Giant Boots

By Astrogator

Chapter  1

Very late in the day, Zoltan, the ogre who had ruled the land for many years came crashing through the forest, taller than the trees and stopped, looking down at a little hut that lay in the clearing.  "Come out, woodman," he shouted in a huge voice.  "I am the mighty Zoltan!  Come out or I will crush your little house with you in it!"

The old woodsman came creeping out of the hut with his back bent and peering fearfully up at the monster.  "Have mercy on me, Lord Zoltan!" pleaded the woodman.  "I am old and poor and will die soon.  Have pity and leave me in peace!"

The giant scowled and made a rumbling noise deep in his throat.  "Do you expect me to believe that you live here alone, old man?  Do not lie to me!  If there is someone hiding in that hovel, they had better come out before I crush it."

"There is only me, mighty one!  Have mercy!  Do not destroy my house for I have no place to go."

The giant lifted his huge black boot and held it over the hut.  "This is your last chance," announced the giant.  "Come out now!"
There was a shriek and a woman came running from the hut and put her arms around the old woodman.  "Mercy! Mercy!" she pleaded.

"Ah ha!" boomed the giant.  "What have we here!"  He bent low and scooped up the tiny woman in his colossal hands.  He lifted her screaming into the air and held her near his face to examine her.  "You are too young for such an old man," said the giant.  "Who are you?"

"I am the woodman's granddaughter, Master," said the woman.  "Please do not harm us!  We are your loyal subjects!"

"What is your name," demanded the giant.

"I am called Selena," said the young woman, her whole body shaking with fear within the iron grip of the giant's encircling fingers.  "Are you going to kill us?  We have obeyed your laws and paid our tithes faithfully."

"I am very tired," said Zoltan.  "I have come many leagues across my vast kingdom and I need a place to rest and rebuild my strength for the long journey back to my castle.  This will do."

The giant turned his attention to the old man, raising his boot and stamping the poor fellow to death with one devastating blow.  Selena screamed in horror and looked away.  The giant bent over and placed her on the ground.

"Do not run away," Zoltan said sternly.  "I am not going to hurt you.  Go into the hut and wait."

She cast one tearful glance at the flattened body of her grandfather, then ran into the hut sobbing.  The giant then seated himself on the ground and removed his boots one at a time.  He placed one boot next the hut and it towered over the tiny cottage incongruously.  The giant then removed the other boot and placed it next to the first one.  As soon as he did so, the giant and the boots began to shrink rapidly until the giant was the size of an ordinary man and the boots were the size of an ordinary man's boots.  The ogre picked up the boots, slipped them under his arm and carried them into the hut.

Selena was astonished to see him and she stopped weeping for her grandfather and stared at him in wonder.  "How did you do that?" she asked.  "How can you be a giant one moment and an ordinary man the next?"

"None of your business," said the ogre.  He gazed around the hut and said, "This place is a disgrace to my station, but it is clean and warm.  You will feed me and warm my bed tonight with your young body.  Now what have you got to eat?"

Selena gestured toward the stove where a kettle was bubbling lazily.  "My poor grandfather lived on porridge and milk," she said.  "He had no teeth to chew solid food."

The ogre made a face and spat.  "Have you nothing better?"

"There are some beans and bread," said Selena.  "Give me time and I shall heat them for you."

"Do not delay," said the ogre.  "I am very hungry."

Selena gestured toward the door.  "What about my grandfather?"

"What about him?" said the ogre.

"How can you ask me to offer my hospitality while my murdered grandfather's body lies unburied just outside the door?"

"Stupid wench," growled Zoltan.  "Do you expect me to dig a grave for that piece of scum?  It is work for serf's, not sovereigns.  I am the ruler of this land!"

"Of course not, Master," said Selena.  "It would be an insult to your dignity to do such a thing.  I only ask your permission to leave the house long enough to place my grandfather's body beneath the sod.   Then I will return and prepare your meal."

The ogre grumbled.  "Never mind that," he said.  "You tend to the food.  I shall tend to your worthless grandfather."  He turned to go out the door, then remember the boots he was carrying.  He started to put them down, then looked at Selena appraisingly.  "I am going to leave my boots here," he said.  "If you touch them, you will die."

"I shall not touch them, Master," said Selena.  She watched carefully as he placed them on a high shelf and turned to face her once again.

"Those boots are enchanted," he said.  "If anyone touches them, they will cry out to me and I shall come and kill the thief!"

"Your boots are safe in my care," said Selena.

The ogre looked into her eyes appraisingly, then smiled and said.  "Now I shall bury your grandfather.  You are right, it is the decent thing to do.  The exercise will sharpen my appetite and help pass the time until supper."  His eyes gleamed as he added, "I want you to be easy in your mind while I explore that delightful body of yours tonight!"

When Zoltan returned to the cabin about an hour later, he glanced up at the shelf and saw the boots were still there, then turned to see that Selena had set a place for him on the rough-hewn board of the table that dominated the center of the cottage.  "Please be seated, my lord Zoltan," said Selena.  "It is simple fare I offer you, but it is hot and there is plenty of it."

Zoltan smiled and a warm, kindly feeling stole over him.  For a moment he fantasized himself a simple woodman, coming home to his beautiful young wife, all eager to fill his belly and lavish her tender caresses upon him.  "Is that fresh cornbread I smell?" he asked, as he took his eat at the table.

"Yes, Master," said Selena and she placed a huge platter of square cut slices before him, along side a bowl of freshly churned butter.  She then brought the kettle and dipped a magnificent pile of beans onto his plate.  "Would you like some fresh onions with that, Master?"

"Oh yes, indeed!" said Zoltan.  He studied the young woman's face but he could see no trace of anger or hostility there as she scattered the chopped onions over his beans.  "What a treasure you are," he said.  "If you are as good in bed as you are in the kitchen, I shall make you first lady of the land!"  

Selena's features were marred by a frown when he said that, and he realized that he had offended her.  He felt kindly toward her and had not wished to hurt her.  "Please accept my apologies," he said.  "I have grown accustomed to saying what I think without regard to the feelings of others."

"Your are Lord Zoltan," she said, inclining her head respectfully.  "We are all your humble subjects who exist only to serve you."  She poured him a mug of brew and said, "It is only an humble mead, Master, but it is an honest drink."

The ogre began to eat and after he tasted the first bite, he began to eat more rapidly, for the food though simple was delicious.  He finished the plate and asked  for more and she gave it to him and he downed two tall mugs of the frothy mead.  When he was done, he leaned back in his chair and patted his full belly.  "This is the way to live," he said.  "If I could, I would give up my power and responsibility and live the life of a simple woodman."  He looked up at her.  "Who needs power and dominion?  All a man needs to be happy is an humble cottage and a good woman like you to look after him.  Prepare my bed now.  I will sleep some."  With that, he rose to his feet and began removing his leggings, his breeches, and his jacket while Selena turned down the covers on the big bed that stood shoved up into the corner of the cabin.

Zoltan slid into bed  and raised up on his elbow.  "Take off your clothes Selena, and come here to me.  Tonight will be a night you shall long remember.  You will tell your granddaughters how you once slept with a god.  Perhaps you will have a child of my own blood."

"I will come soon," said Selena.  "But I must clean up the supper and lay the fire for your breakfast.  You will be hungry again in the morning.  A night of love making does that to a man."  She looked at him and smiled.

A big grin spread over Zoltan's face.  "You amaze me, Selena," he said.  "You are a woman worthy of a god, that is a certainty.  Your grandfather's body is still warm in his grave, yet you come eagerly to the embrace of the man who killed him.  You are not like other women and I admire you for it."

Selena moved quickly about the cottage, putting away the supper things, cleaning the dishes and pots and laying the fire.  Zoltan watched her with a warm, homey feeling and his ardor rose.  He was getting old, he knew, but this woman made him feel eighteen again.  "Don't take too long," he said.

Then Selena turned from her work and came toward the bed.  She took off her peasant scarf and simple homespun dress.  She removed her long woolen stockings and stripped off her under clothes.  When she at last stood naked before him, Zoltan moaned with pleasant pressure in his loins.  "You must be cold.  Come to me now!" he rasped, and she came to him.

Selena slid into the bed beside him and he pulled the covers over her.  Zoltan moved his hands over the curves of her hip and thing and felt the smooth, lean, supple muscles of a hard working peasant girl.  "You have made me feel happy again," said Zoltan.  "I had thought I would never again feel so much joy in living."

"I exist only to serve you," said Selena.

"You cannot expect me to believe that you are a woodman's grand-daughter," said Zoltan.  "You speak like one who has had some education."

"Mother married well," said Selena.  "I was raised by nuns.  They taught me to read and write, but I had no interest in convent life."

Zoltan said, "Lucky for me!" and grinned wickedly.  He started to swing his leg across her, but his leg felt unusually heavy!  He barely managed to straddle her when he was struck by tremendous wave of drowsiness.  He rolled back on his side and shook his head to clear it.  "I am so tired!" he said, and yawned hugely.

"Excuse me one moment, Master," said Selena and slipped lithely from the bed.

Between yawns and struggling to stay awake, Zoltan said, "Where are you going?"

"I merely wish to pick up your clothing, Lord Zoltan," said Selena as she began gathering up his leggings, breeches, and jacket.

"Be careful with those," said Zoltan.  "Those garments are enchanted."
"I will brush them and fold them for you," said Selena.  "My Lord Zoltan should not walk about it wrinkled clothing."  She finished the task quickly and turned back to the bed.

The ogre was fast asleep at last.

Selena was relieved to see that the sleeping powders had finally taken control of Zoltan.  She waited but a moment, to be sure he was fast asleep and took the boots from off the shelf where Zoltan had placed them.  The boots did not cry out for Zoltan and he remained unconscious, breathing heavily.   She started to slip her feet into the boots, then glanced around at the cabin and realized that if she became a giant now, she would destroy her home and she did not wish to do that.  Selena opened the cabin door and a chill breath of mountain air reminded her that she was still naked.

Quickly, Selena pulled on her peasant dress, picked up the boots once more and rushed outside into the night.  The full moon had just risen, so there was light enough to see, even though the sun had been down for almost two hours.  Selena pulled on the right boot and noted that her feet felt tiny inside the huge boots.  As soon as she pulled the left boot on and straightened up, she was gratified with the realization that she was growing rapidly taller.

Unfortunately, Selena's dress did not grow with her and as she shot up into the sky, her dress burst and fell from her, leaving her a naked, booted giantess, towering above the countryside under a full moon in the chill mountain air.  For a moment, Selena was awestruck by the site of the world stretching out at her feet.  There was her little cabin, no higher than her ankles.  The path that led down into the valley where grandfather used to sell his wood in the town was just a tiny ant trail winding its way across the shrunken meadow.   The cords of wood that grandfather had cut before he came too sick to work were like little stacks of matches arrayed in the yard.  

A brief wave of vertigo struck Selena and she thought for a moment she was going to faint.  She staggered a bit, trying to keep her balance and felt something crunch beneath her right boot.  Selena took her foot away and looked down to see her grandfather's two wheeled cart had been crushed to splinters.  "I must be more careful," Selena thought.

Suddenly becoming aware of the cold on her naked flesh, Selena pondered what to do.  If she took off the boots and resumed her normal size, she would be vulnerable to Zoltan's domination again, but if she remained a naked giantess, she would soon die from exposure.  Her clothes apparently were unaffected by the magic of the boots but … Zoltan's clothing changed size with him!  That was the answer.

Zoltan would be asleep for many hours before he awoke, if he awoke at all.  Even in his reduced state, he was still quite a big man and Selena had dosed him very liberally to be sure the sleeping powders would do their work.  Selena seated herself on the meadow grass and began removing the boots.  The frosty dew burned her bare buttocks, but she could not get the boots off without sitting down.  She removed one boot and set it down, but she was still a giantess.  She removed the other boot and held it in her hand for a moment.  There was no sign that she was shrinking.  What if she was forced to remain a giantess forever?  That would be awful, living always outdoors, requiring enormous amounts of food, and trying to find refuge from the ever-present cold.  The winter snows were not far off and Selena realized that if she were forced to live out in the open as a sixty foot giantess, she would die.

Not to worry, however.  As soon as Selena placed the left boot on the ground next to its mate, she and the boots began to shrink rapidly to their normal size.  When it was done, she picked up the boots and hurried into the cabin.  Zoltan was still asleep, but the fire was burning low and it was getting darker inside the hut.  Selena laid a couple of logs on the fire and then dressed herself in Zoltan's clothes.  To her surprise, they shrunk to fit her trim frame perfectly as if the tailor had cut them especially for her.  They were indeed magic garments as Zoltan had claimed.

Selena picked up the boots and started for the door once again when Zoltan suddenly sprang from the bed roaring.  "What are you doing!  Stop!"  She tried to escape through the door, but he was on her like a tiger, slamming the door with his left hand and shoving her down on the foor with a powerful swipe of his right arm.  "Give me those boots!"

Selena tried to pull the boots on.  She got the right one on, but he grabbed the left one from her grasp, then dragged the right one off her foot by the heel.  "Please don't hurt me," she begged.  "I wasn't going to keep them!  I only wanted to see what it was like.  I have no desire for power or rule!  I am your loyal subject!"

For a moment, Zoltan said nothing as he held the boots before his eyes and stared at them.  "Light a lamp, girl," he growled.  "Light a lamp now!"

Selena scrambled to obey, hoping against hope that some miracle might prevent Zoltan from taking his terrible revenge upon her.  Why had she been so foolish as to dream of god like power?  Why could she not be content to serve Zoltan?  He liked her and would have made her the first lady of the land.  She could have pleased him, she knew it in her heart.  Now all was lost, all was ruined.  

In the light of lamp which Selena held up, she beheld Zoltan standing naked next to the door, holding his boots and she saw that tears were coming down his face.  Only then did Selena notice that the boots now seemed tiny in his big hands.  "Look what you have done!" Zoltan said, his voice broken by a sob.  "I should kill you!"

"What is wrong, Master?" said Selena, shaking with terror of the man, yet a touch of sympathy for his genuine grief.

"I am ruined!" said Zoltan.  "Look!"  He sat down on a chair and tried to pull on the right boot.  It was too small for him now.  He was only able to thrust his foot halfway into the boot.  He pulled the left boot on the same and sat there in the chair, looking ridiculous.  "I cannot wear the boots!"  He glared at her.  "You wore them, didn't you?"

Selena dropped to her knees in front of Zoltan.  "Yes,  Master, I am sorry.  I did not know."

"The boots have now adapted to your feet and not to mine," he said.  "This cannot be undone."

"Can you not make another pair, Lord Zoltan?"

Zoltan shook his head sadly.  "Impossible.  As soon as the wizard gave me the boots I killed him.  The spell that made them is lost and all my power is gone.  What am I to do?"

Selena bowed her head and said, "You do not need the boots, Lord Zoltan.  Your subjects will obey you even though you appear before them in the guise of an ordinary man."

Zoltan hurled the boots into the corner.  "Stupid girl!" he roared.  "You know nothing about politics!  The boots were the source of all  my power!  Because I had the boots, I did not need an army to uphold my rule, so I did not bother to raise one. I needed no alliances, so I made none.  Because I was omnipotent, I ruled with a hand of iron and showed no mercy to those who displeased me.  If I were to appear before my subjects in the guise of a man, they would instantly tear me apart and there would be no one to defend me!  I am doomed."

"What will you do, Master?" said Selena.

"I must go into hiding," said Zoltan grimly.  "If word of this gets to my enemies, I will be tracked down and killed.  And every man is my enemy."  He suddenly bent down in his chair and began to weep in big explosive sobs, the way a big man cries when he is overcome by despair.

Selena had not forgotten that Zoltan had murdered her grandfather, nor had she forgotten the many stories of the cruelties that this monster had inflicted on his subjects, nevertheless she felt some empathy for this fallen god who sat before her, sobbing.  Selena rose to her feet and put her arms around Zoltan.  "I am not your enemy, my Lord Zoltan.  No matter what happens, I shall remain your faithful subject."

Gratefully, he turned to her, pulling her down on to his lap and holding her tightly in his powerful arms.  "If only I had known someone like you when I was young," he lamented.  "I was not always an ogre.  Once I was a hero, a mighty warrior.  But I was not content with that.  I blame the Lady who betrayed me for another while I was away at the wars.  You would not have betrayed me, would you Selena?"

"Never, Master," said Selena.

"Call me Zoltan," he said.  "I came home from the war with honors, but little money.  My Lady betrayed me for a man of great wealth and I swore revenge, but while she grew richer, I grew poorer until I was forced to become a bandit and steal for my livelihood…"

"The legend of your rise to power is well known," said Selena.  "You did what you had to do to survive in this harsh world.  You are to be commended for your restraint."

"I could have taken her life and his," said Zoltan.  "But I did not.  I only took their money and sent them to live among the beggars and thieves.  It was a much more satisfying revenge to enjoy the spectacle of their daily misery.  It was the perfect revenge, that went on and on year after year while her beauty faded and her once arrogant husband came to despise her.  But I would not let them part from one another."  He sighed.  "It was so good being a god."  His voice broke, and then he added, "Now look at me!"  He pushed Selena away and rose to his feet.

"Those cursed boots!" he cried.   "I wish I had never seen those cursed boots!"  He stalked to the corner where the boots had fallen and picked them up.  "I would not be in this hellish predicament were it not for these damned boots!"  He raised his arm and started to throw them into the fire, but something made him hesitate.

"Wait!" cried Selena, and rushed to him, grasping his arm.  "Do not destroy them!  They still have great power!  They are very valuable!"

"To you, perhaps," he said, lowering his arm, but regarding her thoughtfully, "but they are worthless to me."

" It is true that you can no longer wear the boots," said Selena.  "But I can wear them for you."

"Do you take me for a fool?" he said.  "Once you put on these boots my life would be forfeit.  You would crush me beneath them as I crushed the wizard who gave them to me."

"Never!" said Selena.  "If I were going to do such a thing, I could have done it while you slept.  Have I not proven my love for you?  Keep the boots and let me wear them for you.  I will use their power as you command!  I will protect you from your enemies and through me, you shall still be the ruler of your empire."

Zoltan scowled.  "Once you put on the boots, you will have no need for me.  What is to prevent you from crushing me, or worse, delivering me into the hands of my enemies?"

"I love you," said Selena.  "Have you forgotten the power of love?"

Zoltan said, "I do not trust you.  You cannot love me.  I am a monster."

"You do not need to trust me," said Selena.  "Not now.  But please do not destroy the boots, for only they can be the instrument of your salvation.  You need not fear that I, a weak woman, could take them away from you."

"You took them once before," Zoltan pointed out, glaring at her.  "Treacherously while I slept."

"I am sorry," said Selena.  "But if you give me a chance, I will prove to you that I can be trusted.  I did not mean to steal them, only to borrow them for a little while.  I am too much a coward to wield such great power.  I was terrified when I became a giant and could not take them off quickly enough."

"No, they are too dangerous," said Zoltan.  "If I cannot wear them, no one must wear them!"  He carried the boots to the fire and started to throw them into the flames, but once again he hesitated.

"Without them, you have nothing!" cried Selena.  "As long as you have the boots, you hold the key to ultimate power, even if you cannot wield it yourself!  If the boots are destroyed, then you have nothing!"

Zoltan sighed and turned away from the fire.  "You are right.  The boots are too valuable to be destroyed.  Whatever happens, I must hang on to them."   He looked at her suspiciously.  "Why are you wearing my clothes?"

Selena looked down at her garments guiltily.  "I only wanted to try them…"

"Never mind," said Zoltan.  "Just take them off and come back to bed."  He watched as she removed his clothes from her body and folded them again.  "I am no longer Zoltan the giant," he said.  "But I am a man, and you are a woman."

"Of course," said Selena as she smiled and offered him her hand.  "Tonight is your night," she said.  But in her head she thought, "Tomorrow belongs to me."

After breakfast, Zoltan announced, "I have decided to return to my castle.  You will wear the boots and carry me.  That way the journey will not be so long."

Selena inclined her head.  "Whatever you say, Zoltan."

"You may wear my clothes also," said Zoltan.  "They are magical and will adjust to the size of your body when you are wearing the boots.  I shall take something of your late grandfather's to wear."

"Yes, Zoltan.  I shall bring you his best garments.  They are not worthy of a man such as yourself, but they will present a respectable appearance to the world.  And you are Lord Zoltan, no matter what you wear."

"Indeed," said Zoltan.

When Zoltan had finished dressing and Selena stood in Zoltan's leggings, breeches and jacket, Zoltan looked at her.  He started to hand her the boots, but he hesitated and drew them back.  "I cannot trust you," he said.  "Once you are a giant, I will be completely in your power."

Selena's heart was pounding as she looked at the boots in his hand.  Her future and Zoltan's depended on the next few seconds.  "My Lord, you have no more faithful and loyal servant than I," she said.  "My only wish is to serve you and defend your authority.  I have no head for rule.  How could I, a mere woman, order the affairs of an empire?  I could never take your place, but I can act as your guardian and protector.  I can be the instrument of your will."

Zoltan shook his head, and clung tightly to the boots.  "I killed your grandfather.  You must hate me and once you are a giant you will crush me like an insect.  I dare not trust you."

"I have no desire for revenge upon you," said Selena, inclining her head as she looked up into his worried eyes.  "In truth, my grandfather was not a good man.  I could tell you stories of his wickedness that you would not believe, but I will not.  I do not wish to bring further shame upon the family name.  I give you my solemn word, that if you place your trust in me, I will use their power only for your benefit and for the well-being of your subjects, according to your commands."

Zoltan heaved a great sigh, handed her the boots and said, "Do not put them on until we are outside."

"Yes, Zoltan."  She followed Zoltan out of the cabin, carrying the boots, and locked the door behind her.

Zoltan pointed out into the meadow.  "Walk about fifty paces, then put on the boots.  I don't want you to be too close to me when you start growing."

"Yes, Zoltan."  Selena counted off fifty paces then turned to look back at Zoltan.

"Go ahead," he said.  "Put on the boots."

Selena sat down and pulled on the right boot, and then left boot.  She remained seated on the grass and looked at Zoltan.  She had not started growing.

"Stand up," shouted Zoltan.

Selena pushed herself to her feet, as as she rose, her head seemed to shoot up into the sky like it had been fired from a cannon aimed at the zenith.  Within seconds, she was standing in the bright sunlight, staring down at the shrunken world that held her house, her meadow, the cords of wood, and the tiny foot path that lead down into the valley where grandfather used to sell his wood.  She looked around, feeling a little dizzy.  "Zoltan!" she called out.

"I am down here!" she heard him faintly calling, and looked down at the ground.  There was the tiny figure of Zoltan standing by the cabin door and waving at her.

Selena bent at the waist and looked down at him.  "My Lord Zoltan!" she said.  "You look so funny!"  She could not help giggling at the sight of the tiny figure capering at her feet.  "I had wondered how you found it so easy to stamp a man to death, but now I see you as you saw my grandfather.  You are like a little insect.  Tiny and helpless.  One feels a bit drunk with power.  To stamp or not to stamp?  That is the question, is it not?  One wants to add, why not?"

"Selena, stop fooling around," shouted Zoltan.  "You should not toy with powers that you do not understand.  Listen to me and learn.  We have far to go this day, so we must begin our journey.  Lay your hand on the ground, palm upward."

Selena did so and Zoltan hopped into her hand.  He seated himself on her palm, then said with an upward gesture of his arms, "Up! Up!"  Selena straightened up and held him cupped in her palm some 30 feet above the ground.

"Now what?" she said.

Zoltan pointed to the west.  "Go that way.  Keep going until I tell you to stop."

Selena started walking, but after a few steps, she halted and said, "This is ridiculous.  I can't make time carrying you in my hand like this.  What if I trip?  I might drop you or something."  She examined her jacket.  "I think it would be better if I just slipped you into the pocket of my jacket here."  She curled her fingers around him and moved her hand toward her breast.

"No!  Stop! Stop!" cried Zoltan.  "I order you to stop!  I will not be carried in your pocket like a pet frog!"

"Don't worry, it will be fine," said Selena.  She unbuttoned her jacket and slipped his feet into the inside pocket.  "In you go!"

"You are going to be sorry you did this!" blustered Zoltan.  "You'll have to take off those boots some time!"

"I'll worry about when the time comes," said Selena.  "You do want to get home today, don't you?  Well this is the best way to do it.  I know the way.  Everybody knows where Lord Zoltan's castle lies."  She dropped him into the pocket and refastened the buttons.  She could feel his little body, pushing and struggling against her left breast, trying to climb out of her pocket.  Now and then, she stuck her finger inside her collar and poked his little head back down into the pocket.  After awhile, he stopped struggling and she began to worry, so she thumped the bulge in her jacket to see if he was still alive. This produced a few spasmodic angry movements, and then he was still again.

Selena walked toward the city where Zoltan's castle lay until the sun was high in the sky.  It was amazing to her how quickly the miles slipped beneath her giant boots, so fast that it seemed but a few steps from one village to the next.  Not surprisingly, when she walked through a village or a town, the people vanished from the streets, for though it was customary among Zoltan's subjects to behold a giant striding across the land, none was eager to meet face to face with their dread lord or to draw his attention to them.  At the first glimpse of Selena's colossal figure coming over the hill, the villagers would flee to their houses, lock the doors and hide beneath the beds.  Those who were brave enough to peer through the cracks in their window shutters were astonished to see that the giant striding through their streets was not Zoltan, but a young woman dressed in Zoltan's clothes.  From time to time, Selena would catch a glimpse of a face in a window or a head poking surreptitiously around the corner of a house.  Always she smiled, and sometimes, she would blow them a kiss.

Finally, Selena decided that it was time to feed her master so she stopped at a farmhouse and sat down to remove her boots.  She first took Zoltan from her jacket pocket and set him on the ground.  "There is a farmhouse just over the hill," she said to him.  "I shall take off my boots and we can walk together to the house ask the farmer's wife to feed us."  Zoltan  immediately began to complain and bluster.

"How dare you disobey me!  Just wait until you are normal size again!  I shall teach you to humiliate me like this!" shouted Zoltan, shaking both fists up at her.

Selena took off one boot and then the other, but she held the left boot in her hand so she did not shrink.  "I only did what was necessary," she said.  "Look how far we have come.  And was it so unpleasant to spend the morning pressed against my breast?"

Zoltan was looking at the other boot, waiting for her to put it down so she would shrink.  When she continued to hold it, he said impatiently, "What are you waiting for?  You are going to have to return to normal size sometime."

Selena placed the boot on the ground next to Zoltan, but she did not let go of it.  It occurred to her that Zoltan was so tiny that he could fit right into the toe of her boot  "You are right, Zoltan," she said.  "I can't be a giantess all the time, can I?"

Zoltan said nothing and she wondered what he was thinking so she asked him.  "What are you thinking, Zoltan?  Are you thinking how to punish me for disobeying your orders?  Are you thinking that you will never let me put on the boots again because I cannot be trusted?  How do you plan to punish me for this so-called humiliation?"

Then Zoltan suddenly began to realize that he might have overplayed his hand.  He laughed heartily and said, "Why of course not, Selena?  What do you take me for?  I was merely joking.  At first, I must confess that I was somewhat upset that I must ride blindly inside your jacket pocket.  I am not use to relinquishing control to another.  In fact, however, I was good to feel your huge breast pressing against my body.  I must confess that I fell asleep from time to time.  I might have slept the morning away if you had stopped poking me for a little while."  He laughed and made a huge grin.

Selena said, "Perhaps I should wait until you are in a better mood.  Although I have done nothing wrong, I am afraid of what you might do if I were in your power again."

Zoltan found it impossible to keep the words from spilling out.  "You are only making things worse for yourself," he shouted, but as he spoke he realized that it was he who was doing that everytime he spoke.   "Now put down that boot!  That is a direct order!"

"I hear and obey," said Selena.  "But first…"  She leaned over and scooped Zoltan up in her hand.  She put him down the shaft of the right boot and let him go. .  She looked down into the boot and said, "Please tell me, Master,  what would happen to you if the boot started shrinking with you inside?"

"Don't do it!" screamed Zoltan.  "For god sake don't do it!"

"As you wish," said Selena.  She tilted the boot up and spilled Zoltan out onto the ground.  She then pulled the boots back on and stood looking down at him.

Selena said, "You must learn to trust me, Zoltan, because as long as you do not trust me, I cannot trust you."   She bent over and reached for him but he turned and fled from her.   She took a step and grabbed him up in her hand.  "Don't run from me, Zoltan.  You cannot outrun a giant!"

"Put me down immediately," cried Zoltan.  "And remove those boots at once!"

"I need to go to the farmhouse and ask for food," said Selena.  "For that, I must take off the boots.  Then I must put them on again so we can resume our journey.  If I remove them, Zoltan, will you promise me that you not try to prevent me from putting them on again?"

"Of course," said Zoltan, appearing  surprised at her question.  "Just because I spoke in anger does not mean there is any hatred between us.   Put me down and remove the boots.  You shall see that I will behave myself."

Selena laughed.  "I bet you would," she said.  "No, I think not, Zoltan.  Before I take off these boots, I must put you somewhere you can cause me no trouble.  Since you have lost your power, it is up to me to protect you from your own excesses."

Selena slipped Zoltan into her jacket pocket and started walking.   She walked several miles, then took Zoltan out of her pocket and held him up so they could speak.  "I am going to leave you here for a little while, Zoltan," she said.  "If you want to see me or the boots again, I suggest you stay right here on this spot. "  She turned and started walking back toward the farm house with giant distance devouring strides.  Zoltan ran after for a little ways cursing, but he was soon left hopelessly far behind.

The farmer's wife was congenial when Selena approached, but she after the initial friendly greeting, the farmer's wife said, "You shouldn't be walking around in lads clothes, my dear.  What will people think?"

"These are the only clothes I have," Selena explained.  "I am travelling to the city to find my relatives."

"Where are you from, Lassie?" asked the farmwife.

"I lived with my grandfather across the mountain to the east," Selena explained.  "My grandfather was killed by Zoltan so now I am going to live with relatives in the capital city."

"Why would Zoltan do such a thing?" said the farmwife.  "I just don't understand such things."

"He is a god," said Selena.  "We are but insects in his eyes and our lives mean nothing more to him than the life of a housefly means to you."

"Well, it is a shame, after all," said the farm wife.  "Come inside and have something to eat."

While Selena dined, the farm wife chattered on about Zoltan.  "It is a terrible when Zoltan does something like what he did to your grandfather.  I hear such stories all the time, but on whole, life is not so bad living under the rule of Lord Zoltan.  After all, there are no more wars or riots.  The countryside is peaceful and prosperous.  Zoltan takes very little in taxes compared to past rulers."

"That is because he has no army to feed," said Selena.  "Zoltan is his own army."  Selena looked around and asked, "Where is your husband?  Is he in the fields?"

"Jessup has gone to town to sell a hog," said the farmwife.  "He should be back shortly.  Would you like some more of this bacon?"

"Could you wrap it up for me to take along?" asked Selena.  "I would be very grateful."

"Of course.  Let me fix you a basket to take," said the farmwife.  "It is many days to the city and you may have difficulty find food along the way.  Do you have money?"

Selena reached into her pocket and brought out a few silver coins.  "This is money my grandfather earned by selling wood," Selena explained, offering it to the farm wife.

"Nay, keep it," the woman said.  "You will need your money if you keep travelling.  Perhaps you would like to remain here a few months.  You seem a sturdy peasant lass, despite your fancy boy's clothing and we can always use another pair of hands on a farm."  She turned from the pantry and placed a huge basket of food on the table in front of  Selena.
The words that sprang first to Selena's lips were, "It is too much!  I cannot carry all of that!" but she stopped them before they came out because she realized that when she wore the boots, the huge basket of food would be no burden at all.  After all, Zoltan weighed a lot more and she had not noticed his weight.

Suddenly the door flew open and the farmer Jessup came rushing into the kitchen saying excitedly, "Amazing news!  There is a giantess passing through the country!  I saw her in the village this morning and she was coming this way.  Did you see her come past the house?"  Then the farmer and his wife both turned to look at Selena.  "Who is this?" asked the farmer.

"I am called Selena."

The farmwife looked frightened.  "Did you see the giantess, husband?"

Jessup nodded, and croaked, "Yes."

"What did she look like?"

The farmer swallowed and said, "She had long blonde hair and she was dressed in boys clothes.  She was wearing tall black boots that came almost to her knees."

Silently, Selena swung her legs out from the table and wiggled her toes in the sight of the farmer and his wife.  "Thank you for your hospitality," said Selena, standing up.  "The good lord above watches over kind people like you.  Perhaps someday, I will be able to repay you."

The farmer stared at Selena with terror on his face as if he expected her to suddenly assume giant form and go shooting upward through his roof.   He noted the black boots sitting on the floor next to Selena's chair.  The farm wife pushed the basket of food toward Selena.  "It is nothing," she said with averted eyes.  "We ask only to be left in peace.  Please take the food and go.  Forget about us."

"You are too kind," said Selena.  She picked up the basket and walked across the road into the farmer's field.  She put on the boots and started walking back toward the spot where she had left Zoltan.

Selena found  Zoltan almost precisely on the spot where she had left.  She strode up to him and stopped, looking down at him with her hands on her hips.  "Are you happy to see me?" she said, peering down at Zoltan.

"You came back," said Zoltan, his voice nearly breaking.   "I thought you had abandoned me.  But you would not do that, would you?  It is not in you."

"Of course not," said Selena.  "Here, I have brought you something to eat."  She extended the basket of food on her forefinger and knelt down so Zoltan could reach it.

"What is that?" he said, eying the basket.

"Many good things," said Selena.  "Eat now, you must be starving."

"It smells like sewage," said Zoltan, ungraciously.  "But I am hungry enough to eat even that."  He took the basket, sat down on the ground and began to eat.  Selena seated herself near without removing the boots and watched him eat with a patronizing smile on her face.  After a moment, Zoltan looked up at her and barked, "I don't like you towering over me like that.  If you want to sit with me, then take off the boots.  Otherwise, get away from me until I am done."

Selena  leaned forward and shook her finger at  Zoltan.  "You have used your power in cruel ways," she said, assuming a stern expression.   "You murdered my grandfather in addition to all of the countless others who have incurred your wrath.  You have sown terror and destruction with these boots and you have gloried in the suffering of thousands."

Zoltan's tiny face twisted into a hateful expression.  "So now you show your true colors!  You are no better than me!  You are a sneaking thief and a liar!  You only wanted the boots for yourself.  You are planning some hideous revenge.  You are going to kill me so no one will know what a low, sneaking scum you are!  All this talk of loyalty and protecting me from my enemies was just a ruse to get your feet into my boots!"

"You are wrong," said Selena.  "You judge others by your own low standards.  Believe what you will, but you will see that my word is true.  Everything I do is for your good."

"You call it serving me to abandon me in the wilderness?  To humiliate me and hold power over me?" said Zoltan with squeaky sarcasm.  

"I know what kind of man you are," said Selena.  "I know that you can trust no one because you cannot be trusted yourself.  I saw it as my duty to you to protect you from the consequences of your evil nature.  You are the ruler of this empire and you will continue to rule it with my help, but I intend to help you to overcome this evil inside you.  You are going to become good, Zoltan.  I promise you that you will one day be honored and beloved by your subjects."

"What if I do not wish to be good?" said Zoltan.  "What if I refuse to change my nature?  Are you going to crush me to death or burn me or drown me or feed me to the beasts.  Do you think I will change because I am afraid of you?  You do not know Zoltan.  I am not a coward.  You can take my boots, but you cannot make me a coward.  You can kill me, but you cannot make me a coward!"

"You are a coward," said Selena.  "That is why you take so much pleasure in the fear you inspired in others when you wore these boots.   That is why you hunger so much for power.  That is why you are so desperate to get me to remove these boots."

"You call me coward?" scoffed Zoltan.  "Remove the boots, and then call me a coward, if you are so brave.  I will show you who is a coward."

"Do you think I am a coward?" asked Selena.

"You ask me if you are a coward?" Zoltan said.  "You know the answer to that question."

"I want to know what you think," Selena said.  "Will you consider your answer and tell me honestly?"

"Of course you are a coward," he said without any hesitation.   "You are afraid to be in my presence without the boots on your feet.  If you are not a coward, then remove the boots and sit beside me.  If you are not a coward, remove the boots and lie with me in the shade of that tree."  

"No," said Selena.  "It is not time.  When you are ready, I will take off the boots and give them to you.  But not now."

"Not ever," snarled Zoltan.  "I know your game."

Selena's voice grew irritable.  "I think you have eaten enough.   Let us resume our journey.  We have a long way to go and it would be wise to cover as much ground as we can before dark."

"I am not finished," said Zoltan.

"You have had enough," said Selena.  She reached out and scooped up the basket and the meal he had laid out on the grass before him, along with several inches of the sod.  Selena squeezed the contents of her hand several times, rolling it around it her grasp, then flung it away.  She then picked up Zoltan most ungently and shoved him into her jacket pocket.

When Selena rose to her feet, and started walking, she immediately felt sorry for losing her temper with Zoltan.  It was his game to provoke her and thereby maintain some semblance of control over her.  It was not true power Zoltan desired, not the power to build, to change, or to create, but simply the power to give pain.  When she showed her anger toward him, when she lost control of her emotions, she was giving him exactly what he wanted.  That must not happen again.

Then it occurred to Selena that Zoltan's attempts to provoke her proved that Zoltan was gradually coming to trust her in a peculiar way.  He was beginning to believe that she would not kill him or harm him, even in anger.  Regrettably, however, he mistook her forbearance not for resolve, which is what it was, but for weakness.  Selena began to sing a happy little song as she walked across the land, covering twenty-five feet with each step.  The education of Lord Zoltan, she thought happily, has just begun.  Poor, fearful little Zoltan, she thought.  Without his boots, he was defenseless against the ordinary terrors that others have grown accustomed to.   When he wielded the colossal power of the boots, he could find no use for it but revenge and cruelty.

Selena touched the lump beneath her breast that was Zoltan, riding helplessly in the pocket of her jacket.  It was easy for Selena to imagine Zoltan's terror and she wanted to console him.  Something inside her made her want to wipe away the fear that made him evil.  If she took off the boots and became an ordinary woman, that would make him feel powerful, however he would probably kill her and that would be as bad for her as it was for Zoltan.  How, she wondered, could Zoltan derive pleasure from the suffering of others?  Was he so miserable in his cowardice that he could only be consoled by witnessing  the terror of others?  Did the knowledge that someone might be more afraid than he make him feel less afraid?

Selena walked, until late afternoon, she came to the edge of a desert.  The land was dry in this region, but the vegetation had somehow hung on until she came to a place when the sparse grass and bush seemed to fade an disappear, leaving nothing but sand dunes, blown by the winds.  There seemed to be no good place to camp, for there was no sign of water in sight.  Selena took Zoltan from her pocket and held him on her hand so that he could see the desrert.  "Is this the way you came?  It looks impassable."

"It is not impassable," said Zoltan, "for I have walked across it.  But I was wearing the boots, then."

"Does the way to your castle lie across this desert?" asked Selena.

"It is the shortest way," he said.  "But it is too hard for you, even wearing the boots."

"If you made it, I can," said Selena.  "We will cross tomorrow."

"No, you cannot cross in the daylight," said Zoltan.  "You must cross at night."

Selena gazed east across the desert, then north and south along the edge of the desert.  "I see a caravan!" she said, pointing north.  "They are camping for the night before starting their crossing."

"Their crossing will require days," said Zoltan.   "They will spend the days in tents and travel at night.  They  may wait days before they begin the crossing."

"Let us go speak with them," said Selena.

"They will flee at your approach," said Zoltan.  "It will be amusing to see."

"Perhaps," said Selena and started walking toward the distant camp, carrying Zoltan in her hand.  After a moment, she looked down at her jacket and said, "I feel uneasy carrying you like this.  I am afraid I might drop you or squeeze you by accident.  I think you had best go back into my pocket."

"I want to see," protested Zoltan.  "Put me in the outside pocket so I may look out."

Selena complied and continued walking with Zoltan's tiny head (in her perspective) peering from the outside pocket of her jacket.  After awhile, Selena said, "I am beginning to think that this is not a caravan, Zoltan."

"It is too far away yet," said Zoltan.  "Let us go closer."

After awhile, Selena said, "I do not know what that is, but I am sure that it is not a caravan."

"I know what it is," said Zoltan.  "It is an army."

"An army?  Why are they here?" asked Selena.

"They are looking for me," said Zoltan.  "But they are expecting a giant.  They will think you are me, until you draw close enough that your face may be seen."

"Who would send an army against you?" asked Selena.

"Farrara," Zoltan replied.  "I was there a few weeks ago."

"What were you doing in Farrara?"  Selena stopped walking, drew Zoltan from her packet and held him her fist.

"Nothing," said Zoltan.

"Do not lie to me, Zoltan," said Selena.  "They sent an army in persuit of you for nothing?  Tell me what you did to them."

"You are hurting me," said Zoltan.  "Don't squeeze me!"

"I'll try to be gentle," said Selena.  "But tell me what you did to them."

"I wanted to scare them," said Zoltan.  "They have been growing more and more belligerent of late.  They tell lies about me and try to unite the other nations to overthrow me.  They say that I am an ogre."

"What did you expect, Zoltan?" said Selena.  "You are a coward and a bully.   So you wanted to scare them.  How did you go about it?"

"Stop squeezing me and I will tell you," said Zoltan in a strained voice.  His face was very red and his eyes seemed to bulge from his head.

"Tell me and I will stop squeezing you," Selena replied.

"You promise?" wheezed Zoltan.

"You insult me, Zoltan," said Selena.  "You will tell me the truth without further delay.  Otherwise…"

"Otherwise?"

Selena said nothing, but perhaps she tightened the pressure of her fingers just a tiny bit.

"I abducted a royal princess!" said Zoltan.  "But she is allright now! She was not hurt."

Selena was so overcome with anger that she had to put Zoltan down before she killed him.  She set him on the ground before and put her hands on her hips.  "What did you do with her?" Selena said.

Zoltan did not meet her eyes, but with a brief glance upward, he said, "What do you think?"

"Was she a virgin?" said Selena.

"Who knows," said Zoltan.  "I doubt it.  I hope she has my bastard."

"You are a fool," said Selena.  "They are determined to destroy you what ever the cost to them.  And if you cannot be found, they will wreak their vengeance upon your loyal subjects."

"Loyal subjects!" sneered Zoltan.  "My loyal subjects hate my guts, but they obeyed me because they feared me.  They are my subjects no longer.  They belong to the one who wears the boots."  He pointed at her toes.

"I am not you," said Selena.  "But I wear these boots on your behalf.  These invaders must be placated in someway.  I don't suppose you would give yourself up and accept punishment at their hands."

"Are you insane?" blurted Zoltan.  "You must not give me up to them!  Do you have any notion how they would misuse me?  You must not give me up to them."

"It would be no more than you deserve," said Selena.  "But it would be useless to hope that you would perform a noble deed.  As disgusting as you are, you are my liege lord, and I am stuck with you.  Now I must try to placate these foreigners before they cross the desert and fall upon the hapless subjects in the interior of the empire.  You had better get back into my pocket, wicked Master."  She knelt and laid her hand on the ground before him, but he backed away.

"You want to turn me over to those murderers!" cried Zoltan.

"You are right," confessed Selena.  "I would love to do it, but I cannot.  Get into my hand or wait for me here.  It is your choice."

"I will wait here," said Zoltan, looking nervously up at her.

"As you wish, Master," said Selena.  She straightened up and stared down at him.  "I hope that I can find you when this is all over."  She then turned and started walking away.

"Wait!" cried Zoltan, and came running after her.  She zoomed away from him with giant strides that he could not hope to match and he called out to her.  "Selena!  Wait!  Take me with you!"

But Selena kept going until she was very far away.  So far that she could not see him.  But she knew that he could still see her.  She stopped and turned to look in his direction.  "Come along, Zoltan," she said in a voice that echoed across the mile and a half that separated them.  "But hurry.  I am not going to wait all day."

Zoltan ran as fast as he could, and after about ten minutes arrived at her feet, completely out of breath.  He stopped and extended his arms up to her.

Selena rewarded him with a smile.  "Good for you, Zoltan," she said.  "But I think you should let me carry you now.  You appear to be exhausted."  She scooped him up and put him into her inside jacket pocket.

"I want to see!" protested Zoltan.

"It would not be prudent for you to be seen, Master," said Selena and pushed him deep into the pocket until she could feel the little lump that was Zoltan pressed against her left breast.

As Selena drew near the Farrara encampment, she saw that her approach had not gone unnoticed.  The enemy were waiting, formed into ranks of archers, spearmen, swordsmen, and a dozen ballistas, wound and loaded.    Selena stopped walking and waited to see what would happen.  She did not want to find out what the Farrara could do with those arrows and ballista bolts, so she hoped that she was out of range.

"What is happening," Zoltan called, from beneath her left breast.  "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Selena confessed.  "I would like to talk to them.  Perhaps I can persuade them to go home.  They seem to be determined to fight."

"Walk away," said Zoltan.  "You cannot fight a whole army.  Even with the boots."

"I do not intend to fight," said Selena.  "Please be quiet."  Selena  raised her hand above her head in what she hoped they would interpret as a sign of peaceful intent, or perhaps just a friendly greeting.  There was a sudden banging of drums and the winding of trumpets, but no shots were released and the ranks did not move toward her.  Selena continued to watch hopefully and after awhile, her patience was rewarded.  A man emerged from the enemy ranks carrying a flag of truce.  He walked about half the distance between Selena and the Farrara ranks and halted.

Selena lowered her arm and called out, "Come forward, emissary!  I wish to parley!"

The soldier turned toward his comrades and waved his flag over his head.  A trumpet blast sounded in reply.  The man planted the flag in the ground and came forward in quick march, his arms swinging rhythmically at his sides.  The man came until he was about 100 feet from Selena and stopped.

"Speak, emissary," said Selena.  "Why have the soldiers of Farrara come to the lands of Zoltan?"

The emissary said, "We seek Zoltan to avenge an insult upon our royal family.  Where is Zoltan?  You are not Zoltan!"

"I am Selena," was her reply.  "I speak for Zoltan.  I give you this message from him.  My Master Zoltan apologies for the insult he visited upon Farrara.  He begs forgiveness for his crime against the royal princess and offers 300 ounces of gold in reparations.  He asks that the army of Farrara return home in peace and my Lord Zoltan further pledges to respect the borders of Farrara for all time."

From her pocket, Zoltan growled, "I pledge no such thing!  I beg nothing, I will not pay one copper penny to these bastards!"

Selena pressed her hand against her breast to silence Zoltan. 

The emissary was clearly startled by what he had heard and seemed to be pleased to hear it.  He bowed deeply and said with upward directed gestures, "Lady Selena, I know not how you came to be or what you are, but you wear Lord Zoltan's clothes upon your body and those are his boots of power upon your mighty feet.  I cannot doubt that your word is true.  With your permission, I will withdraw and place your proposal in the hands of my commander, Baron Salitra."

"When you leave me," said Selena, "Please inform your master that if he is not satisfied with these terms, he should come here and speak with me.  Lord Zoltan is prepared to consider any reasonable demand if it will assure peace between our nations.  Please go quickly and tell him."

The emissary withdrew and ran back to the Farrara camp, leaving the flag of truce still waving in the center of the plain.

"Surely you don't expect me to keep those promises you made," said Zoltan from the pocket.  "300 ounces of gold!  Are you mad?"

"You have it don't you?" said Selena.  "Back in your castle?"

Zoltan did not reply.

"I expect you to remain silent until I am finished negotiating," Selena said.  "If you cross me on this, I will leave you right here on this spot to fend for yourself."  She looked out toward the Farrara army and saw the emissary approach an officer who sat his horse  a few steps in front of the first rank of archers.  The emissary gestured dramatically as he delivered his message, but Selena could not hear what was being said at this distance.  After awhile, the mounted officer started his horse with a kick and rode alone across the plain, past the drooping flag of truce and approached Selena.

"Lady Selena, I am Baron Salitra," said the officer.  "May I say that  your face and form grace the land upon which you stand so tall.  It is my good fortune to meet a mighty goddess made manifest and a blessing that I have never experienced, except in my dreams."

Selena tilted her head downward toward the baron whose head, even on horseback, rose no higher than her knees.  "For my part," said Selena, "it is my good fortune to meet a gentleman of such refinement and good manners.  I commend your courage in coming before me alone and I am hopeful that by our meeting we can avoid war.  Are you prepared to respond to my offer?"

"I am moved by the generosity of your proposal," said the baron.   "But I find it difficult to believe that Zoltan himself would order such a thing.  Am I in truth speaking to the new ruler of the Zoltan Empire?"

"I act only in the name of Zoltan and the loyal subjects of the Zoltan Empire," Selena replied.  "Are you empowered to speak for the King of Farrara?"

The baron gestured toward the forces arrayed behind him.  "His majesty has entrusted me with his troops and commanded me to obtain vengeance upon Zoltan.  These men are prepared to do what must be done to destroy the ogre, even at the cost of their own lives.  Why would Zoltan send a woman wearing his clothes and his magic boots to oppose us?  Why did he not come himself?  Is he afraid to face us, even in the guise of a giant?  Does he believe that we would not fight a beautiful giantess?"

"I am not here to fight you," said Selena.  "I maintain this giant form only for my personal protection.  I abhor the taking of life.  If you attack my person, I will not attempt to kill your soldiers.  My only goal, and the goal of my master, is to spare our people the curse of war.  Are you prepared to accept my offer?"

"I am inclined to accept it," said the baron.  "I do not wish to see my brave soldiers lay down their lives unnecessarily.  I can order this army back to Farrara, but I cannot be sure my liege lord will trust Zoltan to keep his word any more than I do.  Tell me, did you bring the gold?"

Selena shook her head.  "The gold lies in the treasure house of Zoltan in the Imperial City.  It will take some time to arrange a caravan to deliver the gold into your hands, but you have my personal guarantee that it will be delivered."

"That will not satisfy my liege lord," said the baron.  "We must have proof of your good faith."

"You accuse me of lying?" said Selena.  "I thought you were a gentleman."

"Forgive me, Lady Selena," said the baron.  "But I have no doubt of your good faith.  No man who stood before you and looked up into your eyes could doubt your integrity and high character.  The mighty do not lie.  They have no need."

Selena was puzzled.  "Then why must I prove my good faith?"

"It is for my king," the baron explained.  "He has not looked into your eyes as I have."

"Perhaps a hostage would be sufficient proof," Selena suggested.

"I doubt it," said Baron Salitra.  "Zoltan loves only Zoltan.  The only hostage that would be sufficient would be Zoltan himself."

Without hesitation Selena said, "Then Zoltan it shall be."  She reached into her pocket and took Zoltan out so that the Baron could see him.

"Is that really Zoltan?" said the Baron looking upward and shading his eyes with his hands..  "He does not look like Zoltan."

"It is Zoltan without the trappings of his power," explained Selena.  "As you see, I wear his boots and his clothing."

"Put him on the ground next to me so that I can see his face," said Baron Salitra.  He could hardly believe his good fortune!  If he returned to Farrara with Zoltan in chains and having lost not a man, he would be the greatest hero of the land!

"I cannot put him on the ground while you sit ahorse," said Selena.  "My Lord Zoltan must not be humbled before a lesser man, even a commander of armies.  Dismount and you may meet my Lord on an equal footing."

Salitra laughed and got down from his horse.  Selena bent over and placed Zoltan on the ground next to Salitra.  Zoltan stood silently with arms crossed, staring eye to eye with Salitra.  "You are Zoltan?" asked Baron Salitra.  "Is this woman your new master?"

"I am.." Zoltan began, but he was interrupted by Selena speaking in a loud voice.

"Baron Salitra, I will not allow you to insult my liege Lord," Selena intoned.  "If Zoltan agrees to go with you as hostage, you must promise me that he will not be harmed and that he will be treated with the respect that is due his station."

"Forgive me, Lady Selena…" the baron began, but he too was interrupted.

"You must apologize to Lord Zoltan," Selena thundered.  "Not to me.  Remember your place!"
Salitra was angry at this rebuke by the giantess, but he dared not answer back.  Her height and stern visage were far to intimidating so he fell silent.

"The Lady Selena is as surprising as she is beautiful," remarked Zoltan.  "You need not apologize.  She is far too zealous in defense of my dignity and honor.  Now let us proceed with the negotiation.  If you will accept me as hostage and guarantee my safety, then war can be avoided.  I cannot undo the offense I have committed against your royal family, but I am prepared to make amends on the terms that Lady Selena has outlined.  What is your answer?"

"I have only one other condition," said Baron Salitra.  "The ransom must be delivered by Lady Selena herself."

"That is unacceptable," said Zoltan and he made a sweeping gesture with his hand.

"It is acceptable to me," said Selena.  "My Lord Zoltan's concern for my safety does him credit, but it is my duty to do what I can to end this crisis.  I will bring the gold to Farrara and you will deliver Lord Zoltan into my hands."

"Literally," said Salitra, looking up.  "Then we have an understanding?"

"It seems that  we do," observed Zoltan and smiled ironically when Baron Salitra looked down at him in surprise, for he had addressed the question to Selena.

"If that is the case," said the Baron, looking eye to eye at Zoltan, "Then I shall withdraw and make preparations to receive you into our camp.  When the trumpet sounds, come forward into our lines alone."

"Alone?" said Zoltan wearing a smile. "Are you afraid of my tall friend?  Do you think this has all been a ruse to breech your lines?  I assure you Baron, that if she meant you harm, your armed ranks would be crushed like ants beneath those huge boots.  You are safer alone with her than with me."

"I misspoke," said Salitra.  He looked up.  "I see nothing but kindness in this face which hangs over us like a full moon.  But I ask that you come separately.  At the first trumpet, Lord Zoltan should enter the camp.  At the second trumpet, Lady Selena should come forward.  Is that acceptable?"  He lowered his gaze toward Lord Zoltan.

"It is acceptable," said Zoltan.

"Leave your horse with us," said Selena.  "You may walk back to your camp, but Lord Zoltan shall ride as befits his station."

Zoltan grinned.  "Is she not a treasure?" he said.

"As you wish," said Salitra.  "I will go to prepare to receive the both of you in our camp.  My Lord.  My Lady."  Salitra touched his hand to his steel helm and began walking toward the camp.

When he was out of earshot, Zoltan shook his fist at Selena.  "Liar!  Treacherous bitch!   I knew you would deliver me into their hands!  I knew it!"

Selena regarded him with a patient smile.  "Thank you for behaving yourself during the negotiation," she said.  "I was afraid you were going to refuse."  She knelt down near him so they could talk more easily.

"You left me little choice," Zoltan replied.  "It was acquiesce or be humiliated in front of my enemies by my so-called servant."

"How have I humiliated you?" demanded Selena.  "Did not insist that you be treated with the honors due an emperor?"

"Indeed," said Zoltan.  "But the Baron suspects the truth already.  It is you that sits on the throne while I merely sit on your knee."

"It is not true," said Selena.  "Do I not treat you with respect?"

"How can you respect a man that you hold in your hand?" asked Zoltan.  "How can you respect a man who is no taller than your ankle?  How can you respect a man over whom you hold absolute power?"

"You have a strange way of looking at things," said Selena.  "In every day life, men trust other men with their lives.  Men trust their wives not to poison them.  Wives trust their husbands not to strangle them.  Children trust their parents not to drown them.  Without trust, how could human beings live alongside one another?"

"I trust Baron Salitra," said Zoltan.  "But I am not sure of the King.  When Salitra presents me to his master, the king will want to put me to death immediately.  Everything will depend on the Baron's powers of persuasion."

"I realize there is some risk," Selena admitted.  "But it was your crime that brought an army into your land."

"It was your crime that deprived me of my power," said Zoltan.  "If I had those boots on my feet right now, I would send this army of heroes back to their mama's with shit in their breeches!"

"And you might be killed," said Selena.

"Not likely," said Zoltan.  "Not even a ballista bolt can penetrate those clothes you are wearing."

Selena was astounded.  "Is this true?"

"I told you they were enchanted," Zoltan reminded her.  "You are nearly invincible, my dear.  Without the protective spell in those clothes, I would have been dead long ago.  I have fought bigger armies than the one you see before you and sent them packing."

"There is no protection for the hands or for the face," Selena remarked.

Zoltan pointed to her belt.  "In that satchel is a hood and a pair of gloves.  When you don those, no arrow, no spear, no bolt can touch you."

Selena opened the case and removed those items Zoltan mentioned.  She stood up and slowly put them on.  The hood slipped down over her head and she adjusted it until she could see out the eyeholes.  She then pulled on the gloves and made a fist.  They seemed like ordinary woolen gloves.  "This is incredible," she said.  "But can it really be true?"

"It is true," Zoltan assured her.  "If you wish, you could walk up to their formations and trample them underfoot before they realize their weapons are useless against you.  Most of them would escape, but they would be too terrified of you to challenge your power again."

Selena started to remove the hood.

"Keep them on," said Zoltan.  "Attack the camp.  Do it now before they are ready."

Selena put her gloved hands on her hips and looked down at Zoltan with a disappointed look.  "You want me to attack an army while you watch from safety?  No thank you, Zoltan."

"You cannot be harmed," said Zoltan.  "There is no danger."

"You cannot be sure of that," Selena pointed out.  "You are assuming they do not know of the enchantments that protect the wearer of these garments, but you may be wrong.  They may have a spell that will neutralize my protection."

"There is always some risk of that," said Zoltan.  "But it is not likely.  You are too timid."

"Suppose you are right?" said Selena.  "I will have to kill hundreds of them.  I have never done anything like that and the thought is revolting.  It is far better that we stand by our agreement with Baron Salitra.  You will not be a prisoner for very long, and you can be sure they will honor the agreement at least until the gold is in their hands.   And they will not have the gold until you are safe in here."  Selena touched the spot below her left breast where the inside pocket of her jacket lay.

"What if you are wrong?" said Zoltan.  "What if their thirst for vengeance overcomes their greed?"

"Then you will die a hero," said Selena, smiling.  "I will avenge your death and we shall raise a monument in your honor in the capital city."

"If you are going to avenge me, you had best wear the gloves and the hood when you enter the camp," said Zoltan.

"I shall wear the gloves," said Selena.  "But if I walk into the camp wearing the hood, they will believe that I am going to attack them.  However…" she pulled the hood down, adjusted the eyeholes, then carefully rolled it up so that it sat upon her head like a cap.

"Very good!" said Zoltan approvingly.  "If there is trouble, you drop the hood quickly into place!"

"My thought exactly," said Selena.

"I have another suggestion," said Zoltan.  "If the baron is planning a trap, he may intend to kill me when I enter the camp.  You should go first."

"They will suspect treachery," said Selena.  "The baron specifically said you were to enter the camp first, alone."

"What difference does it make?" said Zoltan.  "Unless he is planning treachery.  It is obvious to me that he only wanted to separate us so that you cannot protect me.  Once I am dead, he calculates that you may be afraid to attack him and if you do, he calculates that he can kill you with his archers and ballistas and spearmen.  You might kill a few hundred or a few thousand of his men, but he would consider that a worthwhile price to pay in order to destroy me."

Selena considered this for a moment.  "It seems unlikely to me, but it might be best if I went first to be certain that it is safe for you to enter the camp.  If he is planning treachery, it will foil his plans, and if he is not, he will merely be annoyed with me for misunderstanding his instructions."

"I agree," said Zoltan.

A few minutes later, a trumpet began to sound within the camp.  "That is the signal," said Selena.  "Get ready, but watch my hand.  If I raise my hand over my head, you should take the baron's horse and ride to the capital as fast as you can.  I will follow when I may."

"A good plan," said Zoltan.  Zoltan mounted the horse and held him with a tight rein while Selena began the walk across the plain toward the Farrara camp.

When she was only a few steps from the front rank of archers, the Farrara troops opened their lines with much shouting of orders and banging of drums and Selena marched down a gauntlet of saluting swordsmen to where Baron Salitra sat on a 30 foot high stage that had hastily been erected in the center of the camp.  Selena marched up to him and halted.  "Baron Salitra," she said, and bowed from the waist like a man.

The baron rose from his chair and walked toward the front of the  stage.  .  "Welcome, Lady Selena.  You caught me somewhat by surprise.  I was expecting Lord Zoltan to arrive first, according to our understanding."

"Perhaps I misunderstood," said Selena.  "I beg your pardon.  Shall we proceed, or should I go back and send Lord Zoltan first?"

There were shouts from the watch towers and a general hubbub arose. The men began milling about and there were angry shouts.  "Is something wrong?" asked Selena.

Baron Salitra pointed across the plain.  Selena turned and saw a lone rider receding rapidly into the desert.  "Oh," said Selena sadly.  "It seems that my Master has changed his mind."

"We cannot catch him," said Salitra.  "Your plan has worked marvelously.  He has my stallion, possibly the fastest horse in all the world.  Certainly the fastest in my army."

"This is most unfortunate," said Selena, turning back to the baron.  "But all is not lost.  I have another suggestion to make."  Around her, she could hear men falling in, ballistas being wound, and bows being drawn tight.

"Speak quickly, giantess," said the Baron.  "My men are outraged. If you see a way out of this predicament, act quickly before I lose control of the situation."

"I do," said Selena.  "May I sit down?"

The baron gave orders for the men to fall back from the dias and Selena sat down.  She then pulled off the boots and stood up again, holding the boots in her hand.  Slowly, she leaned over and placed the boots on the ground before her.  She immediately began to shrink down to human size along with the boots.  There were amazed gasps from the assembled soldiers.  Although the legend of Zoltan's boots was well known, there were few people who had witnessed a giant turning into a human before there very eyes.  

When Selena was human sized, she picked up the boots and tucked them under her arm.  She called up to the baron who was still standing on the raised platform high above her head.  He was staring down at her with hands braced on his hips.  "Well now, Baron," said Selena.  "Are you coming down here, or should I climb up there?"

There was a burst of laughter from the assembled soldiers and Selena knew that the danger was passed.  They no longer feared her.

"Do not trouble yourself, Lady Selena," the baron replied.  "I will come down."  When he reached the ground, he stood before her, a tall, regal man looking down at a young woman only a little over five feet tall.  "Give me your hand, if it pleases you," said the baron, reaching out with his right.

Selena complied and the baron bowed deeply and kissed her gloved hand.  He seemed surprised when he saw that she was now wearing gloves, but he made no mention of it.  "Won't you come to my tent and have supper, my lady," said the baron.

"With pleasure," said Selena.  "We have much to talk about."

The baron's tent was big and roomy and he had many of the comforts of a castle.  The meal was laid out on a wooden table on silver and porcelain dishes.  There was roast pork, bread, wine, an assortment of cheeses, and boiled carrots.  For those days, it was an elegant feast and no small accomplishment for an army field kitchen.

"You realize that my men are persuing Zoltan," said the baron, in a conversational tone.

"I thought you said it was useless to try to overtake him on that horse," said Selena.

"It is useless, but I could not deny my cavalry the opportunity to try," said the baron.  "I hope you will not be offended by this action."

"Under the circumstances, I can not be critical," said Selena.  "I swear to you that Zoltan did not confide his plans to me."

"Will you tell me something, Lady Selena," said the Baron.  "If perchance Zoltan is run to ground by my men, is there a chance that he will turn into a giant and kill them?"

"No," said Selena. "Zoltan has no more power."

"If he reaches his capital, will he bring an army against us?"

"He has no army and he has no supporters," said Selena.  "With one exception."

"And you are the exception?"

Selena nodded.  "The power that was his is now mine, but I have vowed to use it in behalf of Zoltan and his empire."

"You say that you serve Zoltan," the baron remarked.  "But if he orders you to do something that you believe to be wrong…"

"I remain true to Zoltan," said Selena.  "But I will not obey an order that is immoral, unjust, or unconscionable."

"And since you have the boots, he cannot force you to act in violation of your conscience.  I think I understand.  The boots are the key to everything.  Zoltan is helpless now, but if I take my army and go after him, you will put on the boots and try to stop me."

"I will stop you," said Selena.

The baron shook his head.  "How can you remain loyal to such a monster?  What is he to you?"

"He trusted me once," said Selena.  "He gave the boots willingly into my hands upon my oath of allegiance.  I will not betray him, no matter what he has done in the past."

"So what are we to do?" said the baron.  "I cannot return to Farrara empty handed.  But if I carry-on with my mission, you will put on your boots and fight me."

"I will," said Selena.  "I have no lust for blood, but if you force me to do so, I will trample your soldiers beneath my boots.  I will kill no more than is necessary, but I will kill if I must."

"What then do you propose?"

Selena said, "I will travel to Farrara and speak to your king.  I will offer him the reparations of gold and Zoltan's apology."

"And if he accepts?"

"Then I will go to Zoltan's treasure house and obtain the gold," Selena replied.   "I  will bring the gold and lay it before the feet of your liege lord.  And then there will peace between our people's."

"What if Zoltan tries to stop you?" asked the baron.

"He cannot stop me," said Selena.  "My duty to Zoltan does not require me to break my vow to your king."

The baron nodded.  "I suppose it is worth a try." He smiled and said, "I have come to like you, Lady Selena.  I would be much grieved if we were forced to make war on one another.  Let us hope that war can be avoided."

"And I admire you was well, baron," Selena replied.  "You are a man of honor and I value that."

"Thank you." The baron looked around the table and said, "It seems our dinner is concluded.  No doubt you would like a bath and a soft bed for the night.  I have made arrangements and my orderly will conduct you to your quarters when you are ready."

It was very late and the mention of a bed caused Selena to yawn.  "I need a bed very badly," she said.  "But I long for a bath.  May I go to it now?"

"Of course."  Salitra gave a signal to his servant and he stepped forward.

"May I carry your boots my lady?" asked the servant.

"No, I will carry them," said Selena, and followed the servant from the baron's tent.  The servant took her to another tent and indicated a large copper tub filled with hot, steaming water.
"If you need more hot water, call out and I will bring it," said the orderly.  "But I must warn you that there are no serving maids with the army.  All of the baron's servants are men."

"I understand," said Selena.  "You are very considerate.  You may go now.  I will call when I need you."

When the servant was gone, Selena put down the boots and undressed.  She eased her naked body into the warm water and lay back to enjoy its cleansing warmth.  Twice she called for more hot water, and remained luxuriating in the tub for almost an hour.  Finally, however, she stepped out, dried her body and looked around for her clothes.  She wished she had some cleaner more comfortable clothes, but there was no help for it.  The magic garments of Zoltan were leather and she decided to wash them with a damp cloth before putting them back on.

It was then she saw the boots were gone, along with her leggings, breeches, and jacket.  "Orderly!" she called out.

This time the orderly did not appear.  Instead, Baron Salitra stepped into the tent and he was holding Selena's boots in his hand.  "Are you looking for these, milady?" said the baron, wearing an evil grin.

Selena darted out her hand for the boots; it was a desperate but hopeless act.  The baron laughed, seized her hand and drew her from the tent naked where two soldiers were waiting.  The baron shoved her down and said to the soldiers, "Bring her.  I want the witch to see her boots burn before we burn her!"

"No!" cried Selena.  "I am not a witch!"

"Shut up, witch!" said a soldier as he roughly seized her.  They dragged her between the rows of tents to the center of the camp where she saw that what had been a 30 foot high stage and been turned into a huge bonfire, ready to be lit.  There were men with torches forming a ring around the huge woodpile.  "Take her to the top!" ordered Salitra.

Selena was afraid now, for she saw she was about to be burned alive.  Her skin crawled with the horror of it and she began to scream in terror.  She begged for mercy and forgot all about dignity.  Her end was near, but she must pass through a nightmare of pain to reach it.  Merciful goddess!  Spare me!

They tied her to a post on the top of the wood pile, then  left her there.  She looked down and saw the torches applied to the lower edge of the stack.  Soon, a circle of fire began to grow around her.  She could not yet feel the heat, but the flames were steadily rising up the stack toward her.

"Your boots, witch!" shouted the baron.  "Take them with you to hell!"  He tossed the boots onto the flames at the foot of the woodpile.

When the boots touched the flame, they caught quickly and began to burn, but after a few seconds, there was a sudden rush of sound and a pillar of flame shot up from the burning boots and they vanished in a flash of light.  The soldiers of Farrara stared in wonder and amazement as the pillar of flame rose up, up into the sky and as it rose, it seemed to draw the fire from the wood into itself.  

Then the fire was out, except for the pillar of flame which became a ball of fire ten feet in diameter which drifted up, up toward Selena.  As the ball of fire drew level with Selena, a tongue of golden sparks shot out from the ball and engulfed her naked body in swirling golden stars.  The flames dwindled and vanished, but as they did so, the body of the girl began to grow, larger and larger.  Her bonds burst as her wrists and legs swelled and the bonfire collapsed beneath her feet as she grew within seconds into a mighty giantess, much bigger than ever before.
Selena looked down at the Farrara camp which spread out at her feet as rows and rows of campfires, gleaming in the dark.  The men with the torches were fleeing away from her and when they tossed their torches away, some of them fell on tents and stacks of fodder.  Selena watched in awe as the Farrara camp seemed to destroy itself as she watched.  In every direction were spreading flames and she could not see the tiny men on the ground in the darkness.   Selena began to walk from the camp, not knowing if she were treading on the terrified fleeing soldiers.  If she did step on anyone, she hoped that Baron Salitra was one of them.

It was dark and cold beyond the camp, and Selena found herself drawn back to the warming fires.  She guessed she must be some 500 feet tall and there was no possibility that the soldiers of Farrara could harm her now.  She returned to the center of the camp and  saw the huge pile of wood that had been gathered to burn her as a witch.  The final miracle of the boots had extinguished the flames, but Selena picked up pieces of a burning watch tower and relit the bonfire.  She then seated herself next to the fire and huddled near it, seeking its warmth.  
Selena was very tired, but she was afraid to sleep.  In her sleep, she might shrink to human size again and there might be Farraran soldiers about who would take the opportunity to kill her.  So she sat close to the fire, occasionally tossing in some fragments of timbers the Farrara soldiers had laid strewn about.  Sometime during that night she nodded off….

"Selena!"

A gentle voice seem to come to her out of the blackness.  She did not recognize the voice, but she found it reassuring.  "Hello," she said languidly.

"At last!  You heard me!"

"Who are you?" Selena asked.

"I have been trying to contact you for hours.  I am, or I was, the wizard Heckner.  It has been years since I have been able to contact another human soul, but at last the time has come."

"Where am I?" said Selena.

"You are dreaming, girl," the voice said. "It is the only way I can speak to you, in your dreams.  It is wonderful to be free of the boots at last."

"The boots?" said Selena.  "What about the boots?"

"It was I who created the magic boots, but when I was killed by Zoltan, my spirit was trapped in the boots," Hacknor explained.  "I became Zoltan's mute slave, forced to use my power to advance his evil schemes.  But now I am free because the boots have been destroyed."

"What happened?" said Selena.  "Why did I grow?"

"It was I who made you grow, Selena," Hacknor responded.  "It was the only way to save you from the fire.  Besides, I enjoyed working with you.  You used the power of the boots wisely and for good.  When I was freed from the boots, I had to find a receptacle for my soul and I chose you.  All my power is now at your disposal.  You are no longer limited in what you can do by the material aspects of the boots.  Although I can not speak to you when you are awake, I can respond to your will and give you the use of my powers."

"I am made uneasy by power," said Selena.  "Zoltan was corrupted by power."

"Zoltan was degraded, even before he had any power.  Listen to me, Selena.  From now on, you will be able to grow or shrink at will.  You do not need the boots and no one can take your powers from you.  But there is more!  You will be able to change the size of people and objects at will!  You need only think it, and it will happen.  You will not need to wear magical clothes that grow and shrink as you do, because you will have the power to adjust the size of your clothing to fit your body.

"Why me?" said Selena.  "Why am I to have all this power?"

"Because you are good."

"I am not so good," said Selena.  "Sometimes I feel anger and I fear what I might do if I had such power in my hands."

"I did not say your were perfect, Selena.  But you are good.  You are much better than most people.  There is no one better suited to exercise tremendous  power over the world."

"Why should anybody have such power," said Selena.  "Would it not be better if such power did not exist?"

"Perhaps it would," Hacknor agreed.  "But what has been done cannot be undone. You cannot be made to use this power I give you.When you are awake, my will is just a wispy, fragile thing that your conscious mind brushes aside like a spider's web. But as long as you live, you will have this power at your disposal.  You may use it or you may choose to let it lie dormant, but it will always be there."

"I do not want it," said Selena.  "Please, can't you take it away?"

"I cannot exist without a body," Hecknor replied.  "And I am not ready to go into oblivion.  You must try to understand…."

"I do not understand…"

"Someday you will…I must go now."

"Wait!  Tell me more!"

"I must go.  You are about to awaken….I will see you in your dreams again, Selena…"

Selena awoke lying on the ground in the morning.  She was still five hundred feet tall and the Farrara camp around her was a ruin, but the fires were out and there was no one in sight.  Selena thought about her dream and the words of Hecknor.  She willed herself to shrink to human size, then went through the camp looking for some clothes to cover her body.  She found a tunic, a cloak, some sandals, and a belt.  When she had dressed herself, she looked for some food and found two loaves of bread in an abandoned tent that had escaped the flames which swept through the camp.

After she had eaten, Selena grew herself to 500 feet once more and looked around.  As she had been told in her dream, her clothes grew with her, even her sandals.  She could see no sign of the Farrara soldiers, so she turned toward the east and started across the desert toward Zoltan's city.  She wondered if she would be able to find Zoltan again.

The desert seemed much smaller now than when she was only sixty feet tall, but when she had crossed the desert, she shrank herself down to human size again and walked along the road.  She did not wish to attract attention to herself by walking around the countryside in giant form.  She hoped that she might find a new life in the city where she could live simply and unnoticed and not have to use her powers ever again.

Of course, that was not to be.  About two hours of walking along the road in the cheerful sunshine were all the peace that Selena had.  As she was rounding a bend in the road, four disheveled, dirty, unshaven men stepped out of the bushes into her path.

"Oh gawd!" crowed the nearest and biggest one.  "Ain't she a looker!"

"Peezus!" said another.

"I want some of that!" said the third.

The fourth man looked at Selena with a stupid look on his face and said, "You see a milk cow on this road?"  Selena ignored him and concentrated on the tallest man  who was the leader, for the others took their cue from him and did not move until he did.  The men swaggered toward her, grinning and learing at her.  "Do not run little bird," said the leader.  "We just want to have a little fuckee fun.  You want some fuckee fun little bird? Huh?"

"I want some fuckee fun," said the second man.  "I want lots of fuckee fun."

The men all laughed, but when Selena did not seem to be afraid of them, they hesitated.  "What's wrong with you, girl?" said the leader.  "You think we are bluffing, don't you."

"She is a whore," said the third man.

"Nah," said the second man.  "Her clothes are too plain.  A whore would dress better than that."  They all laughed again and edged closer, watching her as if they expected her to bolt and run.

Selena stood her ground as she considered how to handle the situation.  She realized she had no choice but to use her powers.  She hoped that they still worked.

When  three of the men  leapt upon her, she reacted without thinking, and started growing, but when the men reacted to her rapidly increasing stature  by  backing off, she stopped growing at a mere 12 feet and looked down at them.  "Are you lads in the habit of attacking solitary women?"

The stupid looking man  who was standing a few steps behind the others said, "We just want our milk cow if that's all right."

The men turned and ran from her in terror.  The fourth one was the last to flee and he seemed to be more than a little confused.  Selena's first thought was to let them go, but it occurred to her that these men might try again with another woman who could not turn into a giantess.  It did not seem right to let them go,  perhaps to rape again, so she went on up to 100 feet and followed after them while she struggled with her conscience.

The men fled along the road, and stayed together, which was not smart, Selena thought.  If they split up, she could not have caught them all, but they stayed together so she had no difficulty.  If they had gone into the brush along the roadside, she might have lost sight of them, but they remained on the road where the going was easier for them.  When she was close enough to trample them beneath her sandal, she felt a wave of revulsion and realized that she would have to put some height between hers and theirs before she were to summon the will to crush them.  Selena went up again, taller and taller until the four men were just tiny dark dots moving only a narrow ribbon of road on the ground in front of her.

At seven hundred feet, she stopped her growth and scanned the road.  She saw something tiny moving slowly along the road a few steps along.  Selena walked forward and stopped to study the moving dots.  They appeared to be no bigger than ants now, but she could clear see the four men running full tilt with pumping knees and arms.  Their faces were pale points of light that flashed when they turned to look up at her, but mostly they looked at her feet which straddled the road.  Selena did not stamp the men, she merely walked forward, placing one foot in front of the other, centered on the road.  She put her right foot just behind them and brought her left foot forward. When Selena placed the sole of her sandle on the spot where the men were running, she was grateful that she could not see them, but she was not oblivious to the nightmare of their final moments.

Selena walked on without looking behind her to make sure she had done the job.  As she walked, she let herself shrink until she was soon normal size again.  She tried not to imagine what it was like for the men as the shadow of her sandal fell across them and the sky came down.  She hoped that she had done the right thing, but it was impossible to be sure.

***

Not far down the road, she came to a village and there was an inn run by an older woman.  Selena had no money, so she approached the proprietor and asked, "Could you use a little help with the washing up this evening?  I have no money, but I will gladly work for a little food and a place to sleep tonight."

The woman smiled at her.  "Nay girl.  You are my guest tonight.  I would never turn away a pretty girl like you into the night.  You should not be on the road alone.  Have you not heard the awful tales of girls raped and murdered by brigands on this road?"

"No, I am just passing through," said Selena.

"You will be safe here tonight," the woman said.  "My four sons will protect you."

"Four sons?" Selena asked with an ominous feeling.

"Aye.  They should be along soon enough.  You must have passed them on the road.  They went down that way not an hour ago to find our stray milk cow.  Surely you saw them?  Four tall, handsome boys.  They are fine smart boys, all except for Seth who is a little simple in the head, but he has a good heart."  The woman squinted at Selena.  "I say, are those tears running down your cheeks?  Why are you crying girl?"

"I am so grateful," said Selena, trying not to sob.  "You are so kind…"

"Nay, nay, girl!  Don't cry!" said the old woman, folding Selena into her arms and stroking her long blond hair.  "Whatever it is, I am sure things will look a lot brighter in the morning."