The Bear family were a small family of giants living as game keepers and woodsmen in the King's forest, tending the tracks and paths, ensuring the fences were well maintained around the King's private hunting grounds, and ensuring no commoners dared poach on His Majesties private lands.

The mother and Lady of the house, Catalina Bear, stood at a height of around 25 feet tall. She had long cascades of auburn locks which she preferred to keep tied back in a thick rope of plaited hair and hung down her back to her hips. Her eyes were a sparkling almost crystal-like green, shocking and beautiful to look into. She wore a traditional style dress patterned with flowers and flared at the shoulders and hips so the bunches of her skirts flowed out to hang at the tops of her calves. Her long white leggings tied at her ankles with small red satin bows above the large brown mule style wedge shoes which had uniform splits up the sides of the toes to subtly expose her dexterous, long digits.

Her husband Bram was taller still than his giantess wife, he stood around 30 feet in height. His short shorn blonde hair was often dusty with the day's travels and contained much of the forest where he had to duck branches and haul logs, carts, rocks, animals and whatever else the day had in store for him in order to allow him to earn his living. His shirt was so massive it was clear it contained the hides of four or five different animals, deer, cow and even a collar of bear fur just to cover his enormous chest and back. The same was true of his deerskin trousers, mercifully hard wearing being made entirely of the hides of 5 or 6 deer though Bram preferred to travel barefoot having learnt that his particular lifestyle burnt through shoes far too quickly to be worth spending what meagre coin they had on new ones.

The Bear's also had a son, a young boy named Eric who was no more than 5 winters old but still he stood at around 10 feet in height and was growing fast. He had dirty blonde hair like his father and the same shocking ice-blue eyes.

Bram enjoyed spending as much time with his family, and especially his son, as he could. He would teach him the ways of the woods, what he could and couldn't touch, how to respect the forest and the creatures in it, and most important of all, to stay away from any human who appeared well dressed. He taught him of the punishments the humans enjoyed delivering to those who were not like them, and how easily offended the richer humans were of anything that didn't meet their ideals of 'the norm' or proved to be of use to them.

Owing to these harsh conditions Bram had always struggled to maintain his loving family and the last thing he wanted to do was risk losing whatever income he earned from keeping the King's land, by offending a Lord or Lady. With but a word to the King's advisors any noble could have them thrown from the land and into even further poverty, no doubt forcing Bram to take up dangerous quarry work like so many of his kin or having to try and live off the land, an act punishable by death for stealing the King's goods.

The cabin they lived in within the forest was large by any human standards, but to the Bears it was no luxury space. It lay spread across one almost open-plan floor, the living area flowed directly into the kitchen as one big open room with a stonework hearth surrounded by 3 or 4 large cowhide rugs to cover the otherwise barren floorboards, an old battered arm chair big enough for Bram was the only real luxury in the area. In the kitchen a huge stone built oven range stood with a heavy iron door on the front of it which, originally, had been designed to be a reinforced door to a bank and still carried the embossed seal of the King's treasury on its front.

Stood in the main space of the open area was a massive oak table, roughly hewn from hand cut planks and simply rounded tree stumps Bram had made the huge dining table himself and was proud of it but the chairs had set him back a pretty amount of coin from the local house frame carpenters. Though expensive Bram had also worked part of the debt off having come to an agreement with the good natured carpenters working as a heavy lifter and putting large timbers in place for the work crews. They had come to the same arrangement in exchange for the crews teaching Bram enough carpentry skills to make their beds as well.

It was during one of these exchanges of labour with a local farmer that he had decided to bring young Eric with him. Bram had been offered a couple of bails of hay to re-stuff their large canvas mattresses, the harvest was going to be late and if it wasn't taken in quickly it would be ruined by the coming rains. With Bram's huge strength both he and the farmer knew it would only be a matter of a days work for he and the human to clear the field of its bounty.

The villagers and local townsfolk were always a little wary of the Bear family. Humans and Giants hadn't always lived side by side and there wasn't a single member of either race's last four generations who hadn't been taught about the savage wars between the two that left the Giant race a mere shadow of its former glory. Bram was lucky however that the large majority of the local populace were usually either good to him, understanding that all families needed to work to live and seeing that Bram was as honest as they came, or they kept their distance leaving him well enough alone.

Eric had been left to amuse himself at the side of the farmer's field his father had come to work on, he was a well behaved boy and Bram was confident he would not have to worry about him causing any trouble. He had decided to bring him into the village today to allow his son to get used to being around humans but also to allow the locals to get used to seeing the young boy and hopefully grow to accept him as one of their own. It had only been a few hours, the sun was barely half the way up the sky and Eric had been entertaining himself stroking the cows in the field next to the one his father worked in.

There was a rattling and commotion and shouts and voices coming from the village square and Eric wondered what was happening. He climbed onto the fencing that penned in the cattle, the timbers creaking under his dense body and gazed down the lane to where he saw the shiny casings of two people he recognised from one of his story books. Knights. With the knights was a woman who looked around the age of 17 or 18, dressed in a lavish sky blue dress with white trim but most clearly of all Eric could make out the large golden swirls of hair cascading down from the woman's head right down to the middle of her back.

Eric was amazed by the pretty lady and her shiny, silver-clad Knights and stretched higher to see them over the heads of the people who had gathered to greet her. The people didn't seem all that keen to be around her but at the same time they seemed obligated to offer her things like food and drink which she was evidently disinterested in but took a few things here and there. The Knights simply stood slightly behind her and by her sides the whole time, not once lifting their conical visors and standing with an aire of confidence which alone seemed to keep the small cluster of villagers away from them.

The golden-haired woman seemed to grow quite bored of the crowd quite quickly and was about to turn to leave when her eye caught something and her head turned to look directly at Eric. The two stood with mouths slightly agape at the sight of one another until the woman began to push through the crowd ordering them aside and quickly made her way to the giant boy. Eric climbed down from the fencing and stood nervously clutching at his own hands wondering what he should do as the powerfully confident woman strode towards him.

As the woman got closer the look of confidence on her pretty face became somewhat less confident, she hadn't realised from afar just how large this child was and she had to take a deep breath to remind herself of her position over him. She strode up to him noting that he was still staring a little slack-jawed which made her feel better about herself knowing her obvious beauty was still enough to dominate this brute child. She stepped up to the boy, her small frame standing at only 5ft 6” meant that she looked slightly up to the 5year old boy's face.

“Hello there young man, who might you be?” She asked, using her sweetest voice

Eric wasn't sure he should be talking to this woman. He knew enough to know that she was clearly a high born Lady and his father had taught him time and time again how much of a problem they caused for people when they chose to. He stumbled over his words and fumbled with his hands nervously.

“Umm, Eric, my Dad's working in the field over there.” He said

“Oh. Well... Eric” The woman woman said with a slight twitch of irritation at his blunt response “Do you know who I am?”

“N-No.” he started, his mind racing to try not to cause a problem and therefore a problem for his father “N-No, madam... Lady.”

“Hmm, well you speak well enough” The woman commented, raising a hand to shield her mouth as she gave a slight chuckle, like she saw a joke in her own words “I am the King's Daughter, Princess Gwendoline, and it is customary for a commoner to bow to a Princess!”

Eric thought for a second while his young mind processed what he had been told and then his eyes widened and he began to fidget awkwardly before attempting a rigid, foolish looking bow. The Princess laughed and turned to look over one shoulder then the other to the 7 or 8 villagers who had drifted up to see what was going on, as though she was prompting them to laugh along with her at the child's awkward discomfort.

When Eric straightened again, red faced, his embarrassment was forgotten the moment his eyes caught sight of the emerald green jewel which hung around Gwendoline's neck. For a moment she assumed he was deliberately lowering his gaze to her as any proper commoner should, but then she noticed he was staring at something in particular. She was about to take offence at the mammoth child for staring at her breasts but then she realised that it was the glittering necklace he was looking at and she saw an opportunity to taunt the boy further.

“Oh, you like my little necklace here?” She said gesturing to the far-from-little gemstone.

“Its the same colour as my Mother's eyes.” He responded in awe.

Gwendoline paused for a moment, thrusting her chest out to give him a better look and then removed the necklace and held it aloft. Moving her arm side to side and giggling lightly, she found it amusing to watch Eric's eyes trace the jewel back and forth through the air.

“Here, have a closer look why don't you?” She asked, once again turning and chuckling at her audience as though making sure the villagers were still backing her little game.

Eric delicately took the jewel from her and held it up so the sun so that the light could sparkle cleanly through its deep grass-green structure.

“Ha! Look, he's so easily amused!” Gwendoline addressed to no-one in particular, but no-one seemed overly interested in her cruel joke.

The smile faded from her face as Eric too ignored what she had said, instead being wrapped up in the pretty thing the likes of which he had never heard of or knew might exist, for him it was like something from one of his dreams had leapt from his mind and into reality. He had seen the shine of gold and silver before from the meagre amount of coins his Father had brought home over time, but those were simply dull in comparison to this jewel. His concentration on it however was interrupted by a shout.

“That's quite enough time to look you dull witted oaf!” Declared Gwendoline and moved forward.

She reached out and attempted to snatch the necklace from Eric's grasp, clasping the chain and tugging it but it didn't budge an inch and neither did Eric's large hand. It wasn't that Eric meant to keep the necklace, it was just that he had been taken by surprise at being brought out of his daydream by such an abrupt outburst and he turned to the lady without fully comprehending what was happening before the chain exploded into separate links of delicate goldwork.

“Give it back!” Gwendoline shouted as she tugged again and the necklace snapped violently.

The young woman staggered back with the remnants of her necklace in her hand and the green jewel hung like a ball at the end of a chord. She stood gaping at it for a second, her eyes wide with shock, but slowly turning to a look of frustration and rage. Her face began to turn red and her hands balled into shaking fists before she threw her free hand up, pointing at the young giant and screeched

“Guards! He attacked me! He tried to steal my necklace and he broke it! Kill him! Kill him now!”

The two Knights looked at each other for a moment, their body language was obvious. Although they stood with their hands on their swords neither had drawn the blades, this was after-all a young boy despite his appearance owing to his giant heritage. Gwendoline turned with a fury to one of the men and screamed again

“Kill him or I will tell my father it was YOU who left me to be assaulted by this brute!”

The two men once again exchanged glances and this time drew their weapons, both taking a couple of steps towards Eric. A few of the villagers made scared protests, not wishing the Princess' wrath to be drawn down on themselves, but they weren't willing to simply stand by and let Bram's son be killed for something that wasn't his doing. Eric was scared now, the Knights had drawn their wicked looking swords and were coming towards him, he began to whimper, panicked by their menacing approach, he threw his arms up around his head and crouched down as though he could hide himself when something akin to a feral roar spilt the air around them.

Bram had seen a commotion over by his son from the field he worked and the glint of armour was unmistakable, almost always signalling that some kind of Noble born trouble was about to erupt. He had arrived just in time to see the Princess' necklace snap and for the spoilt brat to fly into a vicious rage. Now he stood over his son, towering easily four or five times the height of the Knights which threatened Eric and still brandishing the make-shift scythe he had been using on the hay field. The thing was made of several old plough blades that had been bolted together along a steel rim and then crudely beaten around the trunk of a curvy tree.

Bram now looked every part the Bear his family was named after, his hairy arms bulged with strength and his chest heaved and flexed as he wielded the dangerous looking serrated scythe half at the ready, his eyes flickered between the two heavily armoured Knights as if daring them to take another step forward but neither man wanted to die this day and both lowered their swords and stepped away. The Princess, seeing that she was not going to get any further with her claims for “justice” pointed up at Bram with a trembling finger, tears of anger in her eyes.

“My Father will hear of this, Giant, and when he finds out how your son attacked me, he will order the brute be sent away!” She said, turning and pushing her way through the crowd that had begun to gather, her Knights following her back towards the horses they had come with.

Bram's voice was cold as ice and hard as steel as he gave his even-tempered response, he knew better than to openly challenge a Noble, let alone a Royal in public.

“If that is the judgement your Father, my King decides, then it will be so.” He said, half-knowing that no such judgement would follow today's incident.

Eric burst into tears and clung to his Father's leg, Bram stood stock still until the riders had all mounted and turned to leave the village and then he propped his scythe against a tree, the leaves and branches shaking under the weighty impact before bending and scooping up his boy, hugging him to his chest. He turned to the farmer who's lands he had been working on.

“I must take Eric home, I will be back after noon to finish the work I promised you.” He said down to the man who simply waved a hand showing that Bram may take as long as he needed.

“You get your laddie home Bram, don't you worry about the field for today, it will still be here tomorrow.” He shouted up to the Giant.

Bram simply nodded his thanks, gave a short apology for any trouble caused to the villagers then left to take his boy home.


End of Chapter 1

Chapter 2: No Idle Threat.

Gwendoline looked at the crowd of villagers all around her. To her right they were laughing, sharing jokes and wild conversation between each other, patting one another on the back or punching each other jokingly on the arm before continuing to laugh heartily. She grimaced at the display of peasants rough-housing and general rowdiness, she thought the vulgar display of uncouth behaviour distasteful and turned away from the scene to another part of the crowd.

To her left a group were stood silent except for a few murmurs of conversation. They barely spoke above a nervous whisper as they watched something Gwendoline couldn't see over the crowd. They had their backs turned to her and she heard a few whispers of the name 'Goldilocks'. Gwendoline's temper began to run short with this rabble of villagers and she decided to try announcing herself to the group to deliver a stern lesson to this awful lot about the proper way to act around, and address a member of the Royal family.

Gwendoline cleared her throat in as lady-like a manner as she could muster whilst still sounding forceful. The crowd ignored her, or perhaps didn't hear her, so she composed herself and stood to the fullest height she could manage before this time making a coughing noise that was clearly both loud and deliberate. Again she was ignored only this time she heard a voice cut above the whispers of the crowd 

“That goldilocks is such a brat, her father should really give her a good dose of hard discipline.”

Gwendoline forgot all sense of posture and discipline. She felt like she had just been punched in the stomach as her body physically deflated and her jaw hung slack with disbelief as the disparaging comments continued

“Its not the King's fault, he has enough on his hands without having to deal with her, that Goldilocks 'as gotta mean streak in'er.” Came a second voice

Gwendoline was shaking with anger, her fists clenched at her sides and her eyes were wide and wet with tears of frustration. Her small chest heaved with the laboured heavy breaths she was having to take in order to help fight down her compulsion to simply burst into tears. Her voice cracked with emotion as she began to speak.

“Don't... Call... Me.... GOLDILOCKS!!” Gwendoline's voice rang loud and shrill as she screamed the name only her father was allowed to use for her.

Her outburst barely seemed to register on the crowd around her but they all fell silent and still, simply staring ahead of them, until with a slight almost accidental lurch they all turned slowly as one to face her. Each of them simply standing, like puppets with no tension on their strings and no individuality. Their faces were blurred as though Gwendoline were still seeing them through tears, like they were all simply slight variations of the same person with deep set eyes almost like empty dark holes and grim, unfeeling expressions to their black-lipped mouths.

Gwendoline felt incredibly self-conscious all of a sudden and took a nervous step backwards. She tried to hold their gaze, hold her head up high, but those blank, cold, dark eyes bore into her and she felt herself tremble like she was out in the cold without her cloak. The sunlight began to fade and it seemed as if a heavy cloud must have passed in front of the sun as everything around Gwendoline grew dimmer, but as she looked down at the ground around her she realised the shadow was only cast over the spot where she was standing and upon looking back up at the villagers she saw that they still stood in bright sunlight. She raised her head still further, still trembling with a bone-shaking fear as she looked up, afraid of what she might see. Her eyes grew wide at the sight which met her gaze and her mouth hung open in horror.

Coming towards Gwendoline was the mud-stained leather sole of a gigantic boot which blocked her view of the sky above, for a moment she remained still, too scared to think clearly until the first grains and bits of soil fell loose from the boots' sole to tumble onto her pristine porcelain skin. The cold touch of the dirt hitting her, tumbling down her face and body like the icy fingers of death, forced her back to reality and suddenly the need to escape overtook her every thought. She turned to run but as she took her first step her legs felt like lead, stiff and heavy, the ground seemed to have turned to thick cloying mud and was trying to suck her down.

On and on Gwendoline laboured as she tried to run through the thick gooey ground, making no progress as she began to hear the haunting echoing laughter of the crowd around her. She turned to look behind her and saw the boot coming ever closer until it touched her back and began to press down. Gwendoline screamed out and reached for the crowd searching for anyone that might help her but no-one moved, no-one came to help, there was simply the constant haunting laughter that rand out around her as she reached to one person then another. The boot pressed further and she found herself falling to her knees and crawling like a terrified child for her life, but now her hands and legs moved like they were swamped in sucking mud and still she made no progress, and still the boot came down.

Finally Gwendoline was reduced to lying flat on her front in the sticky dirt, the whole of her body was being pressed and smothered beneath the thick leather of the boot's sole. She reached out flailing her hands trying to find anything to drag herself free but still the boot pressed down and still the laughter echoed around her until the last sight that met her eyes came through an opening in the crowd as she witnessed the giant boy from the village, playing with her beautiful necklace, he wasn't even paying her any attention, simply playing happily with HER necklace, completely oblivious to her suffering.

Finally she was pressed fully into the mud, her terror mixing with her hatred for the boy, for a brief moment as the light dimmed beneath the huge boot she thought to herself;

“I hate him, I hate that stupid oaf! I HATE HIM!”

Then, with the last slivers of daylight fading to total chilling blackness the cracks began to ring through her body. Her limbs popped and snapped and still the terrible boot came down, her spine collapsed followed quickly by her ribs rupturing sideways, her hips collapsing and her insides being pounded flat. Gwendoline tried to scream out with pain as her head was buried deep into the dirt but the mud simply flooded into her open mouth, muffling her cries. The boot pressed her crushed insides up her body like a tube of meat being squeezed out when finally her head couldn't take any more pressure and gave out under the heavy boot with a skull-splitting, wet *SCRUNCH*

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Gwendoline awoke kicking and fighting under her heavy blankets, part of her thick soft pillow had become lodged in her mouth and she was struggling furiously amongst the tangle of sheets that had wrapped themselves around her legs. She threw back the covers and sat herself upright, panting hard as her skin glistened with sweat. Slowly her heart began to ease its wild hammering in her chest and her eyes adjusted to the bright morning sunshine that streamed through her windows, Gwendoline calmed her breathing and began to recognise the reality of being safely back in her own bedroom. 

Shuffling to the edge of her wide bed she swung her legs out over the side, placing her feet on the fur rug which stretched out across the floor. Her toes took a moment to flex and wriggle in the warm fur pile before she reached for her night stand to collect her large hair brush. Gwendoline was over the initial shock of adrenaline induced by such a terrifying nightmare but her hands still trembled slightly as the events of her dream replayed in her mind. She used her palms to try to wipe the images and sleep out of her eyes before she pulled her luxurious golden curls lazily over one shoulder and started to work the morning knots out of her hair. 

The dream continued to haunt Gwendoline even as her servants dressed her and she made her way to breakfast. She entered one of the more informal dining rooms in her father's castle, a small room compared to the other grander feasting halls tiny compared to her Father's main hall. Now the scuffling and dashing of servants were barely a distraction as they hurried to lay her a place at the heavy oak table she had decided to take breakfast at. They had just barely got the table set in time for her appearing, some of them looking visibly flushed and out of breath from the commotion, a few worried looks and crossed silently from face to face as Gwendoline sat down. 

As the girl began her morning meal she half-heartedly picked at the various dishes in front of her. Normally the spread of soft cheeses, fruit, warm breads, honeyed meats, grape juice and her favourite herbal tea would be something to cheer her up and prepare her for the day ahead, but this morning as she reached for a warm bread roll she couldn't help but imagine that the beautiful blue sapphire necklace her maids had adorned her with today felt colder and heavier than the emerald one she normally wore. As she picked up her butter knife and split her roll she paused for a moment, her eyes scanning the table as though she had lost something. 

“Where is the-..” Gwendoline began, a stormy look beginning to brew across her face before a door to the side of the room burst open. 

A young maid rushed in then stopped all of a sudden, spotting Gwendoline sat at the table already. She went pale with fear and stood as calm and straight as possible, a butter dish rattling noisily in the silence of the room as she approached the table and laid it to the right of the place setting, lifting the lid off and bowing deeply before the Princess.

“I'm sorry, mi'Lady, I wasn't aware you would be dining in this room this morning.” The girl said, shakily. 

Gwendoline looked the maid up and down, a pouting look on her red lips displaying her disapproval of the woman. Even before she spoke the other maids were standing nervously awaiting what might happen to the relatively new servant. The Princess set her knife down and took a breath. 

“Do you think it appropriate to make such a commotion at this time in the morning? Not only forgetting your job, but apparently forgetting your place! Crashing through doors and having the audacity to address the King's daughter without being asked? Gwendoline said with an edge to her voice as hard as steel. 

The maid looked horrified and tried to form an excuse, stammering and falling over her own words as she looked to the other maids for help, her eyes pleading for help but only catching sight of one of the older maids giving a slight shake of her head and putting a finger to her lips to signal the woman simply be quiet. 

“I...I... I'm Sorry, mi'Lady, it won't happen again.” She finally got out before again bowing deeply, keeping her head bowed even after she had stood upright again. 

“See that it doesn't, or I'll have you beaten by my Father's guards until you learn not to use your mouth at all. Now get out, you're upsetting my meal.” Gwendoline waved the back of her hand at her servant and turned back to her breakfast. 

The maid bowed once more and left the room in as quiet a manner as she could manage. The Princess continued with her breakfast, but in truth her heart was neither with her food nor with the thoughts of punishing the maid who had interrupted it. She still had the images of her dream playing through her mind, the faceless crowd ignoring her, the echoing laughter, the boy... that boot... the mud swallowing her, the pain of.... 

“Mi'Lady... Is everything ok with your meal?” The head maid ventured as she watched the girl simply gazing into the distance, the butter knife gripped so hard in her hand that her knuckles had begun to turn white. 

Gwendoline snapped out of her thoughts and turned to the maid, it took her a moment to realise why the maid was staring at her but she shook off the confusion, placing the knife down quickly and once again rubbing at her eyes with her palms to try and shake the images. 

“Yes, yes. Everything is fine.” She said, trying to regain her composure as she stood and placed her napkin on her plate to indicate she was finished eating. “You may clean up.” 

Moving swiftly, Gwendoline had decided on what she felt needed to be done. She had hurried back to her room and picked out a long green riding cloak and a good pair of boots, then snuck out towards the small gate she knew lay unguarded at the rear of the castle. After struggling with the heavy locking bar for a moment she slipped through and towards the stables, taking one of the prepared horses and riding out for the woods. She knew her father's lands well and she knew what grounds the Bear family tended so she believed it wouldn't be too long until she found the Giant's house. 

It took Gwendoline longer than she thought to finally reach what seemed to be a large dirt road compared to the average footpath within the forest, so she followed the track believing she was finally on the right trail. Coming around a large raised outcrop of rock Gwendoline finally found a huge wood and stone cabin nestled within what looked like a heavily forested stone quarry. The house was stunning at first, like something Gwendoline had only fantasised about from stories told around the fireplace at night. Built from whole trees and huge lumps of rough-hewn stone even the strongest of her Father's knights couldn't work together to lift. 

The makeshift shack stood around 40 feet in height and stretched to 60 feet wide, then back another 50 feet before seeming to disappear into the tree-laden cliff face. Gwendoline marvelled at the structure as she rode slowly towards it until she could hear a soft deep humming sound echoing from inside. Her horse gave a snort and stopped dead, bobbing its head fiercely up and down and stamping its hoof. Gwendoline struggled to keep the horse under control, digging her knees into its flank to try and steer the horse further towards the house but it simply gave a long whinny and spun on the spot, refusing to go any further. With an exhausted huff Gwendoline gave up and dismounted, tying the animal to a tree and proceeding on foot, a little more cautious, more timid now that she was seeing the area from her normal, shorter height. 

The closer she got the more Gwendoline seemed to forget her noble appearance and the lower to the ground she crept, her head darted from side to side with every sound she heard. She felt like a mouse sneaking up to the house to steal a scrap of bread, desperate not to get caught but drawn ever closer by her hunger. She came to the door of the cabin, it seemed as though it were made of a section of timber palisade, the tall wooden walls built to protect whole towns from attack, and the deep soft humming came from just the other side of the formidable barrier. As Gwendoline gazed about her in wonder a sudden series of deep rumbling thuds shook her back to her senses, she began to shiver uncontrollably, images of her dream flashing through her mind.

While Gwendoline had been marvelling at the size of the house, the humming had stopped and someone much bigger than her was heading towards the door from inside. The princess wanted to run, her instincts screamed at her to hide, but her pride and more importantly her sense of retribution demanded that she stand her ground. The giant wooden blockade that was the front door swung open with as much ease as hay being swept aside by a breeze and a great gaping hole opened in the front of the house. There, filling the hole as quickly as it had been opened, emerged the enormous figure of a Giantess who strode forwards at a frightening speed. 

The Giantess was clothed in a long green dress which, although it had needed to be patched together out of large sheets of green cloth, had been done tastefully so the patchwork was barely visible. The hem of the dress came to just below the huge woman's knees, which Gwendoline noticed was still just above the height of her own entire body. As the princess craned her neck up her mouth hung open with a mix of shock, awe and fear, the deep-cut chest line was being forced open by an impressive cleavage and the three-quarter-length sleeves had a lovely draping lacy cuff to them, but what truly caught the small girl's breath were the woman's eyes. 

The giantess had almost glowing green eyes, the emerald sparkle visible even from Gwendoline's perspective and the shine as she stepped into the sunlight only enhanced their beauty, but another deep rumble which shook the ground beneath the girl's feet brought her out of her trance. The Giantess was still moving, and coming her way! Her eyes locked onto the thick brown leather mules that adorned the giantess's otherwise bare feet as another step lightly shook the ground and the back foot came rushing forwards right towards Gwendoline. 

The foot was just about to swing right into the comparatively tiny girl's body when she gave a terrified scream, half turning and dropping to her knees, her arms up over her head to shelter her from being trampled unknowingly by this goddess of a woman. From high above there was a second short, startled scream like that of a woman just noticing a bug at her feet, followed immediately by several heavy booming steps that seemed to fall rapidly all around the terrified princess as the giantess scrambled to avoid crushing the tiny girl underfoot. There was a brief silence as the ground stopped shaking and the dust settled before a voice spoke out, loud but soft, almost hypnotic in its sweet husky tone. 

“Oh my! A human! What on earth are you doing down there little one?” Came the voice as it washed over Gwendoline. The giantess sounded surprised, but also lightly amused. 

The princess took a moment as the words sunk into her mind, her senses were so awash with confusion, fear and adrenaline that she couldn't think straight. She slowly lowered her hands from over the top of her head and looked up to where the voice had come from, seeing that the giantess was bent over her looking down on her little body as she still huddled down on her knees on the ground. There was a small smirk on the giantess's pretty red lips and her stance allowed the thick braided rope of fiery auburn hair, as wide as Gwendoline's body, to hang down over her shoulder almost reaching next to her on the ground. 

Gwendoline stood slowly, turning to face the woman who in turn stood back to her full height, still keeping her almost supernatural sparkling eyes on the princess. She managed to tear her gaze away from the giant woman for a moment and noticed the dusty patches on the front of her own pretty pale blue dress, quickly reaching down to swipe away the dirt and straighten her clothes back out before pushing the hood back on her riding cloak to reveal her abundance of flowing blond curls. Raising herself to as straight and tall a posture as she could Gwendoline took a deep breath and once more looked up to the giantess who still watched her with an amused expression. 

“You...” She started, but her voice wavered still with uncertainty “You nearly stepped on me, Giant! You should be more careful!” She called up to the huge woman. 

The giantess's eyebrows rose slightly and the smirk widened, but she showed no other signs of a reaction to the girl's words. 

“Perhaps, little one, it would pay you not to stand on the other side of a Giant's door without making yourself known?” She retorted with the slightest hint of a sarcastic tone, as though she were speaking to a small child in a motherly voice. 

Gwendoline bristled at this, she had never been spoken to in such an informal manner, not even by her own mother, and she certainly wasn't about to start being talked down to by a peasant woman, even one as big as this, she was after-all still her Father's daughter! 

“Do you not know who I am? I am the Princess of this land! I may go wherever I please!” Gwendoline shouted up impetuously, stomping her foot and balling her hands into fists by her side as she scowled up. 

The giantess looked somewhat surprised for a moment but quickly regained her composure, if anything she now displayed a hard, cold expression now that her little guest had revealed her identity. She stared down at the smaller girl for a moment as if analysing and weighing up her words, causing the princess to loose some of her stern demeanour. She faltered a little under the hard gaze as if she expected to see the giantess once more raise her foot and this time finish her off. The woman shifted suddenly and one foot stepped back, Gwendoline flinched, her heart pounding as she expected the worst. 

The giantess gave an unexpectedly elaborate curtsey, her hands delicately pulling the sides of her skirt out a little to give the proper respectful gesture as the warm and gentle expression came back to her face. 

“Princess Gwendoline,” She said with her head bowed, still in a curtseying posture “I did not recognise you huddled under your cloak, I meant no disrespect. My name is Lady Catalina.” she finished as she stood back up. 

Gwendoline was not so ignorant that she missed the thinly veiled jab at her cowardice, but she felt as though she were being tested so she kept her temper in check and took another deep breath to make sure her voice was heard to be firm. 

“I believe, Catalina, the to be a 'Lady' of my Father's lands, one must be married to a lord. I didn't know your husband was a Lord, I've never seen him at court? He seems like he would be rather difficult to miss.” the princess said with fake curiosity, trying to appear surprised to hear the details of the conversation, but utterly relishing in the sight of seeing such a huge and powerful creature put into such an uncomfortable, subservient position. 

Catalina paused, anger rising in her but it was quickly subdued. 

“My husband, Bram, was a Lord in the courts of the Giants, he served the nobles for almost 120 years... Princess.” Catalina said as she spoke Gwendoline's title almost as a deliberate after-thought. 

Gwendoline was quick with her confident retort, as though she had foreseen the direction of this conversation already and had carefully planned the outcome. 

“The Giant's court was disbanded over 50 years ago now, Catalina, I'm afraid the titles held back then do not carry any weight in the human courts... You Giants may age differently, but it doesn't mean you are above the laws and indeed the social complexities of these lands!” Gwendoline said, taking an obvious posture of triumph from her spiteful response. 

Catalina's emerald eyes seemed to blaze for a moment, they shifted from side to side scanning the edge of the woods, looking for what appeared to her to be an obvious trap, but she could see no evidence of it. Nobody else was around. Just a s single horse tethered to a tree further up the track. She looked down at the girl below her, trying to calm the raging storm in her heart, her anger demanding she show this little human creature what the weight of a giantess could do to one so fragile. She took a slow breath before giving a small, accepting nod of her head in a bowing gesture to the Princess. 

“You are of course correct, Princess.” Said Catalina struggling to maintain a calm tone “But if I may ask, what has brought you to our humble home?” she finished, the soft lips pulling back into another warm smile. 

“Your... Son... Tried to steal my necklace, and broke it when I tried to take it back, I believe you owe me compensation and I want to know how you intend to go about repaying me for it!” Gwendoline said, still standing as tall as she could, but not failing to notice that she still only reached to half way up Catalina's shins. 

The smile evaporated form Catalina's face immediately but again she kept her cool despite the fire building inside of her. 

“Perhaps you might come inside, Princess, we can discuss this in more comfortable conditions.” Catalina suggested, stepping to the side and making a polite sweeping gesture towards the open door. 

Gwendoline nodded her acceptance of Catalina's terms and strode as calmly and quickly as she could into the house. She tried to avoid making the journey awkward because of her comparatively slow ability to cover the distance next to the huge strides of the giantess. Catalina deliberately waited for Gwendoline to step through the doorway first before giving one more thorough check of the forest around them, ensuring that the princess really had come alone before entering the house herself and closing the door. 

End of Chapter 2

Chapter 3 – Treading Carefully

Gwendoline stepped into the giants house, her eyes widened in awe as she took in the new surroundings. The room smelled heavily of earth with the overlying smoke of a log fire which burned in a huge stone fireplace set into one wall. The stone wall extended down the length of the house and formed the stove wall in the kitchen where a huge range oven protruded from the stones, fronted by a 6ft wide heavy iron door. Her eyes continued to scan around the room taking in the big square dining table with crude looking heavy chairs and quickly she realised she barely stood half as tall as one of the table legs.

Her wonder was cut short as Catalina swept past her and further into the house, the hem of the giantess' dress brushed closely over the top of Gwendoline's head with a rush of air and the heavy thud of footsteps shook the wooden floor beneath her feet almost toppling her to the ground. The princess instinctively ducked down a little as she flinched from the unexpected close encounter with the huge woman. The force of the Giantess simply moving past her was enough to push some of her bright curls across her face and she became flustered at the woman's apparent carelessness when moving around her. Brushing her hair back into place with her hands she scowled up at Catalina but there was no way she could see her, so with an irritated huff Gwendoline brushed her dress back into place and took a deep breath.

"First of all I would like some wine, it was a long ride to find your cabin." Gwendoline spoke loudly to get Catalina's attention.

The giantess turned to look down at the Princess, folding her hands politely in front of her lap and giving a slightly amused smile.

"I'm afraid we have no wine, Princess, I can only off you water or perhaps I could squeeze some fruit for you?" Catalina offered.

Gwendoline cringed and looked a little disgusted at the offer but eventually she conceded to simply having water. Catalina gave a small nod and turned to fetch the drink. Almost at the same time there was a heavy thud on the door behind Gwendoline, and it gave a loud creak on its massive iron hinges as it swung towards the small girl, blowing a rush of air towards her and pushing her backwards a few steps. The air blew dust and debris across her whole body as she screwed her eyes shut tight to avoid getting anything in them and pulled her hands up to guard her face, feeling grit and dirt spraying her exposed arms. The small girl was almost completely disorientated in the chaos as Catalina's voice rang out from behind her and she felt a heavy set of boots hit the floor in front of her once more shaking the ground.

"Bram, be careful of our little guest, she is down there somewhere." The giantess motioned towards the floor in front of the door, indicating where Bram should check to avoid stepping on something.

Hearing his wife call out Bram looked down as he stepped into his cabin to check the floor. Below him stood a girl who came barely half way up his shin, furiously patting down her little blue dress as small puffs of dust erupted from wherever she slapped at the ruffles of fabric. The Giant stood for a moment as his eyes scanned the tiny figure below, a thought of recognition passed through his mind but he wasn't sure until the little girl looked up towards him, an all-too-familiar scowl present on her otherwise pretty face. Instantly Bram's entire body tensed up, his face a mask of confusion and anger as he turned back to his wife his eyes demanding answers to the questions he didn't dare ask in front of the Princess.

Before the silence could hang too heavily between the three Eric stepped into the house, holding onto one of his father's legs as he peered curiously around Bram to see what the problem was. His eyes met with the little princess who now stood staring back at him, his appearance having caught her attention. Bram felt Eric grip his leg harder, obviously unsettled by the presence of the girl who had shouted at him in the village. Before the princess could say anything the giant took the boy's hand in his and led him past her and further into the house, the deep rumble of his heavy footsteps resonating through the floorboards once again threatening to shake Gwendoline right off of her feet as he passed.

"Eric can play in his room, I am sure the Princess does not need a child making noise around her while she visits." Bram said coldly, escorting the boy into a room at the back of the house that Gwendoline couldn't see past the huge dining table and chairs.

"Well," Catalina began catching Gwendoline's attention once more as she moved across the cabin holding what looked like a large child's wooden cup in her hand. "Why don't we talk about what has brought you out so far from home, Princess?" She said taking a seat in what looked to be the only part of the cabin designed for comfort, then setting the cup down on a coffee table slightly taller than Gwendoline.

Gwendoline moved towards what was evidently the living room where the only real things that passed for 'luxury' items were sat clustered around the large stone fireplace. Catalina had chosen to sit in a slim chair that next to her looked almost elegantly slender, which left a large, deep red leather chair with a high back and heavy bronze studs pinning the leather to the frame in a criss-cross pattern. The Princess approached the coffee table and took a moment to reach up and take the cup from its surface. It had no handles and with its size she had to hold the mug with both hands making her feel somewhat childish and undignified, as she raised it to her lips and took a careful mouthful.

Catalina couldn't help but give a small smirk as she watched the petulant girl take her drink like a child and subsequently drink from a child's cup, the whole thing was something of a cruel joke on her part. Gwendoline however noticed the look she was getting from the giantess and stood stiffly upright, replacing the cup back to its place on the table and moving towards the large leather chair to take a seat instead, ready to speak her mind to the insolent Giantess who still sat half smiling at her. She came to the front of the seat, the solid frame arching only a little way above her head but the top of the seat was almost twice her height.

Gwendoline could almost feel Catalina's eyes boring into her, she contemplated various ways of getting into the chair unaided and without making a fool of herself but she simply wasn't big enough. The princess turned to Catalina and stood waiting politely before gesturing to the chair.

"I hope you don't expect me to climb into this seat... I require assistance." Gwendoline said

"My apologies Princess, I wasn't sure what the correct mannerisms were when dealing with a princess in my home." replied Catalina before rising from her seat.

Within just a few quick steps she had crossed the distance between the two women and bent down, slipping her hands beneath Gwendoline's arms and lifting her to the seat like a baby, turning her and planting her down in a seated position on the chair. The little princess was furious. She jumped immediately to her feet and with a stomp of her foot and a raised finger she yelled up at the giantess who still stood slightly bent over her.

"How dare you man-handle me in such a way!! I am a princess! You will NOT lay your giant paws on my person again, you hear me?" The princess yelled up at Catalina, who simply stood to her full height watching down with cold calculating eyes at the childish girl below her waving her finger like an angry mother.

"Of course your.. highness." Catalina responded, giving a small bow and putting a slightly strained inflection on the word 'highness'.

Just as Gwendoline took a breath to respond to the thinly veiled joke Bram returned to the room and moved to join the two ladies in the living area. His huge form lumbered through the kitchen and across to the fireplace before he paused, inspecting the scene between the two ladies. Catalina had a look of mischief and contempt on her face where-as the little Princess was clearly flustered, her cheeks pink with anger and her body tense. Bram amused himself for a moment as he surveyed the scene with the thought that it looked as though Catalina were arguing with a child's toy. Some silly looking fluffed up doll he would have bought had he had a daughter before the days of the Fall.

Taking a breath Bram's huge voice rumbled from his chest as he tried to break the tension

"Is there something wrong? I thought I heard raised voices?"

Catalina stood straight and once more crossed her hands over her lap in a lady-like manner before smiling awkwardly and dipping her head in a small submissive bow to Bram, she knew that he would disapprove of any conflict Catalina ignited between their family and the royals. She moved back to her seat before gesturing back to the Princess with a sweeping movement of her hand.

"The Princess was just about to explain to us what we can do to repay her for the necklace broken in the village." Said Catalina with a forced smile.

Bram simply gave a grunt in acknowledgement and pursed his mouth, clearly thinking to himself as he rubbed his wide stubbly jaw with a his hand. He walked back to the kitchen table and picked up one of the chairs with a single large leathery hand, lifting the 15ft tall heavy timber framework as though it were made of twigs and carrying it without an ounce of strain before setting it on the other side of the coffee table to the two women. As he moved around the chair he noticed Gwendoline staring at him with her little mouth hung slightly open, a mix of awe and fear faintly evident on her face as she watched him simply moving the furniture about.

"What happened at the village was simply an accident." Bram began "Eric is still a child, despite his size, he wouldn't have know he was doing anything wrong." he stated in an even tone.

Gwendoline snapped out of her awestruck gaze the moment Bram's huge voice echoed through the air. She had to admit the giant terrified her, but she knew that despite everything the giants had physically over her, she had influence and power over them, and that thought excited her. It was a thrill knowing that they had to obey, had to submit to her commands or be thrown off of her father's lands forever.

"Accident or not, damage was done to Royal property, and it must be compensated for!" The princess said as she stood at the edge of the large leather chair then sat herself down hanging her legs over the front of the seat unwittingly making herself look all the more like a child's doll.

Catalina leaned forwards in her seat slightly, her interest peeked by something.

"So your fath-..." Catalina began before correcting herself "I'm sorry, the King, sent you to make reparations?" she asked calmly.

Bram gave her a curious glance, not quite seeing where his wife was going with her line of questioning but decided not to intervene just yet. The Princess also seemed to be examining the question for any hidden traps but couldn't see anything she couldn't simply side-step with a few well placed threats, so she decided to just be honest.

"I took the decision to come here myself actually, I see no point in troubling the King with this unless it becomes absolutely necessary." Gwendoline replied folding her arms proudly across her chest as though showing off her self-imposed responsibility.

Catalina raised her eyebrows and gave a small smile as she sat back in her chair, Bram could see her plotting but couldn't work out what she was working towards just yet so he decided to leave her to it for now and instead cleared his throat with a gruff cough and turned back to the little Princess.

"The fact remains Princess that we have very little of value to you, none of our possessions are of a size suitable for your person and we live largely off of the land." Bram said trying to keep his voice reasonable.

Gwendoline looked disappointed for a second, her mouth pursing in a disapproving scowl before her eyes began to search her surroundings, looking for something that might prove the Giant wrong. She quickly came to the same conclusion however, seeing what Bram meant by them not owning anything that would be suitable for her size. After-all she would have to get it back home herself or risk having to explain the need to commandeer a cart and guards from the castle. Then a question came to mind, along with a plan half forming in her thoughts.

"So if you work for my Father, how are you paid? You must have gold..." She asked slyly, feeling as though she may have finally tricked the Giants, but Bram was quick with his answer.

"The King pays us in game allowance, we are allowed to take deer and other wild animals from his land to feed our family and we use the pelts as items around the home, clothes, bedding and other items." he said as he gestured to various items made of roughly tailored hides and pelts.

"You take my Father's deer?" Gwendoline asked suddenly?

"Only as many as we are allowed." Bram replied cautiously.

"Well then! That settles it!" Gwendoline replied cheerfully "You hunt my Father's deer, so you can serve me my Father's deer! You will provide me with hospitality whenever I am here, and I expect you to do everything in your power to make me comfortable in your...uh, home.." The little Princess once again folded her arms across her chest triumphantly and waited for the Giants response.

Bram and Catalina shared a dangerous look between each other, the Giantess knew when Bram was close to erupting with anger and right now he was all but shaking trying to contain his outrage. Catalina took the lead on the conversation now, giving her husband time to cool down.

"Princess, we do not have much, we are only allowed to take enough from the forest to give us a couple of days of meagre meat portions per week." She said.

Gwendoline felt victorious, she had found the perfect way of making these creatures serve her and hurt them at the same time. She was truly superior to them in her own mind and she was loving being able to show it. She would prove her dreams wrong, the giants were not going to walk all over her..

"I have made up my mind, either you serve me whenever I am here, or I tell my father of the attack in the village, besides, its not like you are feeding an army!" Gwendoline said allowing herself a small laugh at her joke "Its just one more person you need to accommodate." she finished, but it was enough to finally push Bram into reacting.

"NOW WAIT A MINUTE!" He roared angrily sitting up straight in his chair, his barrel chest heaving as his eyes almost seemed to blaze like cold, blue fire.

Gwendoline gave a hard flinch, raising her arm to protect herself. Although she spoke brave words she was still terrified of the Giant's anger, raising her arm up as if to ward him off as she turned her head to hide from his outburst, expecting to be snatched up any second. But to her surprise it was Catalina she heard from first. The giantess rose quickly to her feet and took a step forwards, raising a hand towards Bram to calm him and speaking in an even tone.

"Now Bram! Stay calm. The Princess has a point... She is alone." Catalina said, emphasising the word 'alone' with a stern look "There will only be one more mouth to feed, I'm sure we can accommodate her wishes.

Bram breathed heavily and allowed himself to settle back in his chair, his face still fixed with a stern frown but at last he felt he could see where his wife was going with her plan, though he could hardly believe she might try it. Gwendoline lowered her arm and took a moment to let her heart beat return to normal, certain her face must have been flushed completely red. She stood, her legs a little shaky on the soft chair.

"I... I am ready to go now." The princess said uneasily as she struggled with her footing and her fear "You, help me down from here, in a more dignified manner this time!" she said waving Catalina forwards and pointing to the floor beneath her.

Catalina simply bit her tongue and leaned forwards, offering the palm of her hand like a stepping stone for the princes to step down onto with one foot then down onto the floor. The small girl straightened out her skirts again and brushed her bushy bright golden curls back over her shoulder away from her face then looked up to the giantess and gave a small nod. Catalina escorted Gwendoline to the front door, opening it wide for her and giving a polite curtsy as the Princess passed by her and headed off outside to recover her horse. The giantess closed the door once she had seen the girl ride off into the woods and gave a long controlled sigh but the peace didn't last long.

"Would you care to explain to me just what exactly you have in mind agreeing to serve that royal pain in the ar... that royal brat?" Bram growled angrily as he held back from swearing in case Eric was listening.

He stood up and used his hand to brush down his chair seat as though having Gwendoline use it had dirtied it in some way, like a pet might leave hairs on your favourite chair. Catalina simply smiled, evidently pleased at being asked to explain her plan because it was something she was going to enjoy carrying out. She swept elegantly over to her husband, almost dancing her light, excited steps before taking his hands in hers and smiling, looking deep into his ice-blue eyes.

"Bram sweetheart, trust me, this will be best for everybody, not just us." She said in a smooth voice, but Bram still didn't look entirely convinced. "She believes we are beasts, so we shall be beasts, its just this once my dear, then we can continue to live our quiet... peaceful... lives." She finished as she slid closer to Bram, wrapping her arms around his waist and pushing her hips against his.

"Gods be damned" thought Bram as he rolled his eyes to the roof rafters "I wonder who is really in charge of this household..." then, with a sigh he looked into his wife's mischievous emerald eyes "Fine. But only this once." he said trying to remain stern.

Catalina simply bit her lip playfully and smiled.

End of Chapter 3

Chapter 4 – Collateral Damage

Over the next few weeks Gwendoline revelled in having her own personal Giant slaves. She was the only princess she had ever heard of to have such creatures for their own personal amusement and she took full advantage of the fact. Ordering them around in their own home, making sure she was served first for every drink and meal which she knew got under Bram's skin immediately. She had even brought her own place settings which she demanded Catalina set for her each time she visited. Her personal maid had been ordered to take a plate, a few saucers, a cup and a wine goblet as well as a full set of silver cutlery from the kitchens, knowing full well that if they didn't come back it would only be the maid who was beaten for it. No-one would suspect the Princess of stealing from her own castle.

It became something of a ritual for Gwendoline to arrive unannounced at the Bear's home at least once a week to help herself to their hospitality, even going as far as demanding Catalina keep wine at the house for her. The Giants would never usually bother with buying wine because of the cost of having to buy in such huge bulk to make it worth while. A bottle of wine would barely be enough to fill the base of Bram's large metal goblet and that was expensive enough, but to avoid suspicion and the awkward questions that would arise of them buying such pointlessly small quantities, Bram and Catalina had been forced to buy a barrel large enough that people might believe that they were buying it for themselves. It had taken a lot of bartering with pelts, labour and what little gold they had, but they managed it.

Over the weeks Catalina was careful and cunning about probing for information from the Princess. She asked about the place settings, and was told of the poor maid who was badly beaten for losing the silverware and fine plates. Next she asked why the castle guards allowed the girl to come and go as she pleased without an escort and was rewarded with the information that she was sneaking out of the messenger gate which was never guarded. Catalina was quick to follow up with another question upon hearing this news, though knew she needed to hide her sudden interest.

"But surely Princess, someone of your importance would be missed around the castle while you are here?" Catalina asked humbly, continuing the act of submission in front of the girl which, she had to admit, was wearing even her own nerves very thin.

"I am a princess, I'm sure you wouldn't understand much about that, living in a forest and all, but I have very different duties as a lady of royalty." Gwendoline said in a snobbish manner "I am required to practice my talents that will one day suit a prince when I choose to marry, my Father says I will be very popular with the other nobles!" she said sitting up straight in a 'proper posture' to show herself off in the way she had been taught.

Bram nearly choked on his food as Gwendoline announced how popular her Father had told her she would be, having to fight between stifling an outburst of raucous laughter, swallowing and trying not to splutter his food across the table as he covered his mouth with his fist. The princess shot him a fiery look from her place at the head of the table and Catalina glared as well as he managed to swallow down his mouthful before clearing his throat with a cough.

"My apologies Princess, I must have swallowed a bone..." He said awkwardly

"Hmm I wouldn't have thought such a thing could bother someone like you..." Gwendoline replied with a stiff expression, meaning it as yet another insult based on the brutishness of the Giants.

The rest of the meal passed in an awkward quietness which Bram was personally thankful for. If the princess wasn't making threats then she wasn't that upset about anything. As was usual after finishing her meal and deciding she had had enough of abusing her giant slaves, Gwendoline decided it was time to head back to the castle. She was always conscious of how much time she spent at the Bear's house just in case someone reported her as missing and Catalina's comment about people noticing she was gone had played on her mind. If she was found to have disappeared it would spark a search by the castle guards. She was enjoying this little arrangement very much and she would hate to have to lose it before she had become bored of it.

The princess once again ordered Catalina to provide her with a step down from her seat at the table. Although she had made them go to great lengths to modify a seat for her to sit comfortably at the table she still enjoyed making the giantess bow down in order to use her palm as a step. To the princess it was a fitting way to make an example of her for being so arrogant when they had first met. She collected her cloak and, as usual, ordered Bram to escort her to her horse.

The two walked up the slight slope away from the house to where Gwendoline always tied her horse in the safety of the trees, they walked in silence, the slow pace Bram had to travel at to stay along side the little human irritated him but he kept his temper in check as he bent down to one knee and extended his large palm for Gwendoline to step up onto then climb onto her horse.

"When can we expect you again, Princess?" Bram asked as he rose to his feet.

"Whenever I please, we will see!" Gwendoline replied trying to act like she didn't care but obviously taking pleasure in the truth of the statement.

With a small laugh of glee Gwendoline rode off into the woods at a quick pace wanting to get back to the castle as soon as she could, leaving Bram in the small clearing watching her leave. He gave an irritated sigh, wondering if all the effort of Catalina's plan was really worth it, but not knowing now what he could do to end the situation. He had hoped the girl would have become bored of her game by now, but she had been to the house at least once a week for the last month which meant this patient game of Catalina's was beginning to take a heavy toll on his families resources.

Just then a sharp snap of a branch shocked Bram out of his thoughts, his head whipped round to the place he heard the sound come from. This sudden reaction caused a small scared gasp to come from one of the bushes.

"Come out of there!" He commanded harshly, his whole body tense as his eyes searched left and right for any other movement.

A few seconds later a small figure emerged from the bushes, she was dressed in a long plain black woollen dress with a white apron tied around her waist and a linen scarf tied over her hair to keep it back out of the way. She was clearly a peasant, but her clothes seemed to be a uniform of sorts. She stood slightly crouched, her hands clutched to her chest as she visibly trembled, looking ready to bolt like a scared rabbit back into the bushes at any second. Bram relaxed a little, looking the girl over and checking the surroundings once more.

"Who are you? What are you doing this far into the forest?" He asked taking a couple of slow steps towards the girl so as not to frighten her away.

"Mu... My name? My... My name is M-muh... Mary, s-sir." She stammered, her eyes wide as she craned her neck up to look Bram the face, before deciding it was too daunting to see him at his full height and dropping her gaze to the floor.

"Okay, Mary, Why are you out here? You can't be hunting." said Bram looking down on the girl.

"Oh no! No Sir! I wasn't!" Mary said desperately looking back up for a moment a pleading look on her face. She knew there was a severe punishment for being caught hunting on the King's land "I was... I'm um.. I serve the- the Princess, Sir." she said dropping her eyes again to stare wide-eyed at the ground.

The girl saw the Giant's boots shuffle and then saw his knee thud into the ground in front of her as he knelt, she looked up to him and found him no less terrifying even though he had dropped down to a mere three times her height now instead of the previous five or six. Bram had noticed a patchwork of bruising down one side of the servant girl's face and one of her eyes was still slightly marked with a deep reddish-purple swelling.

"Why would you follow the Princess out here?" Bram asked, concern etched on his rough features.

"I, I wondered where she was going to so often, and everyone else told me to mind my own business or risk being... disciplined... again." said Mary touching a hand subconsciously to her bruised face "But I, I had to find out.."

Bram gave a deep sigh as he began to add up his options but quickly realised what he was going to have to do, he still hoped though that perhaps there was an easier way out of this needless complication.

"When did they do... That, to you?" he said, one huge finger indicating the bruising.

"Four nights ago, Sir, when I told them it was the Princess who removed some tableware from the castle." she replied

"Hmmm, well I hope you told your superiors where you were going before you came out here?" Bram asked as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, he was not as skilled at subtly weeding out information as Catalina was, but he was by no means stupid.

"Um... I uh... No, Sir. They wouldn't have never let me leave if I were to tell them I was spying on the Princess!" said Mary, as it occurred to her suddenly that nobody knew where she was right now.

Bram also saw the look of realisation on the girls face and noticed her take a step back towards the bushes. He knew she wouldn't be able to run too far, but chasing her through the trees would create far too much chaos and noise. He needed to get her back to the house as quietly as possible.

"You know my wife, Catalina, can mix some medicine for those bruises, it will have them gone in a day or two.." He offered trying to sound as kindly as he could.

"Umm, no, that's ok thank you sir, I uh... I think I need to... Get back now, its a long walk back to the cas-.. castle..." Mary shook and trembled seeing the Giant's body language change as she refused his offer, she took a couple of small steps backwards, as though desperately hoping for a head start that could get her any extra ground between her and the monstrously large figure before her.

Bram sighed and dropped his head for a second, summoning up the will to do what he knew needed to be done, then, in an instant he lunged forwards. The girl screamed but it was quickly cut short as a massive hand slammed into her body, violently whipping her up off the ground. The hand knocked the wind from Mary's little body and the grip which surrounded her was too tight to get a proper lungful of air. She whimpered and mewled like a wounded cat as her legs kicked and wriggled in the air trying to free herself but it was useless, her arms were locked tight to her body ans she felt half crushed in the rough hand that heaved her up into the air.

Bram snatched the girl up, his hand so large that it covered most of her body leaving just her shoulders and head poking out and her skinny legs kicking frantically from the base of his fist. She was making a wheezing, whimpering noise which satisfied Bram's need to keep her quiet, he didn't want to do anything too brash to her before he discussed what to do with Catalina, but he couldn't afford to let her start screaming again. He still held onto the hope that there may be a way to avoid doing anything too unpleasant as he walked briskly back to his cabin, covering the girl as best he could by clutching her near to his body and wrapping his other hand over the top of her.

Within moments he barged in through the door, the heavy section of palisade shaking violently like it might buckle from its hinges as he shouldered his way through. The sudden explosion of noise made Catalina jump as she whirled round to see what was going on.

"Bram! What is it??" She asked, shocked.

"Eric! Go and play in your room!" Bram ordered, his face tight with concerned and his hands bundled close to his chest.

The boy had been playing with a wooden farmer's cart, pushing it around the floor along with a large crudely made wooden horse, but now he obediently took his toys and wandered through into the back rooms of the cabin. He looked slightly worried, wondering if he had done something wrong, but he knew not to question his Father. Catalina approached Bram with a look of uncomfortable fear on her face, she had rarely seen her husband in such a state over anything.

"What is it, what's wrong?" She asked softly.

Bram waited for Eric to go out of sight, then listened to make sure he was in his room before he suddenly thrust the little maid out towards Catalina. Her body flailed like a rag doll as she was flung through the air, then came to an abrupt stop to find herself on eye-level with the giantess. The girl still made tiny forced gasps and quiet whimpering noises as tears streaked down her cheeks, her legs still kicked and squirmed weakly, one shoe missing now and her head bobbed gently as she sobbed. The horror stories she had heard as a child raced through her mind as she waited for them to grind her up into bread or do something equally horrid to her.

Catalina was stunned, her vision shifting quickly between the girl and her husband, the confusion and disbelief on her face clear to see.

"What do we do about this?" Bram growled angrily, jerking the girl roughly in front of his wife's face as if to emphasise his words, her small body being thrown about in his grip as she gave a few terrified squeaks "She found out about the royal brat coming around here!"

Catalina's eyes went wide and her mouth hung open for a second as she struggled to come to terms with what Bram was telling her.

"Was she alone? Does anybody else know?" She asked hurriedly, her voice betraying her fear that their plan was in danger.

"No, she said she had to sneak out, she is the one they suspect of stealing the things Goldey brought here." he said bringing the girl towards himself and with surprising delicacy, swept the hair from her face with one finger, the linen scarf she had been wearing having been pulled off during her rough kidnapping.

Catalina inspected the small girl's face for a moment and saw the bruising, understanding what Bram meant. The girl was shivering violently and the giantess calmly reached out for her, scooping one hand under the girls legs and the other hand round the back of her body as she gently took her from Bram's grip. As soon as the girl was free from the half-crushing pressure of the Giant's fist she took a deep lungful of air, panting to regain all the oxygen she had been deprived of as her whole body felt limp and weak.

Mary laid cradled in the hands of the giantess, she was sore and tired, feeling like her torso had been half crushed. She took in heavy gulps of air then sobbed as she breathed them back out, tears still spilling down her cheeks as she shook, her heart pounding like it was trying to escape from her chest. She felt the heat of the giantess' hot supple palms cradling her from below, and smelt the rose-scented perfume of the woman's body with every breath she took. Mary felt herself being carefully jostled as one hand, this time more slender, more delicate, wrapped around her waist. She whimpered and was about to beg to be let go again but instead the hand simply moved her body to lay her down along one arm, being held like a baby against the chest of the giantess as the hand then let her go and began to stroke her hair, a silky soft voice cooing from above.

"Its ok little thing, you're ok, you're safe, shhh, shhh." Catalina's husky voice almost whispered down to the scared girl as she cradled her against her chest and stroked her soothingly.

Catalina allowed the girl to rest for a moment while she simply petted her gently, until Bram broke the silence.

"So?" He hissed impatiently, somewhat confused as to what his wife was planning to do with the girl. "What do we do with her?"

Mary suddenly came to her senses hearing the deep gravely voice of the Giant above her, she had completely let herself be lost in the sanctuary of the arms of the Giantess. The woman's voice was mesmerising and having her hair stroked reminded her of her own mother's touch when she used to comfort her as a child. Now though when she moved to get free of the arms around her she found herself suddenly being held tighter. The arm along her back held her firmly as though she were a struggling puppy while the hand that had been stroking her now snaked down and wrapped its slender fingers around her neck and head, smothering her face in the hot, deep flesh of the woman's palm as Mary tried to wriggle and scream.

The hand cut off all light and what little air Mary could breath was stifling inside the hot grip around her skull. Her hands beat and punched at the large mound in front of her, feeling her little fists sink into the giantess' breast as she fought uselessly to escape, her feet kicked and thrashed but it did nothing to help her. Suddenly the hand began to turn her head, the arm clutching her body tightened to pin her completely now against the Giantess. The soft mound of the breast enveloped her, stopping her from being able to turn with her neck and squeezing her arms flat to snuff out her struggles. Her head was turned further and further, her neck beginning to strain as the tendons and muscles stretched to their maximum capacity but still the hand kept twisting.

Mary quickly became desperate, screaming, begging, crying, shouting but her voice barely even left her throat before it was smothered in the soft fleshy palm.

"Oh god! Please stop, PLEASE STOP!!" she prayed desperately, knowing she could do nothing else to save herself now. "Oh-God! Oh-God! OH-GOD! OH GO-..."

Finally all Mary could do was produce a strangled gargling noise, her mind unable to focus, swamped in the terror and pain of what was happening as her head felt like it was almost completely backwards on her body. Her neck screamed with a fiery agony, but still the hand kept twisting mercilessly. With one last soul piercing shriek from the girl there was a loud, wet -CRACK- and her head suddenly spun freely to face directly behind her. She vaguely felt her body begin to spasm uncontrollably and her ears were filled with a loud high-pitched whistling. Blood pounded in her brain as her body slowly went limp and lost all feeling and then, with one final jerk of the hand, everything went black.

Mary was gone.

Catalina gave one last twist of the poor peasant girl's head, hearing the final cracks of her spine being wrenched free of her skull, then released the little thing from her grip. She used her free hand to hold the body around its slender waist and lifted it letting the girl hang backwards over her palm, the limbs dangling uselessly as they hung limp in the air. The girl's head remained twisted awkwardly around backwards on herself, a look of utter horror frozen on her pale features as a small trickle of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth. Catalina inspected her victim, turning her over and watching as she simply flopped forwards, then turned her back again before giving the girls body a firm squeeze. Seeing no signs of a response the giantess was satisfied the girl was dead and she returned her attention to her husband.

Bram looked grim. His face was a mask of tension and disgust until he raised his gaze from the peasant girl's body to look his wife in the eyes.

"Was that really necessary?" He growled.

"Yes Bram, It was." She said solemnly, laying one hand gently on his chest. "Think of it as collateral damage, it needed to be done or she would have told everyone of this whole arrangement, and then who knows what the King would have done?"

Bram studied her face for a moment, then gave a grunt of acceptance. He looked back down at the girl still hanging limp like a dead rodent in Catalina's hand.

"Fine, but this ends soon!" He ordered fiercely "And the sooner the better!"

With that said, he gripped the dead girl's legs in his fist and took her from the Giantess, letting the little body hang upside down at his side like a piece of meat as he left the cabin to dispose the evidence.

End of Chapter 4

Bram stormed out of the house, once more rattling the walls of the cabin by slamming the heavy door, he was stressed and angry but most of all he was disappointed in himself. He took a moment to try and still himself, the adrenaline coursing through him making him breath heavily, his huge chest rising and falling causing a deep growling sound to rumble out from his throat. He lifted the lifeless body of the peasant maid up in front of himself, seeing her skirts had fallen up over her body while she hung upside down, her lower legs clenched within his fist. He moved his free hand up to sweep the little human's clothes back into place but paused when he noticed bruises on her pale legs. The castle guards had really worked her over when they had given her the beating and the realisation tugged at Bram's already heavy heart. With a sigh he moved the girls skirts back into place, shifting his grip on her so he held her with a little more dignity rather than some kind of dead animal.

He walked to the side of the house and picked a patchwork, roughly hewn sack from an iron hook and held it open with one hand while he lowered the girl into it, then headed off into the woods, the bag handing at his side. He looked down at the sack with a morbid thought of how to him, the outline of the girl's limp body looked much the same as a rabbit would have in a human's hunting bag, only a vague bulge visible to show that anything was in it at all. He hoped it would appear much the same way to anyone he may run in to, perhaps mistaking her for a deer. At the same time though he was confident no-one would come out to these parts of the woods, after-all, it wasn't safe...

This last thought left a bitter taste in his mouth as he strode along carrying the evidence of it.

After around 15 minutes the giant pushed through a thick stand of trees to a small clearing where not much grew. The opening had been made beneath the canopy of an immense Oak tree which had recently fallen, pulling a wide lump of soil from the ground with it's roots. Bram knew the exposed patch of churned up dirt wouldn't look suspicious if anyone did happen to come through this way. He knelt and used a single huge hand to begin pawing at the dirt where the tree had stood, each heavy scoop of soil ploughing deep into the earth until within only a few short minutes he was knelt over a 6ft deep trench.

Gently Bram unwrapped little Mary's body from his hunting bag, her head was still twisted to a horrifying angle on her shoulders and he grimaced seeing the thick purple band of bruising which has flourished around her broken neck. He did his best to delicately turn her face back around to the front, holding her as though he might still somehow hurt her. He knew it was a meaningless gesture of kindness but Bram felt it right to at least try to do something. He lowered her down into the hole he had dug and paused for one last moment before he cupped a single hand against the pile of dirt he had removed and pushed it back into the hole with only a few swift motions, patting the mound flat almost like he was planting a seed.

“Damn it Bram,” He angrily chastised himself “Of all the stupid things you could have done, you had to take her to Catalina.”

He was never as good as his wife at scheming and plotting and Catalina's game had become far more complex than he was comfortable with. In his confusion he had assumed taking the girl to his wife was the best course of action, hoping that maybe Catalina with her sly tongue could convince the servant girl that they both worked towards a common cause, something for the greater good. He failed to fully recognise that Catalina still had the same outlook on the humans as her Mountain-born ancestors. For her, taking little Mary's life had come as natural and as enjoyable as picking flowers. Bram stood and dusted his hands off, sighing heavily before scooping his sack up and heading home.

The Mountain giants had always been a fierce breed. They were the large, savage creatures that the human's told stories of. Grinding people into bread-flour, being snatched up for food if you strayed too far into the hills or simply being crushed flat for daring to trespass into their grim territory. They came from a race who lived in harsh, lonely conditions where food was scarce and in-fighting was constant. They were a war-like species who saw anything smaller than themselves as easy meat. Bram often wondered if there would be any humans left if it weren't for the fact that the Plains and Forest giants had aided them against their more savage cousins.

He had met Catalina during his time on the Council of Nobles. She had come with her father, a low-level king within the mountain territories, and they had hit it off almost immediately. Bram loved her fiery nature and passion for life and he had to admit there was something genuinely exciting about her somewhat savage view of the world. She was like a wolf he desperately wanted to tame but for a time during what the human's called 'The Titan War' he thought he had lost her. Their people had been on opposing sides when the mountain clans united to take the lowlands from all who lived there. The war destroyed a vast number of the Giant races but for Bram at least there was a silver lining. Catalina's family had been almost entirely wiped out, leaving only herself, her young sister and her father alive.

Catalina loved Bram but they couldn't be together while their was such fierce rivalry between the clans, though with the near destruction of the Mountain clans, it was inevitable that times needed to change. The Giantess was granted permission to marry Bram and he had promised her father she would be well taken care of. At the time he was still a Noble, which meant Catalina retained her title as a Lady, it was a step down from being a Princess, but with her Father's kingdom destroyed he was hardly the King of anything. This meant she either 'made do' as a Lady or she was nothing so the arrangement suited both her personal needs as well as her ambitions.

The trouble with humans however, is that they are short lived and incredibly petty. Eventually they forgot their long debt to the Giants who had helped them, and with the Giant race so weakened from the Titan War the Humans in control seized the opportunity to take complete power, forcing the disbanding of the giant's council and relegating their kind to mere commoners. Catalina had been furious. Bram himself wasn't exactly easily forgiving over the treacherous political decision but his anger was nothing compared to that Wild Wolf which had lain dormant within Catalina, and she was very much once more on the prowl. Humans began to disappear. At first it was just a few peasants, then merchants with their travelling caravans began to go missing, then some of the low ranking local politicians, then the town mayor.

Finally a Noble was found in the hills, his limbs were completely missing and his head was found wedged in the tall branches of a tree, seemingly having been thrown aside during the carnage. The remains of what people could only presume was his wife were found in a deep foot-shaped crater, but there wasn't enough left of the woman's body to identify her. The gore was spread across the impact area with such force that the only way to tell it was a female were the bloody scraps of a dress in amongst the mangled remains.

After that incident the Bear family had taken whatever valuables they could carry and left. It had lead them to their home in the forest and Bram's current job, both deliberately placed away from heavy human populations but with enough leverage and wealth that they could set themselves up comfortably. He had used his experience as a Noble to earn the trust of the King directly while he managed his forests and the people of the nearby villages and farms weren't entirely afraid of him. Even so, he tried to keep a healthy distance from them. He was content with his new life and so far it had kept Catalina out of trouble, but it was a far cry from the rich life he'd had previously.

As Bram came back into the clearing in front of his cabin he shook himself from thoughts of the past and surveyed everything he had built for himself. He enjoyed what he and his family had here, and he didn't want to risk it with this prolonged game of cat and mouse Catalina was playing. It ended soon, or he would put a stop to it himself. He hung his sack back up on the hook and headed back around to the door until he was stopped in his tracks by a pair of female voices from inside the cabin. He laid his hand on the door and listened for a moment, he recognised Catalina's voice instantly, and was relieved to find that the second voice was loud enough to be from another Giant but he was curious to know who the second voice belonged to. He pushed open the door and struggled to keep his jaw from dropping as he realised who the stranger's voice belonged to.

Stood in what could be called his living room, chatting excitedly with Catalina, was Felicia. Felicia was the younger sister of Catalina but it was rare that she would come down from the mountains to visit. If Catalina had the appearance of a human in their late 20's to mid 30's her sister had the look of a human in their late teens, though in truth from what Bram could remember she was in fact somewhere around 150 years old. He knew instantly that with everything going on, it could never be a coincidence that she should choose now to arrive.

She wore a dirty-white knee-length dress with long sleeves. It was elegant in it's own way despite being made of a heavy canvas but it was well fitted to her athletic body. The neckline was slender but deep, her cleavage just barely masked by an intricate white lace panel. The panel was matched by a pair of white lace cuffs which half covered her hands as it trailed from her wrists to her finger tips and a final lace hem which had become a worn ragged circle around the bottom of her dress. Her fiery red hair hung in twin braids but only came a little past her shoulders while an untidy fringe hung half over her large hazel eyes.

“Bram!” Felicia exclaimed brightly, a pretty smile highlighting the dimples in her freckled cheeks “Its good to see you, you're looking... brooding, as ever.” She said teasingly as she crossed the room to give him a small hug.

“It's a surprise to see you here Felicia.” Bram said as he stooped to hug the girl, his eyes locking onto Catalina's accusingly from over the shorter girl's shoulder.

Felicia came only to Bram's chest, and though it still meant she stood at around 22ft tall she seemingly appeared petite compared to him. She was in truth only marginally smaller than average for her kind, the Mountain giants were often unusually short compared to most of the Giant race. As they broke their hug Felicia stepped back and smiled wryly up at Bram, she loved him like a brother but never could resist teasing him.

“So Catalina tells me you were being a bit of a mud-heart over your problem with a certain human girl?” She asked sweetly, moving lithely back across the room with almost a dancer's steps to pick up her goblet of wine.

“Did she indeed.” Bram said stiffening up at the insult, the hairs on the back of his neck rising up like hackles, Mud-hearts were what the Mountain clans called the Plains clans as an insult, meaning they were too soft.

“And I suppose her solution was to carry out her little scheme with someone as frost-minded as her?” he asked smugly as he saw both women bristle at the comment, which described the Mountain clan's infamous trait of being hugely difficult to reason with once they had set their minds on a something.

The pair of giant women met eyes briefly and for a moment Bram wondered if he had crossed a line with his casual insult, but Catalina was quick to smile and break the tension with a small chuckle before moving towards Bram and laying a hand on his chest. Her large, emerald green eyes stared into his as he seemed to visibly melt under her affections.

“You wanted this done and finished with my dear, and my sister is here with something to help me... work... meaning it will be over all the quicker.” she said, carefully choosing her words “I had been waiting for Felicia to bring me what I needed to see this through, so now she is here we have no reason to drag this out any further..” The giantess held a hand out to her sister, who in turn took a pouch from one of the small pockets on the front of her dress and gave it to Catalina.

“What's that?” Bram asked curiously

“When you have a rodent in the house, you poison it of course!” Felicia said, giggling excitedly.

Bram simply gave a grim huff, he wasn't going to win any argument against the combined willpower of the two sisters and to try and convince them to give up on their little game seemed pointless now. If he was being honest with himself he would rather see it finished than have to face the prospect of uprooting his family yet again to try to keep them safe. It was Gwendoline or his son, possibly even his whole family. For a brief moment he even considered what was to come to be at least some form of retribution for poor little Mary, but his guilt quickly forced any notion of noble intent out of his head. He dared to hope that perhaps Gwendoline was bored of her game by now, perhaps she would never come back and perhaps this would all be over before it had to get any worse.

The next morning it got worse.

Just an hour or so after sunrise the Bears and their guest sat around their dining table as Catalina heated the huge iron stove, piling 6ft logs into the burner like they were kindling as she prepared to make breakfast. The family's resources had been sorely drained with the demanding visits of the princess, most of the savings they'd had having been sunk into buying the barrel of wine she had ordered them to provide for her. This meant the family's breakfast was to consist almost entirely of oats, milk and a small amount of fruit Catalina has foraged. The conversation flitted casually between the giants with Catalina eager to know about her homelands and her father, Bram busied himself repairing a torn pocket on his heavy leather work apron and Felicia fawned over Eric while she chatted to her sister.

The small cabin hummed with a warm energy as the family enjoyed their morning together until a strange sound seemed to cut into the conversation, distracting the giant women mid sentence. They looked around, each looking to the other, confused for a moment until Felicia spoke up.

“What was that?” She asked, pausing to see if she could hear it again

“Sounded like a mewling cat.” Bram offered, until the sound came once more from the slight gap in the base of the front door.

A soft pounding came from the bottom of the door followed by a small but angry-sounding voice

“Giants! I wont tell you again! Open this door! I know you are in there I can hear your dull voices!” Came the shrill demands from the little voice

“Oh for the love of Gorm... it's Goldilocks.” Bram growled quietly as he put his apron on the corner of the table and stood to head over to the door his footsteps thumping heavily as he crossed the wooden floor. He placed his hand on the heavy iron lever that lifted the latch then he suddenly paused and turned urgently to tell Felicia to hide, but before he could even speak he saw she was already gone, the curtain leading into the bedrooms falling back into place where she had slipped soundlessly into the dark back rooms. The giant gave a stern huff of satisfaction before pulling the door open and looking down at the source of the family's irritation.

Gwendoline stood with her hands on her hips and a ridiculous looking pout on her face, she wore a short sleeved sky blue dress which had multiple skirts making it flare out at her knees, the collar was tall and bright white, made of a thick lace which wrapped stiffly around her neck. On her chest was a shiny ribbon of sky blue silk and her long white stockings had the same silk ribbons on her ankles just above a well tailored pair of little black shoes with silver buckles on their sides. She stamped her foot impatiently before shouting up at Bram.

“About time you deaf brute! I've been waiting for nearly FIVE MINUTES!” She said as she crossed her arms over her chest petulantly.

Bram knew it hadn't been five minutes but her silly exaggerations were the least of the issues on his mind.

“WELL?” She demanded “Aren't you going to invite your Princess in? Asked Gwendoline as she gestured past Bram's ankles clearly expecting to be welcomed.

Bram stepped aside from the doorway, waving a hand into the house as though to wave the tiny human inside “Welcome in, Princess” He said using the same strained inflection as Gwendoline had in announcing her title.

Gwendoline glared up at Bram and marched in through the doorway. Bram meanwhile mused to himself about how long it took humans to travel anywhere without their horses. It seemed to take an age for the little girl to cross over the thick timber threshold of the doorway and pass through far enough into his home for him to close the door behind them. The giant strode back to his chair by the table, crossing the modest size room in only half a dozen strides as he watched Gwendoline continue to make her way to the dining room.

The princess walked into the house, the smell of wood smoke and warm oats drifted around the dimly lit cabin as her eyes adjusted to both the light level and the expanse of the room she had walked into. She saw the giantess at the stove wiping her hands down on a bed sheet sized tattered rag before the huge woman put on her most formal-looking smile and came to help the Princess up into her usual seat at the table. The small girl waited expectantly as the giantess knelt down before her and rested her hand palm-up in front of her feet. Gwendoline stepped up onto Catalina's palm before it rose up with her on board to let her then step off onto the chair.

“What brings the Princess out to see us so early in the day?” Catalina asked sweetly

“I had something to attend to in town, apparently some foolish boy thinks he can earn my favour by trying to impress me with some little bauble.” Gwendoline said lazily showing off an emerald and gold ring that hung on her finger “It reminds me of the necklace I had pay a substantial amount to have repaired... Don't you think? I'm sure your over-sized child would love it...” She said venomously, the words clearly chosen carefully to reflect the threat that she still had every intention of holding over the giant family.

There was a brief, awkward pause as Bram stiffened angrily. He wanted to take the little creature by the scruff of the neck and throw her far off into the forest, how DARE she come to his home and threaten them? For the first time he felt no real guilt about Catalina's plan as he took a sharp breath to speak, but he was suddenly cut off before he could let out his anger.

“Well I'm afraid we only have porridge to offer, we haven't yet been able to make the trip into town to refill our larder.” Catalina said, breaking the tension as she turned and picked up her wooden mixing spoon to stir a heavy cauldron that sat bubbling now on the stove top

“Ha! If only your kind were still trusted to hold a title! I have all sorts of servants to do such menial things for me!” Gwendoline said bragging, a smug little smile on her face as she sat upright, her hands on her lap striking her finest noble posture.

Bram suddenly grew curious as he heard the mention of servants. His mind instantly shot to thoughts of little Mary. “I'm sure you have more than you can count.” he said almost clumsily, trying to be sly, but also trying not to ask any deliberate questions that might raise suspicion.

“Jealousy doesn't suit you Bear, but yes, I suppose we do.” Gwendoline said believing the comment was meant sarcastically, not noticing the look Catalina shot Bram for being so blunt “I'm told one of them went missing this morning, but it makes no difference, the servants disappear all the time, Father says I should go easy on them, but they're only peasants, its not like there aren't a hundred others to take their place.” the little Princess said rolling her eyes in irritation, seemingly genuinely unaware of the concept of these people being deserving of even basic respect.

Catalina placed a bowl in front of the girl, before another was given to Bram, then Eric, then she herself sat down to eat. Gwendoline took a mouthful of the oats and grimaced, making an over-exaggerated noise of disgust and childishly scraping the oats from the bowl to the floor below her

"Ughh! Why is that so salty and hot?” Gwendoline demanded, her face screwed up and scowling. Bram and Catalina sat looking shocked at the girl's behaviour as Bram considered how even his son had better table manners.

“I'm sorry Princess, that was from Bram's portion, he prefers his oats with salt and doesn't mind the heat.” Said the giantess. Bram went from looking shocked at Gwendoline's behaviour to suddenly whipping round to look at his wife, then down to his bowl as he felt almost betrayed that a portion of his food had been taken right from his own bowl to feed the brat.

Catalina took some from her own bowl and refilled Gwendoline's, but again as she tasted the porridge she found offence with it “This is bland, and it has WHOLE fruits in it!” said the Princess spooning an entire apple out of the bowl and holding it up “Don't you brutes slice your apples and oranges?” She demanded, scraping it out to join the other portion on the floor.

Catalina struggled to maintain a neutral expression, her patience was at its limits as the natural instincts within her practically howled to be let loose upon this little monster, her blood felt as though it were on fire in her veins but she kept her voice steady. “I didn't think to slice the fruit as it isn't an issue for me, we eat apples and oranges as you would grapes and raisins.” she explained.

Eric's bowl was next to be portioned out, the young boy simply watching it happen, his good nature meant he didn't think twice about sharing. Finally this time when Gwendoline tasted the honey-sweetened oats she found them to her liking and the family could sit and eat their breakfasts in peace. Once they had all finished Catalina cleaned up the used bowls and utensils, and stooped to mop up the spilt oats Gwendoline had disapproved of. Bram busied himself finishing the repairs to his work apron before hanging the huge sheet of thick leather around his neck and tying the cords of sail rope behind his back.

Gwendoline had sat strangely quiet once they had begun eating and he had almost forgotten she was there as he finished his work but when he looked across to her he saw she sat playing idly with the ring she had presumably taken from the person she had gone to see this morning. Her movements seemed sluggish and her gaze was as if the little girl was lost in a thought a million miles from here. Catalina had also noticed the change in the princess' demeanour and turned to Bram, speaking very deliberately.

“Well, you boys have had your breakfast, its time you both got off to your work in the woods...” she said, her hands fishing for something in her own apron.

Bram looked confused for a moment, but as he saw the little pouch Felicia had bought with her being pulled from his wife's apron his eyebrows rose, then settled into a stern look. He nodded and waved Eric over from his place at the table, scooping up the small coat that hung on a roughly hewn iron peg in the wall. Hearing the giant conversation echoing above her Gwendoline looked about from Catalina to Bram, her head felt like it was foggy, like she had eaten too much and stayed up too late and drank too much. She blinked a few times to try and clear the feeling but the echoing conversation kept distracting her from managing to concentrate.

“I think..” the small girl started before yawning widely “I should head back to the castle. I have... I have duties to attend.” she continued, barely able to stifle another couple of little yawns as her fists rubbed at her eyes repeatedly.

“Perhaps you could take a nap here Princess? It may not be safe to ride through the forest if you are so sleepy.” Catalina offered, stepping towards the little girl and leaning forwards. Her eyes examined Gwendoline with the same cold calculations as a hawk eyeing up a mouse, but she kept a soft warming smile on her face, her hypnotic soothing voice cooing down to the girl. “We wouldn't want you to fall from your high, high horse now would we.”

Gwendoline looked up at the giantess, her gaze locked on to the large deep pools of emerald green that were Catalina's eyes as they seemed to keep her transfixed, a huge yet delicate hand reached forwards, one finger extending to sweep a stray golden lock of hair from Gwendoline's cheek as the long finger, easily the width of Gwendoline's arm, lingered to caress her face gently. She wanted to be appalled at the idea that this woman would dare touch her without her permission but there was something so soothing, so warm, so motherly about Catalina's touch. She yawned again and gave a tiny nod.

“Yes... I... I think that is sens... sensible.” Gwendoline was struggling to think clearly at all now.

She blinked once, then twice, each one slower and heavier than the last, that soft warm finger tip gently caressing the side of her face made her lean into it, nuzzling the scented soft skin like a contented house cat. The next thing she knew she thought she had blinked again, but this time when she opened her eyes she found herself lying on her back on something wooden.

Above her were two huge faces, one belonging to the familiar giantess, the other to a strange, younger looking giantess Gwendoline didn't know. She tried to move but her limbs were heavy and dull, she felt as though she were heavily drunk but instead of being out of control she simply felt extremely weak and groggy, like everything was a slow and uncontrollable dream. A hand came towards her from the unfamiliar woman and she felt slender yet powerful fingers wrap around her waist, lifting her effortlessly up into the air as she hung limp in the grip, only just able to keep herself from falling forwards as she was turned to sit upright in the grip of the fist which encircled her from hips to chest.

“Is this really the thing that was giving you trouble?” Felicia asked, her hazel eyes exploring every inch of the little princess she now held like a toy. The younger giantess giggled excitedly as she saw the small girl cringe and cover her ears, just the power of her voice seemed to either hurt or frighten the little thing and she loved it. “Have you seen this cute little bow? It's like it's gift wrapped itself for you, all trussed up like a sweet little Yule pig!” She said grinning as she tugged at the blue silk ribbon on Gwendoline's chest.

Catalina smiled as she watched the human girl squirm in her little sister's hands “Her name is Gwe... Goldilocks,” she said with a satisfied smile “and yes, she's the one who threatened Eric.”

Gwendoline heard Catalina's voice and vaguely registered that she had been called that name. She HATED that name and as the hand in front of her tugged and pulled at her silk ribbon jerking her about uncomfortably she lashed out as best she could, her little voice calling out lazily despite the anger she had tried to direct behind it.

“Don't... don't call me Goldilocks! No-one calls me... Gol... Goldilocks.” She stumbled over her own words as her little hands slapped and punched uselessly at the fingers playing with her.

Felicia paused for a second and looked at her sister “The little Yule pig doesn't seem to like her name.” she said, her eyebrows raised in a mix of surprise and amusement from the Princess' outburst.

“Everybody knows she hates it, that's why they call her it. No-one likes the spoilt little monster.” Catalina explained as she moved over to where her sister stood with her prize. She gripped the radiant, shining golden locks of hair between her fingers and tugged at it as though to present it as evidence to her sister before she continued “You see the curious thing about little Goldilocks here is that her father, the King, is dark haired.”

“So?” asked Felicia not understanding at all what her sister was trying to imply.

“So is the Queen...” Catalina said dryly, a small smirk pulling her rose coloured lips into a thin line of amusement. “But the King's personal servants?... They came from the North. All blonde and fair.” she finally revealed, her meaning becoming clearer now as she flicked her fingers and discarded a clump of Gwendoline's hair from her grasp like she had touched some kind of disgusting filth. She subconsciously wiped her fingers on her apron as she sneered at the small girl who mewled pathetically at having had her head tugged around on the end of her hair.

Felicia let out another laugh and grinned, clearly enjoying such scandalous gossip, and about the Royal family no less! “Well, I guess we'll be doing everyone a favour today then!” She exclaimed as she tousled the Princess' hair with one of her fingers causing the small girls head to rock painfully back and forth as her little hands flopped lazily in vain to defend herself. “The King is free of an embarrassing bastard, the peasants are free of a tyrant, you are free from her silly little threats! Oh! And best of all,” Felicia paused raising her little toy to her face as she began to pinch an squeeze Gwendoline's limbs and body. Inspecting her closely “You get to restock your cupboards with some fresh meat.” she said licking her lips.

Catalina couldn't help but laugh, amused by her sister's carefree attitude and the entertainment she was getting from all this, but she shook her head.

“No, this little one is all ours, call it a catch up lunch for not having seen each other in a while.”

“Oh?” Felicia asked, somewhat surprised.

“Bram will not have anything to do with the use of human meat, and he won't let Eric have it either, he says he doesn't want to encourage 'such behaviour' in him.” Catalina explained, not exactly happy with the situation, but her casual mood towards it showed that it clearly didn't bother her too much. She had known plenty of giants in her time who for one reason or another had never seen the humans as meat, it seemed the little creatures were almost exclusively a Mountain giant delicacy.

“Oh well, more for us!” Felicia said cheerfully “Now then lets get this unwrapped, I'm starving! Someone interrupted my breakfast..” she said down to Gwendoline and giving her a squeeze as her fist sunk into the princess's body causing her to give a gargled cry, her legs kicking as best they could to wriggle free.

Gwendoline had never been as scared in her life, even through the strange fog that filled her mind she could just about make out the booming conversation that was going on around her. The voices echoed through her mind making her want to cower away from the near deafening sounds but on the other hand hearing what was being said about her made her want to scream and shout and remind these monstrous brutes who they were talking to. When she got back home she would make sure these creatures paid with their lives, she would have them killed, butchered and fed to pig farms all across the land. Suddenly though her thoughts of revenge were interrupted by the hot clammy hand around her squeezing every ounce of air from her body.

The princess heard herself make a strange squeaking noise as the air was pushed form her lungs, she kicked and squirmed, feeling like her eyes might burst from her skull if she dared open them. Her hands pushed at the fingers which clamped around her but the trunks of flesh simply sunk deeper into her body, her legs swung uselessly in the air as the fist squeezed her hips grinding her joints painfully while her stomach felt like it was being forced up into her chest even as the bottom half of her rib cage threatened to implode under the pressure. She could feel her face going red, her lips began to tingle and swell, she was convinced that her head might pop off at any minute. This whole ordeal was scored by a constant background of airy childish giggling, the giant stranger loving every moment of her pain and suffering.

“Please....” Gwendoline wheezed. The word was foreign to her, she had never used that word for anything. “Please... stop... please...” she begged. She begged. It came so easy to her, to beg, something she had never thought possible “please...” she wheezed again, tears rolling down her face her once perfect porcelain cheeks now swollen and purple.

“YES!” Felicia exclaimed with a laugh as she turned to Catalina with a broad grin. “Hear that? 20 seconds and I made it beg!” she said proudly before heading over to the large wooden block where Catalina had begun to prepare vegetables and herb plants.

“Ok, Ok enough games, you'll bruise the meat.” Catalina stated simply before sliding a crude but sharp looking knife towards her sister. “Here, take its clothes off will you, I'm nearly done here.”

Suddenly Gwendoline could breath again. She had never tasted air so sweet as she sucked lungfuls down feeling her insides sliding back into place but feeling decidedly sick. Her head throbbed and her ears still rang with a loud whistling sound, even as she felt herself being turned onto her back and her limbs and head flopping meekly downwards she could do nothing to help herself. As the hot clammy hand of the giantess finally snaked from around her waste she found herself laid on another hard wooden surface. Something flashed a metallic glint above her but she couldn't quite make out what it was, her vision still swam with dark heavy spots and she simply tried to focus on enjoying breathing again until once more the fingers returned.

Two heavy pads of flesh clamped down on her body pressing into the top of her chest and the bottom of her stomach simultaneously. Her hands came up to grip the finger on her chest, she had nothing left in her body to try and push it from her but she was mostly just running on survival instincts now. Another shadow moved above her and she felt a tugging on her body, stiff jerks which caused her to slide under the top finger slightly as it now half sunk onto her neck, only her delicate collar bones keeping the soft fingertip from dropping fully onto her neck and suffocating her once more. The tugging continued causing her body to flop up and down, her jawbone to rammed into the finger, though the flesh was mercifully soft enough not to hurt too much it still felt like she was being punched in the face as each tug dragged her down.

Felicia was having difficulty with the little bow on Gwendoline's dress, she thought it would simply unfurl like a shoe lace but it seemed to simply complicate the knot the harder she pulled at it.

“Just cut it.” Came Catalina's voice as she watched her sister struggle pointlessly with the princess's dress.

“Ugh, fine, I was looking forward to unwrapping it but it's being annoying.” Felicia huffed before picking up the knife she had been given and turning her attention back to the girl stay lying pinned beneath just two fingers.

Gwendoline felt the fingers shift once more but this time a much smaller finger pad came down on the side of her head, still enough to cover her face but thankfully it rolled her head to the side so she wasn't being smothered under the greasy pad. Two more fingers pressed into her body and she gave a small whimper as she felt her ribs bend once more, the bruising forming on her body screaming to be given time to rest but she just didn't have the energy in her to fight back. The last finger slid under her skirts, lifting the layers up from her knees and pressing into her thigh to pin one of her limply struggling legs to the table surface. She whimpered and felt the sting of tears running freely down her face as all she could hear was the rhythmic pounding of blood thumping through the finger tip pinning her head down.

She took a sharp intake of breath as something icy cold and hard pressed against her inner thigh. She felt it slide up between her legs and began to moan in fear, certain that she was going to die here now but still refusing to give up trying to struggle. The fingers pressed harder ceasing any movements she could have hoped to make as the cold hard object slid deftly up the side of her groin the chill giving her flesh goosebumps as she realised it had to be under her clothes to be as cold as it was. The icy steel glided expertly against her body up over her abdomen and along her flat tummy then between her breasts before with another metallic glint of light she saw the knife pass by her face as a cold air rushed over one half of her body.

Felicia smiled to herself, the clothing had simply tumbled from the girl in a single skilful slice and she was pleased she hadn't made any mistakes as she examined the naked flesh. Her agile fingers slid beneath Gwendoline's body and flipped her over, pinching the back of her dress and stripping it away from her leaving just her long white stockings and little black shoes, complete with those pretty little blue ribbons. With a few squeaks and groans of pain from the tiny girl she pinched the shoes and yanked them off, her grip peeling the stockings away with them in one swift motion. Next she took the princess by both ankles and lifted her off the table. The beaten girl simply hung limp and motionless other than the occasional bounce of her little breasts as she sobbed quietly. The giantess looked the girl over, her hazel eyes inspecting her like meat in a butchers shop, judging the quality, her free hand pinching at various parts to asses the fat to meat ratio of her prize.

“Hey, not bad for royal meat, they're usually softer, more fatty.” Felicia exclaimed happily

“Must have been all the riding around bothering people's families.” Catalina replied bitterly. “Here, hand her over, I need to truss her.” she said as she cut some rope from a large wooden spool that compared to Catalina just looked like a bobbin of string.

Gwendoline was passed over and found herself being laid down chest first on a cold cutting board that must have been made with the entire trunk of a tree as the plain of wood beneath her stretched larger than any bed she had known. She was surrounded by vegetables and strong smelling bushes of herbs and knew what most of the things around her were, carrots, onions, potato but the diced purple boulders and long, gnarled white sticks like pale wooden posts were completely unfamiliar. She didn't have long to take in what was around her though as suddenly she felt her lower legs swept up in the grip of Catalina's hand and heaved upwards, pulling them painfully back as the pose her body was pulled into began to crush her chest and face into the chopping board.

The tiny girl flailed her arms and slapped at the board beneath her almost as though she expected the subdued gestures would cause the giantess to stop her abuse, but as her spine bent backwards to try to accommodate the angles her legs were being pulled into she felt another hand pinch her shoulders and slide down the lengths of her arms, pulling them up behind her body to lay along her shins. Her body now lay on her tummy, her spine bent backwards so fully that her hips and chest were pulled completely off the ground. Agile fingers above her tied a length of rope around and around her shins and forearms binding them to each other in her painful pose, her chin rested on her chest bobbing occasionally as she cried. She was glad her head swam with whatever drug she had been given, even if she couldn't fight back, at least she wasn't in nearly the pain she knew she should have been.

“Oooo she looks good enough to eat already! Do we roast her now?” Felicia asked sounding like an excited child.

“Oh no... No I have a lot of work before I think she is ready. Someone as vile and bitter as her needs plenty of attention to detail to really make it worth while.” Catalina said as she leaned down to the hog-tied girl who didn't dare look up at the giantess.

“Jeez Cat... What did she do?” asked Felicia, her tone shifting completely. She had never really seen her older sister this angry-sounding and it was sending a shiver of worry down her spine.

“It doesn't matter, lets just say I want to make our catch up lunch something really memorable. Be a dear and pour us some more wine will you?” Catalina asked, trying to reassure her sister with a warm smile, but as the other giantess collected their cups and went to fetch them a drink the warmth evaporated, replaced by the kind of grin you would imagine a cat giving a mouse.

Gwendoline felt her hair being bunched up behind her head, the fingers were rough and kept tugging painfully not taking care any more to be gentle or soothing as she felt her head jerked upwards to face the giantess, those deep green eyes seemingly alight with energy as she worked, the tugging continued and the huge nimble fingers twisted and turned and tied until with a smile Catalina stopped and stepped back, she examined the girl briefly and gave a nod of satisfaction before coming back forward and leaning down to Gwendoline who whimpered and shook in fear despite her numbness. The huge woman spoke slowly and deliberately so she could be understood even through the drugs, her plush lips inches from the princess's face as her warm breath washed over her, allowing Gwendoline to see the sharp white teeth and the writhing wet tongue behind them.

“You're going to look like one of your ridiculous banquet-table game birds, stuffed and cooked and displayed so proudly for all to enjoy, and feast upon... are you ready, little game bird?” asked Catalina before smiling and plucking up some of the large lumps of onion and potato between her finger tips.

The tiny princess found she could do nothing to move any more, her hair had been tied back to her ankles now and she vaguely felt the soles of her feet brushing against the back of her head whenever she tried to wriggle out of her bonds. A shadow passed overhead and she rolled her eyes up to try to see what was going to happen before a pair of fingers pinched her head between them, then squeezed. The pressure forced her jaw open wide and the fingers holding the chunks of vegetables came towards her. Gwendoline gave the last weak little wail she would ever make but it was quickly cut off as Catalina began to stuff the vegetables into her mouth, ramming them in to fit tightly inside before her hand moved away, picking up what to Gwendoline seemed like a thick wooden pole, something like the staffs she had seen the men at the castle use to practice fighting with but it just looked like a blunt tooth pick in the giantess's fingers.

The end of the pole was rammed into the princess's mouth, driving the vegetables down her throat as she tried to gasp and gag and cough it back out, though it was useless as the fingers were back almost instantly with yet more lumps of onion and carrot, stuffing them into her face before once more using the thick wooden shaft to push it forcefully into her stomach. The small girl began to convulse and twitch but still she could do nothing to fight off this assault, more and more raw food was piled into her, packed in and driven down with the pole until her belly began to bulge making her rock in place on the new mound of her tummy until finally Catalina took a hole half a bush of herbs and stuffed those in as well, then once more her huge smiling face appeared.

"Now, I know my kind are savage for not cutting up our fruit, but I'm sure you will forgive me just this once.” the giantess spoke condescendingly as her fingers pinch a whole apple between them.

Tears flowed down Gwendoline's cheeks as she saw the apple had oats stuck to its surface, dried on with stale milk. It was the same apple she had rudely thrown to the floor from her bowl of porridge what seemed like a lifetime ago, and now as it was stuffed into her mouth forcing the loose sprigs of herbs to splay out around it she wished desperately that she be able to beg forgiveness.

Catalina hummed happily to herself and slid the girl around on the chopping board, turning her 180 degrees to continue her work. She rolled the girl forwards onto her chest and slid a finger between her knees to part her legs, she had worked on many an animal before and in truth it didn't seem all that different, she admitted that normally she skinned the animals she was going to cook, so she didn't know quite how the hair on this one would react to being in the oven. She made a mental note to cook it on a slightly lower temperature to try not to damage its appearance too much, there wasn't a lot of fat to render off of it anyway. Smiling she once again picked up her little stick and began to stuff the meat.

The girls body shuddered and twitched, toes and fingers clenching and flexing but with her upper half so tightly stuffed it was hard enough for her to keep breathing let alone make a sound so Catalina wasn't disturbed while she worked. She stuffed chunk after chuck of vegetables into the open sex of the helpless girl, pressing a wad of stuffing against the opening before using her thumb to grind it in. she worked methodically, her thoughts consumed only with trying to use the best mix of stuffing to ensure the best flavour, she force in a lump of potato which was easy enough, then an onion which was significantly harder, having to press firmly to get it to stretch the girl open far enough to accept it before she used her stick to ram it all the way in, next some of the herbs, then some more potato and onion before finally as she watched the bugle in the girls lower body match that of her stomach she “sealed” the meat with a carrot, making sure it was well packed in with a few good thrusts of the stick.

The giantess took a step back and sucked on the end of the stuffing stick letting a purr escape her lips as she decided she was satisfied with her work.

“Cat! What have you done while I was getting the drinks??” Felicia said coming back in from the larder outside with two full goblets of wine, her mouth hung open as she stared down at the princess balanced neatly on her swollen torso.

“I stuffed her.” She said matter-of-factly

"No, silly” Felicia said with a giggle as she began to grin again “I meant what's with the blue bow you've used to tie her up with?”

“Oh, well it was going to be a surprise, you know, like the big reveal when she is served up.” she said with a devilish grin before reaching for one of the wine cups and taking a sip.

Both women paused in their chatter as a sudden deep long grumble filled the air, Catalina looked surprised as Felicia held her stomach and blushed sheepishly.

“Ha, sorry, I'm pretty hungry.” she explained.

The women laughed and Catalina wasted no more time as she turned to the oven, nicely pre-heated from the charcoal of the tree trunks that had burned at breakfast. She pulled out a roughly hammered metal tray and turned back to her chopping board, then she carefully tugged Gwendoline up by her pretty blue bow and brought her over the top of the hot tray. Gwendoline could feel the heat even as she dangled tens of meters above it and as she was lowered down her entire body began to sweat and tighten up. Catalina was truly a master in the kitchen, the tiny girl had no idea how she was still alive even though her breathing was severely hampered by the sprigs of herb bush that now lined her throat. Her naked body touched down on the hot metal and felt a strange sense of being engulfed in something like liquid flame. She could hear her flesh sizzling gently and with the apple stuffed tight into her mouth she was forced to breath through her nose, a scent similar to roasting pig flesh filling her lungs.

The room sank and then spun around her before she felt like she was in free fall, a fierce wind whipped past until Gwendoline was looking directly into the huge black iron oven. Her body wouldn't respond at all any more and still that sizzling popping sound filled her ears as tears flowed down her cheeks. The huge plate paused on the edge of the oven as air somehow hotter than the metal currently cooking her washed over her, accompanied by Catalina's voice from above.

“Enjoy your wine, Princess.” she said as she spilled some of the contents of her goblet over the girl, the ruby red liquid hissing violently as it hit the hot metal, then she simply slid the roasting tray into the oven, swinging the door shut behind it and sealing the little princess inside.

Catalina stood up and sighed. Sealing the girl away into the oven was the final step in her plan to make everything better, and now it was done. It already seemed like the little human girl never existed. She turned to her sister as a slightly awkward silence fell between them.

“Soooo...” Felicia said first, breaking the silence “How long do we have to wait?”

“About an hour I should think, humans can carry some nasty germs in them if you don't cook them properly, you want them a good medium, rather than rare.” Catalina said and took a large mouthful of wine before staring down into it, swirling her cup around to let it aerate.

The long pause continued to stretch out until finally Felicia perked up suddenly “Oh! How about you show me around, you said you have a garden now? I cant imagine my big sister with a green thumb.” she said teasingly.

“I've learnt a surprising amount living out here.” said Catalina as she collected a shawl to drape over her shoulders “Come on, I'll show you, you might even learn something!”

“Oh ha-ha.” Felicia retorted sarcastically as the two women headed out of the house.

For Gwendoline she wasn't even aware of the two women leaving. Her hearing was consumed with the gentle snapping and popping of charcoal, the low roar of flame emanating from all around turning the air into a constantly tumbling flurry of unbearable heat and worst of all, the subtle crackling and hissing of her flesh roasting gently on the metal tray. Every breath she took she could tell was doing nothing but helping to her cook evenly, the heat filling her and drying her out, making her thirsty even as the hot juices of the apple ran down her throat. Sweat poured down every inch of her body and being unable to move she was forced to simply lie there staring at the red glow on the back wall, dark shadows dancing like demons across the dirty, black metal.

It didn't take long for her own juices to begin to flow. The heat in the oven began to render her flesh, the fatty tissues within her body had begun to break down and melt, bubbling up to the surface of her once smooth porcelain skin to help glaze her body, turning her a deep golden brown colour over the course of her hellish hour. The little princess however would never last long enough to find out just how long it took to turn her into the delicious centrepiece Catalina had promised of her, but after a while the oven door swung open and two faces peered into the dark chamber.

“Oh my gosh she smells amazing!” cried Felicia happily as she passed a thick leather cloth to her sister.

“Ok ok move out of the way so I can pull her out.” Catalina replied as she reached in and slid the hot tray from the shelf.

The two women huddled around the table as the tray was placed down on a steel rack, the fats from their little meal hissing violently as the tray was tilted and rocked around spilling them across the hot metal. Heavily scented steam wafted thickly into the room and there in the centre of the tray was Gwendoline's perfectly roasted form. She still sat upright where her flesh had cooked onto the tray and the thick braid of now darkened golden hair was still mostly intact and pulled through the bow which wrapped her limbs. The pair grinned to each other, eager to tuck into their lunch and Catalina turned to fetch one of the thick crude kitchen blades from near the stove.

“Do you want to do the honours?” she asked her sister, gesturing to the little bow that sat stained and wrinkled around the girl's limbs.

“Of course.” she said, mockingly courtesying to her sister as she took the knife from her.

Felicia sliced through the rope, ribbon and hair, pulling the scraps away and not even pausing as the small princess's limbs barely moved from their curled shape. The giantess slid the knife between their meat's legs and laid the blade against the top of a shapely golden buttock, before pressing down and slicing heavily from waist to groin as she slid the limb away from the girl's body. She repeated the process with the other leg and took that one for herself. Both women picked their cups up and Catalina tilted hers towards her sister in a silent toast as the pair began to eat. The room fell quiet again except for the crackling of cooked skin and the wet sounds of chewing. The two took a moment to judge the outcome of Catalina's efforts before Felicia passed her verdict.

“Mm... Not bad. Not much on the bone, but it's good.” she said between bites. Catalina simply nodded in agreement, continuing to enjoy her meat.

Felicia finished the leg she was eating before licking the sweet juices from her hand and wiping her greasy fingers on the bottom hem of her dress. She got up to fetch some plates and cutlery before setting about deftly slicing and carving, portioning out their meal evenly between the two of them until there was almost nothing left on the roasting tray. The sisters chatted happily between each other as they ate and drank until between them they had devoured everything of the little princess except the bones, some scraps and a little blonde head which lay separated to one side on the tray. Suddenly a deep voice called form outside the cabin.

“Catalina? We're home!” Bram's voice echoed across the clearing in front of their home.

Catalina got to her feet quickly and snatched up the roasting tray, opening the over door and tipping the scraps into the still-glowing embers, seeing them flare and spark and closing the door again before turning to face the front door as it swung open. Bram walked through and immediately paused seeing his wife placing the oven tray back on the worktop and smelling the thick scent of roasted meat filling the room. Felicia snorted and giggled, her cheeks flushed a rosy red from the wine as she covered her mouth with a hand to stifle her laughter.

“How was your lunch...” Bram asked grimly, his eyes scanning the room to ensure there was no sign of what had occurred for Eric to find.

“We had fun, it was nice to catch up.” Felicia said, a little too loudly before hiccuping.

Bram simply huffed and turned to get Eric's coat off, as he did so Catalina noticed a scrap of golden hair wrapped in a scrunched blue ribbon lying on the table, leaning forwards to snatch it up. She was about to throw it into the oven with the rest, but paused for a moment. She wanted to remember this day. Casually she slipped her hand and her little token into her apron pocket, she would hide it better later but for now she simply ran a hand over her tummy and smiled to herself.

Nobody threatens a Lady's family.