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Cursed (1)

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Bryce was excited by the idea of a giant outside the village. What was the giant like? Having been asleep for a century- or so he'd heard- others had been afraid because of the stories they'd heard. Scared that the giant might destroy their village...or that it would be hungry when it came out. But Bryce had always been adventurous. He wasn't afraid of any giant! He was a bold 13-year-old with a loud mouth. He grinned, completely giddy about some action finally coming to their corner of the woods.
~

Bryce woke up early one summer morning. He had asked his best friend to come with him in a giant hunt, wondering if he'd come to "slay the giant" with him. Just to see if the old tales were true, at the very least. The pre-teen waited impatiently at sunrise, at the big tree just outside the village's entrance. His old, beaten backpack hung near empty on his back and he waited to see if his friend would actually meet him.

It wasn't much later, Bryce's friend, Alec, came around the bend, a backpack on his own back, though his had considerably more supplies in it. He also had a small sword strapped to his waist. "Are you sure about this, Bryce?" he asked timidly. "Aren't giants dangerous? And... you know, temperamental?"

"So? We can handle it! My big brother's been showing us how to fight, remember?" Bryce smiled, wielding his own sword. "And together, we've totally got this. Don't worry so much, come on!" he stated, egging his friend along. "Hey, do you think it's a big hideous giant? Like in the story books when we were little kids? Or a huge troll?"

Bryce made a twisted face, showing his teeth and raising his hands in claws. "Raaar!" he imitated what the story teller had done to scare them. They were supposed to scare children and keep them from wandering, but it only made Bryce more bold in wanting to come see for himself.

Alec still hesitated. "Bryce... this is a bad idea..." he said as they approached the cave.

Inside said cave, the giant was rubbing sleep out of his eyes, stretching. That was a restful nap, though he had no idea how long he had been asleep... Hearing the voices of the two boys carried on the wind, he frowned a little, puzzled. Humans? But... humans had never been around his home before…

"Stop worrying, Alec. Nothing's even gonna happen anyway. We got our swords, what could happen? We've done this before, and he's never came out. Worst thing, we just have to run back to the safety of the village back over the hill, through the orchard. It's not far." Bryce tried to reassure his friend, waving it off. He wasn't the least bit concerned about it being possibly dangerous. The red-haired kid actually was sort of hoping for some action.

Alec sighed. "Bryce, this is a bad idea," he insisted, but he still followed his friend along the path. "What if he catches us? He might eat us!"

"He won't catch us because giants are slow!" Bryce laughed, a bit too loudly. "Wow, you're such a worrywart. We're not even there yet-...oh, wait, we are! The cave is down there through the grove. Come on, let's go!" Bryce readjusted his pack and jogged down to it, past the stream. He stopped a few feet from the mouth of the dark cave built into the mountainside where the field ended. Bryce smiled to his friend, waving him over.

"I don't know, Bryce..." Alec said. "They're big, so wouldn't they be fast?" Still, he continued to follow his idiot of a friend, not wanting him to get hurt or killed because he wasn't there to help him out.

The giant, who had been trying to ignore the two humans, finally got up, starting for the entrance cave to see what all the fuss was about.

Bryce rolled his eyes. "I don't know. I guess we'll find out, won't we?" he said to his friend, raising an eyebrow. "Come on, if we do this, we'll be heroes!" he tried to get Alec as excited as he was about the whole thing. His back was to the cave, though he was approaching it still, his hand resting in the butt of his sword, though he wasn't ready to grab it fast enough to actually use it if he had to.

"Pretty sure we won't be heroes if we end up dead," Alec protested, and then froze. 

The giant was standing in the open cave, and Bryce was still approaching him!

"At least one of you has got some sense," the giant said gruffly.

Bryce froze, just in front of the cave mouth, not even five feet from the giant. Color, and any traces of bravery, drained from his face. His right hand clutched his sword's leather-covered hilt. He couldn't look back. Not without losing it. Yet there he was, turning slowly to face the giant, any other brave taunts lost to him.

Bryce gaped, eyes wide at the giant over him, looking down at him. He suddenly felt really small. He couldn't even say Alec's name. Couldn't speak, either from shock or fear.

The giant frowned down at the two of them. "What are you two doing here?" he demanded.

Alec slowly edged forward, taking Bryce's hand and giving it a small tug backwards. "L-leaving..." he stammered. "S-so s-sorry to b-bother you..."

"A-Alec." Bryce managed weakly, shaking, but trying not to show it. It was all he could really manage. His fingers were turning white from the grip on his sword, though he could seem to lift it without risking dropping it. He stumbled as his friend pulled him and he fell back into the grass.

Somehow he fumbled, pointing the sword at the giant dumbly, though it seemed pretty pathetic and not so great when compared to how big the giant was. It would probably be a prickly to him, if anything.

"Bryce, no!" Alec cried, trying to force his friend's hand down.

"Again, at least one of you has some sense," the giant said, sounding irritated. He reached down and plucked the sword from Bryce's grasp with one hand, picking him up with the other. "For that, you can leave here," he said to Alec, standing up. "Shoo."

"P-put my friend down!" Alec said. "Please! Let him go!"

The giant held Bryce away from his body, dangling him above the ground far below. "You really want me to let him go?"

"AAAH!" Bryce yelled, flailing, though he hit nothing but air. "Let me go! No, wait! Put me DOWN!" he shouted, still trying to fight though it was useless. 

His arms were caught in the straps of his pack, not that he had anywhere to go if he could get free. And he didn't, at this height. A fall would probably break a leg. He kicked, still unhappy and terrified with being dangled in the air.

"Alec! HELP!" he stated, knowing very well his friend could do little for him. And he didn't want Alec getting in danger just because he did something stupid himself. He realized he should have listened to Alec now. "I-I'll tell-tell my big brother!" he threatened weakly, shaking worse than before. He felt completely defenseless. His whole tone changed once he realized that the giant might get mad. A dreadful though came to mind. "D-don't eat me!!" he pleaded, all previous bravery gone.

The giant shook him a little, trying to get him to shut up. "Go away," he said sharply to Alec. "Now!" he added, stomping one foot, when the boy didn't immediately do so.

Alec flinched, but stood his ground. "Not without my friend," he said bravely.

"I said, go away!" the giant bellowed. "For your friend's sake, if for nothing else. The more you annoy me, the more likely I will be to make this painful for him."

Alec hesitated. "Bryce... I'll be back," he said. "I'll try to rescue you, I promise." And then he took off for home, to get everyone- anyone- else to help.

Bryce's eyes widened more, if that was even possible. He didn't want to be left alone with the giant!! Dread nearly made him sick as he watched Alec disappear through the grove. Then he had no other choice but to have his full attention on the giant.

Bryce's whole tone changed, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything, w-we won't bother you again!"

The shake had been enough to nearly make him slip out of the straps protecting him from a painful fall. He clung to it with no other options, waiting for his end. "W-what..." Bryce bit his lip, both to stop his voice from shaking and to stop himself from asking the question he dreaded. He didn't want to make the giant more unhappy than he already was and he actually fell into a brief silence.
        
Ignoring his captive for now, the giant carried him back inside. 
Anothe roleplay-base story! This one is :iconphoenix-firemage: and I's, base on one of her rp prompts. ^^ it was fun to do~ thought we'd share with you guys! Hope you enjoyed. Next chapter...really soon~ So if you're interested, more is to come!


Alec, our timid, but selfless friend, and the yet-to-be-named giant both belong to :iconphoenix-firemage:!

Thick-headed Bryce...well, that character would belong to me, :iconice-cove27:~

© 2014 - 2024 Ice-Cove27
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Imakegiants741's avatar

When he said,"S-so s-sorry to b-bother you..." it cracked me up.