A knight is walking along the dirt road, his appearance hidden by the full set of armor that he is wearing. The sound of his armor clanging can be heard with each step he takes, a sound that he is quite accustomed to. He has been walking for a couple of hours, determined to make it to his destination.

     As a knight, he tends to take on jobs and bounties that require his skills. Knighted at the relatively young age of eighteen, which was about three years ago, he has proven himself to be quite capable. He was knighted by Lord Jacob for his services, after rescuing the lord's daughter from some bandits who were holding his daughter hostage for a large ransom. Unfortunately, his daring rescue did not win the fair maiden's heart, as she claimed that she could not be with someone shorter than she was.

     The knight isn't that short, but being only five and a half feet tall, he is a bit below average height. This made the maiden he rescued about four inches taller than him, so she did have a valid claim. Though the height difference between the two of them could have been dismissed, he is a man who respects women and chose to honor her wishes, no matter what her reasons for turning him down were.

     With this next quest that he is now on, he hopes to have a better outcome with this maiden that he is setting off to rescue. It isn't so much a quest, as it is just a rescue. In his travels, he has heard a tale from several different towns. The tale is about a beautiful maiden who is being held captive by a great and terrible beast in a large castle. He has listened to this tale from several other knights, each claiming this tale to be true since they have each tried to save the poor maiden. The only thing that stopped each of them was the beast that is holding her captive.

     Each knight's telling is the same, the only difference being how they described the beast. One had claimed that it had horns that could pierce through even the thickest armor. Another had said that it could breathe fire, capable of burning a dragon to a crisp. One even said it could make even the bravest of knights soil themselves just at the sight of it. But one fact remained consistent between each telling; the beast is huge.

     The knight knows that these knights are exaggerating about this beast. Even the biggest dragons only reach about twenty-five feet in length. Most knights tend to add embellishments to their tales. This helps to make their stories seem more exciting or to help them save face when they have failed in their adventures. The knight doesn't care how big this beast is, he is intent on saving this maiden and taking her hand in marriage.

    While most knights strive for fame or glory, he has a different goal set for himself. To rescue a maiden and take her as his wife. Yes, he is aware that such a goal is a bit cliche, but it is one that he has hoped to achieve ever since he was a young boy.

     The knight has been walking along the road for at least a couple of hours now, his mind starting to wander a bit. He is currently picturing himself sitting in a chair with his two children, a son and a daughter, sitting in front of a fire. His wife, the very maiden that he is going to rescue, comes in and sits on his lap, giving him a loving kiss. His two children would ask him to retell the story of how he rescued their mother, a request that he would be more than happy to oblige. Of course, he would add his own embellishments as he retells the story, making his adventure sound even more exciting. His wife would then chuckle and call him out playfully by saying that it isn't quite how she remembers it happening.

     The knight is pulled back to reality when he finally sees a castle in the distance. He quickens his pace, eager to reach his destination. As he approaches the structure, he starts to slow down, seeing just how huge it really is. The door alone has to be close to seventy feet in height. He begins to wonder if the beast's size was not an exaggeration after all.

     He starts to worry, wondering if he is in way over his head with this journey. He has come too far to turn away now, no matter how scared he is.

     He isn't foolish; he knows that fear is necessary. It keeps one from doing anything too reckless or stupid. He has heard of many knights who have ignored their fears and charged headfirst into danger, which never turns out well for them. Sir Olric, the knight who trained him, has even said that fear can be good. It keeps you alert and helps to make you quick. The knight takes a deep breath and leans up against the large door, pushing it open with all of his strength. Once he has an opening that is wide enough for him, he steps inside.

      He readies his round shield and places his hand on the hilt of his sword. His blade is of a simple design, but it has served him well in many a fight and he hopes that it will serve him well once again.

    Once he is inside the corridor, the knight notices that the castle's interior is furnished. The only odd thing about the furniture is that it is huge as if it was specifically made for a giant. He takes a closer look at a nearby table, seeing the fine craftsmanship displayed in the legs. Just what kind of beast lives here?

     Suddenly, he hears a loud thudding. The sound is steady and rhythmic, the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching. He draws his sword and approaches the corner of the corridor. His hands are shaking as he tries to come up with a way to fight this beast and come out victorious. With how loud its footsteps are, it is clear that the knight is considerably outsized. He takes a deep breath, resolving to face it head-on, hoping that the element of surprise will be enough to give him the advantage that he needs. The knight gets ready to turn the corner, but he stops when he sees the beast's foot land right in front of him.

     He can't believe what he is seeing; he was expecting to see a foot that is covered in scales or fur with long, sharp claws. But this foot looks to be completely human, and quite feminine. He is just surprised to see how big it is, with it being almost twice as long as he is tall.

     His eyes start to trail up, noticing that he is only tall enough to reach halfway up its shins. The hemline of the light green skirt stops just above the ankles, but as his eyes continue upward he can see that it is part of a dress. The front of the dress has a deep v-cut to it, with a white piece of fabric that covers the cutout area. The sleeves stop just past the elbows, exposing more fair skin. Its brunette hair is done up in a thick braid that reaches past the back of its knees. His eyes finally reach the face, needing to crane his neck just to get a good look. Her face is very pretty from what he can see, and that is when he comes to a realization.

     The beast and the maiden from the tale are the same. The knights must have created the beast in their stories to save face. Running from a woman, no matter how big she is, would be seen as cowardly by others.

     The knight is staring up at the maiden, who is the biggest woman, no, the biggest person that he has ever seen. She has to be about ten times his size. There is no way that what he is seeing can be real, yet there she is right in front of him. The next thing he knows, he hears the sound of metal clattering on the stone floor. He has inadvertently dropped his sword and shield out of shock, which is a very bad idea for obvious reasons.

     The giant woman turns her head, looking towards the source of the noise. The knight knows that he is in trouble. She is most certainly going to spot him, an intruder in her home. He can already imagine her displeasure with his unwanted presence. All she has to do is pick up her foot and step down on him, a fate he never imagined would ever happen to him.

     The moment the maiden spots the knight on the floor, she smiles. "Hey! Another visitor!" the pitch of her voice is somewhat on the high side, making her sound like she is excited about the knight being in her home, even though he is technically an intruder. She starts to crouch down, reaching out to the small man in the suit of armor.

     The knight just stands there, frozen with fear as he watches her large hand coming right at him. His brain is screaming for him to turn around and run, that there is no shame in fleeing from her if it means that he will live another day. Yet his legs refuse to listen, leaving him unable to move from the spot he is standing at.

     The next thing he knows, five long fingers are wrapping themselves around his torso. He is expecting to be crushed alive as punishment for entering the giant maiden's home. Yet for some reason she is being very gentle; he doesn't even hear the sound of metal creaking. He feels his feet leave the floor as he is lifted high into the air until he is face to face with the giantess. Now that he has a better look at her face, pretty just doesn't accurately describe her anymore. She is quite beautiful in his opinion.

     The maiden's hazel eyes are looking at the knight, seeing who she has exactly. She is smiling at him, looking more curious now. "You are the first person who's come here and hasn't run away screaming or tried to attack me."

     The knight can understand why someone would flee in her presence; he almost did himself. She can be intimidating due to her size. Though he will admit that attacking her may be going a bit too far.

     The maiden starts to look a bit confused now, as if unsure about what she is looking at. "I can't see your face," she says as she reaches for the knight's helmet. Taking the piece of armor is difficult for the giant woman. she is unaware that it is secured on his head. Sir Gabriel grimaces as his helmet is being forced off. with his helmet securely between her forefinger and her thumb, she lifts it off the knight's head and drops it to the floor.  "There, that is much better." She can now see his short blonde hair, blue eyes, and his goatee. "You are very cute, you know that?" If the knight wasn't so scared for his life, he would have blushed at the compliment.

      The maiden starts to stand up straight, taking the knight with her. "Hold on, let us find a better place to talk, shall we?"

     The knight has no choice but to go with the giantess since he is still in her grip. He looks around at his surroundings, wondering where she is taking him. She enters a room that has a table and a stove, which are both around the proper size for her to use, which means that they are now in the kitchen. He feels himself being lowered until his feet hit something solid as she lets go of him. As the huge woman sits in a chair in front of him, he realizes that he is standing on a kitchen table now.

     "That's much better," she says with a smile on her face. "This should make for a less awkward conversation. So what brings you to my home?"

    The knight can only stare at her in surprise. He is still trying to comprehend what is going on exactly. He is staring at a giant, which is only supposed to exist in children's tales. But there she is right in front of him, still smiling at him.

     "How rude of me," the maiden apologizes. "I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Ashley Evans."

      "G-Gabriel," he finally introduces himself nervously. It does seem like that all she wants to do is talk to him, so he sees no harm in at least telling her his name. "S-Sir Gabriel Ian Randal."

     "I see that I am in the presence of a knight," Ashley says, sounding very impressed.

     "Yes, I am a knight."

     "Go ahead and ask. I know that you want to know."

     "Ask what?" Sir Gabriel is a bit confused about what Ashley is talking about. He has a lot of questions for her, but he isn't sure which one she is referring to.

     "How tall I am," Ashley answers.

     "I will admit that I am a bit curious about how you got to be so tall." This is a question that Sir Gabriel would like an answer to, but he thought it better than to ask. He believes that it would be rude, like asking a woman about her age or weight. He can only imagine what she could do to him if he were to anger her.

     "Actually, I don't know." Ashley looks like she is thinking, trying to find an answer to the knight's question. "All I know is that when I was three, I just started to grow. My mother and father were very worried about me. They took me to see healers and mystics, but no one could figure out the cause of my unnatural growth. The only relief they got was when I seemed to stop after a week. I was a full foot taller after a week."

     "I take it that you didn't stop growing?" Sir Gabriel is a bit amazed at the tale. If Ashley weren't there telling it, he would believe it to be pure fiction.

     "I wish I had stopped; it turned out that my growth had just slowed down significantly."

     "So are you still growing?" Ashley is already pretty big; he is having a hard time imagining the fact that she is still getting bigger.

      "Fortunately, I stopped growing about four years ago, sometime after I turned twenty. I am actually fifty-one feet tall."

     "Fifty-one feet tall?" Sir Gabriel can't believe the number that he just heard. "I can imagine how grateful you are that you did stop growing."

     Ashley looks up at the ceiling, thinking about the possibility if she hadn't stopped. "I can only imagine just how big I would be now if I hadn't stopped." She then leans forward, leaning in close to Sir Gabriel. She points right at him, her finger just inches away from his face. "Now it's my turn to ask you a question. What brings you here to my home?"

   "Well, you see, a tale has been circulating about a beautiful maiden in a castle that is east of the town of Vershire and southwest of Knobbstown." He decides to leave out the part about the great and terrible beast, feeling that it might upset her if she figures out that it represents her. "I had come here to rescue the maiden in that tale and take her as my bride."

    "So I guess that I am your maiden now," Ashley says with a big smile on her face." She then leans in close to him, closing her eyes and puckering up her lips.

     "Ashley, what are you doing?" Sir Gabriel asks out of confusion.

     "Doesn't a knight kiss his maiden after he rescues her?"

     "But you are in your own home. If anything, I am an intruder. How did I rescue you?"

    "Well, I was very lonely until you came along. You rescued me from being lonely."

     Sir Gabriel does see that Ashley has a valid point, even though he may not have saved her from a physical threat. "I guess you are right about that."

    Gabriel watches as Ashley puckers up again. This is not how he imagined his first kiss happening. He always pictured himself holding a maiden in his arms and kissing her on the lips. He looks at the pair of lips before him, able to see every detail clearly because of how large they are. He leans in, kissing the giant woman's lower lip, while his entire face receives one in return. It isn't an unpleasant experience, just odd for him.

    Ashley leans up, smiling at Sir Gabriel; it is obvious that she is now in love with him. Sir Gabriel is looking at her, able to see himself being with her. She is a beautiful woman, no doubt about it, she is just big. He has just found himself in a very unique relationship now.

     "Gabriel," Ashley asks with a hint of curiosity in her voice, "as a knight, I can imagine that you have been to a lot of different places."

     "I have traveled a good portion of the country of Albion," he answers.

    "Can you tell me about all the places you have been?" Ashley asks excitedly. "I bet you have been to a lot of interesting locations, and I would love to hear about them."

     "I can't imagine that my travels have been more interesting than yours. Surely with your extraordinary size, you have been to more places than I have."

    "Actually..." Ashley sounds a bit more down now, her smile fading slightly. "I haven't been anywhere, to tell you the truth. I haven't left my home. You can imagine the reactions people would have if they saw me waltzing into town."

     Sir Gabriel can imagine the reactions she would receive, just at the sight of her. "So you have never ventured far from your home?"

     "I have been to a couple of towns while growing up when I could still be considered a normal height. But other than that, no."

     "We could always travel together," Sir Gabriel suggests.

      "I don't know," Ashley responds, sounding hesitant. "I have tried approaching a town before, I think I was about thirty feet tall at the time. It was not a positive experience for me or the townspeople."

     Sir Gabriel looks at Ashley with confidence. "As a knight, I can assure people that you mean them no harm, which will allow you to walk through towns without anyone being afraid of you."

     "You can do that?" Ashley is starting to sound optimistic now, a level of excitement returning to her voice. "You would do that for me?"

     "Of course. After all, you are my maiden."

     Ashley stands up quickly. She is leaning forward with her palms on the table as she looks down at Sir Gabriel. The knight can't help but feel so small with Ashley standing over him now. "Let's go right now, then!" Ashley suggests with a big smile on her face. She immediately turns around and starts to quickly walk out of the kitchen.

     "Ashley, wait!" Sir Gabriel calls out, watching as the excited woman disappears out of his sight. "I think that you are forgetting about me!" She has effectively stranded him. He walks towards the edge of the table and looks towards the floor. It has to be at least a twenty-five foot drop, a drop that he would not survive. Just as he contemplates if he could survive a jump onto the chair, Ashley walks back in, still smiling.

    She is tying what looks like a pouch to her waist. "Sorry about that," she apologizes. "I just wanted to grab some spending money."

     Sir Gabriel looks at the pouch, which is just about as tall as he is, seeing how full it looks. He can only imagine how many coins are inside, and she is saying that it is just some spending money? With that type of coin on him, he could probably live the rest of his days in comfort. Though he can only imagine just how long such a relatively large sum of coins would last with Ashley. At her size, just about everything would be more expensive, clothes and food being the two biggest things that he can think of at the moment. So that type of coin would most likely last her a couple of days, three if she spent it wisely.

     Ashley lowers her hand down to the table, her palm open and facing upwards. She smiles eagerly at the knight. "You ready?" Sir Gabriel looks at her hand, looking somewhat confused at her gesture. "Go ahead and step on, how else am I supposed to get you down?"

    Sir Gabriel knows that Ashley has a point there; she is the only means he has of getting off the table. He feels that he can trust her; she has been gentle with him so far. He just finds this method to be a bit odd is all. He steps onto her palm carefully, not knowing exactly what to expect.

     He has to catch his balance a bit as he feels himself being lifted into the air. He is expecting to be lowered down to the floor, but instead finds himself up at Ashley's face once again. She is smiling at him, obviously excited about the trip they are about to make.

    "I can't wait to go out to a town," Ashley says excitedly. "No one has ever done anything like this for me before. I love you."

     The giantess' last three words take Sir Gabriel by surprise, as he did not expect her to have such feelings for him so quickly. He can understand how she has gotten attached to him so quickly; he is the first person who hasn't tried running from her or attacked her. Not to mention he is offering her an opportunity that she once believed that she could only dream about.

     Now she is expecting him to say the same three words to her. She has been gentle with him, showing no ill intentions towards him. Not to mention she is very kind. There is something that is telling him to be with her, that she is a special woman. He smiles at her, knowing what the next words out of his mouth should be, what he wants to say. "I love you too.

     Ashley's smile widens, glad that the knight does share his feelings for her. She brings him close to her lips, kissing his entire face.

     Sir Gabriel is surprised to be pulled into a kiss like that with no warning. Being kissed by such a large pair of lips is still a bit odd for him, but he does find it to be pleasant this time. He knows that she is only showing her affection for him. He looks up at her as he is pulled away from her face, smiling up at her.

     The knight knows that he is now in a very unique relationship with a woman who is one of a kind. Traveling with her is going to be quite an experience.

     Ashley is walking beside the dirt road with a big smile on her face as she can feel the sunlight on her skin and the grass beneath her bare feet. After so many years of being confined to her home, she is finally able to venture out and see the world she has always wanted to. This moment feels surreal to her, almost like a dream; one that she is very happy about. To make this day even better, she is also traveling with a knight.

     Ashley looks over at Sir Gabriel, who is riding on her shoulder, the knight watching everything go by from this unique perspective that he now has. The maiden can't help but smile at him, having already fallen in love with him in such a short amount of time. To be honest, she is still having a hard time believing that she is now in a meaningful relationship with someone. Growing up, she always believed that her height would be a huge deterrent when it came to anyone wanting to court her. But this knight here has proven her wrong, and it is something that she is grateful for.

     Looking back at the maiden's smiling face, Sir Gabriel can't believe the situation that he is now in. He did have some reservations about traveling on Ashley's shoulder at first, never having done anything like this before; his reasons for this being quite obvious. He did try walking alongside her when they first set out on their journey but two problems kept arising when they were walking separately. For one, she kept passing him by due to her long strides, a result of her extraordinary height. When she was walking at his pace, she felt as though she was walking too slow and she would inadvertently pick up her pace again and start to pass the knight by. With the constant stop and go that these problems were causing, she had finally decided to pick up the reluctant knight and place him on her shoulder so that the journey would proceed a bit more smoothly.

     Being so high up, Sir Gabriel kind of feels like a kid riding on their parent's shoulders, except the view is much higher than any average sized adult could provide. The few trees that the two of them pass by barely pass Ashley's hips, Sir Gabriel watching as the maiden needs to sidestep them so that she can avoid hitting the branches and leaves. A problem that is surely unique to her. Watching this does make him wonder what other kinds of problems are presented to her due to her unique stature.

     Sir Gabriel looks back the way they came, seeing how Ashley's castle is already starting to disappear in the distance. If he was walking it still would have been in sight. But with Ashley's size her strides are much longer than the average person's, so traversing such a long distance in such a short period of time is nothing to her. He will have to admit, being on her shoulder does have its advantages.

    "So where is your horse?" Ashley asks, breaking the silence between the two of them.

     "My horse?" Sir Gabriel is caught off guard by the sudden question, his mind being distracted by the view he currently has while riding on the maiden's shoulder.

     "Don't all knights have horses?" Ashley sounds a bit surprised as she asks this, the giant woman being unable to picture a knight without his horse. "That way they can ride in gallantly when they go to rescue a fair maiden or a princess who is in distress, like in the stories."

     Sir Gabriel now understands the nature of Ashley's question. "I actually don't have a horse. The majority of knights who own horses are those who are either in service to a king or a lord," he explains. The knight can see where the misconception comes from since most tales often have a knight riding on a noble steed as they journey on their quest. "Owning a horse is generally expensive; feeding them, making sure that they are shoed properly, maintaining the saddle and tack. Since my income is dependent on jobs and bounties, which aren't always steady or reliable, I can't really take care of one properly. Which, to be honest, would not be fair to the horse."

     "Oh..." Ashley looks at Sir Gabriel, now seeing that he does have a valid point. She is a bit disappointed that the knight does not have a horse, the notion of him riding on one seems like it would suit him. "Well," she continues, smiling once again, "You can always ride me."  The maiden suddenly stops, her face turning a bright red the moment she realizes what she had just implied to the knight. Sir Gabriel can feel the heat coming off her as all the blood is rushing up to her face from her embarrassment. She immediately starts to stammer and stutter, doing her best to correct her unintentional miswording. "I mean you can ride... That is to say, you are more than welcome too... I didn't mean it like..."

     "It's okay," Sir Gabriel says, interrupting Ashley's embarrassed apology. "I know exactly what you mean, and you are right. Riding on your shoulder is surely a unique way to travel." Ashley breathes a sigh of relief at the knight's words, glad that she doesn't need to explain herself now. "I have noticed that you aren't wearing any shoes on your feet," Sir Gabriel points out, hoping to distract the maiden from her miswording earlier.

     "Yeah," Ashley answers while looking down at her bare feet and wiggling her long toes. "Surely you can imagine how expensive having a pair of shoes cobbled that would fit my feet. The amount of leather needed would be quite costly, not to mention the labor costs of having a cobbler making such a large pair for me."

     "I can imagine," Sir Gabriel replies. Having a pair of shoes cobbled is a bit on the pricey side, so he can imagine what the price for a pair of shoes would be for the giantess. "Though wouldn't sandals be a cheaper alternative? They wouldn't need as much material as a pair of regular shoes would, and surely they would be easier to cobble together, which does mean that labor would be cheaper."

     Ashley begins to walk again, continuing towards their destination. "Yeah, I know; but I just prefer to go barefoot. It always made my mother a bit upset when I was growing up, she was always telling me that it isn't very ladylike."

    "So you have always enjoyed running around barefoot then?"

     "It wasn't exactly a choice per se, it's just that shoes were always uncomfortable for me. They just never fit me right for some reason, probably because my feet were so much bigger than any of the other kids my age. Because of that I got into a habit of taking my shoes off until it became a preference for me not to wear any footwear." Ashley starts to laugh a bit, thinking back. "When I first started growing, I just kept going through shoes. Mother was just so intent on making sure that I always had a pair of shoes that I could fit into, she would even go as far as to buy several pairs for me to grow into. It wasn't until I was about six years old and over six feet tall, if I remember correctly, that she finally gave up. Not even the largest men's shoes wouldn't even fit me and the  prospect of constantly having shoes custom-made for me just wasn't a wise financial decision. So, after that..." She stops the moment she feels something crack beneath her foot, which causes her to jump back a bit.

     A feeling of both fear and dread overtakes the giantess, worrying that she may have stepped on something she shouldn't have. Or worse yet, someone. She was a bit distracted talking to Sir Gabriel, which meant she was not paying attention to where she was stepping. A habit that she needs to practice now since she is fully aware that she can be a danger to others.

     Ashley looks over at Sir Gabriel, smiling nervously, only one word leaving her lips, "Oops..." She slowly lifts her foot, both wondering and dreading what she could have possibly stepped on. She looks down, hoping and praying that she didn't step on anything that she would regret. Lifting her foot slowly, she breathes a sigh of relief when she sees that it is only a tree branch that is in her path. "Another reason I go barefoot so that I can easily tell if I am about to step on something."

     Sir Gabriel can just make out the branch from where he is at. It is completely broken, splintered from the weight of Ashley's foot alone. From what he can make out, it wasn't a thin one either. He can only imagine the amount of pressure that was put on it to break it apart in such a manner. "I can see what you mean." He looks over at Ashley, seeing the worried look on her face. He can tell that she genuinely feels bad about what she had done. It isn't so much what it was she just stepped on, but rather what it could have been "It's okay, just try to be a bit more mindful of where you are stepping is all."

     Ashley nods, "Okay," before she continues to walk again, this time making sure that she is being a bit more mindful and aware of where she is stepping. This way she can hopefully avoid stepping on anything else. She looks back at Sir Gabriel, "So what made you want to become a knight anyway?"

     "I have Sir Olric to thank for setting me down this path," Gabriel answers. When saying the name, he does so in a manner that indicates he holds a lot of respect for the man. "I have always looked up to him, hence why he is the very reason I wanted to become an honorable knight, just like he is."

     "He must have done something really remarkable to make you respect him that much."

     "Yeah, he adopted me when I was very young."

     Ashley looks over at Sir Gabriel, stopping when she sees how he is starting looking a bit down now. From the look on the knight's face, she can tell that something must have happened to his parents, making the subject a bit touchy for him. "Sorry, I had no idea that this is a bit of a sad topic for you. Do you want to change the subject?"

     "It's fine. It is a bit hard for me to talk about, I will admit that, but what happened to my parents did help to make me the man I am today." Gabriel looks over at Ashley, doing his best to put a smile back on his face, despite the pain of what had happened early in his life. "I don't remember much of it to tell the truth. I was only three years old when I lost my parents. I remember being alone and scared because my parents wouldn't wake up. Because of how young I was, I didn't understand what was going on at the time, nor did I know what to do. So I did what any three-year-old boy would do, I started crying. I was essentially left alone for about three days. No food because there was no one to prepare any meals for me. I was freezing because there was no one to make a fire. I believe that is when Sir Olric showed up because he claims that he heard me crying. He told me that my parents had most likely passed away from pneumonia." The knight takes a deep breath, composing himself a bit before he continues, "He could have just as easily taken me to the local orphanage and been on his way. Instead, he took me into his home and raised me like I was his son."

    "I am sorry to hear about what happened to your parents." Ashley sounds a bit consoling as she says this, feeling a bit guilty about bringing up such a bad memory for the knight.

     "It's okay. Looking at the big picture, I still ended up with a loving family."

    Ashley starts to walk again, keeping her eyes on the road. She had already stepped on a fallen tree branch, luckily that is all it was, she would hate to step on anything else, or anyone for that matter. "Any siblings?"

     "A sister by Sir Olric and Momma."

     "What is she like?"

     Sir Gabriel has to think for a moment, wanting to think of a proper way to describe Laura as a sister. She wasn't exactly fond of having a little brother, and she still isn't too keen on the idea. She would often tease him, mainly relying on her size since she is older than him. Her favorite thing to do is to point out how much taller she is than him, which continues to this day since she has three inches on him. "She acts like your typical older sister."

     "I wouldn't know how siblings act towards each other. I am an only child."

     Before Ashley can ask a follow-up question, she stops when she sees a man on horseback in the middle road. He stops just to stare at her, never seeing a woman of her size or anyone for that matter. He is gawking at her, trying to make out exactly what he is seeing.

     "Hi there," Ashley says, waving to the surprised man. "I'm Ashley, just your typical fifty-one-foot tall woman." She is hoping that by playing this encounter off as something casual, it will put his mind at ease and avoid any possible incidents.

     The man says nothing to the giantess' friendly introduction. Instead, he pulls on the reins of his horse, the animal's head which causes it to turn around. Once the horse is turned around, the panicked man kicks at the horse's sides which encourages it to gallop away from the giant maiden who is standing by the road. He has no idea what the giant woman's intentions are, nor does he wish to stick around and find out.

     "I think that went pretty well, what do you think?" Ashley has a bit of an awkward smile on her face as she asks this, hoping that the man's reaction isn't a sign of things to come.

     "It could have gone worse," Sir Gabriel responds. He isn't quite sure how a typical encounter with Ashley would be, but in his head, he can play out several scenarios that could have gone a whole lot worse. One of which that Ashley's presence could have spooked the horse, causing it to rear up and toss its rider.

     While Sir Gabriel is continuing to think about the different possibilities, Ashley starts to smile. She has a hard time containing herself as she starts to bounce on the balls of her feet a bit, inadvertently jostling her passenger about. "Gabriel, is that the town of Vershire?" She is pointing at the town in the distance, her hand shaking from her excitement.

     Sir Gabriel looks to where Ashley is pointing, seeing the small town off in the distance. He is a bit surprised by how quickly they will arrive there. A journey that would have taken him several hours, Ashley can make in minutes at a casual pace. He looks over to Ashley, who is still smiling excitedly, filled with anticipation. "Yeah, that is our destination, the town of Vershire."

     Ashley takes a step forward, causing Sir Gabriel to nearly fall back from her now quickened pace. "Ashley wait!" Sir Gabriel shouts, hoping to grab the maiden's attention before it is too late.

     The giant woman stops just as quickly as she had started to walk, causing Sir Gabriel to nearly fall forward this time. "Why, what's wrong? We are entering the town right?"

     Sir Gabriel uprights himself. Luckily he has a good grip on Ashley's hair, which has kept him from plummeting to the ground below, a distance he surely would not have survived. "Yes, we are. I know that you are excited, but you do need to remember how people will react to the sight of you approaching the town."

     "I know, but that is why you are with me, right? To put their minds at ease about me approaching and wanting to walk through the town?"

     "Yes, but I can't do much when I am up here on your shoulder," Sir Gabriel explains. "Our best course of action is if you put me down and I walk ahead of you. If I approach the town first, it will be that much easier to put the townsfolk's minds at ease about you."

     "Oh..." Ashley looks back at the town, seeing that Sir Gabriel does have a valid point. In her excitement, she has just about completely forgotten how people might react to the sight of her. She looks back at Sir Gabriel, looking hopeful, "So you can convince the people to let me walk through town?"

     "As a knight, I can use my authority to inform them that you mean them no harm. After all, from what I have learned about you, you are just a normal woman, who just happens to be close to ten times the size of anyone else."

     Ashley smiles at Sir Gabriel. "You really  do see me as a woman, not just some giant?"

     "Well, I will admit that I don't just see you like any woman, but a woman that I can't help but fall in love with."

     Ashley raises her hand to her shoulder, her palm open so that Sir Gabriel can step onto it. "I hope you keep talking like that to me. It is very nice to hear."

     Sir Gabriel steps onto her palm, still finding it a bit odd that he can do this. He preps himself to be lowered to the ground but instead feels himself moving sideways until he is at Ashley's face. Her lips are puckered up and her eyes closed, expecting a kiss from the knight, something he is more than happy to oblige. He leans in, kissing her lower lip, the experience still feeling very odd to him. But it is something he is getting used to, and finding that it is something that he enjoys doing.

     Smiling at her knight, Ashley starts to lower him to the ground. As he is approaching the ground, Sir Gabriel is looking at the town, hoping that he can deliver his promise to Ashley. He knows just how much she is looking forward to this, and her desire is just within her reach.

     As he starts to walk towards their destination, he can already see a horde of people gathered at the town's entrance. He wishes that the sight is a good sign, but he knows better. They have gathered together because they have seen Ashley coming from a distance, and with her stature, it is not hard to do. Because of the maiden's extraordinary size, they believe her to be a threat. He can't blame them for jumping to this conclusion though. He even froze up when he first met the gentle giantess, not knowing what to expect from her.

     But he now knows Ashley, at least well enough to know that she is a kind and gentle soul who only wants to see what the world has to offer. He just hopes he can get the terrified townsfolk to see her in the same manner that he does.

     As he is getting closer to the town, with Ashley just mere feet behind him, he is going through possible ways to explain Ashley to these scared people. He takes a deep breath, seeing how worried the guards and townsfolk are about Ashley's oncoming presence. All he can do is exert the authority that he has as a knight, and promise them that she means no harm to them or their town whatsoever. A task that he knows is easier said than done.

     The townsfolk of Vershire are looking in the distance, watching as a large figure approaching their town. Sure, they can see that it is just a woman walking down the road which leads to their town, but what makes her so unbelievable is that she is absolutely massive. Someone like her should only exist in legends or children's tales. A human being who is about ten times bigger than any man shouldn't exist. Yet there she is, walking alongside the road with a big smile on her face as if everything is okay.

     The few soldiers that have been stationed at the town have been standing with their weapons drawn, ready to defend the townspeople the moment they could see the giantess approaching in the distance. Their hands are shaking; they're obviously afraid of what they are about to go up against. These men are only used to settling minor disputes that have gotten out of hand and the occasional thief. But this woman is something that they are completely unprepared for, both physically and mentally.

    The townsfolk themselves are in no better shape, only armed with whatever common tools they can find and use as makeshift weapons so that they can help defend their town. Those who are unable to take up arms, for one reason or another, are in their homes, hoping and praying for the best.

     The soldiers finally have some hope, finally noticing that a knight is walking several feet in front of the giant woman. He may not be wearing his helmet, with it being tied to his waist, but surely he has enough experience to help protect the town from the perceived threat that is approaching. Everyone waits for the knight to arrive, not even giving any attention to the giantess who is following behind him.

     As the knight reaches the edge of town, the giantess stops several feet behind him and gets on her knees. She is looking at everyone who has gathered at the town's edge, well aware of the commotion that her presence has caused. Right now all she can do is smile, with the hopes that she can make herself seem friendly.

"Knight," one of the soldiers says as he approaches Sir Gabriel, "are you here to protect us from her?"

     "I am Sir Gabriel Ian Randal," he introduces himself, "and I am here to tell you..."

     "That you are going to slay her before she can even set foot inside the town?" one of the townsfolk interrupts.

     "No," Gabriel responds. "What I am trying to say is..."

     Another townsperson interrupts the knight, "That you have subdued her and that she will be banished outside these lands?"

     "No. What I am trying to say is..."

     "That she was going to destroy our town, until you threatened to kill her?"

     "No," Sir Gabriel responds, starting to sound somewhat annoyed. "Let me speak so that I can tell you..."

     "She is a witch who used a spell to increase her power, but it backfired?"

     Sir Gabriel is unable to get another complete sentence out, constantly being interrupted by one townsperson or another.

     "Everyone please, listen to what Gabriel has to say," Ashley finally says. Her words cause everyone to fall silent since they are afraid she is about to retaliate against all of their wild accusations. She can see the looks of fear on the townsfolks' faces, realizing that she may have made a mistake when she had decided to speak out. "Sorry."

     Sir Gabriel looks back at Ashley, who looks guilty about what she had just done. "It's okay. Your words were a lot kinder than what I was about to say." He turns back to the crowd before him, speaking loudly and with a sense of authority. "I, Sir Gabriel Ian Randall, am here to tell you that Ashley here means you no harm in any way, shape, or form."

     "Hello." Ashley smiles as she waves to the townsfolk, hoping to give them a different impression of herself than the one she gave earlier. "It's really nice to meet all of you."

     "I am sure that you are all aware of her extraordinary size, and I can assure you that is all that is different about her. She is a kind and gentle soul who only wishes to walk the roads and explore your fair town."

     Another one of the soldiers steps forward and sheaths his sword, but keeping his hand on the blade's hilt, still feeling a bit cautious about Ashley. His gaze not leaving her face, he speaks loud enough so that she will be able to hear him, "So what you are saying is that  you just want to roam through the town?"

     Ashley looks down at the soldier, still smiling so that she can look as friendly as possible. "I would really love to," she answers while nodding, "I've been confined to my home for so long because of how I was afraid people would react to the sight of me."

     The soldier turns his attention towards Sir Gabriel. "If all she is going to do is walk around town, as you both claim, then I can see no reason why she can't."

     "Really?" Ashley's smile widens in excitement.

     The soldier looks up at Ashley, smiling back at her, now having a better idea on what kind of a woman she really is. "Of course. Just don't cause any trouble for anyone and there won't be any problems."

     "She most certainly appreciates this," Sir Gabriel says, showing his appreciation for the soldier's cooperation. "Thank you."

     The soldier simply nods at the knight before turning back to face the crowd of people behind him. "Alright, go on about your business now. Ashley here is not a threat, just a woman who wishes to walk about our town like any other person. Make sure to give her plenty of room though, she will need it."

     Both Sir Gabriel and Ashley watch as the townsfolk start to slowly scatter, returning to their everyday business as if everything is normal. Though most of them can't help but stare at the giantess still, finding her to be an odd and unique sight to behold, one that they may never witness again.

     Ashley waves at everyone, her smile refusing to leave her face. "Thank you everyone." She then turns her attention to Sir Gabriel once again, whose back is still turned to her. She reaches down and picks him up with both hands, putting him in an embrace so that she can hug him. Most of the people stop to watch, not just because she has just picked up a grown man, but that she has done so with relative ease like a child picking up a toy. They are all expecting the knight to struggle, believing him to have been lifted off the ground against his will. Yet all he is doing is looking up at the giant woman, looking quite calm.

     "Thank you so much for doing this for me," Ashley says with a grateful tone. She can't help but squeeze the knight, making sure that she isn't doing this too hard. At her size, she could accidentally crush him and this is something she would hate to do.

     "It's nothing, really," Sir Gabriel replies. All he can do is look at how happy he has  made the large maiden. Her face is full of hope and optimism now; being welcomed into a town, despite her incredible size, is something that she used to dream about. He watches as her smile slowly fades, frowning slightly now as something is clearly starting to bother her now. "Is something wrong?"

     "No," Ashley answers, looking down at the man she has in ber arms. "Well, yes there is, actually. It's just that... You aren't so comfortable to hug with all that armor on you."

     "I can't really feel it either, to be honest." He isn't lying about this, all that metal around his body is designed to protect him from most blows, so he would be unable to feel the affection of a hug. "The next time I have my armor off, you can give me a hug for as long as you want."

     "Promise?" Ashley asks.

     "You have my word as a knight," Sir Gabriel responds with a big smile on his face. "Until then, why don't you put me down so that we can walk through the town together."

     Ashley smiles back at Sir Gabriel as she slowly and gently places him back on the ground. Standing up to her full height, she is eager to explore the town. The first thing that the maiden notices that not even the tallest building reaches her hips. Her whole perspective is vastly different from how she remembers her last walks through a town, when she was still small enough to do so. The last time she was able to walk through a town freely was when she was still living with her parents. She was only seven years old at the time and at least a full foot taller than most grown men. Back then, a town still seemed quite large to her, but it was slowly getting smaller to her with each passing day that she continued to grow.

     Sir Gabriel walks ahead of the giantess by several steps so that he can be ahead of her since she won't be carrying him throughout the town. The idea is so that the knight can make sure that there is nothing or no one in her direct path. He thinks back to how she was able to crush a tree branch beneath her bare foot like it was nothing, and he would hate to have a similar incident occur during Ashley's first trip into a town.

     With Sir Gabriel a decent distance in front of her, Ashley takes her first step into town, watching where she is placing her feet. She is going to have to get into a habit of watching where she steps, her bare feet alone can pose a potential hazard to anyone who is in her path. Not to mention, she needs to make sure that she is walking at the same pace as Sir Gabriel, lest she accidentally kick or step on him, something she would never forgive herself for doing.

     In the portion of the town that she is in, all Ashley can see are people's homes; some of which are two stories tall; and they are some of the tallest buildings in the town. As she is walking father into the town, her curiosity starts to get the better of her now. All of these homes look so similar on the outside, yet she has no idea what the interiors look like. It wouldn't hurt if she were to take peek through some windows, just to see what the inside of the average home looks like.

     She stops for a moment, allowing Sir Gabriel to get some distance ahead of her before she gets on her hands and knees in front of one of the two-story homes. She lowers her head to the ground so that she can look in through the windows of the first floor.

     The downstairs is furnished just how she would expect it to be, with a couch and two armchairs in the living area and a table and chair set in what she assumes to be the dining area. She starts to feel a bit disappointed when she discovers that she is unable to see into any of the other rooms on that floor. Sighing, she lifts her head so she can look in the second-story windows.

     It is quite obvious that she is now looking right into someone's bedroom, seeing a chest of drawers and a bed make it quite obvious which room the maiden is at. She stops for a moment, seeing movement underneath the covers of the bed. To her, it looks as though two people are moving beneath the covers. She stares for a good while, trying to figure out just what is going on.

     Sir Gabriel finally stops when he realizes that he can no longer hear Ashley's footsteps behind him; at her size, they are quite audible because of her weight. He turns around to see the curious giantess staring through someone's window, quite intently at that. "Ashley, what are you doing?" he asks. The next thing the knight knows, he hears a feminine scream coming from inside the house that the giantess is looking into.

     As a result of the scream, Ashley turns her head away from the window that she was peering into. "That was a bad idea," she says, her face now beet red from embarrassment.

     Sir Gabriel can only assume that someone was startled by the sight of a large face looking in through their window, their second-story window to be precise. "What happened?" he asks as he rushes over to Ashley.

     "Nothing," Ashley denies quickly before she gets up. "We should go." She begins to walk at a brisk pace, making sure that she steps over Sir Gabriel as she passes him.

     Sir Gabriel quickly tries to catch up with the embarrassed maiden, needing to run in order to do so. "Ashley, wait!" he shouts after her with the hopes of grabbing her attention. Watching as Ashley continues to walk, he is unsure if his words fell on deaf ears or she simply didn't hear him.

     It isn't until Ashley turns a corner, finding another road which is wide enough to accommodate her large size, that she stops. She looks back towards the way she came, hoping that the residents of that house won't see her anymore. Something that would be easy to do since she is the tallest thing in town.

     Sir Gabriel finally catches up with Ashley, breathing heavily from how quickly he needed to run just to catch up with the maiden. He leans up against her leg, bent over trying to catch his breath. After a moment, he looks up at Ashley, who is still looking back at the way she came from. "Ashley," he says, making sure that his voice is audible enough for her to hear. "What happened back there?"

     "Oh," Ashley responds looking down at Sir Gabriel. In her haste, she had almost forgotten about him. "Sorry. I got a bit curious and I decided to take a quick peek at the inside of someone's home."

     "Not a good idea, I take it?" Sir Gabriel asks, essentially repeating what Ashley has just learned. "I am sure you can imagine why someone would be so surprised to see you looking in through their second-story window."

     "Yeah, a bit of hindsight on my part," the maiden admits.

     Sir Gabriel smiles up at her, finding her embarrassment to be on the cute side. "So, shall we continue then?"

     "Yeah, I'm done looking inside others' homes now." Ashley chuckles slightly, trying to play off her embarrassment with a sense of humor. She allows Sir Gabriel to walk ahead of her once again before she starts to follow him.

     As she continues to walk, no longer distracted by her curious mind, she begins to notice how the townspeople are reacting to her. They are moving out of her way, avoiding her large bare feet as she walks down the road, something she is grateful for since she does need the space. What really catches her attention is the way that the townspeople are staring at her. Ashley is half expecting everyone to be leery of her, almost afraid of her like when she first approached the town. Now most of the people here are looking at her with a sense of curiosity and awe. She makes sure to smile and wave at each person that passes by her, doing her best to give the impression that she is actually quite friendly.

     A young girl, who is being led by her mother, can't help but stare at Ashley as they walk past the giantess. The blonde-haired child has a real sense of awe looking at the giant woman, admiring the statuesque maiden. "Mommy," she says, tugging at her mother's dress then pointing at Ashley. "Will I ever grow up to be as big as her?"

     The mother looks at Ashley, shocked at the woman's massive size; she had thought it would be impossible for anyone to reach such a height. Yet there Ashley is, walking past her in the opposite direction. "It's not polite to point," she tells her daughter as she lowers the little girl's arm." Still walking, she starts to mutter under her breath, "I certainly hope you don't get as tall as that woman. Clothing and feeding you would be an absolute nightmare."

     Unaware of what the mother and child just said about her, Ashley enters the shopping district of the town. While there aren't that many shops in the relatively small town, there are still a variety of them. She is looking over the different shops, taking in as much as she can. After being secluded for so long, everything here feels so new to her and it is giving her a sense of wonder she hasn't experienced in years.

     One shop is selling clothes, with several dresses outside on display. With some of the extravagant details on them, she finds the clothing to be cute and she finds herself wishing that she could try them on. Unfortunately her size is the only thing that is preventing her from doing this. The only way she could even try anything on is if she was to put them on her hand. She begins to think about having a dress custom-made to look just like one of them, but this is out of the question. Her current clothes, which are simple enough in design, are expensive enough as it is due to the materials and labor that are needed to make them. With her dresses, she needs a material that is more durable than cloth, which would wear out or tear easily from her size.

     She turns her attention to another business, deciding that it is best she not focus on something that is unattainable for her. She notices that Sir Gabriel has stopped in front of a blacksmith's forge, looking over a shield that has apparently caught his interest. She can understand why he would be interested in looking there, a blacksmith being the only one who can maintain and repair his equipment. But that is of no real interest to her. A goldsmith, however, may hold her interest. Again, due to her current size, jewelry is something that would be too expensive for her to purchase.

      Ashley sees some movement out of the corner of her eye, drawing her attention to yet another shop. The storefront has several barrels of different fruits right outside, but what has caught her attention is the shopkeeper. He is currently dumping the contents of a bag, which he has over his shoulder, filling one of the barrels. Ashley immediately recognizes the red fruit and quickly becomes very interested in it. Kneeling in the middle of the road, she begins to reach out for the barrel, its contents looking very appetizing to her.

     The shopkeeper is surprised to see such a large hand coming his way, only for it to grab and lift the barrel, which he has just filled up. He watches with a sense of amazement as it is being lifted off the ground, knowing how heavy it is since it is now full of red fruit. He can only watch, stunned by the sight of a woman who can actually lift it, who makes it look like a small glass in her hand. "Ex-excuse me," he finally gets the courage to say.

     Ashley isn't paying any attention to the shopkeeper, her focus on the delicious contents of the barrel. Sir Gabriel makes his presence known as he approaches the shop. "It's okay," he reassures the nervous shopkeeper, "she means no harm, she is just inspecting the fruit that you have for sale."

     "These apples look absolutely delicious." Ashley finally turns her attention to the shopkeeper, smiling at him. "How much are they?"

     The shopkeeper is both surprised and relieved that she is actually willing to pay for them. In all honesty he was expecting her to just take them; he certainly couldn't stop her from just taking them if she so pleased. "T-the apples? They are a gold coin apiece."

     "How much is it for the entire barrel?" Ashley asks.

     "The whole barrel?" The shopkeeper is shocked; this is the first time anyone has ever wanted to buy an entire barrel's worth of apples, or anything for that matter. He looks over at the knight, still a bit dumbfounded by the giantess' question. "Is she actually serious?"

      "I believe she is." Sir Gabriel looks away from the shopkeeper and up at Ashley. "I can imagine that what she has in her hand may only be considered a small snack for her."

      The shopkeeper looks up at Ashley once again, trying to remember just how many apples the barrel can hold. He doesn't want to undercharge her, but he does want to make sure that the price is fair so that he can still make a profit. "Three hundred gold coins for the entire barrel."

      Ashley places the barrel on the ground right in front of her, reaching for the pouch that she has tied to her waist. "I can pay for that." She starts to dig through the pouch, the sound of metal audibly clanking together as it rattles around inside of the pouch. Ashley is starting to get a bit frustrated; the gold coins are too small for her to accurately count with her large fingers.

     Eventually, she places the pouch on the ground in front of Sir Gabriel. "Do you mind counting it out? My fingers are too big to do it."

    Sir Gabriel looks inside as he begins to start counting out the coins. He can't help but be surprised at how much is inside there. The pouch, which is roughly about his height, is practically full of gold coins. He starts to wonder just how much money she actually has on her. Granted, from a relative point of view, this probably isn't much for her, seeing how much she is paying just for some apples now. The knight can only imagine how expensive her other expenses would be.

     After counting out all three hundred coins, which was a tedious task for the knight, Ashley ties the pouch back around her waist before she grabs the barrel once again. She tilts her head back and starts to dump the contents of the barrel into her mouth as though she is taking a big drink.

     Both Sir Gabriel and the shopkeeper are surprised at how Ashley is able to eat so many apples in such a manner. She is actually chewing them whole, not even bothered by the stems or cores that are still present with each mouthful that she is chewing. Sir Gabriel can only figure that at her size they must not pose much of a problem for her. Ashley can't help but close her eyes as she enjoys the juicy and crunchy fruit as she is consuming them.

     With the barrel now empty, Ashley sets it back where she initially picked it up from. Swallowing what she has in her mouth, she looks right at the shopkeeper with a smile on her face. "They were absolutely delicious, thank you."

     "Y-you’re welcome," the shopkeeper says. He still can't fathom what he has just seen, but the pouch full of coins that he is holding is physical proof that an entire barrel's worth of apples has just been paid for and consumed within a matter of minutes.

     Screeching can be heard from high up, causing the shopkeeper to duck down and cover his head while Gabriel begins to ready his sword. Ashley however, looks up towards the source of the noise and her hazel eyes light up with excitement at what she is witnessing.

     Five silver-scaled dragons are flying over the town; the sunlight glistening off their scales and the undersides of their wings look quite colorful from how the light is hitting them when they are lifted up. Ashley reaches up towards the airborn dragons, as if she is trying to snatch one out of the sky. The dragons are out of her reach, something which would seem impossible for a woman of her stature. All she can do now is watch, the creatures continuing as they fly off into the distance.

     Sir Gabriel removes his hand from his sword as the shopkeeper slowly stands back up. "Gabriel!" Ashley says excitedly. She is bouncing due to her excitement at what she has just seen, her hand shaking as she points to where the dragons flew off to. "Did you see them? Oh, they were so beautiful."

     "The silver wings?" Gabriel asks, referring to the same dragons that Ashley just seen "Yeah, they are a beautiful breed of dragon, I will admit." He can see the big smile Ashley has on her face, which is practically spanning from ear to ear. "You really love dragons, don't you?"

     "Of course," the excited giantess says with a smile on her face. "They are just so cute and adorable, don't you agree?"

      Cute? Adorable? Those are two words that don't come to mind when Sir Gabriel thinks of dragons, though he does suppose that the word majestic could be used to accurately describe some of them. Ashley is looking at him, waiting for him to agree with her. "I suppose so."

     The shopkeeper isn't paying attention to the conversation the couple is having, still thinking about the dragons that just flew overhead. "At least it wasn't that damned toros," he says with a sigh.

      "Toros?" Sir Gabriel asks, overhearing the shopkeeper. He isn't asking what it is, but rather if he has heard him correctly. Those dragons have a notoriety for being highly territorial, charging at anything with a relentless aggression, much in the same manner a bull would.

    "You heard me right. There is one just south of town. It's caused many injuries and a few nasty casualties, because of people needing to come or go from that direction. The mayor is offering a five thousand gold reward to anyone foolish enough to hunt it down and kill the beast."

     "Five thousand gold?" Sir Gabriel repeats. That is a good amount of money, money he could especially use if he is going to help support Ashley now. "I guess I will be foolish enough to try then."

    "No!" Ashley protests. "You can't kill it!"

     Both Sir Gabriel and the shopkeeper look at Ashley with a sense of confusion. "Ashley, you must understand that it needs to be done." He can understand why Ashley is opposed to him hunting the toros and killing it, she just told him that she loves dragons. "Ashley, I take no pleasure in ending its life, but it is the only way. It is hurting people, and even killing them and I need to place a higher priority on these people's lives. I hope you can understand."

     Ashley looks at the knight, going over what he has just told her and seeing that he does have a valid point. If it is posing a serious threat that can only be dealt with by ending its life, she really can't argue with him too much about it. "Will you do it painlessly?"

     "I will make sure that it is done as quickly and painlessly as possible, it will not suffer."

     Ashley looks at Sir Gabriel, still not entire approving what has to be done. "Okay, just be careful. I would be devastated if anything were to happen to you."

     "I will," Sir Gabriel replies before turning back to the shopkeeper. "Which way to the town hall?"

    To the south of the town of Vershire Sir Gabriel is hiding behind a large tree, observing the toros that has been aggressively attacking people. The dragon is a bit on the small size for its species, not even being twenty feet long if the knight had to take a guess. The knight figures that it must be relatively young, quite possibly only being old enough to where it can be out on its own. The dragon is contently consuming the leaves off a bush, using its beak-like mouth to obtain its nourishment and unaware that it is being watched, hunted, at the moment.

     Sir Gabriel goes over the plan in his head one more time; he plans to sneak up behind the dragon, getting as close as he can so that he may deliver a single, mortal blow to it with his sword. Of course, successfully sneaking up on the dragon does mean he is not wearing his armor, his round shield being his only source of protection. Granted, his armor would have given him more protection than the white shirt and tan pants he is only wearing now. The armor's weight and the noise it makes when he moves would have been too much of a hindrance for what he is trying to do.  Without his armor, it is easy to see that his body is a bit toned, a result of all the training he used to perform while he was a squire for Sir Olric.

     He looks back towards Vershire, the town still in his view, wondering if Ashley is doing okay by herself. He did insist that she stay behind for this since he does not want the dragon to notice him prematurely, the sounds of her footsteps are quite audible from a distance. Not to mention she does not like the idea of him hunting and killing a dragon. She is very adamant about it, but after explaining to her that it is hurting people and will continue to do so, she reluctantly agreed realizing that the knight does have a valid point. Sir Gabriel will admit that Ashley would be very helpful in hunting this dragon, but he just can't stand the thought of willingly putting her in any form of danger.

     Now, Sir Gabriel takes no joy in killing the beast. After all, it is just doing what it needs to survive, but that doesn't change the fact that it is posing a threat to others due to how territorial it can be.

     The knight steps out from behind the tree, going over his plan in one again as he slowly creeps up behind the toros. He has never actually hunted a dragon before, much less killed one; the opportunity never having presented itself until now. He is quite confident that he can do this, despite some nervousness that he feels lingering inside of him. He is slowly approaching the dragon, his sword at the ready. The toros is still too busy eating to even notice what is going on around it; meaning Sir Gabriel's plan seems to be going well so far, that is until he feels the wind coming from behind him. His eyes widen, realizing what this could mean for him and what he sees next only confirms his fear. The toros turns its head to look at Sir Gabriel the moment it catches the knight's scent. At this very moment, Sir Gabriel wishes that he had never removed armor for this job.

     "Aw shit..," Gabriel groans, watching as the dragon turns around to face him. He can see the toros' two long, curved horns as it turns to face him. Enraged about the trespasser it sees, the toros lets out a loud roar. The volume of the dragon's cry hurts the knight's ears, causing him to lift his hands to his head to help muffle the sound to keep from going deaf. The toros then lowers its head and folds its wings against its body as it gets ready to charge right for him. Sir Gabriel doesn't have too many options, nor does he have the time to think of any, the knight dives off to the side as the dragon charges right past him.

     The dragon tries to stop, its claws tearing up the grass as it skids across the ground to slow down. The toros turns around just as Sir Gabriel is getting up off the ground, already lowering its head as it prepares to charge at the knight yet again. It rushes towards Sir Gabriel, barely giving the man enough time to react. It misses as the knight leaps off to the side once again, Sir Gabriel rolling on the ground from how quickly he had to move.

     As Sir Gabriel gets up, he realizes that he is in a stalemate with the beast. Each time goes to charge at him, he can only dodge; and as he is getting up the dragon is getting ready to charge at him. Sir Gabriel needs a new plan, one that will give him an opening that he needs so that he can get an attack in. He looks over to the tree that he was hiding behind earlier, a much-needed idea starting to form in his head.

     The toros readies to charge at Sir Gabriel once again, eyeing its target. The knight runs off to the side, bashing his shield with his sword to make some noise. "Hey! Over here!" he yells, maintaining the dragon's attention until he is standing in front of the tree. "Come get me!" he taunts as he continues with his distraction. The toros lowers it's head once again, preparing to charge with every intention of impaling the knight with one of its horns.

     Sir Gabriel remains where he is standing, watching as the dragon is coming right for him; he waits as long as he can, waiting for the Toros to get close. For his plan to work he needs this dragon to get as close to him as possible, which is very risky considering what could happen if he waits too long. At the last possible moment, Sir Gabriel dives out of the way, hearing a loud, satisfying crunch from behind him as he hits the ground. Sir Gabriel leans up, smiling since he knows that his plan has succeeded. The dragon's horns are now stuck in the trunk of the tree, with the beast frantically struggling to free itself.

     Even though the dragon is stuck, Sir Gabriel still needs to move quickly. This is his only opportunity to hopefully end the dragon's life, and there is no telling how long it will remain immobilized. Getting to his feet quickly, he rushes towards the dragon with his sword still drawn. Running towards it, he raises his blade while he keeps his eyes on his mark, this hunt is about to end. That is until he feels a sharp pain in his chest when the dragon's flailing tail hits him and sends him back flying.

     Sir Gabriel goes through the air by several feet, landing right on his back. He struggles to take a breath, the wind being knocked out of him the moment his back hits the ground. Struggling to sit up, he can see that the toros has already freed itself, the tree falling over from how much damage the dragon's horns had done to it. The toros has already turned around and is getting ready to charge at the downed knight once again. With no time to roll out of the way, Sir Gabriel just knows that he is going to be impaled on one of its sharp horns.

     All the knight can think about is Ashley and the short amount of time he was able to spend with her. He wishes that he could just go back to her and be in her arms, experiencing the love that she has for him; a unique form of love that only the giant maiden is capable of showing him.

     The charging toros is closing its distance between it and the helpless knight. With the dragon bring mere feet away from him, Sir Gabriel waits for it to impale him, putting an end to his life. Just before he can cringe and close his eyes, he sees a large pair of hands come out from behind him and pick the dragon up. His eyes follow the dragon, which is struggling and thrashing about, to see that Ashley is crouching behind him. He can hardly believe that she has actually just grabbed a dragon and lifted it as is a dog. But with her being nearly twice as big as the toros, he can see how it is possible.

     Ashley brings the Toros close to her face, admiring the dragon. "Awwww... You are just so cute," she coos with a big smile on her face. The dragon hisses at her, not used to being handled by anything larger than it. "I have heard that you have been a bad dragon," Ashley continues in a stern yet playful voice, "but that doesn't matter because I am going to take such good care of you, Snookums." She can see how the surprised dragon is struggling in her hands, desperate to get away from her. "It's okay, I won't hurt you."

     Much to Ashley's dismay, the dragon finally manages to squirm itself free from her grip and landing on the ground. "Get back here," Ashley says, giggling a bit as she begins to reach for the dragon once again. The dragon wastes no time in spreading its wings and taking to the air, flying off before it can be captured once again. Taking one last look at the giantess the dragon hisses at her as it flies over Vershire and towards the horizon.

     Sir Gabriel watches as the dragon flies off, desperate to get away from the perceived threat. "That's one way to take care of a dragon I suppose," he says, trying to comprehend what he has just witnessed. He highly doubts that the Toros will be returning to its feeding ground after being picked up and handled the way it was.

    "Awwwww..." Ashley groans out of disappointment. Getting down on her knees, she looks at Sir Gabriel, smiling once again. "Did you see that?!" she says excitedly, acting the same way one would as if they had just seen and held a puppy. "I actually got to hold a dragon! It was just so adorable!"

     "Yeah," Sir Gabriel answers, sitting up and groaning while he is holding his ribs. From the pain he is feeling, he wouldn't be surprised if he will have a nasty bruise from the encounter. It wouldn't be the first time though; some of the fights he has been in have left him with far worse injuries.

     "Are you okay?" Ashley asks, now concerned about Sir Gabriel's well-being. In her excitement of actually seeing and holding a dragon, she had failed to notice how her knight is injured. "Did you get hurt, is it bad?" She starts to reach out towards the injured knight, wanting to hold him close and make sure that he is okay.

     "I'm fine," Sir Gabriel answers, still groaning a bit out of pain. "It's just some bruised ribs and a sore back. It isn't the first time I've been hurt like this, and it probably won't be the last." He smiles up at the concerned giantess, not wanting her to worry any further about him.

     Ashley reaches down and wraps her fingers around Sir Gabriel's torso, being as gentle as possible so that she doesn't agitate his injuries. The knight can't help but groan slightly as Ashley grabs him, the pain in his ribs becoming agitated even with the light pressure of the concerned giantess' grip. "I should get you to a healer," she says out of concern while lifting him slowly.

     "I'm okay," Gabriel says. He has been injured like this on numerous occasions, and he knows exactly what a healer will tell him. "All they will tell me is to take it easy for a bit so that I can recover."

     "Well, you deserve to rest then," Ashley agrees, "Not to mention that I wish you would be more careful. You have me to worry about and I am going to worry about you. I want you to be able to come back to me safely each time you go out and perform a job."

     Sir Gabriel has heard this conversation plenty of times before, in one form or another. His momma would often tell Sir Olric the same thing whenever he would undertake a particularly dangerous job. "Well, there are some occupational hazards that I can't avoid, but I will promise you that I will exercise more caution from now on."

     "That is all I ask." Ashley pulls Sir Gabriel to her chest, giving him a gentle hug. She smiles, enjoying the fact that she is holding him close to her. "Without your armor, this is better."

      Sir Gabriel can not disagree with Ashley, there is just something about being this close to her, despite his injuries being agitated from him being held by the loving woman. Granted he is in a very soft place, which he can't complain about being at, but he can also hear a faint thumping noise. It takes him a moment to figure out that it is her heartbeat; he continues to listen to the rhythmic beating inside her chest out of curiosity and he can't help but notice how soothing the sound is to him. Smiling, he finally responds, "You are right, this is better without my armor on."

     After a few minutes, Ashley finally pulls Sir Gabriel out of her embrace, lifting him to her face. She can't help but smile at him, glad that he is okay.

     "Well," Sir Gabriel begins, "why don't we head back into town so that we can pick up the reward for ridding the town of its dragon problem?"

     Ashley doesn't say anything but instead starts to walk back, carrying Sir Gabriel in her palms instead of letting him ride on her shoulder. After all, she wants to make sure that he is comfortable and that gets the rest he needs in order to make a full recovery.

     As Ashley renters the town, the townsfolk still can't help but stare at her. They all know that she isn't a threat, but it is her height that still has them curious about her. Not to mention they could see her carrying the knight who has informed them that she has no ill intentions whatsoever, which makes the sight that much more unique to the townspeople.

     It takes Ashley a while to arrive at the building where Sir Gabriel was instructed to pick up his reward, should he be successful in eliminating the dragon. With such a decent amount of people still on the road, she needs to be careful where she steps. She has decided to slow her pace considerably so that she can make sure that there is no one in her path. Also, a lot of the buildings look very similar from her vantage point

     The building itself isn't that tall, the roof not even reaching the giantess' knees. As she kneels in front of the building, Ashley lowers her hands so that Sir Gabriel can step off, making sure that her hand is close enough to the ground for him to safely step off. Once on the ground and in front of the door, he turns to looks at Ashley, "This should only take a moment or two."

     Watching as Sir Gabriel walks inside the building, she already starts to miss him. She does wish that she could follow him inside but is unable to due to her massive size. The only part of her that she could even get inside would be her hand, but if she were to do that it would not look very good on her part. So she just takes a deep breath, patiently waiting for the man that she has fallen in love with to come back out and return to her.

     Several townsfolk are walking by Ashley as she continues to wait, some even going out of their way to get a good look at the giant maiden. The fact that someone could get so large seems like it is straight out of a fairy tale. Yet there she is, kneeling in front of a building, waiting for a knight to return to her.

     "Sorry I took so long," Sir Gabriel says, walking out of the building with a bag of coins in his hand. "They didn't want to believe that the Toros would no longer be a problem without any  physical proof, luckily some eye-witness accounts were saying that they saw it flying away from town."

     Ashley wastes no time in picking Sir Gabriel back up, making sure that her grip is loose enough to avoid agitating his injuries, but not so loose so that he slips out of her hands. "I'm just glad that you didn't take even longer."

     Sir Gabriel could tell just how much she did miss him, even though he was only away from her for about ten minutes. "Let us go back home then," he says, smiling at Ashley. It is a bit odd for him to be referring to Ashley's castle as home, but if he is with her now he is guessing that is where he will live to. It isn't like there is anywhere else that she can live at.

     Ashley frowns, feeling a bit disappointed, "Go home?" She has already seen so much today, more than she has ever seen since she surpassed a height that could even be considered above average. "But there is so much more that I want to see, places to visit. Do we really have to head back so soon?"

     "It will be getting dark in about a couple of hours," Sir Gabriel points out, the sky already turning a bit orange as the sun begins to set. "To be honest, it will be a bit difficult to see anything then."

     "I was thinking," Ashley says, the look on her face making it clear that she already has her own idea in mind. "That we just keep going. We can only travel so far in a single day, so why don't we just keep going?"

     Sir Gabriel is looking at Ashley's hopeful expression. He knows that she has lived a solitary life due to her immense height. Her seclusion wasn't because she was shy but rather that she was worried about how others would react to her massive size. Now she has an opportunity to explore the countryside and it is one that she does not want to pass up. "You do know that this will mean we will need to sleep outside every night, right?"

     "I won't mind," Ashley answers, her smile not even fading. She looks at Sir Gabriel eagerly, hoping to hear a specific answer from him.

      It doesn't take him long to answer her, because he can see how much this means to Ashley. "Then I guess that means we will just continue then," Sir Gabriel answers. He watches as the giantess' smile widens, having heard the very answer that she was hoping for.

     "Thank you so much!" Ashley says excitedly. She pulls Sir Gabriel up to her lips for a kiss, enveloping his face. Just as quickly as she pulled him in, she holds him out again so she can look at him. "Sorry if that was a bit sudden," Ashley apologizes.

     Sir Gabriel was indeed taken by surprise at the spontaneous kiss. Just about every time they have done so so far, Ashley has prompted for it first. "It's okay," Sir Gabriel says. "It was a nice surprise."

     "So where are we going to go from here?" Ashley asks, eager to know where they will be heading next. Anywhere from this point on would be new to her and she is excited about it.

     "I think I already have the next town in mind," Sir Gabriel answers. In the back of his head, he has wanted to return somewhere that he hasn't been to for the past three years. "How would you like to meet my family?"

     "Your family, are you sure?" Ashley asks, sounding a bit nervous.

     "Of course I am. Are you nervous about meeting them?"

      "Not so much nervous as I am worried about meeting them. I mean, what are they going to think about me?"

     Sir Gabriel can understand the reasoning for Ashley's concern. She isn't exactly a typical maiden, being over fifty feet tall. But he knows his family, having grown up with them after all. He smiles at her, placing his hand on one of her fingers. "Don't you worry about it. Once they know you as I do, I am positive that they will welcome you into the family."

     Ashley smiles at Sir Gabriel, hoping that he is right. She still has her doubts but decides to put them behind her for now so that she may enjoy her journey with her knight.

     With the sun starting to set, the two get ready to leave the town behind, continuing away from Ashley's home. The giantess has a big smile on her face, excited to finally see what lies beyond the horizon. She looks down at Sir Gabriel who is comfortable riding in the palms of her hands. It isn't just the journey and seeing a variety of new places that has her excited, she is also looking forward to doing this with her knight, Sir Gabriel.

     Sir Gabriel has heard this conversation plenty of times before, in one form or another. His momma would often tell Sir Olric the same thing whenever he would undertake a particularly dangerous job. "Well, there are some occupational hazards that I can't avoid, but I will promise you that I will exercise more caution from now on."

     "That is all I ask." Ashley pulls Sir Gabriel to her chest, giving him a gentle hug. She smiles, enjoying the fact that she is holding him close to her. "Without your armor, this is better."

      Sir Gabriel can not disagree with Ashley, there is just something about being this close to her, despite his injuries being agitated from him being held by the loving woman. Granted he is in a very soft place, which he can't complain about being at, but he can also hear a faint thumping noise. It takes him a moment to figure out that it is her heartbeat; he continues to listen to the rhythmic beating inside her chest out of curiosity and he can't help but notice how soothing the sound is to him. Smiling, he finally responds, "You are right, this is better without my armor on."

     After a few minutes, Ashley finally pulls Sir Gabriel out of her embrace, lifting him to her face. She can't help but smile at him, glad that he is okay.

     "Well," Sir Gabriel begins, "why don't we head back into town so that we can pick up the reward for ridding the town of its dragon problem?"

     Ashley doesn't say anything but instead starts to walk back, carrying Sir Gabriel in her palms instead of letting him ride on her shoulder. After all, she wants to make sure that he is comfortable and that gets the rest he needs in order to make a full recovery.

     As Ashley renters the town, the townsfolk still can't help but stare at her. They all know that she isn't a threat, but it is her height that still has them curious about her. Not to mention they could see her carrying the knight who has informed them that she has no ill intentions whatsoever, which makes the sight that much more unique to the townspeople.

     It takes Ashley a while to arrive at the building where Sir Gabriel was instructed to pick up his reward, should he be successful in eliminating the dragon. With such a decent amount of people still on the road, she needs to be careful where she steps. She has decided to slow her pace considerably so that she can make sure that there is no one in her path. Also, a lot of the buildings look very similar from her vantage point

     The building itself isn't that tall, the roof not even reaching the giantess' knees. As she kneels in front of the building, Ashley lowers her hands so that Sir Gabriel can step off, making sure that her hand is close enough to the ground for him to safely step off. Once on the ground and in front of the door, he turns to looks at Ashley, "This should only take a moment or two."

     Watching as Sir Gabriel walks inside the building, she already starts to miss him. She does wish that she could follow him inside but is unable to due to her massive size. The only part of her that she could even get inside would be her hand, but if she were to do that it would not look very good on her part. So she just takes a deep breath, patiently waiting for the man that she has fallen in love with to come back out and return to her.

     Several townsfolk are walking by Ashley as she continues to wait, some even going out of their way to get a good look at the giant maiden. The fact that someone could get so large seems like it is straight out of a fairy tale. Yet there she is, kneeling in front of a building, waiting for a knight to return to her.

     "Sorry I took so long," Sir Gabriel says, walking out of the building with a bag of coins in his hand. "They didn't want to believe that the Toros would no longer be a problem without any  physical proof, luckily some eye-witness accounts were saying that they saw it flying away from town."

     Ashley wastes no time in picking Sir Gabriel back up, making sure that her grip is loose enough to avoid agitating his injuries, but not so loose so that he slips out of her hands. "I'm just glad that you didn't take even longer."

     Sir Gabriel could tell just how much she did miss him, even though he was only away from her for about ten minutes. "Let us go back home then," he says, smiling at Ashley. It is a bit odd for him to be referring to Ashley's castle as home, but if he is with her now he is guessing that is where he will live to. It isn't like there is anywhere else that she can live at.

     Ashley frowns, feeling a bit disappointed, "Go home?" She has already seen so much today, more than she has ever seen since she surpassed a height that could even be considered above average. "But there is so much more that I want to see, places to visit. Do we really have to head back so soon?"

     "It will be getting dark in about a couple of hours," Sir Gabriel points out, the sky already turning a bit orange as the sun begins to set. "To be honest, it will be a bit difficult to see anything then."

     "I was thinking," Ashley says, the look on her face making it clear that she already had her own idea in mind. "That we just keep going. We can only travel so far in a single day, so why don't we just keep going?"

     Sir Gabriel is looking at Ashley's hopeful expression. He knows that she has lived a solitary life due to her immense height. Her seclusion wasn't because she was shy but rather that she was worried about how others would react to her massive size. Now she has an opportunity to explore the countryside and it is one that she does not want to pass up. "You do know that this will mean we will need to sleep outside every night, right?"

     "I won't mind," Ashley answers, her smile not even fading. She looks at Sir Gabriel eagerly, hoping to hear a specific answer from him.

      It doesn't take him long to answer her, because he can see how much this means to Ashley. "Then I guess that means we will just continue then," Sir Gabriel answers. He watches as the giantess' smile widens, having heard the very answer that she was hoping for.

     "Thank you so much!" Ashley says excitedly. She pulls Sir Gabriel up to her lips for a kiss, enveloping his face. Just as quickly as she pulled him in, she holds him out again so she can look at him. "Sorry if that was a bit sudden," Ashley apologizes.

     Sir Gabriel was indeed taken by surprise at the spontaneous kiss. Just about every time they have done so so far, Ashley has prompted for it first. "It's okay," Sir Gabriel says. "It was a nice surprise."

     "So where are we going to go from here?" Ashley asks, eager to know where they will be heading next. Anywhere from this point on would be new to her and she is excited about it.

     "I think I already have the next town in mind," Sir Gabriel answers. In the back of his head, he has wanted to return somewhere that he hasn't been to for the past three years. "How would you like to meet my family?"

     "Your family, are you sure?" Ashley asks, sounding a bit nervous.

     "Of course I am. Are you nervous about meeting them?"

      "Not so much nervous as I am worried about meeting them. I mean, what are they going to think about me?"

     Sir Gabriel can understand the reasoning for Ashley's concern. She isn't exactly a typical maiden, being over fifty feet tall. But he knows his family, having grown up with them after all. He smiles at her, placing his hand on one of her fingers. "Don't you worry about it. Once they know you as I do, I am positive that they will welcome you into the family."

     Ashley smiles at Sir Gabriel, hoping that he is right. She still has her doubts but decides to put them behind her for now so that she may enjoy her journey with her knight.

     With the sun starting to set, the two get ready to leave the town behind, continuing away from Ashley's home. The giantess has a big smile on her face, excited to finally see what lies beyond the horizon. She looks down at Sir Gabriel who is comfortable riding in the palms of her hands. It isn't just the journey and seeing a variety of new places that has her excited, she is also looking forward to doing this with her knight, Sir Gabriel.

     The day is almost over with the sun already starting to set and the sky becoming a warm orange as the day continues to draw to a close. It starts to become cool, the warmth of the sun beginning to wane as it sets over the horizon.

     Sir Gabriel and Ashley have set up camp outside of the town of Vershire, finding a spot that has several trees that are close by along with a river. The knight remembers how Sir Olric taught him to pick good camping spots when possible and he feels that he has done just that. The surrounding trees will provide some shelter should it decide to rain; while the river is a source of water for drinking or any other needs that should arise.

     While traveling with Ashley Sir Gabriel will have to forgo the luxury of staying at an inn for the night. The large woman he is with is just too big to fit inside a building, much less an inn room for that matter. Sir Gabriel is accustomed to sleeping outside during his travels, having done so many times during his travels, he just isn't sure if Ashley is accustomed to it. She has lived inside the confines of her home for years and he can only assume that she has had all the basic amenities that she did need.

     While thinking about these things, the knight is busy cleaning his armor, something he makes sure to do as often as he can. He does need to make sure that it remains in good condition since his armor is his primary means of protection during any fight. Looking closely at the metal plates one can see that there are several dents from past fights and skirmishes that he has been in, but nothing so bad that he would need to take it to a blacksmith for repairs.

     He turns his attention over at the fire that he had started earlier, the flame is still going strong with the remains of a boar beside it. The bones of the carcass are picked clean, indicating that it had made for a hearty meal for the traveling couple. Normally a boar of that size would have been enough to feed four or five people, but he is with Ashley now, who is close to ten times the size of any person he has ever met. Sir Gabriel will admit that he was a bit surprised by how much meat the maiden was able to eat. Then again, he figures that it must have only been just enough to satisfy her appetite. He can only imagine how much Ashley is capable of eating at her extraordinary size.

     With his armor fully cleaned and taken care of for the knight, Sir Gabriel places the last piece of his now clean armor off to the side, along with the rest of the pieces. He places the rag that he was using back inside his duffle bag, which he had retrieved from the inn room that he was staying at earlier. No longer needing to focus on his armor he now turns his full attention back over to Ashley who is sitting over by the river with her feet in the water. She has been over there for the past half hour, washing her feet with such dedication that the knight can't help but find this type of behavior to be odd.

     Ashley raises her one foot out of the water, examining it thoroughly. She then splashes more water onto her raised foot, rubbing it in the process so that it is immaculate. She is even running her fingers between her long toes and spends a bit of extra time rubbing the sole of her foot to remove any remaining dirt or debris that may remain. Taking one last look to examine just how well she cleaned her appendage, she decides that her one foot is clean enough and goes on to inspect the other, giving it the same level attention as she did the first one.

     Sir Gabriel can't help but think that the maiden is being almost obsessive with how clean her feet are, vain might be a more appropriate word to describe just how much time she is putting into washing her feet. In his mind, he knows that her feet will just get dirty again from her walking around barefoot, with her choosing to forego wearing any kind of footwear. Her bare soles are constantly in contact with the dirt and grass as she is walking around. Though he can imagine how bad the accompanying smell would be if she did neglect to practice proper foot hygiene, so he can somewhat understand her slight obsession with how clean her feet are.

     After a lengthy wash, Ashley smiles a bit, happy with how her feet look now since she has made sure to remove every speck of dirt and blade of grass that she has picked up while walking throughout the day. Not to mention that she gave them a thorough washing, taking extra time to wash between her toes. She turns away from the river to see that Sir Gabriel is staring at her, "Is something wrong?"

     "No, nothing," Sir Gabriel answers rather casually. "It's just that, well, I have never seen anyone give so much attention to washing their own feet before, that's all."

     "It's kind of a habit I developed," Ashley explains and she doesn't seem the least bit shy or embarrassed in admitting this, instead there seems to be a hint of pride in her voice. "At my height, my feet are very easy to notice. So, I make sure that they are pretty and presentable as often as possible." She then lifts both of her feet, bringing them close to Sir Gabriel. The giantess presenting her bare soles in front of the knight, allowing him a full view of them.  "You think my feet are pretty, right?"

     Sir Gabriel looks at the enormous extremities that the maiden is presenting before him, not entirely sure how he should go about answering her. He has never really thought of feet being pretty before, nor has he even thought much of them in general, they are just feet after all. He does recognize their importance, otherwise one wouldn't be able to get around. Looking at Ashley's bare feet, he can see that they are well-taken care of, and after watching her take her time washing them he isn't that surprised. He had half-expected her soles to be rough and calloused, a result of the skin toughening up from the harsh conditions that they must endure daily.

     There is one thing that he can't help but notice about Ashley's feet, that they are big. True, they are very large since she is fifty-one feet tall, but the knight is looking at them in proportion to the rest of the maiden's body. He remembers how she had told him that her feet were much bigger than a lot of the other kids her age as she was growing up, he can only figure that they just kept growing with the rest of her.

     He is watching how Ashley curls her long toes, as she is anxiously awaiting his answer, Sir Gabriel is becoming curious about the flesh that is before him, noting the wrinkles that are present, becoming more defined each time she scrunches her soles whenever her toes curl. He reaches out and touches her bare sole, surprised that her skin feels very soft with no real indications of her constantly being barefoot throughout her life. He runs his hand along the wall of flesh before him, exploring what Ashley has before him. He looks over at the maiden's face, seeing the smile that she has. He now knows exactly what to say to her without needing to lie.

     "I will have to admit, you do have the prettiest feet that I have ever seen," Sir Gabriel answers with a smile.

     "Really?" Ashley responds. She had only expected a simple yes or no from the knight, so his answer has surprised her. She pulls her bare feet away so that she may lean in close to Sir Gabriel, moving so that she can get as close to her knight as possible. "You are just so sweet." Bringing her face even closer to the man she loves and she kisses him, her lips enveloping his entire face.

     Sir Gabriel smiles at the loving maiden as she leans away, enjoying the affection that she is capable of offering him. He knows that most people will find this form of affection from such a large woman to be very odd, he even did so at first, but it is an affection that he finds himself beginning to enjoy and he is looking forward to these gestures of affection.

     He grabs a whetstone out from his bag and starts to sharpen his sword, even though it hasn't had much use over the past couple of days. He is doing this more so out of practice rather than a necessity, though making sure that the edges are still razor-sharp doesn't hurt. The sky is starting to become dark now, with the only source of light now coming from the fire. Seeing that the edges of his sword are in good shape, he decides to lay his blade down and return the whetstone to where he got it from.

     Sir Gabriel watches as Ashley lays on her back, her body outstretched and she has her hands cradling her head to help support it. She is looking up at the night sky, watching as the stars start to come out one by one. Back at home, she would often sneak out of her home when it got dark out just so she could look up at them, something that she had always loved to do.

     The longer that Ashley is gazing up at the night sky, the more small part of her begins to wonder, what if her growth had never stopped? Would she have gotten tall enough to reach up and touch the stars? She smiles as she entertains the thought a bit more, raising her one hand as she begins to picture herself being large enough to pluck a start out of the night sky and hold it in the palm of her hand.

      "You enjoy stargazing I take it?" Sir Gabriel asks, approaching the relaxed giantess.

     "Very much, yes." She turns her head to look at her knight, looking as though she has a question on her mind as well. "Have you ever thought about what stars are?"

     Sir Gabriel looks up at the night sky, never having pondered what stars could possibly be. "I can't say that I have thought about it. I will be honest, all I know is that they are there when it gets dark. Why, have you thought about it?"

     "I have, and I remember what my mother has told me what they are when I asked her about them. She had told me that each star is actually another world that is far, far away. The only reason that we can even see them from such a distance is that they each have a light, a light that is bright enough to pierce through the darkness. What do you think?"

     "That does sound like an interesting idea," he answers. Though the knight isn't exactly sure how true something like that could be, the explanation sounding completely farfetched to him. Then again, the idea of a woman being as big as Ashley could be considered farfetched as well, so he does genuinely believe that anything is possible.  He turns bis attention over to the fire, seeing that it is slowly starting to go out, the embers dimly lit as they are gradually losing their heat. "Well, I guess it is time to turn in now."

     He turns back to Ashley, leaning in to kiss her on the lips, something that she is more than happy to return. While she can kiss his entire face, he is only able to kiss a single lip. Again, something that seems to be odd, but the knight can't help but start to enjoy it.  Without even realizing it, he does not go for a simple peck. Instead, he prolongs the kiss, enjoying the sensation of his lips on her single lip. When he does finally pull away from her, he can't help but smile as he looks into her hazel eyes.

       Ashley looks at Sir Gabriel, still smiling that she does have someone who does love her, but there is one thing that she is hoping that they can do tonight. "We are going to cuddle tonight, right?" she asks, sounding very hopeful about it.

     Sir Gabriel smiles at the maiden who is laying before him, "But of course." He honestly loves the idea of cuddling with her, holding her close as the two of them drift off to sleep for the night. A problem does occur to him as his gaze begins to travel along the length of her body, a very obvious problem. "I just need to figure out how I am supposed to hold you close is all." Ashley giggles, as though the knight had just said something amusing. "What is so humorous about what I just said?"

     "I am too big to hold, silly," Ashley answers as she leans up, using her elbows to prop herself up. "Which means that I am going to have to be the one holding you as we cuddle tonight."

     Sir Gabriel should have seen this solution coming, yet it is one that he does not mind despite how unconventional it may be. He did grow up learning that it is supposed to be the man who holds the woman when in a relationship, not the other way around. So this does sound unconventional; but then again, he is in an unconventional relationship due to Ashley's massive size. The knight has come to enjoy every other form of affection that Ashley has shown him so far, not to mention that she has picked him up on several occasions and even hugged him a couple of times. So why wouldn't he enjoy laying in the arms of such a loving woman? Smiling at her, he finds that the idea of being held by her is becoming more appealing to him the longer he thinks about it. "I guess you are right about that. Just be gentle, I am still a bit sore from hunting that toros earlier."

     "I will be sure to be as gentle as possible." Ashley reaches out for the knight her, ready to wrap her fingers around his body. Sir Gabriel neither recoils nor flinches at the sight of the huge hand which is coming right for him since he had become quite accustomed to seeing this. The maiden wraps her fingers around the knight's body, keeping her grip loose as possible so that she can avoid agitating his injuries yet not so loose that he will slip out of her grip; she would hate to drop him.

     Sir Gabriel lets out a low groan, his body still being a bit sore from how the toros' tail had slammed into him earlier. He knows that the pain he is experiencing isn't Ashley's fault, his soreness being a result of having a dragon's tail slamming into him. He is aware that Ashley does need to maintain a grip that is tight enough to prevent him from falling to the ground. He looks at the maiden who does look somewhat worried about the injury he had. He smiles at her, despite his discomfort, which is his way of letting her know that he is okay and that her grip is gentle enough for him. Being placed on the giantess' torso, he lays down on her stomach with his head below her breasts. The fact that she is large enough to where he can lay comfortably on her stomach, helps to give him a better sense of just how big she is.

     This is a very unique experience for Sir Gabriel, and he highly doubts that this is one that anyone else will ever be able to experience. Ashley's body is on the slim side, excluding her breasts which are sizable from what he can see, yet there is a softness where he is laying at.

     "Comfortable?" Ashley asks while laying her arms on top of Sir Gabriel and placing him in a loving embrace. She can't help but hold the knight, finding herself wanting to embrace him every single moment that she can.

     "I must admit that I am very comfortable laying on you," Sir Gabriel answers. "You make for a very comfortable bed."

     "Hold on," Ashley says, looking down at Sir Gabriel. "Let me bring you a bit closer to me." She grabs the knight once again, still making sure that she is being as gentle as she can; she doesn't need to hold him as tightly this time since she is only moving him up her body slightly. The maiden doesn't move him that far, just far enough to allow his head to rest on her breasts. "There you go, now you have a pillow to rest your head on."

     Sir Gabriel can't help but feel a bit awkward about where she has laid his head at and with how soft her chest is, it is practically buried there. Sir Gabriel will admit that he is at a highly desired place, but he feels like it is too soon for him to be in such an intimate area. The only argument that he has, which can even justify him being there, is that she put him there of her own free will. Not to mention, it is a very soft place to lay his head. He decides to fully accept where he is laying, knowing that Ashley has effectively given him her consent to lay his head there.

     "Wanna stargaze with me for a bit?" Ashley asks, wrapping her arms around the comfortable knight once again.

     With the maiden's arms around him once again, the knight can't help but notice how pleasant the experience is. Sure he has had several women embrace him before. But those times it was to show their appreciation for the deeds he has performed for them. Ashley, on the other hand, is embracing him out of intimacy because she loves him. It is for this reason alone that her embrace feels so much different to him.

     "It looks like the perfect night for it," Sir Gabriel finally says. Looking up at the night sky, He can see that the stars overhead are on the bright side and easily visible tonight, even with the dim light of the fire still going. A couple of the stars seem to be going out, most likely from clouds passing overhead. He becomes distracted when he feels Ashley starting to fidget slightly, which is a big movement for him. "Are you okay?"

     "I'm fine, just trying to get comfortable. I'm not used to laying on the ground this long, that's all."

     "Are you going to be able to fall asleep?" He is concerned about the maiden's comfort, if she doesn't sleep well then she won't be well-rested for the following day. He would hate for her to be tired as they journey together since she does need to be alert as she travels. Ashley needs to be very observant of her surroundings due to her stature, for obvious reasons.

     "With you in my arms, I'll be able to sleep well." She fidgets a bit more in an effort to get slightly more comfortable.

      "Let's go ahead and get some sleep then, it will be best to get an early start tomorrow. I'm sure my parents will want to spend all day getting to know the woman who I have fallen in love with."

     "Are you sure that your parents will be okay with me. I mean, I'm not exactly a typical maiden that someone brings home to meet their family."

     "I can guarantee that you will be welcomed as if you were already part of the family. The fact that you are over fifty feet tall will not be an issue for them."

     Ashley can't help but find some comfort in Sir Gabriel's words. After all, he was quick to accept her as she is, so is his family going to be the same way about her? She decides to push these thoughts out of her head once again, closing her eyes while she thinks about the wonderful day she has been able to experience with her knight. "Goodnight, Gabriel. I love you."

     "I love you too," Sir Gabriel responds, turning so that he is laying on his side. His head begins to sink into Ashley's cleavage, the softness of her flesh surrounding him.

     Ashley leans her head up, kissing the knight who is still in her embrace. All she can think about is what tomorrow will bring, along with the following day and even the day after that. She feels that she has the rest of her life to spend with the knight, something that she never thought that she would be doing with anyone and this does bring a smile to her face. Despite the ground being uncomfortable, Ashley does her best to relax so that she can fall asleep as well. She would hate to be tired the next day, especially when meeting Sir Gabriel's family.

     As Sir Gabriel is closing his eyes, he becomes fully aware of a distinct sound once again, the sound of Ashley's beating heart. He can hear it quite clearly with his ear up against her chest, the rhythmic thumping being something that he is not used to. He is worried that the constant sound will keep him up, depriving him of the sleep that he does need. Yet, oddly enough, he finds it to be quite soothing instead. The more he is listening to it, the harder he is finding it to keep his eyes open and remain conscious. The fact that he is being moved up and down with each breath that Ashley is taking is making it that much easier to fall asleep. He now realizes that her body is inadvertently lulling him to sleep. He can only smile at this unique situation, drifting off to sleep.

     Smiling, he lets the sound and movement of Ashley's body put him to sleep. His last conscious thoughts being that how lucky he is to have met a woman like Ashley, even if he never could have imagined himself being in such a unique relationship with such an extraordinary woman before today.

     As he drifts off to sleep Sir Gabriel soon finds himself standing in front of a large castle, his sword drawn and at the ready as though he is expecting an encounter with some fearsome foe. The castle that he is standing in front of looks familiar to him, yet he can't quite place where he has seen it before. Pushing these thoughts out of his head, he starts to walk forward, pushing the large door open as he is determined to enter. Entering what looks like a large room, he leans his sword up against the wall. "Ashley, I'm back!" he calls out.

     He cranes his neck just to see Ashley's face when she enters the room. She has a big smile on her face, happy that her knight has returned safely. She is approaching him quickly, but Sir Gabriel doesn't even flinch since he knows exactly what is coming next. He can only watch as Ashley reaches down to pick him up, raising him high enough so that he is now level with her beautiful face.

     "So, are you ready to be a father?" Ashley asks while positively beaming.

     Sir Gabriel looks down at Ashley's stomach, which is protruding. With how round it looks one can tell that she is pretty fat along. "I am going to give you the same answer I have been giving you for the last eight months, I most certainly am."

     "I really hope that you are wanting a big family." Ashley places her hand on her stomach, smiling at the knight. "Because I want at least five children."

     Sir Gabriel smiles at the happy maiden. After all, he does want to have a big family himself. Though with Ashley's size he can only imagine how big their children will be, giving the term "big family" a double meaning. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

      Ashley puckers her lips, leaning in towards her knight. As the giant maiden is leaning in closer, Sir Gabriel wipes his face when he feels a droplet hit him. He starts to look confused when he feels another hit his face, followed by several more.

     Sir Gabriel wakes up to discover that his face is being rained on now, the sky looking very cloudy as the weather is starting to drizzle. He can already tell from the clouds that the rain is going to pick up, and soon. He looks up at Ashley, who is now starting to stir, the rain droplets disturbing her sleep just like it did his. They both need to find shelter from the rain, a task that is sure to be difficult for a fifty-one-foot tall maiden.

     Ashley is quick to sit up, the wetness she feels alerting her to the obvious change in the weather. She looks up at the sky with a worried look on her face as the rain continues to hit her. She begins to quickly look around with a sense of urgency, trying to find some sort of shelter from the weather. At her size, this is quite a task for her, even the surrounding trees are too short to offer her proper shelter from the rain.

     "Ashley," Sir Gabriel says as he is still in her arms. "It might not be much for you, but that tree is better than nothing at this moment." The tree that Gabriel is pointing to isn't exactly close, but it is her best option; the foliage on it is so thick and full that it could give the giantess some much-needed protection from the weather.

     Ashley hastily makes her way over to the tree that Sir Gabriel has pointed out to her, not wanting to get soaked from the undesired weather. As she sits beneath it, she still needs to hunch down a bit to keep her head from going into the leaves. She looks down at the knight who she still has in her embrace, she notices how the rainfall is starting to come down even harder now. Ashley sighs, not being too happy with how the weather has turned out.

     Sir Gabriel can see the disappointed look on Ashley's face. "Don't like the rain I take it?"

     "Not really. It's cold and wet, not to mention it means that our journey is being postponed a bit."

     "I can agree with you a bit there. I was hoping to get an early start on heading to Oakvale. But doing that now will lead to both of us getting soaked, and that would not be too ideal." He looks up at the sky, the clouds up above are thick while the rain continues to fall. "At least the heavy rainfall means that this shouldn't last too long."

     "I certainly hope so. I'm going to get a bit cramped if I have to sit here for too long."

     Sir Gabriel can see just how Ashley's body is hunched over just so she can fit under the foliage which is giving her shelter from the weather. He wishes that he could have found a better spot for her, but at her size, it is just about impossible.

     All Ashley can do is wait for the rain to stop. Looking up at the sky, just waiting for the clouds to disperse. She is hoping that Sir Gabriel is right about the rain not lasting long.

     Just as Sir Gabriel had predicted, the downpour does not last long; though it did last a bit too long for Ashley's liking. After a couple of hours, the rainfall is finally slowing to a stop with the morning sun now struggling to break through the clouds which are starting to disperse.

   The knight is still in the maiden's arms, a spot that is very comfortable for him. As Ashley gets out from underneath the tree, she gently l lowers Sir Gabriel to the ground as she stands up to her full height. She raises her arms so that she can get a good stretch in, having to crouch beneath her only means of shelter was leaving her feeling a bit cramped and stretching is the perfect remedy for such a thing. She is glad that the rain has finally ended, not being sure about how much longer she could have remained crouching beneath the tree.

     The maiden can feel the wet grass beneath her feet, the recent rainfall making it both damp and cold beneath her bare soles. She doesn't particularly care for how cold it does feel to her, but she knows that it can't be helped and the only thing she can do is wait for the ground to dry as the day progresses.

     As Ashley is ready to continue, Sir Gabriel has just finished putting his armor back on; this is something that does take him some time since he needs to ensure that each is secured properly. This is a necessary process though, otherwise his armor would not be effective in protecting him. Tying his helmet to his waist, both he and Ashley are now ready to leave; the trip to Oakvale is starting a bit later than he would have liked, but the heavy rain is something that could not be avoided. His main priority is, and it always will be, Ashley. Having her walk through the rain wouldn't have been good for her; getting soaked from the undesirable weather could have led to her catching a cold, something that he does not want for her.

     He looks up at Ashley, who is looking down at him with a smile on her face. The knight can't help but smile back her, seeing a level of beauty in her that he had never thought possible with any woman. Sir Gabriel is not quite used to craning his neck just to see her face. But he imagines that it is an adjustment he will become accustomed to in due time. After all, he is going to be spending a lot of time with her during their travels.

     Tightening up the drawstrings on his duffle bag, something he had retrieved from his room at the inn at Vershire, he shouts up to Ashley, "Are you ready to head to my hometown?"

     Ashley crouches down, the balls of her feet sinking into the wet ground a bit because of how all her weight is being placed there, she watches as Sir Gabriel slings his duffle bag over his shoulder. She holds her hand out to him, not to lift him like he is expecting, but more so in a manner as if she is expecting him to hand her something. "I can carry that for you if you want."

     Sir Gabriel shakes his head in response. "There is no need for you to do so. I am used to lugging this around, so it is not a problem for me."

     "Maybe so. But you will have to admit, that bag you are carrying will feel very light to someone like me."

     "That is very true," Sir Gabriel replies, can imagine that just about anything that Ashley carries would feel very light to her, "but I must insist on carrying this. I can not allow a maiden, such as yourself, to carry something that I am more than capable of carrying myself."

     Ashley gets a smile on her face, which seems to have a bit of playful nature behind it. "But there is one thing that you are forgetting, my dear knight."  

     "And what would that be?"

     "That any argument against me is going to be very one-sided, and against your favor."

     "Huh?" Gabriel is a bit confused at the statement that Ashley has just made. He can only watch as Ashley reaches behind him and plucks his duffle bag from him. He tries his best to hang onto it, but the drawstring is pulled right out of his hands due to the woman's strength. "Hey!" he protests.

     Ashley looks down at the bag that she has just snatched, a smug look on her face as she begins to tie it to her waist, right next to her coin pouch. "See? A very one-sided argument that I won with very little resistance."

     Sir Gabriel can't help but laugh now, Ashley's argument pointing out something that should have been very obvious to him right from the beginning. "Okay, okay. You win. I guess I have no choice now but to let you carry it."

     "Was that so hard?" Ashley sounds playful as she says this, indicating that she isn't being completely serious.

     "A little bit, but I am guessing that it would be in my best interest to just let you have your way?"

     "Not necessarily," Ashley disagrees. "There will be some times where I will let you win an argument every so often."

     "Then I will be sure to cherish each victory I get, knowing that each one will have your blessing behind them."

     Ashley lowers her hand to the ground, her palm open so that Sir Gabriel can step onto it. She raises him onto her shoulder, making sure that he is secure before she stands back up; she would hate to have him fall and suffer an injury as a result. Looking over to the road that leads from the town of Vershire, she points away from the town that they have just visited. "Just follow the road north?"

     "Yeah," Sir Gabriel answers. "Follow the road and we will reach Oakvale shortly."

     Ashley makes her way towards the road, following it towards their next destination. She is feeling a mixture of both excitement and nervousness as she is walking forward. She has never been to Oakvale and is anxious to see what kind of town it is. How different is it from Vershire? What kinds of shops does it have? How will the people of the town react to her presence? These are all questions that are buzzing through her mind, primarily as a distraction to keep her from wondering just how Sir Gabriel's family will react to her.

     Sir Gabriel has told her several times that his family would be accepting of her, yet there are still some lingering doubts that she just can't quite shake. She is well aware that in any relationship the man is supposed to be the taller one. In the odd instance where the woman is the taller of the two, an inch or two taller is normally seen as acceptable, while anything beyond that tends to get odd stares.

     With her being more than forty feet taller than Sir Gabriel, she can only imagine the things that Sir Gabriel's family might say about their relationship. She knows that her knight will stay with her no matter what happens, but she would feel guilty if she causes a rift between him and his family.

     A new distraction presents itself when she feels her toes sink into something cold and wet, causing her to stop. "Ewwww..." she groans. Without needing to look down, the disgusted maiden knows exactly what she has just stepped in.

     "What's wrong?" Sir Gabriel asks, noticing the disgusted look on Ashley's face.

     "I stepped in some mud," she complains. She lifts her right foot, seeing how her toes are completely caked in it. She shakes her foot, hoping to at least shake some of it off.

     "It's okay," Sir Gabriel says, sounding sympathetic. "You can always wash your foot off when we get to my parents' house."

    "I know, but..." Ashley has always kept it a point to keep her feet presentable at all times, believing them to be one of the first things that people do notice about her; that and the fact that she has a firm belief that her feet are quite pretty. So having mud all over her foot is something that is going to bother her. "But still, my toes are just so dirty now."

     Sir Gabriel might have just met her yesterday, but he can see just how much this simple incident is bothering her. He watches as she is trying to wipe her foot clean in the grass with very little success. If anything she is only making her predicament worse. All she is doing is digging up the ground, with more dirt and grass sticking to her toes. "Ashley, do you need me to wipe your foot off for you?"

     "You don't need to. Besides, I don't feel right asking you to do such a thing for me."

     "Is it not a knight's duty to serve his maiden when she is in need?"

     "Yes, but this would be asking too much of you."

     "No, it isn't. If this is bothering you that much, then let me help you out. Besides, am I not offering to do this for you?"

     Ashley looks over at Sir Gabriel for a moment, contemplating his offer. He is offering to clean her foot for her voluntarily, and it's not like she can do it herself right now. She would need to sit down just to wipe her foot off with her own hands, which would result in her getting mud on the backside of her dress and that would most likely give some people a wrong impression. With no other real options available to her, she lifts her hand to her shoulder to let Sir Gabriel back onto the ground. "Okay, just don't mind the state my foot is in, I do feel a bit embarrassed by how dirty it is."

     "I will be sure to pay no mind to the state in which your foot is in as I clean it." Sir Gabriel steps onto the giantess' palm once again. He can't help but notice how this is starting to feel normal for him. Though what is considered to be normal for him has drastically changed the moment he met Ashley. It isn't necessarily a bad thing though; it just means that he is in a unique relationship now.

     After being lowered to the ground and stepping off her palm, he turns around to see that Ashley now has her foot angled so that her toes are practically pointing at his face.

    "Ashley," Sir Gabriel shouts. Talking to her like this is a bit inconvenient for him, but he needs to know that she can hear him. He isn't going to have her pick him up just so he can make a simple request. "Can you hand me my duffle bag?"

     "Uh... Sure," Ashley answers, already reaching for the bag that is tied to her waist. She is having a bit of difficulty, untying the drawstring from her waist. It is so thin and her fingers are so large, it is practically the equivalent of someone trying to undo a knot that has been tied into some thread. Though it does take her a moment, she does manage to undo the knot that she had made, allowing her to hand over what Sir Gabriel had requested. "What do you need this for?"

      "I need to grab something so that I can wipe your toes off." Taking his duffle bag back from Ashley he loosens the drawstrings so that he can open up his bag. "I highly doubt that I can clean your toes off with my bare hands effectively."

     "Because of how big they are, right?" Ashley turns her gaze down a bit out of embarrassment, almost as if she is somewhat ashamed about the size of her own feet.

     Removing his gauntlets and placing them in his duffle bag, Sir Gabriel responds to Ashley's comment. "No, the size of your feet has nothing to do with it. It's actually because some cloth would be more effective. Besides, I think your feet are the perfect size for someone your height. After all, you need to be able to walk around."

     Ashley smiles at Sir Gabriel, listening to what he had just said about her feet. "You think so?"

      "Of course," the knight answers, pulling out some white cloth from his duffle bag.

     "Is that one of your shirts?" Ashley asks, noticing the shape of the cloth that is in the knight's hands.

     "Yeah," Sir Gabriel answers, holding up his article of clothing. "It's the only thing I have to wipe the mud off with."

      "Aren't you worried about ruining your shirt?"

      "It's just mud, Ashley. It will wash right out." His clothes have gotten dirty on multiple occasions from incidents that could not be helped What is a little bit mud on clothes that he currently isn't wearing?

      Ashley positions her foot once again, allowing Sir Gabriel to easy access to her toes. She does feel kind of bad that he is using a shirt of his to clean her foot off. If it wasn't for the fact that she is so worried about how her feet look, she would have protested even more. But with no other solutions available to her, she just watches as Sir Gabriel is already wiping the mud off of her foot. She can't help but smile at this gesture, feeling that he does care about her.

     Sir Gabriel can hardly believe what he is doing, cleaning off a foot that is bigger than himself. Wiping mud off of Ashley's toes, the longest ones easily being about the length of his forearm. He doesn't mind doing this for her though since he can easily see how important it is to Ashley that her feet be pretty and presentable, as she puts it. So why wouldn't he mind doing this for her? He looks up at her, smiling, showing her that he does not see this as an obligation, but rather that it is something that he genuinely does not mind doing for her. By the time he finishes wiping off two of her toes, his shirt is completely brown from all the mud that he has wiped off.

     After needing to use a second shirt to finish his task, he looks up at Ashley, balling up the dirty garment just like had done with the first one. "There you go, nice and pretty again," Sir Gabriel says. He still finds it a bit odd to be calling a foot pretty, but it is something that he can not disagree with. He can easily see how much the simple compliment makes her happy, which is all that matters to him.

     While Sir Gabriel is stuffing the now brown shirts back into his duffle bag, the change in color due to how much mud he has wiped off Ashley's toes, the grateful giantess is examining her foot. She even spreads her long toes, seeing how Sir Gabriel even cleaned the mud off there. Her toes are still a bit on the brown side, her knight unable to completely remove all of the mud without any water. Her foot still isn't as clean as she would like it to be, but it is in a condition that she can tolerate until she can find a body of water to wash her foot off at.

     She smiles at Sir Gabriel, appreciating what he has just done for her. "Thank you so much for doing this for me." She crouches down, placing a finger onto his cheek, still smiling warmly at him.

      Sir Gabriel is putting his gauntlets back on, looking up at Ashley as he does so. "It wasn't much. A simple task." Even though the task itself was simple, it still did require some effort due to the sheer size of her foot.

     Ashley takes Sir Gabriel's duffle bag between two of her fingers, affixing it back to her waist so she can carry it once again. "Well, it still doesn't change the fact that it was such a sweet gesture.

     Sir Gabriel is a bit surprised when Ashley wraps her fingers around him and lifts him into the air once again, he was expecting her to lower her palm down to him again. He shouldn't have been surprised by this since this is quickly becoming a new normal for him. Though he is not surprised by what is coming next. He finds himself being lifted to Ashley's smiling face. He can't help but smile back at her as he is being pulled in close to her lips.

     Ashley kisses her knight, right on the face, feeling a small peck on her lower lip in return. The two of them look at each other for a couple of moments, as Sir Gabriel is pulled away from her face. The feelings that they have are apparent to one another, nor do they have any problems showing them to each other.

     Ashley still has a hard time believing that she has found someone, or more accurately someone found her, who loves her just the way she is. It still feels so surreal to her, almost as if everything that is happening to her is all just a dream. She is honestly half expecting to wake up in her bed, with Sir Gabriel being nothing more than someone her subconscious mind had created out of loneliness.

    "Ashley?" Gabriel asks, snapping her back to reality, one that she is happy to be in. "You okay? You look like you are lost in thought."

     "I'm good. Just thinking about how lucky I am that you came into my life."

      "I am the one who is lucky," Sir Gabriel argues. "Never have I dreamed that I would be with a woman who could love me so much."

     "It is only fair. After all, you do love and accept me just as I am."

     "Well, to be honest, I was brought up on the whole 'love is blind' principle. To love someone for who they are, not what they look like."

     "So my height really isn't an issue for you?"

     "Of course not. Like I just said, I love you for the sweet, gentle and loving woman you are. The fact that you are fifty-one feet tall does not change that."

     "You keep sweet-talking me like that, and I will have to really show you some affection."

      "As much as I would enjoy that, we really should continue onto Oakvale."

     "Oh, right," Ashley responds, acknowledging that Sir Gabriel does have a point. She places him on her shoulder again, continuing alongside the road that leads to Oakvale.

     "Speaking of affection," Sir Gabriel starts to say, "I have been meaning to tell you how well I slept in your arms last night."

     "You were that comfortable in my arms?" The maiden smiles as she says this, happy that she can make her knight so comfortable in her arms.

     "Yeah, but there is one other thing I wanted to tell you." He pauses for a moment, remembering exactly what he heard as his head was laying on her chest. The whole experience was very odd for him, and yet he can't help but think about it. "I was able to hear your heartbeat last night."

     "I'm sorry," Ashley apologizes. "So you had a hard time falling asleep because of it?"

      "No, no. If anything..." Sir Gabriel pauses for a moment, feeling awkward about what he is about to say. "It helped to put me to sleep."

     "Really?" Ashley replies, sounding surprised.

     "I know, it is a bit odd. But it was just so soothing to listen to. Plus, being in your arms, the way you were holding me last night. I just felt so loved. I highly doubt that I would ever get to experience something like that with any other woman."

     "So you are saying that my height is a positive thing when it comes to cuddling, right?"

     Sir Gabriel thinks about what Ashley has just said. Being held like that last night was such a positive experience for him last night, and it is something that he can only experience with her. "I guess I am saying that. Yes, your height is a real positive when it comes to cuddling."

      "Then I guess I will have to hold you again tonight if my embrace is such a positive experience for you."

     "I am looking forward to it," Sir Gabriel responds, smiling at his maiden.

     Ashley places Sir Gabriel back on her shoulder, making sure that he is all set before she starts to walk again. She is watching where she is placing her feet, wanting to avoid any more mud puddles on her way to Oakvale, she would hate to have to stop again.

     Sir Gabriel can see his hometown of Oakvale in the distance. Walking on the still wet road with Ashley close behind him, he can't wait to head back into town. As he is getting closer, he can see several guards standing at the town's entrance. Unlike his visit to Vershire, the guards here are looking somewhat relaxed, with only a few people staring at the large sight that is Ashley.

     Sir Gabriel knows why everyone seems to be relaxed despite Ashley's presence behind him. He did grow up in Oakvale, so most of the people do know him quite well. To see him being followed by a giant woman, they must figure that he has a good reason to be leading her close so close to the town.

     Sir Gabriel is surprised to find that Sir Olric isn't standing there with the rest of the townsfolk. Surely rumors of a giantess approaching the relatively small town would have grabbed the old knight's attention and given him cause to investigate the sighting as well. He can only figure that he must be at the town of August or another local town, performing his knightly duties.

      Sir Gabriel raises his hand, waving to the guards as he is approaching the town, only stopping when he is several feet away from them.  Ashley stops behind the knight, crouching down so that she can be closer to everyone, her toes sinking into the still wet ground a bit. She wants to kneel on the ground since it is less tiresome for her legs, but with the road still being wet, she wants to avoid getting mud on her skirt if she can help it.

     One of the guards approaches Sir Gabriel. With a smile on his face, he approaches the knight with a sense of familiarity. "Sir Gabriel," the brown-haired guard says while smiling, revealing that he is missing a couple of his teeth. He extends his hand out as he continues to speak, "Haven't seen you in what, about three years?"

     "That seems about right, James," Sir Gabriel says, shaking the guard's hand. He looks at the guard's smile, remembering how he was the one that did that to him. A foolish fight that the two had gotten into, and he got a bit too carried away. Sir Olric had been the one to separate the two of them all those years ago, knowing that things could have gone a lot worse if he had not interfered.

     "I would like to assume that your long overdue visit to town has something to do with that fine young lady behind you?" He looks up at Ashley, who is blushing by how he referred to her.

     "You are correct about that," Sir Gabriel confirms. "This is Ashley."

     "Hi," Ashley says, waving to the guards, doing her best to seem as nice and friendly as possible. "It is very nice to meet all of you." The few townspeople who have gathered around to catch the sight of the giant maiden seem to be a bit shocked by Ashley's greeting  They weren't quite sure what to expect from her, but for her to say hello in such a friendly manner did seem to catch them off guard.

     "I have returned, mainly because I want her to meet my family," Sir Gabriel explains.

      "Wait..." James looks at Ashley then back to Sir Gabriel. He is a bit dumbstruck by what Sir Gabriel has just told him. "Meet your family? You mean to tell me that you two are..."

     "That is correct," Sir Gabriel says with a sense of pride, "I am courting her."

     "So you finally did what you set out to do," James says while chuckling a bit. "You went out and rescued a maiden. Though I can't imagine what she needed rescuing from."

     "It's not funny," Ashley chimes in, feeling somewhat offended by how James is laughing. "I was very lonely until Gabriel came into my life. He has been so sweet and kind towards me, despite my more than unusual height."

     "I mean you no disrespect, Ashley," James apologizes. "It's just that Sir Gabriel here has always talked about rescuing a maiden and taking her as his wife. The idea itself was just so corny that I would often rib him about it. "To be honest, I am just surprised he succeeded so soon that's all. Though I guess I am one to talk. Remember Cassandra?"

      "I remember her," Sir Gabriel answers. How could he forget, she was the reason the two of them fought. She wasn't the best looking girl in town, nor did her looks improve as she got older. When they were both teens James had thought it humorous to lift up her skirt and make a rude comment about her undergarments. This caused the knight, rather squire at the time, to see red and start punching away at him.

     "Well, it was hard for me to admit back then but you set me straight all those years ago. The day after our little scuffle, I started courting her and we are now happily married."

     "That is good to hear," Sir Gabriel says while resting his hand on the guard's shoulder. "As much as I would like to stand around and catch up, I really must be on my way. As I said, Ashley is looking forward to meeting my family and I was hoping that I would be able to introduce her to Sir Olric first."

     "Then don't let me keep you then," James says as he steps off to the side. He takes one last look at Ashley, smiling at her. "It was nice meeting you too. Though, if you don't mind me asking, how tall are you, exactly?"

     "Fifty-one feet," she answers quite casually.

     James watches as Ashley stands up to her full height, noticing how he doesn't even reach her knees. He can't help but watch as she walks by him, following Sir Gabriel. "Fifty-one feet tall?" he mouths. He could clearly see just how large Ashley is, but he never would have guessed her to be THAT tall.

     "Why didn't you tell him about what happened to Sir Olric?" one of the other guards asks James.

     "I thought it would be best if he finds out for himself."

     Ashley is looking around at the town as she is following Sir Gabriel. Oakvale seems to be a much smaller, more quaint town. While the town of Vershire had homes that were two stories tall, the homes here only pass her knees due to only being a single story high. She mainly sees stalls with a variety of goods for sale as opposed to actual shops. But one thing does remain the same, the stares that she is receiving because of her height.

     Ashley isn't quite used to being stared at the way she is. Granted, she knows that it is inevitable. After all, she is the only woman to have reached such an extraordinary height, so the sight of her must surely be surprising. She can see how some people are pointing at her while talking to those who are close to them. Others seem to be laughing amongst themselves. She can only imagine the remarks and jokes that are being said about her. All she can do is smile warmly and wave, letting people know that she means no harm to them.

     "Gabriel," Ashley says, looking down at her knight. "Where exactly does your family live at anyway?"

     "Just outside of town," Sir Gabriel answers, pointing straight ahead.

     "Good," Ashley responds, holding her arm over her stomach. "I am getting very hungry, skipping breakfast was not such a good idea."

     Skipping their first meal of the day was not by choice. With the downpour delaying their journey to Oakvale considerably, the two had decided to eat when they arrived at Sir Gabriel's parents' house. "I can agree with you on that," Sir Gabriel agrees, looking up at Ashley as he continues to walk. "But I can assure you that Momma will make us a delicious breakfast."

     "Are you sure that she can feed me?" Ashley asks, sounding somewhat concerned. "Because I am pretty sure that you are aware of how much I can eat because of my size, right?"

     Sir Gabriel is fully aware of just how much Ashley is capable of eating. It isn't because she is a glutton, but rather because of her great size. The amount of food that he had ordered for her yesterday, after his attempt to kill a Toros, did surprise him a bit. Though the look on the tavern's cook's face showed that he was in a bigger state of shock, never having to prepare so much food for a single person. "Don't you worry about that," Sir Gabriel replies. "Momma won't let you go hungry. Besides, you can always have some fresh apples while you wait."

     Ashley smiles at Sir Gabriel's suggestion. Apples have always been a favorite for her to snack on. Thinking back, she can remember when she was twelve years old and being tall enough to just reach up and start plucking apples right out of the trees without any assistance whatsoever. The first time she did this she had been able to eat her fill, stripping the tree of all it's fruit in the process.

     Before the two of them can converse any further, Sir Gabriel stops when he hears someone yelling from inside a nearby house. Ashley needs to stop suddenly, nearly bumping into the knight with her toes. She breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that she could have easily kicked him if she wasn't being careful.

     Ashley crouches down, looking at her knight with a look of concern. "Gabriel, what's wrong? You stopped so suddenly without any warning."

     Sir Gabriel doesn't answer, listening to the yelling that he is hearing. The argument he hears sounds like it is one-sided, only hearing a man yelling. The sound of a door opening, and a woman sobbing moves his attention to the sound's source. Both Sir Gabriel and Ashley witness a woman being thrown out of her own home, falling into some mud, tears rolling down her face.

     A man stands in the doorway, looking down at the woman he has just evicted out of the home. "Until you learn how to cook a proper meal, like a proper wife, I don't want to see you back inside this house again! I am tired of the shit meals that you have been preparing!" He slams the door behind him as he steps back inside, leaving the poor woman on the ground crying.

     Sir Gabriel rushes to her side, helping her up. The blonde-haired woman's dress is covered in mud as she is helped up to her bare feet. He is already angry about how she was just treated, but looking at her face and seeing a red mark on her cheek only fuels it even further. He stares at the door, his mind focused on only one thing now.

     The woman looks over at Ashley, now just noticing her. She has no words to describe her surprise at the sight of such a large woman, but such things like that are not at the front of her mind at the moment.

     Ashley is watching as Sir Gabriel is approaching the door of the woman's home, noticing how his stride is different. "Gabriel?" she asks, worried about how he is acting. Sir Gabriel doesn't answer the concerned maiden but instead kicks open the door and steps inside the house. He is in a different state of mind right now, being solely focused on the man who had thrown his wife out the door and into the mud.

     With Gabriel now inside the building, Ashley wonders what he is going to do. She may have only just met him yesterday, but it is clear that he is acting a bit differently ever since he saw how that poor woman was treated by her husband. She wishes that she could follow him inside, but she knows that she is unable to do so. A reminder of the fact that she is just too big for this world.

      "Y-you're pretty tall," the woman finally manages to say, wiping her tears from her cheeks.

     Ashley smiles at her, not minding the comment since she knows that it is true. "A lot of people say that about me."

     Inside the home, the man turns around when he hears the sound metal clanging. "What the hell are you doing in my home?" the man asks while staring at the intruding knight. Sir Gabriel doesn't even answer the man, still approaching him. He clenches his fist, still replaying in his mind how that woman was just tossed out into the road. "Hey! I asked you a question."

     Sir Gabriel refuses to answer, but instead raises his fist and punches the man right in the face. His metal gauntlet making a strong impact.

     The man falls backward, landing on the floor. He is holding his face with both his hands, blood coming through his fingers. The knight's single punch had actually broken his nose. The man sits up, staring down at his blood-covered hands. "What the fuck was that for you son of a..." He doesn't get the chance to finish his sentence, Sir Gabriel lifting him back up to his feet by grabbing the collar of his shirt.

     Sir Gabriel is now in this man's face, staring at him as if he had just committed a heinous crime. "You listen to me!" Sir Gabriel finally says. His tone is full of anger, he sees no excuse for the actions that this man has performed. "I don't care why you threw your wife out like you just did, or why you saw fit to strike her. Yes, I saw the red mark on her face. You have no right to lay your hands on her the way you did. She is your wife! To be loved and respected unconditionally!"

     "You don't know... Owwwww!" He is interrupted again by Sir Gabriel headbutting him, the knight's forehead hitting him in his already broken nose, which is quite a painful experience. The angered knight gets some of the man's blood on his face by doing this, but this is not a concern for him at the moment.

     "You be quiet and listen to what I have to tell you!" The man stares at Sir Gabriel, genuinely afraid of what he may do next. "Here is what you are going to do now. I am going to walk out of here and send your wife back inside. Then you are going to get on your hands and knees and BEG her for her forgiveness. Then you are going to eat the meal that she has so lovingly prepared for you and tell her that it is the best meal that you have ever had. Do I make myself clear?"

     "Y-yes. Crystal." He is looking at the knight's angered and serious expression. He does not know why the knight is being so aggressive, but he knows that he means business. He figures that it is best if he complies with his demands.

      Sir Gabriel lets go of the man's shirt, causing him to fall back onto the floor. "Good. And one more thing. If I EVER hear that you have laid your hands on your wife out of anger, I will not hesitate to give you more than a broken nose."

     The man watches as Sir Gabriel leaves through the front door, thinking about everything that has been said to him.

     Sir Gabriel steps outside, feeling much calmer now that he has resolved the situation. The man's wife is staring at Ashley, fully taking in what she is looking at. "Ma'am," Sir Gabriel calls out, getting her attention. "You can head on back inside. Your husband has some things that he needs to say to you."

      "Th-thank you," she simply says, taking a few steps away from Ashley before running back inside.

     "Are you okay, Gabriel?" Ashley asks out of concern as she notices the blood on his face. "Your face."

     He runs his gauntlet over his face, seeing how his fingers are stained red due to the blood that he has just wiped off. "Oh that. Don't worry it's not mine. I guess I got a little carried away in there."

     Ashley watches as the woman is escorting her husband out of their home, his blood-covered hand over his face. "Don't worry," she says to her husband, sounding a bit concerned. "Let's get you a healer first, and then we can talk. Okay?."

      "Gabriel, did you do that to him?" She sounds worried, and she feels that her concern is justified.

      "Unfortunately I did." He sounds a bit remorseful, genuinely regretting what he had done. "I did go a bit too far, but it took every bit ounce of self-control just to hold back from going any farther."

     "This is a part of you I don't really care for."

     "Neither do I. But I always get like that whenever I see a woman being completely disrespected or harmed."

     "So it's more of a righteous anger then?"

     "Yes. I actually made an oath to myself to always show respect for women. When I see others failing to do the same, it just pisses me off that much."

     Ashley smiles, both surprising and confusing the knight. "Well then, I guess that the next time that happens, I will just have to hold you close until you calm down."

     "That is one solution to that problem," Sir Gabriel responds. "One that I will admit that I have no objections to." He looks back at the husband and wife as they are walking towards the edge of town. "If Sir Olric had seen how far I had taken that, he would be about as disappointed in me as you are."

     "If it ain't at the bottom of a flagon, he couldn't care less," a gruff voice comments.

     Sir Gabriel turns to face the old man who said that, unable to believe what he had just heard. "I believe you may have misheard me. I was talking about Sir Olric Darrold, Knight of the People."

      "More like Knight of the Ale now," the old man says. "All that damn dummy does now is sit inside the tavern and drink for hours on end. It's all he's done for almost a year now. "

     Sir Gabriel watches as the old man walks off, muttering about Sir Olric under his breath. "Sir Olric is a drunkard?" Ashley asks, sounding very confused. "That does not sound like the man you have told me about."

     "It isn't," Sir Gabriel responds. "He doesn't even drink. Says that ale can dull your senses and impair your judgment." He is trying to figure out why Sir Olric would be mistaken for a drunk. "The only thing I can figure is that there has been a lot of trouble at the tavern lately and that he is there so often to keep people in line."

     "So it's that bad at the tavern?"

     "Normally it's never that bad. Sure, people can cause some trouble when they get drunk, but they have never caused any major problems." Sir Gabriel thinks for a moment, still trying to figure out why the knight who trained him, his father, would be spending so much time there. "But then again, I have been gone for a long while. So there is no telling how much has changed since then."

     Yet, in the back of his mind, Sir Gabriel can't help but wonder if that rumor is true. He knows Sir Olric, the knight has been his father, he was taught and trained by him while he squired under the knight. Still, he can't shake that nagging doubt when he is thinking about that rumor. What if Sir Olric really has been drinking at the tavern?

     Sir Gabriel and Ashley have just reached the outskirts of Oakvale, heading towards the tavern where it is rumored that Sir Olric now spends most of his time drinking. Sir Gabriel still can't believe the rumor that he has just recently heard. A knight as honorable as Sir Olric, a drunkard? Sure, even the honorable knight does believe that the occasional drink or two is okay, but he was always against drinking in excess. Surely the old man must be mistaking Sir Olric for someone else.

     The tavern that the courting couple is approaching is known as The Dented Flagon, the establishment set up way outside of Oakvale. A lot of the regulars would often complain about how far it is outside of the town not liking the long distance that they would need to travel just to get a drink. But its placement is actually quite intentional. The tavern's location is to help prevent drunks from wandering into town and causing unnecessary problems.

     Ashley kneels in the grass, remaining close to Sir Gabriel. "So this is where Sir Olric is at?" Ashley asks, taking a good look at the building. The tavern itself isn't that large since it only receives so much business from the small town. It looks like it has been around for a while with the walls looking quite weathered. The only thing notable about the establishment is the sign that bears its name, which looks like a flagon with a huge dent in it. Almost as if it was used to bash something in.

     "Yes, this is the place." Sir Gabriel is hoping that Sir Olric really isn't in there, that the old man has him confused for someone else. He knows Sir Olric, he would never drink while he is expected to perform his knightly duties. He would need to keep his wits about him. So there has to be a rational explanation for this. Before he can think about it, he notices a patron leaving out of the tavern.

     He looks to be a young man, staggering out of the bar. He has just become legal drinking age, or at least he hopes the drunken man is at least eighteen years of age and has apparently wasted no time in getting drunk as if it is a right of passage for him. Walking out of the bar, he notices the knight who is watching him leave the tavern. He salutes Sir Gabriel with a goofy grin on his face, thinking his action to be on the humorous side. He then stops when he notices Ashley, the giantess who is kneeling next to the knight. His eyes trail up her body until he can see her face, unable to believe what he is seeing. A woman who is literally as big as a house? "That's it," he says with a drunken slur, a clear indication of just how much alcohol he has had to drink, "If I am going to be seeing giant women when I go out drinking, then no thanks. Drinking is not for me. Its a sober lifestyle for me."

     He starts to stagger back towards town, dismissing the sight of the giant woman as some sort of drunken hallucination. "Most people see pink whatchamacallits. Me, I gotta see giant women. Huge even." Only getting so far, he stops and bends over, vomiting in the grass before he falls forward and passes out.

     Sir Gabriel sighs while shaking his head, unable to picture Sir Olric like that. He looks back at Ashley, smiling up at her. "Well, guess I will head inside and see what Sir Olric is up to in there."

     Asley places a single finger on Sir Gabriel's shoulder, not wanting him to part with her. "Please don't take too long."

     He turns his head, gently kissing the maiden's large finger as a loving gesture. "It shouldn't take me that long. I highly doubt that he is even inside. Once I see that Sur Olric is not in this tavern, I will be right back out." With that he starts to head for the tavern's entrance, looking back at Ashley as he is about to push the door open. He can't help but notice how she looks a bit sad as if she misses him already. He knows that she is unable to follow him inside due to her stature, and it is something that can not be helped. Her unique stature does have some unique advantages, but some disadvantages as well. Not being able to follow him inside a building is definitely one of the latter. All he can do is be as quick as possible so that he can return to her side. Truth be told, he doesn't want to be away from her either.

     Entering the establishment, Sir Gabriel hears a familiar voice coming from the back towards the bar, one he is wishing that he is not hearing. "And he says, he says, 'That's no horse, that's my wife!'" The sound of uproarious laughter along with that of a tabletop being hit quickly follows that series of words. A result of the punchline that the knight does not get since he was not present for the start of the joke.

     Sir Gabriel heads towards where he heard the familiar voice come from, hoping that the voice does not belong to the man he thinks it does. As he is approaching, he can see exactly who it belongs to. The man looks to be in his mid-forties, the top of his head completely shaven and a scruffy red beard that looks as though it is starting to gray from age. Without his armor, it is easy to see that he has a bit of a gut on him, losing any hints of the fit body that he once had. The one thing that Sir Gabriel notices, the one thing that he simply cannot believe, is that the man has a flagon of ale in his hand. "Sir Olric?" he says in disbelief.

     Sir Olric looks at the knight who said his name, smiling at the sight of him. He has not seen the young knight in quite some time so he is a welcome sight for the old man. "Sir Gabriel, my boy! It's been too long since you last visited your papa!" Sir Olric looks around at everyone who is sitting at the table with him. "Everybody! My boy, Sir Gabriel Ian Randal has returned from his many journeys! The next round of drinks are on the house!" A loud steady cheer is heard throughout the establishment upon hearing that offer.

     Sir Gabriel slowly approaches the man he knows as his father, still trying to comprehend exactly what he is us seeing. This is not the knight that grew up squiring for. Not the same man who raised him."Sir Olric, can we... Can we talk for a moment?"

     "Alright, alright you all heard the lad," Sir Olric says, talking to the small crowd around him. "The lad wants a word with me. Off with you, you bunch of drunks." Sir Olric chuckles at what he just said, now being the only one remaining at the table.

    Sir Gabriel sits across from his father, still staring at him with a sense of disbelief. There is only one question on his mind. One question that he hopes will be answered with a no. "Sir Olric, are you actually drunk?"

     The old knight scoffs while shaking his head at the question. "Not a 'Hello', or a 'How are you doing?' Just leading off with an outright accusation," Sir Olric answers, sounding quite offended. "Well let me tell you something." He cracks a smile, leaning closer to his son while holding his index finger and thumb less than an inch apart. "Maybe a wee bit."

     "A little bit?! I thought that you didn't like to drink in such excess amounts. You always said that drinking dulled one's senses and could hinder one from performing your duties as a knight."

     Sir Olric takes a drink from his flaggon, before looking back at Sir Gabriel. "Aye, that is true, lad. But, I am now retired. So being a wee bit drunk is not an issue for me anymore."

     "Wait, retired?!" Sir Gabriel can't believe what he has just heard. Sir Olric is now retired? He remembers how his momma would often ask Sir Olric about retiring, which he would often dismiss the idea, saying that he would be needed til the day he dies.

     "You heard me right. Though I didn't have much of a choice in the matter." He slaps his left leg, drawing attention to it. "About a year ago I took an arrow to the knee. Bit of a nasty accident that was." He can see the look that Sir Gabriel is giving him. Almost as if he had just said that he only had days left to live. "Now, don't look at me like that, boy. True, it is a fate that many a knight does dread, but it is better than being maimed or killed. That is what your momma told me anyway, and I can agree with her. I am still around to enjoy life and family. But not to worry, I can still knock a few heads together if need be."

     "So you just sit in a tavern and drink all day then?"

     "No, no. I don't drink all day. Can't manage this tavern if I'm drunk as a skunk now, can I?"

     "You work here now?"

     "I sure hope so. I do own the place after all. I still have to keep an income to support both your momma and sis, don't I? It seemed like a good investment at the time, and has proven to be exactly that." Sir Olric takes yet another drink. "Now then, enough questions from you. Since it seems like we are skipping over pleasantries, I have a question for you. Who is she?"

     "Sorry, what?" Sir Gabriel is taken by surprise by how vague the question is.

     "I know that you didn't come all this way on some account of some rumor about me being some worthless drunk. Which can only mean that you have managed to rescue some fair maiden and make her yours. So, who is she?"

     "Well..." Sir Gabriel is thinking for a moment, trying to think of the best way to describe Ashley. After all, how does one talk about a fifty-one foot tall woman who they have been courting without sounding like a madman?

     "Is it her?" Sir Olric asks, pointing towards the window.

     Sir Gabriel looks over towards the window where Sir Olric is pointing, expecting to see Ashley's face peering in. He can just imagine seeing her smiling face as she is waving at both him and Sir Olric. Not to mention all the shocked faces from everyone who is seeing a large face peering in through the window. He feels some relief when he doesn't see Ashley peering in through the window, which means that she is still patiently waiting for him outside.

     Sir Gabriel turns s gaze slightly to see that Sir Olric is pointing at a bar maid. She isn't bad looking, with long auburn hair and a nice smile. Along with a voluptuous figure and a freckled complection. "No, that's not her."

     "A shame," Sir Olric responds sounding a bit disappointed, l "I think she would make for a great daughter-in-law. Is it her?" The old knight points towards another woman, wondering if she is the one who Sir Gabriel is courting. The woman he is pointing to tvis time is getting a lot of attention, but this is due to her having an ample-sized chest with very little coverage for it.

     "Not her either,"Sir Gabriel answers without looking away from Sir Olric.

     "Come on, you didn't even look at her, boy."

     "I don't need to, because Ashley is waiting outside for me."

      "Ashley is her name then. A lovely name for who I assume is a lovely maiden. But why is she outside? Shy, is she?"

     "You can say that." He knows that Ashley is only waiting outside because she is unable to enter the tavern. "The thing is..."

     "Well then," Sir Olric says, standing up from his seat. "I can fix that, I will bring her inside so that the three of us can have a nice meal and a good drink. By God, I will drag her inside this establishment myself if I have to! She has no need to be shy around me!"

    Sir Gabriel is watching as his father is standing up. "Sir Olric, there is something important that I need to tell you about her." He can only imagine his adoptive father's reaction to the large maiden, one that he really hopes to avoid.

     "She can tell me herself, lad." Sir Olric is making his way to the tavern's exit with his flaggon still in hand. He is limping slightly, due to his bad knee, but he isn't letting it slow him down one bit. Stepping outside, he begins to speak. "Ashley, there is no need to be so shy, you are more than welcome to come... in... side?" His speech slows when he realizes that he is looking right at a woman's torso, finding that he needs to crane his neck just to look up at her face.

     "Ummm... I don't think that there is anyway that I can fit inside," Ashley answers, looking at the confused man.

     Sir Olric is staring at Ashley, unable to believe what he is seeing. A woman who is taller than a tree? Is he starting to see things? Is the all alcohol that he has been drinking finally getting to him. He looks back down at his flaggon, taking a big swig from it before looking back up at the smiling woman.

     Sir Gabriel finally comes out behind Sir Olric, seeing that he has already met Ashley. He sees how the old knight os stunned, the same reaction he had when he first met the msiden. "I was trying to tell you about her before you walked outside."

     "I can't be that drunk," Sir Olric says to himself in disbelief. "I guess it's about time for me to quit drinking."

     "And you are not that drunk, I can assure you," Sir Gabriel says reassuring his father.

     "You don't know what I am seeing right now boy."

     "You are seeing a woman who is fifty-one feet tall." Sir Gabriel slaps his hand onto Sir Olric's back. "Sir Olric, this is Ashley. The very maiden who I have rescued and am now happily courting."

     "Hi," Ashley says in a friendly tone. "You must be Sir Olric. Gabriel has told me so much about you."

      Sir Olric laughs, which confuses Ashley by a great deal. "So you are real and not just a trick of the eyes. Good, I wasn't quite ready to give up drinking to be honest." He laughs a bit at his remark before continuing, "You'll have to forgive my reaction to you. I was not expecting to see a lass who is so... So..."

     "Tall?" Ashley chimes in, finishing Sir Olric's sentence for him.

      "I was going to say lovely, but your words not mine." Sir Olric looks back at Sir Gabriel. "This is the lass that you managed rescue?"

     "Yes she is," Sir Gabriel says with sense of pride. "I know that she may not be your typical maiden, but she has my love all the same."

     Sir Olric looks back at Ashley, smiling at her. "It is nice to make your acquaintance Ashley. I must admit that there must be something absolutely special about you to have the lad here so smitten with you."

     "Well I..." Ashley blushes, not expecting this kind of reaction from him. "That is..."

     Sir Olric laughs, "No need to say anything more. If Sir Gabriel loves you as much as I think he does, which I believe to be as much as any man can love that one special woman in their life, then that is all I need to know. I am sure that you are a lovely lass."

      "She has a kind and gentle soul," Sir Gabriel says, stepping close to Ashley. "That is what has drawn me so close to her."

      "Aye, a good woman can do that to any man." Sir Olric pats his stomach. "That's how Heather got me to propose to her. Every day, when I would patrol this town here, she would have a hot meal waiting for me. You could say that I am living proof that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." He lets out a hearty laugh, slapping his stomach to help illustrate his point.

     "So, you have no objections to Gabriel courting me?"

     "Any objections? Of course not. Whatever would make you think that?"

     "Well, I am taller than him, a lot taller actually, and most people don't exactly look too keen on the woman being so much taller than the man."

     "Is that it? Bah. As long as he loves you, then there is nothing wrong with your relationship in my eyes."

     "I am glad that you are so accepting of me."

     "But I do have to ask, and I don't mean to be rude or impolite, but I am just a bit curious here. How did you get to be so tall?"

     "I honestly don't know. I just started growing and I didn't stop until I hit fifty-one feet."

     He looks over at Sir Gabriel, before turning back to look up at Ashley once again. "I hope that my son was courteous to you when he first met you."

      "Oh he was. He was the first knight who didn't scream and run off or try to attack me."

     "Truth be told, I was actually stunned by the sight of you," Sir Gabriel responds, "Much in the same manner as you, Sir Olric."

      "But still, you did treat me like a woman as opposed to some outlandish creature  You were the first person to answer my questions, and truel accept me for who I am." Ashley reaches out for her knight, picking him up and wrapping her arms around him to hold him close. The sight surprises Sir Olric, not only because he has never seen a grown man get picked up before, but also because Sir Gabriel was acting as though it is completely normal for him. "After that, I decided to be with you always."

     "This chance encounter between you two must have really been something then," Sir Olric comments. "Surely there must be one heck of a tale behind it."

     "Well, there isn't too much to say," Sir Gabriel begins, "Have you heard anyone telling tales of a beautiful maiden being locked away in a castle?"

     "Wait, this is her?" Sir Olric replies out of disbelief while looking very surprised. He then points at Ashley. "The very same maiden who was being held by some great and terrible beast?"

      "Wait, a beast?" Ashley asks out of confusion. "What is this about a beast at my home?"

      "Ashley," Sir Gabriel begins, trying to think of the best way to word his explanation. "When knights retell the tales of their exploits, they sometimes embellish them a bit. This is so that their deeds seem grander, or when they need to save face because of a failure."

     "You mean, people were calling me a monster?" Ashley's eyes begin to tear upon reaching this conclusion. She knows that she can be intimidating to people, and she understands why the knights who entered her home were so frightened. But to be calling her a monster.

     "Ashley, I can understand why you are hurt right now, and it angers me to know that those knights are going around spreading such rumors about you. But I know who you truly are, and you are the furthest thing possible from a monster. You do need to remember, when I came to my senses after meeting you, I didn't run away. I took the time to talk to you and I got to know you."

     "Aye," Sir Olric chimes in. "I wholeheartedly agree. Whoever is spreading such lies about you, deserves to be stretched at the rack, hung at the gallows then beheaded."

     "Isn't that a bit harsh?" Sir Gabriel asks.

     "A wee bit. But you gotta admit, it did sound pretty impressive." He laughs loudly

     Ashley is still looking a bit concerned. "But, that doesn't change the fact that these lies are being spread about me."

      "Well don't you worry about that. I do own a tavern. Do you have any idea how fast tales and rumors can spread when they are started at a tavern? All I need to do is claim that there is no beast, but a woman of immense proportions. Who has already been rescued by a brave knight."

      "Really? Will that work?"

      "The initial tale lead Sir Gabriel to you, didn't it? Therefore adding onto it and correcting it will clear up any misunderstandings people may have about you."

     "Thank you," Ashley says sounding very grateful. "I think I can see why Gabriel here holds you in such a high regard.

      "Ah, think nothing of it," Sir Olric says out of modesty. "I'm just a man who knows right from wrong is all. I spent a good portion of my life upholding it. Which I continue to do to this very day."

     Both Sir Gabriel and Sir Olric can hear a growling from Ashley as she places her hand on her stomach. "Sorry," Ashley apologizes, sounding embarrassed. "We kind of skipped breakfast this morning."

     "Well then, I bet you two could use a hot meal and a drink. It's on me."

     "Are you sure about that? I mean, surely you can imagine how much I can eat."

     "That won't be a problem. I'm sure that we can whip something up to satisfy your appetite."

    "A barrel full of apples will be just fine."

     "No, no," Sir Olric disagrees. "A proper meal is what you are getting. A barrel full of ale and whatever you want."

     "Well, if it isn't too much trouble, I suppose I could really go for some shepard pie."

     "It won't be too much trouble. Though the chef may think he is getting ready to feed an army. Imagine his surprise when he discovers that it is just for one woman." Sir Olric laughs as he heads back inside the tavern.

      Ashley looks down at Sir Gabriel, who seems to be quite content in her embrace. "I am surprised by how accepting he was of me."

     "Just wait until you meet Momma," Sir Gabriel replies, looking up at her.

     "If she is anything like Sir Olric has been, I won't be too surprised."

     "Oh, she will end up treating you as if you are already family." Granted b his momma was the one who taught him to love someone for who they are despite their appearance. So he knows that she will accept Ashley for who she is regardless of how big the maiden is.

     Ashley is following both Sir Gabriel and his adoptive father, Sir Olric, away from the town of Oakvale. After having eaten a nice meal, it was decided that they should immediately head out to Sir Olric's home, the same house that Sir Gabriel grew up in.

     Despite her extraordinary size, Ashley did actually have enough to eat, though she could eat a little bit more to tell the truth. With her meal brought out in barrels, it was actually enough food to feed a small army. Though for her, three barrels of shepard pie, a barrel full of apples along with a barrel of ale was only just enough to satisfy her hunger and leave her feeling sufficient. Eating that much and still being able to eat more isn't because she is a glutton, but rather because of her great size. She needs a lot more than the average person just to sustain herself.

    Ashley looks down at the two knights, making sure that there is enough distance between her and them as she walks. She would hate it if she accidentally kicked one of them, or even worse, stepped on them. She is walking at a pace that is a bit too slow to her liking, but her strides are so long she could easily walk past the two knights at her usual pace.

     Both Sir Gabriel and Sir Olric seem to reminiscing, talking about Sir Gabriel's days as a squire and Ashley can't help but feel a little left out right now. If only she could only hear their conversation, maybe she would be laughing at some of Sir Gabriel's embarrassing moments too. But with her being so high up, it is difficult for her to make out what the two are saying. Though sh can take comfort that her knight will share some of these stories with her some day.

     She wishes that she could be holding her knight as the three of them are making their way to Sir Olric's home. But she does know that Sir Gabriel does need to catch up with the older knight. Besides, she will have plenty of time to spend with him later. After all, they are together as a couple now and will be spending so much time together for as long as they both live.

     Ashley smiles when she sees a house in the distance, knowing that they must almost be there. She stops to crouch down, bringing herself closer to the two knights. "Gabriel," she says, grabbing both of the knights' attention. She points towards the house that is visible to the three of them while saying, "Is that your old home?" The house that Ashley is referring to does look simple, only being a single story tall. Though it isn't quite small either. Ashley can imagine that it must be because it has at least three bedrooms to accommodate the entire family that she has heard about.

     The two knights turn back to look at the towering woman. Despite the fact that she is crouching, they still need to look up at her. For Sir Gabriel this is slowly becoming a new normal for him, while Sir Olric finds it a bit odd to be looking up at a woman for a change. "Yes," Sir Gabriel answers, "That is where I grew up at."

     "I can't wait to get a closer look at it."

     "I am glad that you are so excited to see the old place," Sir Olric says. "But just wait until you see the actual land itself."

     "I bet it is really nice land if you are saying I should see it."

     "Well, we still gotta arrive there if you want to see it," Sir Olric points out, "Come on then." The trio continue to walk, with Ashley's excitement about seeing Sur Gabriel's childhood growing the closer that she gets.

     Before Ashley knows it, they arrive at the property. She is surprised at how much land there is. She can see that there is also a barn and a pond on the property, meaning that they must own a decent amount of land. She can't help but wonder just how Sir Olric came upon it. The maiden can only imagine that the old knight must have been granted it for some noble deed he had performed for a noble, but this is a question that she will have to ask later. Right now she is right next to Sir Olric's home, as the two knights are standing at the front door. She kneels down, looking at the two of them, eager to meet Sir Gabriel's mother. Luckily for her, the ground has already started to dry, so she does not need to worry about getting any mud on her dress as she is on the ground.

     "Right," Sir Olric says, looking up at Ashley. "Just wait here, and I will go get the wife. No doubt she saw you coming and is about as surprised as can be. Just let me explain you to her before I bring her out to meet you."

     "Is she going to be okay with me?" Ashley sounds a bit worried. For the past day she has been worrying about how Sir Gabriel's parents would receive her. Sir Olric has been nice enough sure, but she can't help but worry about his wife.

     "Is she going to be okay with you?" Sir Olric is asking this as though Ashley had just asked him a stupid question. "Of course she will. She is going to love you and treat you like you are already part of the family, I can guarantee it." He then points over to Sir Gabriel, continuing. "When I first brought Gabriel here with me all those years ago she was a bit surprised that I had decided to adopt him. But after that, she was treating him like a son who is of her own flesh and blood."

     "Thank you Sir Olric, that does help to put my mind at ease a bit."

     "Like I was saying, let me go get the wife." He heads inside his home, the last thing that both Ashley and Sir Gabriel hearing, "Heather, I'm home. I know that I have a lot of explaining to do this time, and it is a good one, I promise."

     Sir Gabriel turns to face Ashley, smiling at her. "He is right, the moment Momma meets you, she will be treating you like you are already family." Before he can add anything else, he cringes when he hears the front door burst wide open.

     "I knew you couldn't stay away forever!" he hears a familiar voice that he has been long dreading to hear. The voice belongs to a woman who is at least several years older than the knight. Her long red hair falling just past her waist and she is wearing a simple dress. "I knew you would come back sooner or later."

     Sir Gabriel turns around to face his sister, just wishing that she hadn't have come outside so soon. "Hi Laura," he says with no enthusiasm.

     Laura doesn't bother replying to her brother, but instead rushes right at him. She wraps her arms around his neck and leans him forward, putting the knight into a headlock. She is smiling, this being one of her favorite ways to torment her brother. "I hope you got some good jobs while you were gone, cause I could really use some extra coin now."

     "Laura, could you just skip this ridiculous routine of yours this one time?" Sir Gabriel pleads.

     "You know the deal. Pay up, then I will let you go." There is a tone of glee in her voice as she is doing this. She absolutely loves picking on her adopted brother, doing so at every opportunity that she gets. "You better give that coin up soon, cause I am in a good mood and you know how I can get when I am like this."

     Ashley is watching as the two siblings are fighting. Actually, fighting doesn't quite describe it correctly since it seems to be a one-sided fight. Ashley decides to finally speak up, her curiosity getting the better of her now. "Uhhh... Is this how siblings normally treat each other?"

     "Why do you want...to...know?" Laura is finally noticing Ashley, stunned at the fact that she has to look up at this woman. She ends up letting go of Sir Gabrie out of shock at what she is seeing, who is relieved to be free from her grip, as she takes a couple of steps back just so she can see all of this woman.

      "I take it that you must be Laura, Gabriel's sister?" the large maiden says. "I'm Ashley, the maiden that your brother rescued."

     Laura slowly turns to face her brother, giving him a wide-eyed look. "Sh-she is the maiden that you rescued?"

      "Yes she is," Sir Gabriel answers, rubbing his neck frow how tight Laura had him in her arms.

      Laura busts out laughing, actually holding her sides as she leans forward. "I must have really, really screwed you up," she finally manages to say while pointing at her embarrassed brother.

     "What do you mean?" Ashley asks, sounding very confused at what Laura had just said.

     Laura doesn't even pay Ashley any mind, instead she just keeps talking to Sir Gabriel. "All those years of me picking on you, about how you are so much shorter than me."

     "By three inches!" Sir Gabriel argues.

      "Doesn't matter. But still, the first time you go out and rescue a maiden who just happens to be four inches taller than you. What was her name again? Delores, I think." Laura is still laughing, her sides starting to hurt now. "And she, and she turns you down because you aren't tall enough for her. So what did you decide to do then? Rescue the biggest maiden you could find?" She points to Ashley, still laughing. "Because, she certainly is the biggest maiden in my opinion!"

     "Laura I... That is..." Sir Gabriel knows that no matter what he says, his sister is just going to twist his words around, but he has to defend the woman he loves. "Look, I just happened to find her and..."

     "I can't imagine that finding her was very difficult to do. Even a blind man could see her from a great distance!"

     "Laura Sophia Darrold!" a feminine voice says in a very firm tone. The voice is enough to stop Laura's uproarious laughter and cause her to turn to the woman who is speaking to her. She is an older woman, who looks to be in her earlier forties, looking very similar to Laura. The only differences in her are that her red hair is short and wavey and she does have a decent amount of weight on her, giving her a full figure. "If there is one thing you should know, is that it can't be helped who one falls in love with."

     "But Momma she..." Laura tries to protest.

     "No buts," Heather interrupts. "Now, apologize to both of them before I decide to give you sole responsibilty of the chicken coop for the rest of the week."

     Laura sighs, slowly turning to face her brother and his maiden. "I'm sorry." There is no hint of sincerity of her voice as she says this since she is being forced to do so.

     "Young lady!" Heather says in a stern tone. "Be sincere, and be specific about what you are apologizing for."

     "I am so sorry for making fun of your height, Ashley." There is still a bit of an attitude on Laura's voice, feeling as though she doesn't need to apologize. As far as she is concerned, she had every right to say the things she did.

     Heather walks past her daughter, feeling very disappointed in how she acted. Now standing in front of Ashley, she looks up at her and smiles warmly. "It is so very nice to meet you Ashley."

     "You must be Heather, Gabriel's mother," Ashley responds.

     "I am. I must admit though, when I first saw you approaching the house I nearly fainted."

     Ashely is well aware of how surprising her appearance can be to most people, which is one of the reasons why she stayed secluded in her castle. "Sorry about that," she apologizes.

     "No need to worry, Dearie," Heather replies. "Olric told me all about you and how Gabriel is courting you." She holds her arms out, wide open while still smiling warmly. "Come on now, love. Why don't you go and give me a hug?"

     "Are you sure?" Ashley seems a bit hesitant at this request, only having experience picking up Sir Gabriel. “I meanb I have only just met you.”

     "You're practically family now, I insist."

     "Okay..." Ashley reaches out picks up the insistent woman, still feeling a bit uneasy about doing so. She gives her a quick embrace before setting her back onto the ground. Heather only smiles at her, acting as though what she has gone through is quite normal.

     "She is such a lovely woman, Gabriel," Heather says, turning to face her adopted son.

     "That is something I have learned about her over the past couple of days," Sir Gabriel says. "She is a kind and gentle soul."

     Heather wraps her arms around her son, giving him a tight hug. "You really should visit more often. You worry me when you disappear for long periods of time. Well then," Heather says, letting go of her son as she looks at both Sir Gabriel and Ashley. "Before we start getting acquainted, Gabriel you should really wash up. It looks like he got into a bit of a fight." She is looking at the dried blood that is still on the knight's face, assuming that it is from a fight that he has been in during his travels. She then turns to Ashley, looking back up at her. "And you are more than welcome to come inside..." She cuts herself off, realizing that she is making an offer that Ashley is unable to take. "Oh, I guess that..."

     "It’s okay," Ashley interrupts. "Your offer is very much appreciated though. I don't mind waiting outside. Besides, I was hoping to wash up a bit as well and I was hoping that I could us the pond to do so."

     "You are more than welcome to dearie," Heather says.

     "Ashley," Sir Gabriel says, grabbing the giantess' attention. "Could I have my duffle bag back?"

     "Oh," Ashley responds, already reaching for it, "Sure." She has some difficulty undoing the knot that she had made so that she could tie the bag to her waist. The drawstring being very thin compared to her large fingers, she might as well be trying to undo a knot in some fine thread.

    "Ashley, do you want me to untie my duffle bag?" Sir Gabriel offers. "I can imagine how difficult it must be for you. You are kneeling so I am more than capable of reaching it."

     "Please?" Ashley answers, moving her hands out of the way so that the knight can approach her waist.

     Sir Gabriel doesn't have to reach up very high in order to reach the knot. Though he does need to remove his gauntlets in order to untie the drawstring with little difficulty. Freeing his duffle bag from Ashley's waist, he slings it over his shoulder. "There we go," he says as he steps in front of Ashley. "I'm going to head inside and get cleaned up and changed."

     Ashley reaches down, placing her finger on Sir Gabriel's cheek, smiling at him. "Do try to be quick, I get lonely whenever you go somewhere I can't follow."

     Sir Gabriel reaches up and rests his hand on her finger, looking back at his loving maiden. "I will try to be as quick as possible. After all, I do find it hard to be apart from you as well."

     Ashley watches as Sir Gabriel starts to walking into the house through the front door, already missing him even before he has left her sight. "Gabriel," she calls out, grabbing his attention just as he steps through the doorway. "I love you."

     Sir Gabriel looks back at Ashley, seeing the look on her face. From how she is looking at him obe would believe that he is preparing to go on some long journey. He simple smiles up at her, looking at her beautiful face. "I love you too."

     Ashley sighs, watching as her knight disappears into the house. She does wish that she could follow him inside, but her size does prevent it. All she can do is wait for him to come back out and rejoin her, believing that he truely does enjoy being with her.

     She stands back up, stretching a bit due to her legs becoming slightly cramped from how long she was kneeling. She looks over at the nearby pond then down at her right foot, her toes still a bit brown from the mud that she had accidentally stepped in earlier that day. She starts to smile, remembering how Sir Gabriel so willingly wiped the excess mud fron her toes using two of his shirts. Her smile only widens as she remembers how he agrees that she does have pretty feet. “The prettiest I have ever seen,” she hears him say inside her own thoughts.

     She makes her way over to the pond, sitting down close to the edge. The pond itself is of a decent size, being large enough for her to clean herself up a bit. Though it isn't big enough for her to actually bathe in it, which she feels that she needs to do. She would need an actual lake in order to do that.

     Ashley dips her dirty toes into the water. "Brrrr... That's cold," she comments. The day is still early, so she isn't surprised that the water is still a bit on the chilly side, though it doesn't change her displeasure about it. She starts to run her hands along her toes, using the water to get the last of the mud off. After a few minutes of focusing on the dried mud, she is satisfied with how clean they look. Holding her foot up in the air, she looks at it, examining just how clean her foot looks. "There we go, nice and pretty again."

     Though she isn't done quite yet, she takes the time to give her feet a proper cleaning, again. She doesn't have to look at them to know that her soles have a decent amount of dirt and grass on them from all the walking she has done today.  It may seem like something minor to most people, but it is something that she feels is very important and that she needs to take care of.

     With her feet now thoroughly clean, she looks back at Sir Olric's home. She can't help but wonder just how much longer Sir Gabriel is going to be inside. The longer that she stares at the home, the more she becomes curious about its interior. She is tempted to look inside through the windows, just like she did before in Vershire. The only problem that occured before was that when she peered inside, the residents were very surprised to see a giant face looking in at them. Then Ashley realizes something, Sir Gabriel's family is fully aware of her and her size. So surely peeking in through the windows will be okay this time. Besides, Heather did extend an invitation for her to enter, and looking in through the windows is the closest thing she can do to entering the household.

    She gets up from the edge of the pond and approaches the house, wondering what the inside of Sir Gabriel's childhood home could possibly look like. She gets down on her hands and knees, lowering her head so that she can see inside through the windows.

     The interior does look pretty typical, with a couch and a chair in what she assumes to be the den area. Though she is surprised to see a bookshelf with a small collection of books in it, wondering who in the household enjoys reading. She loves to read, but it is an activity that she can no longer enjoy. With the print on most pages being so fine to her she can barely make out any of the words that have been printed.

     She moves on to the next window seeing the kitchen. Again, it is a typical kitchen with common amenities. It does look a bit on the small side, but she figures that it must be large enough to serve it's purpose for the family.

     The next window she peers through is Sir Gabriel's room. She only knows this because she can see the knight in there who is currentky getting dressed. She blushes when she can see that he isn't wearing anything at all, oberserving him as he gets fully undressed. She knows that the proper thing to do in this situation is to look away, but she doesn't do this as her curiosity is compelling her to loom at him. In her head she justifies her actions by telling herself that he is her knight, so it isn't wrong to look at him in this state. The one thing she notices about him, among other things, is that his body is a bit toned. She can imagine that it must be from all the training he did as Sir Olric's Squire.

     Grabbing a pair of boxers from the chest at the foot of his bed, he starts to put them on. He turns around just as he is about to pull them up, freezing when he sees an oversized face staring right at him from outside his window. "Ashley?!" he says, pulling his boxers up quickly feeling very embarrassed about his exposed state.

      "Hi Gabriel," Ashley says quite casually. "I'm guessing that I surprised you."

      "I will admit that you did, yes. But one doesn't normally expect to see a face as large as yours looking in at them." He approaches the window, lowering his voice a bit as he continues. "How much did you see, exactly?"

     "Hmmm..." Ashley gets a bit of a coy look on her face, acting as though she is thinking. "Enough to know that I actually like what I just saw."

    Sir Gabriel turns away slightly in an effort to hide the fact that his face is now starting to turn a bit red now. This is not only due to Ashley seeing him fully, but her actually saying that she did like what she had just seen. He does feel embarrassed b but he can't help but feel a sense if confidence about himself from what the maiden had just said to him.

     "Awww... Did I embarrass you a bit?" Her tone is one of a mixture of both sympathy and playfulness.

     "A little, I will admit. I just never imagined that you would see me like that through a window." He looks back at Ashley, seeing the smile on her face. "Just let me finish getting dressed, and I will be right out."

     "You're not going to be wearing your armor, are you?"

     "No, there is no need for me to wear it right. Besides, Momma doesn't really like it when either Sir Olric or I wear our armor around the house."

     "Good," Ashley responds, sounding very pleased with the knight's answer. "I've been wanting to give you a proper embrace tge moment you come back out, your armor makes it a bit difficult for me to enjoy doing so"

     "Then I guess I should get dressed quickly then, shouldn't I?"

     "Please?" Ashley is watching as Sir Gabriel returns to the chest to grab the rest of his clothes. She can tell that he is eager to return outside so that he can be with her. Though she knows that this feeling is mutual between them, since this us very normal for a couple who have just recently fallen in love with each other.

     After eagerly waiting for Sir Gabriel to exit the house, Ashley is now holding the knight in her arms with a big smile on her face. Sitting on the ground with her legs crossed, her knight is sitting comfortably in her lap with her arms wrapped around him and holding him close. Not so tight that it is uncomfortable for him, but just enough to keep him close to her. The two seem to be quite happy being so close to each other, not wanting to be anywhere else.

     Sir Gabriel did clean up nicely, even though he only washed up just enough to clean himself up. He is wearing simple clothes once again, a white shirt and tan pants along with a pair of boots. Without his armor on, he can really enjoy Ashley's sweet and loving embrace. At first he did find it to be odd for Ashley to be the one holding him. This is mainly because while growing up he had learned that it is supposed to be the man who was supposed to be holding the woman, which is difficult for him to do due to the maiden's great size. Now he is finding it go be a nice preference to be held by the loving giantess, finding it to be quite pleasant to be in Ashley's arms. He leans into her a bit, enjoying the unique comfort that he is able to experience with her. Sir Gabriel can't help but look up at the maiden who is smiling at himb returning her loving look with a smile of her own.

     This sight of Sir Gabriel being held by the woman is  very odd for his family to witness. After all, the large woman is able to hold a fully grown man in her lap as though he is a small child. Both Sir Olric and Heather can easily tell that this is how the giantess is showing her affection for their son, who does seem to be quite content there with her. They can only imagine that she has to be creative with her affectionate gestures. With her extraordinary sizeb it isn't like she can rely on traditional displays of affection. Besides, Sur Gabriel dies seem to be enjoying the maiden's love that she does have for him.

     Laura can't help but hold back some laughter, finding the sight of her brother being held to be very funny. As far as she is concerned, her brother is being treated like a child and he is just taking it without any objections. The first chance she gets she is going to be saying some embarrassing things about what she is witnessing right now.

     The family is sitting outside in some chairs, which have been brought out from the dining room along with the table, since it is the most comfortable way to sit outside with Ashley. She is unable to go inside the family's home due to gow large she isb so it is best that tge family does their best to meet her needs.

     "So Ashley," Heather begins. She is a bit curious about the giantess and she does have a question that she has been wanting to ask for a while now. "Olric has already told me how tall you are and the fact that you don't know how you got so big. Not to mention how you and Gabriel first met. But I am curious about one thing, grandchildren."

     "What?!" Ashley responds out of surprise.

     "Momma!" Sir Gabriel exclaims. "We haven't even talked about marriage yet, much less children."

     Laura has to cover her mouthb stifling her laughter. She has had this talk with her mother on numerous occassions. But the talk that have been had are more about her finding a husband so she could start a family.

     "You love her don't you?" Heather asks.

     To the knight this question was a no-brainer. He may have only just met Ashley yesterday,but knows the feelings he has for her. "Of course I do," he answers.

     "Then of course you two are going to get married, which will thwn lead to children. Now I'm not saying that you two need to have any right now. I just want to know when you two are planning on starting a family. I had my hopes of having at least one grandbaby within a year after your sister came of marital age. But with how she has driven off every suitable bachelor with her behavior, it seems like she is going to be an old maid."

     "Momma!" Laura protests. "Could you stop bringing that up, please?"

     "Is it wrong for me to want my daughter to find a husband have a family?"

     As the mother and daughter continue with their little dispute b Ashley’s mind can't help wander to the prospect of children in her future. This is something that she has considered but always thought an impossibility for her. Before meeting Sir Gabriel she had thought that no man would want to be with her due to her massive size. But can she now actually consider starting a family of her own?

     Sir Olric places his hand on his wife's shoulder, ending the dispute with her daughter. "I think we should change the subject here. Sir Gabriel and Ashley have only just met, and I am sure that marriage is in their future, like you say. But I am sure that they want to enjoy a life a bit before they settle down." Sir Olric looks up at the knight who is still in the giantess' embrace, “Am I right about that?”

     "Actually, Sir Gabriel is going to escort me around Albion," Ashley says sounding very excited about the journey. "He's already taken me to see the town of Vershire before we came here."

     "I hope that the townsfolk were nice and welcoming to you," Heather says, following the conversation's new lead.

     "Not exactly," Sir Gabriel points out. He remembers how the people of Vershire had armed themselves, ready to defend their town from the threat that they had perceived the giant maiden to be. "Ashley's presence can cause some unease, since they don't really know her. So I make sure that with each town she visits that I inform them that she is a kind and gentle soul."

     "I can imagine that it does take some convincing," Sir Olric comments. He looks up at Ashley, seeing her smiling face. He will admit that if he had only taken a quick glance at herb even he would draw his blade for the town's defense.

     "It does, but it is well worth the effort to see the look on Ashley's face as she is finally able to walk around each town. Taking in new sights that she had been denied due to her unique stature."

     "It has been great," Ashley adds. "I used to visit a couple of towns with my parents when I was growing up, but I did tend to draw a lot of attention as I was getting bigger with each passing year.It isn't often that a child becomes so much bigger than their parents even before they reach their teenage years.”

     "I bet," Laura mutters under her breath.

     "What was that, young lady?" Heather asks, hearing her daughter but not quite making out the comment she had just made.

     "Nothing, Ma'am," Laura answers quickly.

     "There is one thing I have been curious about," Ashley says. She looks down at Sir Gabriel for a moment before turning her attention back to his family. "I know that you did adopt Gabriel into your family, he has told me about how he lost his birth parents at such a young age. I am just wondering why he isn't using your last name though."

     "Simple," Sir Olric starts to answer. "I remember when did want to take on the family name Darrold, but I thought it would be better if he kept his family's last name."

     "Why is that?"

     Gabriel looks up at Ashley, answering the question that was meant for Sir Olric. "It's because it is a good way to remember my actual birth parents."

     "Well, I think it is nice that you kept your actual last name."

     "Speaking of families," Gabriel begins as he starts to realize something. "You have met mine, but I realized I know nothing about yours."

     "What is there to tell? I am an only child to my mother and father. There really isn't much more to tell."

    "So who are your parents?" Sir Olric asks. "I have done my fair share of traveling throughout Albion, perhaps I have met them already."

    "My parents' names?" Ashley asks. There is a hint of nervousness as she says this. She pauses for a moment  as if to remember what their names are, but her eyes are darting back and forth like she is nervous to say. "Adam and Emma Evans."

     "Evans..." Sir Olric is mulling over the family name in his head. "Don't think I have ever met a family with that surname before."

     "Well, that's because..." Ashley pauses for a moment, trying to think of a reason why Sir Olric has never met her parents.

     "Sir Olric," Sir Gabriel says, interrupting Ashley's thought process. "You probably have met them at least once in your travels. Surely you can't remember every single person that you have met before."

     "You're probably right," Sir Olric agrees. "Can't remember everyone I have met, just the most interesting ones I suppose. Like that one fellow who is making payments on a tattoo he recieved.”

     Ashley lets out a sigh of relief, feeling grateful that Sir Gabriel had spoken up when he did, saving her from needing to come up with an explanation.

     "Gabriel, I have a question for you and Ashley," Laura says, breaking her silence towards the couple. "So, do you enjoy being treated like a kid?"

     "What?!" Sir Gabriel responds, his face turning a bit red from the nature of the question. "It's just that... I mean she..." He stutters and stammers, trying to think of a good way to word his answer. He stops when he feels Ashley push him closer to her. Instead of fighting this, he leans in closer to her, finding a comfort in this.

      "Laura," Ashley begins, looking down at the knight's older sibling. "This is just how I show my affection towards your brother. Under normal circumstances I would be Athe one leaning into him with his arms wrapped around me, but that is just not possible for someone like me. So instead, I am the one who is holding him. He enjoys the affection I show him and that is what matters."

     "Honestly Laura, when are you going to stop treating your brother like this?" Heather sounds like she is lecturing her daughter, tired of the young woman's behaviour. "If I had known that you would still be treating your brother like this, I never would have agreed to letting you pick on him freely during the whole Poking the Bear training that he went through."

     "Wait, Poking the Bear?" Ashley can just picture Sir Gabriel sneaking up on a bear that is asleep, only to poke it with a really long stick. "Isn't that a bit dangerous?"

     Sir Olric chuckles a bit, having a good idea of what must be going through Ashley's mind. "No, no. It's not like that. You see, Poking the Bear is just name of a training regimen, if you will, that Sir Gabriel here went through. It was to help keep his temper under control."

     "Temper?" Ashley asks. She just can't picture Sir Gabriel having a temper. The time that she has been with him she has known him to be honorable and just. Not to mention very sweet from how he has been acting towards her.

     "Aye, he does. Though it only shows whenever he witnesses a woman being disrespected."

     "Wait..." Ashley remembers seeing the state of that one husband back in Oakvale, the one who threw his wife out of his home and into the road. "I have seen it before. Back in town when a man had thrown his wife out of his house. I personally didn't like how Gabriel handled it."

     "What did you do to him, boy?" Sir Olric asks.

     "Well, I broke his nose, then told him what I would do if he ever mistreated his wife again..." It is clear that Sir Gabriel does regret his actions, feeling that he did not need to go as far as he did. "It took everything in me not to go any farther than that."

     "He is still alive, so that is all that matters. As long as you don't draw your blade or deliver any serious wounds while in such a state of mind."

     "So how did this Poking the Bear training work, exactly?" Ashley is quite curious about what Sir Gabriel had gone through. "And why did Laura have to go through it too?"

     "First of all, Laura didn't go through the training," Sir Olric corrects, "She was just a part of it, big difference. You see, it was her job to annoy Sir Gabriel here in an effort to get a rise out of him. All Sir Gabriel had to do was not react to her no matter what she did. This lasted for about six monthes before he finally got his temper under control."

     Laura starts to laugh a bit now. "Remember when I tied that horse to his bed, then made it take off so that the headboard broke off? The look on his face when he woke up as his bed was collapsing underneath him."

     "Yes," Heather responds, giving her daughter a look of disapproval. "Not only did we have to buy Gabriel a new bed, but we also had to search for the neighbor's horse because you decided to 'borrow' it in the middle of the night."

     "And that wasn't the even the worst thing she did to me," Sir Gabriel adds in. He shudders a bit, remembering how a bucket landed on him the moment he opened his bedroom door, the foul contents it contained spilling all over him and leaving him soaked.

     "Well," Heather says, desperately wanting to change the subject, "I know it is a bit early, but I think that I need to start thinking about dinner. Gabriel, I already know that I will be making you." She then turns her attention over to Ashley, "I just wish I knew what to prepare for you, Dearie. I will admit that feeding you may be a bit of a challenge, but it is one that I will more than welcome."

      "You don't have to go through so much trouble for me," Ashley responds. "I can always head back into town and buy some apples for myself. I won't mind."

     "Nonsense," Heather argues. "You do need a proper meal. I just need to think of what I can prepare you." She thinks for a moment, going over inside her head what ingredients she has to work with. It isn't just what she has on hand that has to consider, but how much of what she has on hand as well. She knows that Ashley must be able to eat a decent amount of food, given her large stature. "I got it! Are you fine with a nice stew?"

     "That sounds delicious." She isn't lying, the lunch that Sir Olric was barely suffient enough for her, even though it was enough to feel a large family several times over, so the idea of any home cooked meal sounds very appealing to her.

      "Though I guess I need to go into town and get a considerable amount of beef from the butcher," Heather says to herself.

     "Why not Bessie?" Sir Olric suggests. "She is no longer giving milk, so I don't see why not. Unless the young maiden has any objections about fresh meat."

     "I don't mind," Ashley answers.

     "Very well," Heather says, even though she doesn't sound too keen about the idea. It isn't that she doesn't want to use the cow fow for meat, more so all the effort that is required for it. "Just get Gabriel to help you."

     "Nonsense," Sir Olric says, starting to smile. "I can do it myself. After all, the cow is the only animal on this earth that one can hunt with a hammer." Sir Olric laughs at his own bad joke while his wife merely just shakes her head. Both Sir Gabriel and Laura roll their eyes while letting out a low groan, having heard this joke too many times for their liking.

     Ashley is the only one laughing, finding the joke to be quite humorous. Everyone is looking at her, a bit surprised that someone has actually found the old knight's joke to be funny for once. After a moment of her laughter, she cuts herself short the moment she starts to snort. The maiden's face turns red as she covers her mouth with her hand, knowing that what she did is not considered to be very ladylike at all. "Sorry about that," she apologizes, lowering her hand so that she can have both of her arms around Sir Gabriel.

     Laura starts to laugh at what Ashley has just done. "Man, you really picked a winner here. She walks around barefoot and she snorts? She's not very ladylike, is she?"

     Sir Gabriel looks up at Ashley, seeing how ashamed she looks from just that one little action. "It's okay," he tells her, hoping to comfort her. "To be honest, I find it cute when you laugh like that."

     "You really find it cute?" Ashley asks, sounding a bit confused. "But it isn't very ladylike."

     "You don't need to worry about that. I find it cute, that is all that should matter. So I really hope that I can hear you laugh like that more often."

     Ashley can't help but smile. She never did care for the way she laughed just because of how she starts to snort when she does so. Yet, Sir Gabriel has just told her that he finds it cute. She looks down at her knight, appeciating him a bit more. "If you give me plenty of reasons to, I will be sure to laugh as often as you want then."

    "Hey Papa," Laura calls out just as her father is walking away. "Did they ever catch that Ghost Bandit?"

     "Wait, Ghost Bandit?" Sir Gabriel is a bit curious about this bandit, knowing that it is just a name as opposed to a literal ghost. "What is this about a bandit?"

     "Aye," Sir Olric answers. "He's been a bit a nuisance over the past several months. He robs nobles who are coming along the road and then runs off with whatever he can steal from them."

     "If his jobs have been that simple, why hasn't anyone caught him yet?"

    "Plenty have tried and failed. After he robs some poor noble, he makes a run straight for the old forest. Once he starts to run through the trees he seems to disapper like a ghost, hence his name."

     Sir Gabriel thinks for a moment. The woods that are nearby can be very tricky to navigate. It isn't too uncommon for someone to enter those woods and find themselves getting lost very easily, or even getting completely turned around and exiting the very way that they went in at. But if this Ghost Bandit is constantly running into those woods, it can only mean that they not only know the area thoroughly, but that he must be hiding out in there after he successfully robs someone.

     "I think I may have a good chance of bringing this Ghost Bandit in," Sir Gabriel says confidently.

     "Got your eye on that reward that is being offered, don't you?"

     The mention of a reward does catch Sir Gabriel's interest. He is not a greedy man, but he is aware that he can't go around performing jobs for free. Besides, he has Ashley to think about and support now. He can only imagine just how costly her needs could be. "How much are they offering to reward the person that brings him in?"

     "The nobles are in a real uproar about it, so they have all pooled their coin together in order to offer twenty thousand gold for his capture."

     "Twenty thousand?" Sir Gabriel will admit that the reward will be nice, especially a sum that is that large. He could really use to money to help pay for Ashley's needs as they are traveling. Plus, it would be nice to be able to afford some of her wants.

     "You think you can do it?" Laura asks. "What makes you think that you can catch the Ghost Bandit? I've heard that everyone who has tried to bring him in has had no success whatsoever."

      "That may be true," Sir Gabriel responds still sounding quite confident, "but I intend to catch him by finding where he has been hiding out at."

     "A sound idea boy," Sir Olric agrees. "But the problem is that no one has been able to locate him in those blasted woods."

     Sir Gabriel looks up at Ashley smiling at her. "I think I may have some help that no one else has. That is, if you want to help me, Ashley."

     Ashley looks down at Sur Gabriel, not entirely sure how she will be able to help him locate this Ghost Bandit. She can only imagine that he believes her great size could help him out some how, even though she can't see it herself. She smiles at him, tightening her embrace on the knight just enough to give him a hug. “Why if course I will help you.”

     Ashley is standing at the edge of the old forest that is outside of Oakvale. The forest is old and some of the trees are almost as tall as the giantess herself, though the majority of them just barely reach the bottom of her chest. Due to her being fifty-one feet tall, she can help Sir Gabriel locate any place that the Ghost Bandit may try to frequent within the trees, though she isn't quite sure what to look for. It is still a bit early in the spring, so the trees are full of leaves which are obstructing her vision of the forest floor. Though she is trying her best, taking the advice that Sir Gabriel gave her on what to look for as far as idea hiding spots.

     Ashley looks up at her raised arm, her palm facing upwards and flat which is where Sir Gabriel is currently at. "I can't really find anything. What about you?"

     Sir Gabriel is kneeling on Ashley's palm, his arm wrapped around her raised thumb to help give himself some stability on the soft surface that he is on. The armor clad knight is looking from his high vantage point, scanning the area for anything that can help him locate the wanted thief in any way possible. "Not yet, but I am still looking." He knows that going through the forest to locate the Ghost Bandit's hideout would be a futile effort. Getting turned around in the forest and losing one's sense of direction is what makes it very hard to navigate. But with the bird's eye view that he has been given, he knows that this task can be done.

     The knight has a good idea of what he is looking for, a spot where the Ghost Bandit would keep heading to. With everything that has been stolen, he knows that he must have a sizeable location to stash everything that he has wrongfully aquired, so perhaps a cave. As he continues to search, he comes arcoss a small clearing. He is about to dismiss it, thinking that the area would be too open for one to hide in effectively, when he sees a building aquired right at the clearing's edge. The knight can't really make out the building's details too well, due to him being so high up, but it does look like it has seen better days. With a place like that deep in the woods, that has to be where the Ghost Bandit is constantly running to and hiding at. At least it makes enough sense to him to warrant a look

      Sir Gabriel looks over the edge of Ashley's palm, calling down to the giantess. "Ashley, I think I found the Ghost Bandit's hideout! Go ahead and lower me now!"

     Ashley lowers the knight until he is right at her face. "You found where the Ghost Bandit is hiding at?"

     Sir Gabriel points towards the direction of the building that he has discovered. "I believe so, there's an old house in a small clearing over there. I bet that is where he is retreating to after each theft he performs. You think you can get us close to there?"

     Ashley looks at the forest that is ahead of her, looking at the space that is between the trees. Being so large it is going to be a tight squeeze for herto walk through the trees. "I think so." The forest isn't very dense, but the trees are close enough together that the large maiden does need to be careful about how she walks through. She has to turn her body to squeeze between some of the trees, feeling how they ate brushing up against her body . It is possible for her to push some of them out of her way, to give herself the room that is needed for her to walk through freely. But she doesn't want to cause too much unnecessary damage. She is already breaking branches off just as she is trying to squeeze through.

     It's bad enough that she is unable to see where she is stepping, with her feet quite possibly crushing young saplings. All she knows is that she can feel the dead leaves and branches being crushed beneath her bare soles, and she hopes that is all she is stepping on. She would hate to think of the possibility of stepping on a deer or some other animal. She does her best to stay focused on the path ahead, doing her best to keep from knocking over any trees with her body.

     "Okay Ashley, this is close enough," Sir Gabriel says when the two of them are close to the clearing where the house is located. "We don't want to alert the Ghost Bandit to our presence."

     Ashley knows exactly what Sir Gabriel is referring to. Because of her size, her footsteps can be pretty audible from a decent distance away. She can imagine that the knight does want the element of surprise on his side in order to have an advantage.

     Lowering her knight down to her chestB she cups her hand over him so that she can protect him from any trees branches that could quite possibly hit him as she starts to kneel down slowly. Unfortunately, the maiden does have to watch out for those hazards herself as she is getting closer to the ground. Though they won’t hurt her too much, they can be a nuisance. One of which is her getting a mouthful of leaves which she is quick to spit out. Once Ashley is on her knees, she lowers her hand to the ground.

     Sir Gabriel carefully steps off the giantess' palm, still not completely used to riding on such a soft surface. Once on the grpund, he turns around to look at her, seeing that where she is at isn't exactly an open area for her. Despite the fact that the trees aren't that close together, they still are creating a bit of a cramped space for her. The maiden has a look of discomfort on her face because of how cramped she feels at the moment. "Are you okay waiting here?"

     Ashley nods, even though she does feel a bit confined. "Yeah, I'm fine waiting here." She goes to push one tree that it pushed up against her one arm. The  force she uses causes the base of the tree's trunk to crack until it starts to fall over. Sir Gabriel jumps a bit, fearing that it may actually land on him, only to find some relief that it does stop as it is now leaning up against two other trees. "Sorry," Ashley apologizes with an embarrassed look on her face, realizing what could have just happened to her knight.

     "It's okay," Sir Gabriel says. "I can only imagine how cramped this space is for you. Besides, if I was in any real danger, I know that you would have done everything in your power to catch it."

     "Yeah," Ashley answers while nodding. She believes that the knight is right about that. She wouldn't have had to think about her actions, she would have just reached out and grabbed the falling tree with no regard to how damage she would do to the forest in the process. With ber size she could easily lift up and move the tree if necessary.

     "I'll try to be as quick as possible, so we can get out of here," Sir Gabriel continues. "Though, I doubt that the Ghost Bandit will be too cooperative, so it may still take some time to bring him out. I do imagine that my skill in combat surpasses his, so I shouldn't take too long."

     Ashley reaches for Sir Gabriel, resting her finger on the side of his face. She is aiming for his cheek, but with her size it is just about impossible to touch such a relatively small area. "Just be careful okay. If things start to go wrong, please promise that you will come back to me. Your safety means a lot more to me than some trivial reward."

     Sir Gabriel reaches up and places his hand on her finger, leaning his head into the soft surface. "I promise that I will come back to you safe and sound." He turns his head, kissing the giantess' finger.

     Ashley wishes that she could return the sweet gesture in kind. But right now her movement is limited by all the trees that are surrounding her, so her sweet gesture will have to wait until later. She knows that she can show her knight her love and affection for him later, perhaps by cuddling with him back at his parents. She smiles slightly, already looking forward to it. For now, all she can do is watch as Sir Gabriel walks away from her and into to clearing that is just ahead of them.

      Sir Gabriel looks at the house that is ahead of him, now able to see just how decrepit it is, making it seem as though no one has been here for many a year. The roof is shoddy-looking with several holes in it. Vines growing up the walls due to the years of neglect. Several of the windows are even broken.

     Despite the condition of the building this has to be where the Ghost Bandit is hiding, it is the only place that he could be heading back to after each robbery he commits. He grabs his helmet, which is tied to his waist, and puts it on as he approaches the old building. He checks to make sure that his round shield is firmly secured onto his forearm, before he places his hand on the hilt of his sword as if he is ready to draw it.

     Sir Gabriel loojs back towards Ashley, barely being able to see the giantess through the trees. He does wish that he could remain in her loving embrace, but he does have a bounty to bring in. But he knows that she will wait for him and when he does returnb he can look forward to the woman's unique manner if showing her love for him.

     Approaching the door, Sir Gabriel slowly opens it, trying to be as quiet about his entry as possible. Taking a step inside, the only noise that he is hearing is his own armor clanking as he moves about, he looks around tge building's interior for any signs of the bandit. A lot of the furniture does look as though it has been inside this house for a long time as well, but he can tell that someone has been living here very recently. He can see some leftover food on the table, which is free of mold and still looks quite edible. Several articles of clothing arescattered about as though someone has been changing their clothes. He even finds a fancy looking dress, most likely stolen from a noble woman.

    The knight continues to walk slowly, remaining alert for any signs of the Ghost Bandit. He only stops when something on the floor catches his eye. Kneeling down to get a closer look at it, he finds that it is a single gold coin. It still has some shine to it, meaning that it hasn't been here too long. Everything he is seeing has to mean that he is in the right place. Sir Gabriel stands back up, taking note of a closed door that is at the back of the building, his first though being that he should look in there next before checking the upstairs.

     Sir Gabriel gets close to the door, reaching out for the door knob as he gets ready to turn it.. He stops when he can clearly hear someone on the other side of it. He knows that it must be the Ghost Bandit, it has to be him. Who else could be here? He draws his sword, ready for the encounter. He then lifts his foot up and kicks the door in with his metal greaves.

      The Ghost Bandit turns around, surprised to see the knight entering the room as the door is ripped of its hinges. All of his spoils are in here with him, piled up along the walls and set on an assortment of tables. "Who the fuck are you?" he asks.

    Sir Gabriel notices that his voice sounds a bit off. It does sound gruff, and yet it doesn't sound like it belongs to him. Not to mention something seems to be off with the Ghost Bandit entirely. He is wearing a black pair of pants and boots, along with a white shirt that looks as if it doesn't fit him propetly. He also notices how his proportions seem to be slightly off as well, but Sir Gabriel can't quite figure out how. His face looks a bit on the smooth side, which must mean he is a bit young, with a tri tip hat on top of his black hair. Not to mention he seems to be a couple of inches shorter than the knight.

     He decides that he has better things to worry about at the moment, since his target is now right in front of him. "I am Sir Gabriel Ian Randal. I am here to claim the bounty that has been placed on your head. I would advise that you come quietly to avoid any unnecessary injuries."

     "Fuck you!" the Ghost Bandit shouts as he grabs a mace that is close at hand. He rushes at the knight, his mace raised up and ready to swing it.

     Sir Gabriel raises his round shield up to block the incoming blow, ready to feel the impact. The moment the mace makes contact with his shield, he is surprised that he has not staggered back from the blow in the slightest bit. Which means that this Ghost Bandit has no combat experience whatsoever, making this a favorable situation.

      The Ghost Bandit swings again, only to be blocked by the knight's round shield once again. He is starting to get pissed now, seeing how this knight is only toying with him. He starts to swing wildly out of frustration, hoping to get a good hit in. But evey swing he makes is met with the shield.

     Sir Gabriel knows that this fight is very one-sided, he could very easily end it right now with a single, well placed blow. He decides to to give the Ghost Bandit another chance to surrender, with a show of force. The moment the Ghost Bandit's mace contact with his shield once again, he pushes back with his shield using a considerable amount of force. The Ghost Bandit is caught off guard by what Sir Gabriel has just done and is thrown off balance causing him to stagger. He stumbles back several steps before falling backwards knocking into a table and hitting a wall. The table beside him shakes, causing an open bottle of wine to tip over and spill onto his shirt.

     "It is clear that you are outmatched here. So this is the last time I am making this offer," Sir Gabriel says as he steps forward. "Come willingly and I will..." He stops stops cold when he sees just how the Ghost Bandit's shirt is clinging to his chest, now seeing that there is a roundness there. He now realizes that he isn't dealing with a young a man. "You're a woman?"

     "That's right!" the Ghost Bandit confirms, her voice now sounding very feminine since she no longer needs to disguise it. She stands up, removing her hat, which allows her hair to fall just below her shouders. "Alex the Ghost Bandit is a woman! You got a problem with that you bastard?"

     Sir Gabriel is unable to answer her, now realizing that this bounty will not be as easy as he had hoped it would be. He has no time to think about how he is going to handle this new problem as Alex wastes no time charging right at him. He raises his shield again as she is wildly swinging at him repeatedly.

     "What's the matter?" Alex taunts. "Am I too much for you?"

     "You must think pretty highly of yourself if that is what you believe." Sir Gabriel is doing his best to sound confident, but he knows that he is unable to win against her. His respect towards women is preventing him from taking any aggressive action against Alex. He needs to think of a way to subdue her, and fast. He can't block against her determined blows forever, even he has his limits.

     He looks towards a window, wondering how worried Ashley must be at the moment. He told her that he would be quick, that apprehending the Ghost Bandit would be an easy job. That is when a much needed plan comes to mind.

     Just as Alex goes to swing at him again, he pushes back with his shield the moment her mace makes contact. It doesn't knock her over like it did last time, but it is enough to knock her off balance again. Sir Gabriel starts to sheath his sword, "It is clear to me that I am unable to win against you in this fight, so I have no choice but to retreat."

     Alex grins, feeling quite proud that she is making an actual knight retreat. Her smug smile fades quickly when she watches him reach over towards a table and picks up a small golden statue. The statue is one of an angel, gems adorning the wings, making it one of the more valuable things that she has stolen.

     Looking at the statue, Sir Gabriel continues, "Since I won't be able to claim the bounty that has been placed on you, I shall go ahead and claim this as compensation instead."

     "Hey!" Alex shouts. "Give that back! I stole that fair and square! It's mine by right!" She watches as the knight leaves the room hastily, along with her prized possession. "FUCKER!"

   Alex starts to give chase after Sir Gabriel, the knight nowhere in her sight after he bolted out the door. She wonders just how he is able to move so quickly with all that heavy armor on his body. She makes her way to the front door, figuring that he must have made his way outside, where else could he have gone?

     Alex practically bursts through the door, frantically looking around once she is outside. All she can see are the trees of the forest, no signs that the knight is anywhere close by. "Get back here you bastard!" she yells out of anger. "You fucking coward!" She knows that it's all over for her, figuring that the knight must be on his way back to town. He knows exactly where she is hiding out and will probably be back with guards to bring her in. She has no choice, she will have to gather up what valuables she can carry with her and make a run for it and lay low for a while until things calm down. Just as she goes to turn around, she sees some movement through the trees.

     Sir Gabriel steps of from the forest, his helmet removed so Alex can see the smug look that he has on his face. He holds the statue out, waving it in front of him as if to taunt the angry thief. "Is this what you want?"

     Alex figures that it has to be a trap, but what does the knight have planned? He couldn't have brought help with him that quickly, so is he making a bluff? Trap or not, Alex tightens her grip on her mace, determined to reclaim that statue. "Give it back, you no good mother fucker!" She charges right at knight, her mace raised and ready to strike. All she can see right now is the knight who is dangling her prized possession right in front of her. Before she can even get close enough to swing at Sir Gabriel, she stops when she sees a giant hand coming out of the woods and right for her.

     "What the fucking hell?" All Alex can do is stare, watching as the hand wraps it's fingers around her body, pinning her arms down at her sides. She is soon lifted up off the ground, her feet dangling in the air as she is pulled into the woods. She doesn't know what is going on, nor does she know what to expect. Though she is very shocked to see that she is staring at the face of a very large woman who has a bit of a worried look on her face.

      "Hi there, I'm Ashley." She can tell that Alex is very surprised at the very sight of her, which she can understand. She is, in fact, the only person who is as big as she is. "I just can't let you hurt Gabriel, he is my knight after all." She looks over at Sir Gabriel while pointing to the stunned woman who is in her hand. "This is the Ghost Bandit?"

     "Yeah," Sir Gabriel answers. He can't see the look on Alex's face right now but he can easily imagine what it must look like right now. He did go through the same thing she is right now when he first met Ashley. Stunned with fear and very confused at the sight of such a large woman.

     Ashley turns back to Alex, examining her for a moment. The maiden is surprised that the Ghost Bandit is actually a woman. "So you are really the Ghost Bandit then?"

     Alex finally comes to her senses, realizing that she is not in any real danger from the giantess. This woman may have a hold of her, but it is clear that she has no intentions of hurting her. Otherwise she would have done so by now. Alex starts to struggle, kicking her feet wildly in a futile effort to free herself. She can't even free her arms from how tight Ashley's grio is on her. Though it isn't so tight to whwre she is uncomfortable. “Let me down this instant, you big bitch!"

     "Sorry, but I just can't do that," Ashley apologizes. "You have been stealing from a lot of people and you need to pay for for your crimes."

     "Why you no good, oversized, fucking bitch!" Alex is unphased by the size of Ashley. She doesn't care how big this woman is, she is going to say what is on her mind without any thought to any possible consequences. "Let me down this instant before I bash that ugly face of yours in! I'm gonna..." She is unable to finish her last sentence, her mouth being covered by a large finger.

    "Please," Ashley asks, "I don't appreciate being talked to like that, nor do I care for that kind of language. Could you please... OW!" Ashley pulls her finger away from Alex, who is laughing at the woman's pain. The sticks her sore finger into her mouth, sucking on it for a moment, before she pulls it back out to look at it. On the tip of her finger is a small red mark, right where she feels the pain at. She looks over at Sir Gabriel, who is looking a bit concerned, for the maiden. "She bit me." She then turns her attention back to Alex who is still laughing at what she did. "You bit me."

      "I hope it hurt! That's what you get for trying to shut me up," Alex responds. "Next time I'll be sure to make it more painful for you."

     "Ashley," Sir Gabriel shouts, calling up fo the large maiden. "Just let her whine and complain all she wants. We should get head back to town and take her to the jail so that we can claim the bounty that is on her head."

     Ashley sighs, knowing that there is very little that she can do to silence the woman in her hand. Well, she could silence her easily, but it would involve methods that she does not approve of. "This is going to be a long walk back," she mutters to herself as Alex continues to yell and protest at her.

     Ashley is now returning to the town of Oakvale, with Sir Gabriel riding on her shoulder once again. The two of them are feeling a bit annoyed towards Alex, who is refusing to keep quiet during the walk back. She is constantly yelling an assortment of insults at the couple and is very insistent on using a variety of profane words. She is still in Ashley's grip, struggling and squirming to free herself in a vain attempt to free herself. The giantess' grip is tight in her to prevent the wanted bandit from squirming free. Yet not so tight to cause her any pain.

     "Let me go! Let me go you overgrown bitch!" Alex protests. "You have no right to be handling me like this! When I get free, you are going to be in for it you ugly cunt! Just you wait and see!"

     Ashley stops for a moment, looking down at the captive woman. "Could you please, just be quiet?" There is no anger in her voice as she says this, knowing full well that a temper won't yield any desirable results from her captive. She understands that Alex does not want to be brought in for her crimes, but she knows that it must be done so that Alex can understand that there are consequences to her actions. "I really don't appreciate your colorful language."

     "Fucking make me stop then!" Alex shouts defiantly. "What are you going to do, shut my mouth? Go ahead and try it, I'll just bite your oversized finger again." She then snaps her teeth towards the giantess, greatly illustrating her point.

     "Alex," Sir Gabriel says, getting highly annoyed with her mouth. "You are being turned in, no matter what you say or what kind of language you use. You might as well be quiet and help make this trip as pleasant as possible."

     "Oh, well in that case, FUCK OFF!"

     Ashley lifts Alex towards her face, doing her best to look as stern as possible. Giving the same kind of look that a mother would give a disobedient child. "I am trying to be nice and my patience is wearing thin. Please be quiet."

     Alex stares at Ashley, not uttering a single word, giving the maiden the impression that she has gotten her point across. She is proven wrong when it sounds like the Ghost Bandit is clearing her throat as she spits at the large maiden."

      Ashley wipes her face off, displeased at the woman's actions towards her. She would like to do something to teach Alex a lesson, but she knows better. First of all, in her current frame of mind, she may go a bit too far in her actions. Second, it is not her place. Alex is the law's responsibility and they will handle her accordingly.

     Sir Gabriel sighs, realizing that it is pointless to try and reason with her. This woman is well beyond any such civility. He isn't too happy about how she is treating the woman he loves, but he is unable to take any action against her. "Let's just keep going, Ashley. The sooner we get back to town, the sooner we can be rid of her and her foul mouth."

     Ashley starts to walk again, doing her best to ignore Alex's obscene cries. "So Gabriel," Ashley says, using her own voice to drown out the sound of Alex's. "Why did you need me to help you with the Ghost Bandit? A knight, such as yourself, surely would have been able to bring her in with no problems."

     "Unfortunately, she is a woman," Sir Gabriel answers.

     Ashley is a bit confused by the knight's answer. "So, you're saying that you had to go easy on her?"

     "Something like that. Remember how I told you that I made a personal oath to always show respect towards women?"

     "You told me that earlier today. Of course, I remember."

     "That is not the only oath I have made. Because of my respect for women, I also made an oath to never raise a hand against the fairer sex, no matter what the reason for doing so may be."

     "So, you're saying that you couldn't fight her?"

      "Exactly."

      "What a pathetic excuse for a knight!" Alex shouts while laughing. "Can't even fight a woman!"

     Ashley smiles at Sir Gabriel, ignoring Alex's comment. "Chivalrous to a fault I see." She raises her free hand, holding her finger underneath Sir Gabriel's chin. "How very noble of you."

     It doesn't take Ashley long to reach the outskirts of the town, her long strides allowing her to travel long distances very easily. Stopping, she kneels to the ground as she lowers Sir Gabriel towards the ground on her palm. The knight is still getting used to this, mainly because Ashley's palm is soft.

    A bunch of the townsfolk stop so they can to look at the giantess as she is kneeling. They have all seen her walking about earlier, but she is still a bit of an odd sight for them. They have never seen anyone reach the height that she has. They doubt that anyone else is even tall enough to reach her knees. The one thing that they do not expect to see is that the maiden is holding a woman high above the ground.

     Alex can see everyone who has stopped to look at Ashley, a grin now forming on her face. "Help!" she cries out as if she is in distress. "This giant has me in a death grip and she is going to kill me! Help me!" Ashley can see that everyone is looking at her now, her face turning red because of Alex's false accusations. "She is crushing me and is threatening to eat me!"

      "Wait!" Ashley says frantically as she begins to defend herself. "I-it's not what it looks like, I swear. I'm not hurting her, I'm just holding her."

     "Against my will!" Alex adds. "I'm so scared, won't somebody help me?!" Alex can see that she now has everyone's attention, the woman decides to play up her distress. "She told me that she is boil me, mash me, put me in a stew!"

     "I would never do anything so horrible," the maiden responds to defend herself against Alex's wild accusations. "It would be wrong to do such a horrid thing."

      "Everyone, it's okay," Sir Gabriel says. "This woman is wanted for multiple counts of theft. We are simply just turning her in for the bounty that has been placed on her."

    "Liar!" Alex argues. "He's in on it! He's the one who suggested this massive bitch grab me! Help!" No one is responding to Alex's cries for help, some are even going about their business as if what is happening is normal. "Help me? Anybody?" She just can't believe what she is seeing here. No one is paying her any mind. She is clearly on the clutches of a giant woman. An angry mob should be forming. "What the hell is wrong with all of you?! I'm being held by a giant and crying out for help. Why won't anyone help me?!"

     "Because they know both Sir Gabriel and me," Ashley answers.

    "Wait, what?"

     "Gabriel grew up here, so a lot of people already know him. When he brought me here to meet his family, they trusted his word that I wouldn't harm anyone at all."

     Alex looks down at the crowd of people, who are still not reacting to the fact that the giantess has someone in her hand. "You sons of bitches are just going to let this overgrown bitch here just take me?!" Ashley sighs as Alex starts to go off once again, the woman's anger now going between the large woman and the townspeople. "I hope this oversized bitch steps on each and every one of you, you hear me!? Steps on each and every one of you!"

     Ashley is following Sir Gabriel through town, being mindful of where she is stepping. The roads throughout the town are a bit on the busy side with people walking towards their destinations. Luckily, Sir Gabriel is walking ahead of her, who is helping to keep a clear path for her so she can take each step safely. She still finds herself needing to step around some people, apologizing each and every time she needs to do so. These roads are not designed for a woman of her stature.

     She only stops when Sir Gabriel stops in front of a small building. It looks a bit on the plain side, the only notable thing about it is that the majority of the windows have bars on them.

     "Ashley!" Sir Gabriel calls to her. He watches as the maiden gets on her knees, getting closer to him so that she can hear him clearly. Standing up at her full height, the knight can be a bit hard to make out, especially with Alex still shouting as loud as she can. "I'm going to head inside and let the guards on duty know that we have the Ghost Bandit with us."

     "Wait!" Alex says, keeping Sir Gabriel's attention. Her attitude has changed completely. No longer shouting insults and using vulgar language, she actually sounds like she is trying to plead with him. "You're really going to turn me in? Come on, a chivalrous knight like you, is really going to let a defenseless woman, like me, go to jail?"

     "You weren't so defenseless when you were swinging away at me with that mace earlier. Besides, with everything that you have stolen, you need to face the consequences." Sir Gabriel turns to look up at Ashley, "I'll be right out."

      Ashley can only watch as Sir Gabriel enters the jail, unable to follow him. She sighs, already missing him. She will be the first to admit that she has become very attached to the knight. He was the first person to truly accept her, despite her extraordinary height. Her mind is pulled away from thinking about Sir Gabriel when she hears someone crying. She looks to the source to see that it is actually Alex, tears running down her cheeks.

     "Hey, what's wrong?" Ashley asks sympathetically.

     "You're really going to just sit there and let him turn me in?" Alex asks, her voice choked up as she is still crying.

      Ashley lifts the captive woman close to her face. "Well, you did break the law."

     "You can't let him turn me in," Alex pleads, sounding more desperate now. "They're going to kill me!"

     "For stealing? No, they won't execute you for that," Ashley replies reassuringly.

      "Not the guards. The moment I am in that jail cell, that's it. My life will be over, literally." Alex looks into Ashley's eyes. "Could you please, look inside your big heart and let me go?"

       "I'm not sure," Ashley says while feeling a bit torn. This woman does need to pay for her crimes, yet she does seem to be genuinely afraid for her life. "With everything you stole, I don't think that I should."

     "If you let me go, I promise I will leave Oakvale. No one will ever see me here again."

     Ashley is torn about this decision. True, Alex does need to face the consequences of what she has been doing. But to turn her in, only to have her life ended? After some debate, the giantess starts to slowly lower Alex away from her face, her mind made up on what she is going to do. Alex's tears stop when she feels the ground beneath her boots. Ashley releases her grip, leaning in towards the now free woman. "Go ahead. Just promise me that you won't cause any more trouble for anyone else."

     "I won't," Alex responds, feeling very relieved. She starts to step away from Ashley, not quite sure if she is going to be grabbed and lifted up into the air again, as if what is being done now is just some cruel trick. After taking several steps back, she breaks into a run, leaving the sight of the giantess.

     "I sure hope that I did the right thing," Ashley says to herself, feeling unsure about her actions. She jumps slightly, startled when Sir Gabriel comes out of the jail while being accompanied by two guards.

     "The Ghost Bandit was hiding out in an old house out in the forest," he says talking to the guards. He stops dead in his tracks, noticing that Ashley's hands are empty. "Ashley? Where is the Ghost Bandit?"

     "Well," Ashley begins. She is smiling nervously in a poor effort to hide what she had just done. "She got away."

      "She couldn't have gotten far," one of the guards says. "Split up and find her." The two guards take off, hoping to find the escapee before she gets away.

     "Ashley," Sir Gabriel says, looking up at her face. "How did she manage to get away from you? You had a firm grip on her. I know she couldn't have squirmed her way free. The first time you picked me up, I couldn't have done it. So what happened exactly??"

     "You see..." She is looking very nervous now, knowing that Sir Gabriel must have a slight idea of what happened. She then lowers her head feeling guilt-ridden as she confesses, "I let her go."

     Sir Gabriel can't believe what he is hearing. Ashley let Alex go? "What!? Why?"

     "I am so sorry, but she was crying. Talking about how she would have been killed if she was turned in." She can see the disappointed look on the knight's face, which only furthers her own guilt. "You're mad at me aren't you?"

     "Mad?" Sir Gabriel sighs, shaking his head. "No, just disappointed in you, that's all."

     "I know," Ashley responds, a tear starting to run down her cheek. "I shouldn't have listened to her and held onto her until you made it back out."

     "Ashley," Sir Gabriel says. He smiles as he looks up at her, "That's not why I am disappointed in you."

     The maiden gives her knight a confused look. "Then why?"

     "Because you didn't talk to me about it first."

     "So, you really aren't upset at me for letting her go like that?" Ashley looks hopeful, her guilt starting to dissipate now.

      "Of course not," Sir Gabriel says, he is smiling to help reassure her. "You are a kind and gentle soul, you did what you thought was best. Which just so happened to be letting Alex go."

     Ashley smiles at her knight, feeling completely relieved about the situation. She reaches out for him, picking him up. The knight is surprised at this, but not too much. He is a bit used to Ashley being able to pick him up, it's just that she is doing so without giving him any warning of her intentions to do so.

     The giantess is holding her knight in her arms, embracing him tightly to show her love for him. "You have no idea how glad I am to hear that you aren't mad at me. I love you so much."

     "I love you too, Ashley," Sir Gabriel starts to say, his voice a bit strained. He can hear the metal of his armor starting to creak, her embrace slightly crushing his armor. "Can you loosen your grip a bit? I think that this is a bit on the right side. You're squeezing my armor, believe it or not."

     "Oops!" She does as Sir Gabriel suggests, not realizing just how tight her embrace was. "Sorry, I guess I got a bit excited there for a moment."

     "It's okay. I can understand. Just try to be more careful the next time, that's all."

     "So, you're saying that you would have let Alex go free if I had just waited to talk to you?"

      "I would have at least heard her out first. If I felt that she was telling the truth, I would have helped her out. I would not have let any harm come to her. She was just stealing, so she does not deserve to be executed because of it."

     "So I am guessing that we should head back to your parent's place then?"

     "Yeah, we should. I can imagine that Momma must be starting on dinner by now."

      "I am getting a bit hungry," Ashley says as she looks down towards her stomach. The lunch that Sir Olric had given her earlier that day didn't completely fill her up.

      "I just need to make a quick stop first," Sir Gabriel says. "My shield did get a bit banged up from Alex swinging that mace around, so I need to stop at the blacksmith first."

     "You want me to come with you?" Ashley asks eagerly.

      "I can imagine that you will refuse to let go of me if my answer is anything but yes."

     Ashley nods her head playfully. "That is right. If you go somewhere, I go with you. You are stuck with me whether you like it or not."

     Sir Gabriel smiles back at her, "Then I guess it's a good thing that I love being stuck with you."

    Before letting Sir Gabriel down, Ashley lifts him high enough so that she can kiss him. The large woman's affection is more than welcomed by the knight, who is finding this affection becoming less odd due to her size. If anything it is becoming more desirable for him.

     The blacksmith's forge isn't too far from the jail, so it is a relatively short walk for the pair, which Ashley is a bit grateful for. She never did imagine that trying to walk through a populated town would be so much work for her. Most people only need to be careful so that they don't bump into anyone else. If she were to bump into someone, she could cause some serious harm to someone.

     Ashley kneels by the building, just to the side of the entryway. She can feel a wave of heat coming from inside the building, which she did expect. She is aware that a forge needs to remain at a high temperature to make the metal hot enough so that it can be worked with. Sir Gabriel steps inside, removing his round shield from his arm and his sword from his side. He can see a young man working on a chest plate, hammering away at it to give it a proper shape.

     The young man looks to be about the same age as Sir Gabriel. His black hair is kept short so that it does not obscure his vision while he is working. His eyes are hidden by a dark pair of goggles, protection from any sparks that may fly up as he is striking at the metal that he is forging. Due to how hot it is, he is not wearing a shirt either.

     "Jackson," Sir Gabriel says as he places his sword and shield on a nearby table, "How have you been?"

     Jackson looks up at the knight who is greeting him. He raises one of his hands in a greeting, which is covered with a thick leather glove. "Sir Gabriel," he says with a smile, taking off both his gloves before raising his goggles. "Hey, haven't seen you in a long while."

     "Hi," Ashley says, looking in through the entrance.

     Jackson is surprised at the sight of a very large face looking at him, causing him to jump back in surprise. "What the hell!" he shouts as he falls back, landing in a pile of armor.

     "Sorry," Ashley apologizes, knowing full well that she is the reason that the blacksmith had fallen over.

     "Jackson," Sir Gabriel says as he reaches out to help him up. "I'd like you to meet Ashley."

     As Jackson is raised to his feet, he takes another look at the smiling face that is staring at him. "So it's true? A large woman really is wandering around town." He continues to look at Ashley, his mind having a hard time comprehending her existence. "I thought that she was just a wild rumor that some drunk started to spread around."

      "I can assure you that what you have heard about her is true." As Sir Gabriel helps Jackson up, the differences in their heights are apparent. With the knight needing to look up at him a bit with Jackson being a tall man.

     Jackson walks outside, still staring at Ashley. She is definitely the biggest person that he has ever seen, finding it surreal to be standing right in front of her. He can't believe that he has to look up at her, while she is kneeling. He has gotten so used to needing to look down at most people, that he finds it unusual to be craning his neck up at someone for a change.

     "Ashley," Sir Gabriel says, "This is Jackson, the fine blacksmith who forged my arms and armor."

    "It is nice to meet you," Ashley says with a smile on her face.

     Jackson remembers how his mother would tell him the story of Jack and Beanstalk, and he definitely feels like Jack right now, except that he doesn't feel like he needs to run for his life from her. If anything she seems to be kind and friendly. "Likewise," he finally manages to say. "So giants really do exist? Are there more like you?"

    "I'm the only one who has gotten this big," Ashley answers.

     "She is only a giant in size," Sir Gabriel explains. "She used to be a normal-sized girl until she just started growing." He looks up at Ashley, "That is correct, isn't it?"

     Ashley nods her head, "That is right, I just kept growing until I hit fifty-one feet tall."

     Jackson looks back at Ashley, then back at Sir Gabriel. "So, how did you two meet?"

     "That is a bit of a long story," Sir Gabriel says as he starts to remove his armor one piece at a time. This is taking him some time, needing to undo each piece so that he can slide it off his body.

     "That shouldn't be a problem for you," Jackson replies with a bit of a smirk. "You have always loved to tell tales, especially when they were about your own adventures."

     "That is true," Sir Gabriel responds as he removes his chest plate, setting it down. "I can always tell you how I met Ashley when I pick up my armor tomorrow.

     Jackson heads over to where Sir Gabriel's sword and shield lay at, picking each one up and inspecting them. "Your sword looks good, I can see that you have been taking proper care of it. A light touch up won't hurt though. Your shield, however..." He is looking over the visible dents, several of which are quite recent. "Looks a bit dinged up."

     "You can thank the Ghost Bandit for that," Sir Gabriel comments.

      "So you brought the Ghost Bandit in. I might just charge you a bit extra this time, get a small piece of that reward that you earned." Jackson laughs a bit at this, not being entirely serious.

     "Unfortunately, I didn't get the reward.

     "What happened? You are a decent knight, surely you were able to bring them in."

     "She managed to get away from me," Ashley says.

     "Another long story, I take it?" Jackson asks, even though he feels that he knows the answer.

      "One that is best told in a more private setting," Sir Gabriel answers as he removes the last piece of armor.

     "Right," Jackson replies. He takes a look at the armor that Sir Gabriel has removed, a bit surprised at its condition. The several dents that are in it are to be expected, it is designed to protect him after all. "It looks like something tried to crush this armor. Did a dragon do this?"

     "I did," Ashley admits sheepishly.

     "You?" Jackson looks over at Ashley, surprised that she was able to crush the armor he made. Granted she is very large, so it is plausible that she does have the strength to do so.

     "It was an accident," Sir Gabriel says, defending his maiden. "She is a very affectionate woman, and she got a bit excited earlier. You can't fault her for it."

     "I'm not faulting her," Jackson says with a smile. "I'm just impressed that she was able to do this to something that I have crafted." He looks over the armor once more, before turning back to the knight. "I have an order to fill out still, so I won't be able to start on this until tomorrow, that okay?"

     "Of course. I'm not going anywhere until tomorrow," Sir Gabriel answers.

     "I should have your armor all fixed up by tomorrow afternoon."

     "Thanks. The usual amount I take it?"

      "Yup. Materials plus labor. I'll let you know how much it comes to when I finish. Can't give you a total if I don't know how many ingots I will be using."

     "Sounds fair to me." With that, Sir Gabriel leaves out, his gaze fixed on Ashley. "You ready to head back to my parents?"

     Ashley smiles at Sir Gabriel, nodding in response. "Yeah, I'm ready."

     Sir Gabriel and Ashley have just finished eating the meal that Heather had lovingly prepared for each of them. They both enjoyed a nice meal, though Ashley's meal was only enough to satisfy her appetite. The stew that Sir Gabriel's momma had prepared for her was good, and it was a decent-sized portion for her, but it was only just enough for the giantess. She isn't complaining though, she knows that it is difficult for someone to prepare enough food for her if they aren't given enough notice about her.

     The entire family is eating outside, not wanting Ashley to eat by herself. The idea of her eating in the dining room is one that is impossible for her, with her being unable to fit inside the family's house, much less a room. The Darrold's family home was built with a normal-sized family in mind so it is incapable of fitting a fifty-one foot tall woman.

     "That was absolutely delicious," Ashley comments with a smile, "Thank you."

     "I'm so glad you liked it, Dearie," Heather replies as she starts to gather up all the dishes from the table. She will admit that she wasn't quite sure how Ashley would have liked the stew she made. Tasting it herself, it did taste somewhat on the bland side. This isn't because of her cooking skills. After all, her cooking is one of the reasons that Sir Olric proposed to her almost thirty years ago. The stew's lack of taste is actually because of the lack of ingredients that she had on hand. True, Heather had everything that she needed to prepare a good stew, she just lacked the proper quantity to give it the taste that she wanted from it.

     Laura leans in closer to her brother, as her mother heads inside. Speaking in a low voice she tells him, "So, not only is your maiden as big as a house, she eats enough to feed one too."

      "Knock it off Laura," Sir Gabriel responds in a low tone as well. He knows exactly what Laura is referring to, he has seen Ashley eat several times now and is fully aware of how much the large maiden can eat. But this does not deter him from being with her, he knows that he will be able to provide for her.

      "The Ghost Bandit got away from you, along with your reward?" Sir Olric asks.

     "Unfortunately, that is the case," Sir Gabriel answers.

     "I feel so bad that I let her go," Ashley says, sounding apologetic about the incident.

    "No need to beat yourself up over it, lass," Sir Olric says reassuring the giantess. "A good sob story can get to just about anyone, especially if they have a good heart like yours."

     "I know, but still..." Ashley still feels some guilt about letting the Ghost Bandit get away. Sir Gabriel even told her that he was disappointed in her. Not because she let Alex get away from her, but because she didn't discuss her concerns with him first.

      "Ashley," Sir Gabriel says as he looks up at the maiden, getting up from his seat, he walks over to the maiden, sitting in her lap. He leans back into her, getting comfortable. He can only imagine how odd this must look to his family, but he finds himself becoming quite accustomed to this type of situation. "Don't worry about it. You did what you thought was best. The fact that you sympathized with Alex so easily does show what kind of person you truly are."

     "A gullible one," Laura says under her breath, chuckling a bit.

     Ashley lays her hand over the knight, her palm completely covering his torso. She gently pushes him closer to her, with the knight offering no resistance whatsoever. She can tell that the knight is sincere with his words, doing his best to help her feel better about the actions that she chose. Ashley can't help but smile at his words, believing them to be true.

      "Well," Sir Olric says as he stands up from his seat, "I gotta get back to the tavern. I don't think a good owner would leave his establishment for too long now, would he? Laura, help your momma with the dishes, would you? I imagine that there must be plenty to do and she could most certainly use the help."

      "Yes Papa," Laura says as she reluctantly gets up from her seat. She was hoping to get some alone time with her brother, having every intention of extorting some coin from him. She highly doubts that she will have the opportunity to do so today. Both him and the maiden being inseparable.

     Sir Olric starts to head back to town towards the Dented Flaggon while Laura heads inside to help her momma with dishes. With everyone else gone Sir Gabriel and Ashley are the only two that are left outside now. Sir Gabriel hasn't noticed that it is just him and Ashley now because he is very content leaning into the maiden with her hand over him. He is very comfortable where he is at not even thinking about moving unless he has to.

      Ashley looks up and around at the property. When she was first walking up to the house, she dis notice how much land there is and she hasn't had the chance to look around. Even though she wants to continue holding Sir Gabriel, her curiosity is starting to get the best of her now. Besides, she has plenty of time to hold him close. She gently moves the knight off her lap, looking around at the surrounding area.

      "Ashley?" Sir Gabriel asks. He watches her stand up to her full height, needing to crane his neck to do so. He jumps slightly as she lifts her foot to step over him. "Hey!" he shouts, making sure that the giantess can hear him. "Where are you going?"

     Ashley looks behind her and down at Sir Gabriel. She points ahead of herself, "I wanna take a look around." She starts to walk forward again, with Sir Gabriel needing to run just to keep up with her. At her size, she is able to move at a quick pace, even while walking.

     There isn't much to the property that she can see, and from her perspective, she can see a lot. Sir Olric and Heather have a decent amount of land but haven't done too much with it. There is a large area that is fenced off with a cow that is grazing along with a barn that is close by as well. One area, in particular, does catch her interest. It is a small area that is just about completely fenced off. Kneeling on the ground, she can see that it is clear, save for a couple of targets and what looks like a scarecrow. The scarecrow does look a bit odd to her because instead of it wearing old clothes to help it look like a person, it has a sack over its body with a bullseye on it.

     "I see you found the training area," Sir Gabriel says. His breathing is a bit on the heavy side because he practically to run just to keep up with Ashley.

      "Training area?" Ashley asks. Looking at it again, she can see it's purpose now.

     "Yeah," Sir Gabriel answers as he steps inside the fenced-in area. He grabs a wooden sword, swinging it a bit so he can get a feel for it. It has been a while since he has held it, the training sword being much lighter than his actual blade. "I used to spend a lot of time here, honing my swordsmanship while I was squiring for Sir Olric."

     "You must have mastered the sword if you spent that much time practicing." Ashley can picture Sir Gabriel going up a horde of bandits. Each one going down with each skilled swipe from his blade. Felling each foe until only the knight and the bandit leader remains. A climactic battle plays out in her head, the two foes trading blows until Sir Gabriel delivers a finishing blow.

      "I am no master," Sir Gabriel admits, pulling the daydreaming maiden back to reality. He swings at the training dummy a couple of times, the wooden sword merely striking it and causing it to sway a bit since it is not sharp a sharp weapon. "It takes years to become a master, and even then, it takes the teaching of a master to reach such a level. I am only highly skilled when it comes to the blade."

    "Well, I still believe that seeing you wield your sword would be a sight to behold."

     "Perhaps," Sir Gabriel responds. "Though it would depend on the opponent I am facing, to be honest." He switches to his left hand before he continues to strike at the dummy.

      Ashley watches as the knight is now swinging at the training dummy with his off-hand and she can't help but be impressed with his skill. "I had no idea that you were ambidextrous."

     Sir Gabriel stops swinging at the dummy, staring up at Ashley with a confused look on his face. The last word that she had used sounded outright foreign to him. "Ambi-what?"

     Ashley laughs slightly. "Am-bi-dex-trous," she repeats, slowing down the pronunciation so the knight can understand her a little bit better.

     "I have to admit that I am not familiar with that word."

     "Here is the best way that I can explain it to you. Most people are right-handed when it comes to some things, while a few are left-handed. Being ambidextrous means that you can use either hand. In other words, I am saying that you can wield your sword skillfully with either hand."

     "I wouldn't quite say that," Sir Gabriel admits. "I am still learning how to wield the blade properly with my left hand." He swings at the dummy a couple more times. To him, his movements feel a bit slow and sloppy, as if he is still learning how to wield a blade with his off-hand.

     "So you are teaching yourself to be able to use either hand then?"

     "Correct," Sir Gabriel answers, "Sir Olric suggested that I should become skilled with the blade in either hand. That way, if I ever find myself in a situation where I am unable to use my right hand in a fight, I need to be able to hold my own in combat using my opposite hand."

     "Gabriel Ian Randal!" Heather shouts, walking towards her son. Laura is following her, a gleeful look on her face since she knows that Sir Gabriel is in for it now. Sir Gabriel cringes the moment he hears his momma yelling. The fact that she is using his full name is a clear indication that she is not happy with him. "I go to grab your clothes from your duffle bag so that I can wash them, and I find this!" She is holding up a sizeable, yet familiar-looking, piece of cloth that is practically brown in color. "At first I thought that you may have just fallen in some mud. But to find both of your shirts like this surely means it was no mere accident."

     Sir Gabriel recognizes the shirts that his momma has in her hand, the same muddy shirts that he had used to off wipe off Ashley's foot earlier that day. "There is a good reason as to how those shirts got so muddy."

     "Oh really?" Heather puts her hands on her hips, talking to the full-grown knight as if he is still a child. "And what reason would that be? Because the only reason that I can think of, that would cause you to get these shirts so filthy, is if you were rolling around in the mud like a pig. It's not that easy to get stains like these out. You could have at least rinsed these shirts off in a river. Shirts aren't exactly cheap, you know."

     Laura giggles a bit. "A pig. That's what he was doing."

      Heather looks back at her daughter, "Enough out of you young lady. Now go back inside and finish up those dishes."

     "But Momma..." Laura protests. She is intent on watching her brother getting lectured. Finding it to be quite entertaining.

     "I said NOW, young lady!" Heather points towards the house, not particularly in the mood for dealing with her daughter like this.

     "Yes Ma'am," Laura says, recognizing the firm tone.

     Heather turns back to face Sir Gabriel as Laura heads back to the house. "Well, I'm waiting for that explanation."

     Ashley finally speaks up, grabbing the displeased woman's attention. "It's not entirely his fault that his shirts are muddy. I am the one to blame."

     "How is that?" Heather asks. Her tone is calmer now. She has no reason to be upset at Ashley. If what she is saying is true, then the reason for her son's shirts being so muddy must be a good one.M

     "Well," Ashley begins, sounding a bit nervous. "I stepped in some mud on the way here, and it was bothering me. I did my best to tolerate it, but your son could see just how much I was bothered by it. So Gabriel offered to wipe the mud off my foot. I tried to tell him not to use his shirt, but he was  insistent about it, saying that he had nothing else to use to wipe the mess off my foot."

     Helena looks back over at her son, raising an eyebrow at him. "Is what Ashley is saying true?"

     "Yes Ma'am," Sir Gabriel answers respectfully.

     "Well, I guess I can understand that." Heather sighs, looking over the ruined articles of clothing. "Maybe a couple of washes will at least get these close to white again." She then looks back at Sir Gabriel, who is looking like he is still expecting a lecture from her. "I'll be sure to leave out a large piece of cloth that you can pack. That way you have something more ideal to use in case she steps in something again."

     "Thanks, Momma. That would be a lot better since Ashley has a strong displeasure with her feet becoming excessively filthy. I am sure that she will greatly appreciate having something that will be designated for such a use"

     "See, Gabriel even agrees that I have pretty feet," Ashley says with a big smile on her face. The resulting comment causes Sir Gabriel to blush. The maiden is lying, the knight has told her that her feet are pretty.

     "Do you truly think that about her feet?" Heather asks.

     Sir Gabriel is at a loss for words. not sure about how he should answer the question. Most would find such a claim to be too embarrassing to admit to. He looks back at Ashley, hoping that she will say something to help him out. He can see that she is just smiling at him, no doubt waiting to hear his answer, one that she knows he will undoubtedly give. "I can honestly say that I do agree with Ashley when she claims to have such pretty feet."

     Heather takes a couple of steps forward, getting closer to Sir Gabriel. She then reaches up and pinches his cheek, "I did raise you well if you are willing to treat her like she says you did."

     The moment that his momma lets go of his cheek, Sir Gabriel is rubbing the area that was being pinched. "Now then, it is getting a bit late now," Heather points out. The sky is starting to turn orange, with the horizon looking red as the sun is starting to set. "It's about time to settle down and get ready to turn in for the day." She looks over at Ashley, looking a bit concerned. "I wish that I had a bed to offer you, dear."

     "That's okay," Ashley says cheerfully. "I am fine sleeping outside. It will be nice to sleep out under the stars again."

     "Are you sure about that, Dearie? You won't be uncomfortable laying on the cold, hard ground?"

      Ashley shakes her head. "As long as I have Gabriel in my arms, I will be fine sleeping just about anywhere."

     "Wait, you two are sleeping together?"

     "Momma, it's fine," Sir Gabriel says defensively. He knows his mother's views, and he is aware of the fact that she doesn't approve of an unmarried couple laying together. "We just cuddle, that's all."

     "I know all too well what cuddling can lead to," Heather replies. "You were raised on good values and you should know better than to share a bed with a woman you are only courting. Such privileges are reserved for those who are married."

     "I see nothing wrong with laying with the woman I love. The woman who I plan on being with for the rest of my life," Sir Gabriel responds. "What is so wrong if I lay with her now or after we are married?"

     Ashley leans forward, getting on her hands and knees so that she can get close to Sir Gabriel's momma. "Heather, please. I was raised on these same values as well. I know how important it is for a maiden to retain her virtue until the day she is married. But I see nothing wrong with holding your son, the man I love while falling asleep. Besides, even you know that Gabriel will be marrying me one day, so what is wrong with us enjoying a little bit of intimacy early in our relationship?"

      Heather sighs, she figures that she really can't argue against a woman who is ten times bigger than her. "Alright," she responds, still not agreeing with the two laying together, but she knows that they are both adults and that they have a right to choose. "I've said my piece, and that's all I can do right now."

     "Thank you for understanding," Ashley says.

     "It's not an understanding," Heather says. "Its more like, I will be able to hear you two if you do decide to go too far. Along with half the town, I'm sure." The couple both blush, realizing exactly what Heather is implying. "Goodnight you two."

     "Goodnight, Momma" Sir Gabriel says, now feeling very awkward about everything that she had just said to the both of them.

     "Goodnight," Ashley chimes in. The giant woman gets up, only to move to an area that is large enough for her to lay at. She lays down at a clearing that is large enough for her to lay down and stretch out, getting as comfortable as she can on the ground.

      Sir Gabriel walks up to Ashley as she is getting comfortable. Standing by her side, he debates on the best way to climb up on her. Even with her laying down, his head is the only thing that is above her side. He looks down her body, his eyes trailing down to her bare feet. Climbing up on her ankles then walking up her leg would make for the easiest way to climb onto her. Though walking all the way down then back up would make for a bit of a walk.

      "Here," Ashley says as she leans up on her side. She reaches for the knight, wrapping her fingers around his body, "Let me help you up."

     Sir Gabriel feels himself being lifted into the air, only to be placed on the maiden stomach. He lays down on the giantess, resting his head on her chest. Like last time, he is very comfortable where he is laying. Finding it to be more comfortable than any bed he has ever laid on. The knight looks up, his view of Ashley's face partially obstructed by her breasts. Though he can imagine that she is smiling back at him right now.

     Ashley wraps her arms around the knight, being sure to hold him close to her body. She is looking down at him, seeing how content he looks laying on her. "You comfortable?"

     "Very much, yes. How about you?"

     "As long as I have you, I am content to lie just about anywhere." Noticing where the knight's head is at on her, she thinks back to what Sir Gabriel had told her earlier today. "Are you able to hear my heartbeat?"

     "Quite easily, yes."

     "You really do enjoy listening to it, don't you?"

     "Oddly enough, I do. It's very soothing to listen to. It's a bit hard to explain why though." He isn't quite sure why he enjoys listening to the rhythmic thumping in Ashley's chest. Most people don't think about listening to one's heart, much less falling asleep to the sound of it.

     "Well, I think it is very sweet that you find it so relaxing."

     "I will admit that I look forward to laying with you like this. For one, I love you and it is a great way to be with you. Not to mention that you are absolutely comfortable to lay on."

     "You forgot to say that me holding you shows just how much I love and care for you."

     "I can tell that by your embrace, it is just so loving." Sir Gabriel yawns as the sky continues to grow darker, Ashley's body helping him to fall asleep.

      "Gabriel?" Ashley says looking down at the comfortable knight. Sir Gabriel only groans in response, already falling asleep in Ashley's embrace. "Are you that sure about marrying me?"

     "Of course I am," Sir Gabriel answers. "What brings up a question like that?

     "I don't know." Ashley shifts a bit as if she is nervous about something. "I know that we are far from being a typical couple. An so far we have had to improvise on a lot of things most couples do. I think I am worried about how certain things can be accomplished with our differences in size."

     Sir Gabriel immediately knows why Ashley is asking such questions now. He figures with what his momma was implying they were going to do tonight must have brought up some questions about the "how to" aspect when it comes time. "Ashley, everything that we have done together has been wonderful. The way we kiss and the way you hold me may seem to be a bit odd, but these are things we both enjoy. When it does come time for such intimate actions we will find a way to do so. Right now, I love you and that is all that should matter right now."

    Ashley smiles at him, happy with the answer that she was given. She leans her head up, trying not to disturb Sir Gabriel too much as she kisses him on his head. "I love you too." She starts to get comfortable, or as comfortable as she can while laying on the ground. With Sir Gabriel in her arms, the maiden closes her eyes, looking forward to another day with her knight.

    After a nice night's rest, Ashley is now starting to wake up. She scrunches her eyes, the light from the morning sun not entirely being a welcome sight for her. She would like to sleep a bit longer, still feeling a bit tired. But she does not want to waste the entire day sleeping, even though it would mean that she can continue holding the man she loves all morning long as a result. Deciding to get up, the maiden stretches her legs, pointing her feet forward and even spreading her long toes as she is starting to wake up.

     When the giantess finally opens her eyes, she is greeted by the sight of a clear, blue sky. This is a sight that she does like to see. Which means that it shouldn't rain. But there is something else that she would rather have as the first thing she lays her eyes on, or rather someone. She looks down to see that her knight, Sir Gabriel, is still in her embrace, having slept in her arms all last night. She smiles at him, glad that he is with her. She may have only met him a couple of days ago but she just can't imagine her life without him now.

     "I see that somebody is finally awake," Sir Gabriel says with a smile on his face. He did sleep rather comfortably in the maiden's loving arms. Until he met the loving maiden, he never once thought that he would be falling asleep in a woman's embrace. Instead, he has always pictured it to be the other way around, his arms around the woman he loves as they slept together.

     He remembers his first experience sleeping with Ashley like this. Finding the idea of being in her embrace as they laid down for the night as being odd. He did not dismiss the idea entirely, seeing as he has enjoyed every other form of affection the giant maiden has shown him so far. He is glad that he allowed her to hold him. It was the best night's sleep he has ever had, and last night was no different. Laying on her, with her arms wrapped around him, has been enjoyable for him.

     "How long have you been awake?" Ashley asks. She tightens her hold on the knight slightly so that she can hug him.

     "For an hour, at least," Sir Gabriel answers with a warm smile on his face. I tried to get up, but you are just so insistent on holding me."

     "Why didn't you wake me up?"

     "I tried to, but it seems as though you are a bit of a heavy sleeper." While Ashley was sleeping, Sir Gabriel did try his best to wake up the sleeping giantess. Nudging her, yelling her name, yet she slept through all of his attempts. Which meant that he had no choice but to wait for her to wake up before he could get up for the day.

     "Either that or you are just too small to disturb me while I am sleeping." That is one thing that the knight did not consider. From her perspective, he has to wonder what any form of force from him would feel like. A considerable nudge may only feel like a light tap to her. He will have to get a bit more creative next time, should he need to get up before her.

     "Well, I am awake now," Ashley says as she begins to sit up. She maintains her hold on Sir Gabriel, refusing to let him go until it is necessary. "Which means we get to spend more time together." She raises the knight to her lips, planting a kiss right on his face to show her affection.

     "Ughhhhhh..." Sir Gabriel groans with a bit of a disgusted look on his face. It isn't the kiss that has caused such a reaction from him, but rather a foul smell that is coming from Ashley's mouth. "Morning breath."

     "Oops, sorry," Ashley apologizes, covering her mouth out of embarrassment. She starts to blush a little, realizing how it must have been for the knight. "I didn't realize it was that bad."

     "It's okay. I was just caught a bit off guard, is all. No reason to not kiss me in the mornings."

     "So glad you two are awake," Heather says. Sir Gabriel's mother is making her way to the couple, looking upwards just so she can see their faces. "I hope you two are hungry, I spent just about all morning making breakfast."

     "You didn't have to go through all that trouble." Ashley does feel a bit bad about Heather going through so much trouble to feed her. She is well aware of how much effort is needed just to prepare a satisfying meal for her.

     "It was no trouble at all, Dearie." Heather is smiling as she says this, brushing off what Ashley had said to her. "I enjoy feeding family, kind of like a hobby actually."

     "You already see me as  a part of your family?" Ashley says with a confused look. She can't help but smile a bit at hearing how Helena referred to her. "But Gabriel and I aren't married yet."

     "Not married, yet, " Heather repeats. "Now, I hope you like pancakes and eggs, I made sure to make plenty for you this morning."

     "That sounds delicious," Ashley replies.

     "Gabriel," Heather continues, "I made sure to make your favorite as well, pork jowls."

     "Thanks, Momma," Sir Gabriel responds. "Ashley and I will be sure to be at the table real soon.

     As Heather starts to walk away, Ashley looks down at Sir Gabriel. "Pork jowls?" She isn't asking the knight what they are, she is just a bit surprised. Most people only tend to eat pork jowl bacon over actual bacon since it does tend to be cheaper.

     "They tend to have more fat than bacon, but that is why I prefer them."

      Ashley stands up, still holding Sir Gabriel in her arms. "You are very reluctant to let me go, aren't you?" Sir Gabriel asks.

     "I love holding you," Ashley answers. "Don't you like being held by me?"

     "I do enjoy it very much, yes. But if you keep it up, you just might spoil me."

      "Then spoil you I shall." She finally stands up, keeping Sir Gabriel in her loving embrace as she makes her way to the Darrold's house.

     Once the giant maiden arrives at the table, which is outside of the house so that everyone can eat together. Being fifty-one feet tall, Ashley is unable to enter the Darrold's family home. She does feel somewhat guilty about everyone eating outside on her account. But Both Sir Olric and Heather did insist on it, claiming that everyone needs to eat together.

     The maiden sits on the ground and crosses her legs. Sitting in front of Ashley is a sizable platter with plenty of eggs and half a dozen large pancakes sitting on it. She does have to wonder how Heather was able to procure enough eggs to make her breakfast. Though she has heard Heather mention a chicken coop several times, threatening Laura that she would have to clean it should she keep on misbehaving. Do they have enough chickens to easily have such a large supply of eggs on hand? There is another plate next to hers, a small one. Though it would be a normal-sized plate to anyone else. She figures that this must be Sir Gabriel's breakfast. Reluctantly, she does let go of the knight so that he can sit at her spot.

     Sir Olric exits the family's home, making his way to the table where his breakfast is waiting for him as well. "Morning," he says to both Sir Gabriel and Ashley, sitting at his spot.

     "Morning," Sir Gabriel responds.

     "Good morning Sir Olric." Ashley sounds a bit cheerful as she greets the retired knight.

     "Laura!" Heather yells from just inside the front door. The volume of his wife's voice causes Sir Olric to cringe a little. His head is pounding, a result of the consequences from all the drinking he did last night and his wife yelling at their daughter is only making it worse. "Get up! This is the last time I am calling you! If I have to go in there to get you up, neither one of us is going to be happy about it. Do you hear me?!

     A loud groan can be heard coming from inside the house. "Alright!" Laura yells back, sounding very groggy. "I'm up! I'm up!"

      Heather steps outside, "Sorry about all that yelling. I swear, that girl sometimes." She leans in to kiss her husband on the cheek before she sits down next to. "Go ahead and eat, all of you. Don't let your breakfast get cold because Laura doesn't want to get up. Eat up, eat up."

     Ashley reaches down and starts to eat, very eager to taste the delicious-looking meal that is before her. She is very hungry, the two meals that she had yesterday were just barely enough for her large appetite. Shel has to use her hands to eat the meal that is before her, which she knows is not very ladylike. This is not by choice though, since there are no utensils that are large enough for her to use.

     Everyone's attention is turned to the door of the house as Laura finally steps out. Her eyes are half-closed as she has not fully woken up yet. Still in her pink nightgown and her hair a complete and utter mess, it is obvious that she has made no effort in attempting to get ready for the day. If Heather would allow it, she would end up sleeping in until noon.

     "It's about time you got up, young lady," Heather comments. "I thought I was going to need to grab you by the ankles and drag you out of that bed." Laura only groans in response, stepping out of the house in her bare feet as she makes her way to the table. From how she is moving, one does have to wonder if she is sleepwalking.

     This is the only time of the day when Sir Gabriel can be around his sister. Not being a morning person, she tends to be out of it for at least a couple of hours after she wakes up. Which means no unprovoked headlocks or rude comments from her. Though he still does need to be careful around her. The slightest provocation does have some terrible consequences.

     As Sir Gabriel grabs one of his pork jowls, Laura snatches it right out of his hand and starts to eat it. "Hey!" he protests, which is then immediately met with a swift slap upside the back of his head by his still tired sister.

     "Laura!" Heather yells.

     "Gabriel! Are you okay?" Ashley asks out of concern. She is quick to reach out and grab the knight, pulling him in close to her.

     "Yeah, I'm fine," Sir Gabriel answers. He is rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head. "Laura isn't exactly a morning person."

     Sir Gabriel knows just how mean his sister can be when she doesn't wake up naturally. With any action towards her taken by him usually being met with some form of physical retaliation. Which is why he tries not to say anything to her until she is fully awake.

     Ashley looks down at Laura, who is just going through the motions of eating her breakfast. "Laura," Ashley says in a firm tone. "I don't know what is going on between you and Gabriel but it needs to stop!" Sir Olric and Heather can only watch as the giantess is lecturing their daughter. They aren't so much surprised at what Ashley is saying, but rather that Laura is so out of it that she isn't even registering that the giantess is speaking to her.

     The rest of the breakfast is finished in silence, everyone enjoying the delicious meal that Heather had lovingly prepared. Though it is hard to tell if Laura is enjoying her plate due to her dead stare, who is still eating her breakfast slowly.

     "That was good. Thanks, Momma." Sir Gabriel pushes his plate away, content with what he has just eaten.

     "Aye, it was a delicious breakfast," Sir Olric adds. "I may have to find a way to thank you later if you catch my meaning." This causes Heather to blush a bit, knowing exactly what her husband is saying. The two of them may have been married for many years, but their relationship has held strong because of the love that they still have for each other.

     "Heather, that was a good breakfast," Ashley compliments. "One of the best I  have had in years."

     Heather looks up at Ashley, smiling at the maiden. "Why thank you dearie, and don't call me Heather. Please, call me Momma."

     "Momma?" Ashley repeats, sounding a bit confused.

     "I insist. No future daughter-in-law of mine is going to call me by my first name."

     Ashley looks down at Sir Gabriel, who just smiles at her. She then looks back at his mother, "Okay, Momma." This causes the woman to smile a bit, who can't help but feel that she is has been accepted, despite her size, and officially part of the family now.

     "So, Sir Gabriel," Sir Olric begins, "How long do you plan on staying today?"

     "Ashley does want to travel the countryside and see Albion. That and I need to make my long overdue trip to the town of August. So I imagine that we will be taking our leave this afternoon when my armor is finished being repaired."

     "Wait?" There is a tone of curiosity in Ashley's voice, wondering what Sir Gabriel is talking about. "What do you have to do in the town of August? Is it another job?"

     Sir Gabriel turns and looks up at the maiden. "No, nothing like that. I try to visit my parents as often as my travels allow me to."

     "But I thought your parents were... Oh..." Ashley now realizes what the nature of Sir Gabriel's stop in August is.

     "Yeah. I stop by their gravesite and I just talk to them is all."

     Ashley reaches over to Sir Gabriel, picking him up and holding him close in her arms once again. She knows that the topic of his parents is a touchy one, able to see the pain in his eyes. She makes sure that her embrace is one of comfort, believing that he does need it. "Take all the time you need there. I am sure that they will want to hear everything from you."

     "Well then," Sir Olric says as he stands up, wanting to change the somber topic. "If you are going to be leaving soon, I have a nice parting gift for you." The old, retired knight stands up and starts to head for the house, limping a bit due to his bad knee. He doesn't go inside, but merely just reaches inside the front door, grabbing a long object that is wrapped in a burlap cloth. "Here, open it up." Sir Olric hands the item to his adopted son as he is lowered back to the ground, "I think you just might like it.

     Sir Gabriel takes the wrapped object and turns it over in his hands, examining it. There is a piece of twine tied around it to keep the cloth from coming off it. Holding it in his hands, he can tell from the weight and shape that it is a sword. He undoes the knot in the twine and unwraps the object, eager to take a look at this blade that he is being given. His eyes widen in disbelief as he recognizes just what it is.

     He was right by guessing that it is a sword, he just didn't know that it was Sir Olric's blade. The hilt of the blade itself has the head of a lion, it's mouth open as if it is letting out a mighty roar. Sir Gabriel looks up at Olric in disbelief, holding a blade that should not belong to him.

     "I-I can't take this." Sir Gabriel says as he tries to hand the weapon back to who he believes is the rightful owner. "This is your blade by right, I can't accept it."

     Sir Olric places his hand on the sword's scabbard. Not to grab it, but to push it back. "It is yours by right now, my boy. You were always going to inherit this blade someday. With me being retired now, I have no use for it anymore. I would rather see it in the hands of my son, a capable knight, than to see it just sitting in the house collecting dust."

    Sir Gabriel stands up stepping off of Ashley's lap. He pulls the blade out from its scabbard partially, seeing the word "HONOR" engraved on the blade itself. "Thanks, Sir Olric," Sir Gabriel says, still in a state of disbelief. He draws the sword fully, giving it a couple of swings to get a feel for it. "It is slightly heavier than my other sword, something I need to get used to."

     "Made from quality steel by a master blacksmith. It should serve you very well as you travel."

     Sir Gabriel sheaths the blade, looking at Sir Olric. "I will be sure to put it to good use." He looks up at Ashley, smiling at her. "I would love to say that I would be using it to protect you on our travels, but I highly doubt there are many things that could put you in danger."

     "There aren't that many, dangers that I need protecting from," Ashley says honestly." At her height, she highly doubts that anything could be considered a threat to her. "Though you do need to remember that you saved me from being lonely."

     Sir Gabriel takes a step closer towards the giant maiden, placing his hand on her knee. "Not my most impressive rescue, but it is a rescue that I am glad that I performed. It got me the woman who I love very much."

     "Awwww..." Ashley reaches down and wraps her fingers around the knight again. Both Sir Olric and Heather are watching how easily the giantess can lift their son into the air and to her face. She pulls him in closer, giving him another kiss, just as he kisses her lower lip. Pulling him away, she smiles at the knight.

     All Sir Gabriel can do is look at Ashley's smiling face, there isn't much else he can do in the loving woman's grip. He feels himself being lowered to the ground, Ashley still smiling at him. Sir Gabriel looks at the sword once again, seeing it as a good sign of how his journey with Ashley will be progressing.