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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                “What?” beamed Caroline in answer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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