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Author's Chapter Notes:

From here on out expect a lot more size mixed with story. Hope you guys like it!

 

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“…and then you will return as an Attendant. Do you understand?”

Emil was sitting across from the elderly man, his dopey and vacant expression making it painfully obvious that he hadn’t heard a word of what was said. The elder sighed and began tentatively stroking his magnificent beard. The silence went on for a full minute before Emil’s eyes widened with realization.

“Ah- Yes, you’re right…” He nodded unconvincingly.

“Would you like me to repeat it to be sure?” The elder offered politely.

Once again Emil nodded. “Yeah…Sorry to make you repeat it for the third time.”

It was actually the sixth time, but the old man let that particular fact slide. It was the least he could do after all. “Right, well as I said before. Your duty as you know is to attend to Lady Alexandra’s needs and desires. No request is off the table and you should steel yourself for any and everything. What you do reflects on Windermere as a whole. In a sense you are a representative. It is one of the highest honors she can give one of us.”

Funny, to the supposed honored one it felt like anything but.

Ignoring the skepticism emanating from Emil he proceeded. “Today will be spent preparing for your transition to your new life. All your ties to the village shall be severed and you shall depart with Lady Alexandra on the morrow. Typically this would be spent saying farewell to family members and spouses but ah…You have oft been unfortunate in that regard have you not? Tis a shame, but it does make things simpler.”

In other words he had no girlfriend and no living relatives so no problem right? Emil glared at the elderly man before him, repulsed by the hidden meaning in his words. “I have a lot of friends.” Came the stubborn rebuttal, sounding more childish than he had hoped.

“And you will be sorely missed by them I am sure.” The elder shot back. “But the decision has been made lad. There is naught we can do but try to brace you for it. Do not hate me for the will of Lady Alexandra.”

Of course he was right. Once Alexandra decided on something the matter was settled. No amount of pouting or protesting would change that. This was merely a courtesy, a formality for his sake. But that didn’t mean Emil had to like it. “So what then?” He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

The elder cleared his throat, a surefire sign that he was going to ramble at length. “Once everything has been taken care of and goodbyes spoken, you and Lady Alexandra shall depart on a Pilgrimage. Just as the first Attendant Hue and all others before you. During this time she will personally instruct and train you in your duties until she feels you are competent and able. Then you both will return and all will proceed from there. All your days will be spent at Lady Alexandra’s side and Windermere shall forever be indebted to you. You shall leave as Emil the farmhand, but you shall return as Emil the Attendant. Do you understand?”

The Pilgrimage…Amidst all his scattered thoughts Emil had forgotten all about it. The small window of time in which he would be alone and away from the village with only Alexandra at his side. Neither he nor anyone else knew what actually happened during this journey. Only that once an Attendant returned from it they were different. It was a journey that turned the proud young Andrei into the subservient man he had been during his service. Emil shuddered just imagining what sort of a broken shell of a man he would return as.

“And I leave on the morrow?”

“Correct.”

“Seven Hells…And here I was looking forward to asking a girl out during the Flower Festival.” The young man laughed dryly. The idea of asking a woman out now seemed oddly humorous.

Across from him the elder didn’t seem to particularly enjoy the joke. “Also…” He cleared his throat. “I doubt I need to say this but should you get any ideas of running from your duties…Don’t.” There was an edge to his weathered eyes that wasn’t there before. This was no mere warning. It was a threat. “Lady Alexandra will find you. And even if she does not, your actions could lead to catastrophe for the town. It is unlikely you could return, and even if you did-“

“I understand.” Emil stated flatly. Fleeing had already long since crossed his mind and been ruled out so he didn’t need a reminder, especially not from some old codger.

He nodded, though not without arching an eyebrow at the moodiness of the typically submissive young man before him. “I see…Once you return then you will be an Attendant and as village custom dictates we cannot interfere with your duties.”

That was an outright lie but Emil didn’t have the energy to call him out. There was no rule regarding town treatment of an Attendant. It was merely an unspoken superstition passed down through the generations. But the fact this man had the audacity to speak it as though it were law was infuriating.

If nothing else the building rage allowed Emil to put aside his despair for a moment in favor of a new incorrigible thought. The idea that this session was going to last for quite a while longer.

 

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This was it. After this they’d be leaving.

Emil took one last look at the building he had called his home. It perhaps wasn’t the fanciest place but it certainly wasn’t bad, very middle of the road just like its occupant. Was this all really necessary? Of course it was far too late to begin wondering that.

Alexandra stood before the building with a wide smile. Her beautiful blonde features and bright blue eyes were absolutely elated, like a child about to break into a new toy. “I always love this part!” She giggled excitedly.

All around the crowd watched on. Yesterday Emil would’ve been a part of that crowd, likely somewhere in the back, but now he had the “pleasure” of a front row seat. He looked up to the giantess eagerly popping her knuckles, then down to the home he had spent so much time living in.

He steeled himself as Alex grabbed the edges of his old roof, his small, callused hands clenching tight. This was his last tie to the town, and as the elder had told him all his ties had to be severed. Once this was gone that would be the end of it.

The building may have been made with stone but it crumbled almost immediately to the large fingers, allowing the digits to grip the roof and pull it off with seeming ease. Alexandra turned to the crowd and showed off the nearly undamaged top of the house. It remained in pristine condition all things considered, nary a shingle out of place. Alex grinned and flipped it over to show the interior as well, offering a clear visual before her palms crashed in on one another and ripped through the shingles in a single large tear. What was once essentially untouched had now become a few broken fragments that were carelessly tossed aside. Oohs and ahhs followed as the giant took a bow. Like it was just a show and not a giant destroying someone’s home.

Bit by bit the giant poked her fingers into the walls and ripped each and every stone, either casting it aside or crushing it to dust in her fist. In what felt like a couple short minutes the house was nearly completely torn apart and in its place was a pile of stone and bricks that once comprised it. Scattered among it all sat the few pieces of furnishings Emil had. Shelves, a simple bed, a carpet, pots, pans, farming tools, so on and so forth. The only evidence that this pile of debris and junk was anything but.

Seeing it all like this was…strange. He was surprised by how little this horrific scene bothered him. It wasn’t that he didn’t grasp what was happening. The home he had lived and grown up in was being destroyed by a giddy giant. It was just…Emil had expected to be more saddened by what he was witnessing. But really what was he losing? A few poultry belongings.  Not much compared to what else had happened today. Not a big deal relative to his new sentence he supposed.

At least Alexandra seemed to be having fun with it. She playfully and thoroughly dismantled the home with her bare hands. Taking great care to savor and relish the feeling of wanton destruction she was so easily causing. Even once it was naught but debris and it seemed over she raised her leather boot over and began stomping with a very pleased smile. Each stomp shook the ground, breaking the bricks and wood into little bits. To the giant it was likely no different than stepping on twigs. With each lowering of her foot the debris pile shrank and shrank, compressed and crushed repeatedly until finally it was little more than a pile of splinters and dust. With the demolition finished a giant boot set foot over the miniscule pile and the blonde giant stood proudly to the impressed noises of the crowd.

Emil’s last attachment to Windermere had been smashed underfoot. Sort of fitting in retrospect really.

Alexandra turned her head and smiled down at the young man once the deed was done. There was no malice in her visage. If anything she seemed genuinely happy and without remorse, though perhaps in some ways that was worse. Her hand came down near him and opened expectactly. It was obvious that she wanted him to climb aboard, but instead of rushing into her grasp Emil remained skeptical about the open palm.

“Come, we have much to do Emil.” She urged him on.

One last look. If nothing else he wanted last look around at all the faces who had watched the scene unfold. He made a note to remember their expressions. Nervous, unsure, optimistic, resigned, the last time these people would likely look at him directly and this was his parting gift. Not a single teary eye in the bunch. What a joke.

Emil smiled wanly and turned his back to them, taking the first step on his new life.

Alexandra easily lifted him up and set him atop her shoulder, and off they went. With a few ground-shaking steps the Pilgrimage was off.

 

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