Marcus held his right hand over the last remaining stab wound, his ring emitting a bright emerald light. All of the open wounds had been closed, save one. With his free hand, he wiped the sweat from his brow. The level of concentration required for healing so many nasty wounds was intense. Now that there was only one bleeding wound instead of many, he could proceed to the next step. The poison would have to be removed from her bloodstream. Her unconscious state would prove fortunate. Performing such a treatment on someone who was awake and alert would cause excruciating pain. If he hurried and finished before she awakened, Elise would be spared the suffering.
In his mind, he pictured the poison flowing out of her wound. He focused on pulling it from her bloodstream. It had already traveled throughout her leg. Any longer without intervention and the poison would start to damage her vital organs. There was no way he would allow that to happen. Elise had shown him more kindness than any person he'd ever known, big or small. She would undoubtedly wake in a foul mood, but she would wake. After the bandits' brutal attack, she might not want anything to do with humans ever again, including himself. That was a risk he was willing to take. They could part ways, and he would wish her well. It would be a shame to never see her smile again.
Marcus breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the last of the poison left Elise's body. The ordeal was over. He hovered his hand over the final stab wound to close it. Despite his own doubt and fears, he'd done it. She would be fine. One day, he would have to make it a point to thank his mentor. Sylvia had taught him well, even though his propensities clearly did not lean toward the healing arts. His mentor had always told him, drilled it into him really, that he would be grateful for her lessons. Sylvia was always right. He hated her a little for that.
That was it. There was nothing else he could think of to speed Elise's recovery. She would wake when her body was ready. That left only one remaining problem to deal with. Marcus turned toward the bandits, still lying helplessly on the ground.
"I'm not one for lectures, but I must say, the two of you are truly mindless brutes. I fear you would turn your swords on absolutely anyone. If it had only been me, I might have allowed you to leave. But no, you attacked the most selfless person I've ever known. I don't believe she's capable of hurting another living being. Even you, she spared the likes of you!"
Marcus pointed his hand toward them. A crimson red aura swirled around his ring, enflamed by his rage.
"I will do what she cannot. You will never hurt anyone again."
The men were still unable to speak, but their eyes pleaded for mercy. Clearly, Elise would not want them killed. But how could two such men be useful to anyone? They would only cause more pain. Two. There were two of them. They hurt Elise's feet. Elise had two boots. Apparently walking in her boots made her feet tired. Perhaps two new insoles would fix that.
"It is decided. Instead of bringing her feet pain, you will comfort them. You will not die, however, your new lives will be quite different. Make no mistake, you will suffer, and your victim will be the only one who can relieve you of that suffering. You brought this fate upon yourselves."
Marcus closed his eyes and pictured the image of Elise's footprints, still fresh in his mind. He would bend and shape the cruel men until they were the perfect match for her soles. They would cradle her heels, support her arches, and comfort her lovely toes. Her future walks would be invigorating. They would need to be extra absorbent and deodorizing to help alleviate Elise's concerns about foot odor. Only the best, she deserved only the best.
When he opened his eyes again, the two men were gone. Two new, very large insoles had replaced them. In his haste to reach Elise, he had not failed the duty she had given him. Though he ran as fast as he could to help her, he had also used his magic to levitate her armor and boots. Without his magic, trying to carry any of her belongings would not have been possible. Thankfully that was something he did not have to worry about. A tethering spell had towed the levitated items along with him as he ran.
Levitation would come in handy again. Although the new insoles were relatively lightweight, Marcus did not fancy the idea of carrying them into Elise's cavernous boots. Her boots were indeed smelly. No matter, a quick wave of his hand sent the insoles flying into their new homes. The rest was up to Elise. She would break them in soon enough.
An awkward groan signaled the stirrings of his neighboring giant. He decided to give her a minute before he attempted to explain anything. She would most certainly have questions.
"Oww, my head," Elise moaned while slowly sitting up. "I feel like I have the worst hangover ever."
"That's probably from the blood loss. I healed your wounds, but you did lose some blood."
Elise instinctively grabbed her foot as she recalled the brutal attack. The sight of her red stained skin panicked her. "There's so much blood!"
"Do not worry! You aren't bleeding. I healed you. That blood isn't fresh. You should wash your foot off."
Elise followed his instructions, pushing her foot into the waiting lake.
"What happened Marcus? I thought I was dead. Those bandits stabbed me, over and over again. I was so scared. Where did they go? Are we safe here?"
"I managed to chase them off. They fled quickly, probably afraid they would end up crushed beneath your feet when you woke up."
"Marcus, what did you do?! My foot... The wounds are gone. There aren't even scars! You did this?!"
"Don't get too excited, it's nothing but a rarely useful talent of mine. I can perform a bit of healing magic."
"Rarely useful? You saved my life!"
"About that, we should leave here. There may be more bandits out there. I can't be sure. It's safer if we go. You should get dressed and continue on your way. You'll need to drink plenty of water to replenish your body's fluids. I'd also suggest getting some extra sleep when you reach your destination."
"Why are you talking like that, Marcus? It sounds like you're saying goodbye."
"It was my fault you got hurt. You only took your armor and boots off because of me. I was goofing off. The thought of you getting attacked never even crossed my mind. I was careless. You obviously knew it was a possibility, because you were wearing armor in the first place. But you dropped your guard because of me. I put you in danger."
"No! Those bad men hurt me, not you! It was rotten luck and inconvenient timing, I'll grant you that. Is that really what you thought? You thought I'd blame it all on you?"
"I would have been okay with it if you did blame me."
"Nonsense! I'm not leaving you here with no food, and now there are savage bandits roaming around. I'll get dressed, then you're coming with me. I'll take you against your will if I have to."
"Are you sure you want me around--"
"Quiet. I already said I'm taking you with me."
"Can I ask where we're going?"
"You'll have all the food and water you could ever want, and a roof over your head. That's all that matters, right?"
"It sounds better than here."
Marcus waited while Elise slipped back into her armor. The water by the shore of the lake had turned an ugly reddish-brown color from the blood. An act of violence against an innocent giant had literally stained the land. Who were the real monsters, people or giants? Sometimes it was difficult to tell.
"Stop looking at it. You can waste time feeling guilty later. Get on or I'll grab you."
Marcus turned to find her hand lying before him on the ground, waiting for him. There was no point in resisting. She'd already made up her mind. He climbed over the tips of her fingers and shimmied into her palm.
"I won't drop you. It's a couple of hours from here. Just sit tight until we get there."
"Do I have a choice?"
"No."
"Okay then. You already know I'm bad luck. Don't blame me if a bird flies up your nose or something."
"That almost never happens," Elise scoffed. "You worry too much."
He'd never been carried by a giant before. It wasn't quite what he was expecting. From up high, he had an amazing view of the surrounding area. Elise was somehow holding her hand remarkably steady, even more impressive considering her recent blood loss. She was likely still light headed.
"Marcus, did you do something to my boots?"
"Eh?"
"They were never this comfortable before, even when they were new."
"Oh right, I fixed them for you. When I was waiting for you to wake up... I got bored. How lame is that? I can heal small cuts and mend footwear. Worst mage you've ever heard of I bet!"
"They feel really good, like amazing actually!"
"Well at least I'm good for something..."
"You've impressed, me. I think that ought to count for something."
"Elise, why didn't you defend yourself? You should have been able to kill those attackers easily. They deserved it!"
"What if it were me? What if I was the small one? I wouldn't want to die under some giant's foot. That's terrifying!"
"You really are her. You're the White Maiden."
"Wait... What? Who am I supposed to be?"
"People tell fond stories of a giant dressed in white with golden hair who helps people in need. I always thought they were silly rumors, but here you are."
"I never imagined my little walks would elevate me to hero status. Okay, sure, I helped the occasional traveler. There was a horse and buggy stuck in some mud once. I may have stopped to give directions a few times. But it's not like I rescued a princess from a fire breathing dragon!"
"And apparently you don't hesitate to share your food with strangers," Marcus added.
"I fear people are impressed much too easily."
"You call us people. Have you ever noticed that? Other giants call us bugs."
"Stupid people come in all sizes. I don't have to be one of them."
"I can see why you left an impression on people. I've never met anyone like you."
"All this flattery is nice and all, I admit it's helping with the headache, but we need to talk about something else."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you."
"No, it's not that... We're going to the castle. When we get there, you'll have to pretend to be my prisoner."
"You mean, THE castle, where the Queen of the giants lives?"
"That's the one! When I say pretend to be my prisoner, for all intents and purposes, you really will be my prisoner. It's safer that way. Are you okay with that? Will I still be your heroic White Maiden after I put you in a little cage?"
"The cage is a bit much. Is that really necessary?"
"It will help protect you from the other giants. Trust me, you want them to feel safe."
"I guess I can get used to it."
"I thought you might feel that way. Don't worry, you won't be stuck in a cage all of the time. Eventually the other giants will forget you're even there. Until then, we should keep a low profile."
"Keeping a low profile sounds good. I don't want to run into the Queen. They say her face is covered in warts, and her belly has grown fat from feasting on humans."
"Oh hoho! I'd like to see you say that to her face!" Elise laughed. "Haha, no, you wouldn't dare! She'd break you in half like a twig."
"Is it not true? Maybe the warts were exaggerated. Perhaps she only has unsightly pimples?"
"You're saying she's mean, fat, and ugly? Pray you never find out!"
"Forget I mentioned it. I don't want to know."
"We're almost there. I can see the castle on the horizon. We'll go in through the back, so that we draw less attention."