grabbed her clitoris and bathed it with her tongue, savoring every second. Her sex was overflowing with enough juices to cover the princess entirely. She picked up the pace. The elf trembled beneath her. Her fingers grasping the earth beneath her palms.

Eliza bit her lips, as a pleased giggled escaped her. She threw herself back at her job, gaining more and more momentum, until finally her orgasm came.

Her back arched. Her mouth wide open. Her toes curled. Her mind shut down for entire seconds as the pleasure washed over her body, from head to toe. Moans of intense pleasure filled the air, as flocks of birds escaped the nearby trees, startled by the loud, lewd noises of her maid.

Eliza found herself fighting against Thalia’s powerful movements, trying not to fall from her immense body. Finally Thalia’s orgasm died down and so did her incessant motion.

Eliza laughed. “Fuck yeah, that was awesome!” shouted as she stood up.

The elf raised her shoulders and smiled, still recovering. “Mistress, that was… fantastic. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Thalia” said, while giving an exaggerated bow. And she was being completely sincere. Her sweet elf had always been a little devil in bed, but she rarely had so much fun. “Let’s clean ourselves up and go home, all right?” said, aware of the thick layer of saliva and pussy cream she was covered with.

As they got close to the villa, a delicious smell reached them. Thalia got to the plaza, knelt down and placed Eliza on the ground. The princess rushed forward, curious to see what was cooking in the battery of stoves the servants brought out for the occasion. She knew the villa was well equipped, but that was more pots and fires she ever saw before! Whoever did this had quite the precise idea of how much her maid would be able to eat. The atmosphere was a lot more relaxed than the day before, even if Thalia’s arrival re-awakened some tension.

“I hope you find the meal acceptable, princess. I ordered the servants to prepare enough food for Thalia. Hopefully it will be enough, for us as well” said the apprentice, suddenly appearing behind her. Pleasantly surprised, Eliza thanked her. Maybe she misjudged the young mage.

“Did you manage to prepare some kind of clothing for her by any chance?” asked.

“More or less. We managed to create some...thing by sewing together the biggest curtains we had, they won’t cover much, but at least she will not be completely naked.”

“Good. Good. You did well, Lemi.”

The apprentice bowed and left.

The princess took command of operation from that moment forward. Things went well that day.

The next few days proved to be quite hectic for Thalia. She was learning to use her gigantic body: how to avoid causing tremors everywhere where she walked; how to sense people around her to avoid injuring someone; how to move around without scaring everyone and everything, especially animals, that very easily got startled by her presence.

Progress was slow, but steady. And she got to spend a lot of time with her princess, something that rarely happened before. She enjoyed herself immensely, despite the embarrassment of having to walk around almost naked, and the boredom that comes with not having a job, outside of “Don’t break anything” as her princess put it.

A week later, they went back to their lake. During the trip, the princess relaxed on the palm of her hand, basking in the warmth of the sunlight. Thalia loved holding her. It made her feel safe, like she could do no wrong as long as she had her princess with her. And powerful: the next ruler of the kingdom placidly laid in her hand. It was a very unusual feeling for her, all her life she was the one that had to fear the power of others, priests, teachers, bandits, merchants, nobles. Even the two people she loved and cared for the most, her father and her princess, held absolute authority over her, before all of that happened at least.

She tried to keep these thoughts at the back of her mind, because of the strange new feelings they awakened in her, yet she could not deny how pleasant it felt. Whenever she was close to a person, she found herself subtly trying to size them up, comparing them to her hands, or feet, or other body parts. It was quite the exciting exercise. She also found herself eager to test her strength, and she did once, when her princess tried to arm wrestle one of her fingers. She could barely feel her effort, while her mistress quickly got exhausted.

Finally, they arrived. Her old footprints still clearly visible on the shore, some got filled with rainwater, transforming them in foot-shaped pools.

hey were about to get into the water, when they heard several loud noises coming from the forest, like something crushing against the trees, and what sounded like deep, gruff voices.

Thalia looked at her princess, waiting to know what they should do.

“That does not sound good. We should check it out. It’s possible it’s just a bunch of very loud woodcutters, but we’re pretty close to the villa and I don’t like the idea of having a potential threat this close to my bed.” She looked directly into her eyes “It might be dangerous, I should go alone. I’ll try to remain hidden.”

Taken aback by the request, Thalia gritted her teeth. “I-I think I should come too. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. And beside, I doubt they are big enough to hurt me” said, trying to smile “If you allow me, of course.”

The princess looked at her surprised, then laughed “Oh, feeling bold today, big girl? You’re right, you’re right, you should come too” said, then added “I’m sorry, Thalia, it’s just difficult to shed old habits.”

“You don’t have to apologize, mistress! I just...”

“No, no, don’t worry. If you want to be my knight in shining armor, I won’t stop you” her princess said, jokingly.

Thalia made her way through the forest, or more correctly over it. Most trees were as tall as her knees, the biggest reached her hips. It felt more like traversing a particularly sturdy patch of shrubs than a forest.

“How do they feel?” asked her princess.

“What?”

“The trees, how do they feel? You’re barefoot, I imagine it’s not pleasant.”

“Not really” replied Thalia “It feels like I am stepping on fallen branches, at the right angle they are a bit painful, but not that much.”

Her princess nodded, then turned around to admire the view once again.

Finally they reached them, passing through a large clearing: It was a group of ogres. The ugly behemoths were a plague in all the human kingdoms, their size and toughness made them difficult targets, and their voracity a danger for all. While to a common man they are towering beasts, however, to her they were just as small as everything else. They did not even reach halfway up her knees.

Eliza closed her fists in anger. “Oh great. That’s quite the number of them. They have a bloody nest not too far from here, I bet. I’ll have to clear it out soon, before they become a problem. It will delay the march against the imperials again though, which we cannot afford. Just fucking great” she sighed “Well this explains why they somehow did not notice you, Thalia. Ogre are tough bastards, but they have poor hearing, and are dumb as rocks.”

Suddenly, Eliza noticed that the biggest ogre, likely the chief, did instead see them. He was giving orders to the others, already they were advancing against them.

“”Oh gods!” shouted Thalia. “They’re carrying people on their shoulders!”

“Shit!” said Eliza, as she spotted a second group, carrying indeed humans.

Thalia’s expression changed when she saw the charging ogres.

“They-They saw us, mistress. What should I do?” asked Thalia, taking a step back.

Eliza looked at her elf, then at the ogres down there, finally at her eyes again. Her innocence as clear as ever. Her fear palpable.

She gritted her teeth “Thalia. You will put me down and leave. This is an order.”

The maid looked at her, surprised and worried. Then she immediately changed expression, her face now a mask of determination.

She put her down between her feet. Her ankles way above her head, at twice her height. She lifted one foot, and brought it down in front of them.

The explosion caused by her stomp could be heard from miles. The impact threw Eliza on the ground. A cloud of dust slowly dispersing around her mighty foot. Never had she been more intimidated in her life.

“Go away!” shouted the elf with all her strength. Panic rose between the ogre horde and soon they started fleeing, despite the chief’s angry shouts.

In just a few minutes, the clearing emptied. Even the humans the ogres captured fled the titanic elf, terrified by her display of power. Eliza herself felt her blood freeze. Fear enveloped her, fear of the incredible power her maid possessed and could unleash at a moment’s notice. Yet there was something else. Awe. Wonder. Excitement? She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of those thoughts.

She was interrupted by Thalia, slowly lifting her foot. The crater it left was deeper than Eliza’s height. Cracks in the earth spread from it in every direction.

The giantess sighed, with a trembling voice. Her breathing quick and irregular, forcing her to take several deep breaths to calm herself down. Her expression relaxed. The adrenaline of the moment finally gone.

She turned around and slowly squatted down. A proud smile on her face, while a drop of sweat traveled down her face. “Are you all right mistress?"

“I-I am” said, unable to formulate a single thought.

“Can I pick you up?”

“Yes, of course.”

And she did. Her gigantic hands surrounding her. She closed her fingers and brought them towards her chest, giving Eliza a full body hug. “Oh, mistress that was incredible! Have you seen how fast they got away? They were scared to death! Of me!”

The princess could feel the pressure rising, as she was pushed against Thalia’s body, saturated with excitement.

“Oh gods, I am so sorry” said, suddenly releasing her from her fleshy prison. A worried look on her delicate face “Please forgive me, mistress.”

“It’s-It’s fine, just be careful” said, feeling blood finally coming back to her brain.

Thalia’s expression immediately recovered, turning back into a radiant smile. “Mistress, can we get back to the lake?”

“Gladly” said, feeling the need for some peace and quiet.

She started walking back to the lake, faster than before, with obvious enthusiasm infused in each step. And it was contagious, Eliza rarely saw her this happy, she could not help but feel elated herself, even if traces of that overpowering fear that flooded her minutes before still lingered in the back of her mind.

Reached the lake, Thalia let her down. Eliza quickly removed her clothes and went into the water, feeling the coldness envelop her in a pleasant hug. Soon enough, the maid joined her, slowly submerging herself under the calm waters.

What a rush that was, thought Eliza, while she let her body placidly float on the lake surface. Now that the last remnants of fear were being washed away, they were quickly being replaced by something unexpected. Pride. Her little elf sent an entire pack of ogres running like scared recruits. Gods, if only she wanted, she could have cleared them out entirely with a few steps. She instead could maybe handle a single one, a small one, already tired and injured, and even then she doubted she could it take down.

Her sweet maid could do that, without even putting effort into it. Hells, she could probably kill one by accident. What luck that the Tear chose her and not someone else, even herself. She doubted she could resist the temptation to just do whatever she wanted, and she considered herself a moral person.

But Thalia was different, Thalia was… Where was she?

Suddenly, the princess was thrown around by an immense wave rising from below her. She screamed in surprise. She glanced down to see the gigantic head of her maid rising from the water like an ancient sea monster. The wave finally died down. She frantically looked around, until she saw Thalia, giggling like a little girl.

“Oh, that was a mistake! High treason I say!” said Eliza, laughing.

“Sorry, mistress. I could not resist!”

“Well, if that’s the case I will have to punish you, my dear elf.”

For a second, Thalia’s expression changed into one of surprise, then began laughing again. “But I am innocent, mistress! A fish scared me!” said, with a mocking tone.

“All right, that is it. I’m punishing you. Turn around!”

Thalia obeyed, still smiling, causing yet more waves. She kept her butt just over the water level.

Eliza did not lose time. She swam to the colossal body in front of her and climbed from the hip, then moved to her ass and prepared to spank her.

“You know how naughty girls get punished in my kingdom, right?” said, as she slapped her butt cheek with all her strength, sending a small shock wave through her ass.

A giggle reached her ears “Oh, please mistress, have mercy!”

“Did you actually felt it?”

“Well, a bit...”

Eliza felt a bit disappointed. She took pride in her physical strength. Still, considering Thalia’s size, the fact that she even managed that much was pretty impressive.

She cracked her neck, stretched her arms, and prepared for the next assault “Well, then. It means I have to step up my game!” said as she released another mighty spank.

A few minutes later, they came back to the shore, tired but happy. Thalia deposited her on the sand and stood over her, while on on all fours. Her immense arms surrounding her from both sides, while her gigantic face looming over, with flush cheeks. Her horizon was almost entirely filled by her maid.

“Mistress, can I pleasure you?”

Eliza was taken aback. Never was her sweet maid so forward before. She laughed “Do your worst.”

Her maid had a very naughty smile on her lips “Please, trust me, mistress.”

“Of course...” replied Eliza, raising her eyebrow, a tinge of worry in her eyes.

Thalia placed a hand behind her, then opened her mouth and took her feet inside, then her legs, then her hips, then her stomach, then her chest, until only her head stood outside her mighty lips. She lifted her head from the ground.

“Whoa! What...” tried to say, surprised and more than a little scared by the sudden change in altitude and feeling her body completely engulfed by Thalia’s mouth. As soon as she started using her tongue, however, all her worry washed away in absolute bliss.

The lips enveloping her and the mighty muscle working from the inside were giving her sensations she never felt before. Every single one of her nerves were being stimulated at once by the gentle movements of her maid. She could feel the walls of flesh around her tremble as her maid moaned, lost in blissful lust. She herself could not hold back her own moans, as Thalia continued to gain momentum. She could feel her insides twist in pleasure with every motion of her tongue.

In just a couple of minutes, her orgasm was near. “Gods, Thalia. I’m about to… Oh gods, I-Fuck!” screamed, as the incredible rush of pleasure left her breathless, overwhelming her conscience. She could feel the body of her maid vibrate all around her, enraptured by delight.

Eventually, their movements died down. They stood still for a few seconds, basking in their post-orgasmic satisfaction.

Thalia finally released her from her mouth and gently placed her back on her hand. Eliza was completely covered in saliva, causing her to shiver in the cold air of the outside, but she hardly cared.

She stood up, barely able to move her legs. Seeing movement below her, she looked down and saw the elf taking her fingers out of her womanhood.

“I see you had fun as well” said. Thalia vigorously nodded. Eliza continued “Gods, that was… indescribable. Next time though, do tell me you are going to put me in your mouth.”

Thalia lowered her head, but her smile never left her face.

“All right, let’s get home. I feel like I could sleep for a week.”

Unfortunately, when they reached the villa it was starkly obvious that the day still had surprises left.

Eliza immediately spotted her guard deployed in the plaza of the villa. Thalia sat down in the plaza, the soldiers visibly uncomfortable to be so near the elf colossus. The captain approached her.

“A letter arrived, my lady. For you.”

Eliza silently took the envelop the captain held in his hands and left to get into her room. There, she opened the letter:

“My dear Eliza

To my great regret, I must inform you of the passing of your father, Olivier III, 11th king of Astila, in the early hours of the third day of the month of Glee, year 317. You are summoned to Roserun to attend to the funeral, and the coronation.

P.S. If I may ask my lady for a simple favor, I would like to let my apprentice know that her final exam has begun.

Your loyal magister, Stagast Denholm.”

The world crumbled around her. Her father was dead.

And she was not even there when it happened.

She sat on the bed. Tears threatening to break through.

She shook her head. Her father could be quite the piece of work, sometimes. For some reason he was convinced liking girls made her infertile. But he had been a good father, she knew very well that she had been given a lot more freedom than most human princesses: she learned how to ride, how to hunt, how to fight, she was allowed to travel the kingdom freely. Sure, he had never been happy about her behavior or interests, but he never tried to stop her. On the contrary, he defended her in front of the rest of the nobles.

And now he was gone. And she was his only heir. She never thought this day would arrive. She sighed. Maybe she could leave the crown to uncle Richard. If he was still alive, no news of him yet.

She remained still for what felt like hours. Immobile on her bed. Tears flowing down. Eventually she convinced herself she had enough. She did not have time to mourn her father. She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears and tried her best to mask her emotions.

She left the room and went towards the exit, when she recalled the magister’s request. What a strange addition to a letter communicating such grave news. Nonetheless, she made her way to the laboratory.

“Lemi, are you here?”

“Yes, my lady. I’m…” she looked at her “Is everything all right, princess?”

She cursed under her breath. “I just received unwelcome news. In any case, the magister asked me to tell you that your final exam has began.”

Suddenly the young mage perked up, her eyes wide open. “My lady, can I please see the letter? It’s of utmost importance.”

The princess shrugged, then handed the letter.

The mage quickly read it. “My condolences, princess.” Before Eliza could even reply, she took the letter and threw it in the fireplace, where it quickly darkened and crumpled.

“What the hells!” shouted the princess.

Without even looking at her, she reached for the piece of paper, seemingly undisturbed by the flames touching her skin. The letter seemed thoroughly ruined, but the mage dusted the ash away and it returned back normal, as it never touched a fire.

“My final exams were years ago, princess. But the law prohibits to have more than one mage in the court, so I am officially still an apprentice, at least until I decide to leave. He was telling us that he placed a hidden message in the letter. And here it is” said, placing the paper on her desk.

“King poisoned.

Treason.

Imperials present.

Coronation trap.”

The closed fist of the princess crushed into the desk.

“I-I should...”

“I’m not going to lie, Thalia. Without you we are unlikely to succeed, but that does not mean you should feel obligated to join us. You are not one of my vassals or one of my soldiers, I cannot order you to come and I do not wish to do it even if I could. Know, however, that if you do come, you will be likely involved in the fighting.”

“But why do you have to go? You could die!”

“That’s not the plan.”

Thalia sighed, then replied “Well, then I’ll come and make sure you don’t die. But” she swallowed “know that if you get in danger I’ll get you away no matter what” she said, in one breath.

“Then I need to ask you to remain here. I will not abandon my men or those that are still loyal to me in the capital. I owe them that much. I owe my father that much.”

Thalia gritted her teeth, defeated. She was right, as usual. She lowered her head. “I’m sorry, mistress. Please, forgive my arrogance.”

Her princess placed her hand on her knee. “Don’t be like that, my sweet little elf. I know you mean well, you have nothing that needs forgiving. But this goes beyond you and me.” She smiled. “Besides, you had fun scaring some ogres, Imagine scaring an entire castle!”

She smiled, timidly. “That would be kind of fun.”

“So you’ll come?”

“Yes.”

Thalia could feel the heavy gaze of the small column of soldiers riding behind her. She was trying her hardest to step as lightly as she could, in order not to scare the horses. They were not many, the villa’s garrison and the personal guard of the princess, but that’s all they had. Well, them, the princess, that red head mage and herself.

She felt extremely out of place, yet she knew her mistress will need her. She didn’t lie, a little more than two hundred soldiers and a mage were not nearly enough to assault the mighty fortress protecting the capital.

“Thalia, I know you don’t like this, but if we’re luck they will surrender when they see you. After all, they don’t know we managed to get the Tear working, in theory at least” the princess said from her usual position in her hand.

“Technically, we didn’t” the mage added, still trying to process the fact she was traveling on a hand several times her own size. “The Tear did everything.”

“Right” the princess said “but they don’t need to know that.” She looked at her two companions “Here’s the plan: There is a secret tunnel under the castle that leads inside the bastion. If we capture it, we will be in a domineering position, and have access to the dungeon, where we may find loyalists willing to join us. I don’t expect the secret entrance to be a surprise to our enemy, they likely know of it, and that’s why I want you to go with my soldiers in there, Lemi.”

“I am not a soldier, my lady. I’m not sure what I could do” the mage replied.

“If there are imperials present, I expect there will be battle mages around. If I were them, I would put at least one guarding the passage, a well aimed spell at the right moment can collapse it and kill everyone inside. I need you to protect my men.” She looked at Thalia “Meanwhile, me and you will march straight for the entrance. We will pretend we are here precisely for what they invited us to do. Hopefully, seeing you, they will deploy most of their men against us and leave the rest of the castle relatively undefended. I don’t think they have many more men than us, the garrison was already low on numbers before, even with imperial reinforcements, they likely don’t have much. With a bit of luck, they will surrender when they notice we control the inner walls, and see Thalia playing mean in front of them. We may take the fortress without bloodshed.”

“I like to think of myself as a good mage, princess, but I don’t know if I can win against an imperial battle mage.”

“You don’t need to, you just need to keep our soldiers alive. You will have many veterans with you, with plenty of experience in dealing with imperial wizards, you can leave the fighting to them.”

Lemi nodded, then bowed.

The princess then looked at her. “So, big girl, think you can act tough for me?”

Thalia giggled. “I can try, mistress.”

“All right, we’ve waited enough. It’s time to go” the princess said, standing up.

Thalia yawned and stood up as well, then picked up her princess.

They moved towards the castle, in silence.

Finally the arrived. As soon as they emerged from the forest, the walls filled with shouts and frantic movement.

At about 500 ft from the walls, Eliza commanded her to stop. The mighty walls of the fortress barely reached halfway up her thighs. Soon enough, the door opened and a lone rider came out. Thalia put the princess on the ground, while the horse came closer and closer. The rider was completely hidden under a black cape, and seemed completely passive. Thalia squatted down, curious to see who it was.

Finally, he reached them, then they finally spotted the truth: The rider was bound by thick ropes, he was not in control of his horse. Her mistress got closer, and lowered his hood: it was the magister, beaten and bloodied. “They know” was all he managed to say before collapsing unconscious.

Immediately, they could hear the noise of heavy machinery from the castle. At least a dozen enormous ballistae appeared on the top of the walls. “Oh no.” Thalia grabbed the princess and closed her hands around her, as shield, then turned around, showing her back to the castle.

Then the bombardment started. The thick bolts, five or six inches long to her, impacted her skin with enough strength to lodge themselves in, cutting her flesh and drawing blood. The wounds were not deep, but with each new bolt, a new jolt of pain shook her.

“Princess! What do I...” Thalia tried to say, when she was interrupted by a loud sound coming from behind her. She turned around to see a squad of six mages casting a spell on the walls. A crackling sound overpowered the noise of the ballistae, then a blinding light flooded the field. Pure lightning rushed against her.

The hit came. The ground came towards her. Then blackness.

“Come back here, you little thief!”

Thalia ran as fast as she could, the heavy bag in her hands. The merchant right behind her, with a knife the size of her head in hand. His anger perfectly visible even in the shadows of the evening.

She went into a side alley, threw the bag on her shoulders and started climbing the wall. The merchant soon reached her, but she was already too high up. His angry shouts accompanied her the rest of the way to the roof, hammering her ears with insult after insult.

She looked around, then spotted a way down to the road nearby. She came closer to the edge, when the tiles gave in under her weight, causing her to fall down.

Fortunately, she landed on a soft surface. She sighed in relief, only to scream in horror as she realized she landed on a person. A large man, that quickly shoved her off himself.

“What in the hells is your problem, elf?” said, while she held her by her shoulders.

“Calm down, Eric. You’re scaring her to death” a feminine voice said. A familiar voice. “Wait, I remember you” added.

Thalia turned around, and there she stood: Her savior.

“I’m sorry, princess. But this little thing came out of nowhere” the man answered back.

“You!” a shout reached them. The merchant was back. “You little thieving cunt!”

“And you are?” the woman asked, putting herself between her and the merchant.

“I am the owner of what that knife-ears is carrying! Now who are….” he suddenly realized who he was shouting to. He froze.

“I am sure this is all a misunderstanding. You see, she is” she looked at Thalia “my maid and I asked her to buy something for herself. But she is a really shy girl, she might got a bit scared. I will pay for anything she took, of course.”

“I-Of course, my lady.” He clearly did not believe a word, but he knew better than to contradict royalty. He took his money and left with a bow.

She turned around to face the elf, still in the hands of the guard. “We must stop meeting like this, little elf” she said, then ordered to let her go. Thalia, too terrified to move, remained still.

After a few seconds, the princess spoke again: “You know, I do happen to be looking for a maid. Would you by any chance be interested?”

Her jaw dropped. She could not say a word.

“I’ll take it as a yes. Now let me see what I just paid for” said, as she opened her bag, revealing a crudely crafted pair of leather shoes.

Light came back once again. At first she could not distinguish anything, then she started recognizing some shapes and colors. The cold ground against her cheek reminded her she was laying down, but why? She tried to stand up, yet her body did not move.

A figure not too far from her attracted her attention, it was taller than those standing around her. It was shouting? She could not hear anything, but its mouth was wide open. it was being carried away, she wondered why.

“Thalia!” her shouts suddenly reached her ears.

Thalia. It was her name?

She finally recalled. Her princess. They were taking her princess.

She tried to move once again, with all her strength, but not one of her limbs obeyed. She could feel tears on her cheeks.

Then pressure. Against her skin. A familiar pressure. Powerful, overwhelming.

Then pain. And Pleasure. Like waves crashing into her body. The bolts lodged into her skin were pushed out, the wounds sealing behind them. Her back, scorched black by the lightning strike, burned intensely, yet she could feel the injury retreating, step by step.

The process went on for what felt like hours. Her audience petrified. Not a sound could be heard outside of Thalia’s screams of pain mixed with pleasure. Her body expanded, taking more and more space.

Finally, it was all over.

She stood.

The movement of her colossal body shook everyone out of their trance. The ballistae soon started firing again, but now the three inches long bolts bounced off her skin harmlessly.

She carefully looked around, trying to find her mistress. Finally she spotted her, being dragged towards the castle by two men.

Fear filled her mind, then that fear became anger. She took a step forward, then another, then another one, the walls in front of her now not even reaching halfway past her knees. Her princess stood inches from her feet. She lifted her right foot, brought it over the walls, and stomped with all her strength.

The walls crumbled like paper under her immense weight, the proud rock reduced to dust, while the soldiers over it were simply erased from existence, minuscule red spots under the elf’s sole. All was left of an entire section of the walls was the crater left by her foot.

The dust slowly settled. Debris still falling down around the impact.

Then the bastion cracked, and collapsed, destroying everything standing in the inner walls.

The thunderous collapse freed Thalia of the anger-induced trance. She gasped, horrified by her actions.

She looked down by her left foot. Her princess stood there. Still. On the ground. Blood on her face.

Her heart stopped. She took a step back, then fled.

Thalia closed the door behind her. Her mistress had finally fallen asleep. She took a second to recover, her body tired by the chores of the day and her playtime with the princess.

She turned around, when she saw a large figure stumbling down the hall. It was the king, with a guard helping him walk.

He stopped in front of her.

“Good evening, my lord.”

“You…” His breath stinking of wine. “I don’t like you.”

Thalia felt a shiver going down her spine.

“I don’t know who you are, I don’t know where you are from, I don’t know who are your gods. I don’t know where your loyalties lie.” He stopped letting the silence weight on her shoulders.

“But you make my Eliza happy.” He sighed “And for that I am grateful.”

Thalia stared at him, wide eyed.

“Don’t make me regret it.”

Thalia woke up. The storm raging around her. Yet she barely felt discomfort, aside for the powerful thunders waking her up every half hour.

She remained still, staring the emptiness of the night: it was soothing, it helped her empty her mind and forget. It was something she did often when she was a homeless thief, and now the repressed habits acquired during those long years were coming back to her like they never left. She was alone again. And this time it was her fault.

It has been a week, maybe two, since the accident happened. Time spent aimlessly wandering around the kingdom, trying to keep her mind occupied and her stomach not too empty. The dread of her situation never really left her, though it did feel lighter the further she got from the castle. Or better, it was becoming easier to pretend it was just a bad dream.

The storm got worse. She really wanted to move, but with just the dim moonlight to guide her, the risk of stepping on something, or someone, was too great. Another lightning. She really wanted to catch some sleep that night. It has been days since she managed to sleep more than an hour.

In the light of the flesh, she spotted something moving. A man?

It was a man indeed. He seemed to have seen her as well. He took out a lamp and lighted it.

“There you are! I was sure you were around here, but I kept getting lost” the man said.

“Who? Who are you? Why were you looking for me?”

“Who am I? Oh, none important, not anymore. Let’s just say you father was one of my close friends, one of the few I had left.” He came closer to the elf. His figure became clearer: an old man, with a jovial smile and an impressive beard. “I could not help him when he needed me, but maybe I can help you.” He stopped at around 30 feet from her face, then sat down on the ground.

“I-You shouldn’t come close to me. I am dangerous” Thalia said, trying her hardest not to sound threatening.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about me. I have faced far scarier beings than a very large elf.”

Thalia was ever more confused. Who was this man? “Really? How did you survive?”

“Who said I did?” replied, with a hearty laugh. “But let’s not talk about me. I am here for you after all. I take it you are fleeing from something, right? Who got you so scared? You seem like someone that can take care of herself.”

Thalia took several seconds to answer. “I…” She swallowed “I hurt a very dear friend. I killed her.”

“Oh I see. You are afraid of her ghost. Well, they can definitely be quite annoying. Believe me, I know.”

“N-No I don’t think she became a ghost” Thalia said, uncertain. Why was she talking to this strange man? Why was she answering so openly?

“Well, then we are dealing with guilt. I see.” He caressed his beard then smiled. “Please forgive my bluntness. It has been a while since I have dealt with such matters. Tell me, young elf, why did you kill her?”

“I didn’t want to! It was an accident! I would never hurt her!” Thalia shouted, enraged by his accusation. The man, however, seemed unfazed. In fact he did not even move.

“You didn’t answer me. Why did you kill her?”

“Are… are you not listening? I said it was an accident! I stomped on a wall and a piece of it hit her.”

“Oh, I see.” He stretched his arms. “Now tell me, young elf, do you want to be a giant?”

Thalia could feel her rage rising again. “Of course I don’t! I never asked to become a damn giant! I don’t want to be a giant!”

The man smiled again. “Forgive me, it was a silly question. Tell me then, what did you do with this new condition of yours?”

“What? Was I supposed to do something? What kind of question is that?”

“Did you try to hunt? Or farm? Did you try to build something? Did you try to see how fast could you run? Did you try to see how much you could eat? Or how little? This new power that is part of you. Did you make it yours?”

“N-No.”

“Why?”

“I...” She took a deep breath. The truth came out of her mouth almost without conscious effort. “I didn’t want to.”

“Well, we have found our culprit, then. You refused to embrace your new self, you refused to learn to use your new power, so you lost control of your actions; and their consequences.” He chuckled “Isn’t that a familiar tale.” He caressed his beard once more. “Besides, things are not nearly as bad as you think they are. Though in her place, I would be pretty mad about the castle.”

Thalia froze, unable to move muscle or thought.

He stood up. “Well, I think that is about what I can do, I hope that helped you. Do say the prayers your father taught you every once in a while; it is nice to feel appreciated, you know?” With that, he killed the flame of his lamp and left.

“Wait!” Thalia shouted, but there was no trace of the man.

Eliza woke up. The pain was still pretty intense, but her injuries were already almost completely healed. The bandages around her head felt heavy, but she was almost done with them.

She exited the town hall, where the injured were being kept. Outside, the capital city was buzzing with life: a constant stream of refugees from the borders coming in and scared citizens leaving, terrified the titanic elf would come back to finish them off. And then there were the survivors of the assault. Fortunately her men were safe, they were still in the part of the tunnel laying outside the walls when the bastion collapsed. Lemi was fine too, if a little drained by all the healing spells she had to cast daily. Her mentor, the magister, was still comatose, but there was hope for the old man.

The same could not be said about the traitors and the imperial soldiers manning the walls. They did not find a single one alive, except for a bloodied young boy in the dungeon, left there to guard the prisoners. Hells, she herself was found barely alive, taken to the city by one of her loyal veterans.

She made her way to the ruins of the castle. The walk giving her a welcome chance to get some fresh air. There, the diggers were already at work, trying to clear the bastion and reach the cells still laying buried. They managed to save a fair few from the prisons, but they had little hope left for those still under the rubble, it had been two weeks since the collapse.

A rider approached her. “My lady, Lord Richard Norbrand has reached the city.”

“Really? Uncle Richard is back?” Eliza said. The messenger simply nodded

“Uncle!” shouted, as she entered the town hall. There he stood, with his fair share of bandages, and what looked like a new scar on his face, yet his smile was as reassuring as ever. They hugged.

“If it isn’t my favorite niece. I’m glad you’re still alive.”

“Me too.”

His expression soon changed. “We need to talk.”

“Yeah. We do.”

They got into a side room, away from the chaos of the main hall turned hospital.

“Now, I imagine you can figure out what happened to me. Near Bacre castle, we were ambushed and nearly wiped out. We held the fort, hoping you would come to our rescue, but we soon got overwhelmed. I managed to escape with a few of my men, and came back here.” He paused, and stared at her. “I was almost convinced your father finally decided I was too much of a hassle and tried to get rid of me, but I was told you had your fair share of trouble here.”

“You can say that, yes. The night of the day you left the castle was attacked by a group of assassins. Father got injured, I was sent to the summer villa. I…” she sighed “I remained there longer than intended, to deal with some unexpected business.” She then proceeded to tell the rest of the tale to his uncle: the death of the king, the coup, and the disastrous attempt at retaking the castle.

“What great news. Tell me, I have never seen a fortress ruined to such a degree, it looks like a high dragon tried to make a nest in it. And all the city talks about is the goddess that apparently came down from the sky and crushed everything because of our sins or some crap like that.”

“No, it wasn’t a goddess.”

“That maid of yours, right? Turned into a giant by the Tear?”

She nodded.

“And where is she now?”

“I don’t know, but now that you’re here I can go and look for her. It won’t be hard, her footprints are hard to miss. Can I leave the capital to you, uncle?”

He massaged his forehead. “We have maybe a few hundred soldiers able to fight, no castle, no king, and the imperials are just a week and a half from here. Our vassals are busy betraying us or dealing with the imperial horde knocking down their door, and there is a giant elf taking a casual stroll through our countryside. Did I miss anything?”

“No.”

“If I didn’t know you as well as I do, I’d say you are just looking for an excuse to escape.”

His accusatory tone choked her heart. “I intend to find my friend and convince her to help us. She is the only hope we have left of coming out of this alive.”

“I am afraid you are right. Gods, if anyone would have told me a giant knife-ears would destroy our castle with a single step, I’d have taken you for mad. Fine, I’ll do my best to keep the city safe, but don’t expect me to hold the imperials back if they reach us before you do.” He smiled “I guess, if everything goes wrong, at the very least there will still be a Norbrand alive left in the world.”

“I-I won’t just abandon you!”

“You will, if the situation requires it. And that is an order, my lady. Now go and get ready, we don’t have much time.”

She nodded, then hugged him again, and left the room.

Thalia woke up at dawn. She stood up and looked around, the immense fields and forests all around her looked like a toy replica of a real world. Would she ever get used to that view?

Glancing around, she spotted a herd of cows. Her stomach rumbled. She sighed, she hated doing that, but it was better than trying to eat a field of wheat. She stepped closer, noticing once more that she indeed grew that day. She judged herself to be around 400 feet tall: most trees now barely reached halfway up her shins, with a few getting just past her knees; her feet were larger than the roads and even most houses; the cows in front of her were not quite as big as her small toe. She was immensely lucky that she did not feel the need to eat nearly as much as she did before becoming a giant, otherwise there would not be much left around her after just a couple of meals.

As the cows spotted her, they tried to flee, terrified by the elf colossus, but it was hardly difficult to keep up, in fact she barely had to adjust her steps.

Suddenly, a sensation of intense heat invaded her lower back. She reached with her hand to check for injuries, but she could not feel anything. She turned around to see what caused that, when she spotted two men running towards her, at breakneck speed. She glanced up and noticed two more men, or women, it was hard to tell from that distance, about three steps away, slowly building up what looked like a fireball spell.

She took a step back in surprise. What were they trying to do? Kill her?

The men reached her feet. They were just taller than her big toe, yet they jumped onto her feet without hesitation, and started climbing her legs. Their minuscule weight barely sensible on her skin.

She took another step back, taken by surprise, then another ball of heat hit her, this time directly on her face. She went blind for a second. In the panic of the moment, she slipped and fell on her bottom.

She was sure the impact could be felt for miles, the earth around her cracked, and the closest trees fell to the ground, eradicated by the shock wave. She could feel wet spots under her butt. She fell on the herd.

She gasped, surprised and ashamed.

She killed again, other lives taken by her carelessness.

“We are here to kill you, foul monster” said one of the climbers, who somehow managed to hang on and reach her chest.

Adventurers, she realized, they were adventurers trying to take her down.

The words of that odd man came back to her.

Embrace it. She repeated herself over and over. You are not a little girl anymore, refusing to act will only cause more damage.

She took a deep breath, her face grim with determination. She made the two men fall on her hand then closed her fist around them; she could barely feel their attempt to escape their cage. She stood up and reached the two mages. Another fireball flew towards her, but she easily swatted it away with the back of her free hand. She took those two in her hand as well, then brought the group to her face.

“What were you thinking? Look at what you’ve made me do!” shouted, showing them the crater left by her fall.

“You-You would have eaten them all anyway, monster.” one of the climber said. His bravado quickly evaporating away after witnessing the ease with which she neutralized them.

Their terrorized forms made her heart hurt. That look of pure horror was something she deeply dreaded, yet it was present in everyone’s eyes since she grew. Only her mistress did not look at her like that, she was so comfortable with her that made everyone else relax too. But now, it was just another thing she would have to accept and embrace.

“So you attack me just like that! I could have killed you by accident, you know? What have I ever done to you?” said, trying to sound angry.

“The guild sent us!” one of the mages shouted, a woman. “They said a dangerous monster was rampaging through the lands and we had to stop it.”

“Stop calling me a monster, I am just an elf.”

The other mage broke down in tears and fell to his knees “Please don’t kill us!”

“Of course I won’t kill you, why would I do that? Calm down, I am not going to hurt you. Now, I will let you down and we will depart peacefully, all right?”

The group was still frozen with fear, but one of them managed to nod.

She let the group step down from her hand.

“There. Now, please don’t attack me again, I don’t want to risk injuring you or worse, all right? Today was close enough.” She observed them running away, disappointed by their eagerness to get away from her, but proud of herself for how she behaved.

She acted. The right way. Just like with the ogres, but this time she did not need her mistress to put herself in danger first, she did it all by herself. Again, the words of the old man rushed back into her mind. Not as bad as she thought, he said. Could it be that her mistress was still alive?

Then she realized: She left her mistress there on the ground, in a pool of her own blood. She did not even try to help her, to see if she was still alive! How could she have done that?

She gritted her teeth. She knew why she acted like that. And it hurt. But no more.

She glanced at the group in front of her. “One last thing” said. The adventurers instantly turned around. “Can you tell me in which direction Roserun is?”

Eliza threw some dirt on the fire as the two men escorting her prepared the horses. It has been a few days since she left the capital in search for Thalia, and she was starting to get worried, time was running out. The deep footprints she left behind were easy enough to follow, but of her sweet elf there was no trace still.

Hours later, the situation did not change. She decided to stop and have lunch. A few minutes later a strange, distant roar interrupted the silence of the wilderness. She looked around, curious, but she could not see anything. She went back to her backpack, taking out her supplies.

A shadow passed over her, while another roar reached her ears. She looked up in the sky: three armored dragons flew past, their knights riding on their back. “Oh fucking hells. Men, to the woods!” She shouted.

She rushed to her horse and raced to the nearest patch of woods, her men following behind. She glanced upward, they were definitely coming back. The yellow flame on blue field perfectly visible on their garments: They were imperial dragon knights. But how did they find her? She left the city at night! They must have overheard the conversation with her uncle. How foolish of them to assume the traitors all perished at the castle.

One of the dragons swept behind her, releasing a river of fire that completely engulfed the two soldiers. She barely had time to witness their deaths, when another dragon landed in front of her, the huge winged monster easily big enough to swallow her and her horse in one bite. “Lady Eliza Norbran, in his infinite mercy the emperor wishes to offer you the opportunity to surrender and swear allegiance to the eternal flame.” the knight said, standing over the dragon in a pompous pose.

“Tell the emperor to go fuck an ogre!” said. She took out her sword, and charged.

“Foolish barbarian” the knight answered, then commanded his dragon to advance.

Eliza got ready to jump. Just a few more feet. They were now close to the maw of the huge beast. It opened its mouth and prepared to bite. She jumped.

And landed against its forehead, plunging her sword into its vulnerable eye. The creature roared in pain and shook its head, but she gripped her weapon and stood firm.

The dragon threw its head against the ground. She finally slipped. The creature was left dazed by the impact, leaving Eliza precious seconds to run behind it, while the dragon knight tried to regain control of the wounded beast. She whistled. Where the hell was her horse?

A distant tremor reached them. On the horizon, the angelic face of her elf appeared. “Well, if that isn’t perfect timing.”

The proud warhorse her uncle gave her finally reached her, barely fazed by the dangerous beast that very nearly devoured it. She jumped on the saddle and galloped for the forest. The knight finally took back control and was now trying to get into the air again. She looked around for the other two knights, and finally spotted them going towards Thalia.

She pushed her horse to to the limit. The pained roars of the wounded dragon getting closer. The trees right in front of her. A sensation of heat against her back. She turned the horse immediately. The torrent of flames hit just in front of them, scorching the earth. The temperature so high she could feel her skin cooking even from several feet away from the flames.

But she did it. She got behind a large tree just in time before another burst of flames flooded the area. She got deeper in. The horse struggled to ride through the rough terrain, but the dragon had even more trouble doing the same. Yet it made its way through, throwing its mighty weight against the ancient trees and burning those that refused to budge.

Their chase went on for what felt like hours. Her horse was starting to get tired, she could not keep up for much longer.

She went behind the biggest tree she could see, jumped off the horse and let the poor beast escape. She quickly climbed the tree. The forest quickly filling up with smoke. Up there, she could observe the movement of the dragon below, with the knight on top. Could she remain hidden? No, it would find her eventually, or the fire would force her down. It got closer, darting around its reptilian head trying to find her. Just a bit more. She jumped down.

The knight found himself forced against the scaly skin of his dragon, the force of the impact breaking several of his ribs and knocking him unconscious. She did not fare much better, she broke something in her right leg, she could no longer move it. She gritted her teeth, trying to suppress the intense pain. She gripped his neck with one of her arms. Feeling her on top of it, the dragon tried to shake her off, throwing both of them off its back. She found herself with her back against a tree, and the heavy weight of the armored knight against her, yet she managed to keep him in her grip.

The dragon stared at her, unable to decide what to do. It roared with all its strength, in frustration.

The ground trembled.

Thalia woke up in a good mood that day. The capital was just a couple of days of march away. She could not wait to see her mistress again. She checked again the road in front of her, she really did not want to accidentally kill anyone that happened to be in her way. Fortunately there was none, only a few houses on the left that looked they had been abandoned for years, and a couple of birds in the air.

She wondered what kind of birds they were. Judging by their relative size, they were pretty big, as long as her forearm, a bit less maybe. They looked scaly. Dragons? No, the last wild dragon in the kingdom was killed centuries before.

She squinted her eyes. Were they coming towards her? They were, and fast. She was starting to get worried. Then she finally spotted their insignia. The empire. She was definitely worried at that point. Dragon knights were famous throughout the kingdoms, and even outside of human lands. What chance did she stood against the elite of the empire? Could she get away? Could she run fast enough?

She closed her fists. That was the old Thalia. Those knights were here to conquer the kingdom, her mistress’ kingdom.

Embrace it.

The knights did not leave her much time to prepare. The closest dragon flew over her, spewing fire. She covered her head with her hands, the heat burning her skin, doing only superficial but horribly painful wounds. She quickly patted her hair, to extinguish any lingering flame. The other one flew directly towards her face and blew its deadly breath against her. She barely had time to cover her face, once again the fire burned her skin. The pain was really starting to affect her, but she gritted her teeth and focused.

They were about to circle back. She studied their movements. She bent her knees and jumped. The immense energy released into the ground blasting away chunks of earth around her feet. The sonic boom gutting the nearby trees. The knights scrambled to move their mounts out of the way, but it was too late, she managed to grab one between her hands. The huge talons of the creature dug into her flesh, drawing blood, yet she held on and slammed the beast down. The powerful body of the dragon simply collapsed under the immense force. It stopped moving almost instantly.

She stared at the carnage, blood splattered all over her. Only now she realized she was holding her breath. She took her hand off the crushed beast and looked at her trembling fingers. She did it. She killed a dragon. And a man.

Her stomach revolted. She bit her tongue, trying to keep herself from throwing up.

The other dragon came back. It threw itself against her neck, digging its sharp teeth deep into her flesh. She screamed in pain, then reached behind to grab the beast, but it managed to slip away. She could feel blood dripping down her back, but the wound was not too severe.

The dragon circled back. She jumped again, but this time the knight was prepared and easily dodged her assault. Her fall cracked the ground, as the blast uprooted several more trees. The dragon attacked her neck again, biting down hard against her skin. She threw herself against the ground, pinning the creature under her shoulder. The dragon thrashed around trying to free itself, cutting her with its claws. She grabbed its neck and squeezed, until it stopped moving.

She stood still. Her breath slowed down. Her body shivering from pain and adrenaline.

She heard a roar in the distance. She looked around, the sky was clear, but there was a tall column of smoke rising from a patch of trees in front of her.

She stood up. Another dragon? What was it chasing? She started walking. Another roar. She began to run. Her feet plowing through the earth.

She reached the fire. Another roar. She was barely able to spot the dragon under the smoke. And next to it there were two humans.

Her heart stopped. She looked back at the dragon. She raised her foot, and stomped down.

Eliza woke up, coughing. Her battered body resting on a soft surface.

“Mistress! You’re alive!” a most sweet voice said.

She opened her eyes, Thalia’s face filled her vision. “Hi there, my sweet little elf.”

She giggled, then gently kissed her. “I am so happy to see you mistress.” she said, with teary eyes.

“Me too, Thalia.”

She noticed the dried blood, and the burns, and the cuts and bites all over her elf’s body. “They did a number on you, didn’t they?”

Thalia nodded, with a weak smile.

“Are they all dead?”

She nodded again, her smile fading away.

She tried to stand up, using Thalia’s thumb as support, her right leg still limp. The pain was almost unbearable, but she pushed on. Then she bowed. “Thank you, Thalia. For saving my life. I am so proud of you.” She could feel her muscles tense under her feet, then slowly relax.

“Mistress…”

Eliza laughed. “If anyone would have told me my little maid would single-handedly defeat three dragon knights with her bare hands, I’d have bought them another beer. Yet here we are.”

Thalia spotted her broken leg. “Mistress! You shouldn’t have stood up! Oh gods, I hope I didn’t do more damage picking you up. I’m so sorry. Does it hurts, of course it does. I...”

“It’s fine!” She shouted. She immediately regretted her outburst, as pain flared up again. “All right, it’s not fine, but I’ll survive. What about you?”

“I’m-I’m fine. Everything hurts, but no bad wounds.”

“Good. Good. Lemi would have a heart attack trying to patch you up.”

They stood in silence for a few seconds, then Eliza slowly lowered herself down. “There should be my stuff somewhere not too far from here. I’ll see if I can patch something up for this poor girl” said, as she carefully moved her leg.

In about an hour, Eliza managed to make a support and fix it to her leg, all under the worried gaze of her elf, vibrating with the frustration of not being able to help her. Once finally ready, Thalia very carefully picked her up and placed her back on her hand. Then they began their journey back to the capital.

Along the way, her sweet elf talked about what happened while she was alone.

“So you met a god? Like, a real god?”

“I think so. What was left of him at least. He was a lot more down to earth than I expected. Dad always described him as this supreme, mysterious being.”

“Maybe he was, when he was still a full deity.” Eliza smiled. “And then an adventurer party attacked you. The fucking guild, I never liked them. My father loathed them, but they did help him find the Tear, so he had to let them operate in the kingdom.”

Eliza sighed, looked down at the ground, hundreds of feet below her, then back at her. “All right, Thalia, there’s really no point in delay the inevitable. You know what we will find at Roserun. I hate to ask you to...”

“I will.” She said.

“Oh. I. Well. All right. I. Gods damn you, girl, I spent every evening of the last week thinking of a good way to convince you to help us, and then you say yes, just like that.”

Thalia chuckled. “I had time to think as well. Midia was right, refusing to use my power will only cause more and more damage. And… Well if I have to use it, I want to use it for you, mistress.”

Her heart was bursting out of her chest, swelling with pride, and love.

“Thank you, Thalia.”

The elf smiled, then kissed her again. “I’m sorry for your castle.”

“There it is!” Eliza said, as soon as the city came into view. Indeed the capital stood in front of them, a vast expanse of houses, palaces, squares and warehouses, with the thin line of its walls closed around the most dense urban ground. Even from that distance, she could see the roads filled with people fleeing the city.

“Looks like we got here before the imperials. Let’s go for the north gate” she said, then added “And let’s take this slow, Thalia. The citizens got pretty spooked after you destroyed the castle.”

Thalia’s cheeks instantly turned red. “I already said I’m sorry!”

Eliza laughed. “I know, I know. I’ll do my best to keep everyone calm. In any case, I bet they’ll change their mind in a day or two, when we send the imperial army running back with their tails between their legs! Do you mind remaining outside of the city? Until I can see my uncle, at least.”

She nodded. “I doubt I’d fit in the streets anyway.

Half an hour later, they were in front of the gate. The flow of people going outside from that direction drained pretty quickly once it was clear that was their objective, Thalia purposefully slowed her pace to avoid getting too close to them.

Eliza could see her uncle on the walls, together with Lemi and the magister. “Can you drop me on the wall there, Thalia?”

“Of course, mistress” she said, while she bent her knees and helped Eliza get down by letting her lean on her finger. Even squatting, she was still far taller than the walls, and loomed over the small group, that still had not moved a single inch.

“So.” Finally her uncle said, his eyes still fixed to the face of her sweet elf. “This is the famous goddess that came down from the skies to punish us.” Only then he noticed the makeshift splint on her leg. “Eliza! My dear, are you all right?” said, as he rushed to her, offering his arm for support. “What happened?”

“I fell” Eliza said, with a smile.

“Was it one of those dragon knights we saw fly past the city a few days ago?” asked Lemi, while she bent down to take a look. “Shouldn’t take long to fix, princess” stated.

Richard, her uncle, spoke again: “Indeed, the dragons. What happened to them?”

Eliza pointed at her elf. “She took them out. All three. And all she got in return is a couple of blisters on her hands and a few scratches on her back.”

Her uncle looked back at her, incredulous, finally breaking his long stare.

“This is a most magnificent sight. I never would have thought the Tear would be capable of this!” said the magister. The mage advanced towards the gigantic elf, who by now retreated her hand from the walls. Thalia was clearly getting uncomfortable with all the attention she was getting, she could see half the city, or what was left of it, was looking at them from their windows.

The magister spoke again: “Forgive this old man for being so forward, but I would be eternally grateful if you’d allow me to make some simple tests. Nothing dangerous, I assure you!”

“I-Well...” Thalia looked at the princess.

“There are more important things to do, magister. I am glad you woke up, by the way” Eliza said, smiling at her elf.

The wrinkled face of the magister twisted in disappointment, but he quickly recovered. “Of course, my lady. Of course.” He bowed and stepped back.

“Did you have trouble with the imperials?” Eliza asked.

“Not too much. Their vanguard tried to storm the city two days ago, but they quickly realized they did not have the numbers. This little gal can be quite mean when she wants, you know?” said, putting his arm on Lemi’s shoulders. The young mage blushed. “All right, I’ll say it’s time we go back to the town hall and prepare our plan of action. I’m afraid we don’t have much more than a day before they arrive.”

“No.” Eliza said. “We will have our meeting outside the city. I believe there are still spies here.” She paused, to judge their reaction, which was milder than she expected. “Besides, Thalia cannot get into the city, and since she is the only reason we still have a chance, I think it would be terribly rude of us not to include her in our meeting.”

“I suppose that is indeed true. I apologize if my words offended you, Thalia” Richard said.

“I-Of course not, my lord” Said Thalia.

“My, as polite as ever. If my little ferret was in your place right now, she’d have blasted us to the other side of the city” He said, winking at the elf.

“I wouldn’t! And you promised you’d never call me ferret again, uncle! I’m an adult, not a little kid!” Eliza said, blushing. Thalia giggled, and Richard joined her.

“Let’s just go, please” the princess said, then smiled wickedly. “Well, we don’t have much time right? It’d be a lot faster if Thalia carried us. It’s not a problem, right?” asked to the elf.

“I guess not” Thalia said, perplexed.

“All right, bring your hand here. Then all aboard!”

“Ah-I, do we have to?” Lemi said, as she saw the elf’s hand coming closer and closer, then stopping at just a few feet from her.

“Oh come on! It’s perfectly safe. And much more comfortable than a horse” Eliza said, as she got onto it.

They slowly complied, all three clearly nervous yet awed, they could comfortably fit into her palm and there was still space left. Thalia stood up, as slowly as she could.

“Wow. It’s incredible!” Lemi said, looking at the landscape. The horizon getting farther and farther.

“All right. I’ll say that patch of wood is good enough” said, pointing at a group of trees in the distance.”

“Oh” Lemi said, taking out a pouch. “Before I forget, I want to show you what we discovered about the Tear Crystal.”

“Are you sure you want to stay out here, mistress? I’m not certain it’s safe to sleep on me.”

“I won’t sleep on you, Thalia. Don’t worry.” Eliza climbed the flat expanse of her abdomen, which was resting at a somewhat steep angle, since Thalia laid against a large tree.

“Besides, I miss having you around in the morning” With a knowing smile.

“Mistress, I’m not sure we can. Your leg is still not completely healed and I’m too big for...”

“I was talking about you keeping me company, you dirty little elf” Eliza immediately replied.

Thalia rolled her eyes. “I’m sure of that, mistress.”

“Oh what was that? Insubordination against your better? I will have to discipline you!” She run towards her left boob, and jumped over the gentle hill. She reached her nipple and gave it a long lick, then a passionate kiss. Soon it began to swell under her touch.

“Now for punishment.” She opened her mouth and gently bit the enormous nipple in front of him, half as tall as her. Her elf bit her lips, as her hands moved to her other boob and down her crotch. Eliza redoubled her effort to please the sensitive flesh in front of her. The cute moans of pleasure of her elf, amplified by her size, echoed through the forest, as if an ancient monster walked its ground.

Eliza could feel the rhythmic movement of her body under her, her hand kneading her breast and the other rubbing her clitoris. She was picking up momentum, her moans got more and more frequent.

She abandoned the nipple and ran towards her face. “Are you enjoying yourself, big girl?” Thalia could barely respond, caught up in her own pleasure, but managed a weak nod. “But I do remind you this is your punishment, my sweet little elf” Eliza said, going up her jaw and stopping by her nose. “You are not allowed to cum unless I allow you. Do you understand?”

“Yeahhhs, mistress” the elf said.

“Good, good. Then why don’t you get serious for me? I’m sure your pussy feels left out, what about some company? A couple of fingers should do the trick.”

Immediately, she obeyed. Her rhythmic further increased, her eyes unfocused, her breath short. She was getting close to her climax.

“Mistress, I...”

“No, no, no. You won’t get off so easily. Now, why don’t you hold back, like the good girl you are?”

“I-Please!”

“Do you want to cum?” Eliza teased. Thalia’s body trembling in bliss and frustration under her feet, like a constant earthquake. She nodded, the movement of her head almost throwing her off her face.

“Well maybe if you ask politely...”

“Please, I beg you mistress!”

“All right. Then cum for me, Thalia!”

“Ahhhhhhhh” Thalia screamed as pleasure filled her mind. She arched her back, her body shivered, her muscles contracted, as her pussy clenched around her fingers, still rhythmically pummeling her hole. A tree nearby her feet collapsed under her constant assault, and holes started to appear under the thundering hits her frantic limbs scored against the ground.

After several seconds, her orgasm finally ended. She relaxed, basking in the afterglow, with a splendid smile on her lips. She looked at her nose, where Eliza still remained.

“It’s so much more fun with you, mistress. Even if we didn’t…”

“It better be! You wound me, my lady!” Eliza said, feigning a faint.

Thalia giggled. “You know what I mean, mistress.”

“I know, I know. All right, let's get to bed, tomorrow will be quite the long day.”

“But you didn’t cum yet, mistress!”

“Oh really? And what are you going to do about it?”

Thalia smiled, then delicately took the princess between her fingers. “May I please you, mistress?”

Thalia could not deny she was nervous. She was standing in front of the city at about half a mile away, waiting for the imperial army to arrive. After hours of waiting, however, still nothing. Her nervousness slowly becoming frustration.

Could they have given up? They have lost their strongest warriors. She shook her head, they had committed too much to this invasion of theirs to just give up.

She could finally see something in the distance. It did not look like an army, though. It stopped. Then another one popped out, then a few more. Then a couple of minutes later, they did… something?

Trebuchets, she suddenly realized, as the first projectile landed mere feet from her. The ball of rock was barely more than a pebble to her, but if the hole it left into the ground was any indication of its strength, it may be enough to hurt her. Even worse, the city did not stand a chance against those war machines. Who knows what kind of carnage they could do if the boulders landed into the city.

The next one hit her in the shoulder. Pain shot through her, but it was only a bruise. Should she go get them? Their plan had her staying around the city, yet could she simply stay there and take it? Or maybe she could return the favor.

She grabbed a rock nearby, and threw it with all her strength. It fizzled through the air, crashing into the ground a few feet away from the intended target. The impact was strong enough to make a few of the war machines rattle, but they were still functional.

Another salvo of rocks came her way, this time the whole battery fired. She put her arms over her head and bent down. The cruel shower hit her over and over, leaving nasty bruises all over her skin, but aside from the pain, she was fine.

That was it. She sprinted towards the siege weapons. Her feet cratering the earth with her powerful steps. The trebuchets desperately trying to adjust their aim, to no avail. In a minute she reached them. The small contingent of soldiers guarding the machines put up a token resistance, but as soon as her feet landed on both sides of their formation, they dropped their weapons and fled.

“And don’t come back!” Thalia shouted, seeing the tiny men fleeing at a snail’s pace in front of her. She looked at the siege engines, the impressive machines standing at about a third of the length of her shins. She quickly destroyed them with a couple of gentle kicks, the wood collapsing against her immense strength.

She felt satisfied, yet something was not quite right. Why would there be just a couple of soldiers protecting the trebutchets?

In that moment a flash of light exploded high up in the sky behind her. She turned around, the flash was red. The distress signal. Lemi of the magister were asking for help.

She immediately sprinted in the direction of the light spell. But stopped in her tracks when a familiar roar reached her ears. She looked around and saw a lone dragon knight, flying towards her. It was a bit bigger than the three she faced a few days before, and its armor was a triumph of golden decorations. It glided towards her, and released its fiery assault.

The flames were hot blue, and burned the skin of her left arm with ferocity. She screamed, her injured arm shivering under the intense pain that gripped it.

The dragon came back. It was about to roast her again, when a white, ethereal arrow flew just in front of it, prompting its knight to stop its attack mid-air. They both looked at their right: From the woods a group of riders emerged, at the front her princess guiding them, and right behind her Lemi, preparing another of those magical arrows. They poked out of the woods, where they were hiding, to attract the attention of the dragon, and now they were trying to get back into their cover.

As they hoped, the dragon turned around and went after them. Thalia panicked and threw herself between the princess and the dragon, taking its flaming breath directly onto her stomach. She gritted her teeth. Her vision got blurry for a second. She looked behind her, the riders were still quite far away, and safe.

She needed to protect her princess.

A familiar sensation emerged from her chest. Pressure building up.

She froze. Could that really happen again? More pressure. It was happening again! Yet, it felt different this time. It was not an overwhelming feeling that invaded her body, she felt in control. And she was: As soon as she tried, the pressure receded at her command. Lemi was right!

The dragon retreated, too close to the giantess for comfort, but it looked like it would try again soon.

Thalia did not lose time, she released the pressure and felt the wave of pleasure hitting her, again not as overwhelming a sensation as the previous times.

She could feel the pain evaporating from her arm and stomach, while her body stretched upward. She cut it short, adding just about a foot to her height, from her perspective.

The dragon came back. She took a boulder between her fingers and threw it against the beast. It dodged it easily, but it slowed enough that it was not able to get out of her reach, when she jumped right after. The earth shattered under her soles. She barely managed to grab the tail of the monster. It desperately trashed around, releasing more and more flames from its mouth, burning her hands and arms, but she held strong, and finally gripped its throat.

Thalia had enough. She tightly gripped the flesh of the beast and pulled. The bones of its spine broke, its neck fell limp.

She walked towards the group of riders that came in her aid and dropped the dead dragon near them. The knight was still barely hanging on to his saddle, when the princess jumped on and knocked him out with a punch. She looked at Thalia and gave her a nod. The elf stood up again and went for the city, where there was still fighting.

The imperial troops were assaulting the low walls of the city in mass, exploiting her absence. Some of their soldiers were already in the city, where they were fighting, and winning, against the improvised militia they hastily recruited the day before, lead by the wounded and tired Richard Norbrand. She spotted the magister fighting several imperial wizards on a section of the walls. The hisses and cracks of their spells filling the air around them.

Her arrival stopped their fighting almost immediately. A tense silence fell on them all. Then the squad of mages exploited the momentary pause to knock the old wizard unconscious, and prepare to cast what looked like the same spell that their colleagues used in the assault at the castle. Thalia advanced, trying to stop them, but she had to walk slowly, in order not to make the buildings of the city collapse against her allies. The ball of lightning grew in size until it was almost as big as a house, then it jumped against her, blinding anyone that glanced in that direction.

The bolt of energy hit her directly in her chest. She could feel the electricity flowing through her body, like lava poured into her veins. Her knees feel to the ground, she gritted her teeth, struggling to remain conscious, her muscles twitching.

And then it ended. She took a deep breath and looked at the spot of blackened skin where the lightning hit her. She stood up, trembling in pain and exhaustion, but victorious, and smiling.

“Soldiers of the empire” a familiar voice said, interrupting her moment of triumph. She looked around and spotted the princess not too far from her with the dragon knight kneeling besides her, and Lemi at her side. She was using magic to amplify her mistress’ voice. “You are surrounded and outmatched! Your leader is in my hands! Your dragons are dead and your mages failed! Surrender now and live! Or keep fighting and die!” A murmur crossed the imperial army. “Drop your weapon and leave, you will not be harmed. This is your last and only chance!”

At first silence, then a few obeyed, then more. Soon the entire battlefield was filled with the cacophony of metal against stone as they let their weapons go and began fleeing in every direction.

In just a few minutes, the tens of thousands of imperial soldiers that participated in the assault were nowhere to be seen. The city remained dead silent, then some timid cheer started to rise from the wounded streets. Soon, everywhere there was shouting and dancing and laughing in happiness. They did it!

“Lady Thalia, the queen requires your presence” the messenger said.

“Noooo!” the children shouted. She could not help but giggle. “Come on, kids, I know we were having fun, but you know our lady does not like to wait” she said. The kids slowly slid off her legs, pouting. She giggled again. She loved taking care of those children, they were some of the few that felt completely comfortable with her.

She stood up, being careful not to hurt anyone, then put her hand down and let the kids get on it. She concentrated for a couple of seconds and grew to her full height, almost 500 feet. With a few steps, she reached the city. By now the citizens got used to her colossal form looming over their city, and while they were not exactly comfortable with having her near them, they were at least tolerant enough to leave her alone.

She dropped off the kids, and with another few she got to the castle. There she forced her body to shrink down as much as she could, down to its 20 feet minimum, still towering over everything, but small enough to enter the recently completed halls of the new castle. After 5 years it was finally finished, or at least it looked like it was. It was nice not having to haul rocks around anymore: The first few weeks, when they still had to clean up everything, had been quite tough on her, even with her size.

“Finally, Thalia!” her mistress said, going towards her. Lemi right behind.

“Is the crystal still giving you problems?” asked the small mage.

“No, not really.” Thalia answered, caressing the small stone on her chest. She could feel a couple of tiny cracks under her fingers. “I may have stressed it a bit too much today, though. You know how it is with the kids” she said, trying to smile.

The mage sighed. “Fine, I’ll fix it this afternoon. Again.” She said, rolling her eyes.

“Sorry!”

“In any case” the queen interrupted “I asked you here because I personally wanted to tell you that the new castle is now officially finished.” She smiled. “You know what that means, right?”

At first Thalia was confused, then her jaw dropped. “Do you-I mean, you said-It is time-I…”

“Oh yeah, the wedding” Lemi said. “Planning to have a long honeymoon far away from here? I could use the vacation."

Eliza laughed, gripping the mage’s shoulder. “Oh come on, you grumpy cat. Besides, you’re coming with us.”

The wizard huffed, but a timid smile appeared on her lips. “Well, I guess it’s better than managing the kingdom by myself. Is lord Richard here?”

“He should come back soon. He did promise he will be here for the wedding, and that way I can trick him into taking the reins for a while” Eliza answered.

“So when will it be?” Thalia asked excitedly.

“A few days from now. We still need to make some preparations and…” She could not finish her sentence, as she found herself trapped between Thalia’s arms. “Oh, my sweet little elf.”