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From one cage to another.
Evie leaned back against the bars, staring blankly out the window. It was mounted so high she never would have been able to see it otherwise, but as fate would have it they were dangling pretty high themselves. When the giant had pushed through the cottage door, it became clear that the five friends weren’t his first attempt at kidnapping some company—though they might have been the first people. He’d taken one look around, then walked straight to the center of the room and thrust them into a rounded, oversized bird cage hanging from the ceiling on a chain.
Where he’d gotten such a massive item was a complete mystery. As was the prehistoric bird that was clearly meant to go inside. At this point, the friends could only hope it was gone for good as they sat in the metal circle, legs stretched out in front of them, resting their heads against the bars.
“I can’t believe this,” Ellanden muttered, glaring a hole into the floor.
It wasn’t the first time he’d said it, nor would it be the last. But by now, the others were too exhausted to engage him. It felt like years ago that they’d woken up on that icy plain. The leopard attack seemed like another lifetime. As did their walk through the forest, their fall off the icy cliff.
“...cannot believe it...”
Evie turned with a sigh to Cosette. “How’s your head?”
The young fae had struck it violently against the ceiling of the cage when they were thrust inside. Just a tad more force, and there was a decent chance she wouldn’t have opened her eyes.
“It’s fine,” she murmured, lifting a hand just to be sure. A delicate wince rippled across her face, but she refused to acknowledge it. “Just fine.”
“You know,” Freya began testily, “now would have been a great time to pull out that handy seeing stone. We could have dropped it into the water dish. Your dad would be on the way.”
Evie shot her a look of warning, while Cosette glared through a tangle of blood-matted hair. “I said I was sorry for the stone.”
The witch smiled sweetly. “And now we’re all sorry for it.”
“...can’t believe it...”
“Would you stop?” Evie snapped, shooting a glare at Ellanden. “We get it, okay?”
He glared back just as fiercely. “I’m sorry if I’m having a little trouble wrapping my head around this,” he replied with bitter sarcasm. “It’s just that we’re sitting in an enormous birdcage because some relic from the Stone Age decided he wanted a pet! What the hell does that mean anyway? We’re the size of his thumb! What interest could the creature possibly have?”
“It isn’t that strange,” Asher said grimly. “Imagine if your childhood toys suddenly came to life. Wouldn’t you want them to play?”
“This is not the same thing,” Ellanden answered stiffly.
“Oh, would you guys drop it already?” Freya interrupted, shifting uncomfortably before closing her eyes. “This is bad enough without all the squabbling.”
Cosette stared at her for a long moment. “There’s a human ribcage behind your head.”
The witch glanced over her shoulder, then let out a shriek and bolted forward, sending the bones crashing to the floor. They shattered upon impact, scattering to different corners of the room.
Five heads appeared above them, staring down from the cage.
“Well I guess that answers the question of whether or not we can get out,” Evie muttered.
“Maybe not,” Ellanden countered hopefully, his dark eyes sweeping over the room. “If I could force through the bars and make it to that window—”
“And then what?” Asher finally lost his temper, glaring across the cage. “You’d break through the glass? There’s no way out, Ellanden.”
“Well at least I’m trying—”
The cage fell silent as the door swung open and the giant came back inside. He stretched up his massive arms before striding to the center of the room, giving the cage a playful shake.
A ‘playful shake’ that sent the friends crashing into the bars.
“Fall down,” he chortled, shaking it again. “Funny.”
He thinks this is FUNNY?!
Evie slid back to the base of the cage, discreetly grabbing the bars behind her, glaring up at the giant with all her might. The others took the same defensive position but Ellanden pushed to his feet and stood straight in the middle of the circle, as if challenging the giant to get a closer look.
The giant was more than happy to oblige.
With a look of almost childlike excitement, he flipped up the metal latch and opened the door to the cage. A greedy hand reached inside, fingers grasping and ready. But the second the door was open, Ellanden vaulted off the creature’s wrist and made a running leap for freedom.
There were few things in the world faster than a fae. A vampire was one. A grimlock was another. Before that day, Evie wouldn’t have thought to add ‘giant’ to that list.
But she would have been wrong.
In a flash, his hand shot out again—snatching Ellanden straight out of the air. The fae let out a painful gasp as he was jerked backwards, then struggled automatically as those fingers wrapped around his ribs. He gave up a moment later, realizing it was useless. When the giant thrust him back into the cage, he held perfectly still—watching as the creature leaned closer to look him in the eyes.
“One mouth.”
The others were still staring in confusion when he jabbed a finger inside the cage, prodding at the fae. Ellanden sucked in a quick breath and twisted his head. It looked as though his jaw was broken, but when the giant waited for confirmation, he somehow managed to speak.
“One mouth.”
The giant nodded with satisfaction, then tilted his head.
“One chest.”
Before the fae could react he flicked him in the center of the ribs, knocking him to the floor with such force it was all he could do not to cry out in pain. The cage rattled and he rolled onto his side a moment later, a bracing arm wrapped around his torso.
“One...one chest.”
The giant’s eyes glittered in the darkness, watching as he pushed shakily to his feet. There was a moment where he said nothing. Then he leaned ever so slightly closer.
“One hand.”
The fae looked up at him slowly.
“...two hands.”
The giant stared back, intent.
“One hand.”
A charged silence fell over the room. The fae slowly backed into the cage.
The door slammed shut a moment later and the giant swept out of sight. Just three large steps and he was already back outside, whistling under his breath as he went off to find some other unholy carcass to eat for dinner. Ellanden stared after him for a long time, then turned to the rest.
“I vote we stay here forever.”
It wasn’t funny. It really wasn’t funny.
But whether it was a delayed-shock reaction or simply the fact that they were dangling fifty feet off the ground in a bird cage, Evie found herself trying not to laugh.
“Forever, huh? The guy convinced you?”
Ellanden nodded swiftly, not seeming to notice the way he kept gripping his wrists. Eternally grateful they were still attached to the rest of his body.
“Furthermore, I’ll turn you in if you try to escape,” he continued. “Shriek for help, jump and point—all that.”
This time, the laughter wasn’t hers alone. The bickering stopped and the tension between them vanished as Asher swiftly got to his feet, helping his shell-shocked friend to the floor.
“That’s very gallant of you,” he answered with an amused smile, gently tilting the fae’s head back and forth to survey the damage. “Particularly the shrieking.”
Ellanden nodded stiffly, staring at the ceiling while the vampire examined his jaw. “Yes, well...I’m known for being gallant.”
Asher pulled back with a sympathetic smile. “I think he broke your mouth.”
“Yep. Feels that way.”
* * *
THE NEXT DAY, WHEN the giant came back, the friends tried a different ploy.
While the rest of them remained around the edges, leaning back against the bars, the princess was sprawled in the middle of the circle. Face-down. Crimson hair splayed over the floor.
The giant took a single look, then his eyes tightened in concern.
“Asleep?”
Asher shook his head slowly, pure murder in his eyes. “She’s not asleep. She’s dead. You killed her last night.”
It wasn’t a stretch of the imagination. Sometime in the early hours of the morning, the giant had gone outside to relieve himself. On the way back in, he’d stumbled in the darkness and smacked his head into the cage. A bruise for him, several hairline fractures for his new pets. Evie had gotten some of the worst of it—being thrown straight into the ceiling before crashing down to the floor.
Coincidentally, that’s when the friends got the idea to stage another escape.
“Dead?” the giant repeated in surprise.
Evie lay very still, eyes closed, trying to breathe as little as possible. She felt the cage sway as the creature leaned forward for a better look. She suddenly wondered if he had a name.
“Yes—dead,” Asher snapped, hoping very much the giant would take their word for it. At worst, she’d be left in the trashcan. At best, he’d put her outside. Either way, she’d get past the bars of the cage. “What did you expect? You can’t be so rough.”
The giant stared another moment, then lifted his shoulders sadly. “Food, then.”
WAIT, WHAT?!
“Hang on—I was wrong!” Asher cried as she scrambled to her feet, retreating hastily to blend in with the others. “See? It looks like she got better!”
The giant leaned closer, blinking slowly.
“Better?” When the princess gave an awkward wave, his mouth fell open in a gap-toothed smile. “All better! Nothing can stay dead for long.”
He reached out happily, but Cosette caught the back of her shirt—yanking her discreetly out of sight. There was a moment of confusion then he leaned down to examine all of them, resting his chin against the base of the cage as he greedily surveyed his prizes.
“Pointy teeth?”
Evie glanced at Asher, half-surprised the giant had recognized what he was. Scurrying about so far below them she’d assumed that, to giants, people of the kingdoms all looked the same.
The vampire took a step back, making a conscious effort not to bare his fangs.
He’d seen what had happened to Ellanden. A careless flick of his finger and those teeth could get knocked out for good. Fortunately, the giant had the attention span of an under-motivated goldfish. His beady eyes locked on Asher for only a moment before roving delightedly over the flowers sewn into the hem of Freya’s dress.
“Pretty!”
He gave them a tug and the entire dress came off her shoulders, caught only by Ellanden’s quick hands. She let out a yelp, leaning back with the fabric gathered around her chest, then shamelessly hid behind the fae when the giant reached for her again.
“Careful,” Ellanden tempered, holding up his hands. He thought better of it a moment later, and hid them both behind his back. “You need to be careful, remember?”
It seemed a foolish strategy, speaking to the giant as if he was a child, but it seemed to have the desired effect. The giant lowered his hand, staring at the fae with a puzzled expression.
“White?”
The prince lifted his eyebrows and glanced at the others. But they didn’t seem to have any better idea than he did himself. Then Evie cupped a hand over her mouth.
“Your hair,” she whispered. “He’s talking about your hair.”
Ellanden lifted his eyes, hoping the giant wouldn’t want a closer look. “Oh...yeah, it’s white.”
The giant was puzzled. Ellanden didn’t look old, but he had no other explanation for such a thing. Then his eyes drifted to Cosette’s ivory locks and he drew the only possible conclusion.
“Married.”
The fae glanced at each other before Ellanden quickly shook his head.
“No, not married. We’re actually—”
“Married,” the giant said firmly, gesturing between them. Not only was he pleased to have solved the mystery, but he was slightly proud—as if he’d only just learned the word.
The fae nodded quickly.
“Okay—married.”
The giant settled back down, looking satisfied. Twice, his eyes circled the cage. Each time, they came to rest on the princess. He sighed contentedly, staring with a lazy smile.
“Happy not dead. My favorite.”
She tried to smile back, then cast a terrified look at the others.
...jealous?
The giant stared a moment longer, then abruptly grabbed her out of the cage. “You come with me now.”
Evie let out a gasp, stunned by the speed of it, but there was nothing she could do. Those fingers had curled around her once again, and no sooner had she registered their presence than she was being lifted out of the cage and carried across the floor.
“NO!” Asher shouted, lunging after them.
Ellanden quickly caught him by the cloak, yanking him back before the giant could notice, but the vampire was beside himself. Instead of trying to pull away he smashed his head backwards, deliberately hitting the prince in the mouth. Ellanden let out a soft cry, releasing him while torrents of blood poured down his chin, but Freya stopped him as well. A vampire versus a witch. A slender hand rose to his chest. But the tips of her fingers were glowing.
“You’ll get yourself killed,” she murmured, serious as Evie had ever heard. “Chances are you’ll get her killed as well. Breathe, Ash. He’s not going to hurt her.”
Whatever Asher said in reply, the princess would never hear it. They may have been trapped inside a simple cabin, but it was a cabin with giant-sized dimensions. By the time they reached the opposite side of the room she could barely make out her friends, still dangling in their little prison.
Without the slightest hope of a rescue, she turned her attention back to the giant.
He was whistling again, creaking the floorboards as he threw another piece of wood onto the roaring fire. The princess let out a shriek when the flames climbed higher—scrambling uselessly against the back of his hand. But he simply chuckled and sank down into a crudely-made rocking chair, reaching back behind him onto a shelf. A moment later, he dropped a book onto his lap. A book approximately the size of the royal equestrian ring back at the castle.
Evie’s hair flew back as she stared up at him with wide eyes.
“Read.”
Where would a giant get a book? It would have to be from another giant. It isn’t like they sell these things at the village library. I wonder how—
“Read!”
Her hair flew back again as he repeated the demand, jabbing at the dusty cover with his finger. She glanced between them without the slightest idea how to get such a thing done.
“I don’t...” she trailed off uncertainly. “Is it in the common tongue—”
Instead of answering, he flipped open the cover and plopped her down at the top of the very first page. Each letter was the size of her head. She had to stand on the tips of toes if she wanted to get enough distance to see the entire word. But giant was waiting. And giants didn’t wait long.
“Back when the world was young, when dragons ruled the skies and kraken ruled the seas, Arsinia the Cruel set out on her maiden voyage...”
Evie’s eyes flashed up, but the giant was reclining—rocking back and forth with a bizarrely peaceful expression on his face. She cast another helpless look towards the cage, wondering if there was a way to renounce her title as favorite, before he cleared his throat and she yelped.
“The seas were rough, churning with winter storms, but Arsinia had no fear...”
It was a simple story, in a layout impossible for someone of regular size. In order to keep pace, the princess found herself running back and forth—completing one arduous line, only to race back across the page to begin the next. The heat of the fire was making her dizzy. By the time she finished the first two pages, she was panting for breath.
Why does he want me to do this? Why does a giant even have a book?
As if reading her thoughts, the giant shifted contentedly. One hand kept the book steady, while the other lifted her gently and flipped the page.
“Good book.” His eyes peeked open for a split second. “My mother.”
Even amidst the bizarre situation, Evie’s mouth fell open in surprise.
“Arsinia?” she asked. “Arsinia is your mother?”
Arsinia the Cruel—her mind tagged on quickly. But it gave way to other things. ‘Back when the world was young, when dragons ruled the skies and kraken ruled the seas.’
She stared up at him hesitantly. “How long do giants live?”
His eyes closed again as the rocking began anew. “Long time. Sometimes...too long.”
She considered this a moment, staring down at the next line of writing scribbled across the page. After a few seconds, her eyes flickered up to the cage.
“It must get lonely,” she murmured.
The giant prodded the book once again, making her fall right off her feet.
“Read,” he commanded, closing his eyes once more.
She pushed slowly to her feet, shoved curtains of hair from her face, then began the little workout all over again—racing back and forth across the page.
She couldn’t even imagine how it must have looked from a distance. She couldn’t even imagine what her parents would say if they could see her now. Scrambling back and forth across a boat-sized copy of Arsinia the Cruel. A giant snoring in the rocking chair just below.
She’d met a giant only one time before—her mother’s friend, Bernie. While her father had been incredibly hesitant to let her go her mother had led the way down to his cottage, rambling on and on about how they were expected for lunch and couldn’t be late.
Her parents had all sorts of weird things like that. A company of dwarves that somehow made their way past the Belarian Royal Guard just to surprise her father in his chambers. A trio of fairies that dropped out of the sky whenever there was mention of free food. She’d long ago learned not to question it and simply roll with the punches...but this? They would have some pretty strong feelings about this. Just to start—
Wait...snoring?
The princess paused her story, glancing slowly over her shoulder only to see the giant in question passed out in his chair. His mouth was hanging open and little trickles of drool were streaming down his chin. If there was ever a chance to escape...
In a flash, she leapt off the book—sliding down the length of the chair until her feet hit the floor. Once there, she peered back up at the giant. He hadn’t moved an inch.
Okay...just think.
While she might be free to roam about the floor her friends were still trapped up in that cage, and she had no way to reach them. Even if she could somehow get them down, the door was shut and they didn’t have the slightest chance of opening it.
Ellanden’s right...our best shot is the window.
Armed with that small flicker of hope, she took off running once more. Hoping that Freya could use some handy spell to coax open the glass. Hoping that she could reach the birdcage before their nameless giant woke up in a huff, wondering what happened to Arsinia’s magic axe.
“Please see me,” she whispered as she streaked across the floor and neared the bottom of the cage. “Please be looking...”
Sure enough, four heads appeared instantly above her—staring down with equal parts relief and shock. They vanished for a split second, probably having some kind of conference, then reappeared a second later. At the same time, they started pointing wildly to the corner of the room.
The princess followed their gaze to a mop propped up in the corner.
The smoke is getting to them. They’ve been up there too long.
Even so far away, she could see Ellanden roll his eyes. With exaggerated slowness, he mimed knocking the mop over—angling it so the handle fell against the bars of the cage. At that point the friends would assumedly break through the bars, slide down the handle, and make it out the window before the giant had a chance to open his eyes.
...not the greatest plan.
...but it was all they had.
Evie took a deep breath and nodded, changing direction mid-course and sprinting over to the mop. She had no idea how she’d knock the thing over, any more than she knew why a giant would have a mop in the first place. The handle was longer than most trees. It wasn’t like she could just give the base of it a shove—
All at once she froze, cocking her head as she listened to the world around her. Something was different. She couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but something wasn’t right. Then it hit her.
The room was quiet. The snoring had stopped.
No sooner had her friends started screaming than a hand flew out of nowhere and she was yanked straight off her feet. The world vanished in a rush of wind and crimson hair, and her hands clamped over her mouth in a vain attempt to silence her own scream. Her body tried to curl into a defensive position, but she was stopped by the thick fingers wrapped around her waist. When she finally lifted her head, she found herself staring into a pair of enormous beady eyes.
“Silly girl...nowhere to run.”
Her teeth sank into her lower lip as tears spilled freely down her face. She could hear her friends shouting above her. She was just inches from the monster’s mouth.
Then all at once, that mouth curved in a lopsided smile.
“The story’s not finished.”
