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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                “Understood.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                “Erm… m’lady?”

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

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

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

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

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

                “Where is it, then?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                “Bait, you say, m’lady?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                “How?” asked Phillip.

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

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

                “Thank you again, both of you.”

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

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

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

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

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

                “Are you all right?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                Caroline gulped, wringing her sweaty palms behind her back.