My eyes have never grown so wide. The gargoyle statues…. You're not gonna believe this but they're….. they're….. My back and hands were all pressed up against the grey stone wall behind me as I watched in a mixture of awe, terror, and confusion.

Gusts of winds suddenly flew about. Dark clouds seemingly rolled in from out of nowhere. I flinched as a roar of thunder shook the air, followed by a blinding flash of light. My eyes went from the treacherous sky to the figures in front of me. The first to well, lack for a better word "move", was the largest up top the highest tower. These shining blue cracks appeared all over his body, not stopping until they covered him. Then, like glass shattering, all the stone around him broke off, revealing a live creature inside. I knew it was alive by the way his eyes and hands, if they were hands, moved. The claws from his feet dug into the brick they were resting on. He growled a few times, steadying himself as he straightened up. His eyes glowed this blue colour for a minute, and his hands balled into fists. You can't imagine my horror when he roared very, VERY loudly. His massive wings spread out behind him while he stretched his arms up into the air.

As if this wasn't terrifying enough, the fellow sculptures on the floor I was on also broke free from their stone prisons- each yawning and roaring deafeningly. One followed right after the other, starting with the old-looking one. No… No, this can't be happening. This can't be real! I pressed my back as close as possible into the wall. I considered running but feared one of them might spot me trying to leave, and I didn't know if actual gargoyles ate humans or not. My spine stiffened as the largest one jumped off the tallest tower to join the others; none of them seemed to notice me, yet.

"We're awake? We're alive! We're together again," the largest put his hands on the shoulders of two others. He sounded happy, almost relieved; and they all sure did look elated. "Ah, it's so good to finally awaken." "We're still at the castle!" "And we're alright!" They were busy grinning and embracing each other until the smallest, yellowish one finally saw me, still as stone now myself. His claw shot up my way.

"Hey, look! It's the princess," he exclaimed. "What?" All of a sudden, all eyes were on me. My breathing was heavy and panicked; I still couldn't manage to spit out any words. "But no…. How is this possible? You were slain at the cliffside," the largest exclaimed. I guess I was in such a mental fog that I didn't realize they were talking about me, to me per se. I was just so stunned, speechless, and afraid that I could barely breathe, never mind move. "Wasn't the only thing that could break the spell the princess stepping foot on the castle grounds again?" The littlest one asked his friends. "Aye, lad. That it was," the eldest confirmed. "How did you survive Hakon's attack?" The largest inquired to me. "And… why are dressed in those strange clothes?" The lanky, red one tacked on.

I still couldn't utter anything; all words turned to cotton in my throat. This was surreal, just like being in a dream- or a nightmare. My feet began moving on their own accord. They all observed as I slowly shifted from the high wall to the castle's protective wall overlooking the water. The whole time, my hands didn't leave the stones behind me, unconsciously guiding me along. Their expressions began to contort to ones of puzzlement and slight concern. "Uh, lass?" The eldest's eyebrow rose up. "Don't you recognize us? We're your gargoyles; we protect your castle," the big one spoke to me for the first time. My foot slid me over to an opening in the wall without my realizing….. "Your highness…?" The lanky one's hand raised up towards me.

I should have been paying attention to my surroundings. I should have been considering the wall behind me. But….. but… The largest one's eyes grew in horror as I suddenly felt myself slipping backwards. I went from slipping to falling mid-air. His broad hand reached for me, but it was too late. I finally heard myself shriek as I dropped down towards the water below. But I did not die, as anticipated.

What happened next was totally unexpected, and a god sent.

The largest gargoyle dove after me. His arms reached out, catching my body within a minute. I wasted no time throwing my arms around his neck, clinging onto him for what was dear life. His form was as hard and swoll as you can imagine. Once he held me princess-style in both his arms, his wings opened, and we glided away from the water onto one of the many seaside caves at the side of the cliff. Once securely on land, he set me down on my feet beside him. Of course, acting on instinct, I quickly stumbled away from him; or as far as I could get without risking my safety again. Meanwhile, he watched me with a sort of dumbfoundedness.

"Are you hurt, princess?" "This is a dream… I'm dreaming right now," I spattered, speaking more to myself than this gargoyle. "This is no dream. The curse, it appears, has been broken." "Y-you're alive… you're real….." I couldn't stop gasping; I was in an extreme state of shock. "Yes. We live again." What does he mean "he lives again"? You mean they were alive before?! Well, that explains why they keep referring to me as "princess". Wait, what?

"No… no," my hand lifted up to my head. "What is the matter?" His booming voice asked, though it wasn't loud this time. "I can't believe this is happening…. You're a… a….." "A monster. Yes, you've made your opinion on us quite clear, your majesty." This made my eyes widen in shock. Monster? No, I meant a living piece of artwork; a Pygmalion and Galatea situation.

"W-what are you called?" "As you know, my kind have no names, but you humans call me Goliath." "Goliath? A-are there more of you, G-Goliath?" He breathed in deeply. "Barely." I then almost threw myself backwards as his hand stretched out for me. "W-what are you doing?!" I gasped loudly. "We must get back to the castle. Come, I will bring you up." "C-couldn't we just fly up?" "I can't fly; I can only glide on currents of wind. There are none strong enough here to lift us back up," Goliath explained. "O-oh. So then how…?"

I didn't have time to finish my question before a familiar hand took hold of my forearm. With a yelp, I was flung over his shoulders behind his back like a ragdoll. He secured both my arms, then he grabbed onto the side of the cliff. "Hold on," Goliath told me. He didn't have to say it twice; terrified out of my skull again, I wrapped my arms around him so tight. I bet I would have accidently hurt him, if he was human.

Don't look down…. Don't look down… Don't look down! I kept repeating this over and over in my head. As if to read my mind, and the fact that I tightened my grip on his neck harder- if that were even possible- Goliath peered back at me without moving his head. "Trust me," he said as if this was more of an order than to be reassuring. I had tears dripping down my cheeks by this point. Here I was, being brought up the side of a Scottish aisle's cliff, by a stone gargoyle turned real. I think I needed a CAT scan, if not a full stay at the loony bin. But let's say we give me the benefit of the doubt and this was really happening. Is that actually better? One look at Goliath and I wasn't so sure.

After all, I still knew nothing about living gargoyles, and it sure sounded like they weren't too keen on humans.