Darius watched as the street slowly started to empty, lanterns were lit as night started to fall once again. The chill of night was uncomfortable, but not unforgiving and he managed to shrug off the cold as he moved back out into the road. He walked for about an hour before he noticed that one of the vendors had foolishly left a basket full of bread behind. He grinned quickly running over to the basket. He climbed up the wicker side and grabbed hold of one of the massive loafs. He dug his hand into the soft crust and pulled free a large hunk, gladly taking a bite as he sat back and admired the odd landscape surrounding him.
He heard a squeak from below him, surprised he looked down and saw a pair of black eyes staring back up at him, "Oh no" He muttered rising to his feet. He balanced easily on top of the bread and stared down at the mouse, now the size of a cow to him, "There is enough bread here for both of us" He attempted to reason with the rodent, its once tiny front teeth seemed a bit more menacing now, as well as its pink claws. He backed down the loaf as the mouse climbed up the side, sniffing at him.
There was a bizarre stare off, he gripped his swords handle behind him. "How pathetic" he thought to himself, "Arming myself against a rodent" He jumped to the side as the mouse suddenly charged towards him with a ferocious squeak. Darius unsheathed his black blade, heart pumping. The mouse charged again, he once again stepped aside, this time swinging the blade at the mouses side. He grinned as a small red streak split its side, though the tiny beast would still fight. It hobbled back towards him, Darius jumped down between loafs of bread and thrust his blade upwards into the mouses chest. It hardly got a final squeak off before falling to its side.
Darius laughed victoriously as he climbed back up from between the loafs of bread, kicking the lifeless fuzzy carcass. He would not have much time to gloat as he felt he was being watched once again. He turned to see a rather terrifying beast panting down at him. A large brown dog had also stumbled upon the basket. Darius stepped away as its long brown snout dipped inside, sniffing at the now fallen mouse. Its jaws opened as it scooped the mouse into its maw, tossing the tiny creature down its throat with a single flick of its neck.
Darius started to make his way towards the edge as the dog sniffed inside again, carefully sheathing his blade before climbing the wicker wall once again. He rounded the top and turned, to see the dogs head tilted to the side as it watched him, "Easy pup, I'm not food" He called holding his hand out. He screamed as the beast started to round the basket, licking its jaws.
Darius started climbing in a state of panic, fearing the beasts head would round the corner any second. His feet touched ground and he started running, not a moment too soon. The massive figure of the dog appeared around the basket sniffing the ground excitedly. The rapid sniffles approached, he turned his head to confirm his fears. The beast was hot on his tail, simply walking forward and still was gaining on him. He felt the dogs nose bump his back, causing him to tumble forward. He turned and saw the dogs jaw part in a pant, pink tongue slipping in and out over its black lips.
Darius reached back for his sword but was caught off guard as the dog lunged forward, taking his lower half up and onto its tongue before closing its jaw around him. He screamed as the dog rose its head, tossing its neck backwards and opening its jaws. Darius watched wide eyed as he thrown into the maw. He gagged as he was hit with massive blasts of hot air coming from somewhere deep in the depths of the maw. Not wanting to join his fallen enemy he tried to gain his footing but was thrown back again landing with a smack against the beasts tongue. Darius tried to reach back and grab his sword yet again. He pulled it free but was tossed by the dogs tongue moving another few long inches closer to its throat, the sword fell free from his hands. He turned onto his stomach, feeling the beasts throat nearing as he crawled after the blade that lay just few feet out of reach, his feet that is. His fingers strained as the dog went to throw him once again, this time into the throat. His back smacked into the soaking flesh at the back of the canines throat just as he gripped the handle again. He looked down as he fell into the beasts throat, becoming engulfed in blackness.
He thrust his blade sideways, grinning as a loud yelp boomed around him. He saw light once again at the end of the long tunnel of the canines maw. The dog hacked him painfully onto the dirt, and ran away whimpering.
"Thats right run you mangy mutt!" He shouted, shaking the disgusting saliva from his clothes. Still trying to get that rancid breath out of his nostrils. He slid his blade back into its sheath, glad he had decided to get one. From the looks of it the dog had carried him a good distance, anything was a huge leap when your stride is not even half an inch in length. He wandered through the empty roads, ducking occasionally when guard or one of the other late night lurkers walked past. Finally as the night grew old he finally decided to curl up behind a large rock and get some rest.
He awoke a little shocked, the sun high in the early afternoon sky already. How could he have slept so long? He peeked up over his rock and saw the street was already bustling. He could still see Rodricks shop far in the distance, "It's going to take weeks at this rate" He mused, knowing that he would have to hitch a ride somehow.
His answer came as there was some commotion to his right. He saw the crowd start to spread, between some legs he was able to make out a female figure with a long flowing blue dress, two armed guards at her sides. He stepped out cautiously to get a better look.
A grin crossed his lips, it was the kings daughter. She waved at all the people, the guards trailing just slightly behind her stared them down grimly enough to keep anyone from waving back. She was young, he guessed no older than eighteen, though the last time he had saw her was five or six years ago. Now she looked more like a woman, perhaps not a proper woman but a woman none the less. She seemed so oblivious, walking slowly as she greeted everyone at her sides, did she think that everyone liked her and her family? The ones who made it difficult for the average resident to wear clothes of a slightly higher quality than a bundle of old rags?
She started to come closer, Darius hid behind a woman's shoe before making a break for the princesses path. He watched her towering, happy figure loomed over him. She tried to lift her dress from the dirt but it still dragged behind her. He watched her feet step towards him, her long blue dress soon passing overhead. He couldn't help but look up, light just barely penetrating the fabric cavern that stretched up over head. He watched as her finely toned leg reached forward slowly as she walked, he made his way towards the wall of layered fabrics before him, grabbing hold of the lace. He pulled himself upwards before removing his sword and cutting a hole so he could slip onto the other side so he wouldn't have to hang with his weight pulling him towards the ground.
"Much better" He sighed, happy his fortune seemed to have taken a turn for the better. It would seem that he had found a ride that might lead him directly into the most secured areas of the fortress. He watched the two white pillars before him gently lift off the ground, moving forward at a slow pace but easily hundreds of times faster than he would have been able to travel. He eventually became pretty bored as he waited, hoping to see smooth marble floors under her feet soon. It would be hours before that would happen, the princess seemed to love walking around the city, it was actually rather admirable.
He was woken from a near sleep like trance as her feet clanked on some wooden planks, they were entering the castle. The dirt became much more fine and groomed, and they even passed over some carefully cut grass. He was jostled a bit as she made her way up a spiraling staircase. He listened as she hummed to herself, the white floors now slipping beneath him, he wondered if he should jump now or see where she takes him. He was never able to decide this as he suddenly heard a massive door close behind her. Her feet straightened, there was some movement behind him.
"No Elizabeth I can do it myself, thank you" Her voice said sweetly.
"As you wish, Princess" An older sounding voice said, the large door opened and closed again.
Darius nearly shouted as the cavern of fabric collapsed around him as the Princess removed her dress. He grunted as he tried to free himself from the tangled mat of fabric, completely encased in darkness. He eventually crawled his way over the soft ground until he felt hard marble under his hands. He pushed his way forward, eventually seeing a small sliver of light before him.
His eyes burned a moment as he pushed his way back into the open room, looking around in awe of the finely decorated surroundings. Every wall was lavishly covered in tapestries or paintings. In front of him stood an absolutely massive bed, its wooden poles rose all the way to the ceiling, a white curtain surrounded it on all sides. Each wall was also covered in lines of cabinets and drawers, rows of seemingly endless racks of jewelry spread across an entire wall. He flinched as her giant figure emerged once again behind a curved wall where she changed behind. She wore now a rather modest white gown, setting down on her bed.
Darius sighed, a little relieved she did not come to gather the dress she had left in a pile on the floor. He quickly ran around the pile towards the door, annoyed to see that it was built so hardly even a spec of dust could fit under the tiny space under it. He sighed, "Alright how are we doing this?" He whispered to himself. He decided to hide behind one of the legs of a massive wooden drawer. He sat, watching as she stood, looking nervously towards the door before walking over to a drawer on the far side of the room. He was rather surprised when she walked back towards her bed with a book. She disappeared behind the semi-transparant curtain.
A few hours later there came a knock at the door.
"Y-Yes?" She called out.
"May I enter? My princess"
"Oh, Elizabeth, yes you may enter"
Darius watched a rather old woman enter through the door, groaning a bit as she quickly shut it behind her.
"Would Ms. Whitehorn like to join her family for dinner? Her father would like to know"
"No, tell him I am tired, and Elizabeth please refer to me as Sarah, at least in here"
"I am sorry Sarah" She said in a slightly hushed tone, "I am just afraid that someone might hear"
"Well then come talk closer!" Sarah called quietly, "I was just reading that book you brought me"
"Hush my dear, the door is thick but not so thick we can speak without caution"
Darius listened rather intrigued, it seemed that the king had grown as paranoid and overbearing as his father had expected so many years ago. His own daughter, his only child, not being able to read at her own will! He could no longer hear the conversation as the old woman walked next to the bed. He sat back, and reflected...
~~~
"You know the king grows ill, my son" Darius's father spoke gently over the light of a small campfire.
"I was unaware" Darius responded, a much younger Darius, only sixteen years of age.
"Then you would also be unaware that his illness might not be an act of nature"
"You are saying he has been poisoned?"
"Shh, quiet, or the others might hear"
"So is that what you are saying?" Darius said in a whisper.
"Yes my son, you know of his son"
"Yes"
"He has been growing increasing impatient in the courts, he seeks to undo all that his father has done"
"But why, the kingdom has never thrived as it does now?"
"This is true, but he doesn't think the money should be spread, he seeks the power of the old kings"
"But the kingdom-"
"He does not care for the kingdom"
~~~
Darius watched the old woman left the room, returning a few minutes later with another servant. They carried a platter, the smell of fresh cooked food wafting quickly into his nostrils. His mouth nearly watered, he could hardly remember the last time he had a well cooked meal.
"Thank you Elizabeth, Wendy"
"Of course your-"
"Please, I beg you I am not my father, would you like to join me?"
"I am sorry but, we can't" The old woman said bowing her way out of the room.
"Oh..." Sarah sighed as the door shut.
Darius nearly felt sorry for the princess, she acted more like her grandfather than her father or any of the other royalty that he knew. He remained hidden.
~~~
"But his father has been doing so well?"
"So well for the kingdom, he has cut back greatly on the personal wealth of the royalty"
"So the prince is only after himself?"
"Exactly"
"Surely the others must see this"
"Of course, but no one is brave enough to stand up against him"
"But if the king dies of unnatural causes, surely there will be an investigation?"
"We can only hope"
~~~
Darius nearly jumped as the metal platter was set down on the floor. His eyes fell on it hungrily, the princess had eaten sparingly. He watched as she rose back towards her bed, gripping the thick leather book.
He waited a few minutes before cautiously approaching the platter, eyes falling over a giant mound of turkey, stuffing, fruits and bread! He nearly broke into a sprint as his stomach yearned for a good meal. He hopped over the lip of the platter and the plate and dug his hands into the meat, moaning in delight as he tore it piece by piece. He grabbed a handfull of stuffing, dipping it in the gravy that she had poured onto the plate. He was so engrossed in the food that he failed to realize he was being watched. That was until a pair of delicate feet suddenly touched the ground before him.
His eyes widened, following the feet up to the Princess, her green eyes staring down at him...
Giantess World
