“Isn’t it a glorious day to be doing nothing Meredith?”

“Yes papa. But should you not be working?”

“I am. I am being a father. Let us lie down here, on this grassy knoll and look up at the sky. What can you see?”

“The sky, the clouds and if I squint, the sun.”

“You cannot see the rabbit?”

“A rabbit? In the sky? That is foolish papa. Rabbits cannot fly.”

“Look at the clouds Meredith. Look at them and squint. See there, that fluffy cloud with two long streaks out of it? There is your rabbit.”

“I am not sure I understand papa. They are just clouds.”

“You have your mother’s imagination Meredith, no doubt about it. Keep looking, keep watching until you see the rabbit.”

It took Meredith many days of sky searching and cloud squinting for her to finally understand what her father said. In her little, logical mind creatures could not exist in the sky and so she was blinded to the things her father saw. But, little by little, she began to comprehend what her father meant until one day she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the grassy knoll.

“Look papa! Look!”

“What is it Meredith?”

“A rabbit papa! I can see a rabbit!”

“Yes you can. And I can too!” He put her on his shoulders and spun her around and around and she stretched her arms up high to the heavens. When they were both dizzy they fell to the ground, laughing. Her father took her hand and pointed upwards. “The rabbit is gone but what else can you see?”

“Many things papa. I can see a bear charging and a school of fish being chased by a larger fish…and there! That one is a dragon!”

“Take a good look Meredith for dragons no longer exist on the earth.”

“Did they desert us, like the elves papa?”

“I do not think they went as peacefully as the elves but they, like most of their kin, have left this new age of reason, science and learning. They do not belong in it for they cannot be understood by it.”

“Surely not all papa. What about the mighty griffin?”

“Gone before my time.”

“The unicorn?”

“Not for an age.”

“Giants?”

“Well now…of giants I am not so sure. You see, there is a legend that giants could not be removed from the earth so they were banished into the heavens and live in the clouds.”

“But that is impossible papa.”

“Like your rabbit in the sky?”

Meredith pressed her lips together. “Why do the giants not come down?”

“Perhaps they like it up there. Perhaps they are trapped. Perhaps they have forgotten that the earth exists. Maybe I am making it all up and they are not up there at all.”

Meredith put her hands behind her head, her dark curls threaded through her fingers. “I think they are papa. I really do think they are.”

Almost two hundred years later…

A group of farmers walked resolutely to the field they were harvesting, scythes in their hands and calico bags of food tied at their belts. They wore floppy, wide brimmed hats and talked animatedly on their way to work.

As they passed a small stream one of the farmers nudged his neighbor. “Look at that.”

They all turned and saw a young woman reclined on a slight slope, hands behind her head, bathed in warm sunlight. The farmers all made annoyed noises while one remarked, “That’s all very well for some. Others have to work for a living.”

“Why don’t you join her Michael? It’s not as if you do any work in the fields anyhow?”

They laughed and moved on, leaving the young woman dozing in peace. She was slender and pale, her white tunic belted at her little waist and her leggings tucked firmly into brown leather boots. Her white gold hair framed her lovely face, her eyes closed in restful peace.

“Jack! Jack!”

A muscle in her face tweaked then settled down.

“Jack! Jack!”

An eyelid opened and a moss green iris peered out in vague disapproval.

“Jack!”

Jé Kinah sat up, shaking her head so that it rippled then settled into a perfect sheet down her back while a single braid framed her face. Two pointed ears protruded through her hair, betraying her lineage. She spied an old man using a cane to tap his way down the road. Despite the warm day he was nearly swallowed by all the layers he wore. His head was covered in a cap with ears, his neck and the lower half of his face were wrapped in a scarf. The coat he wore was dotted with holes and frayed edges, his trousers were the same and his boots were on the wrong feet and the laces weren’t tied. He shuffled down the road with a painstakingly slow gait, all the while calling out,

“Jack!”

Jé Kinah stood up and moved over to the road. “Can I help you sir?”

“Are you Jack?” The man turned in her general direction but didn’t look up so he spoke to her stomach.

“I am not. What is your name?”

“Jack. I must find Jack.”

“Does Jack have a last name?” Jé Kinah was a little alarmed as the man began to shudder and the creaking coughs he uttered were actually sobs.

“I must find Jack. It is worth my life to find him. Jack!”

Jé Kinah had quickly come to the conclusion that this was a man without wits. He clearly had no one to look after him and he could not do so himself. His eyes were darkly shaded by his cap and his hands that gripped his cane were gnarled almost to the point of being bones. He gave off a musty smell, not sweat or filth but of dust.

He shook as he stood before her, clearly at the end of his strength.

“Come.” Jé Kinah reached out to touch his shoulder. “Come sit. There is a village nearby. I will see if I can find Jack for you.”

“Bless you. Oh bless you.” The man jumped at her touch but allowed her to lead him to the place where she had dozed. She put her last apple into his hand and he held it tightly. “I have not eaten for so long…I must find Jack!”

“Try to rest. I will look for Jack.” Jé Kinah took up her satchel, not willing to leave it behind in case the man was an exceedingly good con artist. She left him clutching his apple and walked towards the village. It was a happy enough place and the people in it seemed to be eager to welcome strangers. Jé Kinah thanked one woman for the offer of a knitted scarf.

“I am actually looking for Jack.” She explained, declining politely.

“Jack? I do not know where he is. He lives on a farm with his mother on the other side of town but he could be out in the fields or chasing butterflies. That boy has his head in the clouds.”

Jé Kinah thanked the woman again and continued onwards. Everyone she asked knew of Jack but couldn’t tell her where he was. Jé Kinah wondered if the man even existed. She reached the other side of the village and was running out of people to ask when she saw a heavy set man speaking with a young lad who had a cow in tow. As she drew nearer she could hear that the boy was pleading and the man was protesting.

“You cannot expect me to do so! That flea bitten animal isn’t good for anything.”

“Please Hector, my mother and I are starving. Please.”

“No. I won’t buy your filthy beast. If she’s stopped giving up milk then that’s your hard luck. Kill her and eat her.”

“I cannot do that Hector. Bessie is my friend.”

“You’re too sentimental Jack. She’s just an animal and all animals are fair game.” Hector stomped away and the boy turned and started plodding away from the village, face downcast and possibly sobbing.

“Excuse me.”

He sniffed, wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve and looked up. “What?”

“You are Jack?”

He had bright red hair that seemed to stand on end and his face was covered in freckles, streaked with tears. His jacket was too big, his trousers were too small and the soles of his boots were peeling away. He eyed Jé Kinah suspiciously.

“Yeah I am. What about it?”

“My name is Jé Kinah.”

“You aren’t from around these parts.”

“No.”

“Where did you come from?”

“Far away.” Jé Kinah held up her hand before he could continue to pepper her with questions. “I come on an errand. There is an old man, on the other side of the village, looking for you.”

Jack frowned. “The only old man who’d be looking for me is Gunther…and he likes to clip me over the back of my head for daydreaming…I only spilled the milk bucket twice!”

“I do not know this Gunther but the old man I met is not capable of clipping anyone, regardless of how much milk you have spilled.”

Jack shrugged. “Very well. It’ll give me something to do before going back empty handed to mother. I was meant to sell the cow so we had enough to live on for a few weeks…but then we’d be back to starving anyhow.”

Jé Kinah fell into step beside him as he wandered along…slowly.

“That man, Hector, was right. Your cow is much better value to you as meat.”

“You cannot survive on meat alone.” Jack said as though he was quoting someone, probably his mother. “Mother is sick. She is laid up in bed and needs medicine. She’s all I’ve got. Mother and Bessie.”

Jé Kinah put her hand on the cow, feeling its ribs. “I suspect your Bessie is simply too old to produce milk anymore. Her meat would sustain you…”

Jack looked up at her with tears in his eyes. “I won’t do it! I won’t kill Bessie.”

Jé Kinah let it go and they walked in silence through the village. By the other side Jack had regained a little good humour and looked up at the sky.

“Look! There’s a cloud shaped like a cow! And that one looks like a swan! Can you see them Jé Kinah?”

Jé Kinah rolled her eyes and then winced, realising she’d given her exasperation away. Fortunately Jack was too busy pointing out things that weren’t there.

“The old man is over there.”

They approached the man who seemed to have folded in on himself even more than he had been before. He still had the apple in his hand, uneaten and he was rocking back and forth.

“Excuse me, sir. I have found Jack.” Jé Kinah announced.

The old man stopped rocking. He dropped the apple and reached out his hand.

“Jack? Is it really you Jack?”

“It is me sir.” Jack replied, one hand tightly holding onto the lead of his cow.

“Come closer Jack.” Jé Kinah felt a little tense as the man beckon the young lad close. He suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist. Jack gave a little cry of pain and Jé Kinah stepped forward. “Now listen Jack. I have something for you. Something wonderful. Something that will turn your whole life around and give you everything you ever wanted.”

“Really?” Jack’s eyes became wide.

“Really!” The man drew an old brass fob watch from his pocket. He shakily lifted the latch and opened it up. Sitting on a clock face that no longer worked were three purple and blue green beans. And to Jé Kinah’s eyes at least, they glowed.

“Beans?” Jack couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“Not just any beans Jack. These beans are magic beans!”

“Magic beans?” Jack was back to wonderment again.

“Aye magic beans. These little beauties will turn your life around and give you access to gold and jewels and riches beyond your wildest imagination!”

“How?”

“All you must do is plant the beans in a fair plot of earth and let the magic do the rest.”

Jack’s eyes were as round as saucers. “Thank you sir…”

“Ah!” The man pulled the watch back, snapping it shut from Jack’s outstretched hand. “But first, you must give me something for it.”

Jé Kinah frowned. “You said the beans were for Jack.”

“Even magic has its rules. And the rule about these beans is that you must give me something you care deeply about. Or else they are just beans.”

Jack paused. “All that I care about in the world is my mother…and…Bessie.” He looked at the doe eyed cow that munched lazily on some long grass. “But…Bessie is…”

“Then go get your mother boy!” The old man rasped.

“No!” Jack exclaimed. “No, of course it must be Bessie. It must be.” He looked into Bessie’s eyes and sighed. “Forgive me Bessie. But I promise when I am rich I will be able to buy you back and take care of you properly.” He kissed the cow fondly on her nose and she flicked her ear at him. Jack then passed the cord to the old man who, in turn, held out the beans in the fob watch. At the same moment the old man grabbed the cord, Jack scooped the beans from the watch.

Jé Kinah watched as the old man cackled and crowed, alarmingly delighted at his skinny, milk less cow. She looked at Jack who held the beans reverently in his hand, stroking them gently.

She would never fully understand humans.

“Thank you sir.” Jack whispered.

“Now go! Go and plant your beans! Go Jack! Go!”

Jack bolted from the old man like his heels were on fire. Jé Kinah watched the old man rock and laugh for a moment before she decided that it looked very much like Jack needed her help. She followed his mad run through the village, out the other side and for a short ways before turning down a thin track. A small house, half leaning against the tree that overshadowed it, was his destination.

“Mother! Mother!” He cried. “Mother, see what I have!”

Jé Kinah made it to the doorway and peered in. She saw a woman, pale from illness with shadows beneath her red rimmed eyes and her red hair lank and loose over her thin shoulders. She had risen from her bed to look at what Jack had to give her and he held out the beans in delight. It took a moment before the realisation of what he’d done dawned and her eyes filled with easy tears.

“Oh Jack,” she croaked, “what have you done?”

Jack’s exuberance evaporated in a heartbeat and he swallowed. “But…mother…these beans…they are magic…” He looked over his shoulder at Jé Kinah who was surprised that he realised she was there. “Tell her Jé Kinah. Tell her about the old man!”

“You sold our cow for beans!” Had she been well the mother’s voice would have reached the village but because she was weak, it barely reached the doorframe. “What will become of us…what will become of you?”

Jack watched her sink onto the bed and wheeze into her hands that covered her face. “Mother…mother forgive me. Please forgive me mother. I wasn’t thinking. I wanted to make things right for us. The old man…he promised riches…gold…a good life for us to live…Mother…mother I’m sorry.”

When she wouldn’t respond Jack stood up dejectedly and went to the window. He looked down at the beans in his hands and scrunched up his face tight. With vehemence he flung them out into the ragged field of wheat.

“I’ll go into the village and beg for work. I’ll make you proud mother, you’ll see.”

He pushed past Jé Kinah and walked away, his young shoulders hunched, his hands in his pockets. Jé Kinah looked back at the mother.

“The beans are magic,” she offered weakly, “I could tell.”

“And you just stood by while my dreamer Jack sold our livelihood for beans!” The mother looked up, hard lines on her face as anger gave her strength. She stood up, clutching the end of the bed tightly. “What kind of person does that? You’re not a person. You’re a devil. Get out of my house! Get out!”

Jé Kinah had stood before monsters, beasts, wolves and men armed to the teeth. But she fled at the fury of Jack’s mother, unable to stand there and take her words.

Because deep down inside she knew what she said was true.

Jé Kinah camped that night on a hillside with a full view of the valley, the wheat fields, the orchards, the village and, if she squinted, Jack’s leaning cottage. From the moment she left that woebegone little house she had kept one hand tightly curled around the little glass vial that hung around her neck. Even now as she sat in the moonlight, she couldn’t take her hand from it.

“What have I done?” She whispered. “I swore I would cause no more grief and yet…here I am… I have failed…like it always knew I would.”

She didn’t sleep for hours. She could have walked far away and left the village behind but her guilt kept her rooted to where she sat. Elves are capable of going several nights in a row without sleep but Jé Kinah found herself needing quite a bit more than she used to. Perhaps there were internal injuries from her…transformation…that her body was struggling to heal.

Whatever the reason, despite the fact that she was resolved to keep watch over the village all night long, eventually Jé Kinah succumbed to her drooping eyelids. When she woke, the sun was already high and warm. She sat up, instantly annoyed at her slumber then stood up in shock.

A giant beanstalk filled her vision. Its head disappeared into the clouds far above and its roots were deep in the earth next to Jack’s little cabin that had lost its roof somehow. The sight was staggering and she rubbed at her eyes in disbelief.

“Magic beans?” She gasped then froze. “Jack…”

Jé Kinah had never run so fast in all her life. She very nearly flew across the fields and down a row of barren apple trees. As she ran the beanstalk only grew in its enormity and its impossible mass did its best to blot out the sun with a huge shadow. She felt a great sense of terror as she approached it, as if it was very possible that it might pull up one of its roots and squash her flat. Every instinct in her told her to run far from it and yet she managed to reach its base. It was ten times as round as the little cottage that was almost smeared against it and its great roots had rumpled the earth and broken through in numerous places. Thick twisted vines curled up its incredible bulk and many of the leaves were too large for Jé Kinah to put her arms around.

A group of women and many young children had gathered nearby, although none dare approach it as Jé Kinah had. They pointed upwards and whispered to each other. Several old men leaned on a nearby fence and shook their heads at it while a little scruffy dog barked endless at the beanstalk as if it could scare it away.

And inside the cottage Jé Kinah could hear weeping. She went to the doorway and saw Jack’s mother being comforted by another woman. It would have been blindingly bright in the tiny house without its roof except for three leaves that hung over it.

“Hush Verity. You will make yourself ill.”

“My son, my son,” she rocked back and forth, “my darling Jack.”

“Where is he?” Jé Kinah demanded, forgoing any attempt at manners. “Where is Jack?”

The mother looked up, her face contorted with dread. “You! You did this. You brought those beans into our lives and now he’s gone. He’s gone…” She broke down completely, unable to be consoled. The other woman looked up, a deep frown on her brow.

“Haven’t you caused enough heartache?”

“Where is Jack?” Jé Kinah said again.

“He’s gone. Something took him in the night.”

“What something?”

The woman lay Verity on the bed and covered her with a thin blanket. She took Jé Kinah’s arm and forcefully moved her out of the house. “She doesn’t know. No one does. All we heard was the sound of a great windstorm in the night. When we woke up we found Verity like this. And her son, Jack, missing.”

“Jack…” Jé Kinah whispered. “He had to find Jack…”

“What are you saying?”

“I have to find the old man!” Without any further explanation Jé Kinah turned and bolted to the village. Its few streets were vacant and quiet so she passed through without any interruption. On the other side she quickly saw the place where she had left the old man and Bessie. The cow was still there, tethered to the fence, eating grass as though giant beanstalks were a natural part of life. And on the grassy knoll was the old man who had practically folded in on himself.

“Hey!” Jé Kinah yelled, flying up the incline and grabbing him. “Where did you get those beans? Why did it have to be Jack? Who are you?”

She shook him hard and he disintegrated in her hands. A collection of bones fell out of his clothes, his scarf pulled away to reveal a skull and a puff of dust filled the air. Jé Kinah was left holding his coat as the remains of the old man scattered on the green grass, clinking against each other with a hollow timbre.

“What the…” She saw the pocket watch had fallen to the ground and scooped it up. It was still open and the clock still didn’t work but on the inside of the lid she noticed an inscription. “Jonathon Arthur Kimble…JAK…” She looked down at the bones and gasped. “It was worth your life to find Jack…where have you sent that poor child?”

The woman who had spoken to Jé Kinah barred her entrance to the house. “No! We will have no more of your grief.”

“Jack is in danger.” Jé Kinah explained. “I have to climb the beanstalk and find him.” The woman watched as the she-elf dug through her satchel, making sure she had what she needed.

“There’s no point. The others have already gone after him.”

Jé Kinah looked up. “What others?”

“A group of men led by Hector. He swore he would bring Jack back.”

“I met him yesterday. He did not seem the most compassionate sort of man.”

The woman made a face. “Well…Jack was spouting some nonsense about magic beans and gold and riches yesterday as he pleaded for work…”

“A man of virtue then...” Jé Kinah couldn’t keep the chill out of her tone. She strapped on her leather vest and made sure the laces of her boots were tied firmly. The woman watched her, her gaze becoming suspicious.

“You’re an elf?” Jé Kinah kept her exasperated sigh to herself, knowing her ears were visible. In the urgency of the moment she hadn’t thought to wear her cloak and hood. “You’ve got a nerve, judging Hector as you do. What right do you have to mess in the business of us lowly humans?”

Jé Kinah eyed the woman. “I made the mess. I am here to fix it.”

“We don’t need your help. We fix our own problems. We have before and we will do again. We don’t need you!” The woman followed her to the beanstalk. “We don’t want your kind here elf! Go back from where you came!”

Jé Kinah could hear the shout taken up by those who gathered at the base of the beanstalk.

“Get out of here elf!”

“Take your high and mighty ways with you!”

“Climb up that beanstalk and don’t come back!”

Several poorly aimed stones hit the beanstalk around her as she put her foot on the first twisted vine and drew herself up. She put the giant trunk between herself and her tormentors and began to climb as fast as she could. The crowd below persisted in their torments long after their words were swept away by the strong breeze that blew.

She wasn’t surprised but she shouldn’t have allowed herself to be hurt by it. More than once before, she had felt the racist pinch of hatred that her kind invoked. Despite her best efforts, she could not hide her race every time she met someone new.

And she could hardly defend herself when she felt the guilt of Jack’s abduction so keenly.

Onwards and upwards she climbed. It would have been a fair climb for an able bodied human. For an elf the beanstalk was child’s play. The vines were like stepping stones and at some points she walked along their arm thick length as they curled around and up the trunk. The leaves were the most troublesome part as they were thick and heavy but if she was careful, she could balance on the part of the stem that joined the leaf and even leap from leaf to leaf.

As the sun approached midday she should have been sweltering in its heat but as she climbed higher the air became thinner and colder so that if a breeze did stroke the beads of sweat on her forehead, they felt like drops of ice.

And still she climbed.

It had to be several hours of steady ascension when Jé Kinah noticed that she could no longer see the ground. It was shielded by a layer of cloud. The white wisps stroked her face and bit at her fingertips. Jé Kinah put her satchel down and unraveled her red cloak. It coated her shoulders and torso in its warm embrace.

Then she continued to climb.

And as she climbed she noticed that the clouds were not as thin and wispy as they once were. They were firmer, almost tangible. And higher still the clouds thickened to be opaque so that it was difficult to see the leaf that was right next to her or anything more than a foot above. It became a climb of faith as she reached blindly upwards, hoping that the end was in sight.

It was but instead of emerging onto a cloudy, sunlit plain, Jé Kinah found the day had changed to night and that she was surrounded by a stone shelf. It was round, like a well and the beanstalk rose up through the middle of it, much like plant growing up out of a pot. But because the beanstalk, though it had become thinner and a lighter green at its peak, was still several earth trees round, the well was enormous.

And it was a plant in a well in a town square.

A very large town square…surrounded by wooden buildings with low, sloping roofs…that were ten times as big as any on earth.

So large, in fact, that Jé Kinah had no doubt as to where this strange adventure had taken her.

“Giants…” She whispered and ducked behind a large leaf as the ground shuddered and shook. Two enormous forms stomped past her hidden location.

“I cannae believe it! After hundreds of years!”

“As long as we got the reit Jack this time. It cannae work withit him.”

“Dinnae be such an eejit.”

The huge persons gave each other a couple of good natured shoves as they headed off down a street. They looked like ordinary people, perhaps a little more heavyset and they wore clothing Jé Kinah had not seen in a long age. Thick wool tunics, wide belts and boots Jé Kinah could easily have slipped inside of. Their hair was thick, braided or bound with several leather ties and their brows were heavy and caused their eyes to be deeply shadowed by their thick eyebrows. Even though it was night they did not bear lanterns for the moon and stars were dazzlingly bright in the rippling black nothing they hung in.

Once Jé Kinah was sure the town square was empty she hopped onto a leaf, judged the distance and the sturdiness of her runway then sprinted to the end of the leaf and leapt just as it couldn’t bear her weight any longer. She landed on the stone rim and looked around before quickly slipping off the edge and dropping down. Keeping a watchful eye she tied a rope to an arrow and tucked it behind a tuft of grass.

From there it was a long run towards the large wall of the giant fortress. The smaller houses were made from wooden slats, fixed together with beams and bore the weight of heavy roofs that were so low that Jé Kinah was able to use a pile of logs to leap up onto one. This particular roof was covered in thick moss so it was easy going to sprint all the way to the top where she had a much better view.

It was a village so large it was bordering on the size of a city. It was not dissimilar to a Viking settlement, set in the midst of rolling green hills which would have been mountains to humans down below. Surrounding the hills was an enormous forest, its canopy of leaves shivering lightly in the eerie light. Beyond that, at the very edge of her vision, there were clouds upon clouds. The firmament was a rolling, ever changing landscape where one minute there were mountains and then there were valleys and sometimes there were large boulders and other times there were valleys. However firm it may have looked, Jé Kinah wondered if, had the giants or anyone for that matter, crossed beyond the boundary and tried to walk on them, they would fall to earth like a boulder from the heavens.

The village was made up of hundreds of houses, all almost identical to the one she had climbed and they all appeared to be deserted. But on the other side of the wall of the fortress, Jé Kinah could sense the hum of activity. The wall was made from giant trees, which were relative compared to their giant inhabitants, and lashed together with leather. She could see the fortress had been built from stone but without a higher view she could make out little else.

As quickly and as quietly as a mouse she darted all the way up to the wall. Its gates were fastened tightly shut and she was impressed at how every hole and crack was plugged tightly. They didn’t want anyone sneaking in…or getting out.

The ground thundered again and she darted for a dandelion and hid behind it as a giant woman arrived. Compared to the others she seemed quite young, with thick straw plaits hanging down either side of her face. She wore a leather apron and by the smell of her shoes that stopped precariously close to Jé Kinah’s hiding place, she spent a great deal of time at the blacksmiths.

She banged on the door. A little window opened. “Whit be the password?”

“It’s me Loki.” She said, rolling her eyes.

“Still got tae say the password.”

“Let me in ye eejit or I be kickin’ the door doon an’ wallaping ye.” From the frown on her face Jé Kinah didn’t doubt she could and would. It seemed the voice behind the door felt the same way as the bar lifted and she pushed it open, slamming the guard behind it into the wall.

“Watch it Halley!”

Halley took no notice, striding across the large courtyard where dozens of her fellow giants were standing in formation. She didn’t know that she carried a passenger and Jé Kinah peeked out of the apron pocket, her eyes wide at the sight of a legion practicing battle moves. They moved with ingrained precision without faltering. They wore hefty armour, spiked arm bands, steel capped boots and on their heads they wore helmets studded with blunted nails. There was something strange about the hue of their armour or weapons. It almost seemed to have a golden sheen to it.

A giant, larger than the rest moved through his army. His black hair was mostly matted, falling into natural dreadlocks. His eyes and nose were the only features visible through his beard and moustache. He roared orders to the clanging sound of a gong and his army shifted perfectly with every step.

And as they changed formation, they chanted in perfect time with the gong.

“Fee-fi-fo-fum!

I smell the blood of an Englishman

Be he alive, or be he dead.

I’ll grind his bones tae make me bread.”

This wasn’t the scattered remnants of an army who were relying upon their size and strength alone. These were skilled warriors…who were readying for an invasion.

Then the sight disappeared as Halley entered the blacksmiths. A grizzled man looked up. “Yer late!”

Their accents were as thick as every other part about them and it was only by concentrating hard that Jé Kinah was able to figure out what they were saying at all.

“Blame Loki. He wooldnae let me in the gate.” Halley pulled a tool from a pocket. Thankfully it wasn’t the one Jé Kinah had hidden in. “Goin’ on abit passwords an’ security an’…”

“Ye ken why. Ye ken what’s at stake.” The old man took the tool and began hammering a sword into shape. “We hae wan chance at this an’ wan chance only.”

“Dinnae remind me.” She muttered and began to pump a grindstone with her foot. “The great conquest! Haldor has been goin’ on abit that for hundreds of years!” She leaned down with an axe that had the same dull golden sheen as the armour the men wore and pressed it against the stone, sparks flying. “He jist likes the sound of his own voice.”

“Ye shooldnae speak so against the leader of our clan.” The old man rebuked her mutter. “If we do nae band together now, we will ne’er leave this place. Ye were a wee bairn when we were trapped up here, ye hae ne’er smelt the ocean or tasted the salt of the sea…” He sighed deeply. “It does nae run in ye veins instead of blood so ye cannae possibly ken how dry we…I…feel so far from the land where we came.”

Halley swallowed. “I hae seen the ocean.”

“Murals on walls.”

“I hae seen the ocean!” She looked up. “I hae seen it from way up here, on days that are clear when our home floats above an expanse so blue…”

“Ye went tae the edge!” Fear blazed in the old man’s eyes. “Whit were ye thinkin’?”

“I was careful…”

“Dinnae ye ken how dangerous it is? Hae ye forgotten that it is how ye maw passed?” Halley winced as he came close. “I lost ye maw so long ago yet the pain is as fresh as it e’er was. Please dinnae let me hae the sorrow of losin’ ye too.”

Halley sighed. “Da, ye won’t lose me. But up here, we hae no enemies. We are safe an’ we hae a good life. Doon on the earth…in battle…death will inevitably follow. Ye say ye cannae live withit me. What if I were tae lose ye?” His big, gnarled hand pressed over hers. “Ye say ye yearn for the ocean an’ our former ways but that isnae what Haldor yearns for. He wants blood an’ bones an’ death. He will ne’er be satisfied until he is knee deep in human corpses.”

“As is the giant way.”

“If that were true, we would hae all thrown ourselves from the edge of the clouds long ago because we could nae survive.” Her father breathed deep and went back to his hammering. Halley watched him work, the blunt axe in her hands forgotten. “Ye kept us alive. Ye kept us from goin’ insane up here. Ye e’en devised a way for us tae make our metal go further by infusing it with gold. Ye ought tae be honoured.”

“It is my fault that we are here.”

“No. It’s Haldor’s.”

“I was the clan leader! I was tricked by Jack the giant slayer! He pleaded for peace, for a way tae end our conflict…”

“Because of Haldor’s lust for blood!” Halley walked over to her father. “If he had nae insisted on goin’ tae war against the humans, Jack would nae hae tricked ye into bringin’ us all here. Ye can defend him all ye want but it is his fault.”

“I was clan leader. All the blame lay with me.”

“Now he is clan leader but I ken he will nae be as wise as ye, nae accept responsibility for his actions.” Halley turned her back on her father and sharpened the axe. Her father, shoulders bowed, went back to his work and Jé Kinah, who had slipped out of Halley’s pocket during their intense conversation when she would be least likely to be spotted, squeezed through a crack in the door that led into the fortress. She had to wriggle and squirm, the heat of the blacksmiths receding behind her as she passed through the wall.

And was almost halted by the enormity of the room she had entered.

It was the main hall, a great auditorium built from tree trunks and curved beams that stretched high above. Glass balls wrapping in netting hung from the impossibly high ceiling and torches blazed with fire from every upward trunk. A giant carved figure head of a dragon nearly reached the middle of the length of the room from the place where it began, sitting over a throne of wood and fur on a backdrop of a large, heavy tapestry.

Jé Kinah looked around, allowing herself a shred of doubt. Perhaps she wouldn’t be able to find Jack in this cavernous place. Perhaps Jack was already dead…

The doors crashed open and the big, black, fearsome man, Haldor, strode into the hall, followed by his two captains. One was as fair as Halley and the other was as ginger as Jack.

“The men grow restless. The beanstalk appeared an’ Gaetan snatched the boy as soon as he could while it was dark. No one ken we are here. No one suspects or else the beanstalk would surely hae been felled by now.” The red head insisted.

“Patience brothers. Hae we nae already waited an eternity in this pale prison of night?” Haldor said firmly.

“Ye drill the men withit leniency an’ then when our hour is near, ye talk of patience?” The blonde, Gaetan, argued. “We yearn for the blood of men. I long to bake bread with their bones.”

“An’ take back the land that was stolen from us.”

“Unleash yer army Haldor an’ let us revenge ourselves upon the men of the earth.” Gaetan stopped. “Or hae ye lost yer nerve?”

Gaetan didn’t see the fist that struck him but he certainly felt it and the wall he was slammed into. Haldor was on him in an instant, yanking his head up by the hair and raking a gold hued blade across his throat just enough to draw a thin line of blood.

“Do I make myself clear?” Haldor said as Gaetan’s apple bobbed against the blade. Gaetan gave a gasp and Haldor stood up. “No one makes a move until I return from the inner chamber. Anyone that does will be thrown from the edge. Understood?”

Gaetan stood up next to the other soldier and they both slugged their fists against their breastplates. Haldor turned on his heel and marched to the throne and then disappeared behind the tapestry. Jé Kinah sprinted as hard as she could the moment the backs of the two soldiers had turned. She skidded to a halt by the tapestry. There was no way her tiny hands could move it for the threads were like thick strands of wool to her. Fortunately it did not sit quite flat and she was able to wriggle behind and almost fell into the inner chamber.

It was a circular platform and even with Jé Kinah’s skill with a bow, she doubted she could have sent her arrow fully to the far side. There were columns all around the outside. The inner chamber was at the very back of the fortress at the edge of the giant’s domain for surrounding the platform were surging white clouds. The light was cold from the moon and stars and the air was like ice.

Haldor approached a mirror that was taller than he, set in a frame and base of ice. He knelt before the mirror and the surface rippled with life. Jé Kinah ducked behind a column and when she peered out the other side, a woman had stepped into the frame.

It was the same woman Jé Kinah had seen before when she should have seen her reflection. There was no mistaking her beautiful round eyes fringed with dark, thick eyelashes, her rosy cheeks, her full lips and her almost black hair that cascaded down her back and over one shoulder in luscious curls. She wore a gown of white that glistened as though it was covered in frost and her skin was the colour of cream.

“Me Queen,” Haldor said in a deep tone that rumbled, “we are ready to pour upon the earth an’ break upon the humans that riddle the land like fleas.”

“Not yet Haldor. Not yet.”

Haldor barely restrained his grunt of frustration. “May I ask, me Queen, why we must wait? It has been three hundred years that we hae been exiled tae this land of night, far from the flesh we crave.”

“You dislike your prison? There are worse places…”

Haldor took the thinly veiled threat and swallowed his anger. “Whit more must we do tae be ready?”

“Nothing.”

“Me Queen…”

“The waiting has nothing to do with your readiness to wipe out the disease of man. It is a matter of timing.”

“Timin’?”

“For your floating prison to reach unpopulated lands…you may not know where you are but I know that you are anchored to a land riddled with villages and men with axes.”

“Yet the beanstalk still stands. We must remove it.”

“It cannot be cut down except from its base or else it will continue to grow.”

“Then wan of us will cut it doon.”

“And risk alerting the earth to your presence?” She glowered at him. “Consider the number of your people, Haldor. The beanstalk could not hold more than two giants at a time. It would take months to evacuate your cloudy prison, more than enough time for the humans to rally against you, killing you one by one.”

“Whit do the humans hae in their arsenal that could make any effect upon us?” Haldor smacked his chest proudly.

“The humans have changed in the years that you have been gone. There are thousands upon thousands of them. You do not comprehend that these once defenseless little creatures have the ability to kill you now. And they are not without their allies.”

Haldor visibly paled and he shook as he said, “elves…”

“The elves are all but gone however there are dwarves that rival the height of a man and other animals that would not hesitate to stand against you.”

“Ye mean us.”

The woman smiled her rosy lips and despite the evil intent in her heart, she was lovely. “Yes. Us.”

“Whit would ye hae us do?”

“Wait.”

“For whit?” Haldor demanded, his patience at its end. The beautiful reflection seemed to enjoy his frustration.

“For a foolish human to attempt to rescue the boy. When they retreat in fear the first thing they will do is sever the beanstalk and you will float away…and I will draw you close to lands that are uncivilized where your army can come down in secret.”

Haldor ran his hands through his hair. “Secrecy. Waitin’. Timin’…where is the bloodshed that ye promised us?! When we will hae our revenge? Why do ye restrain us like children? Or hae ye treachery in mind?”

The Queen leaned forward. “Treachery? You speak of treachery?”

Fog began to pour out of the mirror and ice coated the ground. Haldor tried to back away but the fog rolled behind him, pushing him forward on the slippery surface until he was inches from the mirror and the Queen’s face.

“What do you know of treachery?” She said, her voice having lost its warm resonance to become as cold as the chill in her bones, the corners of her mouth curling in a sneer. “You think that, because you have been forced to live in this prison for hundreds of years, you know anything of treachery? It is a paradise compared to the betrayal I have endured.” Her hand pierced the mirror, cold blue fingertips reaching towards Haldor who strained to get away. “All it would take is one touch to freeze your heart to ice…if you should ever question my loyalty again I will leave you up here, a frozen statue for all eternity.”

Haldor skidded, finding his footing as the fog retreated and the ground was left wet from the ice that had melted. The Queen returned fully to her mirror and she raised her chin, waiting for Haldor to speak.

“Forgive me, me Queen.” He managed to squeeze out of a very ungrateful throat.

“You must not be hasty Haldor. Even with your army, victory balances on the tip of a knife. If you hasten, you will fail. Remember what happened when you used up one of those precious beans left over from Jack to grow beanstalks before the time was right?”

“He said his name were Jack!” Haldor protested. “How were we tae know that be a pet name?”

“By taking your time,” the Queen smiled, “in three hours, spill Jack’s blood and ignite the magic in the beans. Should he not be ‘Jack’ enough you will still have the chance to climb down the beanstalk while it is night for the humans and find another before the humans cut the beanstalk down.”

“An’ if he is Jack?” Haldor asked with a gleam in his eye.

“Then wait for a foolish human hell bent on rescuing the boy to come up the beanstalk, chase him back down and wait for the stalk to fall…then you will come to me. And I will be waiting.”

“Yes me Queen.”

Jé Kinah watched as the image of the Queen grew faint and then vanished into darkness. Only then did Haldor straighten his giant height up from his farewell bow. It was plain as day he resented taking orders from the Queen but he seemed to think that it was her and her alone that could orchestrate their escape.

“Haldor! Haldor!” He turned on his heel and walked towards the tapestry. Before he got there the tapestry was dragged aside and the red headed soldier burst through. “Haldor!”

“Whit did I tell ye abit enterin’ this chamber?!” Haldor roared, grasping the man’s throat tightly. “Whit hae ye tae say?”

“The…the humans…there…are…humans…captured…”

Haldor’s eyes narrowed and he released his throat. “How many?”

“Eight.”

“Where are they now?”

“Cook has them in the kitchen.” The soldier couldn’t resist licking his lips. “Sir, since we already hae Jack…cooldnae the officers at least hae somethin’ tae ignite their blood for war?”

Haldor gave a half smile. “Tell the cook he may prepare se’en of the humans. Keep wan with a strong arm apart under pain of death.”

“Yes sir.” The red head left and Haldor let out a chuckle.

“She said we only needed one tae cut the beanstalk doon.” He sneered at the mirror. “Why nae let the men remember what humans taste like.”

When he’d left the room Jé Kinah approached the mirror tentatively. She knew she should be looking for the men who had come looking for Jack but she was drawn to the gateway between her ignorance to the one who seemed to have all the knowledge. The chill off the mirror was biting and her breath was like fog as she peered at her reflection.

But it was only her reflection. There was no Queen. Yet Jé Kinah knew without a doubt that the Queen who had been hunting her down since the incident in the forest of the dwarves was the same one that Haldor took his orders from…was the girl in the snow…

When had she given herself a royal title?

When had she begun to think that titles meant anything?

Jé Kinah tore herself away from the mirror, her work among the land of giants far from over.

Kitchens and latrines are the easiest places to find in a fortress. Jé Kinah only had to follow her nose towards the one that didn’t smell like rotting fruit. The kitchen was almost exactly like a human kitchen, albeit twenty times larger, with bags of potatoes slumped on the ground, pots and pans hanging from hooks on the walls, a pump over a bucket for washing dishes or for drinking water and one very large, even by giant standards, cook. He was corpulent, red faced and sweating as he rattled around over the fireplace where a large pot of water was boiling away. On the table in the middle of the room was a clutter of vegetables and he chopped them up quickly, flinging them into the pot, humming merrily away to himself as he did so.

Jé Kinah could have squawked like a chicken and the cook would never have known she was there. He was too interested in preparing his next meal.

“Carrots, potatoes, beans, stock, onion…mebe a little less onion…an’ lastly me favourite ingredient.” He looked into a bird cage that hung from the ceiling above where he was working. Jé Kinah couldn’t see from where she was but it was clear that the men from the village were cowering in the cage. “Come, come, it is nae e’ery day ye are offered up as a rare delicacy at the toastin’ of a human sacrifice. Ye should be happy me little treats.” He sniffed the cage’s contents and his eyes rolled back into his head. “Oh I hae nae had human in so long…I dinnae think Haldor would notice if wan were missin’…” He opened the cage and Jé Kinah could hear one of the men screaming as he was dragged out of the cage. The giant held him up by his foot and sniffed deeply again. “Jist a quick bite while the vegetables cook.”

“Bacchus!” The cook froze on the spot as a voice outside the kitchen called in to him. “Haldor wants a vintage wine from the cellar.”

“Then tell him tae get it himself!” Bacchus roared back, his cheeks reddening.

“If ye dinnae get it I’ll tell Haldor who ate the last of the matured cheese.”

Bacchus huffed and flung the man back into the cage, slamming the door closed.

“If his soup is overcooked I’m pointin’ him in ye direction, ye eejit!” He bellowed, going through a door at the end of the kitchen.

Immediately Jé Kinah came out of her hiding place and, after untying the cord used to tie up the potato sack, she managed to get up to the boom handle and after she’d made a couple of long leaps she landed on top of the water pump handle. With her bow, arrow and newly acquired cord she hit the beam that the cage hung from. Despite the thickness of the cord it wasn’t an easy climb and she kept expecting the cook to return at any second. The cord hung down the side of the cage and she grasped the bars, trying to get up. Several arms grabbed her and pulled her through the bars.

“What the devil…”

“Who are you?”

“Aren’t you the one who sold Jack the beans?” This was Hector.

“How did you get up here?”

“The real question is how I get you down.” Jé Kinah replied.

The men were pale, terrified at the prospect of being boiled alive and eaten. The one who had nearly become an entrée was almost catatonic on the floor of the cage. Only Hector remained composed.

“It’s too far to jump.” He remarked. “We thought about it but there didn’t seem much point.”

“I’d rather jump than end up in that pot.” Another shuddered.

“Let us avoid the kitchen altogether.” Jé Kinah stood. “Hoist me up on your shoulders.”

Hector’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“So I can retrieve the cord.”

The cook entered the kitchen while Jé Kinah was dangling from her arrow that had sunk deep into the beam. He checked to make sure his humans were safe in their cage then put the cask of wine down and proceeded to stir the soup. Jé Kinah yanked at the arrow. It came out with force and she slipped on the curved bars and nearly fell to her death if it weren’t for a quick thinking man who grabbed her before she dropped past the bottom of the cage.

The cook looked up at the cage rocking. Jé Kinah flattened against the bottom and the men all sat tightly around her as the cook peered in.

“Now, now. Let us nae be hasty. Alive is best when goin’ in the pot. Actually alive is best regardless. Why Haldor wants me tae cook ye I’ll ne’er know. Humans taste best raw an’ wrigglin’.”

He went back to his grumbling and Jé Kinah looked up at the man who caught her. “Thank you.”

“Do not thank me too much. I’m banking on you getting us out of here.”

“What is your name?”

“Simon.”

Jé Kinah nodded. “Then I shall endeavour to do so. Give me your coat.” Simon did so then watched in bemusement as she took out her knife and began cutting it into lengths. “Here, finish this.”

“Even if we tied these together, they’ll never reach the ground.” Hector protested as Simon did as he was told.

“You are only going to need one each. Eyes on the cook now.” Jé Kinah stood up and used her arrow with the cord attached to hit a plank that was above the bag of potatoes far below on the ground. “Tie this end to one of the bars. You are going to use the fabric to slide down the cord. Let go before you hit the wall or you will be killed. The landing will not be soft but it beats being boiled. Hide in the knothole behind the kitchen door until I reach you. Run and you will probably be caught again.”

The first man lined up. He had to wriggle through the bars, which were meant to cage a bird and not a narrow human. He wrapped the fabric around his wrists after looping it over the cord.

“Remember. Drop before the wall.” Jé Kinah saw his tentative nod. “Go.”

He dropped from the cage and slid down silently. Jé Kinah watched him go then glanced back at the cook who was indulging in a glass of the vintage wine. When she looked back another two men had gone and the cage was starting to swing.

“One at a time!” She hissed violently and they took their turn.

Four…five…six…only Simon and herself remained.

“I should be gallant and say ladies first.” He whispered.

Jé Kinah had to admire his humour because while he spoke, he was shaking from fear.

“Go.” The landing didn’t look pleasant and one of the men was limping when he scrambled from the bag of potatoes but they were all down.

“Remove clothin’ before boilin’ as cotton an’ leather can become lodged in teeth.” Jé Kinah looked over at the cook who had picked up a slip of parchment with, what she assumed was, a recipe for human stew. “Oh yes. I’d forgotten. Better do that now then.”

He reached up and unlocked the cage to find Jé Kinah standing in the middle of the base, bow in hand, arrow pointed at his face.

“How did ye get in there?” He demanded.

She let loose the arrow and it hit the giant in the eye. He howled, clasping one hand over his eye, the other dragging at the cage so that the cord snapped. Jé Kinah bolted towards the giant, ran up his hand and then his arm. The wind of his second hand slapped down behind her and she knew that the arrow hadn’t blinded the fat cook.

“Where did ye go?” He bellowed, spinning around, slapping his body wildly as she danced across his shoulder blade. “Get out here ye rotten little…Ah!”

He managed to grab her cape in his wild thrashing about and instead of bringing her close, he held her out away from him, taking her to the moonlight that streamed in through the window over water pump. His wounded eye was bloodshot and he shook her like a rag doll.

“Whit are ye then?” He demanded. “Ye dinnae smell like one of those humans. Whit are ye?” He sniffed her from a distance. “Ye smell of somethin’ old…somethin’ foul…”

“I am an elf.” She said.

“Whit? Did the little person say somethin’?”

“I am an elf.” Jé Kinah whispered, drawing the cook in closer.

“Here, whit’s that ye say?”

Jé Kinah readied her knife as she was brought to his ear.

“I am an elf.”

Before she had a chance to stab him with her blades the cook roared in terror and promptly dropped her. Jé Kinah sheathed her knives, grabbed her cloak and pulled it out wide to change her course so that she landed straight into the water pump bucket. By the time she had climbed up and out the cook had gone and she was drenched.

Hands grabbed her and she whirled around. Simon stood with five of the other men.

“Where did he go?”

“Ran down into the cellar howling like a baby.” Jé Kinah looked towards the cellar door and saw a chair propped up beneath the handle, jamming it shut. “He will not be coming out for a while.”

“Did you do that?”

“Aye.”

Jé Kinah clapped him on the shoulder. “Well done. Now let us depart. Wait…where’s Hector?”

“He went to scout ahead.”

“Then let us go before scouting turns to fleeing.”

“Miss, wait…” They ran for the door and she peered out. “What about Jack?”

“Is he still alive?”

“I believe so.” Jé Kinah shook her head. “We have only two hours before Jack is killed and that is no time to search this fortress for a single boy. They must have a prison or a strong room or....”

“I heard one of the guards speaking about a vault.” Jé Kinah looked at the man who cringed away at her gaze. “It was to the left as we were brought in.”

“That is our best hope.” Jé Kinah saw Hector coming towards them. “Come. We go to rescue Jack.”

“And how long do you think we can waste until someone finds the cook missing and they turn the castle out looking for us?” Hector demanded.

“You consider looking for a child that is going to be slaughtered a waste?” Jé Kinah said in a very dark tone. Hector did his best not to shy away from her cold glare.

“We think he is in the vault.” Simon put his hand on Hector’s shoulder. “There is still time.”

Hector considered this and nodded. “Very well. Lead on then, elf.”

Ignoring the fact that he had practically spat the last word out, Jé Kinah led the men one pillar at a time through the main hall of the fortress until they saw the passage that led off to their right. The doors were closed but it was a little matter to squeeze through the gap between the doorframe and the door itself. They were running down a corridor that had very little to hide themselves in. Jé Kinah made the men run against both sides of the wall so that if a giant did appear, they could squash themselves into a crevice and remain hidden.

There were several doors near the end of the corridor. Jé Kinah kept watch while the men checked each room. Her ears were keener than theirs so she watched and waited. Simon rejoined her side. “Nothing on the right.”

“Where is Hector?”

“He’s just standing in the gap of a doorway.”

“Then get him and let us depart. Jack is clearly not down here.”

Simon ran off for Hector. Jé Kinah grew impatient for their return and turned around to see all of the men standing in the gap between door and frame, staring at something in the room. She ran over to where they were and looked in.

It was a vault to be sure. One that was overflowing with a small amount of gold coins, a large number of gems and a countless amount of golden balls that were piled up on top of each other. Jé Kinah had little interest in wealth so while she understood the immense value before them, it held no fascination for her. However…the men were much more easily swayed.

“Can this be true?” Simon whispered.

“Jack said the beans would lead him to gold and riches.” Another murmured.

“The old man failed to mention it would also lead to his death before he sampled them.” Jé Kinah pointed out then threw up her hands in exasperation as the men poured into the room, their hasty search and rescue mission forgotten.

Simon picked up one of the gold balls. “It’s the shape of an egg.”

Jé Kinah looked over his shoulder. It was a large egg, somewhere between a large hen’s egg and a goose’s egg. It was lightly tarnished and weighed quite a bit.

“This would feed my family for the rest of their lives.” Simon stroked it and looked around. “There are hundreds in here.”

“More likely thousands.”

“Fill your pockets!”

“I can tie my coat into a makeshift bag.”

“Are you mad?” Jé Kinah demanded. “The weight of that gold will cause you to fall down the beanstalk.” Her words fell on deaf ears as she watched gold fever overtake their minds. Even Simon joined in although she noted that he only put one egg per pocket. He saw her expression and shrugged sheepishly.

“Hector said there were riches to be gained from climbing the beanstalk.”

Jé Kinah looked around. “Where is Hector?” She spied him creeping towards something in the corner. She thought it was a beautiful harp with the figurehead of a woman with her eyes closed, her arms stretched up to the top of the harp while her feet reached the base. But Hector moved past the harp, taking his coat off as he inched forwards. With swift reflexes he flung his coat over something that squawked and wriggled in his arms. Jé Kinah ran towards him.

“Shut it up!” She hissed. “Someone will hear that!”

“Back away elf!” Hector retorted, binding the bird up. “This is my treasure.”

“A goose?” Simon said in disbelief.

Hector gave a nasty smile. Jé Kinah sighed. “Where do you think all the eggs came from?”

Despite their pockets being laden down with more than enough gold to see them living comfortably for the rest of their lives, the men moaned at Hector’s wisdom. Simon looked around. “Why isn’t this room guarded? No treasure vault like this on earth would ever be without a legion of guards.”

Jé Kinah felt a finger of ice run down her spine and she peered over her shoulder to the harp. The hands of the harp had shifted slightly so that her fingers were resting on the strings behind her. And the strings were quivering with an almost silent hum.

“It is well guarded.” She whispered, realising their enormous error. “Run. Run now.” The men looked at each other, confused as to her quiet yet urgent tone. She saw the harp raise its hands high. “Run!”

They bolted for the doorway as the most beautiful yet deafening music echoed through the treasure vault and into every nook and cranny of the fortress. Jé Kinah’s eyes wept as the music tried to overwhelm her senses. She had to shove several of the men forward as they cowered in pain and she grabbed Simon by the scruff of his neck and hauled them all to the door. She threw them against the wall just as the door was swung wide and Gaetan thundered into the room.

“Where are ye thief?” He roared.

One of the men whimpered. Jé Kinah slapped her hand over his mouth and jerked her head for them to sneak out into the passage as Gaetan hunted through the vault. “Haldor! The goose! The goose is gone!”

He thundered out of the passage, nearly running into Halley who had come with axe drawn. “Whit has happened?”

“I must lock the fortress up! Haldor!”

Jé Kinah put her finger to her lips and pointed at the braided tie hanging from Halley’s apron. She jerked her head and Hector led the charge, climbing up the tie with his precious goose tucked beneath his arm. The curves of the braid made it easier to climb than even the beanstalk was. Jé Kinah followed the last man up and they slipped into the pocket of Halley’s apron. They had to share the space with a couple of tools but at least their weight would make the humans less consequential. Jé Kinah glanced up. She couldn’t see Halley’s face beyond her ample bust but there was just enough light coming through the top of the pocket to keep them from being in complete darkness. And in the dim light she could see the men were nearly beside themselves with fear.

“Keep your wits about you,” she hissed, “and you will live.”

“We are in a giant’s pocket!” Simon hissed in return, fear contorting his features.

“And so far no one knows that.” Jé Kinah put her hand on his shoulder and looked at them all. “She will return to the smithy and we will climb out and continue our search for Jack.”

“I’ll not be taking orders from you anymore.” Hector snapped quietly. “I, and whoever is smart enough to follow me, will make a break for the beanstalk, climb down and chop it to the ground.”

“What about Jack?”

“It’s a sad loss indeed.” Jé Kinah doubted the sincerity in his tone. “But if those giants come down that beanstalk…”

“In other words you have what you really came for.”

Hector’s eyes bored into hers. “Do not presume to tell me how to live elf. Your kind had the chance to save thousands of lives and yet they turned their back as the Black Death tried to wipe us out. You have no authority over us to order us to risk our lives.”

The pocket was large enough that, moving carefully, Hector put distance between himself and Jé Kinah. And most of the men followed. Simon stayed nearby as Jé Kinah inwardly fumed.

“I will stay and help search for Jack.” He said, clearly frightened but attempting to sound absolute.

Jé Kinah raised her eyebrows. “You will have to leave your gold behind.”

Simon pulled a face then took the two eggs he’d stolen from his pocket and went to put them down into the fluff that had accumulated in the pocket corners. Jé Kinah put her hand on his arm.

“Put them back in your pocket. I need you to go with the others and climb down the beanstalk.”

Simon frowned. “What about Jack?”

“I will find Jack and bring him home.” Jé Kinah glanced over at the men. “I need you to make sure they do not cut down the beanstalk until he is on solid earth. But if you hear a giant coming down, you need to cut it down. Even one giant will be more than enough to massacre your village and many more like it.”

“Then why did you tell me to leave the gold behind?”

“I did not want to doubt your resolve. If you can put a man’s life above gold, you will have the presence of mind to know when to hold your axe and when to swing it. Take my satchel and my bow. There is an arrow with rope attached to it hiding in some grass at the base of the beanstalk well. Use it to climb up and then down.”

Simon nodded. More giants had entered the treasure vault and were talking angrily to each other. Halley thundered at them that yes, she had been there the whole time and no, she hadn’t seen anyone or thing leave. She was rudely dismissed and stomped all the way back to the smithy. Jé Kinah guessed that when Halley had stopped stomping that they were in the smithy again and she could smell hot metal and sweat.

“Do not look back when you run to the beanstalk.” She whispered. “Just…” Her eyes widened as she saw Halley’s fingers reaching into the pocket, heading straight for Simon. She gave him a violent shove and landed in the path herself. Halley’s hand gripped around her and lifted her up in surprise.

“Whit do I hae here?” She asked, holding Jé Kinah close. She had nothing to fear. Jé Kinah’s arms were pinned to her sides and her feet only just poked out at the bottom of her fist. “Ye be wan of the humans Gaetan said we’d captured. How did ye get in me pocket?”

Jé Kinah saw Halley start to look down. “The bigger question is do you really want to get down from this cloud prison?”

Halley brought her eyes back up. From this distance Jé Kinah could see the individual flecks in her irises, the many shades of green that could exist in one place.

“Whit do ye ken abit our predicament? An’ why should I trust ye? Humans are known tae be treacherous.”

“Well, I know your father was lured up here when he was leader of your clan by Jack. I know that Jack was forced to do so because Haldor was unrelenting in his pursuit of human deaths.” Jé Kinah prayed that Simon had the wits enough about him to get the men out of the apron pocket while Halley was heartily distracted with Jé Kinah’s presence.

“No one forced Jack tae deceive us. Me da was willin’ tae listen an’ tae break bread over a truce.” Halley retorted.

“Which was noble and right. Perhaps Jack could not trust in that. Perhaps he did not think your father could restrain Haldor.” Jé Kinah realised she had blundered when Halley’s brow furrowed and her face darkened.

“Dinnae presume tae think that ye ken me da or me!” She shook Jé Kinah hard. “Ye are a little, insignificant, treacherous human!”

Jé Kinah was dizzy and starting to run out of breath as Halley squeezed tighter in her anger but managed to cough out the words.

“I am not human.”

Halley stopped shaking her and brought Jé Kinah close once more. “Whit’s that ye say?”

“I am not human.”

Halley swore. “More lies.”

“Let me loose one hand and I will prove it to you.”

“So ye can reach for a weapon?” Halley brushed tools from her table and set Jé Kinah down. With her sharp eyes the she-elf could see the last of the men from the village disappear through the gap between door and floor. “Jump. I dare ye.”

“There is no need. I will not flee.” Jé Kinah drew back her hair and made her pointed ears plain. Halley got close in her curiosity and it was tempting to stab her in the eye and run while she had the chance. “I am the last elf on earth…or at least I was until I climbed that beanstalk.”

“Ye are nae an elf.”

“Truly I am.”

“Ye cannae be.”

“How can you not know that I am?”

“I ne’er seen an elf. Me da has ne’er seen one either. But he told me abit them in hallowed tones, that they are half the size of a giant an’ hae nae mercy in their souls as they cut down humans an’ giants alike. In fact if the earth were still o’errun with elves I believe Haldor would think twice abit returnin’.”

“Really?” Jé Kinah paused. “Is that how the giants remember my kind?”

“Fear ye more like.”

Jé Kinah noticed Halley was not trembling in fear. “But you do not fear me?”

Halley shook her head. “I hae nae reason tae. All I ken are stories an’ I dinnae believe everythin’ I hear.”

Jé Kinah considered this giant woman for a long moment. “Like Haldor’s promises of a freedom?” Halley didn’t respond but the disdain on her face told Jé Kinah she was right. Jé Kinah sat down on the workbench. “How long has it been for you up here?”

Halley grabbed a stool and dragged it over. She still towered over the elf but leaned forward to bring her eyes in line with Jé Kinah’s. “It be hard tae tell. It is always night with the moon shinnin’ bright. But me da had a full head of straw hair when I sat upon his shoulders as he climbed tae this world.” Halley smiled. “He is all grey an’ grizzled now.”

“He seems to be a man of integrity.”

“Aye he is. A kind man who dinnae condone Haldor an’ his bloodshed. Da wanted peace. Haldor wanted war.”

“So Jack tricked you up here,” Jé Kinah summarized, “a perfect cloudy prison, away from the land you love.”

“It is all the life I hae known. Me da dreams of sailin’ on the ocean again as do all the old men. But there are less an’ less of them an’ more of those like myself…we cannae miss what we hae ne’er known.” Halley shrugged good naturedly. “The village were only a few scattered houses when we first arrived but now it is a city. The forest is full of strange, cloud beasts that we hae learned tae hunt…I dinnae see how the children of the giants born after me can live on the earth anymore. They wooldnae ken how.”

“But it is still a prison. You cannot leave.”

“Aye mebe now...but,” Halley leaned forward confidentially, “there are those of us, the younger ones, who believe we could build ships that could drift through the clouds, sail through the stars…”

“Surely that…”

“We mebe a bit thick tae look at…but we are mighty engineers.” Halley said proudly.

Jé Kinah was enthralled despite herself. “Is this truly possible?”

Halley sighed and sat up. “It might be…if Haldor dinnae ban our experiments an’ insist on battle drills. But if we cannae leave that which has become our home, an’ withit war tae thin our ranks…an’ there be little else tae do when nae training for battle, more an’ more children are inevitable.”

Jé Kinah felt her cheeks flush. “Ah…”

“We cannae live here forever withit exceedin’ our boundaries. It is either the sky, or the earth, for us.”

“And in order to go to the earth, you require magic beans?” Halley nodded. “I take it that Jack did something to the original beans in order to make the beanstalk grow.”

“We ne’er ken whit Jack had truly done. Mebe he was jist another ‘Jack’ whose blood activated the beans for they are worthless beans unless touched by the blood of a human Jack. He dinnae live long enough for us tae find out.” Halley’s eyes clouded over. “Once all the giants climbed the beanstalk, Jack had given orders for it tae be cut doon.”

“While he was still up here?”

“Aye. When Haldor found out abit his trickery, he killed Jack.”

“So how did Haldor find out about the magic of the beans? How does he know that elves are not dominating the earth?” Jé Kinah saw Halley’s eyes flicker. “You have often wondered the same thing, how Haldor can promise freedom. You do not know that he receives orders from a Queen of ice and snow. When you return to earth it is her bidding you will do and she means to wage war.”

Halley’s shoulders slumped. “It is as I feared. The return tae a life that da yearns for is but a dream.”

“It does not need to be.” Jé Kinah stood up. “What if I promised that I could help you return to earth?”

Halley snorted which was a rather loud sound accompanied by a gust of wind. “Ye talk as though we be friends…but I dinnae ken anythin’ abit yer.” Halley stood up straight. “Yer might be trickin’ me jist like Jack. Haldor intends tae return an’ he has all he needs tae do so.”

“Yes but at the cost of the life of a child.” Jé Kinah softened her tone though she had to keep the volume up. “Does it truly sit well with you that a boy must die for your freedom?”

“An’ how would ye cause us tae be free? Jack’s blood must be spilt. The more blood, the more beans are coated an’ can be dropped tae the earth e’en from this height tae grow.”

“You need many because the beanstalks can only hold one, maybe two of you at a time and an invading army of giants could well be defeated in such small numbers,” Jé Kinah explained, “but if there was one, in a secluded place…those who wanted to leave could climb down one at a time. And you could leave the beanstalk there, a link to this place, your former home.”

“Yer riskin’ lettin’ giants loose on the earth by trustin’ in me.”

“And you are risking your father’s dream of returning to the ocean by trusting in me.” Jé Kinah replied. The two fair haired women eyed each other for a long moment, each one weighing up whether the other could truly be trusted.

Halley broke first. “Haldor would still wage war.” She said bitterly. “Nae matter if we be up in the clouds or on the earth, it is he who controls us, who forces us tae do his will.”

“Are there those who would follow your father?”

“Most of me generation, especially with me talkin’ sense tae them an’ many of me da’s…but Haldor has Jack who is the key.

Jé Kinah gave a dark smile. “Let me worry about Haldor.”

When the gong sounded for the sacrifice of Jack every single giant in the cloud prison assembled in the courtyard. They were all kitted up in their dull gold armour, golden eggs melted and mixed with steel to make the steel go further. Perhaps they weren’t as strong as they used to be but there wouldn’t be an arrow on earth that could pierce them, even in their hybrid state. There were hundreds of helmets, braided, top knotted and loose hair, woolen tunics and leather boots bound in cord. Each was as varied and unique as humans were from each other and as Haldor stood before them, a stone pedestal by his side, they began to stomp their feet and beat their weapon staffs on the ground.

Haldor was infused with power, bathed in the ever present moonlight and he raised his arms up high.

“Brethren!” He cried as the stomping continued. “Tonight we unlock our prison with a key of blood! Jist as we did tae Jack who first imprisoned us here, we will use another Jack’s blood tae reignite the magic in the beans that will carry us tae freedom!”

The giants roared, their weapons held up high.

“Ye hae all waited. Ye hae all suffered but now that all ends!” Haldor reached into a tightly buttoned pocket of his vest and drew out a tiny figure, barely able to be seen by Halley and her father at the very back of the courtyard. The giants bellowed their approval. “Bring out the beans!”

Gaetan carried out a wooden bowl and tipped the beans onto the pedestal. They rolled into little a small well at the centre and Haldor drew out a large knife. Its blade was cold and white and in its hilt was a blue stone.

“We shed the mistakes an’ folly of the past an’ step into a new era an’ soon we will be drenched in human blood!”

At this the giants held up their weapons and roared. Halley’s arm also went into the air and she opened her fist just before the pinnacle of her throw. A tiny figure flew through the air unnoticed and as they began to descend they pulled out the edge of their cloak and slowed their descent to land, rolled and up wielding their blades on the pedestal.

Haldor’s sharp eye had caught sight of the strange projectile as it flown towards him but, unaware of the horror about to unfold he watched it with curiosity rather than fear. He saw a female human baring her blades at him as though they would even make a mark on his skin.

“Whit hae we here?” He boomed. “A volunteer tae cut the beanstalk doon? Ye humans truly are so predictable.”

The giants chatted to each other, puzzled by this unexpected presence.

“Stupid giant!” The little figure yelled up at him. “You do not even recognize an elf when you see one!”

Haldor’s face paled but he held his ground. “Elf?” He uttered and suddenly you could have heard a pin drop in the courtyard. The line of enormous giants recoiled from the platform. If their fear wasn’t so genuine that it was almost tangible, the scene would have been hysterical.

Gaetan managed a strangled chuckle. “Elves hae deserted the earth. Haldor said so.”

“Haldor is lying!” The little figure cried out. “On the earth, waiting for you, are many elves, all ready to get back to slaughtering you as they once did with such pleasure!”

All the giants except for Haldor took a step back and began to mutter doubt and raise fear amongst themselves. “Ye are nae elf!” Haldor accused.

The little person gestured for him to lean down and he did so though he must have been quaking on the inside. She drew back the hair on either side of her face, her pointed ears finally doing some good. Haldor’s reaction was purely instinct in his attempt to save him. He roared, launched himself backwards and in doing so, let go of Jack.

The boy dropped like a stone, too dazed to even scream and landed in Jé Kinah’s arms.

The courtyard descended into chaos. The giants were screaming and trying to flee but there was only so far they could get away from the pedestal and its terrifying adornment. And someone had locked the gates.

Jé Kinah grabbed Jack’s hand and raked a blade across his palm. A streak of bright red appeared and she took up a bean and coated it in blood. Immediately it began to hum like the beans the old man had originally given Jack. The boy had no idea he had been injured. He was almost insensible to his surroundings and half paralyzed with fear.

“Come on Jack. Time to go home.” Jé Kinah looked up as there came a war car. Halley was running towards the pedestal.

“Die elf!” She cried. “Die!”

Jack cowered and clung onto Jé Kinah as Halley grabbed her in her fist.

“Nae Halley!” Her father roared. “She will kill ye!”

Halley spun around and, as Jé Kinah dropped the single bean into the pocket of Halley’s apron, she flung both elf and boy into the air, sailing towards the wall of the fortress.

“Nae!” Haldor screamed and sprinted for them. “Not Jack!”

He was halted at the gates that were several giant lines crowded as Jé Kinah and Jack sailed over their heads. Jé Kinah gripped Jack with her knees and spread her cloak wide. It was barely enough to make their descent a non lethal one but there wasn’t much choice. Fortunately she was able to land them on a rooftop and they simply rolled all the way to the bottom and dropped to the ground. Jack had no idea what was happening as Jé Kinah dragged him towards the well. She could hear Haldor pounding on the gates, screaming like a savage and knew that, despite Halley hiding the key, he would be through them far too quickly for her liking.

She discovered the arrow with the rope attached to it still anchored to the beanstalk. “Thank you Simon.” She whispered. “Jack. You must climb.”

“I cannot,” he whispered, “I am done…”

Jé Kinah heaved him onto her back and, with reserves she was sure hadn’t existed before, climbed up the rope and swung over to the beanstalk. The bashing on the fortress gate was her rhythm as she forced Jack to stand and to start climbing down.

“Faster.” She called, taking his hand and half dragging him. “Faster!”

There was a blistering crash above their heads and Jé Kinah’s heart constricted in her chest. “He is through.” She looked down. They hadn’t even broken the opaque layer of clouds yet. “Come on Jack!”

They slipped and scrambled down at a terrifying pace. Jé Kinah reasoned that if Haldor didn’t reach them, they would surely fall to their deaths. A truism almost proven a minute later when Jack lost his footing as the beanstalk shuddered mightily and he started to fall. Jé Kinah grabbed his arm and hauled him back up. He clung to the thick trunk of the beanstalk and whimpered. He could go no further under his own steam. The poor boy was far beyond his limit and Jé Kinah could hear Haldor’s murderous cry.

“Jack!” He roared. “Get back up here Jack! I’m comin’ tae find ye!”Jé Kinah looked up and could see the black bulk of Haldor descending upon them, smashing away branches and leaves that fell down around them. “I’m goin’ tae tear ye apart Jack!”

She swallowed and looked at the boy.

“I am going to get you home Jack.” She told him. “Look at me!” She tore his eyes away from Haldor’s feet and made him focus on her. “Do you believe me?”

Jack nodded, or perhaps he shivered, but it was all Jé Kinah had time for. She prayed that her instincts held true, grabbed hold of Jack and flung him with all her might from the beanstalk before leaping down after him. He was lost in the white clouds but she could hear his scream as though it was a knife stabbing her mind and through the blistering wind that streaked upwards and around her, Jé Kinah could feel her body start to change.

Her gaze darkened as her eyes filled with black and her hair tarnished into midnight streaks. Her arms became scaly and hard and her fingernails grew longer, thickened and became a dark green streaked with purple. And from her back, from the two points that had never fully retracted after her last transformation, enormous wings erupted. They were bat like, leather stretched between a frame work of bones that cracked and groaned into shape and they immediately filled with the air of its descent.

Its eyes darted for Jack as they broke through the clouds. Suddenly the earth was before them, enormous and imminent yet far, far below. Her beast like gaze locked onto the falling figure spinning away far below and her animal instinct caused her to fold its wings and dive towards him. It roared in delight as it stretched out its arms and legs as it closed in on his small body. He screamed out as it wrapped herself around him and then spread its wings as wide and as far as it could.

The pressure was so great it could feel it tearing at its shoulders and spine, trying to rip its beast form from her elf form and it roared as the earth raced to meet them. Below it could see humans running in terror, having forgotten about the giant in the presence of the beast.

Finally it was able to tilt its wings to fly with the wind and it angled their descent so that they scraped the tops of the ready to be harvested wheat. It flew up again, twisted and dived back down, dropping Jack near his house before bashing itself into the almost cut through base of the beanstalk. The beanstalk shuddered and groaned, swaying on its barely intact base. The beast tore up through the sky, twisted and dived again for a final slice with its wings against the trunk of the beanstalk. The final blow caused the beast to spiral out of control, its huge form cutting down the stalks of wheat, the dirt scraping skin and tearing leather, until it came to a stop.

The beanstalk swayed, tilted then, with a roar and a tearing of earth and root, the enormous plant toppled over, crashing through fields and fields of wheat, demolishing fences, crushing trees and spreading itself out over hundreds of leagues. And filling the air was a wild, terrified scream that ended abruptly as a giant body struck the earth. A great cloud of dust, dirt and foliage erupted around it and for the next hour leaves and debris continued to fall from the sky.

Jé Kinah writhed her way out of the wings that had begun to become stringy like tar and grabbed hold of a nearby beanstalk leaf to pull herself up. She was incredibly weak and addled in the mind. It took several minutes of her swaying on her feet for the black mountain in front of her to come into focus. It was the corpse of Haldor, body broken with gashes all over his visible skin as he had split upon impact. Breathing hoarsely she stumbled around to his face. One eye was buried in the ground. The other looked out at her, unfeeling, unseeing and senseless of everything around it.

Jé Kinah felt her stomach lurch and she dropped to her knees.

“Jack.” She gasped. “Where is Jack?” Lurching like she was drunk she staggered in the direction of his house which was mercifully intact. Her clothes, that always suffered the most out of the transformation, were in need of repair as her leather vest had fallen by the wayside and her shirt was in tatters. But she gave no thought to her appearance and did not realise that her hair and eyes were still black as ink and that dark veins stood out against her pale skin. Her nails were long and thick and still retained their dark green hue.

There was a body on the ground. She gasped, fell and crawled towards it.

“Jack…” She wept and turned it over. It wasn’t Jack. It was Hector, or rather, what was left of him. He must have fallen from the beanstalk as he attempted to hold tight to the goose. She whimpered and glanced over her shoulder. Her satchel and bow were hooked over a fence post and she grabbed them, leaned on the post and cried hoarsely, “Jack!”

“There it is!” Someone yelled and pointed at her. “The beast from above!”

“Kill it! Kill it now!”

“Kill the beast!”

“Kill it!”

The entire village, those who had not run in terror, ran at Jé Kinah with their pick axes, hoes and shovels. She gasped at their maddened onslaught and turned and fled. The beanstalk was beside her. With a very clumsy leap she clambered up several stalks and was able to keep above the tips of their trade turned weapons.

“Stop,” cried Simon, “leave her alone!”

Jé Kinah turned and saw him standing with Jack’s mother who leaned heavily on him and with Jack himself in his arms. She half reached out then gasped as Jack opened his eyes and looked at her blearily. The villagers didn’t hear her words, striking hard against the beanstalk. She dodged their clumsy blows and looked back at Simon. He put Jack down on unsteady feet and tried to stop the villagers from their wild onslaught. Jé Kinah looked back at Jack and saw there was a bundle in his arms. It shivered and peeked out. It was the goose. She felt Jack’s gaze on her and held up her hand. He shook his head and stepped back.

Jé Kinah looked back at Simon who couldn’t stop anyone from trying to kill her. His eyes begged for mercy but no one would listen. When his eyes reached her she gave him a sad smile. Then she turned and forced herself into a long, arduous run until the screams of the villagers were lost far behind her.

When she was finally safe, far removed from the hate she had engendered, Jé Kinah found a secluded glen, curled up and let herself weep as she had not done for a long, long time. All the hurt, the pain, the exhaustion poured out of her in big, salty drops that soaked what was left of her tunic. She collapsed into a fitful sleep, her dreams filled with the crimes of her past. And when she woke, pale blonde hair lay across her cheek, her eyes had emptied of their vile colour and the dark veins had finally receded.

But it was only a matter of time until they returned…

…and one day she would not change back…