Three Days Before…
On the opposite end of the broad continent, the princess’s heart sank as she watched the sun disappear over the horizon. She’d spent the entire afternoon seated placidly on the mountainside overlooking the palace, watching the hills above the outlying villages for any sign of Argus. Every other human in the streets and castle halls celebrated the lack of a dragon attack, as it seemed he’d finally been defeated after last year’s precious interaction between their towering princess and her favorite lizardlike pet.
Narina, however, wiped away a lone tear as it rolled down her rosy cheek, and consciously maintained her composure, especially because a full-on crying storm from the girl would be more than enough to flood a whole street below. Wind whipped through the wavy strands of her hay-hair, but she brushed them out of her crystalline eyes, and signed, gradually accepting reality. He wasn’t coming. Which could surely mean only one thing.
Something awful had happened to Argus!
The princess spent most of the night tossing and turning in her sleep, which, even though it took place safely away from any tiny structures, seismically rumbled the palace until morning. When the sun rose again, Narina gingerly propped herself up over the castle walls, and lowered her face until it loomed before the tallest tower of the grand palace. After a while, the puny royal figures of her family appeared in the window. The king stood in front, greeting his cataclysmically gigantic daughter who, with just a single one of her fingers, could topple the entire stone pillar like a cinnamon stick if she so chose.
A specially designed bugle, engineered years before when it became apparent that the princess was too large for unaided communication, was hoisted up to the tower for the king to speak inside.
“Good morning, dear!” the king sounded out.
“Good morning, father,” the princess drearily sighed.
Even in her dismayed whisper of a voice, the girl still boomed louder than the bronze bell of her father’s horn. She hung her head, until the longest ropes of her hair inadvertently dangled down into the city streets, during which dozens of citizens appeared for the rare chance to touch the silken crown of their blessed protector. However, she failed to notice their vigor, or anything much for that matter, in her state of depression. Narina exhaled, sending a blast of warm air that buckled the shutters of every hut and building in its path.
“You seem troubled, daughter, even while the rest of us have been celebrating. Why is this?”
“He is not coming.”
“What?”
“My puppy. Argus.”
The king quickly conferred with the queen and his advisors, then spoke again into the bugle: “But do you not see this is good news? He will trouble the kingdom no more, it seems. Your brave acts, as always, defended our land last year, and so soundly defeated him that he’s decided to stay away.”
“Maybe…” Narina warbled, wiping her eyes again and swallowing the lump in her throat. “But he was the only living thing I could cuddle and kiss, and show him how much I love him. If I were to do the same to anyone else, they would surely be crushed, or worse! Father, I treasure the advantages that come with my size, and my ability to keep the kingdom safe from its enemies, but it does come at a cost, especially as I continue to grow. I have no one to play with me. Don’t you see? Life becomes unbearably slow when you are this size, with nothing to look forward to. Please, I have to find Argus, and make sure nothing terrible has befallen him!”
Though he couldn’t understand his giant daughter’s logic, the king was moved by Narina’s passion, and could see that she was lonely and in need of companionship. So, against his better judgment, he and the queen gave their blessing for the princess to venture beyond their borders for the first time in years, in search of Argus. They knew he resided somewhere on the opposite coast of the continent, which for even an intrepid ordinary human would represent a journey months or perhaps years in the making. However, they were hopeful that Narina would stroll right across the land in a matter of days, find what she was looking for, and return to defend their walls before any threat arose.
The princess was so excited, she withdrew from her position over the castle and hopped up and down in glee. Of course, her mighty feet continually colliding with the earth, even from a distance, felled numerous huts leagues away. Apologizing profusely, the girl spent several minutes plucking and reshaping these homes back into livable architecture between her palms and fingertips, as easily as a clay art project. Then, once she’d gotten ahold of herself, Narina prepared for her voyage across the continent.
Though the royal family was fairly certain the princess would find her dragon in less than a week, they were still sure to send her with provisions. For months, hundreds of the kingdom’s best seamstresses had been working around the clock to fashion a new blanketed shawl to keep the princess warm, and every farmer in the land generously donated much of their bountiful harvest to the princess’s knapsack, so she would have snacks along the way. Loaded up for her adventure, the princess bid the kingdom goodbye, then delicately stepped between the settlements, planting one foot at a time once she was certain there were no huts beneath the soles of her shoes. Only when she reached open road, and the loping green hills beyond, did the princess set off at a speedier jaunt.
For a time, Narina barely met any other living beings along the landscape. She noticed flocks of birds, comparatively gnats to her, flitting by her head, and even had to step over a herd of grazing cattle, which she very nearly squashed when she stepped over a valley. The princess moved briskly, since she was worried about Argus’s wellbeing, but as she didn’t have an exact direction to follow, she took her time, and regardless, was worried she might flatten an entire village underfoot if she started running. Not to mention the combination of earth-rumbling quakes from her footfalls and wind storms generated by her fluttering dress. The princess was a gentle soul, after all, and didn’t want to ruin any helpless civilizations on her route. As it was, her footsteps left spongy craters in the land wherever she moved.
In the evening of the first day, the princess stepped around a mountain range, only to discover a curious sight on the other side. Neatly lined rows of tiny people were crowded in the poppy fields. It was a whole army, if not two or three. They definitely rivaled the size of her father’s entire military force, which was formidable indeed.
Intrigued, Narina took her time emerging around the rock face, as the last thing she wanted was to spook them all with the visage of her titanic body crawling over the Earth in the manner of the very creature she was hoping to find and, if need be, save. Thus, Narina slowly set down at the edge of the field and lowered herself onto her knees once she was positive no miniature soldiers had gotten caught under the swaying canopy of her gown or the silky instep of her slipper.
The princess took special care spreading the folds of her dress around her legs and tucking it under her ankles, as it wouldn’t do to let her undergarments peek out, especially at foreign friends. Stretching her arms wide, Narina placed her hands flat on either side of the incredible throng of troops, again careful not to let any unlucky men get smushed beneath her fingers. Rousing chatter had roiled throughout the crowd while Narina climbed around the mountainside, but they’d fallen dead-silent now.
“Hello!” Narina boomed. To reassure them of her good will, the princess smiled her famous glowing smile, and waggled her fingers in a faux-wave without picking her palms up off the grass. “Good evening to you all! My name is Princess Narina, from the kingdom due east of here. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell you how many fathoms, for it’s difficult to have perspective when your strides are as… efficient as mine.”