To the south of the town of Vershire Sir Gabriel is hiding behind a large tree, observing the toros that has been aggressively attacking people. The dragon is a bit on the small size for its species, not even being twenty feet long if the knight had to take a guess. The knight figures that it must be relatively young, quite possibly only being old enough to where it can be out on its own. The dragon is contently consuming the leaves off a bush, using its beak-like mouth to obtain its nourishment and unaware that it is being watched, hunted, at the moment.

     Sir Gabriel goes over the plan in his head one more time; he plans to sneak up behind the dragon, getting as close as he can so that he may deliver a single, mortal blow to it with his sword. Of course, successfully sneaking up on the dragon does mean he is not wearing his armor, his round shield being his only source of protection. Granted, his armor would have given him more protection than the white shirt and tan pants he is only wearing now. The armor's weight and the noise it makes when he moves would have been too much of a hindrance for what he is trying to do.  Without his armor, it is easy to see that his body is a bit toned, a result of all the training he used to perform while he was a squire for Sir Olric.

     He looks back towards Vershire, the town still in his view, wondering if Ashley is doing okay by herself. He did insist that she stay behind for this since he does not want the dragon to notice him prematurely, the sounds of her footsteps are quite audible from a distance. Not to mention she does not like the idea of him hunting and killing a dragon. She is very adamant about it, but after explaining to her that it is hurting people and will continue to do so, she reluctantly agreed realizing that the knight does have a valid point. Sir Gabriel will admit that Ashley would be very helpful in hunting this dragon, but he just can't stand the thought of willingly putting her in any form of danger.

     Now, Sir Gabriel takes no joy in killing the beast. After all, it is just doing what it needs to survive, but that doesn't change the fact that it is posing a threat to others due to how territorial it can be.

     The knight steps out from behind the tree, going over his plan in one again as he slowly creeps up behind the toros. He has never actually hunted a dragon before, much less killed one; the opportunity never having presented itself until now. He is quite confident that he can do this, despite some nervousness that he feels lingering inside of him. He is slowly approaching the dragon, his sword at the ready. The toros is still too busy eating to even notice what is going on around it; meaning Sir Gabriel's plan seems to be going well so far, that is until he feels the wind coming from behind him. His eyes widen, realizing what this could mean for him and what he sees next only confirms his fear. The toros turns its head to look at Sir Gabriel the moment it catches the knight's scent. At this very moment, Sir Gabriel wishes that he had never removed armor for this job.

     "Aw shit..," Gabriel groans, watching as the dragon turns around to face him. He can see the toros' two long, curved horns as it turns to face him. Enraged about the trespasser it sees, the toros lets out a loud roar. The volume of the dragon's cry hurts the knight's ears, causing him to lift his hands to his head to help muffle the sound to keep from going deaf. The toros then lowers its head and folds its wings against its body as it gets ready to charge right for him. Sir Gabriel doesn't have too many options, nor does he have the time to think of any, the knight dives off to the side as the dragon charges right past him.

     The dragon tries to stop, its claws tearing up the grass as it skids across the ground to slow down. The toros turns around just as Sir Gabriel is getting up off the ground, already lowering its head as it prepares to charge at the knight yet again. It rushes towards Sir Gabriel, barely giving the man enough time to react. It misses as the knight leaps off to the side once again, Sir Gabriel rolling on the ground from how quickly he had to move.

     As Sir Gabriel gets up, he realizes that he is in a stalemate with the beast. Each time goes to charge at him, he can only dodge; and as he is getting up the dragon is getting ready to charge at him. Sir Gabriel needs a new plan, one that will give him an opening that he needs so that he can get an attack in. He looks over to the tree that he was hiding behind earlier, a much-needed idea starting to form in his head.

     The toros readies to charge at Sir Gabriel once again, eyeing its target. The knight runs off to the side, bashing his shield with his sword to make some noise. "Hey! Over here!" he yells, maintaining the dragon's attention until he is standing in front of the tree. "Come get me!" he taunts as he continues with his distraction. The toros lowers it's head once again, preparing to charge with every intention of impaling the knight with one of its horns.

     Sir Gabriel remains where he is standing, watching as the dragon is coming right for him; he waits as long as he can, waiting for the Toros to get close. For his plan to work he needs this dragon to get as close to him as possible, which is very risky considering what could happen if he waits too long. At the last possible moment, Sir Gabriel dives out of the way, hearing a loud, satisfying crunch from behind him as he hits the ground. Sir Gabriel leans up, smiling since he knows that his plan has succeeded. The dragon's horns are now stuck in the trunk of the tree, with the beast frantically struggling to free itself.

     Even though the dragon is stuck, Sir Gabriel still needs to move quickly. This is his only opportunity to hopefully end the dragon's life, and there is no telling how long it will remain immobilized. Getting to his feet quickly, he rushes towards the dragon with his sword still drawn. Running towards it, he raises his blade while he keeps his eyes on his mark, this hunt is about to end. That is until he feels a sharp pain in his chest when the dragon's flailing tail hits him and sends him back flying.

     Sir Gabriel goes through the air by several feet, landing right on his back. He struggles to take a breath, the wind being knocked out of him the moment his back hits the ground. Struggling to sit up, he can see that the toros has already freed itself, the tree falling over from how much damage the dragon's horns had done to it. The toros has already turned around and is getting ready to charge at the downed knight once again. With no time to roll out of the way, Sir Gabriel just knows that he is going to be impaled on one of its sharp horns.

     All the knight can think about is Ashley and the short amount of time he was able to spend with her. He wishes that he could just go back to her and be in her arms, experiencing the love that she has for him; a unique form of love that only the giant maiden is capable of showing him.

     The charging toros is closing its distance between it and the helpless knight. With the dragon bring mere feet away from him, Sir Gabriel waits for it to impale him, putting an end to his life. Just before he can cringe and close his eyes, he sees a large pair of hands come out from behind him and pick the dragon up. His eyes follow the dragon, which is struggling and thrashing about, to see that Ashley is crouching behind him. He can hardly believe that she has actually just grabbed a dragon and lifted it as is a dog. But with her being nearly twice as big as the toros, he can see how it is possible.

     Ashley brings the Toros close to her face, admiring the dragon. "Awwww... You are just so cute," she coos with a big smile on her face. The dragon hisses at her, not used to being handled by anything larger than it. "I have heard that you have been a bad dragon," Ashley continues in a stern yet playful voice, "but that doesn't matter because I am going to take such good care of you, Snookums." She can see how the surprised dragon is struggling in her hands, desperate to get away from her. "It's okay, I won't hurt you."

     Much to Ashley's dismay, the dragon finally manages to squirm itself free from her grip and landing on the ground. "Get back here," Ashley says, giggling a bit as she begins to reach for the dragon once again. The dragon wastes no time in spreading its wings and taking to the air, flying off before it can be captured once again. Taking one last look at the giantess the dragon hisses at her as it flies over Vershire and towards the horizon.

     Sir Gabriel watches as the dragon flies off, desperate to get away from the perceived threat. "That's one way to take care of a dragon I suppose," he says, trying to comprehend what he has just witnessed. He highly doubts that the Toros will be returning to its feeding ground after being picked up and handled the way it was.

    "Awwwww..." Ashley groans out of disappointment. Getting down on her knees, she looks at Sir Gabriel, smiling once again. "Did you see that?!" she says excitedly, acting the same way one would as if they had just seen and held a puppy. "I actually got to hold a dragon! It was just so adorable!"

     "Yeah," Sir Gabriel answers, sitting up and groaning while he is holding his ribs. From the pain he is feeling, he wouldn't be surprised if he will have a nasty bruise from the encounter. It wouldn't be the first time though; some of the fights he has been in have left him with far worse injuries.

     "Are you okay?" Ashley asks, now concerned about Sir Gabriel's well-being. In her excitement of actually seeing and holding a dragon, she had failed to notice how her knight is injured. "Did you get hurt, is it bad?" She starts to reach out towards the injured knight, wanting to hold him close and make sure that he is okay.

     "I'm fine," Sir Gabriel answers, still groaning a bit out of pain. "It's just some bruised ribs and a sore back. It isn't the first time I've been hurt like this, and it probably won't be the last." He smiles up at the concerned giantess, not wanting her to worry any further about him.

     Ashley reaches down and wraps her fingers around Sir Gabriel's torso, being as gentle as possible so that she doesn't agitate his injuries. The knight can't help but groan slightly as Ashley grabs him, the pain in his ribs becoming agitated even with the light pressure of the concerned giantess' grip. "I should get you to a healer," she says out of concern while lifting him slowly.

     "I'm okay," Gabriel says. He has been injured like this on numerous occasions, and he knows exactly what a healer will tell him. "All they will tell me is to take it easy for a bit so that I can recover."

     "Well, you deserve to rest then," Ashley agrees, "Not to mention that I wish you would be more careful. You have me to worry about and I am going to worry about you. I want you to be able to come back to me safely each time you go out and perform a job."

     Sir Gabriel has heard this conversation plenty of times before, in one form or another. His momma would often tell Sir Olric the same thing whenever he would undertake a particularly dangerous job. "Well, there are some occupational hazards that I can't avoid, but I will promise you that I will exercise more caution from now on."

     "That is all I ask." Ashley pulls Sir Gabriel to her chest, giving him a gentle hug. She smiles, enjoying the fact that she is holding him close to her. "Without your armor, this is better."

      Sir Gabriel can not disagree with Ashley, there is just something about being this close to her, despite his injuries being agitated from him being held by the loving woman. Granted he is in a very soft place, which he can't complain about being at, but he can also hear a faint thumping noise. It takes him a moment to figure out that it is her heartbeat; he continues to listen to the rhythmic beating inside her chest out of curiosity and he can't help but notice how soothing the sound is to him. Smiling, he finally responds, "You are right, this is better without my armor on."

     After a few minutes, Ashley finally pulls Sir Gabriel out of her embrace, lifting him to her face. She can't help but smile at him, glad that he is okay.

     "Well," Sir Gabriel begins, "why don't we head back into town so that we can pick up the reward for ridding the town of its dragon problem?"

     Ashley doesn't say anything but instead starts to walk back, carrying Sir Gabriel in her palms instead of letting him ride on her shoulder. After all, she wants to make sure that he is comfortable and that gets the rest he needs in order to make a full recovery.

     As Ashley renters the town, the townsfolk still can't help but stare at her. They all know that she isn't a threat, but it is her height that still has them curious about her. Not to mention they could see her carrying the knight who has informed them that she has no ill intentions whatsoever, which makes the sight that much more unique to the townspeople.

     It takes Ashley a while to arrive at the building where Sir Gabriel was instructed to pick up his reward, should he be successful in eliminating the dragon. With such a decent amount of people still on the road, she needs to be careful where she steps. She has decided to slow her pace considerably so that she can make sure that there is no one in her path. Also, a lot of the buildings look very similar from her vantage point

     The building itself isn't that tall, the roof not even reaching the giantess' knees. As she kneels in front of the building, Ashley lowers her hands so that Sir Gabriel can step off, making sure that her hand is close enough to the ground for him to safely step off. Once on the ground and in front of the door, he turns to looks at Ashley, "This should only take a moment or two."

     Watching as Sir Gabriel walks inside the building, she already starts to miss him. She does wish that she could follow him inside but is unable to due to her massive size. The only part of her that she could even get inside would be her hand, but if she were to do that it would not look very good on her part. So she just takes a deep breath, patiently waiting for the man that she has fallen in love with to come back out and return to her.

     Several townsfolk are walking by Ashley as she continues to wait, some even going out of their way to get a good look at the giant maiden. The fact that someone could get so large seems like it is straight out of a fairy tale. Yet there she is, kneeling in front of a building, waiting for a knight to return to her.

     "Sorry I took so long," Sir Gabriel says, walking out of the building with a bag of coins in his hand. "They didn't want to believe that the Toros would no longer be a problem without any  physical proof, luckily some eye-witness accounts were saying that they saw it flying away from town."

     Ashley wastes no time in picking Sir Gabriel back up, making sure that her grip is loose enough to avoid agitating his injuries, but not so loose so that he slips out of her hands. "I'm just glad that you didn't take even longer."

     Sir Gabriel could tell just how much she did miss him, even though he was only away from her for about ten minutes. "Let us go back home then," he says, smiling at Ashley. It is a bit odd for him to be referring to Ashley's castle as home, but if he is with her now he is guessing that is where he will live to. It isn't like there is anywhere else that she can live at.

     Ashley frowns, feeling a bit disappointed, "Go home?" She has already seen so much today, more than she has ever seen since she surpassed a height that could even be considered above average. "But there is so much more that I want to see, places to visit. Do we really have to head back so soon?"

     "It will be getting dark in about a couple of hours," Sir Gabriel points out, the sky already turning a bit orange as the sun begins to set. "To be honest, it will be a bit difficult to see anything then."

     "I was thinking," Ashley says, the look on her face making it clear that she already has her own idea in mind. "That we just keep going. We can only travel so far in a single day, so why don't we just keep going?"

     Sir Gabriel is looking at Ashley's hopeful expression. He knows that she has lived a solitary life due to her immense height. Her seclusion wasn't because she was shy but rather that she was worried about how others would react to her massive size. Now she has an opportunity to explore the countryside and it is one that she does not want to pass up. "You do know that this will mean we will need to sleep outside every night, right?"

     "I won't mind," Ashley answers, her smile not even fading. She looks at Sir Gabriel eagerly, hoping to hear a specific answer from him.

      It doesn't take him long to answer her, because he can see how much this means to Ashley. "Then I guess that means we will just continue then," Sir Gabriel answers. He watches as the giantess' smile widens, having heard the very answer that she was hoping for.

     "Thank you so much!" Ashley says excitedly. She pulls Sir Gabriel up to her lips for a kiss, enveloping his face. Just as quickly as she pulled him in, she holds him out again so she can look at him. "Sorry if that was a bit sudden," Ashley apologizes.

     Sir Gabriel was indeed taken by surprise at the spontaneous kiss. Just about every time they have done so so far, Ashley has prompted for it first. "It's okay," Sir Gabriel says. "It was a nice surprise."

     "So where are we going to go from here?" Ashley asks, eager to know where they will be heading next. Anywhere from this point on would be new to her and she is excited about it.

     "I think I already have the next town in mind," Sir Gabriel answers. In the back of his head, he has wanted to return somewhere that he hasn't been to for the past three years. "How would you like to meet my family?"

     "Your family, are you sure?" Ashley asks, sounding a bit nervous.

     "Of course I am. Are you nervous about meeting them?"

      "Not so much nervous as I am worried about meeting them. I mean, what are they going to think about me?"

     Sir Gabriel can understand the reasoning for Ashley's concern. She isn't exactly a typical maiden, being over fifty feet tall. But he knows his family, having grown up with them after all. He smiles at her, placing his hand on one of her fingers. "Don't you worry about it. Once they know you as I do, I am positive that they will welcome you into the family."

     Ashley smiles at Sir Gabriel, hoping that he is right. She still has her doubts but decides to put them behind her for now so that she may enjoy her journey with her knight.

     With the sun starting to set, the two get ready to leave the town behind, continuing away from Ashley's home. The giantess has a big smile on her face, excited to finally see what lies beyond the horizon. She looks down at Sir Gabriel who is comfortable riding in the palms of her hands. It isn't just the journey and seeing a variety of new places that has her excited, she is also looking forward to doing this with her knight, Sir Gabriel.

     Sir Gabriel has heard this conversation plenty of times before, in one form or another. His momma would often tell Sir Olric the same thing whenever he would undertake a particularly dangerous job. "Well, there are some occupational hazards that I can't avoid, but I will promise you that I will exercise more caution from now on."

     "That is all I ask." Ashley pulls Sir Gabriel to her chest, giving him a gentle hug. She smiles, enjoying the fact that she is holding him close to her. "Without your armor, this is better."

      Sir Gabriel can not disagree with Ashley, there is just something about being this close to her, despite his injuries being agitated from him being held by the loving woman. Granted he is in a very soft place, which he can't complain about being at, but he can also hear a faint thumping noise. It takes him a moment to figure out that it is her heartbeat; he continues to listen to the rhythmic beating inside her chest out of curiosity and he can't help but notice how soothing the sound is to him. Smiling, he finally responds, "You are right, this is better without my armor on."

     After a few minutes, Ashley finally pulls Sir Gabriel out of her embrace, lifting him to her face. She can't help but smile at him, glad that he is okay.

     "Well," Sir Gabriel begins, "why don't we head back into town so that we can pick up the reward for ridding the town of its dragon problem?"

     Ashley doesn't say anything but instead starts to walk back, carrying Sir Gabriel in her palms instead of letting him ride on her shoulder. After all, she wants to make sure that he is comfortable and that gets the rest he needs in order to make a full recovery.

     As Ashley renters the town, the townsfolk still can't help but stare at her. They all know that she isn't a threat, but it is her height that still has them curious about her. Not to mention they could see her carrying the knight who has informed them that she has no ill intentions whatsoever, which makes the sight that much more unique to the townspeople.

     It takes Ashley a while to arrive at the building where Sir Gabriel was instructed to pick up his reward, should he be successful in eliminating the dragon. With such a decent amount of people still on the road, she needs to be careful where she steps. She has decided to slow her pace considerably so that she can make sure that there is no one in her path. Also, a lot of the buildings look very similar from her vantage point

     The building itself isn't that tall, the roof not even reaching the giantess' knees. As she kneels in front of the building, Ashley lowers her hands so that Sir Gabriel can step off, making sure that her hand is close enough to the ground for him to safely step off. Once on the ground and in front of the door, he turns to looks at Ashley, "This should only take a moment or two."

     Watching as Sir Gabriel walks inside the building, she already starts to miss him. She does wish that she could follow him inside but is unable to due to her massive size. The only part of her that she could even get inside would be her hand, but if she were to do that it would not look very good on her part. So she just takes a deep breath, patiently waiting for the man that she has fallen in love with to come back out and return to her.

     Several townsfolk are walking by Ashley as she continues to wait, some even going out of their way to get a good look at the giant maiden. The fact that someone could get so large seems like it is straight out of a fairy tale. Yet there she is, kneeling in front of a building, waiting for a knight to return to her.

     "Sorry I took so long," Sir Gabriel says, walking out of the building with a bag of coins in his hand. "They didn't want to believe that the Toros would no longer be a problem without any  physical proof, luckily some eye-witness accounts were saying that they saw it flying away from town."

     Ashley wastes no time in picking Sir Gabriel back up, making sure that her grip is loose enough to avoid agitating his injuries, but not so loose so that he slips out of her hands. "I'm just glad that you didn't take even longer."

     Sir Gabriel could tell just how much she did miss him, even though he was only away from her for about ten minutes. "Let us go back home then," he says, smiling at Ashley. It is a bit odd for him to be referring to Ashley's castle as home, but if he is with her now he is guessing that is where he will live to. It isn't like there is anywhere else that she can live at.

     Ashley frowns, feeling a bit disappointed, "Go home?" She has already seen so much today, more than she has ever seen since she surpassed a height that could even be considered above average. "But there is so much more that I want to see, places to visit. Do we really have to head back so soon?"

     "It will be getting dark in about a couple of hours," Sir Gabriel points out, the sky already turning a bit orange as the sun begins to set. "To be honest, it will be a bit difficult to see anything then."

     "I was thinking," Ashley says, the look on her face making it clear that she already had her own idea in mind. "That we just keep going. We can only travel so far in a single day, so why don't we just keep going?"

     Sir Gabriel is looking at Ashley's hopeful expression. He knows that she has lived a solitary life due to her immense height. Her seclusion wasn't because she was shy but rather that she was worried about how others would react to her massive size. Now she has an opportunity to explore the countryside and it is one that she does not want to pass up. "You do know that this will mean we will need to sleep outside every night, right?"

     "I won't mind," Ashley answers, her smile not even fading. She looks at Sir Gabriel eagerly, hoping to hear a specific answer from him.

      It doesn't take him long to answer her, because he can see how much this means to Ashley. "Then I guess that means we will just continue then," Sir Gabriel answers. He watches as the giantess' smile widens, having heard the very answer that she was hoping for.

     "Thank you so much!" Ashley says excitedly. She pulls Sir Gabriel up to her lips for a kiss, enveloping his face. Just as quickly as she pulled him in, she holds him out again so she can look at him. "Sorry if that was a bit sudden," Ashley apologizes.

     Sir Gabriel was indeed taken by surprise at the spontaneous kiss. Just about every time they have done so so far, Ashley has prompted for it first. "It's okay," Sir Gabriel says. "It was a nice surprise."

     "So where are we going to go from here?" Ashley asks, eager to know where they will be heading next. Anywhere from this point on would be new to her and she is excited about it.

     "I think I already have the next town in mind," Sir Gabriel answers. In the back of his head, he has wanted to return somewhere that he hasn't been to for the past three years. "How would you like to meet my family?"

     "Your family, are you sure?" Ashley asks, sounding a bit nervous.

     "Of course I am. Are you nervous about meeting them?"

      "Not so much nervous as I am worried about meeting them. I mean, what are they going to think about me?"

     Sir Gabriel can understand the reasoning for Ashley's concern. She isn't exactly a typical maiden, being over fifty feet tall. But he knows his family, having grown up with them after all. He smiles at her, placing his hand on one of her fingers. "Don't you worry about it. Once they know you as I do, I am positive that they will welcome you into the family."

     Ashley smiles at Sir Gabriel, hoping that he is right. She still has her doubts but decides to put them behind her for now so that she may enjoy her journey with her knight.

     With the sun starting to set, the two get ready to leave the town behind, continuing away from Ashley's home. The giantess has a big smile on her face, excited to finally see what lies beyond the horizon. She looks down at Sir Gabriel who is comfortable riding in the palms of her hands. It isn't just the journey and seeing a variety of new places that has her excited, she is also looking forward to doing this with her knight, Sir Gabriel.