I open my eyes, but I don't remember falling asleep. Far in the distance, the sky appears to be made of some sort of fabric, and a giant light casts a glow upon the fabric cavern. Slightly groggy, I turn my head to focus on the light source... Is that... a huge lamp? I must be dreaming.

  I sit up, but this doesn't feel like a dream. No, this feels quite real. I hear something nearby, but it's hard to pinpoint exactly where the noise is coming from. Is it... sniffling? It sounds like soft crying. My curiosity is fully piqued, and I believe I have fully woken up. Rather quicker than normal, since I'm in a foreign land.

  I turn around, and--

  And...

  I'm dumb-struck. 

  I'm not quite sure how to process what I'm seeing. For, there, in front of me, a giant girl appearing roughly in her early twenties is sitting on the 'floor' of the cavernous... uhh... tent? 

  Her face is flushed. She has quite clearly been crying about something. But, soon, she spoke to me. It was loud, but not overbearingly so.

  "...Luca... are you alright?" the mystery woman asked me. Or, at least I assumed she was talking to me.

  You see, something popped up in my mind. I don't know why I am here, or how I got here. In fact, a lot of my life seems to be fuzzy now. I can remember language, and facts about random things like animals, cities, settlements. Common knowledge, so to speak. But that is all. I can't remember any family, or any friendships. Did I ever have any?

  I push the thoughts away. One thing keeps popping up in my mind. The call of survival. I've heard tales of giants and giantesses living on a huge continent to the East of the human lands.  Yes, that is where I most likely am. And the one singular word that keeps bouncing around in my head, urging me to preserve myself?

  Run.

  And... so I do.

  ******

  All I did was ask Luca if he was feeling alright. But...

  "AHHHH!" Luca screamed at the top of his lungs.

  Luca began a dead sprint in the opposite direction of me. I'm not sure if he had a plan, because the way he was currently heading was a dead end.

  "...! Luca! Wait! Stop, everything's going to be okay!" I plead with him, and moved after him.

  ******

  The giantess said something to me, sounding quite alarmed. It was quite clearly the common language, I would have been able to understand it, that is, if I was able to. Nothing registered in my mind except...

  Run.

  I ran, and ran. It didn't seem to be very long, but I quickly realized something.

  I had nowhere to run to.

  I press my back against the edge of the massive cloth siding of the cave-tent, and stare wide-eyed back at my pursuant. 

  Giants and giantesses are enormous humanoid creatures that will devour anything small enough to fit into their mouths, sometimes even foregoing the civility of chewing. The thought terrified me; possibly ending up in this lady's stomach, alive, and helpless.

  I couldn't help it, but I curled up into the floor and put my hands over my head. A futile defence, I know.

  "Pl... please, don't hurt me.." I begged.

  I was only answered with silence. Well, at least for a moment. I sat, shivering on my own, waiting for what would likely be my demise. I'd never heard of any humans ever surviving an encounter with a giantess or giant of any sort. Even the strongest armies and mages in the world steered clear of the forbidden continent.

  But, eventually, she answered. And she sounded just as scared as I was, at least in the tone of her voice. My blind panic took a moment to overcome, but I was able to listen and comprehend what the giantess was speaking to me, now.

  "I promise you that I will not hurt you," she squeaked out. 

  I chanced a glance upwards, and she was on her hands and knees... bowing to me, in the most humble way imaginable. Something I'd only ever heard of servants doing for their royal masters. In all honesty, I was... shocked.

  "...I... um," I began to speak up.

  The giantess raised her head, and stared at me intently. I had her undivided attention now, and she didn't seem to dare to twitch a muscle. I didn't feel safe, but, at the very least, perhaps... I could talk to this giantess.

  Yes... maybe there was still hope for me to live, after all, if she was willing to parlay with me.

  "..." I lost my composure, and ended up being quiet for a few seconds.

  "..." the giantess just stared back at me, patiently.

  "... I, um. I'm... scared," I finally managed to speak up. It wasn't quite what I wanted to say, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. If nothing else, I wanted to let this woman know my feelings, and see what happens next. See if she had any answers, or solutions.

  The giantess's lip quivered, but only slightly. She immediately corrected it.

  "That... That's okay, Luca," she answered, and managed to muster up a disarming smile. "I understand. But... I just want to let you know, that I am not here to hurt you."

  With that, the giantess switched positions, and sat on her rear end, cross-legged.

  "I will wait right here. You can stay in that corner if it helps you feel any better, and we can just... talk?" she answered me.

  I've got to say, this situation wasn't nearly as bad as my brain previously expected it to be. Although my heart still seemed to be beating a million beats an hour, I think I finally exhaled a calm breath or two.

  "Y-y-yes ma'am," I managed to answer.

  The giantess seemed concerned about that.

  "Luca, I've got a question. Do.. you know who I am?" the giantess asked, with a hint of sorrow present in her voice.

  I looked at her for a long, hard minute. No. I'd never seen her in my life. She was pretty, though. Princess-like. Now that I wasn't cowering in fear as much, I was able to focus on her actual features. A lithe physique, suited for a rouge. Pink hair, as if her mother was actually just a rose. Her face seemed exotic, as if she didn't hail from the same land as I did. No, I didn't know who she was, but... before I could stop myself, I told her a bit too much of what was going on in my mind.

  I shook my head no.

  "I don't recognize who you are, but also, I don't know if I'd forget someone as pretty as you," I answered, instantly feeling like a dumbass for being so forward with a giantess. She reeled back, slightly, mouth agape.

  I cowered nearly instantly, remembering that if I accidentally offended her, she could easily end my life in a myriad of different ways! "I'm sorr-"

  "You're cute, too," she quickly answered me, cutting me off.

  Her reply worked as intended, threw me off-guard, and whatever doubts I had about being crushed or eaten flew out the window again, so to speak.

  "...-t-thank you," I managed to answer, suddenly feeling bashful. Eye contact was becoming increasingly harder now that I knew this giantess found me to somehow be appealing.

  "You're welcome, Luca! So, I'm guessing you've suffered some type of memory loss? Does that sound about right?" she replied.

  I thought about it for a second, then nodded. "Yes, I think so..."

  "Okay. Sit tight, and I'll cover everything I think you should know," she began.

  I complied, and mirrored the way she was sitting. Cross-legged. Once I was comfortable, I met her gaze again, and worked up the courage to keep a respectable amount of eye contact. I was dying for some answers, as this entire situation of being alone with a giantess, of all things, was really confusing me.

  "So, my name is Amelie. I have known you for most of my life--"

  *******