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My Borrowed Son | 26 | Walls Tumble Down

Chapter Twenty-Six | Walls Tumble Down

The night was a completely restless one. Between the nightmare and the girl Parker was sure he saw, no sleep dared to disturb him. He lay there completely awake as his eyes darted to the trim on the ceiling and the bedside table he used to sleep on.

Nothing happened all night.

It was maddening.

Parker wasn’t sure what he wanted to happen, but something to confirm or deny what he witnessed would have been nice. Instead, the rhythmic breathing of his mom and the warmth of her nearby hand was all he registered all night long.

When the sunrise finally came around, Parker felt like he had already put in a full day. As soon as his mom opened her eyes, Parker was on his feet and nudging her.

“Mom? Mom? Are you up?” Parker repeated himself until his mom was fully upright. Parker was determined to search through anything and everything he could, and he hoped his mom would help.

Both awake, the search began. Parker and his mom combed over the different parts of the house trying to find anything that would hint at this mysterious dream girl.

Sadly, to no avail.

No marks on the trim or electric covers. No wires or items out of place. The two of them scoured the house and found nothing.

It wasn’t until Parker suggested going into the walls that his mom raised an objection.

“Parker, I don’t think that’s a good idea. There could be anything in there and I don’t want you getting hurt,” Amanda insisted. They had been at this for a few hours now and it was making Amanda nervous, and for more than one reason.

The creeping thought that she had before that there were people Parker’s size living in the walls felt more like a possibility by the minute. She hoped and prayed it was all a dream, but Parker’s insistence filled her with dread.

She needed a minute to compose herself for the conversation she knew they needed to have today, and her being rattled and sleep deprived like Parker would lead down a negative path. The adoptive mother wanted to say the right things to her son, and her overtiredness wasn’t helping. Everything felt hazy in her mind.

She just needed a minute to collect herself.

Just one minute.

And Parker wasn’t giving it to her.

“Mom, just hear me out! I’ll be back and I’ll be careful. Look! You could even tie a rope like a harness and use it to…”

I said no, Parker!” Amanda had never snapped at her son, nor raised her voice at him, and this was precisely what she did now. The fear and worry were consuming her. She just needed a moment, and her words came out before she could stop herself.

Parker, stunned that his mom adopted such a tone now of all times, felt himself tense before the emotion swelled up to choke out any other suggestion he could make.

Didn’t she know how important this was to him?

Didn’t she know what this could mean?

There might be someone his size out there! She could need help.

Parker always thought he had tough skin, but something about the exhaustion and obsession to find the truth whittled him down to raw emotion.

Dejected and confused, Parker’s shoulders sagged as he walked back to his room. He heard his mom call after him, but it wasn’t until her hand physically stopped him that he turned to face her. Vision blurred from tears threatening to crest over the edges of his eyes, Parker barely noticed his mom had the same look on her face.

“I’m so sorry, Parker. I’m… I think I’m just a bit tired. Let’s… let’s just lie down for a few minutes and reconvene for lunch. Yeah? Get back to the search then? Maybe we missed something,” Amanda suggested.

Parker sniffled and nodded. With that, his mom watched him walk back to him room down the hall. The small teen boy barely registered that he was walking. His mind was numb and he felt foggy. Something just felt off about his mom’s reaction, and he wanted to know why.

He also knew he didn’t want to take a nap.

He wanted to find the girl.

The moment he was in his space and climbing the stairs to his room that his curiosity and drive got the better of him. The more he thought, the more he was convinced what he needed to do.

He needed to search in the one place his mom couldn’t reach.

Despite what she said, he was going to go anyway.

He was going into the walls.

When he was sure his mom had stepped away and wasn’t going to walk in to check on him, he pulled on his pack like he did the first time he went into the walls and climbed down the line to the electrical cover in his room. Nerves made his hands shake as he unscrewed the panel and pulled.

Just like the one at home, it came free easily. Disbelief tugged at Parker as he looked at the screw. It looked like the other one – like it was filed down or purposefully shorter.

Parker’s ribs could barely contain his pounding heart. He forced two nervous breaths into his lungs slowly as he hoisted himself up and into the wall.

Immediately, he could see it was dark, but not as dark as the walls at home. Perhaps it was because it was daylight instead of in the dead of night, but something inside Parker told him it might very well be something completely different.

He placed one foot in front of the other carefully, like he was walking on slick ice. Something made him want to stop, but that same thing compelled him forward. It was the sensation of experiencing the unknown. It was the need to discover the truth.

Was what he saw real? Or not?

Parker wasn’t even sure what he wanted the answer to be.

Did he really want to think a girl his size was living in the walls like some weird rodent or pest? Was that the truth? Or just his imagination? Did she have his rare genetic condition? If so, why had her family abandoned her? Or had she run away?

On the other hand, was it just a part of his nightmare? His dreams felt so real. Those nightmares felt tangible. Would something that was “just a dream” make him wake sweaty and shouting for those figures being dragged away by the currents?

He was like Neo from The Matrix, torn between two choices. He hadn’t even realized he had stopped walking forward as the thought hit him.

Did he turn back and believe whatever he wanted to believe?

Or did he want to see how far down the rabbit hole went?

The teen swallowed dryly, already knowing what he wanted and yet afraid to take it.

One step.

Then another.

Parker chose to move forward toward the curve of the hallway that led further into the walls.

~~~^*^*^~~~

He hadn’t been walking long. Five minutes maybe?

As he delved further into the walls, Parker noticed the same things he did at his old home. The walls were void of debris and random chunks of fallen drywall and dust piles. There was something familiar about the walls. It was like a comforting blanket on a winter night.

Then, he saw it. As he rounded the next corner down some cords and across one beam, he saw light.

It was a soft, warm glow that would come from Christmas lights. He even turned off his own lamp to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

They weren’t.

His quiet, careful steps broke into a bold run. His heart was tearing him apart from the inside. Every thought felt like white noise humming in his skull. Parker pursued the light and whipped around the corner to see the shocking sight he couldn’t have expected.

The moment he rounded the corner, he saw what he could only describe as a mud room or supply closet.

He saw fishing hooks attached to knotted rope on the walls. There were bags in a pile in the corner of the room. Thumb tacks, razor blade with rubber on the ends, and toothpicks were in the wall at the far corner. Shoes lined the other wall, and there were quite a few with what Parker could only describe as different designs.

A roll of double sided tape hung on the walls beside a post-it note with scribbles all over it. Parker’s insides clenched as he spotted one symbol he recognized which looked like a poorly drawn house with a check mark in the middle.

I’m really through the looking glass now. Parker thought as he surveyed his surroundings. No specific emotion rose to the surface, but panic was starting to be one of them.

“Wha-… You!”

Parker nearly jumped out of his skin as he spun on his heel and saw none other than the girl with raven eyes. Time held still as he had a full minute to look at this new stranger.

“You… y-you… you’re real…” Parker couldn’t even stop the words from coming out as he exhaled in awe. The girl, on the other hand, looked tense and offended. She spun around quickly and started to sprint away, forcing Parker into a reactive panic.

“Wait! Please! Don’t go! I’m sorry!” he shouted, daring to chase after her a few steps before his legs gave out. His limbs refusing to respond as some form of shock overtook him. Parker heaved in a few deep breaths and listened desperately for the girl but heard nothing but the thunderous beating of his heart.

Was this happening? He was giving out now?

The teen simply sat there crumpled on his knees as he could do nothing else for a minute or two before something caught his attention.

“Hey! Hey! You going to start shouting for that human again?”

Parker blinked and saw the girl had returned and was peering around the corner at him.

That human? Is she talking about my mom?

“N-no… no, I… I don’t shout. Just… don’t go,” Parker replied. His desperation to talk to this girl and keep her in place overrode the girl’s insult of calling his mom “that woman.”

The girl huffed nice and loud once in a kind of scoff before stepping back into the room. She folded her arms indignantly and stared expectantly at him. The teen wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he was in a world of trouble. Parker had always imagined what it would be like to meet someone else like him, but never did he imagine this kind of scenario.

Parker took in everything about her. From the way she was dressed to the way she held herself. She held herself with a certain amount of confidence that was certainly admirable. She also looked like she could verbally rip Parker a new one if he angered her more than what she already was.

Her clothes were a mismatch of blues and blacks, a severely patched poncho covering her shoulders and most of her torso. Her dark brown hair was in a ponytail held up by a piece of black yarn. There was a hook on her hip as well as what looked like a climbing rope and a lamp. She also had on a backpack, but Parker could only venture a guess as to what was inside of it.

Overall, she looked like some kind of wall bound adventurer.

“Well?” she said after Parker had stared at her for a considerable few minutes. Parker sputtered for a second, not sure what to do. She rolled her eyes and kept her arms folded. “Aren’t you going to apologize for kicking me? You left quite the bruise.”

Right! Parker recalled their tussle earlier this morning.

“Umm… yeah.. right. I’m sorry. I’m Parker. What’s your name?” asked Parker.

“Sorry for what? Be specific when you apologize,” stated the girl curtly. Parker’s mind scrambled for the words, which finally came to him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to kick you. Well… I mean I did… but I thought you were trying to hurt me and that it was just a dream,” stammered Parker. The girl heaved a hefty sigh and kept her arms folded.

“I suppose that’ll have to do,” she said sarcastically. “And I’m Kit. Well, Sprokit technically, but I prefer Kit.”

“Kit, right. I like that,” grinned Parker. His heart fluttered as he took in a few calming breaths, grinning as he continued to look at this strange new girl. “I just can’t believe it. You… you’re here. You’re real. I never thought I’d meet someone else like me.”

Kit’s raven eyes narrowed.

“Someone else like you? What? Did you think you were the only one?” she asked disbelievingly. “Rude.”

“I… I’m sorry. No. I mean, of course no. I knew others had to be out there. It’s such a rare condition though. Can you blame me?” Parker had a million questions coming to his mind. The awe of finding someone else with his genetic condition was astounding.

“Condition?” asked Kit. “What on earth are you talking about?”

Confused, Parker pushed himself up and stood shakily, his entire body vibrating with excitement and nervousness as he said, “You know? Condition? Oh… wait… do you not know?”

“Know what? You’re the one talking crazy,” scoffed Kit.

Parker felt a wrenching in his gut.

This girl doesn’t know she has Parvi Homunculi Syndrome. Poor thing. Her parents probably didn’t know when they had her. She probably ran away.

“You don’t know? You must, right? Your pediatrician would have diagnosed you when you were little,” stated Parker, every thought pinging in his mind and bouncing around like a tiny rubber ball. Each thought was one he tried to stitch together to better explain to this girl her condition.

“Pedia-what? What on earth is that?” Kit asked.

“Pediatrician. It’s a doctor for kids. They give you your shots and make sure you’re well and don’t get sick and all that. You have check-ups and everything every year. Have you never been taken to one?” The notion someone had never been to the doctor was absurd to Parker.

At this, Kit bristled, and her face scrunched. Parker figured he had offended her again based on the look she gave him. “I’m not some pet to be take to the doctor, especially a human one.”

Parker was completely baffled. What was she talking about? She kept talking about “human” this and “human” that.

“But… why? I mean, you are human, just a little smaller than normal,” stated Parker.

Kit’s eyes widened. It was like she just realized something which made her stoic features unhinge. Her jaw slackened as she just stared at Parker.

The next words out of her mouth made Parker’s blood run cold.

“Good night… you really don’t know, do you…” muttered Kit in a tone of awe. Her arms went slack by her side as the pretentious air around her changed to curious tension.

“Don’t know?” asked Parker. He felt like they were both from completely different worlds. How could she not know that she was human? “Don’t know what?”

“That you’re a Borrower.”

That word.

It sounded so familiar.

It sounded like something Parker had heard before. It stirred something in the back of his mind. It was like an itch he couldn’t scratch in the depths of his brain, but it was there all the same.

Borrower.

Why did that sound like he should know what it meant?

No.

No that’s not right.

This has to be a mistake.

“That’s… impossible,” muttered Parker aloud. His head swirled. To keep from losing his balance, Parker staggered backward and leaned against the nearby wall under some of the shelves. “No. You… you’re wrong. I’m… I’m a human, and so are you.” He looked up and locked eyes with Kit, but there was no play of smile on her face indicating she was just messing with him.

“Parker, I’m being serious. I’m a Borrower. You’re a Borrower. We’re not some weird small human,” asserted Kit. Parker felt completely and utterly sick. His head was throbbing. Every beat of his heart felt like it would bring the house down.

“No… No! I’m not! It’s a genetic condition. I have a genetic condition. Parvi Homunculi Syndrome. It’s a rare condition. It makes me just like a human, but smaller. Yo-.”

“Parker, don’t lie to yourself,” Kit stated firmly as she stepped forward and gripped Parker’s shoulders, forcing him to look into her coal black eyes. “You’re a Borrower and you have been all your life. That human took you and has been keeping you like some kind of sick pet.

“She’s been lying to you. That human down there has been lying to you. You’re not human. You’re a Borrower. You belong with other Borrowers, not down there in the human world! That’s why I went down last night. I was trying to rescue you. I didn’t think that you wer-.”

“No!” Parker couldn’t take it anymore. He reached up and shoved out as hard as he could, which sent Kit flying across the room, which was spinning violently. “I… I don’t believe you. I…”

Suddenly, his vision started to darken into little pinpoints. He started breathing harder and faster, but it did him no good. Every breath felt completely absent. It was like his lungs were paper bags with holes cut in them.

Nothing was sticking.

No thought.

No air.

No way to stabilize this swirling room.

Parker fell to his knees and felt the thrum of his pulse in every part of his body.

It couldn’t be helped. Though breakfast was scarce, everything on the inside was suddenly bubbling up his throat and exploding out of his mouth. The acid burned his throat and mouth, making breathing impossible.

The ringing in his ears blocked all sound. Parker’s shaking was uncontrollable.

It wasn’t until he felt something around his shoulders that he finally started to see again. Though the ringing in his ears didn’t stop, Parker blinked away his daze to see something had been draped over his shoulders. What confused him was that it was brown, and nothing either of them had on was brown in any stretch of the imagination.

Warily, Parker glanced over and saw not one but two new sets of boots standing directly to his right. He swallowed roughly and blinked his eyes tight and reopened them.

No.

It wasn’t his imagination.

They were real.

A string of acid tasting drool slipped from his laxed mouth, but he didn’t care. The teenager, crouched on all fours, dared to look up and, to his mortified astonishment, saw two new faces. One face had the same charcoal black eyes and blond hair. He looked older than Parker, but not by much. His features reminded Parker of some of his classmates, who were all two or three years older than him.

The other was a man who, for all Parker knew, could have been about the age of his mom. He was obviously athletically built, muscles noticeably tone and sharp. His clothes were also in tatters, just like Kit’s clothes made of patches and odd pieces, and there was a thumbtack and stay pin on his hips.

The man had these keen blue eyes built for assessing and survival. Parker couldn’t discern how he knew, but he just did. The man’s hair was a dark and shaggy brown, and it had been tied up into a weird kind of bun. He was crouched by Parker’s side, and he looked worn out and irritated, but the young teen could sense it wasn’t with him.

“You okay, kid?” asked the man as he scanned Parker’s face and his crouched body. Parker felt his eyes burning and realized only now that his face was wet.

“I…” Parker’s head swirled again. His chest spasmed and he coughed up a few more chunks that had been lodged in his throat. The man rested his hand on Parker’s back reassuringly and patted him a few times.

“Yeah, you’re alright. As alright as you can be I guess,” said the man. He sounded tired and resigned. Parker barely registered the man turning his head up toward the other pair of boots that were nearby. “So, you two decided to take it upon yourselves then, hmm?”

“She did,” grumbled the other teen.

“What? You’re pinning this on me?” demanded Kit. “We all talked about it. I’m just the only one who decided to do something about it. I didn’t think you were serious about this kid not knowing he was a Borrower.”

“Kit!” scolded the other guy, this “Borrower” thing they kept throwing around, as he stepped up to her. Parker wondered if they were related because of their shared eyes. The other one, however, didn’t look like he was related to the two teens his age.

Parker was so distracted that it took another gentle nudge from the older stranger to get his attention. He was holding up something that looked like part of a plastic bag with some clear liquid in it.

“Don’t worry. It’s water. Swish and spit, okay?” he offered. Parker tried swallowing again, but his throat felt like sandpaper. Without a word, the man stood, snagged Parker by his armpits, and helped him to sit with his back against the wall as he offered the clear bag again.

The simple command of reaching up and grabbing the bag was almost too much for Parker’s muscles to endure, but he somehow found the strength to reach out and take the bag. The water felt cool and refreshing and getting that nasty bile out of his mouth made Parker feel a sense of clarity.

While Parker swished the water, the two other teens continued to argue.

“I told you that if you didn’t tell mom and dad that I would tell them,” said the one.

“Finnick! You traitor! I was going to tell them. I just wanted to check and see if we had to run for our freaking lives because of this one and the human downstairs. I didn’t think you meant waking mom and dad up first thing and telling them,” Kit spat.

They went round and round with this as the older man stayed crouched by Parker’s side. With a hefty sigh, he didn’t even glance at Parker when he said, “So, they told you?”

It wasn’t hard to guess what the stranger was referring to, so Parker dared to nod his head.

“T-they told me that my… that I’m… not… that I’m…” Words were hard. Any coherent thought Parker had was completely fried. Everything hurt. The man nodded slowly and smiled sympathetically as he rested his hand on Parker’s shoulder.

“I know. I’m sorry, Parker. You should’ve been told sooner, but it never seemed to be the right time,” sighed the stranger. This sparked a million new branching thoughts, each leading to nowhere specifically. Parker, now partially in control of his faculties, turned his head to look the stranger in the eye. One thought managed to manifest itself, and Parker wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer.

“H-how… how do you know m-my name?” he stammered. The man’s shoulder’s slumped. He looked defeated yet resigned to his fate.

“I’ve known you for a while now, you just didn’t know it since I was hidden. I’ve been watching over you for a little while now, Parker. You and your mom both,” he said. Parker felt his head swirl again as his insides threatened to once again turn inside out.

This guy has been watching me? Watching my mom? Is he a stalker? Who does stuff like that? Who just watches people? Has he been living in the walls?

Parker’s memory flashed of that fateful night when he saw a shadow outside of his space and went into the walls after finding that mark on the electrical cover wood panel.

“Y-you. You! It was your shadow I saw that night?” asked Parker. The man sighed and nodded slowly.

“I thought you were in the other room and wanted to check on your space to make sure you were doing alright. I didn’t think you were nearby but ran for it the moment I realized you were close,” said the man.

At this point, the siblings’ argument was so loud that it was hurting Parker’s head. The strange man obviously had had enough and stood abruptly, taking a step toward the two fighting teens.

“You always do stuff like this! You’re always going off on your own because you think you know what’s best. Now, we’ll have to leave because you were careless an-”

“Oh sure! Blame me! I’m little Mr. Perfect over here and never break any of the Borrower rules! You would never think about accidentally revealing yourself or leaving something out of place because you wanted to help the human girl because you thought she was cute!”

“That’s enough!” the man roared over the two squabbling siblings. It was so loud it made all of the teens jump a little, Parker especially because it reminded him of his mom’s tone earlier this morning. The silence that followed was tense. Discomfort filled the small room.

Parker saw the two other teens bristle, but their argument stopped thankfully.

“Fighting like this is doing us no good. Finnick, you went and got me because you wanted us all to be present to discuss what we thought Parker did and didn’t know. Kit, you know you had a hand in all of this. Finnick wouldn’t have gotten me unless it was absolutely necessary.

“Your parents made sure to know how they felt about me yesterday when I warned you about Parker’s situation. Now, we need to stop fighting amongst ourselves and focus on the task at hand, which is helping Parker readjust to everything that was just dumped on him,” said the man. “Now, if you two don’t mind, you should lead the way. Finnick, based on what you said, your parents are waiting for all three of us. I’m sure our fourth will be welcome as well.”

Parker knew they were talking about him, but all he could do was stare at the clear liquid in the bag in his hands. He felt like that liquid, contained in a perfect little container that had now shattered into a million pieces that had no hope of reassembling.

“Parker?” The teen glanced up and stared into the strange man’s face for several seconds, only now noticing the scar on his cheek that had long since healed.

“Y-yes?” said Parker as he fumbled over this one word.

“If you want some answers, you can come with us. I know all of this is strange. It probably feels like nothing is real right now, but I can tell you it is. I can help take you back or you can come with us. We’ll answer your questions and then take you back when you’re ready,” said the man.

Parker’s mind was a blurry haze. Nothing made sense, and yet it did at the same time. There were so many questions lingering in his mind that he couldn’t reach. It was like whisps of smoke. Every time one was nearly visible, it vanished into thin air never to be seen again.

It was the offer of some truth that gave Parker the strength to stand shakily to his feet and nod.

“Oh… o-okay,” he said weakly.

“Need help walking?” offered the man. Parker shook his head and pulled what he could now see was some kind of brown cloak further over his shoulders. Based on the way it dragged the ground, it probably belonged to the man rather than one of the two teens Parker’s age.

Staggered step after staggered step, Parker followed behind the teens and beside the strange man.

Parker’s heightened senses for danger and other such things weren’t going off, which was either good for him or bad for him. Stranger danger was a thing, but the situation he was in was beyond worrying about strangers.

This was something earth shattering, and all at once Parker felt like his world was collapsing in on itself.

The thing he knew for certain was that there was no going back, and he might as well hear these peoples’ answers before going back to talk to his mom.

His mom…

Parker hoped and prayed that this was some kind of elaborate prank and that these people just didn’t realize they had Parvi Homunculi Syndrome.

Sadly, as he followed them through the labyrinth of walls and climbed cables and exposed nails, he slowly began to realize that his hopes were just a pipe dream. Parker climbed, hand over fist, up a makeshift ladder and found himself face to face with what looked like a ragtag house. There were windows and a door and a mix of Christmas and fairy lights all going inside of the structure.

It was official.

This was a home.

A home within a home.

It made Parker ask the gut-wrenching question he had been dreading.

If these people had, Parvi Homunculi Syndrome, would they be living up in this crawl space hiding away from the world?

Which thing is true? Am I a human? Or am I this other thing? A Borrower?

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

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voraciousvore · 3 days

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Giganterra (Chapter 23)

Prologue/ TOC | Previous (22) | Next (coming Thursday)

Content Warning: Violence/ blood, physical/ verbal abuse, neglect, vulgar language

Word Count: 3.1k

------ Chapter 23: A Merciless Beating ------

Ronny hadn’t touched Tanya since dropping her into her enclosure, and had barely even acknowledged her existence. As a matter of fact, nobody else had either. The giant prince hadn’t bothered to instruct his servants to take care of her, so nobody had fed her for days now. When she first arrived, she feared abuse; now, she feared neglect. The human house still had a supply of water, but she didn’t know how much longer it would last—or how long she would last, without the essentials necessary to sustain her body.

Was she doomed to rot away in this glorified cell for the rest of her days, to wither away and starve in solitary confinement? Tanya was famished, but she was too afraid to ask for food. Ronny, with his foul temper and nasty attitude, intimidated her deeply. The servants were indifferent to her presence and annoyed about having to clean up after the sloppy prince. She doubted they would want to take on the extra responsibility of caring for the prince’s new pet on top of their existing workload, for no extra recompense.

She couldn’t believe these giants could be so horribly callous. None of them seemed to view her as a person worthy of any attention or respect. She slipped into despair as she languished in her glass prison, slowly rotting away. She didn’t have anything to entertain or distract her from her empty belly. Tanya wasn’t a stranger to hunger, but that didn’t make the discomfort any easier to deal with.

If she was going to survive, she would have to be brave and make her needs known. She would have to ask one of the giants to feed her. The task before her was daunting. She imagined the prince squashing her like a bug in a fit of wrath at her audacity and trembled. She pictured one of the servants plucking her out of her house, since Ronny didn’t care about her, and stealing her to satisfy his own depraved desires, and her blood curdled. The risk was high, but the cost of inaction was higher. She needed to be assertive.

As she watched Ronny suit up in an all-white body suit—for what purpose, she had no clue—she decided to speak up. She bit her lip as he looked himself over in the mirror with a fierce expression. Tanya couldn’t help but notice how fastidious he was in his appearance, from his head to his feet. He didn’t have a single hair out of place, with the black strands glossed down to a smooth shine. His handsome face was flawless, his clothes unwrinkled and spotless—he was immaculate. If Tanya wasn’t so frightened of him, and he wasn’t a humongous and savage giant, she might’ve found him to be quite physically attractive.

Her throat seized up as his dark eyes met hers from the reflective surface of the mirror. He spun around, his noble features warped with bestial bloodlust. Tanya panicked and fled, hiding under her bed with her heart pumping hard. She was flooded with shame over her cowardice, on top of her despair, as his massive footfalls rattled the walls. She was alone again. Her abdomen cramped with hunger and she groaned. She couldn’t continue like this: She had to act.

She resolved that she would talk to the next giant who came into the room, whether it was the prince or one of his servants. She was getting desperate. Her stomach whined relentlessly and burned as if it were digesting itself. She hugged her knees into a tight ball and eventually began to drift off to sleep. She was tired, both in a spiritual sense and in a physical sense, since her body lacked sufficient nourishment. She dreamed of mountains of bread, cakes in market stalls that jumped away when she tried to grab them, soldiers chasing her shouting, “Thief!”

One of the soldiers in the dream grabbed her arm and she was snapped awake with the deafening slam of the bedroom door. Tanya timidly crawled out from her hiding place to see that Ronny had returned. However, he was in a completely different state than when he left. His white uniform was stained with dirt and red chalk marks all over. His black hair was sticking out in messy tufts all over his head. His chest was heaving and he was clenching and unclenching his fists with tremendous strain in every muscle of his body. His face was layered with sweat and grime, and his expression was contorted with overwhelming fury.

Tanya had never seen the finicky prince in such disarray, but she had seen him angry too often for her peace of mind. And at that moment, he was absolutely livid. Tanya’s hopes of catching him in a good mood were dashed as he stomped around the room and swore with murderous language. He picked up loose articles and hurled them against the walls, breaking things and tearing through all his stuff. Tanya’s heart sank to her feet. There was no way she could bring attention to herself without dying; she was going to starve to death.

The prince’s tantrum was interrupted when another giant opened the door to enter the room. “Not right now! Get out of here!” Ronny snapped. He twisted around to a dead stop, however, when he saw the intruder who hadn’t even bothered to knock was none other than his domineering father, with his colossal guard. Ronny’s rage evaporated, to be replaced with a nervous air.

“Ronny,” his father uttered coldly. “We need to talk.” Ronny swallowed, sat stiffly on the edge of his bed, and folded his hands sheepishly in his lap. He gestured to a chair, offering his father a seat, but the king chose to stand.

“I spoke to your tutor this morning. He mentioned that you’re behind on your studies.” Ronny clasped his hands and stared down at his shoes. He wanted to defend himself, to inform his father that he had large gaps in his studies due to a lack of formal instruction, but his lips stayed sealed shut. He was too unnerved to speak.

“And I don’t think I need to relate back to you your abysmal performance in your fencing lessons.” Ronny shook his head, his face pinched with strain. The king took a step forward, making his son flinch slightly. He lowered his voice to a dangerous pitch. “Ronny. Look at me.”

The prince looked up, as if he were trying to force himself to stare directly at the sun. Hardon scowled and continued to browbeat him. “Ronny, you are proving to be lackluster and useless on every conceivable level. You are stupid and childish. You are weak, not only in constitution but in character. Soft and flabby like a dead fish. I can no longer tolerate this. I need to set you straight before it’s too late.”

Ronny didn’t get a chance to react before his father raised his hand and struck him hard on the side of his face. “Ajax, hold him down,” he commanded. Ronny yelped as the gigantic man lunged forward like a bull and wrestled him to the bed. He was no match for Ajax, who had biceps as thick around as his skull and almost eighty additional feet of height.

“Ajax, give me your belt.” The guard only needed one muscled knee to keep Ronny pinned as he impassively undid his belt and handed it to King Richard, who bared his teeth in a bloodthirsty grin. “Consider this a warning for future things to come if you don’t shape up,” he snarled.

“No, please!” Ronny pleaded, squirming uselessly. King Richard ignored his begging and procured a knife from his guard. Ajax flipped Ronny over on his belly and his father slashed open his soiled uniform with the knife, exposing the tender flesh of his back. Ronny recoiled at the touch of the cold metal and the sound of the fabric tearing.

“I’m going to enjoy this,” Hardon sneered, snapping the belt in his gnarled hands. He swung it back and whacked his son’s bare skin with the big brass buckle. Ronny jerked against the big hands holding him down and screamed in agony. A deranged glint flashed in the king’s pale eyes as he went berserk, whipping the prince with frenzied strokes. The buckle bit into Ronny’s back, leaving bruises and welts and drawing blood.

He unleashed a volley of verbal abuse to spice up his violence, frothing at the mouth with insults and curses. “Worthless piece of shit! Fool! Idiot! Loser! You must be a bastard son: There’s no way that you’re mine! Useless, disgusting, filthy, cowardly, slimy puddle of rotten puke!” As enraged and inflammatory as his degrading words were, the king was clearly enjoying himself, finding release for his sadism. By the time he was done flogging Ronny, he was breathing hard, but his eyes were shining with stimulation. He dropped the belt to the floor with a heavy clunk.

Ronny sobbed uncontrollably, delirious from the pain. His father leaned over him, digging his fingers into the bloody gashes in his back. Ronny shrieked like a little girl, contorting his back. Hardon raised his bloodstained fingertips to his lips and tasted the blood with glee. He couldn’t restrain himself from chuckling.

“Your blood... it tastes just like Alessandro’s did...” he remarked, licking his fingers clean. “Now, Ronny, I want you to think about this lesson and apply yourself harder. Be an heir that I can be proud of. Or else your fate will be grim, just like your older brother...” He trailed off and frowned; he grew distant as he reminisced. Without another word, he walked out, with Ajax following close behind.

Tanya watched the whole scene play out in abject horror. The king was a psychopathic lunatic. Ronny laid listlessly where he had been shoved into the mound of bedsheets, his body crumpled, shedding salty tears with pitiful whimpers. Tanya winced as she gazed over the bloodsoaked landscape of his back, framed by his shredded shirt. Her fear for Ronny had vanished, seeing him so defeated and hurt, to be replaced by pity. He seemed far more approachable in his vulnerability. As a naturally empathetic person, Tanya wished to make him feel better, even if she didn’t find him especially likable.

She gulped and mustered up her courage. “R-R-Ronny...” she muttered. Her voice was too quiet for him to hear through the glass. She cleared her throat, louder this time. “Prince Ronny!”

Ronny’s chest spasms halted. He had assumed that he was alone, forgetting that Tanya existed, so her voice materializing out of nowhere startled him. He turned around to look at her, with his face swollen and soggy. Tanya flinched but held her ground. “Are… are you alright?”

Ronny didn’t answer. He seemed baffled that she was talking to him. His eyes, like black coals, burned into her. Tanya sensed she had made a terrible mistake. She took a few steps back, stumbling into a chair, and cowered behind it. Her fears were confirmed when the huge man sat up and prowled over to her house, his torso encompassing her entire view through the glass. Tanya shrieked as he opened the roof and towered over her. His features appeared all the more terrifying as his cheek puffed out and darkened with a bruise.

“F-f-forgive my insolence, Your Highness!” Tanya sputtered, ducking further behind the chair. “I meant nothing by it, forget I said anything-” She shrieked as the giant flicked the chair out of the way effortlessly and encased her in his fist, lifting her clear out of the house. He held her up to his tear-streaked face and scrutinized her closely. Tanya froze up as she stared into the darkness of his huge irises before her. The prince had lost his brutal edge: He had a softness to him, in his touch and expression. Stripped of his cold façade, Tanya could finally bear witness to the fear and pain buried inside him.

He carried her over to his bed, sat down, and eased himself into a reclining position that didn’t make his raw back sting too much. He gently cradled the small woman against his chest, letting out a long, laborious sigh. Tanya swallowed, too nervous to move as she was surrounded by his fingers and the immense wall of his chest. She wasn’t sure what the giant was planning to do with her. She tensed up, ready for anything.

“I hate him,” the prince said. Tanya looked up at his sculpted chin above her. She couldn’t see his face from this angle, but she could feel the tension in his muscles and the raw emotion in his voice. “God, I hate him. I can’t stand that man.”

Tanya patted the folds of his palm underneath her in understanding. The prince continued to vent in a shaky voice. “I feel like such a failure, but I just can’t live up to his impossible standards. I’m never good enough for him. He pressures me to be just like him, but he’s so repulsive. I don’t want to be heartless and wicked and perverse like he is.” Tanya stroked one of his enormous fingers, hoping to soothe or placate the unpredictable giant. Ronny glanced down, giving her a weak smile.

He felt better, vocalizing his thoughts to another person, even if she was nothing more than an insignificant human. He would never tell anyone else his deeper thoughts, but he was comfortable confiding in her because she didn’t really matter. She belonged to him. She wouldn’t spill his secrets to others or gossip about him behind his back to the servants. Plus, he had to admit... she seemed nice. Not too many people were nice to him.

Ronny dropped his voice lower. “I’m... afraid of him,” he confessed. “I’m afraid of what he’s capable of. Not just because he beats me. He... made my brother disappear. Alessandro—he was the eldest son, the crown prince before me. He went to confront my father about how he treated the human kingdom, and Dad murdered him in cold blood. And then he erased him from all the historical records and forbade anyone from mentioning him. He didn’t just kill him: He obliterated him entirely from existence. Such is his power, and his cruelty.” He lapsed into silence as he relived the haunting memories.

“That’s horrible,” Tanya said softly, with genuine feeling. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, that you have such a heavy burden upon you.” Ronny wrapped his fingers snugly around her and pressed her to his chest in a sort of hug. Tanya was amazed to receive such a kind gesture from the prince. She didn’t know he was capable of compassion.

With all the drama, Tanya had forgotten about her hunger. Her stomach made sure to remind her with an obnoxious grumble that was loud enough for even the giant prince to hear. He tilted his head at her, puzzled. “Are you growling at me?”

“N-no, of course not, Your Highness!” Tanya hastily denied, flustered.

“What was that noise then? Your belly?”

Tanya flushed and nodded sheepishly. “Yes. I apologize... I haven’t eaten in days...” She cracked with emotion and nearly started crying at her own misfortunes.

Ronny raised his dark brows along with his voice. “The servants haven’t been feeding you?!” Tanya shook her head, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

“I’m so hungry...” she admitted faintly. She slumped against his chest weakly. Ronny frowned, anger boiling in his gut at the incompetence of the giants around him.

He snapped his fingers impatiently. “Servant! Get in here!” His manservant rushed into the room with a bow. “Bring me a snack! Something soft! Now!” The servant nodded and hurried out of the room.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you fed... uh... what’s your name?”

“Tanya,” the diminutive lady sniffled.

“Tanya.” Ronny felt something strange as he looked down at her. He was typically indifferent towards humans at best, and repulsed at worst, but when he saw her huddled up in his hand, an unprecedented tenderness stirred inside him. She had witnessed his personal woes, listened to his rant without judgement, and comforted him in his time of darkness, and he was thankful for that. He brushed her cheek with his thumb. She drew back from his touch, still uncertain.

The servant returned with a wide variety of confections and savory treats. Tanya’s jaw dropped at the edible panorama, which included shrimp, bruschetta, crostini, slices of smoked salmon, deviled eggs, finger sandwiches, bonbons, pudding, cookies, and miniature snack cakes. Ronny shooed the servant out of the room and set Tanya in the middle of the tray. Her mouth watered uncontrollably and her stomach gurgled noisily.

“Go ahead. Eat what you want,” the prince uttered casually, as if the feast set before him was merely a common snack. Tanya couldn’t resist her hunger and chowed down with the urgency of an underfed person who didn’t know when her next meal would come. Ronny was peckish after his grueling sparring session, so he ate as well, albeit with less enthusiasm than the starving human. He observed her shovel food in her mouth with mild amusement.

Tanya filled her belly to bursting, until she made herself nauseous. She flopped down and rubbed her swollen midsection. She was relieved to sate her hunger, but her heart began to palpitate when she regained self-awareness and realized she was surrounded by giant food, with a man-eating giant towering over her. She was completely at his mercy. She went quiet and stared up at him with wide eyes, waiting to see what he would do. Was the whole display of kindness a trap? Did he stuff her just to improve her flavor? Could she trust him?

Ronny, oblivious to her discomfort, yawned with fatigue and plucked her up off the tray. “I need to wash up,” he proclaimed. He lowered her back into her house, shut the lid, and left to take a bath and tend to his wounds.

Tanya, now alone with her thoughts, wasn’t sure what to think. Her view of the prince had radically changed. She had seen a different side to him that she never dreamed existed. And, thankfully, she had been blessed with glorious food, so she wouldn’t wither away to skin and bones. Maybe she had a slim chance at happiness after all. Maybe.

Chapter 24 (coming Thursday)

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