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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                “His name is David.”

                “Yes…”

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

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

                “And his… his… father…”

                “Yes?”

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

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

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

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

                “What?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

                “A great deal of experience, Annie.”

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

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

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

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

                “Okay.  Thank you, Caroline.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                “Permission granted, m’lord!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                “I feel just fine, father.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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