by Lily Thomas
Sarah came up beside her. “Has he agreed to find her then?”
“Thought you were against this, so why do you care?” Elizabeth was starting to wonder if she gave Sarah too many liberties. She didn’t need to be questioned at every turn.
“I am, but we are still friends. We can't let anything get between us, when we are hostages of the fire giants. I am sorry for what I said earlier.”
A smile spread over Elizabeth's face. “I am pleased to hear you say that. I don’t want to lose your friendship during such a trying time.”
“I heard him speak our language.” Sarah muttered.
“He does.” Elizabeth was also mystified about how he knew their language. She didn’t know of a single human who could speak any of the giant languages.
The fire giant called out to her, interrupting her thoughts.
“You are being summoned. Good luck.” Sarah said as Elizabeth walked away.
Stryme watched as the human female walked towards him with her head held high and her backbone straight.
Was there truly a human female left out there? He wouldn't know, until he searched. He would indulge his human, but not for long. If there were a human out there, she wouldn’t get far. He had several warriors saddled up to join him on the search. The faster they found the human, the sooner they could get back on their way.
He swung her up before him on the saddle.
“Make sure one of the men watches over the females, while we are gone. I don't need any of them slipping away from us.” Stryme called out to Keylz.
Driving his heels into the side of his stallion he guided the creature through the woods. It was time to see if his human was telling the truth or trying to make them lose time.
Elizabeth lost track of time, as the fire giants pushed their horses through the forest. They refused to go any slower than a full on gallop. Every time he dodged a tree, she flinched. Sometimes she felt like screaming, but her giant seemed so calm and collected that she found herself trusting him not to kill them.
When they reached the valley where their carriages were still standing, memories of that day returned to her. Dead guards were still strewn about, and Elizabeth was able to see scavengers had already been visiting the site.
Trying her best not to gag, she averted her gaze. She didn't need these images haunting her every time she tried to sleep. She hated how their sacrifice had been in vain. If she could get the young women back to one of the kingdoms, she would be able to make their sacrifice worth something.
She distracted herself. “I never would have guessed you knew our language. How did you learn?” It had been a shock for her to hear him speak so clearly.
When he didn't say anything, she turned to look at him. He was ignoring her. She pursed her lips, as she kept her gaze from looking at any of the bodies. She would let it go for now, but she would hound him until she got her answers. She wasn’t used to being ignored and her curiosity would drive her to find out.
The giants circled the semi-burned carriages, as they looked for tracks to help them locate the missing woman. Every once in a while, one of the giants would track a print only to come back to the carriage empty handed.
The women hadn't made it easy by running away from the carriages in different directions. Now there were several tracks for the fire giants to follow.
After a few hours of tracking around the area,the fire giant had enough. “There are no prints of your missing human.”
Elizabeth knew she was out there. “You aren't trying hard enough then. She has to be out here, because she isn’t with us.”
“You are more than welcome to take a look for any prints we may have missed.” He sounded irritated that she doubted their ability to track a human woman.
Turning around in the saddle to face him she repeated, “She is out there. I can promise you I am not lying about this.”
“Even if you aren’t lying, we can’t find her prints.” He shrugged his broad shoulders.
“Are you saying you can't follow the prints of a simple human woman? I mean how far could she have got on her own two feet? We aren’t built for long distance walking.”
Growling down at her he eyed her with those eerie crimson eyes. She was attempting to goad him into searching for the woman again, but she didn’t want to insult him and have him call of the search.
Thankfully, it worked the way she had planned.
The fire giant walked his horse around the carriages in a circle while the other fire giants did the same.
Elizabeth kept praying they would find the woman alive. It would haunt her, if they found a body. She should have noticed the woman had been missing earlier. Then again everything had been such a blur for her. There hadn't been any time to think properly.
A few more minutes passed and the fire giants finally found a pair of tracks leading in a direction they hadn’t searched yet.
Elizabeth smiled as she said, “I told you one of the women was missing.” She was almost giddy with excitement. They were going to find her.
“Don’t get your hopes up human, she might not be found alive. Mountain cats can and sometimes do travel down this far. If they found her first, there will be nothing left of her.”
“I prefer to be on the optimistic side of things, if you don't mind.” Elizabeth hoped he would be wrong. No one else needed to die on this journey, a journey that was supposed to be simple and effortless.
As they tracked the prints, the ground became hard and the tracks slowly disappeared. The fire giants spread out to try to pick them up again. Esme was headed back in the direction from which the carriages had come.
Elizabeth wondered if her footsteps disappearing were a good or terrible sign.
A call shook her from her thoughts. The fire giants had found more tracks! Her heart picked up speed. Would they find her alive or had she perished in the forest already?
Sadly, they soon spotted a prone form lying back against a tree trunk in the distance. Her heart dropped to the ground.
Was she dead?
Elizabeth felt antsy. The fire giant kept the horse at a walk seeming more focused on looking around them for some sort of trap then on getting to the prone figure.
“Can't you pick up the speed?” Elizabeth asked of him.
“We will get there soon enough.”
“It isn't some sort of trap. Clearly, no one has found her or they would have rescued her.”
But he wasn't listening to her. She fumed in silence, as her heart pounded away in her chest. Before he could react, she slid off the horse and went sprinting towards Esme.
“Please be alive.” She begged, as she knelt down in the dirt.
Even before she reached down to touch her skin, Elizabeth was able to see her chest moving. She thanked the heavens, as her head fell back with relief.
The fire giant stooped down next to her and proceeded to check the woman. Elizabeth watched on anxiously not even sure what he was doing, but hoping he would know how to care for her. She didn't have a clue of how to help.
“She has twisted an ankle, and she needs to be warmed up. Once we get back to the camp, we can give her some food.” The fire giant explained as another fire giant came over to wrap the young woman in a fur.
“Will you be able to help her then?” Following the giant back to his horse she waited with bated breath for his answer.
After mounting up, he offered his hand to her and replied to her question. “She will be better, after we get her back to camp. Once there, she can rest until she is able to ride. She just seems exhausted, for the most part.”
Elizabeth gave a relieved nod. There was nothing else she could do, but trust him. She had no experience with healing.
She did wonder why he wasn't acting like a monster. From all the stories she had heard as a child, she would have expected the fire giant to not care. He was beginning to become a puzzle for her, and he was making her question her beliefs about giants.
As they rode back to camp, Elizabe
th decided to pry again. “How do you know our language so well?”
At first, she thought he wasn't going to answer her, but then his powerful voice broke the silence. “The knowledge has been passed down. I, however, was one of the few who never bothered with learning it, until an event changed my mind.”
As she opened her mouth to find out what the event had been, they entered the camp.
Everything was packed up, and she was barely able to recognize the area. Her eyebrows rose, as she admitted she was impressed with how the giants operated. Then again maybe all soldiers were this efficient. She had never been around too many soldiers to know for sure.
As the fire giant dismounted she feared he wouldn’t help Esme right away. If they were packed up and ready to leave, he might not let her rest.
Panicked she called after him. “Will we be leaving right away or will she have time to recover like you promised?”
He folded his arms in front of his massive chest, as he stood beside the horse.“Do not fret so or you will develop more of those unattractive wrinkles on your face.”
Her mouth dropped. How dare he! She had no wrinkles on her skin. She made sure to take great pains, when it came to her beauty. Before she could help it, she felt her forehead with a hand.
She caught him smiling out of the corner of her eye. Damn the fire giant, he was only pulling her leg, and she was acting like putty in his hands.
“She will have time to rest. Do not worry yourself. Are you ready?” He held up his hand to assist her in dismounting.
She took it. He took his time, as he wrapped his hands around her waist, and glided her body down against his front, before letting her feet touch the ground.
Her mind left her for a few seconds, as blood pumped through her body. Her focused turned to her nipples as her front brushed up against his armored chest.
If this fire giant had been a human man, Elizabeth probably would have taken notice of him. He could hold his own, and he was able to speak for himself. This was the kind of man who took what he wanted. He would make an ideal king.
He made her toes curl, and she had a sneaking suspicion it might be interest. She shook her head again. He wasn’t a human man, and she had to remember. She shouldn’t be feeling anything for him, no matter how small it might be.
Bracing both of her small hands on his chest she gave a violent shove knocking her from his grasp. It seemed to take him a few more seconds to gather his own mind.
“Join the other females, and I will find you when I am done.” The giant commanded her.
Her mouth opened and closed, as she glared at his back. Was he angry because he had lost his mind for a second as well? Well it wasn’t her fault. If he would stop touching her, everything would be fine.
Unfortunately, she had no one to discuss what was going on with. Sarah and the other women would just think she was losing her mind, if she told them she had tingles rippling through her every time the giant touched her. She even thought she was going mad.
Elizabeth watched on as Stryme carried Esme to a tent. She left him alone, since she would only get in the way. Elizabeth had no knowledge of healing, but she would check in once she let the women know Esme had been found.
“Elizabeth! Elizabeth!”
Turning she found Sarah quickly walking towards her, her skirts rustling around her feet. Elizabeth couldn’t help but notice the soiled hem of her dress, and Elizabeth wondered if hers looked just as bad. This dress had been picked out specifically for impressing the prince. By the time this journey was done with it would be beyond mending.
“Have you found her then?”
Elizabeth gave a pleased nod. “Yes, we found her and just in the nick of time.”
“Was she injured?”
“The fire giant seems to be untroubled by her condition. As I have no knowledge of medicine, I trust he knows what he is doing.”
Sarah crinkled her nose and gave a most unladylike snort. “Of course, he isn't troubled by the condition she is in. What would a human woman be to him, Elizabeth? They should let us tend to her.”
“Because you know how to treat her anymore than I do? At least he is a warrior who will have some basic knowledge of healing. He will keep us apprised of her situation, and I will make sure to check in on her.”
“Do you think they will actually be able to help her?”
“Sarah, it was just a sprained ankle and a lot of stress. Esme will be fine after some rest and food.” But she was glad Sarah was concerned.
“You did make the best choice.” Sarah released in a rushed breath. “I’m sorry I fought with you about it, but you were right that Esme would have trouble with being left alone.”
“It’s perfectly alright. We just need to remember to keep our heads calm and we can work everything out.”
It was shocking to realize she truly did believe the fire giant would do his best for Esme. He had, after all, gone out and found her, when he didn’t have to. She didn't know what she should think about the fire giant and his actions, but she was definitely grateful.
Stryme gave the order to his men to unpack everything. If he were going to fulfill his promise, then he would have to stay put for another night. The human female needed a little more rest.
The warriors had been prickly about the decision, but he was their king. His orders would be followed or they would have to answer to him. They might be questioning his sanity by now, but at least they trusted him enough to follow his lead.
He found his female talking to the other humans, and as he approached their talking dwindled down to whispers yet again. He was going to need to make sure all his warriors kept their ears open for any talk about escaping.
Elizabeth perked up, when her eyes fell on him.“Are we staying the night then?”
He gave a nod. “I believe it would be best, while she recovers.”
“And you still anticipate her recovery to be an easy one?”
“You are welcome to check in on her when ever you wish.”
“I did the moment you left the tent.”
Of course she did, he thought to himself slightly amused.
He was impressed with how concerned she was about her companions. It had him wondering if she might be the one who held the higher status in the group. How high was the status she held? She wasn’t one who was used to hard labor. He had felt those hands a few times now, and they were butter smooth.
These were questions he was hoping he would be able to find out in the many days to come. He wasn't about to let his catch go any time soon, so he assumed the answers would come to light given enough time.
He was amazed how trusting she was of his assessment. He was pleased she would trust him with the life of one of the human females. Maybe they could work together to keep the other females from losing their wits. She might be a great ally to have on his side, if he could win her over.
“It’s time we get some rest. She isn’t the only one that needs to sleep.” Stryme motioned her forward.
She cast a glance over her shoulder at the other females.
“They will be fine, and I will have you sleeping in my tent. Either you walk or I will carry you.”
“I’ll walk thank you very much.”
She was about to spend another night with the fire giant. How her mother would die in fright.
She hoped the kingdom of Sardarn would start to wonder where the women were. Hopefully, at some point troops would be sent out to see why they had never turned up. She had to remain optimistic, even if she held some doubt in her heart that they would make it back.
She really didn't want to be sleeping next to the giant for many more nights. There was a fear that he might press her for intimacy at some point.
There was no way being a giant's bedmate was going to be pleasant. She was sure the fire giant would be rough and unforgiving. She had listened in to other noble ladies when they spoke of such things. Sometimes a woman’s first time could be unbearable. If that was with a human ma
n, she didn't want to think what it might be like with a giant.
Soon she found herself between the furs lying next to his muscular frame.
Deciding she wasn't going to be sleeping anytime soon, she broke the silence. “I was curious what I should call you.”
The silence stretched for a long period of time, and Elizabeth wondered if he had fallen asleep already.
“Stryme.” His voice growled out making her jump in surprise.
She tried it out for herself. “Strom.”
“No. Stroome.” He sounded it out for her. “Stryme.”
It was definitely a masculine name, and she thought it was fitting. She was did her best to say it correctly, but there were some growls in there she had no hope of mimicking.
“Yours?” He asked.
“Elizabeth.”
Silence fell over them, as they each just laid there stewing in their own thoughts.
There were feelings inside her that were awakening, and she didn’t want to think about them. She feared what they could mean. The giant was working his way into her mind, confusing her.
She had no idea what to say, so she turned onto her side, closed her eyes, and let sleep overcome her.
Elizabeth opened her eyes only to see pitch-black darkness surrounding her.
Stryme's arm rested around her waist, while his breath tickled the little hairs on the back of her neck. There was a persistent hard poking against her butt cheeks, as well.
Taking a breath she tried to calm her racing nerves. This was not how they had fallen asleep, and she really hadn't thought of waking up in this position.
Slowly, Elizabeth eased her way out from underneath his arm. He gave out a loud snore, as he rolled over. When his breathing returned to normal, she let out a rush of air.
A plan. She needed a plan to escape so she could get help. This might be the opportunity she had been looking for. Most everything in the camp would be asleep and no one would notice until the morning.