Simone mounted her horse, patting the beast's neck affectionately. She glanced over her shoulder, where Victoria wrung her hands and quietly fretted to herself.
"I'll be fine," Simone smiled at her friend, hoping it were true.
"You'd better be. It was terrible when you were in danger!" Victoria wailed.
Gabriel stood next to her, and his hand twitched slightly and began reaching for the upset woman, but then changed course suddenly and scratched the back of his head. Simone blinked at the gesture, but didn't comment.
"I'll get that note written so that we can use it immediately if need be," He assured Shayn.
"I hope you don't have to." The other replied.
Simone struggled to remember the two were step brothers. They acted naturally enough around each other to be true brothers, like Kyler and Shayn.
With that, the riders were off, leaving the wagon and the others to lag behind. The giants weren't visible from this distance, having tumbled down the mountain, but doubtless they would be soon.
She recalled estimates about their speed. Slower over the mountains, but unbelievably fast over land. There were few creatures known to be faster–one being the Void, which could travel quickly over vast distances. She shuddered.
Simone had been too young to fully experience the dangers of the Void in this world, but she remembered the fear of huddling in the shelters as the war raged outside.
The histories she'd help put away in the library were daunting. The stories of the Void had chilled her to the bone, while the giants were something of a fascinating study.
"Did you know the giants were once human?" She asked as the horses found a comfortable, yet brisk pace.
"Everyone knows that," Shayn threw her a glance that intimated she was insulting his intelligence.
"All right, but what about the story of the giants' near-extinction?" She asked.
"Which time? This world or theirs?" He smirked. Clearly he was better informed on this topic than she had anticipated.
"The first and second, not the third. First they nearly starved to death in this world because their appetites were too big to feed, and then again in Pink Sky World before most of them descended to the Below, where they were hunted down and killed by the goblins." She motioned with her hands as she spoke, becoming animated on the topic.
"Is your point that you're well-informed on the topic? I never disputed that, in case you didn't notice. You don't have to prove it to me," He looked as if he might roll his eyes, but she held up a finger urging him to wait.
"No, that's not my point, though you're perceptive to admit my amazing knowledge," She quipped. "My point is, when Gabriel talked about the state of Klain, it was struggling mightily to feed and supply all of the Cetoan refugees. It sounded like there's not a morsel to spare."
"And now we're about to potentially bring four ravenous mouths to feed that are difficult to sustain in the best of circumstances," Shayn followed her train of thought. "Encouraging."
"And last time they came, Klain fed them in trade for their protection," Simone added. "They might want or expect a similar deal this time, and we should set their expectations appropriately. We're not sure why they came, but if things were going marvelously in their own world…"
"Then they probably wouldn't have come here. I agree." Shayn nodded.
"Which makes our mission a little harder. If they came to ask for help, and we can't give it… their primary attribute is pride. If we can't cater to it, we'll risk upsetting and alienating them. That could be dangerous." Simone pictured a scenario where the giants weren't even actively hunting humans, just consuming all the resources until everyone starved to death.
Shayn didn't reply for a while, and the sound of the horses' hooves was all that was between them. Simone looked backwards to see if the wagon was doing well at staying hidden, or if they needed to speed up to put more distance between them.
"Stop looking back, it's suspicious," Shayn chastised her. "Eyes forward, or sideways, but never backwards, or you'll encourage anyone–or anything–that sees us to also look that direction. Trust them to do their job while we do ours."
Simone pressed her lips together, biting back a comment. She'd asked to come along, and she would endure whatever instruction he gave with grace, especially when it made as much sense as what she'd just said.
"How long have you been in the army?" She asked instead. He'd alluded to experience, but she hadn't pressed him on tales of just how experienced he was.
"I volunteered for my year of service when I was fourteen. That was ten years ago," He glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
"During the War Between Worlds," She filled in softly.
"Yes. My time in battle was but an hour or two, but it was more than enough. Since then, I have done various odd jobs for the military here and there, finally landing on surveying." He steered the subject away from morbid talk of the war, and she was grateful.
"And you enjoy surveying?" Simone continued.
"I'm very good at it, despite what some detractors have implied in times past," He kept his gaze straight ahead, and she couldn't tell if he were trying to get a rise out of her. She decided it was safest to ignore the jab and move on.
"And how does one accurately survey a landscape which is constantly changing?" She looked at the new mountain in the distance.
"You can't, I suppose, but it should stop eventually if what Gabriel says is true, and then surveyors will live the good life." He smirked.
"What do you mean?"
"If the worlds are merging, everything will change. Humans, so far as we know, have been to but a handful of other realms, and most of those merely at sea. With all the worlds into one, how much more will there be to map? How many surveyors do we have? Not nearly enough. I'll have enough work to keep me busy for the rest of my life."
Simone found his outlook on everything mildly perplexing.
"Will humans survive such an event? Will the worlds join at the edges or stack on top of each other, crushing us all?" She asked. "Surely death would be the end of your career."
"That's Roland's problem, not mine," He shrugged jovially.
The casualness with which he used their king's given name startled her, until she remembered the queen was Shayn's stepsister. It was very strange to be near powerful people in such a casual way.
"Will he solve it, do you think?" She asked, a little more quietly.
"He always manages to." Shayn replied confidently. "I doubt this time will be much different."
Simone chewed the inside of her cheek, not entirely sure if his cavalier attitude was all for show to cover his worry, or if he really was that confident in their leader's abilities that he had no concerns about what was to come.
His face was relaxed, but that might be for show. They were heading into a potentially volatile situation, was it natural to be without tension?
She thought back to his face as he dove for her runaway horse's reins, and then as he'd untied her in the back of the bandits' cart. He definitely had not been relaxed then. She wanted to ask him about it, but refrained in the interest of peace. It could sound accusatory or combative, as if she were implying he wasn't taking the situation seriously.
Currently he was eyeing the horizon watchfully. The foothills of the Northern mountains were varied and plentiful, and as they topped the next one, Simone gasped.
The giants had finally come into view. They were on the ridge of another mountain, standing still. Something caught the corner of Simone's eye and she turned as a green blur moved swiftly past. She blinked, and it was gone. Had she imagined it?
"Did you see that?" She pointed backwards.
"I said don't look back," Shayn reminded through gritted teeth. His horse whinnied nervously. "Hush, now. It'll be all right," He comforted the creature, patting its neck.
"I wasn't looking at them, I was–" Simone tried to contradict him, but he interrupted again.
"How good is giants' hearing, oh wonderful expert who I'm so lucky to have with me?" He asked.
"Their large ears are thought to possess wonderful hearing, but it's not been entirely proven, why do you ask?" She peered at him.
"Because I think they've just heard us. They're headed this way." His words were steadier than his facial expression, which slipped as the ground shook beneath them. The horses whinnied nervously, not liking the sensation.
There was no turning back or escaping for them now. Four enormous giants were headed directly towards them.