Chapter 12

I was immediately surrounded by the runny nosed giants as I slid off my saddle. Ares reared once with a loud neigh and the giants backed off with oohs, awes, and scared screeches. I went to Perceval and he...she just slumped into my arms, still unconcious.

One of the shorter giants who towered a good two feet over me, came to me asked in an awed voice, "You demon killer?"

"No," I said. I gestured to the figure in my arms and said, "This is. Do you have the cure for the arm?"

The largest giant squinted down at me and nodded slowly, "Cure for demon fire. Come lay Demon Killer on mat." He put a fat thumb gently on my back and I immediatly howled and jumped.

All the giants in turn gasped and jumped as if the big guy had just pushed a button that caused me to make noise.

"He too is hurt," said Conrad quickly coming to my side. He lifted my shirt for emphasis and all the giants again oohed and awed, and said how sorry they were and how they would fix that too. I laid Perceval on the mat and the giants shooed me away so they could do their thing. Actually I didn't need any shooing, their stomping big feet scared me enough to hurry back to Conrad.

"Hey, Con," I said making sure none of the giants were listening, though all were looking at us curiously. "Perceval is a girl."

"And I'm a monkey's uncle," said Conrad sarcastically. "Come on, Lance, that was lame."

"No seriously. Have you ever seen his face? She's a girl, I tell you. As soon as all those creatures mo..."

"Where owie?"

The giant's sudden voice in my ear made me jump and I found myself staring up into a drooling smile of a baby-like giant. I pointed timidly to my back and the giant immediately picked my up by my legs, just like a doll. He dipped his little finger in something and oh so gently rubbed my back.

I sqawked a few times, but it actually felt really good. Then he set me down and patted my head very, very softly.

"Poor boy," he said fondly. He stroked my hair and called to his friend, "Here is Poor Boy!"

His friend smiled broadly and repeated, "Poor Boy!"

My giant looked down at me and I had to side step a gross looking slobber coming down towards me. He asked, "Poor Boy, hungry?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess I could eat."

He grinned and his eyes lighted up as he ran off to get me some food. As soon as he was gone several of the smaller sized gaints strolled up to me and began saying my name, Poor Boy, and rubbing my back softly, and grinning sheepishly while drool dribbled down thier chins and spattered next to me.

"Having fun?" asked Conrad who had managed to squeeze into the circle of giants and stand beside me.

"Uh huh," I sqeaked as looked into a very large bowl full of green boiling stuff that my giant had brought back. "What is that stuff?"

"I don't think you want to know. Hey, you are starting to look like that soup. Want some rest?"

I nodded, my stomach turning as I looked down into the boiling goop.

"Hey!" yelled the Conrad at the giants. "Poor Boy is tired. Sleepy. He needs sleep because of his owie."

I gaped at Conrad as he practically started grinning like them.

"Sleepy, Poor Boy. Wants his pillow and teddy," he said. The giants nodded eagerly and pointed over to a cruddy looking tent.

"Pillow," said my giant. "Sleepy in there. Poor Boy needs sleepy for owie."

Somehow I got into the tent on onto a very large cot. It was full of grit and I think something crawled out when I slid in, but it was a bed and I was tired. The last thought before I hit the pillow asleep was, I'm going to have to reward these giants when I'm king.

Anastasia knew that she could not go out and find Lance without someone as some sort of guide. She did not trust many people and she only knew of one person who would be perfect for the job.

She had lied to Lance. She could ride horse. That is she knew enough about them to get her around, and she rode side saddle like a proper princess. Once her bag had been packed and she had found some clothes that were princess like yet suitable for traveling she rode out to the forest near the castle of Adelfos. The only person she had taken with her was her maid, Melanie, she was not about to go traveling without someone to wait on her.

"Melanie, have you been here before?" she asked as she looked around her at the dark forest and the grassy trail.

"No, milady."

"Then I suppose you have no..."

Her sentence was cut shortinto ashriek as ten green dressed men surrounded her on all sides. They had raised their bows, but had immediately put them down when they saw their prisoners were only young ladies.

"Who are you?" yelled Anastasia indignantly. "How dare you pop out and scare me like that! I am Princess Anastasia of Kuran and I did not come here to be attacked by some robbers! Step away from my horse this instant and don't you touch my bag with your dirty hands. Ooooh! I hate this place!"

The green men were taken about at this display of anger and they backed off, looking at each other and wondering what to do. The big guy (the one who knocked out Lance) stepped up just then and said, "Are you really Princess Anastasia of Kuran come to marry our Prince Lance?"

"Yes," she snapped. "But I have no desire to marry him, remember that. He is an arrogant rouge and..."

"A very good horseman I hear!" piped up one of the archers.

Anastasia sent him a menacing glare and he immediately cowered and mumbled an apology.

"Who is the leader of you filthy rouges?" she asked. "I demand I see him right this instant!"

"Our leader is Robina Hall. But she is at our camp, lying in bed with a broken ankle and sprained wrist."

"Robina?" said Anastasia, her expression changing. "I want to see her right now. She knows me. Lead me directly to her. And don't you touch that bag!"

The big guy, not knowing what else to do with a princess who bossed his men around, shrugged indifferently and began to stroll into the forest. Melanie shuddered as she followed her mistress who was sending glares in ever direction at every man who dared to even glance at her.

As soon as they reached the camp Anastasia demanded she be led to the see their leader, even without anintroduction. And after smoothing her dress and hair to look somewhat like a proper princess, she strode into the hut where Robina was.

The leader of the robbers was sitting on a cot with her leg wrapped up, and her arm in a sling. She did not look happy, in fact she looked infuriated when Anastasia entered.

"I thought I told you..." her words died on her lips when she realized her visitor was not the girl she had just sent to get a pitcher of water. Her eyes took over the silk dressed princess standing proudly in the entrance way her blonde hair tied neatly into a stylish bun and her nose sniffing indignantly at the rude hut around her.

"Robina, girl," she said. "I really thought you would kept this place nicer. And your men, I'm astonished. Didn't you teach them good manners? They jumped out at me and gave me such a fright I nearly lost a hair pin."

"What are you doing here, Ana?" asked Robina. "I thought I told you only to come..."

"When I most need you," finished Anastasia. "Do not worry. Did you really think I came to visit you in such a mean, quaint place with such filthy men drooling outside that door. No. I'm afraid to say I am desperate. I need your help, now. By the way, why are you stuck up in bed?"

Robina gritted her teeth. "A young man with a devil of a horse came through here. The horse was abeauty and I was tempted. He said I could have it, if I could stay on himfor a minute. He must've drugged the beast someway or another, because he went wild and threw me off. I immediately had him arrested but then..."

"Is he still here?" gasped Anastasia, glad that her search would be over so quickly and that she might be able to get rid of the Prince secretly through Robina's orders.

"No," she said grimly. "He escaped and took Perceval with him."

"Perceval?" said Anastasia, confused. "Is not that the young boy who your brother dropped off here and faked to be your brother?"

"Yes. A stubborn lad who never obeyed me. I'm actually glad he is gone, hopefully he'll get killed sometime soon."

"That young man," said the princess, getting quickly down to business. "Was Prince Lance of Adelfos, my...fiance. He rudely ran away because he did not want to marry me. I am trying to get him back. That is why I came to you. I need you to help me track him down."

Robina snickered. "A runaway Prince? How interesting. But I don't think I have the time."

Anastasia frowned. She pulled out a bag from her satchel and tossed it onto the floor. It landed with a thud and a jingle. "Are you sure?" she asked, very sweetly.

Robina glanced at the bag then at Princess Anastasia.

"All right, Ana, you've got it."