It is two months later, and Prince Alban was helping the latest group of settlers adjust to their new home. Within a few weeks of his and Valerie’s return to the kingdom of the giants, a small group of farmers and their families had arrived, carrying all their possessions with them. They were mostly from the borders of Elgon, where goblins and ogres roamed freely, and where bandit attacks were common. They had heard that a giantess, who was rumoured to be friendly to humans, was now living at the old castle, and they had decided to go and ask her permission to live under her protection.

For Valerie, this had been a wonderful thing to happen. As much as she and Alban enjoyed spending time together, just by themselves, they had begun to miss the company of other people; especially Alban, who sometime felt extremely out of place, living in this giant world. There had also been very little to do, except for making sure that the remaining goblins stayed away from the castle, which they soon did.

Now, a couple of months later, and over a hundred people had arrived at the castle, seeking a new place to live. They were almost without exception very poor, but the vaults of the castle were filled with riches and supplies, and there was enough fruit and vegetables growing naturally around the castle to support both Valerie and her ever-growing population of citizens. With her help, the settlers soon managed to build a decent village for themselves, just to the south of the castle, where there was enough good soil for them to start their farming life anew.

On this particular day, Alban was out helping a group of travellers, whose homes had been destroyed by an ogre attack, find a good place to camp. Since Valerie was now the queen of Vandan, he might one day be regarded as the king, though he supposed he had to marry his beloved first. Up until now, he hadn’t thought about it too much, but he supposed that the people might begin to wonder at what exactly his relationship with her was.

“I’ll propose to her tonight,” he said to himself. “It might be a little sudden for her, but we’ve already made love to each other, and she no longer doubts how strong my feelings for her are. She’ll say yes, I know she will.”

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud cry, and he looked up to see a troop of soldiers on horseback emerging from behind a giant peach tree. They were bearing down on the village with great speed, causing everyone to panic. Alban recognized their insignia: they were soldiers of Elgon, no doubt sent here by his father to get rid of the giantess once and for all, and bring him back home. The riders, who were about fifty in number, spotted him, and headed towards him. The captain ordered his men to round up all the villagers, while he dismounted and walked up to Alban.

“Hello,” Alban said friendlily, while his hand rested on his sword-hilt.

“Where is she?” the captain interrupted. “Where is that gigantic maiden, who insulted our king and mocked our army?”

“Lady Valerie is our queen, and you will respect her!” yelled one of the farmers. He was swiftly repaid by a punch in the gut. Alban now decided to draw his sword, though he still hoped the soldiers weren’t really going to attack unarmed villagers.

“She went to fetch water from the stream,” he replied, which was the truth. “She’ll be back any moment now, and I suggest you leave before she does.”

The captain began to laugh, but Alban had been right, for, at that very moment, Valerie came walking into sight. She was carrying two thirty-foot high pails of water, and, from her clothing, appeared rather more like a peasant girl than a queen. But she found these clothes easier to work in, and she usually spent at least several hours a day helping to build new homes for the immigrants, serving them food and water, and so on.

She put the pails down and advanced towards the soldiers. They, in turn, drew their bows and aimed them straight up at her. The captain drew his own sword, and Alban now saw that a confrontation was almost certainly going to happen.

“That’s close enough, giant!” the captain yelled. “Our arrows are tipped with a lethal poison – one further move from you, and I give the order to fire!”

Valerie stopped and stood still. She was dreading the thought of yet another battle, and this time it looked as if she would be the one who will lose. The soldiers were too heavily armed for Alban and the villagers to take on, and she herself certainly didn’t want any poisoned arrows fired at her.

“What is it that you want?” she asked, hoping to win a little time and come up with some kind of plan.

“Ah, so you are willing to be reasonable,” the captain smiled, pleased to see that his words seemed to have frightened her. “That’s excellent! All right, these are the king’s demands: his son is to return home to Elgon, immediately. So are all these others, who will be punished for deserting their country and setting up camp alongside an enemy stronghold. As for you, if you are not willing to come with us peacefully, to be locked up in your own dungeon, we will be forced to shoot you right now.”

There were cries of protest and dismay from the men and women of the village, which were quickly silenced. The soldiers still had their bows trained on her, and they seemed eager to fire. Valerie still had no plan, but she wasn’t going to let anyone be wrongly imprisoned, least of all herself. There was nothing for it – she was going to have to fight, and hope that it would at least give Alban and the others a chance to escape.

She took a step forward, and the captain gave the order to fire. She quickly raised her hand to protect her face, and managed to block almost all of the arrows. As they pierced the skin of her hand, she shrieked in pain: it felt as if a bucket of acid had been spilled on her, stinging her to the bone. After a few seconds, however, the pain lessened, and her hand began to feel numb. The soldiers, who had clearly expected something more impressive to happen, quickly fired another volley at her. She blocked the arrows again, and decided that her turn had come.

“Is that the ‘lethal poison’ I was threatened with?” she asked, taking another step closer. “Well, I suppose you should have tested to make sure it was lethal for giants like me first!”

As swiftly as she could, she bent down, grabbed the captain by the legs, and let him hang upside-down, a hundred and fifty feet above the ground. He was swinging his sword around wildly, until she took it away from him, and all the while he was screaming and shouting curses at her. His men were now completely uncertain about what to do, but most of them kept their bows aimed at Valerie’s head.

“Tell them to drop all their weapons!” she ordered the captain. “Or I’ll let go, and we’ll see if you survive the fall. I rather doubt it, though.”

The man tried to argue for a few moments, but he was starting to feel really afraid, and he did as she ordered. As soon as the soldiers dropped their bows and swords, Alban and several of the men of the village confiscated them. Valerie then put the captain back down on the ground. He tried to make a run for his horse, but Alban sprang in before him and blocked his way.

“If you’re trying to run back to my father, forget it,” he said. “You’re not leaving without an apology, and a promise that we shall not be attacked again.”

“That’s right,” Valerie said, sitting down next to them. “It’s time for this hostility to stop. Why are you so determined to get rid of me in the first place? Is it because I am a giant? Because you are afraid of me?”

“I…I’m just following His Majesty’s orders,” the man stammered. “Ever since his brother, general Monar, tried to supplant him, the king has vowed to destroy the source of this crisis – you.” He pointed his hand at Valerie.

“My uncle,” Alban exclaimed. “What has that bastard done to him?” He grabbed the captain by the shoulders and shook him.

“Nothing!” the man answered, breaking loose of Alban’s grasp. “The general fled before he could be captured, and some of the soldiers went with him. No-one knows where he is now; the only rumours I heard was that he was heading here.”

“Is that so?” Valerie pondered for a few seconds, before taking the captain up in her hand and addressing him.

“Now listen here, little man: you and your little band will return to Elgon, and inform your foolish, unreasonable king that this conflict is over. He had better not come and bother us here again, or I swear I’ll go over there and break his castle down. And then I’ll take him and squeeze him in my hand, until the blood comes out of his ears. Will you do that for me, hmm?”

The man nodded, but he didn’t look at all comfortable. She wondered what would happen to him when he delivered this news to Mildar. It certainly wasn’t impossible that he’d be imprisoned or executed, for failing to complete his mission. She realized that another attack would come in any case, and that she needed some way to keep the king’s mind occupied with other interests. So she stuck her hand in her pocket, and took out a gold coin. It was about three feet wide, and the captain stared at it in wonder as she laid it in front of him.

“Centuries ago,” she said, “the men of Vandan searched all over the world for gold. They were obsessed with it, and, right now, there is more gold in that castle’s vaults than you can even imagine. If King Mildar wants more than just one coin, he’s going to have to assume a more tolerant state of mind. I’ll pay him three of these coins each month, if he leaves me and my people in peace.”

“I’ll…I’ll be sure to tell him,” the captain said. He was trying to pick up the coin, but it was too heavy for him to even budge. Valerie set him and the coin down again, and told him that it was time for him to leave. He obeyed, and she asked one of the villagers to lend the soldiers a wagon, so that they could transport the coin back to Elgon. A few minutes later, and they were gone.