Asael was twenty feet tall, strong enough to uproot a tree, and currently very uncomfortable.
He shifted awkwardly, stirring the soup in the pot. Crimson flames danced beneath it, casting his enormous shadow against the cave wall. Outside, rain tapped endlessly against the stone.
Oh, how he loved his privacy.
The solitude.
And, above all, the silence.
He shifted again.
He could still feel the eyes boring holes into his back.
Why won't she stop looking at me?
You would have thought anyone who saw a twenty-foot man would run.
Not this creature.
If only he hadn't gotten involved.
It had been what counted as a normal day for him.
He had been out farming, sweat soaking through his tunic as he gathered the last of his crops. The faint rumble of thunder had warned him of the incoming storm.
"That should be all for today," he had said, placing the last of the fruits into his grass basket.
The basket was bigger than normal.
One could almost say it was Asael-sized.
He laughed at his own joke.
Then silence returned.
He had gotten used to it.
It had become his only companion.
Until a scream rang through the forest.
"What is that?"
Another scream answered him.
Asael sighed.
He had to help.
He cut through the forest, the trees little more than plants beneath his towering frame. The voices grew closer, becoming clearer with every step.
"Shut up, bitch!" a masculine voice shouted.
"All we want is the treasure," another said.
It sounded like a robbery.
Asael peered from behind a tree.
Several individuals in leather armour, clearly mercenaries, stood around a Fae woman.
She was dressed like a princess trying very hard to look like a commoner. Her clothes were deliberately neutral, with minimal adornments. Mud stained her dress, and blood trickled from the side of her head.
She had dark skin with a rich sheen, hair so blonde it almost looked white, and striking grey eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.
Her voice was as beautiful as she was.
"I told you not to hit her on the head," one of the mercenaries complained.
"What did you expect me to do? She was running," the other defended himself.
"I don't know. Hit her in the leg or something."
"Guys," the Fae said weakly. "Not helping."
There were about ten of them.
I can take them.
Asael looked at the mercenaries.
But... should I?
He pushed the thought aside.
He had already decided.
Asael stepped into the clearing.The mercenaries froze.For a moment, nobody moved.Then every single one of them fell backward.
"GIANT!"
They scrambled to their feet and fled into the forest, abandoning everything behind.
Asael watched them disappear between the trees.
"...That was easy."
The Fae woman lay weakly on the ground.She looked up at him.Their eyes met.
She fainted.
Asael stared.
"Really?"
The rain began to intensify.
He sighed, then carefully scooped her onto his shoulder.
"Please don't make me regret this."
And off he went through the forest.
---
Which brought them to now.
The Fae sat in the corner of the cave, bandages wrapped around her head and arm, staring at him.
Asael shifted awkwardly as he stirred the soup.
He could feel her eyes again.
Why is she still staring?
He finally turned.
"Ummm... are you hungry?"
He held out half a bowl.
Her eyes immediately dropped to the food.
Asael nudged the bowl closer with one finger.
"Eat."
She hesitated before taking the bowl.
Then she scooped up a spoonful and swallowed it with her eyes closed.
She waited.
One second.
Two.
Almost a minute.
Asael stared.
Then realization struck him like dragonfire.
"You think I poisoned it!"
The words came out louder than he intended.
That...
That hurt.
He thought he had gotten used to it by now.
The fear.
The staring.
The way people looked at him and saw a monster before they saw anything else.
But thinking he would poison someone he had rescued?
That was another level.
Perhaps he really would always be seen as a beast.
Nothing more.
"No... no... no..."
Her voice broke through his thoughts.
The Fae stood and walked toward him, a slight limp in her step.
Asael watched as she approached.
She sat beside him.
Just like that.
Her bowl in hand, as though they were old acquaintances sharing a meal.
"No, I don't think you would poison me," she said. "It's just that your cooking is..."
She paused.
Asael held his breath.
"Sooooo good!"
She said it with such excitement that Asael simply stared at her.
Well.That was not what he had been expecting.
She continued eating, spoonful after spoonful, until the bowl was empty.
Then she looked at him.
It took Asael a moment to understand.
"You want more?"
"If... you would have me."
Asael stared at her.
This Fae ate like...
Well.
Like him.
A laugh suddenly burst from his chest, deep enough to make the cave walls rumble.
"How do you fit that much food into that tiny body?"
"Hey, I'm just hungry."
He collected her bowl and poured in another serving.
"No offence."
She took it happily and continued eating.
Asael watched her for a moment.
Her hair was tied back now, and the firelight reflected in her grey eyes.
She seemed completely at ease.
Too at ease.
"Are you not afraid?"
She stopped eating.
Her eyes slowly travelled up him.
From his hands.
To his chest.
To his shoulders.
Finally, his face.
Asael suddenly became self-conscious.
He wondered if he smelled bad.
His hair was still covered in grime from the farm.
He probably looked terrible.
The Fae finally answered.
"Of course I am. You are four times my size."
She paused.
"And I am quite tall."
Asael tilted his head.
He ran a hand through his locks.
"So... why are you not running?"
"Because I feel safer here than out in the storm."
She took another bite.
"And you don't look like you want to eat me."
She returned to her food as though the matter were settled.
"Wow."
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
The only sound was the occasional clink of her spoon against the bowl.
And somehow...
Asael didn't mind the noise.
---
"So... does the big grumpy giant have a name?"
"I am not grumpy."
He frowned.
The Fae smiled.
"Asael."
The name sounded strange coming from her.
Not because she pronounced it incorrectly.
Because it had been so long since anyone had said it.
He couldn't remember the last time he had heard his own name spoken by another person.
"Well, Asael, thanks for the hospitality."
"Th-thanks."
He wasn't entirely sure what she meant by that.
Was she simply being polite?
Was she trying to make him comfortable?
Or was she making fun of him?
He pushed the thought aside.
"How about you? What's your name?"
"Ella."
She placed a hand against her temple.
As though even that small piece of information had only just returned to her.
Asael frowned.Fae could not lie.They could, however, withhold the truth.
"Ella..."
He considered the name.
"Nice name for an Earth Fae."
Most Fae names he knew were related to earth, stone, sand, or some other aspect of the land.
"Earth Fae..."
Her smile faded slightly.
"I suppose that's about right."
There was something sad in her voice.
Sad enough that Asael knew better than to pry.
"There is a pond not far from here," he said, standing. "Just go right at the exit."
He pushed open the cave entrance.
"Thanks. I really needed a bath."
She stood.She staggered.Then quickly found her balance.
"Yup... I'm good."
She took a few steps.
Then...
SMACK!
Her face connected with the cave wall.
"Oooouch!"
Asael's eyes widened.Dust covered her face.Thankfully, there was no blood.
"Who put that wall there?"
She squinted at the wall, glaring at it as though it had personally offended her.
The wall remained completely innocent.
"It was always there," Asael managed to say without laughing.
"Oooh."
She reached out and felt the wall with her hands, using it to find her way toward the exit.
Asael watched her go.
What was wrong with this girl?
Probably nothing.Hopefully.
---
Asael returned to clearing the dishes.
He didn't know much about Fae.
But he knew one thing.
He had to part ways with her.
Soon.
---
Asael's footsteps sounded like rocks falling as he trudged through the forest, his belongings packed into a green bag slung across his shoulders.
The forest had returned to its usual rhythm.
Birds sang.
Animals moved through the undergrowth.
The rain had finally stopped.And, most importantly, everyone was leaving him alone.Just the way he liked it.
Except for one tiny detail.
"...and then I was like, ooh my, whatever shall I do?"
Asael closed his eyes.
He released a long breath.
"Why are you still following me?"
The Fae looked at him as though he had asked the strangest question imaginable.
"Weeeelllll..."
She stretched the word out.
"That was what I was about to say."
She took a breath, preparing herself for what appeared to be a very important speech.
"So last night I realised that, apart from my name, I don't really remember anything else."
She smiled.
"So it would be better to stay with you."
Asael stopped walking.
He slowly put a hand over his face.
"Ho-ho-how is that the next choice of action?"
She blinked.
"You lost your memories, and the next thing you think to do is follow the twenty-foot giant?"
She continued staring at him.
Asael stretched his hands out, slowing his words as though explaining something to a child.
"You do not follow a giant."
He pointed toward the forest.
"You find your own path like any other sensible living being."
"So you think I'm not sensible?"
"Yes."
She frowned.Then puffed her cheeks.
"Harsh.Besides, it is dangerous out there. I'm far safer at your side."
Asael opened his mouth.Then closed it
She did have a point.
No.No, he was not doing this.
"Be on your merry way, Fae."
"The name is Ellana."
Asael stopped.
"Wait. What?"
She smiled innocently.
"And what... why... what would you do if I refused to leave, huh?"
Asael stared at her.Then he walked away.
Thirty feet.
Forty.
Fifty.
"Wait up, Asael!"
He kept walking.
"You wouldn't leave a poor, helpless lady in the middle of the jungle, would you?"
"Watch me."
He didn't even look back.Ellana hurried after him, cursing every twig that caught her dress.
Eventually, she caught up.She walked beside him, completely unbothered.
Asael glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
"You talk a lot."
Ellana's head snapped toward him.
"How... How dare you!"
She raised a finger.
"I..."
Her expression twisted as she searched for the words.
"I......"
Asael waited.
Ellana opened her mouth again.Nothing came out.Asael looked forward.
For the first time in a very long while, he wondered if perhaps silence wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
And so began the journey of the gentle giant who wanted nothing more than peace...
and the Fae who had apparently decided that was no longer an option.