Page 63 of Grounded By Love
"It is quite shocking to see for the first time. I remember when I went for my first ride with my father, and I got a view of the castle from a hill. As a child, it was intimidating, and even as a full grown warrior, I still find it to be overwhelming."
She was more than able to see why.
"Amazingly enough this isn't even all of the rock giants. There are still some other villages and farms spread out around our territory.”
"Hard to imagine rock giants as farmers or anything other than a warrior."
"We can't all be warriors or there wouldn’t be enough food. Nothing on our land would get done with just warriors milling about, except maybe fighting."
She heard the smile in his voice, because he thought her silly? "I suppose that’s true. I just never thought about it, before now. The only time I’ve seen a rock giant was in a battlefield hacking down their enemies."
She truly was foolish. Why hadn't she ever thought about rock giants being something other than a warrior? Because she herself still held some prejudices?
Her eyes were finally opening. There were so many things in common between humans and giants, and neither side realized it. Now that she did, she wished everyone else could. Then this horrible war might finally be over and done with.
Her attention went back to the castle. Fortress better described the structure. A little thrill of excitement shot through her. This was her first time seeing any sort of castle, and she was going inside. Claira knew her imagination was running off with her, but she was having a hard time containing it.
So many emotions flowed through her, and she was doing her best to hang onto the positive ones.
She knew they would have to go through the village, and a crowd was bound to form. Not only because they had returning warriors, but because they were sure to think she was a prisoner of war. They would want to know what Kaeldar was planning to do with her.
She shuddered.
As they neared the village, she straightened her back and scooted away from Kaeldar. She wanted to appear strong in front of all the rock giants. She didn't want to be that cowering human woman who they all thought was a captive. There was no way she was going to tremble or shake in front of the rock giants.
She wasn't the cowering kind of woman or so she told herself. It was easy to talk, when she wasn’t standing in front of a rock giant crowd.
When they entered the village, she could tell someone had spotted their group coming from a distance. There seemed to be a substantial crowd gathering through out the streets. They were calling out to the men they knew in the group and were basically chanting Kaeldar's name.
As they travelled deeper into town, it seemed as though the news about her had spread as well. They started to swarm around the horses, and one of the rock giants tried to get close enough to grab at one of her legs.
Kaeldar let out a growl and slapped the reaching hand away.
Claira shrunk down against his chest, trying to make herself small. She didn't want to be seen by any of the rock giants. This was no time to be courageous. Erase all her feelings of confidence.
Had she expected a warm welcome from these people?
No, she guessed she hadn't expected that, but still, trying to drag her from Kaeldar's horse? It seemed a little ridiculous to her.
The gathering group of rock giants just kept growing. Claira wondered how many rock giants there were within this town. They never seemed to stop flowing out of street allies and homes.
Claira saw the hatred and scorn within their dark black eyes. She scrunched back against Kaeldar's chest, as the rock giants pressed closer and closer. The rock giants were starting to intimidate her, when they yelled out at her. She knew they had to be saying horrible things. No translation was needed.
Kaeldar wrapped an armored arm around her waist and drew her closer to him, if that was even possible.
She wished dearly he would whisper some sort of encouragement into her ear, but he never did. It appeared as though he wasn't going to be making any public shows of affection towards her.
It seemed like they would never get to the castle, since every single moment dragged on endlessly. Until, finally, they broke away from the large crowds of the town and into the castle court yard where guards held back the crowd.
It was just as large, but almost vacant of people. She let out a breath she’d been holding the whole time they’d been going through the village. She’d seen her life flash before her eyes out there.
It seemed as though the few rock giants that were in the castle courtyard had been awaiting the arrival of the men.
Claira took a look behind them, as the castle curtain wall doors closed, and the villagers were cut from her sight.
She finally felt like she was safe again with Kaeldar. Now all she could pray for was that the people within the castle would treat her better. She hoped she wasn't asking for too much, because she didn't believe she was, but who knew.
She turned her eyes back to the formidable castle in front of them. It was terrifying for her to see such an impressive building standing before her very eyes for the first time.
