Governor Pario emerged from within his castle, having been told by his sentries that the Algaran giantess had left. After foolishly insulting Carinne during their last confrontation, he had fled from the battle, and had remained hidden in the castle since then. With him were most of his surviving advisors, noblemen, and various other high-ranking people. They ventured out into the courtyard of the castle, where a large crowd of survivors and refugees had gathered. There was an excited commotion running through the crowd, and Pario noticed that it seemed to be centred on one man. He recognized him as the soldier who had told those laughable tales about the Sky-Giants, and who had later that night been observed stealing a horse and riding off into the forest. Pario turned aside to his guards and ordered them to seize that man.

Erryl didn’t struggle, and when he was brought before the governor he seemed calm and at ease. Governor Pario noticed this, and asked him where he had been off to.

“Oh, I’ve merely gone and fetched someone to help us against the Algaran,” he answered. “A good thing I did, too, or else there wouldn’t have been anything left in this country.”

“Are you mocking me?” the governor accused him. “I must warn you, soldier, that this is a time of war, and that insolence such as yours will not go unpunished!”

“War?” Erryl asked rhetorically. “But Governor, the war is over! The Algaran has been captured by…”

“Yes? By whom? Tell me!”

“Oh, well, you might want to look up at the sky, Governor. Behind you.”

Pario did as he was told. He looked behind him, at his castle, and what he saw nearly caused him to faint. Above the castle, larger even than that magnificent building, was an enormous torso, from which two mountainous breasts rose beneath a blue tunic. He looked up at the titanic face of a young woman, over a hundred feet from top to chin, and his legs couldn’t carry him anymore. All those who’d exited the castle with him fell to their knees in a similar fashion, some crying out in fear or terror.

Gailina smiled at the sight on the ground. About an hour ago, when Erryl had brought her to Rurak, the villagers and refugees had had a similar reaction. It took immense effort on both their parts to assure the people that she meant them no harm. She was kneeling at the foot of the hill on which the castle stood, but its highest tower nevertheless only reached her waist. By bending forward she could bring her face directly above the courtyard, to the great awe of all those beneath her.

She reached inside her tunic and drew out her prisoner. Carinne had been firmly tied up with a large piece of cloth, and was therefore incapable of moving or speaking. Gailina placed he smaller giantess in the centre of the courtyard, and the crowd backed away as far as they could. Only Erryl approached the now helpless Algaran girl, and he climbed triumphantly onto her chest and sat on top of her left breast.

“Oh, that’s so cute!” Gailina said, her voice like that of a god, descending from the sky. “You can rest easy, people of Ruralia: your foe has been defeated.”

“You…you’re…” Pario stammered, slowly standing up again.

“Yes, I’m a ‘Sky-Giant’, if you have to use that term, and no, I’m not here to destroy you like she’s been doing. I’m Gailina, and I wish to be nothing but your friend and ally. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I’m prepared to help you rebuild your towns and cities, and to stay on as your protector. You see, I’ve grown rather fond of you little humans recently, and seeing your lives destroyed like this just breaks my heart.”

“What?” Pario screamed, his mind refusing to accept the situation. “You…you’re a monster! Guards, do…something! Get…get rid of her, n-now!”

In the courtyard, nobody moved a muscle. The guards, as well as the peasants, stood motionless. All eyes were raised to the sky, to the face of the all-powerful giantess who was offering to be their friend. The governor continued to rant hysterically, even as gigantic fingers took hold of his cloak and lifted him far above the ground.

“You know what?” Gailina said, watching the tiny man’s futile struggles between her fingernails. “I don’t think you’re a very good governor. I saved your city, and your country, and you order your guards to kill me. That’s just not very nice, if you ask me. I think Erryl should be governor from now on. What do you say?”

A faint cheer rose from the crowd, but the governor merely yelled something incomprehensible at her. She looked at him, almost tempted to just pop him into her mouth and swallow him. In the end she put him back down, where he was promptly seized by a large group of villagers chanting Erryl’s name. The guards and nobles kept standing where they were, looking uncertain of what they should do. After a while Erryl tried to silence the crowd, and, to his surprise, they listened to him.

“I’m…grateful for your support,” he said. “But I don’t see myself as the right type of man for this task. I’m a soldier, and I’m really much better at following orders than issuing them.”

The peasants began talking amongst themselves. They hadn’t anticipated this, and they didn’t know what to do now; all they knew was that they no longer wanted Pario ruling over them. Eventually, several of the young noblemen spoke up, and nominated Baroth, military advisor to the former governor, to be their new leader. The old man, who had been against the use of force against Carinne from the beginning, decided to accept, if only to bring a measure of order to the country until someone could be found who was willing to replace him.

“Release that man!” he said to the people who were holding Pario. “He may have been a poor governor, but it was not his fault that monster nearly destroyed our city. We’ll need the services of every last man and woman if we are to rebuild our land and reclaim our former lives.”

Then he turned to Erryl and said:

“Please accept our thanks, Erryl, and tell your, uh, companion, that we are thankful to her as well, and that we accept any help she is willing to offer gratefully.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Gailina’s powerful voice announced, startling everyone. “Our ears are much more sensitive than yours, relatively speaking. But I’m glad to see you’ve all accepted me as your friend. I’m prepared to help in any way I can, unless it involves me fighting your wars on your behalf. You can take care of yourself, I’m sure.”

She laid her finger on the ground, in front of Erryl, and waited for him to climb on. He planted his feet on the rim of her fingernail and held on to her fingertip tightly as she lifted him slowly up. She rose to her full height, towering far, far taller than anything else in sight, natural or manmade. She deposited Erryl in the centre of her hand and he sat down, quite at ease.

“So, what happens to her now?” he asked, referring to Carinne. “Are you going to kill her?”

Gailina snorted.

“What do you think I am?” she asked. “A cruel monster like her? I don’t kill people, Erryl; at least, not deliberately. If I had been forced to kill her in order to stop her, I would have, but now I don’t think it’s necessary. I’ll make sure Carinne is properly punished, that’s all you need to know. Now, how about giving me a proper goodbye kiss, hmm?”

“I’m not…” he began, before the soft, wet flesh of her puckered lips smothered out the rest of his words. He was completely powerless against the force with which she held his body against her. When she broke the kiss, his miniscule body still clung to her lower lip, and she gently pried him off with her fingernail.

“We’re definitely spending more time together when I return,” she said, giving him a wink. She put him back down on the ground, his face still red from the awkwardness of what had just happened. Then she picked up Carinne, still tied up and unable to move, and tucked her into her tunic. Gailina looked down one last time at the tiny people, blew them a kiss, and set off back to her home. The people Ruralia watched their saviour walk off, flattening tall trees that were like blades of grass to her. She remained visible even from a great distance, but at last the day began to darken, and she vanished gradually over the horizon.

Stripped of her armour and clothing, a naked and very frightened Carinne found herself on Gailina’s dining table, trapped in a large, steep-sided bowl. She was breathing extremely fast, panicking, and repeatedly tried to escape from her prison. All the time the larger giantess watched with a gleam in her eyes, and eventually Carrine’s will to escape left her, and she began to sob and plead for her life. Gailina stood up, fetched a large kettle from the hearth, and held it directly above the now petrified Carinne.

“Here’s how it’s going to work,” Gailina announced. “From now on, until the day your life ends, you will be nothing more than my slave. You will obey, without question, every single thing I order you to do. If you fail to obey even the smallest command, I will turn your life into such a hell that you will beg me to kill you.”

“I don’t believe you!” Carinne shouted defiantly. “You’ll never hurt me! You don’t have the balls for it!”

“Suit yourself,” Gailina replied, and she tipped the kettle forward. Out of the spout came a stream of boiling water, which began to fill the bowl. Carinne ran around frantically, but there was no escape. As the boiling liquid rose above her feet she squealed and cursed and screamed. Though Gailina knew that her captive had done terrible things, she still felt a tiny amount of pity for her, and after a few seconds she took her out of the bowl. She went to her bedroom and threw the still screaming Carinne down on the bed. Then she took off her shoes and lay down on the bed herself. She placed one bare foot on top of Carinne, squeezing her down against the bed.

“Alright, slave,” she said, “begin rubbing my feet. Don’t stop until I order you to stop, understand? Do a good job, and you’ll be rewarded. Otherwise…you know what happens…”

Like an obedient child, Carinne did as she was told. She hated every moment of it, stuck beneath Gailina’s foot, a foot which had been inside a smelly boot all day. She waited for the order to stop, but it never came. Every time her strength faltered, Gailina pushed downwards, squeezing her until she began to rub again. Hours passed, and eventually Carinne couldn’t do it anymore. She collapsed, completely worn out. Gailina pressed her foot down, harder than before, but still got no response. She took her foot off and picked up Carinne’s inert body. She appeared to be dead, but Gailina listened closely, and she could just make out a faint heartbeat.

“I guess that’s all for today,” she said to herself. “Poor thing, I almost feel sorry for her. But after all she has done…she’s still a mass-murderer, a rapist…”

It took her a long while to make up her mind.

“I have to take care of her,” she told herself. “She’s still very young by Algaran standards – most of her life still lies in front of her. It will be difficult, but maybe I can turn her back to being a good person. That is, if she was ever a good person to begin with…”