Just as Sir Gabriel had predicted, the downpour does not last long; though it did last a bit too long for Ashley's liking. After a couple of hours, the rainfall is finally slowing to a stop with the morning sun now struggling to break through the clouds which are starting to disperse.

   The knight is still in the maiden's arms, a spot that is very comfortable for him. As Ashley gets out from underneath the tree, she gently l lowers Sir Gabriel to the ground as she stands up to her full height. She raises her arms so that she can get a good stretch in, having to crouch beneath her only means of shelter was leaving her feeling a bit cramped and stretching is the perfect remedy for such a thing. She is glad that the rain has finally ended, not being sure about how much longer she could have remained crouching beneath the tree.

     The maiden can feel the wet grass beneath her feet, the recent rainfall making it both damp and cold beneath her bare soles. She doesn't particularly care for how cold it does feel to her, but she knows that it can't be helped and the only thing she can do is wait for the ground to dry as the day progresses.

     As Ashley is ready to continue, Sir Gabriel has just finished putting his armor back on; this is something that does take him some time since he needs to ensure that each is secured properly. This is a necessary process though, otherwise his armor would not be effective in protecting him. Tying his helmet to his waist, both he and Ashley are now ready to leave; the trip to Oakvale is starting a bit later than he would have liked, but the heavy rain is something that could not be avoided. His main priority is, and it always will be, Ashley. Having her walk through the rain wouldn't have been good for her; getting soaked from the undesirable weather could have led to her catching a cold, something that he does not want for her.

     He looks up at Ashley, who is looking down at him with a smile on her face. The knight can't help but smile back her, seeing a level of beauty in her that he had never thought possible with any woman. Sir Gabriel is not quite used to craning his neck just to see her face. But he imagines that it is an adjustment he will become accustomed to in due time. After all, he is going to be spending a lot of time with her during their travels.

     Tightening up the drawstrings on his duffle bag, something he had retrieved from his room at the inn at Vershire, he shouts up to Ashley, "Are you ready to head to my hometown?"

     Ashley crouches down, the balls of her feet sinking into the wet ground a bit because of how all her weight is being placed there, she watches as Sir Gabriel slings his duffle bag over his shoulder. She holds her hand out to him, not to lift him like he is expecting, but more so in a manner as if she is expecting him to hand her something. "I can carry that for you if you want."

     Sir Gabriel shakes his head in response. "There is no need for you to do so. I am used to lugging this around, so it is not a problem for me."

     "Maybe so. But you will have to admit, that bag you are carrying will feel very light to someone like me."

     "That is very true," Sir Gabriel replies, can imagine that just about anything that Ashley carries would feel very light to her, "but I must insist on carrying this. I can not allow a maiden, such as yourself, to carry something that I am more than capable of carrying myself."

     Ashley gets a smile on her face, which seems to have a bit of playful nature behind it. "But there is one thing that you are forgetting, my dear knight."  

     "And what would that be?"

     "That any argument against me is going to be very one-sided, and against your favor."

     "Huh?" Gabriel is a bit confused at the statement that Ashley has just made. He can only watch as Ashley reaches behind him and plucks his duffle bag from him. He tries his best to hang onto it, but the drawstring is pulled right out of his hands due to the woman's strength. "Hey!" he protests.

     Ashley looks down at the bag that she has just snatched, a smug look on her face as she begins to tie it to her waist, right next to her coin pouch. "See? A very one-sided argument that I won with very little resistance."

     Sir Gabriel can't help but laugh now, Ashley's argument pointing out something that should have been very obvious to him right from the beginning. "Okay, okay. You win. I guess I have no choice now but to let you carry it."

     "Was that so hard?" Ashley sounds playful as she says this, indicating that she isn't being completely serious.

     "A little bit, but I am guessing that it would be in my best interest to just let you have your way?"

     "Not necessarily," Ashley disagrees. "There will be some times where I will let you win an argument every so often."

     "Then I will be sure to cherish each victory I get, knowing that each one will have your blessing behind them."

     Ashley lowers her hand to the ground, her palm open so that Sir Gabriel can step onto it. She raises him onto her shoulder, making sure that he is secure before she stands back up; she would hate to have him fall and suffer an injury as a result. Looking over to the road that leads from the town of Vershire, she points away from the town that they have just visited. "Just follow the road north?"

     "Yeah," Sir Gabriel answers. "Follow the road and we will reach Oakvale shortly."

     Ashley makes her way towards the road, following it towards their next destination. She is feeling a mixture of both excitement and nervousness as she is walking forward. She has never been to Oakvale and is anxious to see what kind of town it is. How different is it from Vershire? What kinds of shops does it have? How will the people of the town react to her presence? These are all questions that are buzzing through her mind, primarily as a distraction to keep her from wondering just how Sir Gabriel's family will react to her.

     Sir Gabriel has told her several times that his family would be accepting of her, yet there are still some lingering doubts that she just can't quite shake. She is well aware that in any relationship the man is supposed to be the taller one. In the odd instance where the woman is the taller of the two, an inch or two taller is normally seen as acceptable, while anything beyond that tends to get odd stares.

     With her being more than forty feet taller than Sir Gabriel, she can only imagine the things that Sir Gabriel's family might say about their relationship. She knows that her knight will stay with her no matter what happens, but she would feel guilty if she causes a rift between him and his family.

     A new distraction presents itself when she feels her toes sink into something cold and wet, causing her to stop. "Ewwww..." she groans. Without needing to look down, the disgusted maiden knows exactly what she has just stepped in.

     "What's wrong?" Sir Gabriel asks, noticing the disgusted look on Ashley's face.

     "I stepped in some mud," she complains. She lifts her right foot, seeing how her toes are completely caked in it. She shakes her foot, hoping to at least shake some of it off.

     "It's okay," Sir Gabriel says, sounding sympathetic. "You can always wash your foot off when we get to my parents' house."

    "I know, but..." Ashley has always kept it a point to keep her feet presentable at all times, believing them to be one of the first things that people do notice about her; that and the fact that she has a firm belief that her feet are quite pretty. So having mud all over her foot is something that is going to bother her. "But still, my toes are just so dirty now."

     Sir Gabriel might have just met her yesterday, but he can see just how much this simple incident is bothering her. He watches as she is trying to wipe her foot clean in the grass with very little success. If anything she is only making her predicament worse. All she is doing is digging up the ground, with more dirt and grass sticking to her toes. "Ashley, do you need me to wipe your foot off for you?"

     "You don't need to. Besides, I don't feel right asking you to do such a thing for me."

     "Is it not a knight's duty to serve his maiden when she is in need?"

     "Yes, but this would be asking too much of you."

     "No, it isn't. If this is bothering you that much, then let me help you out. Besides, am I not offering to do this for you?"

     Ashley looks over at Sir Gabriel for a moment, contemplating his offer. He is offering to clean her foot for her voluntarily, and it's not like she can do it herself right now. She would need to sit down just to wipe her foot off with her own hands, which would result in her getting mud on the backside of her dress and that would most likely give some people a wrong impression. With no other real options available to her, she lifts her hand to her shoulder to let Sir Gabriel back onto the ground. "Okay, just don't mind the state my foot is in, I do feel a bit embarrassed by how dirty it is."

     "I will be sure to pay no mind to the state in which your foot is in as I clean it." Sir Gabriel steps onto the giantess' palm once again. He can't help but notice how this is starting to feel normal for him. Though what is considered to be normal for him has drastically changed the moment he met Ashley. It isn't necessarily a bad thing though; it just means that he is in a unique relationship now.

     After being lowered to the ground and stepping off her palm, he turns around to see that Ashley now has her foot angled so that her toes are practically pointing at his face.

    "Ashley," Sir Gabriel shouts. Talking to her like this is a bit inconvenient for him, but he needs to know that she can hear him. He isn't going to have her pick him up just so he can make a simple request. "Can you hand me my duffle bag?"

     "Uh... Sure," Ashley answers, already reaching for the bag that is tied to her waist. She is having a bit of difficulty, untying the drawstring from her waist. It is so thin and her fingers are so large, it is practically the equivalent of someone trying to undo a knot that has been tied into some thread. Though it does take her a moment, she does manage to undo the knot that she had made, allowing her to hand over what Sir Gabriel had requested. "What do you need this for?"

      "I need to grab something so that I can wipe your toes off." Taking his duffle bag back from Ashley he loosens the drawstrings so that he can open up his bag. "I highly doubt that I can clean your toes off with my bare hands effectively."

     "Because of how big they are, right?" Ashley turns her gaze down a bit out of embarrassment, almost as if she is somewhat ashamed about the size of her own feet.

     Removing his gauntlets and placing them in his duffle bag, Sir Gabriel responds to Ashley's comment. "No, the size of your feet has nothing to do with it. It's actually because some cloth would be more effective. Besides, I think your feet are the perfect size for someone your height. After all, you need to be able to walk around."

     Ashley smiles at Sir Gabriel, listening to what he had just said about her feet. "You think so?"

      "Of course," the knight answers, pulling out some white cloth from his duffle bag.

     "Is that one of your shirts?" Ashley asks, noticing the shape of the cloth that is in the knight's hands.

     "Yeah," Sir Gabriel answers, holding up his article of clothing. "It's the only thing I have to wipe the mud off with."

      "Aren't you worried about ruining your shirt?"

      "It's just mud, Ashley. It will wash right out." His clothes have gotten dirty on multiple occasions from incidents that could not be helped What is a little bit mud on clothes that he currently isn't wearing?

      Ashley positions her foot once again, allowing Sir Gabriel to easy access to her toes. She does feel kind of bad that he is using a shirt of his to clean her foot off. If it wasn't for the fact that she is so worried about how her feet look, she would have protested even more. But with no other solutions available to her, she just watches as Sir Gabriel is already wiping the mud off of her foot. She can't help but smile at this gesture, feeling that he does care about her.

     Sir Gabriel can hardly believe what he is doing, cleaning off a foot that is bigger than himself. Wiping mud off of Ashley's toes, the longest ones easily being about the length of his forearm. He doesn't mind doing this for her though since he can easily see how important it is to Ashley that her feet be pretty and presentable, as she puts it. So why wouldn't he mind doing this for her? He looks up at her, smiling, showing her that he does not see this as an obligation, but rather that it is something that he genuinely does not mind doing for her. By the time he finishes wiping off two of her toes, his shirt is completely brown from all the mud that he has wiped off.

     After needing to use a second shirt to finish his task, he looks up at Ashley, balling up the dirty garment just like had done with the first one. "There you go, nice and pretty again," Sir Gabriel says. He still finds it a bit odd to be calling a foot pretty, but it is something that he can not disagree with. He can easily see how much the simple compliment makes her happy, which is all that matters to him.

     While Sir Gabriel is stuffing the now brown shirts back into his duffle bag, the change in color due to how much mud he has wiped off Ashley's toes, the grateful giantess is examining her foot. She even spreads her long toes, seeing how Sir Gabriel even cleaned the mud off there. Her toes are still a bit on the brown side, her knight unable to completely remove all of the mud without any water. Her foot still isn't as clean as she would like it to be, but it is in a condition that she can tolerate until she can find a body of water to wash her foot off at.

     She smiles at Sir Gabriel, appreciating what he has just done for her. "Thank you so much for doing this for me." She crouches down, placing a finger onto his cheek, still smiling warmly at him.

      Sir Gabriel is putting his gauntlets back on, looking up at Ashley as he does so. "It wasn't much. A simple task." Even though the task itself was simple, it still did require some effort due to the sheer size of her foot.

     Ashley takes Sir Gabriel's duffle bag between two of her fingers, affixing it back to her waist so she can carry it once again. "Well, it still doesn't change the fact that it was such a sweet gesture.

     Sir Gabriel is a bit surprised when Ashley wraps her fingers around him and lifts him into the air once again, he was expecting her to lower her palm down to him again. He shouldn't have been surprised by this since this is quickly becoming a new normal for him. Though he is not surprised by what is coming next. He finds himself being lifted to Ashley's smiling face. He can't help but smile back at her as he is being pulled in close to her lips.

     Ashley kisses her knight, right on the face, feeling a small peck on her lower lip in return. The two of them look at each other for a couple of moments, as Sir Gabriel is pulled away from her face. The feelings that they have are apparent to one another, nor do they have any problems showing them to each other.

     Ashley still has a hard time believing that she has found someone, or more accurately someone found her, who loves her just the way she is. It still feels so surreal to her, almost as if everything that is happening to her is all just a dream. She is honestly half expecting to wake up in her bed, with Sir Gabriel being nothing more than someone her subconscious mind had created out of loneliness.

    "Ashley?" Gabriel asks, snapping her back to reality, one that she is happy to be in. "You okay? You look like you are lost in thought."

     "I'm good. Just thinking about how lucky I am that you came into my life."

      "I am the one who is lucky," Sir Gabriel argues. "Never have I dreamed that I would be with a woman who could love me so much."

     "It is only fair. After all, you do love and accept me just as I am."

     "Well, to be honest, I was brought up on the whole 'love is blind' principle. To love someone for who they are, not what they look like."

     "So my height really isn't an issue for you?"

     "Of course not. Like I just said, I love you for the sweet, gentle and loving woman you are. The fact that you are fifty-one feet tall does not change that."

     "You keep sweet-talking me like that, and I will have to really show you some affection."

      "As much as I would enjoy that, we really should continue onto Oakvale."

     "Oh, right," Ashley responds, acknowledging that Sir Gabriel does have a point. She places him on her shoulder again, continuing alongside the road that leads to Oakvale.

     "Speaking of affection," Sir Gabriel starts to say, "I have been meaning to tell you how well I slept in your arms last night."

     "You were that comfortable in my arms?" The maiden smiles as she says this, happy that she can make her knight so comfortable in her arms.

     "Yeah, but there is one other thing I wanted to tell you." He pauses for a moment, remembering exactly what he heard as his head was laying on her chest. The whole experience was very odd for him, and yet he can't help but think about it. "I was able to hear your heartbeat last night."

     "I'm sorry," Ashley apologizes. "So you had a hard time falling asleep because of it?"

      "No, no. If anything..." Sir Gabriel pauses for a moment, feeling awkward about what he is about to say. "It helped to put me to sleep."

     "Really?" Ashley replies, sounding surprised.

     "I know, it is a bit odd. But it was just so soothing to listen to. Plus, being in your arms, the way you were holding me last night. I just felt so loved. I highly doubt that I would ever get to experience something like that with any other woman."

     "So you are saying that my height is a positive thing when it comes to cuddling, right?"

     Sir Gabriel thinks about what Ashley has just said. Being held like that last night was such a positive experience for him last night, and it is something that he can only experience with her. "I guess I am saying that. Yes, your height is a real positive when it comes to cuddling."

      "Then I guess I will have to hold you again tonight if my embrace is such a positive experience for you."

     "I am looking forward to it," Sir Gabriel responds, smiling at his maiden.

     Ashley places Sir Gabriel back on her shoulder, making sure that he is all set before she starts to walk again. She is watching where she is placing her feet, wanting to avoid any more mud puddles on her way to Oakvale, she would hate to have to stop again.