As the sun just peaked over the horizon the first woke up, Brooke opened the door smiling weakly at Darius and Nika, "You two are up early" She said, lifting her hand to her mouth as she yawned.
"Yeah" Nika responded, they had agreed to keep their little fun a secret, "Would you like some tea? I started it a little while ago, I am sure Sarah and Wendy will be needing it"
"That would be great" Brooke said rubbing her head a little, "I think we may have gone a little overboard last night" She laughed sitting next to Darius, "Big day huh?"
"Yeah"
Nika laughed, "You were sober compared to Wendy, that is for sure"
"Oh no...what did she do?"
"I think you already know" Darius muttered.
"Oh, so it involved you?"
He nodded, "I talked her off though, she was a little upset but I blame the alcohol for it"
"I see" She glared at Nika, "I told you she was too young"
"Hey, they all have to learn sometime, best get it out of the way early" Nika handed her a mug of steaming tea.
"Thanks" Brooke said, blowing on it slightly, "So how about Sarah?"
Darius shrugged, "She fell asleep on her chair, I guess she sort of made her way back to bed sometime last night"
"Wow!" Brooke suddenly gasped, "Strong tea"
"Yes, it works wonders"
A few minutes they heard a door creak, Sarah stumbled out her eyes still half closed, "Hi" She mumbled, slumping into a chair.
"Tea" Nika said, practically shoving another mug into Sarah's hand. Sarah thanked her with another mumble recoiling a bit as she drank from the mug, "It's hot" Nika said, trying not to laugh.
~~~~
A few hours later they all turned towards Wendy, her face deeply flushed. She nodded and walked towards the table, thanking Nika as she gave her some tea. She sat quietly as conversation opened up again. Darius eyed her with a smile, but she couldn't look at him.
Finally Wendy leaned forward, "Darius, could I talk to you in private?" She whispered.
Darius nodded, climbing onto her hand, the others pretended to not notice. Wendy left the room and re-entered her small bedroom, setting him down on the bed, kneeling down beside it. She sat quietly, still not finding the right words.
"I'm sorry" She finally blurted, her eyes looked like they were nearly in tears.
"Wendy, it's fine. We all do silly things when were-"
"No, that was unforgivable. You have told me countless times and I haven't listened" She continued, she seemed like she had matured a little.
"Trust me, I forgive you"
She nodded, "It wont happen again. I know you tried to put me down softly before, and I know you were never really a knight, I just wanted you to know how much you meant to me" She lowered her head, "Darius you are a hero to me. And nothing you can say will change that"
Darius understood what she was saying, "Alright"
"But...did...did you kill that man? From the story you started to tell me"
He shook his head, "No"
She nodded, finally facing him, "I love you Darius, and not like that..."
He smiled, "You're a good girl Wendy, I am sure you will make a real hero happy one day"
She smiled, "I hope so" She held out her hand, taking him back in the room and setting him on the table.
Brooke smiled down at Darius, glad to see a smile across Wendy's lips.
~~~~
The day moved slowly for Darius, spending most of it sitting on the round table in the center of Nika's living room. He nearly sat down and watched the progress of the shadows through one of the windows, not paying much attention to the chatter of conversation surrounding him.
Finally as the shadows grew long and the sky started to turn shades of yellow and red Nika approached him, pulling the small necklace from her pocket and handing it over to him. He stared at it for a moment, the ruby slightly misshapen from its original form, before sliding it over his head. The cottage fell silent as he took it into his hand, his thumb hovering over the glistening red diamond.
"Well...This is it" He said before taking a deep breath, pressing his thumb to the stone and rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger....
~~~~
Darius groaned.
He lifted the heavy axe and smashed it down into the block of timber, splitting it in two. He glanced over at the cottage, almost immediately after returning to normal they had put him to the petty task of chopping firewood...something he was almost positive Nika could accomplish without the use of manual labor. He sighed, tossing the two split halves into the pile before leaning the axe up to a tree and heading back inside.
He shook his head, the four girls sitting around the table talking over some more of Nika's extra strong tea. He settled into a chair along the wall and laid his head back, feeling relaxed not having the small weight of the necklace around his neck. His mind wandered back to the castle, he wondered what was becoming of the kingdom now with the King gone and the Queen now at the head. He glanced over to Sarah, nodding his head as she met his gaze briefly. 'She could be Queen' he thought to himself. A life of solitude and neglect had stifled her curious mind, but she did not cave in to bitterness. Instead she reached out with love to the people, she wished only goodness for all who rightfully deserved it. She had been given everything but had no desire for riches or jewels, she was happy living off the fruits of a garden.
He pulled the blade out from his pile of belongings on the floor, twirling it slightly in his hand noting that the black steel still had a slight shine to it, if you were to put your hand close enough you would just barely be able to make out a reflection. He looked closer, the pure blackness gave way to swirls of darkening grays, almost like frozen black clouds swirling across the face of the blade. This was more than just a weapon, it was a piece of art.
Days past, his mind conversing back and forth between his options. Nika and the kingdom she belonged to thrived, they could probably easily take over the human lands if they saw reason, and not just the lands that Jared had ruled over. The Neko lived in an empire that was solid and strong, not broken up into tiny factions and city states as the human lands. Though the Neko had always respected their borders, not interfering with the humans as they fought out their land over the centuries. Darius knew that they could probably just stay here, where it was safe and peaceful. But, he couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of longing for what could have been under Jared's fathers rule, Sarah could bring this back.
He found himself more at the background as the days started to turn to weeks, though he was still the object of much affection to Wendy, and at times to Sarah, it was less like the girlish love she had held before. She instead sought to pry his mind for guidance, even at one point asking for some teachings in the ways of sword fighting, though she lost interest in that quickly.
~~~~
It wasn't until nearly a month of being in this sanctuary did Darius approach Sarah about what his mind had been wrestling with. They sat down at the table after their dinner, "Sarah, do you still think of yourself as a princess?"
The room fell silent for a few moments as she seemed to grasp at the question, "I don't know if I ever have" She said, looking at him with an almost concerned look, "Why?"
Darius leaned on his elbows, "Well there has been something I have been thinking about, actually something I had not thought of until Elizabeth had spoken to me" He glanced between her and Wendy, "She had told me that removing the king would avenge my father" He turned to Wendy, "And the lives of countless others" He sighed, turning back to Sarah, "But she told me that it would not save the kingdom"
Brooke stirred a bit in her chair, "What are you getting at? Are you planning to go back and assassinate the Queen now?"
"I'm not sure, for all we know she might have had a change of heart"
"I doubt that" Sarah said softly.
"Right, but maybe violence is not necessary this time. If we could find a way for the people to give rise against her"
"So...you think that I would be fit to be Q-Queen?" Sarah asked softly.
Darius nodded, "When speaking to you I can hear the echos of your grandfather, of a time when our people prospered" He looked down, "But equally it would seem easy enough to just leave that all behind"
Nika nodded, "You are more than welcome to stay here, you will not be turned away because of our differences here"
"I will need some time to think about it" Sarah said.
"Understandable" Darius said, smiling as he laid his hand on top of hers, "It is a lot of responsibility and I don't mean to throw it on you all at once"
Giantess World
