Chapter 28
In the gray light of predawn, Roger and Freya left her parent's house and set out for Ape Lake.
Accompanying them were her parents, her brother Olaf, her aunt Barbara and her new friends, Dena, the wood wife and Sasha, the great guardian wolf.
Taking his hand in her own, Freya set out resolutely and soon, they were well out of sight of the small enclave where their home village lay hidden from view.
It was a pleasantly cool morning and they made very good progress as the sun's rays slowly illuminated their pathway before them.
Coming in sight of the lake, they noticed that a couple of tents had been pitched near where the Cessna was tied off to a stout bit of driftwood.
There was a campfire going and a couple of young people and their dog were standing near the cheery blaze, enjoying the morning air.
They stopped what they were doing and stood silently as the Jotun party drew nearer.
The look of astonishment on their faces was unmistakable as they realized that Roger was a six foot tall man and he was the shortest person in the party.
Then they saw Dena riding on Sasha's back.
The dog's frenzied barking and whining caused more campers to emerge from their colorful tents and they too, stood silently gazing at the approaching frost giants.
Roger broke the ice, "Good morning!" he called out.
One of the campers, a girl of about sixteen and all of five feet tall with her blonde hair in a braid replied, "Good morning to you too!"
She tried to shush the frantic dog until Dena smiled and waved, the girl's mouth made an 'O' and she blurted out, "Oh My God! Is she for real and is that wolf for real? Are all of you for real? I must be dreaming this!"
The giants all chuckled amongst themselves and Freya smiled at her as she replied,"Aye, we ur as real as ye ur. Ah'm Freya by th' way, an' this is me family, me mum an' dad, me brother Olaf an' me auntie Barbara. Th' guardian wolf an' th' wood wife are me friends, Dena an' Sasha."
The girl smiled and replied, "I'm Hilde Swenson and these great louts, are my dumb brothers who've forgotten their manners!" for emphasis, she slugged the young man standing closest to her on his arm.
Hilde stepped forward and held out her hand, Freya smiled at her and the two shook hands.
Hilde looked up at Freya and asked, "Did you guys come out to greet us? Are you really giants?"
It was Gudrun who replied, "Nae wee lassie,we did nae come oot tae greit ye. We came doon tae say guidbye tae uir dochter. Aye we ur giants, we ur Jotuns, also called frost giants."
The girl stared at her blankly for a few moments then said, "I'm sorry, did you say you were frost giants?"
"Aye, Ah did wee lassie." replied Gudrun.
She was about to elaborate when one of the young men who had been squinting at Olaf suddenly exclaimed.
"Now I know why you seem so familiar, you're Olaf, you used to come into our store with your little sister and trade furs and stuff for things we had for sale. I wasn't sure at first 'coz you're so big now!"
He strode forward and reached out a hand to Olaf, who now stood well over eight feet tall.
Olaf looked at him closely at first, then he let out a booming laugh and they clasped hands enthusiastically.
Olaf grinned through his youthful beard and said cheerfully, "Ah stopped comin' in when Ah got too tall an' Freya went in me stead. It's verra guid tae see ye again Chris!"
Chris glanced over at Freya and smiled as he said, "You must be Freya."
He grinned and said, "You must be the Freya I've heard about down in Portland, Oregon." at her puzzled expression he said cheerfully, "You are the sixth grader who plays with the Portland Pilots senior women's volleyball team are you not?"
At her affirmative nod he laughed and said to his friends, "This girl works out with the University of Portland senior women's volleyball team, she's like a super strong player, but they can't put her on the team 'coz she's too young."
When he saw that Sigurd and Gudrun were listening closely, he said to them, "Freya's kinda famous down south because she's so big and strong and she's light on her feet. I have a couple of magazine articles that mention her, would you guys like a copy?"
Both of her parents nodded an enthusiastic 'yes'.
Chris looked over at his friends and he called out cheerfully, "I know them! I know Olaf and Freya here, they used to come into our store and trade furs and hides for things."
Dena decided at that moment to speak up in her piccolo of a voice, "Guid day! Whit abit me? Aam fur real tay!"
Hilde hesitated to approach because Sasha was gazing at her so she said, "Will he bite?"
Dena grinned and replied playfully, "He is a she, an' nae 'she' wullnae bite, nae unless Aam in danger!"
The girl flushed slightly and hastily replied, "Sorry, she's so huge I couldn't tell. What kind of wolf is she? She looks like she came from a TV series with dire wolves in it."
Roger chuckled as Freya responded, "She's nae one ay those puny 'dire wolves', Ah've seen th' show you speak ay an' they got it all wrong."
She looked over at Roger and said, "We're callin' her species 'Fenris' wolf' or "Canis fenris" tae put it in Latin."
She grinned at Hilde and said, "They came wi' us when we left Europe o'er a thousan' years ago."
Olaf chuckled and commented, "Now yoo're soundin' loch wan ay th' wee folk."
Freya grinned at her older brother and retorted, "Dae Ah still soond loch a body ay th' wee folk?"
He just laughed in reply.
Hilde approached them while holding onto her dog's collar, his tail wagging feverishly, he stretched out his nose and touched his nose to Sasha's far larger one.
There was a pregnant moment of tension until Sasha licked Hilde's dog on his face and all was well.
Hilde was now gently stroking Sasha's deep fur and with a note of awe in her voice said, "Her fur is so soft, it feels like I could sleep in it and have wonderful dreams!"
She looked at Dena and said happily, "I never thought I would actually meet people from a myth. You look like a little wood elf or something and this wolf of yours is incredible. I'll bet I could ride her like a pony."
She glanced at Freya and Olaf talking to her brother Chris and commented, "I vaguely remember them coming into our dad's store, they kinda stood out with their homemade clothing and funny way of talking. I had no idea they were young giants!"
Sasha turned her great head suddenly and licked Hilde along her cheek, causing the girl to break into a fit of the giggles.
Dena laughed and said, "She lochs ye noo, yoo've become a body ay 'er friends noo."
Hilde's dog was now lying on the ground as if meeting a group of frost giants, a wood elf and her giant lupine companion, were all in a day's work and no big deal.
Chris was now talking to Sigurd and Gudrun about getting a copy of the sports magazines he'd mentioned to them while the other two boys were quietly taking pictures of the giants and their sister talking to the wood elf and petting the pony sized wolf.
Roger went over to the Cessna and unlocked it.
He stepped onto the float nearest him and pulled the propeller through a few times to clear the lower cylinders of oil.
One of the two boys asked, "So, this is your plane?"
Roger smiled at him and replied, "Actually, I borrowed it for the week. We were getting ready to leave when we met you guys."
"Ah" he replied, "That's cool, you can fly in and out of here all you like. We had to hike for almost a week to get here."
He looked over at his sister and brother talking to the giants and chuckled slightly, "We sure didn't expect to be meeting you guys, that's for sure."
"The feeling's mutual," replied Roger, "I'm glad you brought a dog with you, they've got some very large bears around here and meeting one could be a real bummer."
The boy shrugged and replied, "We always take our dog with us when we go camping, haven't had any problems yet with any bears."
He gestured at Sasha and asked, "Is that wolf for real? I had no idea they got so big."
"Sasha is a great guardian wolf, they came from Europe with the Jotuns, the little cutie is a wood wife, a kind of forest elf, usually they avoid humans like the plague and are long gone by the time we come blundering along with all our noise. They also came with the Jotuns, they all kind of take care of each other and protect each other."
He grinned at Roger and said, "That's cool!"
Roger called out to Freya, "Hey kiddo, we gotta get going now, it's a long flight home."
The next few minutes were a round of immense hugs and kisses between Freya and her family.
Even Roger got enveloped in Gudrun's great bosom and made to feel like a child again.
Barbara once again to Freya's dismay, lifted him like a toy and gave him a resounding kiss right on his lips, then laughed at his blushing afterwards.
She said merrily, "Ye tak' guid caur ay mah niece, ye hear?"
Roger could only smile weakly and nod in agreement.
Little Dena wanted a hug from Roger and he gently obliged her wishes, then he gave Sasha a good rump scratching and she closed her golden eyes in appreciation.
They climbed into the Cessna and after a quick run through of the preflight checks, Roger turned the ignition key.
The propeller started whirling, the engine coughed a few times and a great puff of oily smoke shot out of the exhaust system.
The remaining cylinders caught on and soon, the seven cylindered engine was purring away, the propeller now a blur of motion.
Waving at the small crowd of large and small people on the shore, Roger throttled up the engine and soon, they were gathering speed prior to the take off.
The Cessna's engine roared and the bumpy ride ended as the floatplane took to the air and clawed its way to cruising altitude.
They circled around the lake below and waved at their friends far below them.
They then headed south to Portland and home.
Roger looked over at Freya and smiled, then he looked at her in puzzlement before asking, "Something the matter?"
She looked at him and muttered, "Ah cannae believe me auntie...Kissing ye loch she did, she kens Ah dornt loch it!"
He smiled weakly at her and said quietly, "I didn't expect that either, dear. If she was trying to get a rise out of you, she certainly succeeded!"
"Ah hope she doesnae mak' a habit ay it!" grumped Freya.
"I'll make it a point not to let her get too close in the future." agreed Roger who still marveled at just how strong Barbara was.
Belatedly he realized Barbara had a point, would he be able to handle Freya when she was fully grown?
He, being a six foot tall man weighing about one hundred and eighty pounds was no lightweight, and she had picked him up like it was nothing to her.
The flight while long, was fairly routine and Roger let Freya take the controls for a little while, she had shown an interest in flying and this was a perfect opportunity to let her give it a try.
He spent the time looking about, continually scanning the horizon for other aircraft while Freya concentrated on keeping the Cessna on the straight and level, the compass and altimeter needles steadily floating at the headings Roger had chosen for their course.
A recent addition to the Cessna was a GPS systen navigation aid, it had a LCD screen showing the Cessna's location as being a little airplane moving over the map shown on the screen, it gave the plane's location and how much longer the flight would take, assuming a steady air and ground speed.
Freya seemed to be comfortable with flying, so he allowed her to fly them nearly all the rest of the way home.
Approaching the outskirts of Portland, Oregon Roger took over the controls and they did a slow speed circle high over the property behind their house.
Roger handed her a pair of binoculars and said, "Take a look and let me know if you see anything down there."
She put the glasses to her eyes and soon exclaimed, "Ah see it noo, thaur is a hoose doon thaur. Th' trees hae groon up all aroond it, sae we cannae see it frae th' groond."
She put the binoculars back in their place and took a few pictures with her cell phone of the house below them.
Leveling off, he flew the plane into the holding pattern over the small craft airport where the Cessna was kept.
A little while later, the tires briefly screeched as they kissed the hard surface of the runway and Roger began gently braking the Cessna to a taxiing speed before exiting the runway.
Easing the Cessna into its designated parking space, Roger grinned at the owner before he went through the brief shut down procedures and shut off the ignition key, allowing the seven cylinder engine to whirl to a stop.
The owner opened the door on Freya's side and held it open for her as she carefully exited the small plane and stood on terra firma for the first time in hours.
He smiled up at her and asked, "How did it go? I hope the plane was big enough for you."
She smiled at him and replied, "It went verra nicely thank ye, Ah said me guid byes tae me granny an' brooght back a few things she had given me."
"Glad to hear it," he replied, "Things can get pretty crazy at a funeral sometimes."
Roger grinned at him as he handed back the keys to the Cessna and said, "Thanks a bunch guy, I don't know how I would've done it any other way."
Robert, the Cessna's owner grinned at him and replied, "Not a problem Rodge, glad I could help." they both glanced over at the hangar where the big Martin Mariner PBM was going to be kept after it was finished being refurbished as a civilian aircraft.
Robert commented, "It'll be good to see that bird sitting over there." he chuckled and remarked, "I still can't believe you managed to get that thing to Texas in one piece. It was a real mess!"
Roger grinned and replied, "I'm having a hard time believing it myself, we had to make an emergency landing on Gatun Lake and the Canal officials were not happy about it. A whole lot of ass kissing was required before we got out of there!"
He smiled at the memory of the rescuing of a Martin Mariner PBM-5 from the Brazilian airfield where it had languished, unknown and unwanted.
Roger smiled at Robert and said, "Any chance of Freya getting into flight school? I let her have the stick for a while and she seemed to enjoy it."
Robert grinned at him and replied, "That was how I got into flying. I was up with my grandpa and he let me take the controls. That was all it took, I soloed before I was old enough to drive a car."
He caressed the door of the Cessna and said wistfully, "He left me this old bird, I had it refurbished in his memory and I'm glad it came in handy for you two."
He winked at Freya and said merrily, "I'll have you soloing in this bird before you know it, you'll see!"
She smiled at him and replied, "Ah'd loch 'at, learnin' hoo tae fly."
Roger chuckled and said, "It'll be nice having a co-pilot on long flights."
Robert smiled and commented, "You'll be needing a co-pilot with that big Martin Mariner."
"All part of my master plan." grinned Roger.
Leaving the airport, Roger soon pulled into a fast food joint and the two entered the building.
Freya ignored the stares as she placed her order with the astonished cashier, after all, it wasn't every day that a towering young girl ordered enough food to feed a small family without batting a lash.
Sitting sideways in the biggest booth they had, Freya polished off the food in less time than it took Roger to eat his own, considerably smaller order.
Roger chuckled and said, "You're making it look like I'm not feeding you enough or something."
Freya smiled at him and replied, "Ye feed me plenty ay food. It's jist 'at th' whole time Ah was thaur, Ah was cravin' a cheeseburger an' fries!" Roger just laughed.
The house was dark when they pulled into the driveway and parked the van.
Roger looked over at his companion and smiled, "Well kiddo, we're home again and this time, nobody got hurt!"
Freya, his now over seven foot tall, twelve year old companion grinned back at him and replied, "That's oanly 'coz we werenae really tryin'!"