Saving Autumn ch7

7 :: A Promise Kept

The warm smell of fresh eggs and bacon filled the den. All Faolán could do was lay there underneath the couch and watch hungrily as the giants peacefully ate their breakfast. They were quiet for the most part, except for Eoin making up silly stories and asking questions which kept his father entertained. The pigs brought inside were sliced up and fried over the open fire with the eggs; though it was a lot of food to a human, to the giants it was a fairly modest meal.

All Faolán had for food was an apple from yesterday. Just the one. The other two had fallen out of his hood at some point and he wasn’t sure where they were dropped. He used one of his knives to cut the apple in half. He saved one half in his hood while the other half he cut into more slices to eat. It was all he had until he was able to get out of the Giant’s home and he wasn’t sure when exactly that would be. Stealing food unfortunately wasn’t an option for him since the Giant kept all of his food well out of reach from humans. Faolán slid to the far side of the couch, away from the giants so that he was able to sit up but still remain hidden. He would peek around the corner of the couch and watch them when he felt it was safe; they were so focused on their meals, and each other, that neither one suspected a human might be in the den with them.

After the Giant was finished he took a sip from a beautifully decorated earthenware mug and stood up,

“Did you finish your shirt yet?” He asked his son.

Eoin shook he head, “Almost.”

“With the rain I think today would be a good day to finish it so then you’ll have it next time we go out. Finish up and get working on it for me, alright?”

Eoin nodded, “I don’t know how to do the sleeves.”

“I’ll show you, sweetheart. Just get the front closed up, you should be able to finish it today.”

The Giant brought both now empty plates over to a large basin in the wall and filled it with water from a tap that hung just above it. While he cleaned up Eoin finished his drink and then trotted off across the den and down the hallway to his room. The Giant placed Eoin’s cup in the basin with the dishes and brought his mug with him over to the couch. Faolán hid himself behind the side of the couch, waiting for the Giant to sit down. He heard a sigh and the couch frame creak. He peeked his head around just far enough to see the Giant. He took a sip from his mug which held a warm fragrant tea and rested it on the arm of the couch. He then leaned back, his head leaning over the back of the couch and he rubbed his now full belly.

“At least I don’t have to worry about him eating me,” Faolán whispered to himself. He hoped that maybe the Giant would fall asleep so he could sneak across the floor to the tunnel but surprisingly he didn’t. He laid there, quite contently with his mug of tea, occasionally closing his eyes for a few minutes at a time. As much as Faolán wanted to dash out across the floor, an itching feeling told him ‘no’ and over the years he learned to trust this intuition. Unbeknownst to him, the Giant was still very much so awake and keeping a watchful eye across the floor for any uninvited guests. He too learned to listen to his conscious and knew there had to be another human in his home. He took another sip of his tea and set his mug on the table beside him.  Faolán may not have to worry about being eaten right away but he still had to worry about being spotted. He pulled his head back and slipped underneath the couch again. As long as the two giants stayed at home, it was going to be a long day.
***
Fae and Lucas had been walking through the forest for well over an hour through the mud and rain. Lucas had gone on about being a giant slayer himself and Fae wanted to see it before she believed it. Her plan was to lead him out to the forest and watch him kill a Hill Giant or watch a Hill Giant kill him, in all honesty she really didn’t care which.

They were trudging their way up a steep hill, Fae was pulling herself from one tree to the next when she turned around to look over her shoulder at Lucas, who was struggling.

“Can you do me a favour?” she asked.

“A favour? What kind of favour?”

“Can you go a little bit slower? Just a little bit. You’re not holding me back enough.” Fae comment was more sarcastic than sincere.

Lucas narrowed his eyes up at her, “You know, waiting for me wouldn’t be such a bad idea. It’s hard to keep up...”

“It shouldn’t be hard to keep up. If you wanna go after the Forwyn Giant, and especially with Faolán and I, you need to pick up your pace. We’re not gonna wait for someone. IF we were being chased right now, I don’t have to be the fastest person in the group, I just have to be faster than you.”

Lucas gave an aggravated sigh and growled. As much as he wanted to talk back to her, he knew Fae wasn’t a person he wanted to anger; there was too much at stake. He started to quicken his pace and was only a few steps behind when Fae reached the top of the hill.

At first he noticed her broadly grinning but didn’t notice right away what it was she was focused on until she pointed it out.

“I spy an ogre,” she sang. Laying down on the other side of the hill was an ogre laying quietly, a pile of leaves had blown up against him and he was covered himself with a large woven blanket or cape. Fae patted Lucas on the back,

“Well,” she said, “go get him.”

“But... Fae, he’s sleeping. That doesn’t seem fair.”

“Life isn’t fair, what makes you think will be any similar? There’s no rules saying you can’t wake him up.”

“He’ll be awfully angry if I wake him.”

“He’ll be awfully angry when you wave that sword at him too. You’re not gonna win either way. If you want the prize money, you make the kill. You saw what the ogre I killed yesterday brought in.”

Fae had turned in her favour to the tavern owner and in turn, her and Faolán’s stay at the tavern was covered.

Lucas’ eyes darted back and forth from Fae to the sleeping Hill Giant. Eventually he rested his hand on the pommel of his sword and sighed,

“Alright...”

Fae stood back and watched him slide down the hill through the leaves. She crossed her arms and shook her head,

“This person’s an idiot...”

Once at the bottom, Lucas paused, waiting for the leaves to settle and to make sure he didn’t wake the giant. After he didn’t move Lucas drew his sword and crept closer. Just like Fae had explained to him; a well placed cut to the throat was all it would take. He walked around the sleeping giant’s side, his body was so bloated he couldn’t even see his head until he was about to the giant’s shoulder. As he started to get in closer to the giant’s face he could hear a muffled rustling or squishing, he couldn’t quite pinpoint it. He stopped again and waited. This time he heard what sounded like a long sigh from the giant’s open mouth.

Then that was it. Lucas cocked his head, certainly he should be able to hear this giant breathing but there was nothing. He pointed his sword out in front of him and took another step closer. He started to hear the odd squishing again. Now up next to the giant’s head, and much closer than he felt comfortable being, he leaned over and peered into the giant’s gaping mouth. The noise stopped.

Suddenly, two glowing orbs peered up at Lucas and a white and grey opossum covered in dirt and blood leapt out from the giant’s mouth and scurried off into the forest. Lucas let out a scream and fell backwards onto the ground. He was so frantic he couldn’t push himself away and ended up just kicking leaves and dirt up into the air.

Fae squinted down the hill, “What is he doing?”

She started to slide down the hill, grabbing at trees as she went to keep herself steady.

“Are you mad!” She yelled, “You’re wake him...wait...”

She reached the bottom and stood next to Lucas.

“I think he’s already dead.”

“Oh...” Lucas sighed. His breath was still shaky, “Wonderful.”

“Doesn’t look like he’s been dead that long either... He’s not even green yet.”

Lucas frowned, “Green...”

“Oh yeah. They turn all sorts of fun colours if they’ve been dead for a while.” Fae cocked her head and slid her bow off her shoulder. “I wanna try something.”

“What are you trying...”

She nocked an arrow and aimed it at the giant’s abdomen, “Wonder if he’s bloated or just fat.”

Lucas tried to jump up to stop her but by the he scrambled to his feet, Fae had already shot. The arrow shot through the air and landed into the giant’s side with a soft pop.

“Just fat...”

“Are you nuts! What if that thing exploded!”

Fae snickered, “Pff, seen it. Anyway, come ‘ere, I gotta show ya something.”

Once Lucas was able to get to his feet Fae gave him a shove that almost knocked him over again. She led him to the dead giant’s head, a sight that still made Lucas feel ill.

“So, if you want to be paid for a kill, ya need proof. What Faolán and I do, is we take the coloured part of the eye. There’s no way to get something like that if a giant is still alive. Hard favours like that always rake in more money because they’re harder to fake.”

She was about to kneel down beside the head but then stopped and gave Lucas another push,

“What am I doing, you get it.” Collecting these particular favours was always Fae’s least favourite part.

“Me?”

“Yes you. Get down there, open his eye lid...”

Lucas nervously knelt down beside the head and slowly peeled up the only eyelid intact; the other had been eaten away already. He winced, it wasn’t easy to move as he expected as it stuck to the eyeball.

“If you can’t open it, just cut it.” Fae instructed. She stood behind him, arms crossed and occasionally looking over his shoulder to see what he was doing. Lucas pulled a knife from his belt and cut away at the eyelid until he was able to lift it up enough to see the cloudy dead eye staring back at him.

“Now take your knife and cut around it.” Fae continued coaxing him. “Faster we do this the faster we can get out of this rain.”

Lucas touched the point of his blade to the eye, just looking at it was enough to make his own eyes squint. He pressed the knife lightly, not realising just how hard he had to push before he was able to break through.

“Are eyes always this hard?”

Fae sighed “Yes... You gotta pop it.”

Lucas shoved the blade in and right away a clear fluid began to seep out which made him quickly pull his hands back. He turned back to look at Fae for guidance but when she didn’t say anything he grabbed his knife again and began sawing away around the iris. Once free, he was able to freely peel away the cornea and iris and held it out in front of his as he stood up. Fae gave him nod,

“Not bad, pretty boy. Now let’s go back and get paid.”

“But... I didn’t kill this giant...”

“So... It doesn’t matter who killed it, just as long as it’s dead. I was supposed to kill the Forwyn Giant but Faolán took him last minute. We’re still gonna benefit from it. Actually, by the sound of it everyone around here will benefit.”

“Well that doesn’t seem very fair. This Faolán fellow shouldn’t push you around like that.”

“Please, he’s... He wanted this one, and it’s rare he ever makes a request so I let him have it. There’s others.”

“Well, if you really want to kill the Forwyn Giant, you let me know. I’ll make sure it happens.”

Lucas started to close in on Fae but she didn’t back down. In fact, she just snickered at him and rolled her eyes,

“Sure ya will. I saw the way you jumped when that opossum jumped out.”

***
The day was a slow one but it wasn’t entirely uneventful. The Giant had left for a good portion of the day, leaving Eoin alone in the castle. Faolán certainly wasn’t afraid of the boy but he also didn’t want to be spotted either. Faolán could see down the hallway and would watch Eoin go back and forth from his bedroom across the hall into another room that Faolán hadn’t explored yet. He knew with his luck the moment he slid out from under the couch Eoin would trot into the den or the kitchen, or worse, the Giant would come home and spot him. When he needed to stand up and stretch his legs he would slide all the way to the back of the couch where he could stand without the fear of being spotted. He peeked around the back corner of the couch and just scanned the room, trying to locate any additional hiding spots he could potentially utilize until a sudden movement by the fireplace caught his eye.

He focused on the lion statue, he could have swore he had seen a glint of metal flash from behind it. Pushing his luck, he stepped out from behind the couch and walked down the side. Though he tried, he wasn’t able to see anything unusual but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

Suddenly a loud pop beside his ear made his jump and he dove onto the floor. He looked over at the couch and saw an arrow sticking out of the leg right where he was standing. He looked over at the lion statue just in time to see a man duck behind it again. Faolán readied his own bow and prepared to fire back. Only problem, he couldn’t actually see where this person was to shoot. He slid behind the couch again for cover and continued watching the statue. He saw a man covered with a black cloak slowly rise up from behind the statue and aim another arrow. Faolán pulled his head back just in time and watched the arrow crash and burst into splinters as it hit the stone wall just in front of him.

“It’s gonna be like that, huh?”

Faolán pointed his bow out past the couch, forcing him to draw it with his left hand. He shot back and heard his arrow hit the lion statue and fall to the floor. He peeked his head out just in time to see the man quickly jump out from behind the statue, grab the arrow and hurry back into hiding.

“Game on...” Faolán readied another arrow and prepared to shoot again when a loud knocking on the large oak doors forced him behind the couch again. He looked down the hallway and saw Eoin trot out of his room and hurry to the door to unlock it. The Giant, completely drenched, pushed himself inside and closed the door behind him. Eoin jumped up and tried to hug his father but quickly backed away once his felt his wet shirt.

“Give me a moment, kid,” the Giant said. With one hand he opened the clasp on his cloak and hung it from one of the hooks in the wall. In his other hand he had four deer tightly bundled together. He was hardly across the den when Eoin dashed off back to his room.

“Papa, look, I’m almost done!” He came back out holding up a chainmail vest.

“Looks good! How does it fit?”

Eoin pulled his arms through the holes pulled the opening closed around him. The Giant placed the deer up on the table before he knelt down to get a better look at the vest. He pulled at the ends to see how far they’d wrap around and noticed that it didn’t close as far as he wanted it to.

“Looks like it still needs a little more before you close it. Go into my armory and get my shirt, I’ll show you something.”

While Eoin ran off down the hallway the Giant started preparing the deer, untying the ropes and placing them on a plate so they could be cleaned out and cut. Eoin came back into the den, dragging an enormous sheet of chainmail beside him.

“This one?”

“Yes, that one.”

He handed it to his father who let it roll out and he pulled it over his head, then knelt down again.

“See how loose this is,” he said, “You don’t want it too tight because things like arrows can still get in through the rings. So what you want to do is add a few more rows on each side, keep them even, and then once it lays without having to pull it closed you can join the two sides together. Then I’ll help you with the sleeves, alright?”

Eoin grinned and nodded.

“Do me a favour and clean those deer out while I go get changed. I’m still wet.”

Eoin was left by himself in the den. He wandered about the kitchen for a knife and after finding one in a drawer sat down at the table and, quiet skillfully began skinning the deer one at a time. Sure it was easy for him given his size but Faolán was still impressed as he watched from a far. He glanced over at the fireplace and saw a shadow of the man staring at Faolán from behind the statue, bow raised and drawn. Another arrow shot towards Faolán and he fell to the ground to avoid it.

Faolán slid under the couch and pulled himself up close to the edge. It was an awkward position but he was able to draw his bow horizontally and aimed as best as he could at the man across the room. He fired and gritted his teeth as he watched his arrow fly across the room and disappear on the other side of the lion and click against the wall.

Eoin looked up from the table and out into the den.

“Papa?”

“Yes Sweetheart?” The Giant returned, Faolán watched him come down the hallway from under the couch. “What is it?”

Not seeing anything else out of the ordinary, Eoin simply shrugged. The Giant settled down in a chair next to his son and helped clean out the deer.

Faolán glared across the room at the man, even if he couldn’t be seen he still showed his frustration and readied another arrow incase of further retaliation. Oddly enough, it never happened. The two giants were able to cook and enjoy their meal in peace. Faolán kept his eye on the statue, especially when the Giant stayed beside the fireplace to cook the deer but the man was never spotted.

Feeling he was safe, for now at least, Faolán turned his attention back to the giants and benevolently watched them from afar. Eoin’s enthusiasm alone over finishing his chainmail shirt was enough to ease Faolán’s nerves.

“Do you think we’re gonna find a dragon, Papa?”

“I’m sure we will, Eoin.”

“Have you ever killed a dragon?”

The Giant had just taken a bite of his last piece of meat and chuckled softly,

“Of course I have. It’s been a while.”

“I wanna see you fight one. Like punch it in the face and then break its neck and make it eat its own legs!”

The Giant laughed, “That’s what ya think, huh?”

Eoin nodded, “Except now you’re old so it’ll be a really slow fight.”

The Giant’s smile suddenly faded and he raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

Eoin happily nodded again. He knew commenting his father’s age always got a funny reaction.

“Remember kid, there’s a reason I’m old.”

“You always say that.”

“Because it’s true. I’ve been alive a long, boy.”

“So you’re ancient!”

“I’m not...” The Giant stumbled over his words from the shock, “I’m not ancient.”

“Ya huh! You’re like the oldest, most ancient person ever!”

The Giant smirked and grabbed the corners of the table. Eoin let out a squeal and jumped from his chair. He dashed across the room and jumped up onto the couch, the sudden impact scared Faolán. Eoin grabbed a pillow and tried to hide behind it but would sneak peeks to watch his father. The Giant slowly walked over to the couch, his laugh was menacing but playful.

“Eoin...” his lowered his voice as he came closer, “I know where you’re hiding.”

Eoin giggled and hid his face behind the pillow. Even Faolán waited with anticipation as he watched the Giant slowly approach and pause in front of the couch. There was a sudden loud scream from Eoin as he father grabbed him and lifted him up over his shoulder. Eoin erupted in a fit of laughter as his father carried him off down the hallway and into his bedroom. It was all just enough of a distraction for the man hiding behind the lion statue to take aim and fire another arrow in Faolán’s direction.

He wasn’t able to get the angle right, so it hit the floor and skid under the couch beside Faolán.

“That’s it,” Faolán slid to the side out from underneath the couch and after readying his bow he charged out from the protection of the couch to face this man head on and to his surprise, he took the challenge.

He too readied an arrow and jumped out from behind the lion and the two of them met, bows drawn and aimed at each other in the centre of the den.

“You’re gonna get us both killed!” he shouted.

“Me? You’re the one that started shooting first!”

“And I’ll shoot you right here if you don’t back off of my giant!”

“Go right ahead.”

The two of them were so focused on each other that neither of them saw the Giant come back into the den, by the time they heard his footsteps, it was already too late.

The two slayers turned and looked up at the Giant who was now glaring down at them. The man pulled his bow up and aimed at the Giant. He glanced over at Faolán but then shook his head,

“What are you doing?” he shouted, “The Giant’s over there!”

Faolán continued aiming his bow at the man.

The Giant started to walk towards the two and the man was becoming nervous.

“Are you mad? Shoot him!”

Faolán didn’t move.

The man looked up at the Giant, then back over at Faolán.

“Shoot him!”

Faolán shot. As he did the man turned and once Faolán’s arrow landed in his shoulder he let go, returning fire at Faolán and landing his shot in his left shoulder. Faolán clutched at his shoulder and dropped to the ground. The arrow had tore through his shoulder and stuck out the other side. He fell down onto his right side and he looked up at the Giant who now stood over him.

The Giant knelt down and picked up the bleeding man on the floor. He held him tightly in a closed fist and slowly stood up and walked over to the cackling fireplace. Faolán couldn’t see exactly what was happening but he heard the man’s scream cut off with a loud choke and heard a series of small muffled cracks and pops before the limp body was tossed into the fire.

Faolán laid his head down on the floor and closed his eyes. He knew he had been caught and given his current state, he couldn’t do anything to escape. He heard the Giant’s footsteps coming closer. By the time he opened his eyes, the Giant’s foot was directly in front of him and he was kneeling down with his hand out to grab Faolán. Faolán simply closed his eyes again and awaited his fate.

He felt the Giant’s fingers pinch his chest and carefully lift him up. Another hand was slid underneath him and he felt himself being lifted up. The Giant’s fingers supported his shoulders and were careful not to bump the arrow. Faolán could feel his shirt sticking to his skin from the blood. He opened his eyes, he was facing the Giant, so all he could see was the fabric of his black, sleeveless shirt. He turned his head to see where he was going; the Giant used his free hand to grab a bowl from a cupboard and a few linen towels from a drawer. Faolán watched as he folded one of the towels and laid it in the bowl which he then brought to over to the table. He carefully laid Faolán down into the bowl so that he was sitting upright with his shoulders clear of the bowl’s edge.

“Don’t move,” the Giant instructed. He went back to the counter for the other towel and poured a small amount of wine in a glass from a cask set in the wall. After he set these on the table beside Faolán he leaned in to get a better look at the arrow.

“Ever been shot before?”

Faolán shook his head. Stabbed plenty of times but never shot.

The Giant sat down in the chair and leaned closer in. He was so close that Faolán could feel the warm tufts of air from his nose with each breath. The Giant pinched the arrow shaft close to his shoulder with one hand and the fletching with the other and broke it as close as he could to Faolán’s shoulder. He watched the Giant as he brushed away the shards from the broken ends. His mustache covered his upper lip and his head was tilted forward in such a way that gave him a very menacing expression. Faolán couldn’t help but focus on his eyes; in the light of the den they would flicker between a shimmering bronze and a warm honey brown. Faolán could see every tiny fold and crease and could see his iris widen and contract as he would focus his eyes.

He felt the Giant pinch the other side of the arrow and wrapped his fingers behind Faolán’s shoulder.

“Hold still,” he said.

Before Faolán could protest he cringed as he felt the arrow shaft as it was steadily pulled out from his shoulder. It only last a few seconds but it felt like the longest few seconds of his life. After the arrow was out the Giant carefully held the sleeve of Faolán’s shirt and tore it away to get access to the wound.

He took a corner of the towel and dipped it in the wine then covered Faolán’s shoulder with it. Immediately it started to burn and Faolán tried to pull away.

“It’s gonna burn, but at least it won’t get infect.”

The Giant pressed his finger down on Faolán’s shoulder, holding him down so that he didn’t move too much. After a minute he pulled the towel off and patted his shoulder dry before taking Faolán’s torn off sleeve and wrapping it around his shoulder to keep it covered and stop the bleeding. Faolán had calmed down considerably and looked up into the Giant’s eyes. They were not soft or humble, but were instead there was a coldness behind them. Those beautifully warm eyes bore down in Faolán with a patronising glare.

“I had a feeling...” The Giant started. He folded his arms on the table and leaned forward; his broad shoulders and long blond hair gave him the menacing appearance of a lion hunched over and ready to pounce.

“The dead humans I found the other day, the bow... not to mention that smell.” He leaned in close to Faolán to sniff at his clothes then huffed. The sound reminded Faolán of a horse exhaling through its nose.

“Who sent you?”

“What? What are you talking...”

“Who sent you?” He growled again.

“Nobody! Nobody sent me...”

“Nobody’s hired you?”

“No!”

“Searching for money then?”

“No!”

The Giant tilted his head and raised his brow, “So you’re trying to impress someone?”

“What?! No! I’m not here for that at all!”

“Then why did you come back? Did you forget what I told you?” His hot, humid breath made Faolán turn away and close his eyes.

“No, Sir, I haven’t... and I also haven’t forgotten what I told you.” he managed to say. He opened his eyes and looked up just as the Giant was lifting his head away.

“I told you if you let me live, I’d promise no harm would come to you. I knew other slayers would be coming in to look for you. That’s why I came back.”

“Look,” the Giant sighed and stroked at his silvery beard, “I don’t need your help. I’ve been able to take care of myself and my son long before you. My life is not worth risking yours, you could have gotten yourself killed.”

Faolán shrugged his good shoulder, “I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding,” the Giant flatly replied.

“It’s not that bad. I could get up and leave if I wanted to.”

The Giant slowly leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“What?”

“Go ahead!” The Giant said, “Ya know what, I won’t even stop you. Go, I wanna see this.”

Faolán narrowed his eyes, his pride wanted to prove the Giant wrong. He started to lift himself forward, relying mostly on his good arm. He went to shift his grip on the rim of the bowl but once he put his weight on his bad arm he yelped in pain and fell back down into the bowl again. He looked up at the Giant who was staring down at him with a very condescending smirk. Faolán yelled up at him,

“Don’t look at me like that!”

The Giant started to chuckle and he shook his head, “You poor child.”

“I’m not a child! I’m 19!

“Ah... And I suppose you know everything as well?”

“I know enough to keep me alive.”

The Giant narrowed his eyes He pressed his hands down on the table and leaned forward, hovering his face in front of Faolán and hissed,

“You’re alive because I allowed you to live.”

Faolán mustered what was left of his energy and leaned forward, “I’ve been killing giants since I was 15. I can certainly say the same to you.”

“That attitude of yours is gonna get you killed one day.”

“Hasn’t killed me yet.”

The Giant’s brow furrowed and he pressed his lips together. His face was so close that Faolán could feel his breaths blow past him like a heavy breeze; if he wanted to, he could have reached out and touched him. He didn’t back down though. He sneered back and stared into the Giant’s large amber eyes.

Eventually the Giant gave a soft huff and nodded his head,

“You’re a plucky little thing, aren’t you?”

He noticed Faolán didn’t react. He held his stare up at the Giant, not wanting to take any more bait to further his mocking.

“It takes a lot to stand up to someone like me. I’m proud of you.”

Faolán suddenly broke and blinked in disbelief, “What?”

“Most humans I find here either run away scared or pass out,” He lifted his head up, giving Faolán some more space and gave a soft laugh at the thought, “I don’t know how you humans have managed to survive so long if all you do is faint every time you’re freighted.”

“When has this happened?”

“This happens fairly often. I find a human in here, go to grab and they just collapse on the floor. No reason for it.”

“That...” Faolán paused for a moment, “That sounds really stupid... Who’s coming in here unprepared?”

“So says the kid who got shot.”

Faolán frowned at the comment but looking up at the smiling giant, he could see that the comment was more of a jest than a stab.

“Don’t need to be jerk about it...”

The Giant leaned back and laughed a warm genuine laugh that made his eyes squint and belly shake. He brushed his hair back away from his face and looked out over the den,

“I suppose I should probably clean the rest of this up,” he muttered to himself. His eyes shifted back to Faolán, “But what to do with you...”

“Not eating me would be a fantastic start...” Despite the hint of sarcasm, Faolán was still giving an honest request. The Giant smiled. He gave a loud sigh as he stood up and patted his belly,

“Don’t mention eating... I ate enough to night.” He grabbed an extra towel as he walked around the back of the table. He passed by Eoin’s plate that still had a few fairly large pieces of deer meat still left over, grabbed a piece and ate it. Faolán just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“So, you’re not actually from around here are you? This is my first time seeing you.”

Faolán was unsure if he should answer right away, the Giant was in the middle of the den cleaning the puddles of blood left on the floor. He didn’t think his voice would carry so far so he waited for the Giant to come back.

“No, I’m not,” Faolán admitted. “We actually found Forwyn by accident.”

“First time I’ve heard that one before,” The Giant picked another piece of meat off of his son’s plate and started clearing the table of empty plates. “It’s rare we get outsiders here. Most just pass by the valley and never even know it’s here.”

“We were coming from Arwel and cut through the forest rather than staying along the coast line.”

The Giant nodded his head, “I can see how that would work if you go the right direction.”

“We really weren’t expecting to find this place.”

“We?” The Giant grabbed his mug from the table to be refilled with wine.

“My partner, Fae. She’s still back in the town.”

“Does she know you’re here?”

“She does, but she isn’t worried. She knows I can take care of myself.”

The Giant leaned against the wine cask and snickered, “That’s why you got your ass shot?”

“Shut up...”

He nodded towards the table, “Is that a cup you have there? You want somethin’?”

Faolán leaned over the side of the bowl to look at his belt, there was a brass tankard strapped to his belt. “Sure, if you don’t mind.”

“Still bleeding?”

Faolán felt at the bandage, it didn’t feel wet, or at least any wetter than it was. There was no evidence of blood showing through and if he kept it still, it actually didn’t bother him that much.

“I think I’m fine.”

When the Giant came back over he set his mug down and carefully opened the strap on Faolán’s mug. He dipped the tiny cup into his own to fill it and handed it to Faolán, making sure that he could easily grab hold of the handle.

“Thank you... You certainly don’t need to do this for me.”

“I know.” He gave  Faolán a wink, “I’m not the worst person in the world.”

He grabbed the ends of the towel that Faolán was laying on and lifted them up, picking Faolán up with them in the bundle. Faolán wasn’t able to see where he was going but it didn’t feel like he had traveled far before he was set down on something soft. Once the sides of the towel dropped he saw that he had been laid down on the arm of the couch. He suddenly saw the Giant’s mug soar above him and be set down on the table beside him. The Giant sat down with a loud groan. He rested one arm off the side of the couch, the other on his belly and he leaned his head over the back of the couch and closed his eyes for a few moments.

Faolán sat himself up, careful not to aggravate his shoulder. He stared up at the giant, watching as his belly would swell and fall with each heavy breath.

“So you’re from Arwel,” the Giant said before lifting his head up. He shifted his shoulders against the back of the couch and settled into a more comfortable position.

“We were coming from Arwel. I’m actually from Eira, up north.”

“I’ve been up that way once,” he said, scratching at his beard, “A long time ago... back when I was actually able to travel and not locked down here.”

“You’re stuck here?”

“Forwyn is mine. I don’t think anyone here told you that, huh?”

Faolán shook his head, “No. I mean, I’ve heard people talk about you but certainly never mentioned anything about that.”

The Giant nodded, “This valley was settled by my ancestors, couldn’t even tell ya the generations. My Great-Great-....Great Grandfather was approached by humans who wanted to the settle the land. They came to an agreement that the humans would take care of the valley, tend to the crops, raise animals and all and my family would protect them. I’m sure you’ve noticed the abundance of ogres in the area. Well, it got to my Grandfather, the current reigning duke wasn’t particularly fond of these arrangements anymore. He began winning the humans over by placing blame on my family whenever something bad happened. Didn’t matter what, it could have been a particularly bad thunderstorm; it was our fault. As the reigning family grew, that hostility was passed down and grew into a pure hatred. I never liked Duke Oisín, but we were at least able to work together. When he died and his Aneirin took power he had already been so influenced by his father and Grandfather that he made it his life’s goal to take Forwyn from me.”

The Giant leaned to the side a bit and folded his hands over top of his belly, “Which is why I wanted to make sure you weren’t hired by Aneirin. The past month has just been one after another. You’ve only seen a small portion of it.”

“And there’s nothing you can do?”

The Giant shook his head, “My hands are tied. He has those villagers so scared it doesn’t matter what I do. If I’m nice, I’m being deceiving, if I hurt someone, I’m a monster, I can’t win. Those villagers have no idea what I do, I’m out in the forest every day protecting them from ogres and trolls and dragons and they have no idea. If I wasn’t here, this town would be gone before the week end. The truth is, I’m scared.”

Faolán felt his shoulders drop at this; he couldn’t imagine such an enormous creature being afraid of anything.

“I’m scared for myself, I’m scared for my son... They’ve already taken my daughter from me. You know,” his eyes locked on Faolán, “She was just a few years younger than you.”

Faolán leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his knee. “What happened to her?”

The Giant took a deep breath, “About a month ago... a group of humans found a way in while I wasn’t home and killed her. Not only did Eoin see the whole thing but he was left by himself for the rest of the day. Now if he sees a human in here he’ll just completely fall apart. I will never break him of that and how can I? Every human he’s ever encountered has tried to hurt him or hurt me. It’s why when I find humans in here, I don’t let them leave. I hate being that way but if humans start to realise that anyone who comes here doesn’t come back they’ll, hopefully, stay away. I worry about something happening to me and... if anything ever happened to my son...”

The Giant rested his elbow on the arm of the couch and covered his mouth with his hand. He stroked at his beard with his fingers and for a moment stared off past Faolán. Eventually he shook the thought from his mind and rested his arm down next to Faolán.

“What about your wife? If you don’t mind me asking...” Faolán had noticed there was no mother, or even mention of her.

“Meredith died five years ago when she gave birth to Eoin. He was raised by myself and Caolán helping. She was always with him when I wasn’t home. She was smart, I was fine trusting her by herself.”

The information hit Faolán harder than he thought it would.

“That’s how I lost my mother. She died while having my younger brother and he passed just a few days later. My father never got over it and would take his anger out on me just for the sake of finding someone to blame.” He lowered his head and rested his chin on his knee, “That’s why I left so early. I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

He spoke softly, not thinking the Giant was listening, or even cared but when he looked up he saw the Giant’s warm eyes fixated on him.

“I know how that is... I was... seven when she passed away. She always stuck up for me. When my father would shoot me down or come after me, she supported me. I remember my father pushing me over a table and Mum going after him for him.” Faolán faintly smiled, “She was tough. I know that’s not typical of a mother, but that was her... When I lost her, I lost more than I realised. Maybe that’s why I came back here...”

Faolán’s voice trailed off. There was a moment of silence, the only sounds being the crackling fire and the Giant’s slow, heavy breathing.

“Come here, child,” The Giant’s voice was so soft Faolán questioned whether or not he actually heard it. He looked up at the Giant.

“Come here,” he said again, this time gesturing with his hand.

Faolán straightened his leg out and careful not to spill his drink, started to slide across the arm of the couch closer towards the Giant’s side. Once he was close enough he felt the Giant’s hand wrap around him and hold him gently against his side. His body heat warmed the fabric of his soft woven shirt and his belly was soft and plush. At first, Faolán was tense and he gripped at the Giant’s shirt in his fist but soon the realisation began to surface. He was safe. It was really the first time in many, many years since he ever truly felt safe.

He squeezed his eyes closed and buried his face in the Giant’s side. Soft enough to be comfortable but firm enough to support him, he could feel every breath the Giant took; the muscles pushing against him but still sinking into his flesh. He slowed his breathing down to try to match the Giant’s pace; it was far too slow for his tiny lungs but it did help him to calm down. He took a deep breath and felt the Giant’s fingers slowly rub his lower back. It was hard for him to understand at first, that such a creature, someone he had never met would show him such kindness, but here they were and the longer he stayed there the more the feeling started to sink in.

There had been so many times in the past it happened. He would be having such a pleasant dream only to wake up in some tavern room or barn loft or even out in the cold forest; but not it was real. He felt the Giant’s fingers slide up his back and softly rub the back of his head and stroke at his hair, careful not to touch Faolán’s injured shoulder. Faolán felt himself be softly squeezed for a moment and he finally opened his eyes. He stared out across the Giant’s round belly, feeling it as it steadily rose and fell. Now Faolán finally started to relax; he loosened his grip on the Giant’s shirt and laid his hand flat against him, returning the hug.

Faolán’s eyes started to close again and he tilted his head to a more comfortable angle. The Giant could feel his small movements against him as he snuggled closer and he gave Faolán another soft squeeze,

“Ya alright?”

Faolán gave a drowsy nod. The Giant was tired and it was getting late but he couldn’t bring himself to get up just yet. This was probably the most comfortable this young human had ever been and he didn’t want to cut the moment short. He smiled down at Faolán, his hand had the boy’s body almost completely covered, leaving just his legs hanging down the arm of the couch and his head resting on the top of his belly like a pillow.

“Poor kid,” he whispered to himself. He rubbed Faolán’s back with his finger tips.

To keep from falling asleep, Faolán would occasionally open his eyes but his tactic started to fail as he became more tired. Soon his eyes barely fluttered and he felt himself starting to drift off as he focused on the giant’s calm breathing. Just as he could feel himself relaxing completely a sudden loud rumbling growl jolted Faolán awake and he sat up. He then felt the Giant’s belly start to shake as he softly laughed at Faolán’s reaction.

“Scare ya?”

“Woke me up, that’s for sure.” Faolán shook his head and blinked the sleep from his eyes.

“I think it’s gettin’ to be that time.” The Giant gave Faolán a soft pat and helped him lean back on the arm of the couch away from him. Faolán watched as the Giant slowly stood up. He first stretched his shoulders back then smoothed his hands down his front and rubbed his fat belly which still felt heavy from his dinner.

“So, are you really keeping me here?” Faolán asked. He stood up and walked towards the edge of the couch. The Giant turned back and stared down at him as he reached over Faolán for his own mug.

“Unless you want to walk back to the village. At night. In the rain. Through the woods.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time you’ve kicked me out during a storm.” Faolán couldn’t hold back his smirk.

“Yes, you’re staying here,” the Giant said. “I’d keep you in my room with me but my son always comes in and wakes me up in the morning. It’d be best for you to stay out here but with the fire and, I’ll bring you another towel, you’ll be fine out here.”

Honestly, Faolán didn’t realise that the Giant was being serious with his offer,

“Thank you...”

The Giant didn’t reply, he simply winked and turned his back as he went to put his mug back in the kitchen. While he grabbed another towel and threw some extra logs in the hearth, Faolán rolled up one end of the linen towel he already had to make a pillow. Just as he was sitting down the Giant took one of the pillows from the couch and laid the towel down across it,

“This’ll be a little more comfortable for ya.”

Faolán was able to easily slide down the side off from the arm and onto the pillow and refolded his towel again. The den started to dim as the Giant went around and blew out each of the lanterns on the tables. He stopped beside the couch and knelt down,

“Do you need anything before I go to sleep?”

Faolán was laying down, careful to not aggravate his shoulder, “I think I’m fine. I’m already pretty tired.”

The Giant gave him a smile before he started to stand up.

“Wait, Autumn!” Faolán paused. They both did. The Giant’s brow lowered as he slowly knelt back down again. Faolán was worried he may have said something wrong, maybe he was being too informal too soon. Instead of stopping though, he continued,

“Thank you... for helping me. I know you didn’t have to do all this for me.”

It was his name. It had been so long since he heard his name. The villagers rarely use it anymore and many of the younger generation didn’t even know what it was.

“Of course,” He said. He reached out for Faolán, resting his thumb on his shoulder and wrapping his finger’s around his arm, “Like I said, I’m not the worst person in the world.”

The Giant gave him a warm smile and a wink before he stood up again and continued on down the hallway, leaving Faolán alone in the den.

Faolán slipped under the towel and laid his head down on the folded pillow. His eyes darted around the room in disbelief; everything that happened replayed in his head. He couldn’t process it, it was too surreal. Someone he had never met, owed nothing to, even tried to harm just saved his life. He sat up and looked down the hall, it was dark but he was able to see that the door to the Giant’s bedroom was closed. When he laid back down again he squeezed his eyes closed and tried to go back to that moment. He tried to imagine the Giant’s hand wrapping around him and pulling him in closer. Just being that close to another living being. It was strange and foreign and comforting all at once. He squeezed at the folded linen towel and softly whispered,

“Thank you.”