Ashley is now returning to the town of Oakvale, with Sir Gabriel riding on her shoulder once again. The two of them are feeling a bit annoyed towards Alex, who is refusing to keep quiet during the walk back. She is constantly yelling an assortment of insults at the couple and is very insistent on using a variety of profane words. She is still in Ashley's grip, struggling and squirming to free herself in a vain attempt to free herself. The giantess' grip is tight in her to prevent the wanted bandit from squirming free. Yet not so tight to cause her any pain.

     "Let me go! Let me go you overgrown bitch!" Alex protests. "You have no right to be handling me like this! When I get free, you are going to be in for it you ugly cunt! Just you wait and see!"

     Ashley stops for a moment, looking down at the captive woman. "Could you please, just be quiet?" There is no anger in her voice as she says this, knowing full well that a temper won't yield any desirable results from her captive. She understands that Alex does not want to be brought in for her crimes, but she knows that it must be done so that Alex can understand that there are consequences to her actions. "I really don't appreciate your colorful language."

     "Fucking make me stop then!" Alex shouts defiantly. "What are you going to do, shut my mouth? Go ahead and try it, I'll just bite your oversized finger again." She then snaps her teeth towards the giantess, greatly illustrating her point.

     "Alex," Sir Gabriel says, getting highly annoyed with her mouth. "You are being turned in, no matter what you say or what kind of language you use. You might as well be quiet and help make this trip as pleasant as possible."

     "Oh, well in that case, FUCK OFF!"

     Ashley lifts Alex towards her face, doing her best to look as stern as possible. Giving the same kind of look that a mother would give a disobedient child. "I am trying to be nice and my patience is wearing thin. Please be quiet."

     Alex stares at Ashley, not uttering a single word, giving the maiden the impression that she has gotten her point across. She is proven wrong when it sounds like the Ghost Bandit is clearing her throat as she spits at the large maiden."

      Ashley wipes her face off, displeased at the woman's actions towards her. She would like to do something to teach Alex a lesson, but she knows better. First of all, in her current frame of mind, she may go a bit too far in her actions. Second, it is not her place. Alex is the law's responsibility and they will handle her accordingly.

     Sir Gabriel sighs, realizing that it is pointless to try and reason with her. This woman is well beyond any such civility. He isn't too happy about how she is treating the woman he loves, but he is unable to take any action against her. "Let's just keep going, Ashley. The sooner we get back to town, the sooner we can be rid of her and her foul mouth."

     Ashley starts to walk again, doing her best to ignore Alex's obscene cries. "So Gabriel," Ashley says, using her own voice to drown out the sound of Alex's. "Why did you need me to help you with the Ghost Bandit? A knight, such as yourself, surely would have been able to bring her in with no problems."

     "Unfortunately, she is a woman," Sir Gabriel answers.

     Ashley is a bit confused by the knight's answer. "So, you're saying that you had to go easy on her?"

     "Something like that. Remember how I told you that I made a personal oath to always show respect towards women?"

     "You told me that earlier today. Of course, I remember."

     "That is not the only oath I have made. Because of my respect for women, I also made an oath to never raise a hand against the fairer sex, no matter what the reason for doing so may be."

     "So, you're saying that you couldn't fight her?"

      "Exactly."

      "What a pathetic excuse for a knight!" Alex shouts while laughing. "Can't even fight a woman!"

     Ashley smiles at Sir Gabriel, ignoring Alex's comment. "Chivalrous to a fault I see." She raises her free hand, holding her finger underneath Sir Gabriel's chin. "How very noble of you."

     It doesn't take Ashley long to reach the outskirts of the town, her long strides allowing her to travel long distances very easily. Stopping, she kneels to the ground as she lowers Sir Gabriel towards the ground on her palm. The knight is still getting used to this, mainly because Ashley's palm is soft.

    A bunch of the townsfolk stop so they can to look at the giantess as she is kneeling. They have all seen her walking about earlier, but she is still a bit of an odd sight for them. They have never seen anyone reach the height that she has. They doubt that anyone else is even tall enough to reach her knees. The one thing that they do not expect to see is that the maiden is holding a woman high above the ground.

     Alex can see everyone who has stopped to look at Ashley, a grin now forming on her face. "Help!" she cries out as if she is in distress. "This giant has me in a death grip and she is going to kill me! Help me!" Ashley can see that everyone is looking at her now, her face turning red because of Alex's false accusations. "She is crushing me and is threatening to eat me!"

      "Wait!" Ashley says frantically as she begins to defend herself. "I-it's not what it looks like, I swear. I'm not hurting her, I'm just holding her."

     "Against my will!" Alex adds. "I'm so scared, won't somebody help me?!" Alex can see that she now has everyone's attention, the woman decides to play up her distress. "She told me that she is boil me, mash me, put me in a stew!"

     "I would never do anything so horrible," the maiden responds to defend herself against Alex's wild accusations. "It would be wrong to do such a horrid thing."

      "Everyone, it's okay," Sir Gabriel says. "This woman is wanted for multiple counts of theft. We are simply just turning her in for the bounty that has been placed on her."

    "Liar!" Alex argues. "He's in on it! He's the one who suggested this massive bitch grab me! Help!" No one is responding to Alex's cries for help, some are even going about their business as if what is happening is normal. "Help me? Anybody?" She just can't believe what she is seeing here. No one is paying her any mind. She is clearly on the clutches of a giant woman. An angry mob should be forming. "What the hell is wrong with all of you?! I'm being held by a giant and crying out for help. Why won't anyone help me?!"

     "Because they know both Sir Gabriel and me," Ashley answers.

    "Wait, what?"

     "Gabriel grew up here, so a lot of people already know him. When he brought me here to meet his family, they trusted his word that I wouldn't harm anyone at all."

     Alex looks down at the crowd of people, who are still not reacting to the fact that the giantess has someone in her hand. "You sons of bitches are just going to let this overgrown bitch here just take me?!" Ashley sighs as Alex starts to go off once again, the woman's anger now going between the large woman and the townspeople. "I hope this oversized bitch steps on each and every one of you, you hear me!? Steps on each and every one of you!"

     Ashley is following Sir Gabriel through town, being mindful of where she is stepping. The roads throughout the town are a bit on the busy side with people walking towards their destinations. Luckily, Sir Gabriel is walking ahead of her, who is helping to keep a clear path for her so she can take each step safely. She still finds herself needing to step around some people, apologizing each and every time she needs to do so. These roads are not designed for a woman of her stature.

     She only stops when Sir Gabriel stops in front of a small building. It looks a bit on the plain side, the only notable thing about it is that the majority of the windows have bars on them.

     "Ashley!" Sir Gabriel calls to her. He watches as the maiden gets on her knees, getting closer to him so that she can hear him clearly. Standing up at her full height, the knight can be a bit hard to make out, especially with Alex still shouting as loud as she can. "I'm going to head inside and let the guards on duty know that we have the Ghost Bandit with us."

     "Wait!" Alex says, keeping Sir Gabriel's attention. Her attitude has changed completely. No longer shouting insults and using vulgar language, she actually sounds like she is trying to plead with him. "You're really going to turn me in? Come on, a chivalrous knight like you, is really going to let a defenseless woman, like me, go to jail?"

     "You weren't so defenseless when you were swinging away at me with that mace earlier. Besides, with everything that you have stolen, you need to face the consequences." Sir Gabriel turns to look up at Ashley, "I'll be right out."

      Ashley can only watch as Sir Gabriel enters the jail, unable to follow him. She sighs, already missing him. She will be the first to admit that she has become very attached to the knight. He was the first person to truly accept her, despite her extraordinary height. Her mind is pulled away from thinking about Sir Gabriel when she hears someone crying. She looks to the source to see that it is actually Alex, tears running down her cheeks.

     "Hey, what's wrong?" Ashley asks sympathetically.

     "You're really going to just sit there and let him turn me in?" Alex asks, her voice choked up as she is still crying.

      Ashley lifts the captive woman close to her face. "Well, you did break the law."

     "You can't let him turn me in," Alex pleads, sounding more desperate now. "They're going to kill me!"

     "For stealing? No, they won't execute you for that," Ashley replies reassuringly.

      "Not the guards. The moment I am in that jail cell, that's it. My life will be over, literally." Alex looks into Ashley's eyes. "Could you please, look inside your big heart and let me go?"

       "I'm not sure," Ashley says while feeling a bit torn. This woman does need to pay for her crimes, yet she does seem to be genuinely afraid for her life. "With everything you stole, I don't think that I should."

     "If you let me go, I promise I will leave Oakvale. No one will ever see me here again."

     Ashley is torn about this decision. True, Alex does need to face the consequences of what she has been doing. But to turn her in, only to have her life ended? After some debate, the giantess starts to slowly lower Alex away from her face, her mind made up on what she is going to do. Alex's tears stop when she feels the ground beneath her boots. Ashley releases her grip, leaning in towards the now free woman. "Go ahead. Just promise me that you won't cause any more trouble for anyone else."

     "I won't," Alex responds, feeling very relieved. She starts to step away from Ashley, not quite sure if she is going to be grabbed and lifted up into the air again, as if what is being done now is just some cruel trick. After taking several steps back, she breaks into a run, leaving the sight of the giantess.

     "I sure hope that I did the right thing," Ashley says to herself, feeling unsure about her actions. She jumps slightly, startled when Sir Gabriel comes out of the jail while being accompanied by two guards.

     "The Ghost Bandit was hiding out in an old house out in the forest," he says talking to the guards. He stops dead in his tracks, noticing that Ashley's hands are empty. "Ashley? Where is the Ghost Bandit?"

     "Well," Ashley begins. She is smiling nervously in a poor effort to hide what she had just done. "She got away."

      "She couldn't have gotten far," one of the guards says. "Split up and find her." The two guards take off, hoping to find the escapee before she gets away.

     "Ashley," Sir Gabriel says, looking up at her face. "How did she manage to get away from you? You had a firm grip on her. I know she couldn't have squirmed her way free. The first time you picked me up, I couldn't have done it. So what happened exactly??"

     "You see..." She is looking very nervous now, knowing that Sir Gabriel must have a slight idea of what happened. She then lowers her head feeling guilt-ridden as she confesses, "I let her go."

     Sir Gabriel can't believe what he is hearing. Ashley let Alex go? "What!? Why?"

     "I am so sorry, but she was crying. Talking about how she would have been killed if she was turned in." She can see the disappointed look on the knight's face, which only furthers her own guilt. "You're mad at me aren't you?"

     "Mad?" Sir Gabriel sighs, shaking his head. "No, just disappointed in you, that's all."

     "I know," Ashley responds, a tear starting to run down her cheek. "I shouldn't have listened to her and held onto her until you made it back out."

     "Ashley," Sir Gabriel says. He smiles as he looks up at her, "That's not why I am disappointed in you."

     The maiden gives her knight a confused look. "Then why?"

     "Because you didn't talk to me about it first."

     "So, you really aren't upset at me for letting her go like that?" Ashley looks hopeful, her guilt starting to dissipate now.

      "Of course not," Sir Gabriel says, he is smiling to help reassure her. "You are a kind and gentle soul, you did what you thought was best. Which just so happened to be letting Alex go."

     Ashley smiles at her knight, feeling completely relieved about the situation. She reaches out for him, picking him up. The knight is surprised at this, but not too much. He is a bit used to Ashley being able to pick him up, it's just that she is doing so without giving him any warning of her intentions to do so.

     The giantess is holding her knight in her arms, embracing him tightly to show her love for him. "You have no idea how glad I am to hear that you aren't mad at me. I love you so much."

     "I love you too, Ashley," Sir Gabriel starts to say, his voice a bit strained. He can hear the metal of his armor starting to creak, her embrace slightly crushing his armor. "Can you loosen your grip a bit? I think that this is a bit on the right side. You're squeezing my armor, believe it or not."

     "Oops!" She does as Sir Gabriel suggests, not realizing just how tight her embrace was. "Sorry, I guess I got a bit excited there for a moment."

     "It's okay. I can understand. Just try to be more careful the next time, that's all."

     "So, you're saying that you would have let Alex go free if I had just waited to talk to you?"

      "I would have at least heard her out first. If I felt that she was telling the truth, I would have helped her out. I would not have let any harm come to her. She was just stealing, so she does not deserve to be executed because of it."

     "So I am guessing that we should head back to your parent's place then?"

     "Yeah, we should. I can imagine that Momma must be starting on dinner by now."

      "I am getting a bit hungry," Ashley says as she looks down towards her stomach. The lunch that Sir Olric had given her earlier that day didn't completely fill her up.

      "I just need to make a quick stop first," Sir Gabriel says. "My shield did get a bit banged up from Alex swinging that mace around, so I need to stop at the blacksmith first."

     "You want me to come with you?" Ashley asks eagerly.

      "I can imagine that you will refuse to let go of me if my answer is anything but yes."

     Ashley nods her head playfully. "That is right. If you go somewhere, I go with you. You are stuck with me whether you like it or not."

     Sir Gabriel smiles back at her, "Then I guess it's a good thing that I love being stuck with you."

    Before letting Sir Gabriel down, Ashley lifts him high enough so that she can kiss him. The large woman's affection is more than welcomed by the knight, who is finding this affection becoming less odd due to her size. If anything it is becoming more desirable for him.

     The blacksmith's forge isn't too far from the jail, so it is a relatively short walk for the pair, which Ashley is a bit grateful for. She never did imagine that trying to walk through a populated town would be so much work for her. Most people only need to be careful so that they don't bump into anyone else. If she were to bump into someone, she could cause some serious harm to someone.

     Ashley kneels by the building, just to the side of the entryway. She can feel a wave of heat coming from inside the building, which she did expect. She is aware that a forge needs to remain at a high temperature to make the metal hot enough so that it can be worked with. Sir Gabriel steps inside, removing his round shield from his arm and his sword from his side. He can see a young man working on a chest plate, hammering away at it to give it a proper shape.

     The young man looks to be about the same age as Sir Gabriel. His black hair is kept short so that it does not obscure his vision while he is working. His eyes are hidden by a dark pair of goggles, protection from any sparks that may fly up as he is striking at the metal that he is forging. Due to how hot it is, he is not wearing a shirt either.

     "Jackson," Sir Gabriel says as he places his sword and shield on a nearby table, "How have you been?"

     Jackson looks up at the knight who is greeting him. He raises one of his hands in a greeting, which is covered with a thick leather glove. "Sir Gabriel," he says with a smile, taking off both his gloves before raising his goggles. "Hey, haven't seen you in a long while."

     "Hi," Ashley says, looking in through the entrance.

     Jackson is surprised at the sight of a very large face looking at him, causing him to jump back in surprise. "What the hell!" he shouts as he falls back, landing in a pile of armor.

     "Sorry," Ashley apologizes, knowing full well that she is the reason that the blacksmith had fallen over.

     "Jackson," Sir Gabriel says as he reaches out to help him up. "I'd like you to meet Ashley."

     As Jackson is raised to his feet, he takes another look at the smiling face that is staring at him. "So it's true? A large woman really is wandering around town." He continues to look at Ashley, his mind having a hard time comprehending her existence. "I thought that she was just a wild rumor that some drunk started to spread around."

      "I can assure you that what you have heard about her is true." As Sir Gabriel helps Jackson up, the differences in their heights are apparent. With the knight needing to look up at him a bit with Jackson being a tall man.

     Jackson walks outside, still staring at Ashley. She is definitely the biggest person that he has ever seen, finding it surreal to be standing right in front of her. He can't believe that he has to look up at her, while she is kneeling. He has gotten so used to needing to look down at most people, that he finds it unusual to be craning his neck up at someone for a change.

     "Ashley," Sir Gabriel says, "This is Jackson, the fine blacksmith who forged my arms and armor."

    "It is nice to meet you," Ashley says with a smile on her face.

     Jackson remembers how his mother would tell him the story of Jack and Beanstalk, and he definitely feels like Jack right now, except that he doesn't feel like he needs to run for his life from her. If anything she seems to be kind and friendly. "Likewise," he finally manages to say. "So giants really do exist? Are there more like you?"

    "I'm the only one who has gotten this big," Ashley answers.

     "She is only a giant in size," Sir Gabriel explains. "She used to be a normal-sized girl until she just started growing." He looks up at Ashley, "That is correct, isn't it?"

     Ashley nods her head, "That is right, I just kept growing until I hit fifty-one feet tall."

     Jackson looks back at Ashley, then back at Sir Gabriel. "So, how did you two meet?"

     "That is a bit of a long story," Sir Gabriel says as he starts to remove his armor one piece at a time. This is taking him some time, needing to undo each piece so that he can slide it off his body.

     "That shouldn't be a problem for you," Jackson replies with a bit of a smirk. "You have always loved to tell tales, especially when they were about your own adventures."

     "That is true," Sir Gabriel responds as he removes his chest plate, setting it down. "I can always tell you how I met Ashley when I pick up my armor tomorrow.

     Jackson heads over to where Sir Gabriel's sword and shield lay at, picking each one up and inspecting them. "Your sword looks good, I can see that you have been taking proper care of it. A light touch up won't hurt though. Your shield, however..." He is looking over the visible dents, several of which are quite recent. "Looks a bit dinged up."

     "You can thank the Ghost Bandit for that," Sir Gabriel comments.

      "So you brought the Ghost Bandit in. I might just charge you a bit extra this time, get a small piece of that reward that you earned." Jackson laughs a bit at this, not being entirely serious.

     "Unfortunately, I didn't get the reward.

     "What happened? You are a decent knight, surely you were able to bring them in."

     "She managed to get away from me," Ashley says.

     "Another long story, I take it?" Jackson asks, even though he feels that he knows the answer.

      "One that is best told in a more private setting," Sir Gabriel answers as he removes the last piece of armor.

     "Right," Jackson replies. He takes a look at the armor that Sir Gabriel has removed, a bit surprised at its condition. The several dents that are in it are to be expected, it is designed to protect him after all. "It looks like something tried to crush this armor. Did a dragon do this?"

     "I did," Ashley admits sheepishly.

     "You?" Jackson looks over at Ashley, surprised that she was able to crush the armor he made. Granted she is very large, so it is plausible that she does have the strength to do so.

     "It was an accident," Sir Gabriel says, defending his maiden. "She is a very affectionate woman, and she got a bit excited earlier. You can't fault her for it."

     "I'm not faulting her," Jackson says with a smile. "I'm just impressed that she was able to do this to something that I have crafted." He looks over the armor once more, before turning back to the knight. "I have an order to fill out still, so I won't be able to start on this until tomorrow, that okay?"

     "Of course. I'm not going anywhere until tomorrow," Sir Gabriel answers.

     "I should have your armor all fixed up by tomorrow afternoon."

     "Thanks. The usual amount I take it?"

      "Yup. Materials plus labor. I'll let you know how much it comes to when I finish. Can't give you a total if I don't know how many ingots I will be using."

     "Sounds fair to me." With that, Sir Gabriel leaves out, his gaze fixed on Ashley. "You ready to head back to my parents?"

     Ashley smiles at Sir Gabriel, nodding in response. "Yeah, I'm ready."