Beauty and the Giant

Chapter 5

Luna held back a gasp, but it couldn't stop the fear from rolling up and down her spine. Zaira. It had to be her sister. It had to be.

"You... you..." She restrained herself from calling him a monster. If she did, what would this giant do to her sister and her father? It sounded like the giant was keeping himself from reaching her, but that wouldn't stop him from laying his hands on her family.

"You recognize her. You know her." The giant didn't even question it. It was a statement.

"What... what will you do to them?"

"Do you want to find out?"

"Stop saying that!" she cried out. "You've--you've taken them! How could you?"

"They trespassed my land. They had to pay the price."

She scoffed. "You seem incredibly obsessed with paying a price."

"Who is free from owing a price to someone?" he asked her.

She was shaking. With fury or fear? She couldn't tell. "You sent that letter, didn't you? You knew I was coming."

"Maybe I did."

"And you've been taunting me like some prey for you to use." She felt sick from the growing realization.

"I'm sorry you've felt that way."

"Don't--don't you dare act like you're not guilty!"

"I'm... I'm sorry."

A grim silence followed his words. Luna couldn't tell if his words were truly sincere or if they were laced with fake sympathy. But if his words were sincere, then she would be seeing her family shortly, wouldn't she? And it didn't sound like he had moved much towards guaranteeing the release and freedom of her family members.

"Return my family to me," she begged. "Please." Her voice dripped with sadness and longing.

"I... I can't do that. They trespassed my land. An example must be set."

"You're acting like they knew they were crossing into your land. If they knew where your land was, believe me, they wouldn't have even crossed over."

"Don't assume too much about your family. You'd be amazed at how much others know and how little you do."

"B-but... y-you... you kidnapped them!"

"Would you say the same of criminals? That they, too, are kidnapped?"

"They aren't criminals!" she burst out. Tears stung her eyes, but she kept defying them.

"They committed a crime. Therefore, they are."

She pursed her lips and breathed deeply, in and out, slow belly breaths. She needed to calm down, take away the stinging realization that her father and her sister were kept by none other than a giant, one who could crush her puny life in a heartbeat.

She felt the ground rumble beneath her. She shuddered, but then quickly regained her composure and stood firm.

"Are you... are you all right?" the giant spoke, almost timidly.

"Is there a bail I could pay?"

"There's nothing you could do to release them. They must pay the price."

"There must be something I could do. How long will you keep them?"

"As long as their sentence must be served."

She scoffed. "Gee, thanks."

"Did I... did I say something wrong?"

"You think?" she rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe this... this beast. Wrenching away her only family, and then shrugging it off as if it was a completely acceptable matter.

She heard his heavy breaths, no longer coming from the bush, yet she couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. "I'm sorry."

"What do you want in exchange for my family? You want my knife? Take it. Take this, too." She took a bag from her pocket. "There's--there's plenty of gold here. Gold coins from where I come from, yes, so it's probably not of value for you here. B-but it's gold, and--and that's valuable." She felt the tears pool in her eyes and begged herself not to cry as she dumped the gold to the ground. "Um... this is silk." She dropped the bag to the ground. "And--and that's valuable, too. You... you might want that."

"Little woman."

"I... I got this necklace. It... it's not much. Unless it's valuable here, then you can use that, too." She felt a tear slip down her cheek as she allowed the necklace to plunge down to the ground from her fingers.

"Little woman."

"And--and, I don't know what else you'd want, but I have more gold back at home. I--I could return back and give you that, so that you can--"

"Little woman." His voice sounded much louder, more firm.

She stiffened at the sound of his voice. Sobs threatened to leak from her body, even with her attempts to keep them from spilling out. "If you won't take that, then take me instead!"

He was silent for a moment, but when he spoke, his voice was laced with confusion. "Why would you even do that? For another human?"

But that confusion was enough to give her the confidence she needed to stand her ground. "Take me instead, and I will stay for as long as both their sentences were."

"Except that would only pay the price for one human, not two."

So there was a way to exchange her life for theirs. And there was a way she could pay the price they would have paid. "I will stay for both their sentences, and then some more."

"I don't think you understand--"

"Then I will stay for the rest of my life. I will be your prisoner, serving their sentences all my life. I will take their places and you will return them back home in peace."

There was silence on his end. Even his breathing seemed to stop.

"Please, just... just let them go. Please."

She heard her heavy breathing as she awaited his sentence. A gentle breeze could be heard whistling through the trees and the soft chirping of crickets in the distance.

He released a sigh, detaching her from the distractions. "And you will keep your word. From this moment on, you will be my prisoner."

She nodded. "Yes. I swear it."

"You have fated yourself to the world of giants."

She lifted her chin up, setting her jaw firmly. "That's a price I'm willing to pay."

He was silent and grim. "You will be held to that--and in more ways than just one."

Before she could speak another word, she felt something shift in her body. Her body suddenly felt weightless, tingles quickly rolling up and down her spine and throughout every part of her body. When she turned her eyes to the ground, she noticed that her body no longer stood on the ground. Instead, she floated on air, a dark matter swirling about her, coating her body. She felt it enter her, wrapping her thoughts in darkness. Even when she tried to shove them away, it clung tightly to her.

Oh, no. Oh, no. Was this what being a prisoner truly meant? She was soaked in fear and darkness, her body completely powerless to stop the dark feelings from overtaking her body and soul. Was she bound to be this way for the rest of her life?

And then it released.

Plop!

She fell to her knees, her eyes more alert to her surroundings. Her stomach felt emptied, her thoughts reeked of ominous words, and her body felt as if it had melted like wax from a candle.

"Now you are truly bound to your promise. You will be my prisoner."