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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     "A sister by Sir Olric and Momma."

     "What is she like?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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