Jake hefted the large ax over his shoulder, and began the long trip to the trader gathering in the eastern colonies. A young man of 16, Jake was a strong young lad with his fathers bright blonde hair and his mothers deep blue eyes. They were of a middle class family, who lived in one of the new colonies of america, his father and mother had both fled britain with the colonists when he was six, and he had lived in america ever since.

Times here were not easy, his life in britain, from what he could remember, was a cushy one, exotic teas and foods everyday, lunches with governors and royalty, but here he had learned true life skills, like how to survive. The trek from his small farmhouse into the wilderness typically took him a few weeks. He brought enough food for a few days, and the rest he found himself. It had become routine to gather as much firewood and other supplies before winter settled every year. sometimes he would come across traders from other villages, or he would trade with the natives for food and clothing. It was this lifestyle that had made Jake so independent, he was truly able to fend for himself, but that didn't stop his mother from worrying.

As always, he'd spent most of the morning discussing his route with his mother.

"yes mother", he'd say, "I'll stick to the road, I'll stay nice and warm, I won't talk to strangers, I promise".

His father on the otherhand, had a different send off. they'd both wake before the sun roze, and sit on the roof of the barn.

"you'll come back with something for little tod won't you"? his father would ask.

"of course I will", Jake would reply, and his father would grip his shoulder and say, "you'll make a fine man someday lad", and they'd both watch the sunrise.

Before he left, jake would always sneak quietly into his little brother Tod's room and say his goodbye's while he slept.

"I'll bring you back the biggest damn pumpkin you've ever seen, the natives grow 'em larger than old nan's head"! he'd ruffle his dark brown hair and stand in the doorway awhile, just watching. Then he'd quietly gather his things and attempt to set off on his journey, but was always stalled at the door by his sobbing mother.

"Promise me"! she'd yell at him, "you'll stay safe"! I will mom, he'd said. Shed turn to his father and cry into him, his father would nod, and jake would turn and leave. That was the hardest part, saying goodbye.

jake trudged along, enjoying the early morning sun on his face. The birds were just waking, and the peach trees were filling the air with their scent.

Jake relished these moments of peace, they gave him time to think. 

School was definetely not a large part of his town's society, but he did manage to read a book now and again. Most of his time was spent either tending the fields and livestock at home, or in church, as was expected.

He would have hated church, if not for Katrina being there. Katrina was the most lovely girl in the world to him. They had met as children when the town had first settled, and had been together ever since. They had both discovered their sexualities with eachother. Her bright red hair brought a smile to his face everytime he looked at her. More than once he had been called to the podium by father matthews for not paying attention to the sermon, and was forced to read many a verse, but Jake enjoyed these punishments, they gave him a chance to show he wasn't just another farmhand, but also an intellegent young man. He was able to pronounce almost every word correctly and amazed everyone with his knowledge of the bible, refrencing verses and other things from scripture.

Jake smiled once again as he thought on his beautiful Katrina, he wished he could have said farewell to her as well, but then they would be given away, and friendships at their age were often looked down upon, due to the "urges" they both had.

But they managed, every day at mass, they would see eachother, father matthews would teach a smaller sermon in the mornings  for the youth of the small town, and whenever Jake wasn't needed at the farm he could always find Katrina attending the sermon, as her parents were strict and kept to puritain beleifs in god and church.

But other than church, where they managed to see eachother from across a crowded room, festivals were the only time they actually touched one another. The coming of the Natives in the spring was when they discovered themselves, it had been both a terrifying and exciting experiance.

They both knew from that point on that they would be more than friends, they wanted to be together. They wanted to marry.

Unfortunately, betrothing was a difficult process in their town. The man must present the father of his love with some of his belongings, and if Jake could not find honest work, he could not marry katrina.

That was why he was here, on his way to the eastern colonies, not just to help prepare his family's home, but to find a job for the coming winter, one where he could work, and then return home to present Katrinas father with the fruits of his labour. 

Jake hoped he would be successful, if he and Katrina were to be together, he would need work, money, a house, a herd, and a strong reputation.

He shook his head and continued onward, it would not be an easy process.

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Jake had been walking for hours, the hot mid-day sun now beat down on his neck. beads of sweat crawled down his face and fell to the dirt road below. The ax now burdened him deeply, causing him much pain in his shoulder. Jake dropped his pack and set the ax down on it, here was fine.

He stretched his arms high above his head and craned his neck to get a good view of his surroundings. Thick green forest guarded either side of the empty road. somewhere nearby to his right, he heard running water.

Jake lifted his belongings and set them against a stump and memorized where they were. he then set off through the brush, until he came across a small stream. The water was clear, so he decided to have a drink. He cupped his hands and drank deeply from the stream, washing his face and neck. He stood to leave, when he spied an apple tree just a bit further past the stream. 

Jake looked back to the road, which was still slightly visible.

stay on the road ,his mothers words echoed in his head. he pondered a moment, and decided it couldn't hurt.

Jake lept across the small body of water and landed neatly on the other side. he climbed through a few bushes and found the tree. He plucked the biggest apple he could find and bit into it. It's sweet juices poured onto his chin, and he sucked it dry, the apple was definetely good.

Without consciously knowing what he was doing, Jake began to explore the surrounding area, walking aimlessly through the woods, welcoming the shade the trees brought him.

When the apple was done, he wiped his face and tossed the core away into the grass and turned to go back, when he was faced with a problem, he had no idea where he was.

He looked left and right, climbed a small tree, but could not figure out where the road was. 

He began to panic, despite what his head told him. 

Once again he found himself wandering aimlessly around the forest, stumbling over rocks and roots, seeing shadows running past his vision.

He began to run, even though you must never do this when lost, he ran, bolting into the forest, away from some unseen enemy, charging through bushes and trees, over rocks and roots. he did this until the sun grew low in the sky.

Night was coming, fast.

Jake was now terrified. His eyes darted from left to right, searching the forest for danger he wasn't even sure was there, he wished he'd brought his ax.

Jake was beggining to believe he would die here, alone, when light reached his eyes as he pulled away some branches blocking his path. It was coming from a small cottage in the distance. Jake ran for it.

As he ran to the cottage, Jake didn't notice as the trees seemed to grow, stretching into the sky, as blades of grass were soon taller than him.He was so happy as the cottage grew closer, that he didn't notice until he was in its yard how big it was. It was a house built for a giant.

The front door stretched high into the horizon, dwarfing the small man at its steps. The steps themselves would have required him to get a running start to climb over them.

Jake froze. something about this place felt unfriendly. he had never imagined a house this large could exist, and whoever was inside must have been a giant. jake had heard tales of giants who delighted in eating tiny people like himself.

But when he turned and face the ever darkening forest, whos trees now stretched high above him, he could not force himself into them. The house was his best bet.

Jake mantled up over the cracked stone steps one at a time, taking care not to fall. The process didn't take him long, and soon he was at the massive front door, he was able to crouch beneath it and slide into the house.

The room he was in was well lit. In its center was a table, decorated with flowers, a large comfy chair sat before it, decorations of all sorts marked the walls. Portraits of old men and young women, a lamp shaped like a dragon's mouth, all manner of odd items litterd the room. Jake wandered through this "living room", until he heard humming, coming from the next room over.

Jake crept silently againt the wall and peeked in through the door frame, but what he found, he did not expect.

It was a kitchen and standing near one of its counters, chopping vegetables, was a woman.

She had long flowing bright red hair, like katrinas, that curled when it met her shoulders. Unlike the women of Jake's small town, she did not feel the need to hide her body. 

She wore all black, a blouse that lifted her breasts and ended in the smallest skirt jake had seen in his life. Her feet and arms were bare, to reveal toes that were painted bright red, same as her fingernails, and her lipstick. Dark  ashes had been wiped under her eyes to help show off her bright green pupils.

She was stunning.

Jake watched her roam about her kitchen, gathering items for her dinner. suddenly being eaten didn't seem so bad.

But Jake had no plans to die, somehow he would need to get her attention. He had no idea who this giant woman was, but he needed her help if he was to live, and if he was to figure out how he had gotten so small.