Once again, blessed thanks to LuvinEvian and Courtaney, for their invalulable help and friendship! THANK YOU! --EF
"Julian Crane, as I live and breathe!" Tabitha Lenox laughed. "You look positively radiant! This mountain air has done wonders for you!"
He groaned. "And to what do I owe this pleasure, Miss Lenox.?" he asked tiredly.
"I came to see how life was treating you, Lord Crane. Is that such a crime?" Tabitha looked him up and down. " You seem to be in good health. Why are you so melancholy?"
"You cursed me to this enormous form. How can I be of good cheer when I am merely alive, but not truly living?" Julian could not help his answer. The knowledge that he could never truly be with Eve was a slow and painful death inside.
"Could it be that the great Lord Crane is learning what it feels like to be a pariah? An unwanted member of polite society? " Tabitha chortled. "Will wonders never cease."
"Are you here for a purpose other than reminding me that I cannot live and love as a normal man might? If that is the case, it is truly not necessary. " He took a deep breath. "I am more aware than ever of that fact."
Tabitha studied him more closely. Julian Crane did look different from when she saw him last. He looked as if he lost his very reason for existence. She couldn't quite put her finger on exactly what it was about him that gave her that idea. He seemed at once wizened and loved, devastated and empty.
It was as if someone had filled his heart to the brim with love and then ripped it right out of him. She shook her head at the unlikely discovery. How had this malevolent mortal turned giant had a taste of what love means? In total seclusion from society? She couldn't fathom it.
Tabitha was about to ask the tactless nobleman how he had managed to not only grow a heart but lose it since her last visit, a feat she saw next to impossible, when her eyes caught sight of something sticking out of the giant's pocket. What was that? A garment of some sort?
"Oh, what do we have here?" the witch taunted, grabbing hold of the piece of clothing and pulling it out. "A dress? Oh...so this explains your sudden change of heart." She cackled in such a way that would send chills down the spine of the bravest of knights. "Poor, poor Lord Crane. He fell in love, did he? Awwww. It's such a pity."
She fingered the garment, trying to pick up vibes that would let her in on the big events she had apparently missed out on. "Eve Johnson? The medicine lunatic that keeps trying to feed every sick person in the town of Harmony herbs? Oh, she'll end up killing them all one day! That's who you lost your heart to? Oh, you poor baby."
Tears stung Julian's eyes at the sound of the old witch's words. How dare she! But he didn't speak. He couldn't speak. He hadn't even the strength to look the hag in the eyes.
But Tabitha was not content with simply learning the name of the object of Julian Crane's affections. She placed the dress against her cheek and closed her eyes.
"Oh, Julian. Julian. You have it bad, don't you? I can't believe you let yourself get under the spell of yet another Harmony woman. When will you ever learn? When will men ever learn not to let women get under their skin. Mortal women like this woman who professes to heal the sick are even more dangerous than us witches. At least we stick by the rules when we torment others. There are no rules where mortal women are concerned. They will tear out your heart and eat it...and it looks like you have discovered this all too well, eh?"
Julian looked at her, his eyes flashing with anger. No one talked about his Eve like that...like she was nothing better than a harlot, out to ruin the lives of good men!
Tabitha continued with her psychic probe. "Ahhhh, Dr. Johnson... What have we here? Oh, poor dear...poor, poor Dr. Johnson..."
Julian came to life at her words. "Eve? What's wrong? What's wrong with Eve?" he cried.
"Oh, it seems as though she cannot get you out of her mind for some reason. She is sobbing in her pillow as we speak. I dare say she has been doing that for hours on end! My, you certainly made an impression. Whoever would have thought that possible, in your current or past form!"
Julian ignored the insult. His only worry was Eve. She was crying? His Eve was in pain? He knew she was upset when she left him, but she was still that way? She didn't get over him when she saw her friends, when she returned home? Julian looked down in guilt. He did this to her. He made her hurt...but it was for the greater good, and it still was, he realized.
Eve deserved a family. He knew that, and he couldn't let what this old witch told him make him do something he would later regret. He had to stay strong, for Eve's sake. But how it hurt him to know she was in pain...
"You would let you Eve suffer without your comforting presence, albeit a very large one?" Tabitha enjoyed the abject misery on Julian's face.
Julian bowed his head, feeling his chest tighten with pain and longing for his Eve. No...he would not do this to her. He would not take the chance that she might not learn to love another and fulfil her wishes of a family. He could not do that to her, after he took her prisoner, though now he was the prisoner...of his love for her.
"You really aren't going to go to her. You truly love Dr. Johnson...I would never have believed you were capable of caring for a country doctor this way." Tabitha was incredulous. "Lord Crane, you have managed the impossible...having a good woman fall in love with you in your enormous state. I am not used to someone fulfilling the terms of a curse."
He raised his head, confusion in his eyes. What was Tabitha Lenox talking about?
Tabitha was at a loss. She was bound to keep her word to him to return him to normal size. Yet what enjoyment could she possibly get out of that?
Suddenly an evil smile appeared on her face. Eve had fallen in love with a giant...a being larger than life. Who was to say she would love an ordinary man? And would Julian still love Eve, when he could have other women, once again?
She looked at Julian, admiring her handiwork one last time. "Lord Crane, I release you from the curse I laid upon you. Return to your former self!"
Julian shivered, as he felt himself being pulled toward the ground. Soon he could look up at the tall trees on the mountain, rather than looking down on them.
"My God! I'm..I'm normal again! Am I dreaming?" He held his hands in front of his face, as if to confirm he was not seeing things. "Dear Lord, I am," he gasped, sinking to his knees.
"Congratulations, Lord Crane. You are an ordinary mortal once more," Tabitha sneered. "Free to cavort with any woman in Harmony. Your estate is still intact, along with your fortune."
"What are you talking about?" Julian was confused.
Tabitha groaned. Sometimes mortals could be so foolish.
"Your estate and servants were placed under a spell when you were. Mind you, I never dreamed that you would possibly break yours. Your guests left because you disappeared without a trace, and your servants then fell into a magical sleep. Pick things up where you left them. You are free to do whatever you like with whomever you like."
Whomever I like, Julian thought. He smiled. "Yes, I will do that."
Julian thought to go back into the cave, but realized there was nothing there he needed. He had Eve's dress and all his memories. Now, together, they would make more. But first, he had to make some plans.
He turned with a start at the sound of Tabitha's cackle.
"Go, Lord Crane, indulge yourself in the pleasures you have been denied for far too long!" With that,
Tabitha disappeared from Julian's sight.
"My beloved Eve...how I long to see you once more. I cannot bear being away from you one more moment than I have to." Julian began his journey homeward, his feet nearly dancing with joy at every step.
He thought about how to reveal himself to Eve. What would be the best way? How to show her he returned to his former self, and his desire to become the loving husband that she deserved?
"A masque!" he exclaimed. That way, he could view for himself Eve's demeanor, and coax her for a dance, all the while keeping his identity a secret. He would be able to read Eve's reaction when she enters and how she changes when she's in his arms. Until the very end, when he would unmask himself to her and ask for her hand.
"I am returning to you, Eve...wait for me."
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