Chapter 44
I Don't own Claymore
The drive home was fairly uneventful at first and the three of them mostly sat lost in their own thoughts.
Ildico finally spoke up, "So how was the trip?"
Roger smiled and replied, "For the most part the flight down there was the usual airport BS, dodge the solicitors and the weirdos, lie your way through security and sit in those uncomfortable things, the airlines call seats these days.
"Poor Freya just doesn't fit in regular seats anymore. It was bad enough when she went down to Brazil eighteen months ago, but now that she's even taller. I think she would end up crippled during a long flight!"
He glanced back at Freya and she smiled at him before saying, " They showed us th' museum an' aw th' airplanes they hae oan display. Th' place is verra big an' Ah enjoyed seein' th' mony auld planes there. We gabbed a bit wi' Eduardo, one ay th' men Roger flew haem wi' frae Brazil.
"Th' flight haem frae Texas was verra nice an' we flew low o'er the hoose whaur uir friends live in Arizona. They aw cam ootwith th' hoose an' waved at us! Flyin' North, Roger had me practice me landin' oan water an' takin' aff again skills."
Ildico whistled softly and remarked, "I think it's so very cool you learned how to fly like that. I can do some serious snow skiing, but flying a plane somehow always seemed kinda scary to me."
They briefly stopped at Ildico's house and she hopped out after exchanging hugs with the two of them.
As Roger settled into his seat and buckled himself in, he grinned and remarked, "I don't mind letting her drive my van, she's tall enough that I don't have to readjust my seat after wards."
Freya grinned, winked at him and said, "Ye'll hae tae adjust th' seats once Ah start drivin'!"
Roger smirked and retorted, "That won't be for a few more years my dear and you, will be even more awesome!"
By the time Freya had stopped rolling her eyes and laughing, they were parking in their driveway and Roger shut the van off.
Roger looked at his cellphone and saw George's message, it was a video of them circling low over the house with the comment, "Got buzzed by an idiot who can't fly straight, he can only fly in circles over quiet neighborhoods. Unfortunately I couldn't read his buzz numbers so I couldn't report him."
He smiled and saved the video for later.
The house was empty, a note left on the kitchen table declared that they would be staying overnight up at the library and would be returning in the morning.
Roger merely shrugged, it was a Sunday, school wasn't until Monday.
Anita was responsible enough to make her own decisions about her schooling.
Sheila and Anna were adults and did not need his permission to be out after dark.
It was the absence of Dena and Sasha that Roger noticed the most.
Dena with her tiny self insinuating her way onto his lap or into his bed and Sasha's huge, furry body that had a way of filling whichever room she'd decided to snooze in and her absence was noticed.
Freya smiled and remarked, "Yoo're spoilin' 'at stoatin' wolf, always a scratchin' 'er furry ears."
Roger merely smiled at her comments.
He was quite guilty of that he freely admitted.
Feeling a little peckish, Roger rooted around in the kitchen and put together some left overs into a passable meal for themselves.
Roger had dozed off in the front parlour after dinner and upon waking, he rose stiffly from the chair he liked so much that he often fell asleep in it.
Tottering upstairs to his room he discovered two sleeping forms in his bed, one barely two feet tall and so very cute.
The other nearly eight feet tall and blossoming into a real beauty.
Both of them sound asleep and both in his bed.
Sighing, Roger stripped down to his skivvies and slipped under what remained of the covers.
Vaguely, he remembered an arm slipping around him and pulling him close as he drifted off to the land of nod.
Looking at the papers laid out on his desk, Roger paused in his conversation with Rachel, "I had thought we could take some shipping containers up to Canada, fill them with Induna's books and haul them back home again...However looking at these numbers, it would be quite costly to do that and the Canadian government might get sticky about us flying in and out of their national park with a Sikorsky sky crane and boxes full of old books."
There was a brief pause then Rachel replied, " How much weight can that seaplane of ours lift? Why not use that instead? Floatplanes fly in and out of that park fairly regularly, wouldn't that Martin Mariner be considered a floatplane?"
Glancing over the specifications of the Martin Mariner.
Roger replied, "It could carry some 8,000 pounds of bombs fully loaded. We've taken away all that weaponry stuff and now it could likely carry about 10,000 pounds if we don't fill the auxiliary fuel tanks.
"It has more than enough range to fly to British Columbia and back without refueling. Although, calling it a 'floatplane' might be stretching the definition of the term a bit much."
"Okay, so how would you do it?" Asked Rachel.
"I'd have to make up some sort of frames to hold the book boxes, these would be bolted to the floor. I'd make them big enough to hold a single load of books. That way we don't overload the plane. Once the frame is filled up, that's a load."
"Hmmm, sounds workable, where would you get this frame made up?" Remarked Rachel.
"Easy, we're sharing a hangar with a group that's restoring an old B-17 bomber, they have access to metal working equipment, I'll just make up a drawing and they'll likely build it. Freya's already got at least one of them wrapped around her pinky finger."
"Do I want to know how she did this thing?"
Roger laughed and replied, "For one, she's a pilot and for two, she recognized the name of the bomber being restored. They got a real kick out of that and she got promised a ride in that plane once it's flyable again."
Rachel laughed and said gaily, "That's our girl, just when you think you know her, she pulls a fast one...In a good way that is."
That weekend, Roger took Freya to the airport and while he was talking to the Lacey Lady B-17 group about his upcoming project, Freya busied herself helping with dismantling some of the engine nacelle panels for rerivetting and repairs.
Alex joked , "You certainly won't be needing a ladder for half of this, as tall as you are!"
Freya smiled at him and replied, "Ah cannae dae naethin' aboot me height nor th' looks Ah get e'erwhaur Ah gae. Ah'm jist glad tae be ay help tae ye all."
Alex grinned at his towering helper and said, "And your help is certainly welcome!"
He glanced over at Roger who was leaning over the drawing he'd brought and was pointing out a detail on it to Alex's grandfather Ted.
"So, what's he all about?"
Freya smiled and replied, "He's tryin' tae get a frame made oop fer uir airplane tae carry me grandmother's books doon frae Canada."
Alex chuckled and remarked, "My granddad did a lot of aircraft sheet metal work in his day, he'll knock it out in no time!"
The frame took a little bit longer to make than anticipated.
Ted insisted on making it to mil spec as if it was a standard fitment and it was also heat treated after the welding and rivetting was finished, then it was painted with the military grade zinc chromate primer so often seen in old military aircraft.
In all, it looked as if it was original issue equipment, instead of a modern item.
By that time, Freya working diligently, had helped dismantle and rerivet the engine nacelles prior to their being reprimed and repainted.
As a thank you gift, they gave her a tee shirt with a picture of the Lacey lady on it and she happily wore it to school one day to the bafflement of many of her classmates.
When one boy remarked about her tee shirt she replied, "Ah've been warkin' oan thes plane while Roger's gettin' uir own airplane ready tae fly tae Canada thes summer."
The boy who clearly did not know Freya very well, looked at her skeptically and said, "Since when do you have an airplane?"
Without a trace of guile she replied, "Since we flew doon tae Brazil last year an' brooght it back tae Texas tae get refurbished. Roger an' Ah flew doon tae Texas last month tae fetch it. It's doon at th' airport right noo."
He turned to another boy who was walking by and said, "She says she has an airplane, is that true?"
The boy grinned at him and replied, "If she says she has one, she has one. Freya never lies or exaggerates, she's almost too honest."
At the first boy's expression, the newcomer remarked, "She also has a pilot's license. Not even thirteen yet and she has a pilot's license, but is not allowed to drive a damn car!"
He smiled and said cheerfully, "You must be new here!"
With the frame now in place and ready for use, Roger called Rachel, "Everything's pretty much a go on this end. We're waiting 'til school lets out and we can fly up to Canada with a bunch of book boxes and begin packing Induna's books.
"We can leave Anna in charge of the house with her friend Sheila and they can keep an eye on things while we're gone."
"Who's gonna take care of that big wolf of yours?"
"I figured Dena can keep her out of trouble. If not, a girl named Anita can manage her, she's a classmate of Freya's and a big fan of Anna's. She's also practically living here now with her mom getting ready to head overseas for a job and with this house having plenty of room, she pretty much has her own room now."
Roger heard a soft chuckle on Rachel's end and she commented drily, "Roger my boy, you've gotten yourself a harem haven't you?"
"Wh...What d'you mean by that? " Spluttered Roger.
Chortling merrily, Rachel said gleefully, "You're living with Freya, that's one, Dena, that's two, Anastasia stays with you, that's three, her friend Sheila, that's four and now this Anita person, that's five, unless I've missed one!"
Roger groaned and muttered, "I'm not sleeping with any of them..."
Rachel giggled and remarked gaily, "Doesn't matter, you're living in a big house with a bunch of attractive ladies, you stud you! Henri's gonna love this!"
Roger sighed and he muttered, "He is gonna razz me without mercy...Have I told you what a terrible boss you are?"
"Every chance you get!" Laughed Rachel before she hung up.
The day arrived all too soon for Roger Tate.
Freya was going to become something he had long dreaded... A teenage girl.
Like so many girls before her, puberty arrived unexpectedly and she began to blossom and blossom and blossom.
At seven foot eight inches tall, Freya simply towered over most everyone and with her fair skin, bright blue eyes and red-gold hair kept in long braids, she looked like a Norse Goddess come to Earth.
Freya was now nearing the end of her second year of middle school and already in addition to the University of Portland, several other colleges were sending her overtures, encouraging her to consider their curriculum and sports scholarship programs.
At first, she was reluctant to turn any of them down until Roger told her, "Don't worry about it. They're really more interested in having you on their women's basketball or volleyball team than really giving you an education you can use. Besides, we'd kind of planned on sending you to Portland U. Remember?"
When she looked distressed at his remarks, he took her larger hand in his own squeezed it gently and said reassuringly, "You are a powerhouse ball player, possibly the strongest I've ever seen and naturally, they're going to be interested in having you on their team. Don't fret, you've got years to make a decision."
Roger grinned as she squeezed his hand back and replied, "Ah'm nae really worried, Ah dornt think they ken jist hoo big Ah'll get an' Ah'm nae sure hoo tae tell 'em."
"Be honest, tell them you'll likely be too tall for their sports programs by the time you've graduated high school. Then see how they react."
Roger chuckled and remarked glibly, "I'm still getting used to it myself and I live with you! I wouldn't worry about it dear, they're just letting you know they exist"
That evening was quiet with Anna, Sheila and Anita all still up at the library.
Dena and Sasha were sprawled in front of the cheery blaze crackling in the front parlour's fireplace.
Roger and Freya leaned back in the settee in the front parlour as the evening news was showing a delegation from Norway arriving in Canada to meet with representatives of the emerging Jotun people.
The revelation that the Jotuns, wood elves and their giant wolves had been real and that they still lived, had electrified northern Europe and soon, a movement had sprung up to bring them back home to the land of Jotunheim, which lay in Norway.
This led to inquiries being sent to the known Jotun colonies in Canada and an exchange of gifts between the Jotuns and the Norwegian government.
Freya stretched out her incredibly long, slender legs as she leaned against Roger affectionately, while the commentator blathered on about the reemergence of formerly mythical peoples and just what defined humanity anymore.
A video clip of George and Mia Bryce with their own four children briefly came on and Roger laughed as he said cheerfully, "Hah! George made the news, thank goodness it was in a good way!"
A second clip showed a lamia village in an undisclosed location and Roger was seen in the clip, causing him to splutter in his coffee and Dena to burst out laughing, "What the...Where did they get ahold of this?"
He muttered, "Who authorized this?"
Freya looked closely at the video and asked, "Isn't thes frae when ye an' uncle George went tae Chad durin' me last summer break an' Ah went haem?"
Roger replied, "It sure is sweetie, they sent us to meet with the village elders there, we were sent because of our dealings with Mia's family and George's being married to a lamia, I went mostly because I can make my way through their dialect.
"They knew George was married to a lamia immediately, because of his scent being mingled with Mia's while I, being 'used goods', they left alone. Though I do have to admit to admiring a few of them!'
Freya elbowed him and remarked tartly, "Ye mean, ye were lookin' at their bosoms!"
Roger shrugged and retorted, "I couldn't help noticing them, they were... Everywhere!"
He smiled at his giant housemate and said, "All too soon, your own bosom will develop even more than it already has and I'll be chasing the stray boys off the property!"
He winked at her, "With your dad's approval of course!"
Freya merely smiled at him in reply.
Roger asked, "Shouldn't you be taking notes on this or something? It is about your people and it is current events."
Freya grinned at him and replied, "Ah'm recordin' it an' Ah'll write it up thes weekend."
"Clever girl" replied Roger with a grin.
The ancient Seth Thomas clock on the mantlepiece, chimed the tenth hour and Roger said, "Okay kiddo, school night, off to bed with you!"
Freya wrinkled her nose at him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she rose from the couch and headed to her room, her towering form quickly disappearing from view.
Watching her retreating form disappear, Roger mused, Freya, for all her size, was at that leggy, coltish stage of a young girl's life and stood out where ever she went.
He was thankful she was an easy going, level headed young woman and her friends seemed to be decent young folk.
Stifling a yawn, Roger shut off the TV, wished Dena a good night, stepped around Sasha's furry bulk and padded off to his room.
The smell of cooking gently roused Roger from his dreams, Freya was in the kitchen busily making their breakfast while Dena had laid out the place settings after feeding Sasha, her giant wolf.
The standing rule was, whoever got in the kitchen first made breakfast.
This rule sometimes led to a contest of who could lay up in bed the longest on weekends, a contest that Freya often won.
Dressing after stepping out of the giant sized shower, Roger joined his charge and their wood wife friend and the three of them enjoyed a light breakfast followed by a generous mug of coffee.
A sleepy eyed Anita tottered into the kitchen and lacking the energy to do any cooking, contented herself with a bowl of cereal and her own mugful of coffee.
After she had virtually inhaled about half of her coffee she mumbled, "Didn't get in 'til almost one, but we got a lot of labels finished."
The drive to school was the usual routine, he dropped her and Anita off in front of the school and she joined her friends while Anita still looking a bit zombified, went to her homeroom to finish up her homework before classes began.
Pulling away from school he looked back, except for her size, she was much like her friends, all wearing faded jeans, scuffed up sneakers and a plaid shirt over a light top.
On her feet were sport sandals custom made to fit her.
In fact, nearly all of her clothing was custom made for her by the Whartons in their shop, The Questing Beast.
Returning home, he checked his correspondences and deleted most of them right off the bat.
An email had come from George and had a bulky attachment.
Curious, he opened it up to see a bunch of photos of George and his family.
He and Mia were smiling at the camera and grimly holding onto their perpetually active, two sets of twins.
Roger mused, had it really been almost four years now?
Freya was only nine and a half when he met her and now she was on the cusp of womanhood at almost thirteen.
So much had happened since that fateful day in the Canadian forest.
The museum they worked for was now being consulted on matters pertaining to mythical beings, as more and more of them emerged from hiding.
His eye fell on a small framed photo of Freya and her grandmother Induna Hagridsdottir.
They were seated outside her stone cottage and smiling at the camera.
She had been a great source of tales from the olden days and Roger admittedly, had made a nuisance of himself by recording her every utterance, he even put Freya up to asking to hear the old tales.
Dear old Induna indulged her only granddaughter by happily telling her stories and bits of wisdom whilst spinning her yarn or weaving her cloth made from musk ox fur.
Talking for hours at a time, her tales were woven into the fabric of the clothing she made for her family, even Roger had gotten a warm cloak from her and he prized it greatly.
When Induna quietly passed away in her sleep, Freya wept freely and Roger hastily arranged to get her back to Canada.
When they arrived, Freya's parents were overjoyed to see her and Roger as they exited the Cessna 195 Businessliner Roger had borrowed.
Gudrun and her sister Barbara were delighted with the extra food he had brought with him for the feast.
Sigurd was delighted with the four cases of Guinness extra stout.
Barbara solemnly presented him with an armload of handbound, handwritten journals Induna had kept most of her life and said quietly, "She wanted ye tae huv these."
The rest of her library had gone to Freya and was now awaiting retrieval from Canada.
The funeral had been held according to ancient Jotun custom.
Induna's naked corpse was laid out in the open where the bears could find it and eat it.
Roger had duly noted in his journal that perhaps that burial practice, was the reason why no Jotun remains had ever been found.
From the hallway came the chiming of the great grandfather clock, one bong.
It was one o'clock and Roger gathered his things, said goodbye to Dena and Sasha and left the house to run a couple errands before picking Freya up from school, Anita had sent him a text message saying she would coming home later that afternoon.
Roger wryly mused over her choice of words, hadn't Rachel just gotten through teasing him about having a harem?
He stopped by the bakery and ordered a one quarter sheet cake for Freya's birthday.
Next, he popped into the grocery warehouse club and picked up a few bags of dog food for Sasha and some charcoal for Saturday's barbecue.
Getting to school in plenty of time, he queued up in line and joined the other parents waiting for their offspring.
A tiny Filipina standing near him asked, "What time do they let the kids out?"
Roger smiled slightly at her and replied, "Three oh three P.M."
"Thank you," She said, "We just moved here and this is my daughter's first day here."
Roger smiled and remarked, "Kind of late in the school year isn't it? Summer vacation starts next week."
She shrugged and replied, "We couldn't get here any sooner and I wanted her in the system at least."
He chuckled and said cheerfully, "I hope she likes it here."
A bell rang stridently and soon, a trickle of youth became a horde as the school emptied out and the waiting parents gathered their progeny.
A really tiny Filipina came running up to the woman Roger had spoken to and exclaimed excitedly, "Ma! They have a giant girl here!"
Then her English quickly devolved into Tagalog as she spoke in a rapid fire manner.
Moments later, Freya appeared at the gates, standing head and shoulders above the crowd, the top of her head barely clearing the gates.
The girl gasped, pointed her finger and cried "There she is!"
Freya was talking to a couple of her friends when she waved at Roger and he waved back.
The small woman gasped and said nervously, "Is she your daughter? I had no idea... I'm so embarrassed!"
Both she and her even tinier daughter looked as if they wanted to hide behind their nearby minivan.
Roger just laughed and said cheerfully, "Freya is not my daughter, she is living with me and I am her guardian, but no, we're not related."
Moments later Freya stood looming over them, a bright smile on her pretty face.
She held up a report binder and said proudly, "One hundred percent!"
Roger grinned at his giant charge and replied cheerfully, "Of course you got a hundred percent! Now, as a reward, where d'you want to eat?"
Freya grinned and replied gaily, "Ah be thinkin' ay ramen meself!"
"Okay, ramen it is, I think they've recovered from our last visit!" Replied Roger with a grin.
Freya glanced down at the tiny girl practically hiding behind her not much taller mother.
She smiled and said cheerfully, "Hi! Yoor're th' noo girl in me history class. Ah'm Freya, pleased tae meit ye!"
She held out her large hand in greeting, accidentally displaying a bunch of colorful 'friendship bracelets' tied around her wrist.
The girl looked up at Freya who stood nearly double her height and in a small voice replied, "I'm Christina, pleased to meet you too."
She reached out her own small hand and smiled pleasantly as Freya's much bigger hand gently engulfed it.
Christina flushed and she said shyly, "I've never seen anyone your size before..."
Freya grinned at her and replied merrily, "An' Ah've ne'er seen anyone yer size either. Sae 'at makes us e'en!"
Christina flushed again, she was tiny even by Filipino standards.
Standing all of four foot two in her stocking feet and weighing 65 Lbs soaking wet.
Freya, on the other hand, stood seven foot eight, weighed a lean 260 lbs in her underwear and was still growing.
The two girls laughed and wished each other a good evening.