A Giant's Heart: Chapter 8

What I see peeking out from beneath the folded back tunic was, as expected, a large hairy vagina…as well as a very unexpected and equally hairy testicles just above her clitoris.

“What in the realms is this?”

Reaching out I pinch the fold and very gradually lift it a few inches to see what was beneath…then gently rest it back down again.  The anomalous nut was indeed a part of a full set.  Two sets of sex organs, one male and one female, separated by just a couple of inches.  Across this world and far beyond I had seen wonders that would make a lifelong scoundrel repent their sins and horrors that would make a devout nun abandon hope, but I had never seen that.  Certainly not on a humanoid creature.  I take another look at her overall form with new eyes.  The giant was brawny of build, had we been the same height she might still weigh more than me, but the body was definitely of female shape.  Large breasts, wide hips, a softer and rounder physique, and her facial features were definitely far fairer than her father’s had been.  Plus I had never seen a male hill giant with such a lush head of hair.  From head to toe it was the body of a woman, really quite an attractive one in her own way, with just one notable difference.

“Huh.”

I shake my head.  This didn’t change a thing though it certainly made her unique.  Arjan would have insisted we report this curiosity to the Academy but I had no intention on telling a living soul about what had happened out here.

I return to what I was doing.  Quickly I clean the layers of grime from her muscular upper leg.  Careful not to put any weight down on it I lean down between her huge legs to inspect her inner thigh.  I could see nothing of further concern.  It seemed the bone, while definitely broken, was sitting where it ought to be.  I pull the tunic back down again then return the makeshift blankets to cover her body.

As I stand I am stunned a moment to find a pair of burning eyes fixed on me.  I could see the fire flicker in her intense amber glare.  There was rage in those eyes, a giant’s rage, along with fear and a good amount of confusion.  She doesn’t move a muscle though her angry focused death stare is trying to bore a hole right through me.  The way she clenched her jaw and let out hissing breaths through her wide nostrils told me she was in a considerable amount of pain.

“You’re awake.”  I state in a voice that expressed confidence but not hostility.  “The magic is working I see.”

Her eyes then starts to dart around.  She sees the campfire, the wet dirty and bloody cloth in my hand, and the clothes of her parents draped over her.  Her gaze snaps back to me.  There was a lot going on in that enormous head right now as she pieced things together.

“How long have you been awake?”  I ask. When I get no answer I say.  “I was just cleaning your leg.  I wanted to see how bad it was.  It’s broken.”

She tries to sit up but is overcome with pain and dizziness and slumps back down again.

“Take it easy.  You took a hell of a fall.”  I pat my head to indicate her injury.

Reaching up she touches the source of pain on her own head and quickly finds the token.  Taking it in her fingers she looks at it a moment then throws it at me.  I easily catch it out of the air and give it a look.  It had grayed noticeably from when I put it on her.  I step closer to her, standing by her feet which still meant I was about a dozen feet back from her head.

“It saved your life.”  I say as I hold it between my finger and thumb to show it to her.  “Magic healing.”  Then in the giant language.  “Magic.”  Then again in my language.  “Do you understand?”

Still she scowls spitefully.  Gripping her father’s fur cloak she rubs it in her hand then looks down at it and I swear I could see her reliving those final terrible moments with her parents.  At last she looks back up at me and speaks in a broken but perfectly understandable common tongue.

“Why them, not me?”

“What did you say?”  I say in a hushed tone.

“Why them, not me?”  Again she asks the question.  The same question that had been turning over and over in my mind for years to which I’d found a thousand explanations yet not one satisfying answer.  She lets out a hiss of pain, her face grimaces, but still she stays fixed on me as she waits for a reply.  “Why?”

“I…I don’t know.”  Once more this giantess had sent my head spinning.

She nods, seeming to accept the answer, and she looks back down to her parents’ clothes covering her as a blanket.  Quietly she strokes them, lost in thought as she feels the texture in her thick fingers then brings them to her nose to smell them.  Was she mourning?

“Stupid human.”  She says suddenly.  “You stupid.”

“Ha!”  I let out a laugh despite myself.  I could not remember the last time anything or anybody had the nerve to insult me to my face.  “Yeah, I was just saying the same thing myself.”  Becoming more serious again I say.  “I took pity on you foul Giant.  You were so wretched lying there that I took pity.”

“Stupid.”

“Yeah.”  Straightening up I decide to level with her.  “Listen.  I didn’t want to kill you while you were helpless but…”

She cringes and cuts off my justifications, no longer the slightest bit interested on hearing why I had kept her alive.  “Leg hurt!”  

“Yes.”  I say in annoyance.  I was not accustomed to being interrupted and I very much wanted to get this explanation out in the open as soon as possible so she knew where we stood.  “Once you can fight we will…”

“Ow!”  She wipes her face with her great hand as she interrupts again.  “Head hurt.  Back hurt too.”

“I bet they do.”  I reply impatiently.  “Now listen to me Giant.  Once you are well enough…”

“Help me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Need help.”  She says bluntly.  “You help.”

“And why would I do that?”  How did I get on the other side of this discussion?

She shrugs and answers just as I had a moment ago.  “I dunno.”

“Giant…”

She points to the fire.  “You help.”  She points to the furs and the gourds and the disk in my hand.  “You help.”  She touches her throat then motions to the sky.  “You sing.  You pray for me.”  She rubs her sore head.  “Help me.  Need help.”

“Giant.” I say firmly.  “I have to tell you something…”

“Name is Osa.”

“Your…name?”

“Osa, not Giant.  Name is Osa.  Good name.”  She nods.  “Human have name?”

She had a name.  She was asking for my name.  She was asking me to help her.  We were conversing.  What kind of monster was this?  And the nerve of her to continually cut me off like that!  She didn’t have the first clue who it was she was talking to.

I sigh my reply.  “Caspian.”  Her face screws up with disapproval.  “Caspian Drake.”

For a moment she weighs up my name, one famous the world over, one that ought to have struck fear into her heart, but it was unfamiliar to her.  Then her expression eases and she nods.  “Caspian bad name.  Weak name.  Drake.  Drake good name.  Strong name.  Drake help.”

“Giant!”  I snap.  “I am your enemy!  I am not going to help you, I am going to kill you!”

That gets through.  She falls quiet and subtly pulls away from me.  Simmering in pain and anger she glares at me before summoning her courage once again.  “NO!”  She shouts and balls her hands into tight fists.  “NO!”

“I am not arguing with you Giant.”

“Name is Osa!”  She slams her mighty fists into the ground and shoots up to a sitting position.

“I don’t care!”  I shout back.  “Fuck!  I knew this was a  mistake.”

“You help!  Stupid Drake help!”

“Why should I?”

“I dunno!”

“You are ridiculous!” I spin around looking for something to take my frustration out on.  Seeing a nearby rock I unsheathe my sword and bring it down with all of my might.  “Aaah!”  There is a deafening clang as the blade sunders the stone in two equal halves followed by a long moment of silence.  I take a deep breath and turn back toward the annoying giant.

If she was intimidated she doesn’t show it.  She seemed more perplexed and insulted than anything.  “What…what that?”  She asks.

“What’s what?”  I ask back, exasperated at this entire situation.

“Rid…ridic…ridicalas.”  She says.  “What that?”

Shaking my head I sigh.  “It means you.  You are ridiculous.”

“I am Osa.”

“Yes, I know that.”

“You say name.  Osa!”

“No.”

In a weakening voice she says.  “Osa good name.  Proud name.”

“I am sure it is.”  I too soften my tone.

She looks at my drawn blade with sadness in her amber eyes, the very blade that had struck down her parents.  Her eyes waver then she sways, a thin crimson trickle of fresh blood slowly rolls down her forehead.  “Ohhh.”  Bringing her hand to her face she suddenly swoons back to land with a heavy thump against the earthen bank.  “Hurt.  It hurt.”  She whispers.  “Help.”  Her eyes flutter a moment before she passes out once more.

The night goes quiet again beyond the crackle and pop of the warm fire.  What an infuriating exchange!  Bad enough that she was an evil murderous giant, but she was also rude and bossy and bloody annoying!

I stare at the unconscious body of the monster, her kind face peaceful once more.  Then I look down to my hands.  In my right was my sword, the starmithril blade gleaming in the moonlight, the tool by which I had found fame and fortune and done all of the great deeds written about me in the storybooks.  In my left a small off-white disk, plain and unremarkable, an item of mercy.

“Her name is Osa.”  I say quietly.  “It is a good name.”

I was alone out here.  There was nobody here to watch me or judge me.  Who did I think I was fooling?  Stabbing my sword into the ground I whisper the command for it to stay and leave it behind to go care for the fallen giant once again.

Chapter 9