Erik woke up that morning feeling very hungry.  He dressed and groomed himself all the while his stomach growled.  He thought about the disappointment in Marta’s eyes when he told her that he couldn’t leave his home.  Erik ignored his hunger.  He had grown to love the giantess in a way he thought he could never love again.  Elisa seemed to like her and that was important to him too.

He went out on his balcony and looked down the hill toward the large barn.  As nice as the barn is, Erik knew in his heart that it was no place for a lady to live.  It was bad enough that the two giants had to live in darkness but even giants deserved some comfort.

Erik watched as a cloaked figure crawled out the double doors of the barn.  It was Jakob who looked as though he was ready to start his day.  He laid his knapsack of tools by the door and stretched towards the sky to greet the dawn.  Erik still could not believe that two children who ran away so many years ago returned as full grown adult giants.  His stomach growled again and this time he clutched it.

“I better eat something even though I really don’t feel like it,” Erik said to himself, still unhappy about last night.  Marta’s sad blue eyes played through his mind.  Erik wanted so much to be happy with the giantess.

Erik sat in the kitchen with Elisa while Maria sat out the morning breakfast.  His poor sister is exhausted from cooking and making sure everybody was comfortable.  Erik grabbed a plate of ham from his sister and made her sit down.  Maria tried to protest but Erik wasn’t having it.  Then Maria heard a loud growl coming from Erik’s stomach.  Erik clutched his stomach and nearly dropped the plate.  Then Maria ordered him to sit and eat.

“You have worked too hard around here,” Erik protested.  Maria gave him a stern look.

“I cannot have you starving either.  You are the man of the house,” Maria said as she filled his plate.  “Eat!”

Maria soon regretted those words as she watched her brother shovel food into his mouth.  Even little Elisa watched her father’s lack of regard for table manners.  As soon as he finished one plate, he made himself another and another, each as full if not fuller than the last.  Erik couldn’t seem to get enough food.  Finally he belched and patted his extended tummy.

“I never meant..,” Maria struggled with her words while Erik laughed.

“I never realize I was so hungry dear sister,” Erik said as he sat back.  Maria still couldn’t believe her brother’s voracious appetite.  “It was really quite delicious,” Erik said as he stood up and picked up his daughter.  Elisa laughed.

“Papa, you eat like pig,” Elisa said as Erik kissed her cheek.  Erik put his daughter down and felt a strange tingling sensation work its way through his body.  Erik never felt anything like it but it had passed as quickly as it came on.  Maria was too busy to notice her brother.  Not even little Elisa noticed.  Erik just went about his day.

Erik walked out the door to a cloaked figure looking down at him.  Jakob gave Erik a small smile just barely visible under the hood of the cloak.  Jakob dressed in layers to protect his skin from the sun.  Jakob and Marta could both handle the sun, but only in small amounts.  Erik noticed that neither of the giants had proper footwear.  They both wore what looked to be fur skins on their feet or homemade wooden clogs.  Maybe he could make a deal with John the cobbler and Markus the tanner to make shoes for giants.  The bulky fur boots were more suited for the winter months.  Since the village now knows of Ansel and Gerta’s secret, maybe Erik could barter a few things to make Jakob and Marta feel more accepted and comfortable.

“Good morning friend,” Jakob said.

“Good morning Jakob, are you ready to help rebuild some houses today?” Erik asked the giant.

“Marta wants to help.  She seems to think it’ll go faster with another set of hands,” Jakob said, obviously hiding something from Erik.  Erik picked up the giant’s body language by the way he looked away.

“So you and her can be on your way, is that the real reason Jakob?” Erik said and the giant turned away.  Erik noticed that in the short time he has been around Jakob, the giant was really a pacifist.  Jakob didn’t like being confronted despite the fact that he could easily crush whoever did the confronting.

“Yes,” Jakob said quietly.  “She wants to go home.”

“I see.  Does this have anything to do with last night?” Erik boldly asked, knowing that Marta tells Jakob everything.  Jakob turned away again.   “You don’t want to go?”

Jakob turned to look down at the much smaller man.  Under the darkness of the hood, Erik could make out the two sad blue eyes.  Jakob frowned.  “No, I do not want to go but Marta does.  I cannot have her venture out alone.”

“Why does Marta want to go?” Erik asked the giant and his frown deepened.

“She wants to find others as ourselves,” Jakob said with a slight distaste.

“Why don’t you want to go?  I know you feel out of sorts here, but why stay?”  Erik asked and Jakob’s eyes wandered to the open kitchen door where Maria stood at the washtub washing the morning’s dishes.  A twinkle formed in the giant’s eyes and Erik knew that the giant had eyes for his sister.  Jakob blushed when he heard the steps of the small woman heading in the direction of the open door.

“Jakob!  Good morning to you,” Maria said with a bright smile.  “Did you sleep well and get enough to eat?”

Jakob could only nod.  The small woman made Jakob feel tongue tied.  Erik smiled at the unusually shy giant.  Jakob was shy until he got to know you but with Maria he seemed to stay that way at times.  “Thank you,” Jakob managed to say and Maria gave him a warm and compassionate smile.

“Think nothing of it,” Maria said looking up at the cloaked figure.  She frowned.  “’tis a shame I cannot see you in the sunlight.  You are far too handsome to be hiding under all those layers.”  This only caused Jakob to blush some more.  Jakob pulled back his hood long enough for Maria to see him.  Jakob had kept himself well groomed.  His curly dark hair was brushed and cut; even the hairs on his chin were trimmed.  His blue eyes matched the color of the cloudless sky.  Maria smiled up at the giant and he smiled in return.  Erik had a strong feeling that there was something going on between his sister and the giant.

“You are far too beautiful to be hiding away in a kitchen,” Jakob said with a smirk and Maria blushed.

“Jakob!” a little voice shouted as little Elisa ran out of the kitchen.  Jakob gently scooped her up in his large hand and the little girl giggled.  Jakob gently tickled her with his index finger.  Elisa felt that she was the luckiest little girl to have two giants for friends.  Jakob made funny faces at her and Elisa laughed.  “You funny,” Elisa tells the giant.  Jakob began to feel the heat of the sun burning his pale skin.  He put Elisa back down so he could pull his hood back on.  The giant noticed it took a little longer than normal to burn his skin today.  Maybe he was starting to adapt?

Erik found Marta by the barn wearing pants and a cloak and gloves just like her brother.  Erik wondered what happened to his vulnerable lady in her dainty natural cloth gowns.  Marta stood a bit shorter than her brother and had frailness to her slender frame, like that of a tree during a wind storm.  Her golden locks were braided back and hang out from beneath the hood.  Despite her appearance, Erik knew that she was strong.  Strong enough to carry a full grown man like a baby cradled in her arms.  Erik loved when she would do that, although he knew in the back of his mind he was never going to have that privilege again.

“You have decided to help the men today?” Erik asked the giantess.

“Why not, I’m stronger and just as capable.  My dear brother knows this,” Marta said in a cold tone.  Erik didn’t like the way she talked, it was as if she was already distancing herself from the small man.

“I don’t doubt that fair lady,” Erik said in an equally cold tone that Marta didn’t like either.

“I am not a lady,” she retorted.  “I am a giant.”

“More like a giantess,” Erik mumbled and sighed.

“Are you making fun of me?” Marta frowned down at Erik.

“Nay, I was only correcting you.  You are not a giant but a giantess.  Meaning lady giant,” Erik said unafraid of Marta.  Marta was getting angry at Erik.  She stomped her foot and the ground shook causing Erik to fall on his ass.  Marta laughed, unaware of her own strength at that moment and enjoyed the shocked expression on Erik’s face.

“I am so sorry,” Marta said as she got down on her knee and helped Erik to his feet.  She dusted him off.  Marta felt bad for what she just did.  Erik wasn’t talking, he just stood there stoic for a moment and slowly a smile formed on his lips and he started to laugh.

“Woman, remind me never to anger you ever again,” Erik said, still laughing and giving Marta a wink of his eye.  Marta smiled when she realized that there were no hard feelings between them.  “Besides, I don’t care what that silly witch said last night.  You are still beautiful to me,” Erik then said and Marta blushed.  Marta turned away.

“But you are not as I,” Marta said quietly as her mood changed.  Erik walked around the kneeling giantess to meet her gaze but Marta turned away from him again.

“Does it really matter?  I can still love you, can’t I?”

“But I want to find other giants.  I want to know for certain if this is true,” Marta sobbed.  She moved from kneeling to sitting and covered her face with her hands and hood.  Erik realized that Marta hadn’t seen the big wide world like he had.  She had never ventured out of the forest and probably never would have if it wasn’t for finding Ansel.

“Please stay for a few more days at least,” was all Erik could think to say.

“My momma is well now.  Jakob and I wanted to stay till she was well,” Marta answered.

“Then stay as my guests,” Erik said, giving her a warm smile.

“I guess we could.  Jakob seems to like your sister and I don’t want his heart to be broken too,” Marta said and Erik reframed from telling her, all the heart break because of one kiss?  Erik was at least happy she was staying a little longer.  That strange tingling sensation returned to his body but he ignored it.

Marta decided to leave the building to the men so she changed into her dress and apron.  She still had to wear the cloak and gloves but the dress was much more comfortable than the pants.  Marta thought she would be of more use running errands and food to the men. 

Elisa begged Marta to take her along and Marta did.  Elisa rode in the pouch of her apron.  She laughed at the speed the giantess moved, much faster than her father’s horses.  Marta took food and water to the hard working men.  Erik was grateful for the giantess as he found himself starving throughout the day.  No one question Erik’s appetite as all the men worked up appetites.

They worked all day and some of the night.  Erik came home not only hungry but exhausted as well.  This went on for about five day when on the fifth day.  The strange sensations Erik experienced came and went.  Erik woke up to a great surprise on the day Marta and Jakob were getting ready to go back to the forest…