Pheoshan Chapter Eight The Beanstalk And The Giant

The Giants Land

Pheoshan, Prince Cpalphyre and Phryedoor had been travelling for a month without any more interruptions. She had thought about Prince Rice and Livea. She wondered if they were alright and if she had made the right choice to leave them. Obviously she knew that this was the right thing to do for the world, but was this right for her? She wished that she could say yes to that but she just did not know. 

So she pushed the thoughts aside, mainly so that she did not have to focus upon them. The more than she did, the more she would be tempted to return. Which was something that she knew that she could not do. If she did, she might as well restroom to other places and go back on all that she had done.

She looked at the high and bright sun. She could tell that the days were getting hotter and hotter and longer and longer. They were leaving the rest of spring behind and entering the centre of summer. This was what she was looking forward to, after all, this would be the first summer she would spend awake. Also it would mean that there would be no more cold nights.

Thinking about it, she just could not believe she had spent most of her life from infancy, asleep and as a host to the Demon King Wolfox. Yet she found it even more unbelievable that she had been without knowing anything about it. Then only for the short time she was awake she was forced back to sleep for another year. Then to wake in the autumn. 

She remembered when winter came and she had to fight the son of the White Demon then, shortly after being banished, going on to fight that very same demon. Only to be captured by a group of demons and almost tricked into becoming a bride to a Demon Prince. It almost was astonishing to her, that over the past half year, she had almost been married off at least two or three times.

Then on top of that she had to see the display of Wolfox's true power as he destroyed Glahod which still shook her. She still had nightmares about that. She knew that one day she would have to fight him but since that day she just could not see herself winning. After all, how could she possibly win against something like that? No he was just too powerful and she doubted that she could ever reach that type of power. Yet she had to admit that a part of her felt nothing but excitement at the thought of fighting him. No, it was more like an emotion between pure fear and pure excitement.

Yet then she and Prince Coalphyre were captured by the Sweet Demon, a time of which he was clearly still paying for as his cheeks were still too chubby despite how long they had travelled or trained. They were still looking good and then she remembered how she was able to use the power of Wolfox and a smaller version of his weapon. 

She had thought about many of these things when she needed the loo. She quickly did her business and cleaned her hands in a nearby river. She then dried them on her cloak and turned around when she heard the snapping of a twig behind her.

She looked back to see a cloaked man behind her. She could see nothing of his face and yet she could see the tips of his hair which was the colour of royal purple garnet.

"May I join you?" He purred.

Should I? I mean I should get back to Coalphyre and Phyredoor.

But I don't want to be impolite…

"Urm, sure?" She said, keeping up her guard.

He then sat on a log beside her. He crossed his legs. He scooped up some water and drank it.

"That's better. Now my tongue feels better!"

"Good for you."

"Wait! Tell me, is it true that you can kill demons?"

What does he want?

"Yes. I have killed some."

He raised a pale slender but masculine hand to his chin. Yet all she could look at was his claw-like nails that were sharp enough to cut flesh easily. In fact she wondered how they did not cut into his chin.

He smirked as he licked his lip slowly. 

She suddenly felt slightly exposed, almost as if she was naked and defenceless. She could feel the eyes behind the hood were looking at her with a predatorial glance. She felt uncomfortable like she was being exposed in a crowd. She did not like feeling this sudden sense of irrational vulnerability.

This suddenly made her want to punch this strange man.

His mouth opened for a moment. He then chucked and clapped.

"Congratulations! You should be proud. No one ordinary can do that. So whatever happens, be proud of that." He purred, gesturing at her. "So don't let anyone take that away from you!"

What the hell is wrong with this freak?

"Who are you and will you quit looking at me like that?" She snapped.

His lips curled down.

"Like what?" He sang.

"Like you're undressing me with your eyes. I'm fourteen to fifteen at least." She said, sternly.

This man really is ticking me off!

"Ooh! You can sense that? Are you sure you're human?" He purred.

Her eyes would have rolled if she dared to look away from him.

"Yes and wanna punch?"

He chuckled.

"Maybe!" He sang.

She felt all her hairs stand on end as it took everything within her not to punch him in the face. Maybe he wore that hood because he was so ugly.

"What do you want?" She snapped.

His smile became playful and almost relaxed.

"Oh? Can't I have an idle chit chat?" He asked, his head cocked to the left.

At this she just glared at him. She knew that if she stayed here any longer, she would no longer be able to hold herself back. She would then inevitably punch him. She didn't even care who he was. He could be a Prince but she did not care.

His smile rested.

"Oh well! I just wanted to give you a gift. Here!" He purred, tossing her a small sack the colour of his hair and held an emerald and amber pattern. "I also wanted to say well done too. See you later!"

I hope not!

She rolled her eyes as she opened the sack. She frowned seeing a group of beans.

"Beans?" She questioned

She looked up and spotted that the man had vanished! She frowned as she looked around. She shook her head.

What was that all about?

"Pheoshan. Who was that?" Phyredoor asked.

"Don't know. Didn't give a name."

"What did he give you?"

"Just a bunch of beans."

"I don't think that you should eat them. I heard on the ship that there was a man going around giving gifts to people to test their greatness."

"What for?"

"Who knows."

She nodded as they rejoined Prince Coalphyre. They all sat down at the base of a low cliff. She leaned back against the rock. She then felt tired and put an arm under her head.

"Anyway,  I think that I will call it for the night." She said, yawning. "We will talk tomorrow. My mind will be able to take it then."

"Yeah. I think I will too." Coalphyre yawned.

He was soon asleep. Phyredoor also fell asleep.

As they slept the beans grew out of the sack. Their stems wrapped themselves around Pheoshan as the roots dug deep into the ground. The stalks became thicker and thicker and became stronger and stronger. The beanstalk grew higher and higher. The stalks wrapped around and around her body and she became firmly held in place on top of the plant. She rose higher and higher. Her body left the ground and soon left the land behind. She still was being carried higher and higher by the beanstalk. Soon she was being lifted above the clouds. 

Above her was a giant island in the sky. The beanstalk grew and placed her on the edge of the island. It pushed her on and once she was safely laid down the beanstalk receded and shrank down further and further and further.

✴️

The following morning, she woke up. She looked around to see that the clouds were closer than the day before. She looked to her left to see that there was a sea of clouds! Which she knew that she was not in the position to see the night before. She also noticed that she was in a flatter place than the night before. 

Hold on? Have I moved?

Her mind became alert the moment that she realised that she was not in the same place as she was the night before. She quickly sat up and looked around.

What? Where am I? How did I even get here? What's going on?

Wait, where's Coalphyre and Phyredoor?

Her mind was racing as she looked around.

Well I will not get any answers if I stay here.

She climbed to her feet and walked around. She first walked to the edge of the island. Only to see that it was somehow suspended in the air!

How is that even possible? I'm pretty certain that the laws of physics would dictate that this island should fall out of the sky and crash into the ground below.  Except that's assuming that this world has the same laws as the Dream Hell that I grew up in. But still I'm not learning anything useful here.

She looked back at the island ahead. She saw that the tree trunks were as thick as three houses and as high as a skyscraper. The leaves were the size of a large bedroom and the branches were as long as a long street.

Wow! That's high!

She then walked on and she noticed that as she came to the grass it was as high of a tall man. with each blade as thick as a set of double doors. She would have thought that it was in dire need of a trim yet she could tell that this was no ordinary grass.

She continued and walked on and on. She wondered if there was any life here other than plant life. This was soon put to rest when she came to the edge of a cliff. There she saw that there was a small village at the bottom. Yet ahead at the far end of the village was a mansion, overlooking the rest of the village.

Right. I think that's a good start.

But what if the people there don't speak the same language as I do?

Well I guess that I will have to find a way around the language barrier. 

Right.

She then looked down and was relieved to see that there was not a gap. Which meant that this was all part of the same large island. So she sat down and slid to the edge and lowered her legs. Once they had rested upon a firm piece of rock she started to climb down. She lowered herself down further and further until her whole body was now pressed against the cliff face. She could feel the drag on the muscles as gravity tried to pull her away from the cliff. She then slowly climbed down, pressing on each ledge and rock that stuck out. Testing its stability before putting her whole weight upon it. 

She looked down to see that her black glass slippers had changed their shape. They had become flatter and the heels and front had all spikes in them,which made it easier for her to grip the rock as she climbed down.

Cool.

She climbed down further and further and further. She climbed for an hour and still she was barely half way down! She continued to climb even when her arms and legs were aching. She climbed lower and lower and part of her wondered if this was a good idea but also knew that she was too low to turn back. So she climbed on and she started to feel the aching become more and more painful. She could see that their arms and legs had started to shake as she climbed on. Yet she knew that she could not stop and give herself a break or she would not get anywhere and worse, she would run the risk of falling. So she pushed herself on and on. 

After three hours, she was able to finally reach the bottom. She felt her body collapse and her arms and legs painfully cramp up. She panted and panted as she gave herself a break, knowing that her body had earned it. However she knew that she had no choice, but to let her body rest as it got over the cramps and wait for her body to stop shaking like a leaf.

Once she was able to regain her strength and had fully rested, she climbed back into her feet. She walked to the village to see that the buildings were the size of a mansion! With each window the size of a house! The door was the size of one and a half houses stacked upon each other! 

Just what is this place? A giant land? Why is everything so massive? Hold on, do giants exist? Well this would be where they would live if they did. 

Never mind, I have to find out what's going on.

So she knocked upon the nearest door that she came to.

Then the door opened to reveal that giants did exist. 

The giant was the size of a house and a tall man. She had long messy blond locks that were tied back by a large black ribbon. With a long green dress that hid the feet, with a silver rope around the waist. She had perch skin with striking blue eyes and thick lips, giving her the look of a fish. 

"Hello human. What doth thou want with me?"

"How did I get here?"

"Did you receive a bean?"

"Yes, several!"

"Then that is how thee cometh here."

"And how do I get back?"

"Engleman will know. He cometh and goeth to human kingdoms as he please. Although he doth usually goeth for slaves."

She nodded.

"And where does Engleman live?"

"The Giacouse Estate."

"So he's called Engleman Giacouse?'

"Yes."

"And will he give me the way home if I ask?"

"No. He will not."

She then closed the door before she could ask anymore questions. Knowing that she was not going to get anymore from the giantess, looked at the mansion. She knew that she needed more information and she knew that she also needed to sleep as well. She then returned to the base of the cliff to sleep.

The Giant's Home

When she woke up, she looked up at the sky. For a moment, she wondered if she had dreamed up the events of the day before.

Oh. So all of that was not a dream… She thought in her sluggish half asleep state of mind.

Then she felt her stomach hurt with a painful hunger as it loudly rubbled. Her mouth was dry. She had decided to, before planning anything, get something to eat. She looked around to see where she could get something to eat. She soon found an apple tree outside the Giacouse Estate. She noticed that the apple and tree were both large.

Looks like I am going to have to climb another long climb.

She then walked on and on. She felt her hunger become more and more painful. She also felt her arms and legs were still painfully aching from the day before. The moment that she arrived at the base of the tree, she climbed the base of the roots. She walked along the top of the root. She reached out and started to climb. 

She found it easier to climb the tree than the cliff face. She could feel the pain in her arms and legs increase and her stomach had started to feel like she had been stabbed again and again. She looked up and kept her eyes upon the apples in the tree. She forced her arm on and on, yet it felt more like her limbs were made of jelly rather than meat and bone. It took all the power in her mind to continue climbing and use all her strength. 

It took her an hour to reach the lowest branch, by this point her arms and legs were shaking and she was covered in sweat. She took her time to take a break before she climbed up. She noticed that there was a green apple above her. She reached out and pulled and pulled. Then the apple fell and she almost fell off as she fell back. She pushed herself forward and placed the apple on the branch and pushed up on it. She was able to get back on the branch. 

She lowered her mouth to the apple and bit into it. It was hard and crunchy to sink her teeth into. To her surprise, it may have been her hunger but it tasted extraordinarily sweet and with a sour tang. It was juicy and with one taste, she felt her mouth become watery and sticky. Yet she still wanted more. She had to have more. So she took another bite and another and another. It felt so good to have some food in her stomach. She had to eat more and more, as her hunger was not quite yet quenched.

That was when her mind went back to the Sweet Demon and her stay there. When she pulled back, she was slightly afraid that the sweetness of the apple and the addictive sugar that she used were made of the same thing. Yet she also wondered if that sugar was made of this apple. 

No, silly! Sugar is made of crystal, not apple.

Oh yeah!

So she continued to eat. As she did she noticed that the branches were long enough to reach into the Giacouse Estate. Then as her eyes followed the branches and over large twigs. She noticed that it led directly beside the window ledge of the mansion.

Well at least I can use that and climb down anytime soon.

What a relief!

She continued to eat, not wanting to waste a single bite of the apple. So she ate until the whole apple was gone. She dropped the seeds and looked at the mansion.

Wow! I must have been hungrier than I thought!

Anyway, I have no time to think about that.

She climbed to her feet. She crawled like a cat along the branches. She had to ignore the pounding of her heart in her ears as she knew that one wrong move would lead to certain death. She then felt her foot become shaky and slipped. The branch slammed right into her groin. Despite the pain she could not afford to lose her grip. She felt herself shaking as she clung to the branch.

I can't do this! I can't do this!

Yes you can. You must. Ignore your fear, ignore the ground. Push on! Go on! Push on!

She could feel her breath become rapid and deep. She could feel herself breathing deeply as well. She had to close her eyes as she clung to the branch. She forced her mind to think of something else. She imagined that she was in a garden and walking across the bridge. So she started to calm down and when she knew that she was calm she opened her eyes again.

She then crawled on almost like a monkey. She thrust her hand forward again and again and pushed on and on. She did her best to not focus on the miles beneath her. She knew that if she looked down then she would fall back into a panic again. So she pushed her body on and on. She could feel her arm and chest muscles starting to ache as she moved on and on again and again. 

She then pushed herself back on top of the branch, knowing that her arms would need a break. She then started to crawl, again like a cat and kept her eyes upon the end of the branch. Seeing that she needed to be on a different branch, she climbed to her feet. She then bent her legs and then jumped. She raised her arms up and clutched the other branch above. 

She noticed that she had misjudged the branches and knew that she needed to be on a different tree altogether! So she swung her arms and then jumped upon the tree opposite. She ficked out her hands and pulled herself up and sat upon the branch. She then breathed in and out as she took her time to calm down. It took it all that she had within her to resist the temptation of looking down. No, she needed to keep herself from doing anything that would cause her to give into fear.

She saw that the window was not far from her now. This came to her relief. She knew that should she have to stay up here, before long she would have given into her fear. She did not want to be a nervous wreck before she could get anywhere near the mansion.

She, slowly and carefully, climbed to her feet. She then ran, not allowing herself any time to think, and jumped upon the windowsill. She let out a sigh.

Good! I made it! She thought.

Her heartbeat became faint as she spotted that her body was shaking. She then felt herself start to chuckle slightly. Then her body then forced more laughter to be released. She laughed and laughed. Soon she was giggling like a child after hearing a funny joke. 

Why am I laughing? I don't get it! I'm scared and there is nothing funny about this. So why am I even laughing?

Maybe I'm finally mad? Is that it? Have I really finally lost my mind?

That was when she heard a group of footsteps coming. This stopped her from laughing. She then looked back and saw the door to the room was about to open. Quickly she scrambled to the windowsill and dived into the corner. She hoped that her body was well hidden in the thick framework of the wood. She could feel her heart back in her ear. She tried to keep her breath as quietly as she could as she listened carefully for the giant. Her eyes closed for a moment to help her hear more.

That was when she felt the sun being blocked from her. Her eyes opened and she was looking at the underbelly of a large spider. She then spotted that the fangs were inches from her head. Quickly she drew a sword and stabbed it in the head. She then pulled back and cut the head clean off. She kicked it off her body.

That was close.

She let out a sigh. She looked back to see if the giant had not seen her. She soon noticed that he had not. She then noticed that the window was open and she had to cut through some webbing before she flipped her legs up. She landed and then she walked in.

Alright just find the way to get back to my friends and get out of here. No mess, no fuss and don't get distracted.

She walked around. She then knew that she must have been hungrier than she thought for the moment that she passed a loaf of bread, the size of her body, her stomach rumbled. She reached out her hand and plucked a handful of bread. It was in her mouth before she knew it. 

That was when she heard another creek of the door. She looked back to see that the foot of the giant was coming in. She quickly ran, while his attention was on something else, she looked for a place to hide. She quickly saw a cupboard next to the bread. She dived for it and closed the door behind her. She looked out of the keyhole and just hoped that she would not find her.

Captured By The Giant

She looked at the giant as he walked around the kitchen. He picked up the bread and looked at it. He smiled as he sniffed. His eyes looked up as he licked his lips.

"Looks like we have a little mouse in this house of mine!" He sang.

He looked around and sniffed again but longer and deeper. His eyes darted all around. She knew that he was looking for her. So she remained as silent as she could. She could feel her heart in her ears as she looked around. He opened cupboards and then closets where the pots and pans were. He then closed them again. He then opened door after door. Yet she could feel herself shaking slightly as she wondered if she should get out and run before he turned to where she was. 

Then she heard the sound of a ting next to her. She looked to see that as she shook she nudged two glasses next to her. She looked back to see that the giant looked back to where she was. She forced herself to stop moving. She hoped that if the giant did not hear another sound then he would have thought that he was hearing things and moved on. 

Yet he chuckled to himself and looked back. He then took a bite out of the bread and sniffed and sniffed. She started to wonder if the giant had a cold or something as he continued sniffing and sniffing, almost as if he was about to sneeze at any moment. Yet as he looked closely around it was all too clear by looking at his face he had no such thing. 

Hold on? Does he think that he can smell me?

"I smell strange blood here." He shouted. 

So he can smell me!

"Oh yes! It doth smell strange. I smell a royal girl yet I smell the Demon King too!"

What? How? Is he here? Did he follow me? Has he been following me the entire time? If so, why? 

"However it doth not matter. I have to go." 

He then walked to the door and opened and closed it again. Soon he was out of sight. She closed her eyes as relief spread throughout her body. She listened as she heard nothing. She let out a sigh as she slid down. She looked around and could not see Wolfox anywhere. Then it occurred to her.

I smell like Wolfox? She thought 

She drew herself in,wrapping her arms around her legs. She suddenly looked back on the kingdom of Glahod. She remembered all that he did to her and all the times she used his power. She remembered how he was able to easily destroy that kingdom and all that she had heard all that he had done. Yet now she knew that she smelt of him and of her royal blood.

How? How do I smell like him? Never mind that. How could Engleman smell my royal blood and the Wolfox? Why do I even smell like him anyway? What am I?

That was when her mind locked upon whenever she was on the verge of death or in other types of grave peril or so blinded by rage and anger. Then she thought about that power, his power, she felt a strange change. Her eyes would become like that of Wolfox. She would even carry a smaller version of the weapon that he used too!

Why do I do that? How do I even have such a weapon? Why do my eyes change like that? Could it be that I am not as human as I should be?

She suddenly felt a cold chill run down her spine. She drew herself in closer and closed her eyes. She shook her head as she buried it in her knees.

Anyway, I'm not getting any answers here. She thought, getting back onto her feet.

She hopped out of the small cupboard that she was in. She looked around as she wondered if she should get back to the window and leave or go to the door and walk in further into the mansion. Knowing that there would be no other way to get back to her friends, she turned to the door. She ran to the edge of the table and looked down. She felt her stomach drop as she saw how high up she was. Yet she then looked for a way down. 

Her eyes spotted that there were two handles at the bottom. Seeing that there was no other way down she lowered herself. She then let go of the ledge. She gripped the handles with shaky hands. She could feel a lump in her throat as she looked down. She noticed that if she fell from this height, then she would injure herself. She looked up, still wondering if she had made the right choice. Yet this only showed her that there was no turning back from this one. 

She looked to her right and saw that the edge of the door was close by. She then knew that she could use this. So she flicked her foot out and pushed against the other door,forcing it to swing open. Then as the door swung open,she had to hold on tighter as it bounced back. She then flung her arm out and let go of the hand of the handle. She then slid down, her sweat helped slow her descent. Then she reached the bottom and fell onto her floor. Her back erupted in pain as she landed. 

She grunted in pain. She covered her mouth,hoping that none heard her. Seeing than none had she let out another sigh. She then climbed on her feet, pushing past the pain. She then raced to the door and was about to reach it when she felt her body being yanked back. She soon looked in the grey eyes of the giant.

"I thought I could smell something strange here. Although I never thought that it would be a young lady like thee."

 She tried to kick him in his eyes but he pulled her back.

"Oh my! Thou art a lively one! However I will soon break thee in!"

Prisoners Of The Giant

She then was thrown into a pan and he was soon pouring water in the pan flooding it. This forced her to start trodding on the water, just to stop herself from falling and drowning in the water. He then flicked on the fire underneath her. This, she knew, would heat the water to a point that she would either die by drowning or being boiled alive.

"What art thou doing here?"

"I was trying to find a way to get home. I was told that you knew of a way."

"Right. And what is thine name?"

Do I tell him?

No. It would be too much of a risk. After all, I'm sure that if I told him then he would know who I am. Then I know that he would use me to win over Wolfox. After all, I know that he would want to get his hands on me.  

Also, didn't one of those books in that library say that there are connections between demons and giants? Whatever those connections are either way if he knows who I am is the moment I will be put into Wolfox's hands.

So a fake name?

Fake name.

"Alex Cinder."

"Right, Alex,who told thee of this?"

"A woman. Didn't give a name."

She was then plucked from the water.

"Alright. I can tell that thou art an honest one. I hath taken a liking to thee. So I shall keep thee."

He then carried her to his room. There was a bed next to the window with brown sheets and pillows. There was a wardrobe next to the opposite wall in-between them was a bedside table and several bookshelves next to the doors. With a cell in the upper half of the wall several feet from the wardrobe. Underneath the cell was a keyhole sealing it shut. He opened the bars she was thrown in.

"Thou ought to get to know thine fellow prisoners." He said, as she ran to the bars before they were brought down and locked.

She looked back to see two people behind her. One was a man that looked just one or two years older than her. The other was a woman that looked just like him, although she looked slightly older. Both had golden eyes and hair with pale skin.

"Urm, who are you two?"

"Egoso Kin." Said the man.

"Cimus Kin." Said the woman.

"Why are you here?"

"We are here after escaping two girls, twins I think. Both of them claimed to be two parts of the Dark Lady Grasharlo."

"Who?"

"An evil witch, who was well known to be the worst of all Dark Ladies. One that could not be trusted to either live or die. And they did things to us. Now Egoso has dung that is made of gold. Then there's me,who once loved playing many instruments and singing many songs. Yet now I can't sing anything but prophecy and every instrument turns to gold!"

"What?"

"Every instrument that Cimus touches turns to gold."

"I heard. It's just completely unbelievable "

What the Hell!

"Why would they do such a thing!?"

"Don't know. Probably because they could."

She looked down and nodded. She looked back, through the bars. She walked up to them and leaned upon them.

"So who are you?"

"Alex Cinder. I'm here because I found myself here and I need to get back to my friends."

She then grabbed the bars and shook them again and again.

"That won't work. We've already tried."

She looked out of the window and nodded.

The Giant's Slave

Engleman took her out of the cell in the afternoon. He then put on a steel cuff around her neck before she could do anything. He held it together with a padlock at the centre. around it was a thick pale green ring going around it. She raised her hand to it and tried to pull it off but then both the padlock and the collar heated up both fast and burnt her.

"Aw!"

Engleman smirked.

"Thou will not be getting that off thee. Not unless I wish it."

She looked at him with nothing but rage. She let her hand drop and it cooled.

"And how do I do that?"

He bellowed out a loud and mocking laugh.

"Thee won't. No thou will be my slave and for the rest of thine life thou shalt not doth anything but work for me. Doth thou understand?"

She lowered her head to hide her rage filled eyes. She then nodded and let out a sigh.

I must do all that I can to get this thing off me!

"Now I would like for thee to kneel."

She remained in place. He kicked her back. She flew across the room and painfully hit the wall. She landed as she was clutching her stomach. She, shaking, climbed to her feet. She forced her hands to fall by her side and, despite feeling the need to throw up, she looked up. She tried to make herself look stronger than she knew that she was.

"I-is that all?" She taunted,trying to sound tough and show as little pain as she could.

He smiled as he chuckled.

"I like thine spirit, however I am afraid I doth have to break it." He said as he picked her up.

He carried her back to the kitchen.

"Tell me how doth thou boil a toad alive? I am pretty certain that I did show thou."

She looked at the pan that she was thrown into earlier that morning.

Be smart. You will not be able to get back to Coalphyre and Phyredoor if you're dead.

She swallowed and buried her pride.

"Put me down!" She shouted.

His smile curled.

"Oh? And why would I doth that?"

"How can I? How can I bow to you while being hung like this?" She asked, doing all that she could to make sure to keep her pride from surfacing.

He smirked wider.

"Thou art right!"

He placed her on the table in the centre. She felt her legs wobble slightly. Yet she had to calm herself down. Her mind became quiet as she felt a strange hunger. It was a hunger for something but she knew that it was not for food. No, it was something else, something deeper. Yet she could not quite understand this hunger but she knew what she should do. It Was almost as if she had fallen into a whimsical dream, but her mind became as sharp as a blade and even more focused.

Then her legs fell and she rested one knee on the table and lowered her head. 

"I am sorry sir. I was acting out of pride. I will ask for your forgiveness as long as I, in return, can keep my pride in place. I admit that I am not certain that I will make for a good slave. Although I can cook and clean, I am,by far,smaller than you and your house has done nothing but expose me to just how small I am. I could do nothing to defend myself against your powerful kick or picking me up for that matter! And I know that if I had not put my pride aside I would have been boiled alive by now.

"If you see that I am displeasing to you please dismiss me or train me in what my shortcomings are. Thank you and, again, I am sorry." She said, buttering him up.

His eyes softened as he bellowed out a laugh.

"I see that thou art not a fool! Yes, I shall teach thee all thou need to know. Here drink this." He said, giving her a bottle of green liquid.

She looked up and at the bottle.

I hope that's not poisonous!

She looked up at him with fear. He let out a laugh.

"'Tis alright. It is not a poison. It shall help thee in thine duties."

She took a sip and suddenly her body grew and grew. Her clothes did too! Her body kept growing and growing. By the time she stopped as she stood,she was half the size of Engleman. She looked at herself up and down. She could not believe what had happened.

Curiouser and curiouser! 

"Thank you!"

"Now, you said earlier that you can cook."

"Yes! I had a little training a while back." 

"Good. Now I should warn thee. This lasts only two hours without a regular top up. So doth not get any ideas."

I knew that there was a catch.

"What a wise thing to do!" She commented, knowing that would tickle his ego.

He bellowed a laugh.

"I like thee! I can tell that thou will make a great edition to mine workforce! Quick, let me show thou what I expect of thee." He said as he showed her around the mansion.