By Reverie Quist

“Do we have to go this way?” Edelweiss whispered, clutching my arm as we maneuvered through the shadowy valley. Dark, frozen cliffsides loomed on each side. Heaps of snow and rock shards rendered the path nearly invisible. “Isn’t this giant territory?”

“There’s no going around it,” I whispered back to her, fingers ready to pull out my bow at a moment’s notice. “The Raeb Cliffs’ borders weave through all kingdoms.”

“Lovely.” The lost princess shuddered and pulled her cloak tighter, her frightened blue eyes flashing from under her hood.

I tipped up the brim of my hat. “Don’t be afraid, rayati.” She blushed at the nickname— my people’s word for “darling”—and I smiled. “The next village is just on the other side of the mountain. Right through there.” I pointed ahead to a crooked stone arch mounted at the cliffs’ end a bit farther through the snow. Raintrees surrounded the arch to ward giants away. “We’re almost there. And oh, my love, they make the greatest rice meals in the realm—just you wait!”

Edelweiss beamed at me, hugged my arm, then glanced at the cliffs and swallowed. “I don’t think I can wait.”

A distant blast of wind sent loose rocks crashing into the valley behind us. I scanned the cliffs. Edelweiss let go of my arm. I turned back and saw her trembling in the snow, gasping for breath.

My heart leapt into my throat.

“Edelweiss, look at me.” I took her hands, ducking my head to meet her eyes. “I’m right here. It’s going to be all right.”

She squeezed my fingers and focused on my eyes. Gradually, her breaths slowed, just like we’d practiced. I hated having to take her through this—giants had terrorized her enough already, ravaging the forest she’d been hidden and raised in. After I had found her in the forest’s remains, I swore to protect and return her to her kingdom where she was destined to rule, to change the realm. Crossing giant territory was unavoidable. I just feared these past terrors would make Edelweiss freeze… and they’d get to her before I could.

Her grip on my fingers loosened, and I folded her into a hug. A gust of snow flurried into the air, and I got an idea.

“You know, I’ve learned a secret way of fighting off giants.”

Edelweiss snickered. “Do you whittle them to death, carpenter boy?”

I smirked and bent down to run my hands through the snow. “You can ridicule my humble upbringing all you like, but this is a secret technique I learned from my father.”

Edelweiss tilted her head. “What are you—”

I let out a whistle, and suddenly, a snowball collided with the back of her shoulder. Edelweiss spun around, aghast, then gaped at me.

Oh, great heavenly lights, she was adorable.

I laughed, revealing sparks of magic flickering between me and the snow at our feet. Songcraft—using sound to manipulate the world around us—was a difficult art, but a fun one.

Edelweiss scurried away and dove behind a heap of rocks, and, after a few whistles of her own, a whole flurry of snowballs came barreling toward me.

I whipped out my bow and shot them down, retrieved the arrows, then ran forward to peek behind the rock.

“Yagh!” Edelweiss tackled me from behind, and we both went tumbling into the snow, cackling until we couldn’t breathe.

Boom.

Edelweiss went rigid. I jolted upright, shielding her in my arms, and looked behind us.

The giant filled the charcoal sky with its ragged teeth, rotting skin, and a stare that could stop the hearts of warriors. It loomed just a ship’s length away.

Lungs seizing, I snatched my bow, lifted Edelweiss to her feet, and ushered her behind the rock heap.

“Itri…” Edelweiss breathed my name as we crouched in the rock’s meager shadow. I squeezed her hand, peering over the edge to analyze the situation.

Boom. Another footstep sent a crack tearing through the ground. The giant had seen us. We had twenty seconds at best.

The rock heap leaned, starting to crumble. I shoved Edelweiss out of the way, then cried out as the shards pinned my leg to the icy earth.

Boom. The ground shook again. Edelweiss gasped for breath. I twisted, trying to spot her.

She’d fallen… mere meters from the giant’s feet, staring up at it. Frozen.

“Edelweiss!” I shouted, trying to snap her out of it. “Use the secret weapon, rayati!”  The giant bent down toward her, but before his twisted claws could reach her, Edelweiss rolled away. Trembling, she gathered a fistful of snow.

Finally kicking off the rocks trapping my leg, I gripped my bow and ran toward Edelweiss. She backed away from the giant, lifting the snowball in her shaking hand.

I notched an arrow and stuck her snowball onto the arrowhead. “You’ve got this. Give it the power it needs!” I heard her breath hitch as the giant reached out, and I hastily nudged my love’s arm. “Ready?”

She tore her eyes away from the giant, looked at me, then exhaled and held out her hands. “Okay.”

I released the arrow. Edelweiss gave a shout and thrust her hands forward, shooting a spark of blazing red magic. Changed by the songcraft, the snowball crystalized and exploded into the giant’s right eye.

The monster screeched in pain. Edelweiss grabbed my hand and, seizing our opportunity, we raced through the snow.

“That’s my girl!” I cheered as we ducked under the raintrees and passed the archway into safety on the other side of the valley.

“Did you see that?” Edelweiss panted, slowing to a stop beside me. “Did you see what I did?”

“Ha! Who said you couldn’t slay giants?” Gasping for breath, I beamed and kissed the top of her head.

Edelweiss released a surprised yelp and smashed another snowball into my face.

“Oh, sorry!” She laughed and hugged me.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Reverie Quist is a theater nerd, a guacamole-aholic, the proud owner of a stuffed gnome named Fuzzbert, and a spec fic writer who had a little too much fun coming up with this pen name. She’s been making things up since she was a small gremlin, and now that she’s a less-small gremlin, she can’t help but write about those make-believe things. She actually can’t stop writing. It’s a problem. (Please send guacamole.)

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