Together Gaelin and Annallya spent the rest of the day going over three of the many sword forms. Gaelin started first by teaching her the proper stances and positions for each form, and then how to flow from one form to the next. It was slow work, but they had time.

“Be sure of your footing when moving,” he instructed. “You should never put weight on a leg if you’re not sure of your foundation.”

Annallya nodded and went a little slower this time. She had discarded her sandals and now stood in her bare feet to better feel out the ground. Very carefully she shifted her weight to her left leg and raised her right knee to her chest. Her sword was held in her right hand, above her head and pointed forward, and her left arm was likewise held forward and pointing in the same direction. Then she slowly stepped forward onto her right foot, moving the sword in a counterclockwise direction towards her right, and finally bringing the sword down in front of her.

Gaelin nodded in satisfaction. “Now Wind Blows West,” he instructed.

Annallya kept her right foot planted as she pivoted ninety degrees to her left, her practice sword slashing through the air in front of her.

“Back to The Closed Gates,” he told her.

As slowly as she had performed the other two moves, Annallya stepped back so that her left foot was in front, her arms were low, and her sword was pointed up. It was the same guarding stance Andrill had used in their duel. Together those three stances were the only ones she had learned for the day. She looked over at her instructor, who gave her a slight nod of approval.

“You catch on fast,” Gaelin said.

Annallya nodded her thanks. “I find it easier to learn in this manner. I much prefer to move slowly and in a relaxed state, as opposed to the Thylaran military school. There we are forced to learn drills quickly, and under much duress.”

“I agree. That’s a terrible way to teach someone as stubborn as you.”

Annallya raised both eyebrows in surprise. “I beg your pardon? Stubborn?”

Gaelin nodded as he took a sip from his bottle. “Oh yeah. I recognize it in you, same as Andrill, same as me.”

Despite wanting to be offended at his accusations of stubbornness, hearing him readily call himself stubborn made her mouth twitch at the corner in what was almost a smile. “You believe that after spending a little time with me you can determine that I am as stubborn as you are?”

“Anyone who wasn’t as stubborn as me would have quit doing the work I assigned you weeks ago.” he explained. “But you were already determined to learn from me. So you stubbornly put up with every task I gave you.”

“Are you to tell me,” she said in a baffled voice. “That the only reason you set me to those tasks was to see if I were stubborn enough to complete them?”

Gaelin considered her words as he took another gulp. “Well, it was also kind of funny.”

“Blazing embers I cannot believe this!” she exclaimed, throwing up her hands.

“Calm down Highness, I had real reasons for that.” he called out.

“Then please,” she retorted through clenched teeth. “Enlighten me.”

“Andrill mention that he had a temper when I first started teaching him?” he asked.

The Titan nodded.

“Well,” he continued. “I saw the same thing in you when you came to my house that first time.”

“As I recall you attacked me first with a bow, and struck me in the arm.” she replied. “Rather forcefully.”

“To demonstrate that I was better than you.” he explained. “But instead of being discouraged, or taking a minute to think things over, you just let the pain fuel your fire. Andrill was just like that.”

Gaelin’s voice become somewhat reminiscent. “I still remember him hammering away with a tree branch. Thinking he could beat his opponent into submission. That kind of fire is good when you’re in a fight, and know what you’re doing. But for learning, it’ll only get in your way.”

Annallya’s features softened a little as some of her anger began to ebb out. “I . . . see your point. However I fail to see how chores does anything to remedy my temper.”

Gaelin smirked a little. “I used to read stories of famous warriors and knights who would master disciplines taught to them by mages. They would allow them to keep their emotions under control even in the heart of battle.”

The Titan’s eyes lit up as she heard mention of legends of warriors and mages. She had never seen a real mage in person before. “What were these disciplines?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “No one alive would know, outside of a mage, assuming they’re not all dead too. What I do know is that exhaustion trumps anger. So the idea is to keep you working until you don’t have it in you to be angry.”

“Then it worked,” Annallya replied, traces of annoyance still lingered in her voice. “These past weeks I could think of little else save for my own bed.”

Gaelin by now had drained half of the bottle. “That’s how my father taught me.”

“What is that?” she asked.

Gaelin paused and considered his bottle for a second. “Not sure exactly. I picked it up from a peddler the other week. But it gets the job done.”

Annallya shook her head. “No not the drink. That word you said, father. What is that? Is it what you humans call teachers?”

The question set the man into a coughing fit while he was in mid sip. When Gaelin regained control of himself, he stared at Annallya in the most peculiar way. “You don’t . . . . I mean I always knew that er . . . . but then how . . . .”

“Yes?” the Titan chuckled. She did not know what had set him off so, but it was certainly amusing to see Gaelin flounder for words in such a way.

He was silent for a moment as he considered his next question. “How are Titans conceived?” he asked slowly.

Of all the questions Annallya had expected him to ask, that was not one of them. It was not a horrific or inappropriate question, but extremely random. As if they had just been having a conversation about trees and then he suddenly asked her what color the ceiling of her bedroom was. Even stranger though, was how serious he seemed to be about the question.

“You wish to know . . . how Titans are conceived?” she repeated.

He nodded, his face giving no sign that he was joking in the slightest.

“Well,” she began. “If a Titan wishes to bear a child, she must pray for the blessing of the Stars. If the Stars decide to answer her prayers then they create the soul of the future child. The soul is placed in a small stone, and given to a bird of pure spirit named Baslell. Baslell is tasked with delivering all Titan souls to their mothers. We of course do not see Baslell, for it is a spirit of the Stars, however the mother will find a stone on her pillow one night. The mother swallows the stone, where it incubates in her womb. When the baby is fully grown, the mother births it.”

Gaelin’s face remained as transfixed as stone while she told her tale. When at last Annallya had finished, not sure of what else to say, he spoke up again. “So that’s . . . that’s how it happens?”

“That is how it happens,” she repeated. “I have known about this since I was a little girl.”

“There’s no merging of . . . . err well . . .”

“Merging of what?” Annallya asked. Oddly enough Gaelin’s face began to grow red. Much like how Annallya’s face had felt when she saw him-.

She quickly squashed the image of Gaelin standing before her with torso and arms bared, before her own face began to match his. Somehow it did not seem descent to have glimpsed him in such a manner. In addition, the mere thought caused sensations in her stomach and . . . nether regions, that she was not at all accustomed to.

“Is that not how it is for humans?” she asked.

“No,” he answered. “No for us it’s . . . quite different.”

He took a deep breath before he spoke again. The red hue of his face seemed to fade away as he did so. For a reason Annallya could not quite grasp, it had looked almost adorable on him. Perhaps because Gaelin had always come off as a stoic, sometimes intimidating presence in her eyes. It was amusing, almost cute, to see him in such a state. “Conceiving a child for humans requires both a man and a woman in unison. The child is conceived and incubates within the mother, like it is with you Titans. Once the child is birthed, the woman becomes the child’s mother, and the man becomes it’s father. They raise it together.”

Annallya’s eyes widened at this revelation. “Oh . . . Oh! Then it is as mammoths do, correct?”

Gaelin quirked an eyebrow. “Mammoths?”

“They are large animals we breed to pull carts and chariots for us,” she explained. “I have been told that that is how they are bred, male and female together. I had long since wondered if . . .”

She stopped before she could finish the sentence: I had long since wondered if that is how all animals breed. That form of thinking was how she thought before she had met Andrill and Gaelin. Back when she had believed humans were savage animals better left in cages. However they were not, they were like Titans, even if they bred a little differently.

Gaelin was looking at her though, expecting her to complete her thought. Rather than speak aloud that humans were like animals, she instead blurted out the first question that came to mind. “What was your father like?”

Instead of answering her, Gaelin only took another sip from his bottle. “Another time. It’s getting late, and you need to be getting back home.”

The Titan looked and sure enough saw the sun through the tree line almost touching the horizon. Free day or no free day, she had pushed the limits to how long she was capable of staying. “Of course, another time then.”

She gathered her new practice sword and, as an afterthought, turned back towards her teacher. “Thank you Gaelin. You have given me a gift I had always sought, but never believed I would ever receive.”

He grunted. “A decent sword?”

“A purpose that does not involve bloodshed,” she explained, indicating to the sword. “A chance to create.”

Gaelin paused as he considered that, then nodded to her. She nodded in return, and headed off back home.

*****************************************************************************************

It was a half hour later when Annallya found herself trudging up the great staircase of the Queen’s palace. By now dusk had fallen, and so the steps were almost completely devoid of any other Titans rushing to or fro. She gave a curt nod to the guards standing place. One of them returned it with a cheeky smile. Apparently word had spread of her dealings with Vastra. Lucky for Annallya that Vastra was not well liked among the guards. Her luck ran out, however, when she saw her mother standing off to the side of the palace front doors. Annallya froze where she was in shock more than fear. Her mother would only be here if she had been searching for her and could not find her. Not wanting to seem suspicious, Annallya immediately walked up to her, doing her best to appear unconcerned with everything, and therefore seem as normal as always.

“Good evening mother,” she addressed her. “Is everything well with you?”

“That depends child,” Mistress Rhaolin cast a scrutinous glare at her daughter. It made Annallya feel as if she were under interrogation in the palace dungeons rather than standing before her mother in their own home. “I am still very displeased you stole your pet from my chambers when he was supposed to be under conditioning. Had I finished explaining proper pet behavior to the little one, he might have been returned to you early, rather than handed back to the trainers.”

Annallya stood her ground, while at the same time doing her best to act non confrontational. The last thing she needed was to be reprimanded in front of the entire palace. “I will not apologize for desiring a conversation with my friend.”

“Yes,” her mother frowned. “As you so clearly demonstrated yesterday. What were the two of you conversing about?”

Annallya’s face shifted from adamant to curious. What possible interest could her mother have in the conversations of one whom she believed to be an unintelligent animal? Now it was her turn to become suspicious. “We spoke of the hassles of my day,” she cleverly lied. “I enjoy having someone, even a little someone, around to confide in my daily goings on and how they ware on me.”

“Hm, do you not have friends for occasions such as that?” Mistress Rhaolin asked with narrowed eyes.

“Yes and Andrill is one of them.” she calmly asserted.

Her mother remained silent for a short moment, then spoke again. “And has he said anything of his days these past weeks? Has he mentioned whether or not the trainers have been treating him well?”

That was definitively suspicious. Her mother wanted to know something, that much was obvious. Annallya was not sure of what, but ignorance seemed to be the best course of action for the moment. “He did not say a word of his time with the trainers. However he was in as good a mood as ever I remember, so I assumed that he was well off.”

Which was true, to an extent. Andrill had appeared to be in a cheerful mood, and said nothing of his time away these past weeks. She did not believe for a second, however, that he had not been purposefully avoiding the subject. The illusions of her home were beginning to fade before her eyes, and Annallya intended to discover for herself how her friend was really being treated.

“Good,” her mother said at last. “As . . . difficult as you have been these past weeks, I would still be remiss if my daughter’s  . . . friend were not returned to her in good condition.”

“Thank you mother,” she replied slowly.

Mistress Rhaolin merely nodded her acknowledgment before turning and striding away, leaving Annallya to wonder as to the true purpose of the conversation. Nevertheless she was quite tired from her training today, and wished nothing more than to return to her bed. Her mother had not walked in the direction of their apartment so it would seem she would have a peaceful rest of the night. As she was making her way towards their home, however, a voice called out.

“Is that the mighty giant Titan skulking through the halls? Protecting us all from our own guards?”

Annallya turned to see Thoren walking up to her, pristine and lovely as ever. “Mighty giant?” Annallya asked. “What are you- . . . . Oh, I understand. Has the whole city learned of my interactions with Vastra?”

“Of course not,” her friend replied lightly. “Only the whole palace.”

Annallya groaned. The last thing she needed right now was attention on her, for any reason at all.

“It is fortunate I happened upon you,” Thoren continued. “I require an escort to my bed chambers. I fear an attack from one of my servants”

Thoren continued walking and Annallya fell in beside her. “If Vastra did not desire a headache she should not have attempted to snatch my friend.”

“Yes I have also heard that. You have become quite protective of your little one. I had not expected you to take my advice so seriously.”

“You too?” Annallya groaned. “First my mother and her inquiries, now you.”

“If your mother is inquiring after you then it means she is concerned.” Thoren replied.

“Concerned over what?” she asked.

“You have been disappearing and returning without a word of where you go.” her friend explained.

Annallya cast a side glance at her friend. “Very well Thoren I confess. Every morning I go out into the forest, shrinking myself down in order to be as vulnerable as possible, where I receive training from a wise, rude, and surprisingly handsome man in how to battle wild humans and Titans alike.”

Thoren stopped walking for a moment and looked at her taller friend with a quirked eyebrow. Annallya merely gazed back impassively. “Honestly,” Thoren sighed. “If you insist on spinning fantastic tales, perhaps I should have you as my royal bard, rather than advisor. Your stories would be more famous than Tiana Farstrider herself.”

“You do me a great honor your Highness.” Annallya murmured with a bow.

“Really though Annallya, I am beginning to become concerned myself.” Thoren continued. “Where do you go?”

She shrugged in response as if it were of no concern at all. “I leave the city and I walk alone in the open fields.”

“You disappear to go for walks.” her friend said flatly.

“It clears my head, and helps me forget the trifles that pester me every day, whether it be training or my studies.” Annallya elaborated. For her lie to be convincing it had to sound like something she would do. It helped that Thoren, better than anyone, knew of the stresses that Annallya put up with every day, as she herself deals with them as well. “So for a little while I leave the city for the open air and the quiet. And for a time, it almost feels as if the world stops around me, so that I no longer have to worry of feel frustrated. It is my release.”

Thoren considered that as they walked together. “When you put it in such a way, I can understand then why you would want to disappear.”

Annallya breathed an internal sigh of relief as they neared Thoren’s bedroom. “I appreciate your concern for me, as a true sister would.”

Thoren paused for a moment outsider her door. “Come inside for a moment. There is something that I wish to show you.”

Annallya followed her inside. The layout of Thoren’s room was similar to Annallya’s, only with much more room. Her bed could comfortably fit three grown Titans, complete with a canopy and drapes for privacy. Her walls were decorated with elaborate tapestries, depicting great battles and Queens of the past. They were of her bloodline, always watching from their regal thrones. Their gaze had always made Annallya shiver inside. Other walls were decorated with swords, shields, and armor, more for display than to be used at any time. On her writing desk was a large cage, housing a tiny pet woman. The woman appeared to be older than the two of them by no more than a few winters of age. She had beautiful blonde hair cascading past her shoulders, that look well washed and groomed. Leave it to Thoren to take special care of her possessions. The tiny woman wore a modest dress of green, laced with golden-yellow lace, and a high neck. Thoren also liked to dress her pets up in immaculate outfits. The woman looked well off, she gave no signs of fear of trepidation at the sight of the two Titans, and even smiled at them as they approached her. Annallya had no doubt that Thoren took good care of her pet, and treated her warmly. It was a trait that Annallya used to admire in her friend. Now, however, seeing anyone caged as that woman was, even a comfortable cage, sickened her.

“This is my little Naela,” Thoren announced. “Naela, this is my grumpy step-sister, Annallya.”

Naela grabbed the skirt of her dress in both hands and gave a well practiced curtsy. “It is an honor to meet you mistress Annallya.”

Naela spoke very well, it seemed as though she had picked up the proper way Titans speak. Her accent, however, was very reminiscent of Andrill and Gaelin’s. Thoren reached over and opened the door to her cage. Naela took the cue and stepped out onto the desk.

“Show Annallya what you can do Naela. Perhaps it will help her forget her daily hassles.”

Naela curtsied again, before kicking off her slippers. “It would be my pleasure mistress.”

“Watch this,” Thoren told her, then she began to clap in a steady beat.

Naela started off tapping her foot to the beat as she gathered up her skirt. When her legs had the room they needed to move, she began stepping in time with the beat. It was dazzling to watch as she hopped from one foot to the other, lifting one leg in the air and kicking it about in different ways. Poised on the balls of her bare feet, Naela began to move up and down the desk. Annallya had never seen anyone dance so lightly, as if she were floating. It reminded her of how Gaelin and Andrill moved when they were fighting. All at once Naela stood on one leg and began to spin in a circle, allowing her skirt to drop from her hands as she spun. The skirt opened up in the air like a blooming flower bud in the spring. Annallya almost thought for a moment that she would leave the ground and spin into the air with the wind. She continued to dance like this until Thoren ceased clapping her hands, to which she came to a stop in a grand flourish of arms and skirt. Annallya applauded her performance, and Naela humbly curtsied again.

“That was incredible.” she breathed. “I have never seen such graceful dancing.”

“Annallya used to dance such as you,” Thoren told her. “When she was not stepping over everyone with her mammoth feet.”

Annallya glared at her friend since she decided it would be less than appropriate to punch her in front of the little woman.

“I am sure your dancing was beautiful mistress,” Naela panted.

Thoren frowned. “My dear you look tired. I shall fetch you some water.”

Thoren hastily ducked out of the room to find a servant to bring water for her pet. Annallya looked to make sure she was gone, then turned back to Naela. “That was truly beautiful. What is your name?”

Naela tilted her head. “Why it is Naela, Mistress Annallya.”

Annallya shook her head. “No, your real name. The name you were called before you were . . . taken.”

The woman’s eyes widened in shock, so much shock that her body actually trembled a little. “Jessiday Wedrin. Everyone I knew would call me Jess.” she whispered.

“That is a very pretty name.” Annallya said with a warm smile. “Did you have any family where you came from?”

“A mother and father, and a husband whom I-” she sniffed. “I miss every day.”

Annallya looked around, knowing Thoren could be back at any second. “Do not mention to Thoren that I have told you this Jess, but I promise you that you shall one day see them again. Soon, if it is within my ability. For now be of good cheer. There is not a Titan in Thylara who shall care for you better than Thoren.”

Jess’s entire body shook at hearing this, and she fell down at once to her knees, kissing Annallya’s fingers as she rested her hands on the table. “Stars above, bless you mistress! Bless you!”

Annallya, caught off guard, gently raised the tip of her finger so that Jess was looking up at her. “My name is Annallya, not mistress. You will address me as a friend.”

Sandeled footsteps announced Thoren’s return. Jess quickly stood up and managed to wipe the tears from her face before her mistress could notice. Fortunately Thoren mistook her heavy breathing for exhaustion.

“A servant should be back momentarily with some food and water for you Naela.” she explained.

“Thank you Mistress.” Jess breathed.

Annallya turned to her best friend. “As much as I would love to see more dancing Thoren, I must retire to bed. It has been a very long day.”

Thoren nodded. “Do not forget that there will be a war council held in a few days. As future Queen and advisor, we are to be present for it.”

“We shall go together then. Good night Thoren, good night Naela.”

Thoren and Jess said their good nights to her and Annallya strode from the room. In the spur of the moment, she had just promised a complete stranger her freedom, without any idea of how she was to give it to her. Annallya did know one thing, however. After hearing Andrill’s memories of his home, and seeing Jess break down into tears over the thought of her loved ones, she knew that she could no longer stand the thought of seeing these good people in cages. Somehow or other she was going to bring them home.

*****************************************************************************************

Mistress Rhaolin strode down the hall to her chambers, ignoring the servants that scurried by. Her conversation with her daughter had been enlightening, and set her mind at ease. Annallya had been telling the truth when she said that Andrill had not spoken of his time apart from her, that much she was certain of. It seems as though the little man had been properly cowed into obedience. Just as she had hoped he would be. Now, he was ready.

She entered her room and immediately set eyes upon her desk. Andrill lay peacefully in the bed he had been given by her, locked safely within his cage. The bed was made to his scale, but made purposefully large, so that it could comfortable hold three or four little humans. Assured that Andrill had not been taken again, Mistress Rhaolin turned and locked the door to her room. The sound caused Andrill to stir and rise from his bed.

“I trust you have slept well, little one.” she spoke.

“Yes Mistress.” was his reply. Very obedient, it made her smile. Sauntering over to him, she grabbed the cage in one hand and raised it up to eye level.

“I spoke to my daughter. It seems you have told the truth. She knows nothing of the time we have spent together, conditioning you.” she purred. “For that, I shall give you your reward for obeying me.”

Without explaining herself, Mistress Rhaolin set the cage on the ground and began to shrink. She stopped once she had reached her smallest height, the height she would have stood at as a human. Andrill stood wide eyed on the other side of the cage. He had only ever seen Annallya make herself small around a human, and he never would have believed Mistress Rhaolin to ever attempt the same thing. The Titan mistress lifted the door to his cage and stepped inside. Once inside, however, she began to grow again. The Titan grew until she was over seven feet tall, once again dwarfing her human guest. Seeing him in such a state, looking up at her stature, at her power, made her tingle inside. With a seductive grin, she took a step forward, and Andrill instinctively took a step back. She took another step forward, and he responded in kind. Even when his legs touched the bed, he tried to crawl over it it gain some distance. He stopped when a powerful hand gripped his ankle and pulled him back to the center of the bed. Before he could react, Mistress Rhaolin swung a leg over his body, trapping him between her thighs. She promptly sat down, pinning his body beneath her amazonian frame. She restrained his arms by pinning them to the bed. With her much larger size, she was far stronger than the young man at that moment. She held back his attempts to escape as if her were a babe. Andrill had felt fear before, but nothing like this. This was far beyond fear, it was terror. Terror, and emotions he could not quite understand in the moment, but would later feel shame for having whenever he would think back to this moment.

Mistress Rhaolin leaned in and embraced him in a powerful kiss, one that he could not fight against. When she pulled back, they were both breathing much quicker. Mistress Rhaolin, however, was not breathing from fear. “I sense that this is your first time.” she whispered. “You have nothing to be afraid of little one. I shall be gentle.”

Hours later Mistress Rhaolin gathered up her skirts and robes from the floor of the cage. Andrill lay huddled on the bed, having long since stopped shivering. It was adorable to behold. In addition, despite his youth and inexperience, he had been one of the most pleasurable ones she had had in quite some time. She reached a hand over and gently caressed his hair.