A Big Girl comes into his life

by Claidheamh Mohr

An Investigator for the Museum of Cryptozoology gets lost in the Canadian woods and meets a girl. A frost giant's daughter, here are their adventures.

124. Chapter 124

Betrothed

Roger was lost in thought as he packed his gear for the trip.

Freya was eighteen now and going home for her coming of age celebration.

It was to be held during the summer seasonal feast, a gathering to celebrate the birthdays and life events of those born during that season.

In one great swoop she had graduated from high school with honors, gotten accepted at Portland University for the coming fall semester and after her first year, turned eighteen.

At her coming of age ceremony, according to Jotun custom, she and any other maidens of marriageable age could declare their heart's desire and name whom they wished to marry for all to hear.

He was secretly dreading this as it could mean the end of what had become a very meaningful relationship for him.

Freya had grown into a towering beauty with Norse goddess looks and standing a breathtaking nine feet two inches tall, a frost giantess in real life.

He stubbornly refused to allow himself to think that he might be in love with her or that she might be in love with him as well.

He refused to acknowledge that to him, she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

He felt that he was too old and too small for her, how could such a big, beautiful girl be happy with someone only two thirds her size?

How she could be happy with him standing just six feet tall with his head coming only to her flat tummy?

He tried not to think that she might enjoy sitting on the couch next to him while he eventually dozed off, her long, long legs stretched out while she leaned against him, and what about all the times they had slept together since she was only eleven years old, didn't they count for anything?

He wouldn't admit to himself that maybe, he was the reason why she had politely turned down any potential suitors.

He had always attributed it to the massive presence of Sasha and Golden Eyes, the great guardian wolf couple or the disapproval of Dena, the tiny wood wife also living with them.

He didn't think it was Silky, she always made herself scarce when strangers came to visit.

Roger had assumed that Freya, his gigantic companion, had a young man up in Canada that was on her mind when she regretfully said 'no'.

Lost in all these thoughts, Roger opened the door to their bedroom without knocking first and stopped.

Standing there clad only in her trousers was Freya.

While proportionally she was slender and had a modest bosom, being a giantess meant that her breasts, while modest in proportion, were still heroic in size.

For a long moment neither of them spoke or moved.

Even though he had seen her in the buff many times, he still averted his eyes from her breasts, lest he stare.

Freya broke into a fit of the giggles when he stammered , "S..So..Sorry...I shoulda knocked first!"

She replied cheerfully, "S,okay, ye were probably lost in thooght, agin." while she quickly donned a bra and tee shirt to cover up her wonderful bosom.

"Ye can look noo, Ah'm safe agin!" she declared happily.

Roger looked up at her smiling face, felt his breath briefly catch in his throat and managed to ask, "Have you got everything all packed?"

She grinned and replied, "Ay coorse! Thes is a verra big day fur me an' Ah want it tae be perfect!"

She pointed at her assembled luggage and said, "E'erythin's been triple checked an' packed since lest week."

She looked at him a bit more seriously and said, "It's you Ah've been wonderin' abit, Yoo've seemed sae distracted th' lest few days...Ur ye okay?"

He saw a slight frown on her beautiful face as she said that, and he replied truthfully.

"To tell you the truth, I've been kinda dreading this. You're of age now and can choose a husband. I could end up going home alone while some fortunate young man gets very lucky."

Freya smiled at him and said softly, "Tis true 'at Ah can declare me one true love, it doesnae mean he will accept. Ah coods get me heart broken y'know."

"And he, would be an idiot!" Muttered Roger.

Freya stepped towards him and knelt down to envelop him in one of her memorable hugs.

Roger hugged her back almost fiercely, his cheek pressed against hers while they held each other for a long moment.

Two days later, Roger unlocked the side cargo door to the bulky Martin Mariner PBM-5A.

He and Freya and her friend Anita Larsen, began lugging the nearly three-fourths ton of food and drinks and presents they were bringing with them.

The barrels of Scottish ale were rolled on board first and secured, then the boxes of citrus fruits and honey glazed hams and bags of potatoes and yams were carefully arranged inside the cages once meant for hauling boxes of books and securely tied down.

The smaller items, the herbs and spices, the bags of rice and beans were stowed in several of the gear lockers for a crew of eight.

They brought their own luggage on board and carefully stowed it, then did a thorough preflight inspection of the old amphibious plane while ignoring the people who gawked at Freya.

She had long become inured to the stares of those who had never seen a frost giant lass before and had once caused a near riot when she wore a short pleated skirt and thigh high stockings with ankle high boots to a 'back to school' event at the mall.

The sight of her incredibly long legs so daringly revealed, was almost too much for the 'lesser mortals' as Roger had drily put it.

Completing their inspection, Freya knelt down and hugged Anita who was going to be keeping an eye on the house and their guests while they were away.

While Silky ran the household, because she never spoke and rarely left the property, someone had to help her deal with grocery shopping, errands and pesky visitors.

Anita had moved in with them during her second year of middle school while her mom took a job overseas and the temporary move slowly became a permanent arrangement as she was now helping out with the research library kept inside the Karloff manor and could easily walk to the library from their house.

Having said goodbye to Anita who respectfully stood back while they climbed inside the bulky amphibious aircraft and checked the controls and the instruments.

Roger gave Anita a quick grin and a 'thumbs up' then cranked over the nearside engine, there was a whining grinding noise and the large propeller spun lazily at first, picking up speed as several of the eighteen cylinders began kicking in as they fired up, sending a cloud of smoke out of the exhaust system.

When the nearside engine was running smoothly, the offside engine began a similar ritual and a few minutes later, both engines were running very nicely.

Anita grinned at them and waved goodbye before heading to the van and driving home.

After getting clearance from the flight control tower they taxied out onto the runway and made their way to the starting line and waited their turn.

Roger smiled at his long time companion and said cheerfully, "You want to do this?" her big grin was all the reply he needed and he relaxed while she took over the flight duties.

When the red light changed to amber, Freya held the brakes and throttled up the engines and manifold pressure, the brakes barely restraining nearly 6,000 horsepower.

The light turned green and she released the brakes, the bulky Martin Mariner surged forward, gathering speed all the while.

The heavy plane bumped and rattled its way down the runway until Roger felt the nose lifting and moments later, the rattling ceased as the big airplane roared into the sky above Portland, Oregon.

There was a few more bumps and rattles as the landing gear tucked into the bulky fuselage and the Mariner continued climbing to cruising altitude and speed.

Freya grinned at him, she'd just executed a perfect take off and after a quick visual of the instruments and seeing all indicators showing green, she engaged the autopilot.

The only thing left to do was watch the sky and keep one eye on the instrument panel while occasionally looking down to gauge their progress.

While Roger was nominally the pilot, Freya had taken up an interest in flying after getting a turn at the controls in a borrowed Cessna 195 Businessliner float plane.

Roger quickly enrolled her in flight school and her instructor briefly gaped at the sight of a seven foot tall girl, but gamely took her on anyway.

Now, she was the world's tallest multi engine and instrument rated pilot at a full nine feet two inches in height.

The big Martin Mariner was perfect for her as the roomy interior allowed her to stand up straight and with the special seat and controls, she could fly it with ease.

The flight was fairly routine and they enjoyed a light lunch with a great view of the landscape slipping beneath their wings.

Once past Vancouver, Canada Freya resumed control and gently banked the lumbering seaplane to head inland and eventually settle on the the chilly waters of Ape Lake.

Passing over the tiny hamlet of Bella Coola, British Columbia, she lined the Mariner up with the peak of Ape Mountain just to her left and after double checking that the landing gear was secured, began descending to the lake below.

The heavy Martin Mariner soon settled onto the glacial lake's glassy surface and slowly cruised up to the dock that the Jotuns had built.

Standing there was her entire family, all turned out to see their youngest member coming home to celebrate her coming of age.

Sigurd, her massive father beamed with pride at the sight of Freya at the controls, while Roger grinned and held up his idle hands.

Causing her enormous brothers to laugh.

A quick scan of the instruments showed all green and the engines were shut off, the big propellers soon ceased their whirling.

Engaging the post flight cooling down system, Roger quickly opened the dockside door and tossed out two mooring ropes that were soon tied off.

Next, was a round of bone creaking hugs from her mother and sister's in law while booming laughter and comments of approval at their choice of gifts and goodies came from her male relatives.

The Mariner was quickly relieved of its burden and everything was piled onto the waiting carts.

The party, consisting of eleven adult Jotuns and one diminutive by comparison, human, set out for the rocky dell their hamlet lay hidden in.

Now that the world knew of their existence, the Jotuns no longer wore full coverage bearskin suits.

Instead, they wore their traditional clothing made from musk ox wool and now, Icelandic sheep's wool and cotton from the southern lands was mixed in in with their traditional fabrics.

A couple of the huge guardian wolves accompanied them and everyone strolled along, happily chattering all at once.

Freya as always, held Roger's hand as they walked together.

He found small comfort in enjoying what could be their last walk together and he squeezed her hand in appreciation.

She smiled shyly at him and squeezed his hand back in reply.

Arriving at the hidden dell, they were greeted by Barbara, Freya's aunt who cheerfully released the children back to their parents and the kids all clamored for Freya's attention, while she gave Roger one of her memorable hugs and for a brief moment, he felt himself pillowed between her enormous breasts.

She may have married a widower named Eric Ericsson, but she still claimed hugging rights, when it came to Roger.

Old Harald the brewmaster smiled at the sight of the barrels of ale Roger had brought and quickly took charge of them for 'safe keeping'.

Gudrun and Barbara took charge of the food stuffs and the rest of the items disappeared with almost indecent haste.

Their remaining luggage was carried into her old room and set on the floor for later. Outside, a row of tents had been set up for the many guests at the feast.

Sigurd made it a point to introduce Roger to the great wolves that were unfamiliar with him.

Many of them had accompanied a Jotun during their journey to the feast and they did not know Roger.

One was the largest male he had ever seen and the great shaggy wolf rose slowly to his feet as they approached.

He yawned widely, briefly showing his enormous bone crushing teeth and stretched lazily.

The other great wolves lay about with many young children playing among them without fear, to these huge children, they were simply the family dogs.

Sigurd walked right up to the fell beast and after getting his hand nuzzled and a scratching of the huge wolf's ears, said. "Fenris, Ah want yer tae meit Roger Tate. He is uir mukker."

The immense wolf directed his yellow eyed gaze at him and Roger smiled pleasantly at the giant among gigantic wolves.

After a long, slightly uncomfortable scrutiny, the huge wolf allowed Roger to approach.

He reached out cautiously and gently began scratching the giant wolf's ears.

Fenris relaxed his great jaw and his long tongue lolled as he closed his golden eyes and allowed Roger to scratch his ears and slowly work his way down his back, his fingers digging deeply into the dense fur.

Roger murmured softly to Fenris, "You like that don'cha? You like that scratch? Well, here's some more!"

The huge wolf grinned and his tail straightened out at an angle as Roger dug deeply into the dense fur at the base of his tail.

His fingers churning up the dense fur and the fine underhairs clinging to his fingers.

Sigurd chuckled and said, "Ah hink yoo've gart a mukker!"

Roger grinned at his gigantic host and said, "I do this to our wolvies all the time at home and they love it. I've never yet met a dog or wolf for that matter, that didn't enjoy a really good scratching!"

He reluctantly let go of the great wolf and was rewarded with a lick on his face for his efforts.

The enormous wolf then rejoined his fellows and lay down to snooze while the young children played nearby.

"Och, thaur ye ur!" cried Freya as she strode up to them, a smile brightening her pretty face.

"Auld Harald wants tae know whaur th' tap fur th' barrels we brooght is."

Roger grinned at her and replied drily, "I've got it in my luggage for safe keeping. I wanted to make sure I get at least a couple of tankards!"

As Roger trotted off to fetch the barrel tap, Sigurd quietly asked Freya, "Diz he suspect anythin'?"

"Nae Papa he suspects naethin'" replied Freya, "Ah've waited a lang time fur thes day an' hid mah feelings awa'. Tomorrow nicht, Ah will declare mah feelings an' let fate decide mah future."

Sigurd chuckled and remarked softly, "Ye hae naethin' tae warry abit, Ah hink Roger cares fur ye mair than he lets oan."

He slipped one massive arm around her relatively slim shoulders and pulled her close.

Freya grinned at her enormous father and said, "Ah hink sae tay, he jist willnae admit it."

That night, many of the families ate their dinners out on the long tables set up for the seasonal feast and Freya's family was no exception, with fifteen members plus a couple of expectant mothers now gathered together, they made up a fair sized group.

Roger and Freya brought the number up to seventeen and Gudrun and Barbara had made enough food for everyone there.

While they ate and drank, a number of young Jotun men came by to pay their respects to Freya and her family in the hopes she would look upon one of them with favor.

Roger had to admit that some of the men were positively huge, with great bristling beards and heroic physiques, they wore their traditional finery and presented themselves to Freya and her parents with courteous manners and flattering speech.

It was all very barbaric in a way and was likely an ancient custom from old Jotunheim itself.

He also noticed that they paid their respects to the other eligible maidens also declaring the following evening.

"All a part of the game of life. " he mused as he hoisted a second foaming tankard of ale following his delicious meal.

Roger quietly wondered if any of the young men had indeed, caught her eye.

Freya had been polite and smiled at her would be suitors, but her replies had been non-commital, was it possible that her true love wasn't there yet?

Canada was an enormous country and the distances were daunting if traveling on foot.

It was late and they all prepared for bed.

The huge bathroom had been busy with family members all sharing the great bathtub before going to bed and Roger found himself in the embrassing situation of having to share the bath with Gudrun, and seeing her in the nude was a sight he would not soon forget.

Where Freya was lithe and almost delicately built by Jotun standards, Gudrun was robust and had enormous breasts and hips and he felt like a little boy in her presence.

She tried to make him feel at ease by facing away from him and avoiding physical contact, although she did remark that she and Sigurd had always bathed with all of their children and nudity was considered a natural thing and nothing to be embarrassed about.

He nearly spluttered when Gudrun asked him how many times he had bathed with Freya during the years they had lived together.

When he replied that they had only rarely bathed together, she expressed her genuine surprise.

Once alone together in her bedroom, Freya asked softly, "Will ye sleep wi' me tonicht?"

Roger smiled at her and said quietly, "Will that be appropriate? Seeing as how you're going to be declaring your 'heart's desire' tomorrow evening."

She frowned and asked, "Yoo've ne'er refused me afore, why now?"

He sighed and replied slowly, "I've never faced the likelihood of losing you before. This whole declaration of one's heart's desire thing, I never really gave it much thought while you were growing up and now it's right in my face, challenging me to face up to it. It's all so confusing and frankly, I'm scared."

Freya's bright blue eyes watered up and she dabbed at her tears as she softly replied, "Ah'm scared too, Ah always knew Ah woods hae tae make a decision someday, tae choose a man tae marry. Ah'm facin' th' prospect ay bein' turned doon in front ay me family, an' Ah'm scared he'll say nae."

Roger smiled at her and rose to snuff out most of the oil lamps in her room, leaving only the night lamp still casting its soft glow.

He slipped out of his clothing and wearing only his underwear, he stood before her as she sat on her bed.

Even sitting down on her bed, she was still nearly his own height.

She spread her knees and Roger stepped between them, he took her face in his hands and said very tenderly, "Whatever decision you make tomorrow, I will abide by it and I will support you."

She smiled and reached up with her hands to hold his face and pressed her sweet lips against his in a tear soaked kiss.

Moments later, their lips parted reluctantly and she smiled at him through her tears, then she reached out a finger and dabbed at his own tears.

Impulsively, they embraced and held each other tightly in a surge of emotions.

After a few moments, they released each other and Roger stepped back a little bit.

Freya took off her sleeping shirt and was now wearing only her underwear.

She lay down on her bed and patted the mattress beside herself, Roger slipped into bed beside her and she slipped her long arms around him.

Snuggling him against her wonderful bosom she murmured, "Everythin' will be fine, sae don't ye worry sae much."

Cuddled against her firm breasts Roger murmured happily, "I see your accent has come back again."

She quietly retorted, "My 'accent' as ye put it, comes back when Ah'm around me people...Noo gae tae sleep an' let me hold ye tonicht."

Roger obediently snuggled against her sweet smelling bosom and gratefully allowed sleep to claim him.

Morning came all too soon for them.

Roger woke at the rapping of knuckles on Freya's door and yawning widely he reluctantly sat up, depriving himself of her heavenly warmth.

Roger sat on the edge of her bed and looked at her while she still slept.

His heart throbbed and his breath caught in his throat as he realized in that moment, he loved her and had loved her for many years, now he faced the likelyhood of losing her.

He swallowed his feelings and gently squeezed her shoulder before shaking her awake.

"Baby girl," he said softly, "C'mon, it's that time, we have to get up."

Freya groaned and muttered, "Dorn't remind me!" she too, sat up and Roger smiled at her. "Mornin' kiddo!" he said.

Putting on a brave face and swallowing his feelings, he said softly, "Last night, I slept so peacefully. I didn't want to wake up...Hell, I'd still be asleep in your arms if someone hadn't knocked on your door!"

Freya smiled slightly at him and replied, "If ye hadnae awakened me, Ah'd still be asleep wi' ye in me arms."

The door opened slowly and Gudrun stood there holding a bundle of white clothing, Freya's coming of age attire, her robes of purity and chastity.

Gudrun smiled slightly at the sight of her youngest child still abed with the 'wee man' she had been living with for many years.

Freya made no effort to hide her near nudity from her gigantic mother as she had nothing to hide.

She was still a virgin, they had held each other until sleep overcame them.

After washing up and dressing, they entered the kitchen where Gudrun was busily cutting a haunch of elk into small chunks for going into a pot.

Iona, Harald's wife was also cutting up several big bell peppers, potatoes, carrots, celery and onions.

Freya, all clad in white was given a light breakfast to eat before she was to go and join the other maidens also coming of age.

Roger, after being given a similar breakfast, was sent out to help Old Harald set up the barrels of ale.

A stout wooden frame somewhat resembling a giant wine rack was set up and the heavy barrels were lifted into place by a couple of the stalwart young men of the hamlet.

Snow carried down from the high slopes of Ape mountain was heaped around the barrels to cool them for the coming feast.

Finally, the barrels were tapped and each of the workers got a tankard full for their efforts.

Old Harald turned a critcal eye to the ale Roger had brought, after all, it wasn't brewed by a Jotun, so it needed to be inspected carefully.

Roger solemnly handed him a clear glass and after Harald looked it over, he poured a bit of the golden liquid into the glass, making note of the foamy head that appeared on top.

Harald held the glass up looking through the golden color of the ale within, he nodded approval of the clarity and the myriad tiny bubbles rising to the foamy top.

Harald held the glass under his considerably prominent nose and carefully sniffed, his great nostrils taking in the subtle aromas rising from the glass.

Roger suppressed the urge to chuckle, Harald took his brewmaster duties very seriously and an ill timed fit of the giggles would be considered a serious breach of etiquette.

Closing his eyes, Harald took a little sip and held the ale in his mouth for a moment before swallowing it and smacking his lips.

He took a larger sip and repeated his earlier performance, finally he emptied the glass and after a moment of silence, he opened his eyes and declared, "Thes is huir uv a braw! Ah loch th' hints ay honey in th' taste an' th' wee scent ay heaither in th' beak. Fa brews thes?"

Roger grinned at the older giant and replied, "It's called Fraoch heather ale, it comes from Scotland and the recipe is claimed to be four thousand years old."

Harald nodded his approval and remarked, "Thes wull make a braw ale fur th' feest!"

Roger smiled and handed out glasses of the ale to the two other giants who'd helped out.

He grinned at the sight of the enormous giants holding human scaled pint glasses like so many juice glasses and declared, "You each get one glass for a taste. I could only get the two barrels and it was an ordeal just getting those!"

They grinned at him and hoisted the glasses in salute before taking a sip.

Their musings were interrupted by a couple of Jotun girls strolling past, while they weren't of age yet they certainly were an eyeful, with their robust hips and impressive bosoms swaying to the rhythm of their strides.

They broke into the giggles when they realized that they were being scrutinized by the brewer's crew and one of them called out, "Min' yer ale noo, ye micht make a mistake while lookin' at us an' nae payin' attention tae whit yer daein'!"

Roger and the others all raised their glasses in a toast to the young ladies and they just smiled as they continued on their way.

One of the giants sighed and remarked, "Helga wull be ay age thes winter an' Ah wish tae coort 'er, ah dae."

The other giant grinned and retorted, "Aye, but first she has tae declaur fur ye. Sae yoo'd better catch 'er yak noo while ye still can!"

A movement in the distance caught Roger's eye, it was the group of maidens preparing for their night of feasting and declaring their heart's desires to Jotun society.

Clad all in white they were brushing and braiding each other's hair into the customary twin braids worn by most Jotun women.

One was a slender beauty who moved with an athletic grace as her hands swiftly gathered, brushed and braided the hair of the girl standing in front of her.

He realized with a start that the girl was Freya and she was among her own people, no longer was she the tallest person in the area, no longer did she stand out because of her size.

She was at home and he was the stranger, who now stood out because of his size or lack of it.

The youngest of the giants who had helped, sipped his ale and muttered, "Swatch at 'at skinny a body. Doesnae she gie enaw tae eat? Ah cooldnae lie wi' sic' a thin a body, Ah'd be afraid ay breakin' 'er bones!"

It took Roger a moment to realize that he had just declared Freya 'too skinny for him'.

He glanced over at Old Harald who looked slightly uncomfortable at the comment and to Roger's surprise, it was Old harald who came to her defense.

"That 'skinny girl' as ye pit it, is th' image ay 'er great granny, Alfriede 'Th' fair', th' most bonnie quine Ah e'er saw."

Old Harald then held up his tankard and said, "Tae bonnie lassies an guid ale!"

They all joined him in the toast.

Roger took one last look at Freya as she laughed and chattered happily with the other maidens, it was a side of her he had rarely seen before, an unguarded moment among girls her own size.

He was still pondering what he had seen when he returned to her parents house and made his way into the kitchen where he rustled together a sandwich of sorts and a cup of cool water for his lunch.

Roger was still eating when Gudrun and her equally large sister, Barbara came bustling in, they both stopped short at the sight of him quietly eating in the kitchen.

It was Barbara who spoke first, "An' wa ur ye in haur when thaur is sae much gonnae oan ootwith?"

He smiled at her and said pleasantly, "I really just wanted a little quiet along with a bite to eat and some water."

Barbara smiled at him and asked gently, "Ur ye curioos abit fa Freya wants tae marry?"

Roger stared into his cup and replied simply, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. I haven't a clue as to who he might be. "

He missed the brief exchange of glances between the gigantic sisters before he looked up at them and said, "I just want it to be over with, to tell you the truth. I just want her to be happy so I can get back to my life."

Barbara's face took on a warm expression and she enveloped him in one of her memorable hugs, he briefly had a vision of himself being engulfed in her immense bosom and trapped there...Forever.

As if from a distance, he heard her gentle voice saying, "Dinnae fret nane, it will aw wark it in th' end!'"

Roger looked up at her and she gave him a very tender kiss before releasing him.

It was now the Mid Summer's feast held for those born during the summer months.

Freya was now sitting next to Roger in her white robes of purity and chastity.

He felt like a little kid sitting next to her now as she had grown into a towering beauty just over nine feet tall.

In addition to her great height, her love of sports had given her a lithe muscularity that also attracted a great deal of attention.

In short, she had a knockout body.

Beside them sat her parents, Sigurd and Gudrun, now doting grand parents thanks to her four enormous brothers, who had brought their own families to see Freya in her big moment and her aunt Barbara, who had recently married a widower from the Ottowa region.

They all beamed with pride at her accomplishments, a star athlete, a scholar and an accomplished pilot who had flown up from Portland, Oregon.

She had graduated from high school with honors and was accepted at Portland university, where she would be entering her second semester in the fall.

There, she would study library science to better manage the large collection of books, scrolls and maps she had inherited from Induna, her late grandmother.

The collection was now housed in a restored mansion owned by a well known popular author.

Nearing the end of the feast, Harald Olafson, the village elder rose to speak.

In his basso rumble of a voice Harald declared, "Today is a day when maidens born durin' th' summer season fa hae reached marriageable age can declaur their heart's desire an' anoonce whom they wish tae marry."

He glanced around at the revelers, his eyes finally settling on Freya.

He smiled at her and asked, "Freya Sigurdsdottir, today ye ur an adult. Today is th' day ye nam yer heart's desire. Whom dae ye wish tae marry?"

Roger sat quietly beside her, he had been dreading this moment for years.

The moment when Freya could possibly leave him for a stranger.

They had lived together for nine years, they had butted heads, they'd had arguments and made up afterwards, he'd had to discipline her, a young giantess far larger and stronger than himself.

They'd also had great times, many great times.

Now all that could be coming to an end in a few moments and Roger was dreading it.

Belatedly he had realized that he loved her, and had loved her for many years.

She was the real reason why he had remained celibate for so long, unconsciously he had been saving himself for her.

He smiled weakly at Gudrun and she smiled back as if to reassure him that he, regardless of Freya's decision, would still be welcome in her home.

Mentally composing a brave sounding congratulatory speech, he took a swallow of ale, then took another.

His mouth was dry and the ale wasn't quenching his thirst, it was only numbing him.

Freya swallowed nervously a couple of times and stood up for all to see.

Dressed in a traditional Jotun maiden's coming of age outfit, she was a towering vision in the flowing white robes of chastity and purity and every inch a frost giantess with her fair skin, bright blue eyes, ruddy lips and long braids of red-gold hair hanging nearly to her trim waist.

She was very slender for a Jotun maiden and breathtakingly beautiful in Roger's eyes.

She looked around at the gathered giants, they were many for she was now an adult and ready to take a husband.

Many a young giant had trekked from afar to be here at this declaration and in the days prior to the feast, they all had paid their respects to the maidens and their families in the hopes that they would take notice of them.

Clearing her throat, Freya took a draught of spring water and began, "Today is th' day when Ah choose whom ah will allaw tae coort me an' ultimately, marry."

She smiled slightly, "Ah micht gab strangely noo coz Ah hae lived in th' ootwith warld fur mony years an' hae learnt mony new things."

She looked down at Roger and smiled at him warmly, to which he replied with his own hesitant smile.

She said firmly, "Tae teel ye aw th' truth, Ah gart me decision ay whom Ah wished tae marry, mony years ago."

Roger absentmindedly noted a number of giant couples discreetly elbowing and nodding at each other.

"It happened when he, a perfect stranger, offered me, also a perfect stranger, scran he hud caught."

She gestured at Roger, who became uncomfortably aware that all eyes were now upon him.

Smiling at him, Freya announced in a ringing, clear voice, "Ah wull marry, if he wull hae me. Th' oanly man Ah hae ever truly loved, th' oanly man Ah hae ever wanted tae love me!"

She smiled shyly and held out her hand to Roger and as he took it, Freya declared firmly, "Roger Tate is th' man Ah wish tae wed, heem an' nae other... Ah hae spoken!"

Roger felt his heart pounding at her declaration and he looked around uncertainly, no one had ever coached him on what to say in such a situation.

Gudrun caught his eye and smiled at him as did Sigurd, her enormous father who also nodded his approval.

"I have heard her declaration and I accept her troth!" he heard himself say.

Harald looked around at the guests and said, "Freya Sigurdsdottir has declaured 'er heart's desire tae wed Roger Tate. A man wi' whom she 'as lived since she waur a lass ay nine summers auld. He 'as accepted 'er troth an' wull coort 'er prior tae marriage."

He looked around, "In uir tradition, th' coortship period wull be one year tae give th' young couple time tae gie tae ken each other. It is assumed 'at 'er chastity wull be preserved durin' thes time."

He paused and took a sip of ale while Roger did likewise with his free hand as Freya still held his other hand in hers.

"In thes case, th' couple 'as lived together fur nine years, we wull gie them th' benefit ay th' doubt as tae 'er chastity."

Harald looked slowly around the gathering, then he declared, "Ef there are nae objections tae this union, Ah hereby declare Freya Sigurdsdottir tae be betrothed tae Roger Tate!"

He winked at Roger and said with a toothy grin, "Tha' wee bit o'speech made me verra thirsty, Ah hope ye brooght plenty ay ale!"

All Roger could do was smile and raise his tankard in salute.

The rest of the ceremony was all a blur to Roger as her enormous brothers and father all congratulated him with more ale, while her mother and aunt and several sister's in law, all gave him bone creaking, memorable hugs.

Meanwhile, the other maidens had all declared their own heart's desires and their young beaus had all accepted to the hoisting of yet more tankards of ale.

This led to yet more barrels of ale being breached and the barrels of ale he had brought with him, did not last long with so many tankards to fill and thirsts to quench.

He vaguely remembered being carried to bed.

Morning arrived early and with it, a crushing hangover.

Roger hadn't gotten that drunk since his days as a young Marine lance corporal.

Cringing at the ache in his head and the taste in his mouth.

He took up the ewer of water standing next to the wash basin in his room and slaked his thirst with a long draught of spring water.

He leaned over the basin and poured the remainder over his poor, throbbing head.

Feeling marginally better, he toweled off and got out his shaving kit and, as he always put it, 'scraped the moss off his face'.

Pausing to look at his reflection, he wondered, had he really gotten engaged to Freya the night before?

A glint of gold on his finger told the tale, it was an engagement ring. 'Where had that come from?' he thought.

Pulling on fresh clothing and leaving the room, Roger could hear voices in another part of the house.

He followed the sounds into the heart of the house of Sigurd and Gudrun.

Seated at the big table were Freya and Gudrun, seemingly none the worse for wear and busily cutting up meats and vegetables and smiling at each other.

On Freya's left hand glinted a gold ring identical to the one on Roger's hand.

Freya smiled happily when she saw Roger standing in the doorway looking a bit goggle eyed.

"What happened last night and to whom, do I owe apologies?" he said thickly.

Gudrun laughed and said merrily, "After me husband an' four sons finished congratulatin' ye, ye weren't onie trouble a'tall!"

Roger smiled weakly and replied, "That's good to hear, I think!"

He held up his hand and waggled his fingers, "Is this, what I think it it is?" he asked.

Freya beamed happily, more happily than he ever seen her do before.

His breath caught in his throat, 'She's so beautiful!' he thought.

Freya replied gaily, "Yes, it is whit ye think it is!"

She looked right into his eyes and said, "We are bethrothed, Ah declared me hearts desire an' ye accepted me!"

Gudrun smiled and said, "An' we approve. Yoo've been verra guid tae uir youngest bairn an' tae uir people. Nae longer dae we hae tae hide uirselves an' some ay us hae returned tae Jotunheim, uir ancient haem."

"So what's next?" asked Roger, "We've been living together unchaperoned for 't that be a problem?"

Gudrun shrugged and replied, "We ken uir bairn, we ken tha' she has been chaste, an' we trust ye!"

Roger smiled to himself as he thought of all the times they had slept together or accidentally walked in on each other in various states of dress, he knew exactly what she looked like in the nude and she, him.

He could be trusted alright...Damn.

"I vaguely recall hearing the engagement is for one year. Do we come back here at the end of that year and tie the knot?"

"If yoors was a traditional bethrothal, och aye." Gudrun replied, "Ye twa huv lived taegether fur half ay 'er life, how woods we ken whaither ur nae ye have slept together? Livin' togaither woods present many opportunities fur intimate contact tae occur."

Roger idly noted that her manner of speaking had modernized somewhat over the years as had Freya's, though she would revert to her old ways if highly upset or excited.

Freya's face had reddened greatly at her mother's comments and Roger felt himself flushing as well.

"To be honest," he replied, "we have shared a room when visiting friends and we have accidentally seen each other in the all together. But, while we have shared a bed, never once have we been intimate! Dena has been very good at protecting Freya's chastity."

He looked over at Freya who was blushing profusely, smiled at her and said softly, "When you rose to speak last night, I thought my heart would stop. I knew this day was coming and I dreaded it. I felt I was going to lose someone I've held so dearly in my secret heart to a stranger, a man I knew nothing about."

He smiled and said wistfully, "Living with you has been the greatest adventure of my life and I want that adventure to continue... Forever."

Freya was crying now and naturally, he went to her, she took him into her shapely arms and lifted him and set him in her lap and held him snugly against her wonderful bosom as she wept.

"You dear, silly man, hoo coods ye e'er hink 'at Ah woods leave ye?"

She said as a tear from her eyes dripped onto his face. "When you offered me 'at fish by th' lakeshore an' Ah accepted it, Ah knew then 'at Ah wanted tae be wi' ye. Ye were always me heart's desire, there ne'er was another."

Freya relaxed her hold on him and he looked up at his brobdingnagian companion, at that moment, her lips met his in their first kiss since their betrothal.

It was warm, it was brief and foretold of many kisses to come.

Gudrun sighed and said softly, "Ah ken at a young age 'at Sigurd woods become me guidman thaur waur ne'er a doubt in me mind 'at he waur th' one."

She dabbed at her eyes and smiled at them, "When he tauld me ay seein' ye at yon lake an' hoo Freya went tae ye an' ye offered 'er food, nae kennin' 'at it waur a marriage proposal."

Roger harrumphed and said drily, "He had a bit of fun with that one at my expense, as I recall!"

She only smiled and continued, "When Ah saw her holding yoor hand wi' such determination, Ah ken she had chosen ye an' we decided tae send her wi' ye, fur she would likely pine fur ye an' we couldna' allow 'er tae suffer sae."

Roger sat comfortably in Freya's lap and sipped at the hot broth Gudrun had given him, it was an old recipe for hangovers and he certainly had a good one.

Freya planted a kiss on top of his forehead and said, " Ah ken when Ah met ye 'at somehow, Ah woods be wi' ye. When they asked ye tae take me wi' ye, me heart was near tae burstin' an' when ye said yes, Ah was sae happy Ah couldnae help cryin'."

She squeezed him again and released him, he slid off her lap and climbed into the tall chair Sigurd had made for him.

Freya excused herself and left the kitchen, Gudrun waited until she had left and said quietly, "Freya has always been sae slender, an' most Jotun men loch their women robust loch meself. Big hips an' big breasts makes th' birthin' an' th' nursin' easier Ah suppose."

Roger grinned and said honestly, "I've always liked tall, slender, leggy girls myself. Freya, for all her size, is exactly my type. I just could never tell her that before. Don't let her slenderness fool you, she is quite the athlete and she is very strong, far stronger than I ever was."

Freya reappeared wearing faded blue jeans, a turtleneck sweater and hiking boots.

In one hand she was carrying Roger's old Marlin rifle and in the other, she carried their daypacks and canteens.

Roger took the hint and after excusing himself, he hopped down and scurried into his room to put on his hiking boots and belted on his knife and extra canteen.

He quickly rejoined Freya who was wrapping up a couple of slices of the journeybread they had baked recently.

Roger gulped down the rest of the herbal broth and they left the house.

Freya took his hand as she always had and they smiled and nodded at well wishers who congratulated them as they left the dell where the tiny hamlet lay hidden.

Just outside the dell waited one of the huge wolves that lived with the Jotuns, she was one of the largest beta females and related to Sasha, she accompanied Freya whenever she left the dell.

Falling in behind them, she followed as Freya led the way in a direction new to Roger.

They hiked in that direction for for over two hours, leaving the areas Roger was familiar with, far behind.

Finally, she stopped and as Roger caught his breath, he slowly realized that he was looking at a small collection of rude shelters hidden amongst the towering pine trees.

The lack of doors and windows in the rough openings and the build up of windblown debris inside told him that no one had lived in them for a long time.

Freya smiled at him and said, "We once lived here, it was before me parents were born, maybe e'en before me grandparents. Induna tauld me about this place when Ah was verrra young, an' Ah would search fur it every chance Ah got once Ah got big enaw tae defend meself. Before she died, she told me how to find it an' Ah finally found it a coupla years ago."

She took his hand and with their lupine escort following close behind, they strolled amongst the moss and lichen covered remnants, peering into the openings as if they would find anything.

Seemingly strolling at random, they found themselves standing under the spreading branches of a huge pine tree, the ground beneath their feet a deep, yielding carpet of pine needles and mould.

Roger smiled up at his towering bride to be, Freya looked nervous, very nervous.

He reached out and wrapped his arms around her trim hips and snuggled his cheek against her lower tummy.

Freya sighed, slipped her own arms around him and held him closely as she murmured, "Ah've waited sae lang tae tell ye how Ah felt about ye, tae declare me loove fur ye an' noo all Ah can say is 'Ah loove ye!' Funny isn't it? Three little words tha' can say sae much!"

He squeezed her gently and replied, "After my second marriage failed, I thought 'That's it for me! Never again!' And until you came into my life, I was content with my solitude. It took me a long time to accept my feelings for you, I felt guilty at first for even looking at you and seeing a beautiful, desirable girl. Now we're engaged and I can finally say that you are the most beautiful and desirable girl, I mean woman, that I have ever seen!"

He squeezed her again and sighed, feeling incredibly safe in her strong arms.

Freya knelt so she didn't tower over him so much and looked into his blue grey eyes with her own bright blue ones.

He reached up and took her face into his hands and tenderly kissed her, their lips slowly melting together as she pulled him closer into her arms, her firm bosom pressing against him while they kissed.

He gently led the way with his kisses and she gladly followed his lead with her own sweet replies.

Roger felt himself becoming very aroused, almost too aroused and he heard Freya softly moaning as her tongue danced eagerly with his own.

Regretfully, he broke off the kisses and held her tightly as she breathed heavily.

"W...Wa did ye stop?" she gasped.

Roger squeezed her tightly and almost groaned in reply, "Believe me, I don't want to. God knows, I don't want to stop!"

"Then, wa?" she moaned, "Ah hae waited sae lang an' Ah am sae ready fur thes!"

He sighed deeply and replied sadly, "Because my love, we are betrothed and you are to remain pure until we marry!"

Freya sighed as only a nine foot two inch tall, eighteen year old giantess could.

Roger finally said firmly, "I don't like it either baby girl, and if it wasn't for our promise to your parents and out of respect for your traditions. Our clothes would be scattered all over this place and we would be together in the sweetest, possible way!"

Freya smiled at him sadly, a tear rolling down her soft cheek as she replied glumly, "Ah hate it when you're right!"

"It is one of my worst habits, I'm afraid." he replied with a wry smile.

Freya sat down, then lay back and stretched out on the forest floor, Roger lay down beside her and snuggled against her long, lithe body while her arms slipped around him as they lay there madly in love, yet bound to waiting by an oath of chastity, they closed their eyes for 'only a minute'.

Hours later, Roger awoke when their lupine escort nudged him with her cold wet nose, he opened his eyes and saw her shaggy head hanging over him, it was late afternoon and they had fallen asleep beneath the piney bower.

"Holy Crap!" he cried as he jostled Freya's slumbering form, "Babe, wake up!" he urged as he prayed that for once, she would wake easily, sometimes she could be so tough to get out of bed.

Freya sat up blinking and looked around, she groaned, "Mom an' dad ur gonna kill me! We werenae s'posed tae be gone sae long!"

Grabbing up their gear they set out rapidly for home with furry escort in tow, Freya walked as fast as Roger could manage without stumbling, hurrying to beat the lengthening shadows.

Rounding a berry thicket, Roger spotted a young bull elk in his prime, he was looking right at them, his berry filled mouth open in surprise.

Not believing his luck, Roger quickly unlimbered his grandfather's old Marlin rifle and dropped the young bull as he turned away from them, with a single 400 grain, .45 caliber bullet through both of his shoulders.

As the echoes from the shot died away, Freya smiled at him, Roger had inadvertently given her a perfect cover story.

Freya suddenly bent over and gave him a resounding kiss, when their lips reluctantly parted, she said happily, "You've jist saved uir reputations!"

Freya looked around and declared, "We're nae too far frae th' village, wait here an' guard heem an' Ah'll run an' fetch help!"

She kissed him again and trotted off, leaving her lupine friend with Roger while her long legs carried her speedily into the deepening gloom.

Roger quickly cleared a space then gathered a bunch of dry branches, twigs, pine cones and ferns, using his lighter he soon had built a cheery blaze.

Taking off his sweater and tee shirt, Roger took out his belt knife and by the firelight, he cleaned and gutted the elk.

He gave the elk's heart to the wolf to eat and saved the liver and kidneys for Gudrun.

He then carried the head and other offal away from the carcass for the bears to play with.

He was nearly finished and was about to clean up when he heard voices and saw glowing lanterns approaching, it was Freya with her father and brothers.

She ran towards him grinning, her long braids flying.

His heart thumped in his chest and once again, Roger thanked his lucky stars.

While her father and brothers admired his kill, he stepped into the shallow creek and washed much of the dried blood off his arms and hands.

Shooting the animal was always the easy part he mused, the real work began when the bullet had done its job.

Coming back from the creek, Roger saw the elk now bundled up and laid on a stretcher of sorts waiting only for giant hands to pick it up.

He quickly dressed while Sigurd smiled at him and said, "We were wond'rin whaur yoo'd gang aff tae when Freya came runnin' inter town aw winded an' goin' oan 'bout an elk yoo'd shot!"

Roger grinned and said while he was smothering the fire, "It was a lucky shot, we were just walking along when I saw him. I don't know who was more surprised, me or him!"

"Guid luck fur us, bad luck fur heem!" Rumbled Harald, Freya's oldest brother and now married to Iona, a tall, willowy beauty from the Ontario province near the Algonquin park area.

He was now father of three children by her, two sons named Snorri and Edward and a daughter named Elise.

Roger picked up his things and her brothers easily carried the litter as Roger and Freya lit the path before them while Sigurd carried his own lantern and a stout cudgel for self defense.

The Jotuns had never been warlike and carried only an occasional spear or stout staff to fend off bears, relying mainly on their great size and strength.

Returning to the dell in triumph with their kill, Roger and Freya were welcomed by Gudrun who, as Roger noted, did not bring up any questions about why they were so late nor did she comment on the odd pine needle still stuck here and there to their clothing.

Iona greeted Harald warmly while their children all clamored for his attention.

Olaf's two daughters glomped onto him as his visibly pregnant wife Helga smiled.

Erik was embraced by his wife Ingrid and her protruding tummy, lastly Leif hugged his slender bride Friede and gently rubbed her baby bump.

Thankfully, no one asked about their whereabouts during their absence and Roger made a mental note to tell Gudrun about their falling asleep during a quiet moment.

He had always kept close ties with her, letting her know everything about Freya's life with him even if it embarrassed her.

Gudrun would understand.

Roger noted that many of the guests for the feast had already departed and that the little hamlet seemed much emptier this evening.

He thought about the young men who had journeyed across the immensity of Canada to meet Freya, the girl living amongst the 'weefowk' as Gudrun had put it so long ago.

He thought about his own journey to get here, now much easier with the Martin Mariner PBM-5A now anchored down at the lake.

He could just fly it here and not have to deal with the TSA minions who invariably gawked at Freya's great size and asked how tall she was.

He felt her long arms slipping around him and she bent over to murmur in his ear, "An' why is me betrothed sae lost in thought?"

Roger smiled and replied playfully, "I'm just grateful that no one asked about the pine needles stuck to our clothes!"

He laughed when she gasped and began franctically searching her sweater for any tell tale needles.

Roger squeezed his gargantuan fiancee and kissed her soft cheek, "We didn't break our promise, everything's fine!" he said softly.

Freya giggled and said firmly, "Next time, we're bringin' a blanket an' yoo're nae talkin' yoor way oot ay it either. Mister Tate!"

He grinned at her and replied roguishly, "The next time will be after we've said our 'I do's' and I will be bringing food and drink, 'cos we'll be there a while. The future Mrs. Tate!"

The next day Roger was helping out in the gardens.

Protected from local bears by a stout fence and the guardian wolves, the Jotuns grew onions, various types of squash, beans, lettuce and huge cabbages.

He'd spent much of the day pulling weeds and carefully hoeing around the growing plants.

Straightening up from pulling on a stubborn weed. Roger noticed Freya in a heated discussion with a young man who had trekked halfway across Canada to meet her. Like all Jotun men he was huge, looming even over Freya who firmly stood her ground.

His blue eyes glanced over at Roger and glared as he gesticulated wildy and Roger heard, "But wa?!...Wa marry a dwarf when a real cheil stands afair ye? Ah cam a hunder leagues tae see ye. Diz 'at mean naethin' tae ye? "

Freya was nearly in tears as she cried, "'at 'dwarf' is me one true loove, why cannae ye accept 'at? Ah cannae gae back oan me word, Ah declared me 'eart's desire at th' feast an' ye woods hae me gae back oan me sacred oath ay betrothal?"

She paused a moment then said angrily, "Ah dinnae e'en ken ye, an' ye woods lay claim oan me? Ah hink nae!"

Roger at this point, grabbed up his pitchfork and stood beside Freya.

The man glared at him and grumbled, "'Tis none ay yer business dwarf! Stay oot ay it!"

Roger set his jaw and declared grimly, "When my bride to be is crying, it becomes my business!"

The giant grinned at him through his great blonde mustachios and said, "Ah ain't afeared o'ye or tha' wee pitchfork!"

Roger said grimly, "And I am afraid of you, you're twice as big as Freya and likely three times stronger, so yes, I am afraid of you."

Tightening his grip on the pitchfork, Roger growled, "Don't make me kill you!" Seeing the fire in Roger's eyes, the giant hesitated and Freya pleaded, "Jist go! Leave noo while yoo're still welcome haur!"

The anger in his eyes dimmed and he seemed to diminish in stature.

He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and turned away.

A few moments later he had left the hamlet, his giant form rapidly disappearing into the deep forest.

The crisis over, Roger began shaking and Freya quickly knelt and enveloped him in her long arms.

Moments later, an earthquake of a voice spoke, "Whar's thes fight Ah heard tell ay?"

"It took ye lang enaw!" hollered Freya at her massive father.

She stood up and rounded on him, bristling and ready to argue.

Sigurd, his eyes filled with concern, merely raised his hands in a placating manner and asked, "Whit happened? Ah war doon at th' loch when Helga th' Swift cam runnin' up aw puffin' an' blowin' abit a barnie atween Roger an' Eric Th' Wanderer."

Roger took hold of Freya's hand and held it to calm her, Freya spat, "It wasnae a barnie, t'was a heated debate, that's aw!."

"With a pitchfork!" quipped Roger.

"Be quiet you!" snapped Freya, "T'was Erik, he couldna ken wa Ah chose Roger o'er heem. " she said in frustration.

"He had followed me tae th' gardens when Roger heard us."

"An' thes is when a pitchfork got involved?"

"Aye." Replied Freya.

Roger commented, "I was afraid he'd do something stupid and I had to get his attention, so I grabbed my pitchfork." he smiled weakly and said quietly, "Believe me, I was scared shitless, but I was more afraid of him hitting her than I was concerned about my safety."

Sigurd said grimly, "If he had, Ah would've dealt wi' heem an' he woods be banned frae uir village, th' word woods spread an' he'd become a pariah."

He sighed and remarked somberly, "'T'would be a sad end tae a bloodline, he's th' oanly son."

Freya chuckled and said grimly, "Ah meself woold've dealt wi' heem Papa."

Letting go of Roger's hand she stepped back and executed a perfect spinning high kick that would have knocked him out had it landed.

Sigurd's eyes widened briefly in surprise and he rumbled in amusement, "It seems me wee lass has learnt a few things, 'at war quite th' trick!"

Freya grinned and said cheerfully, "Roger an' Ah wark it aw th' time an' he's taught me puckle things frae his days as an embassy guard."

She looked at Roger and said, "Ah was ne'er afraid ay Erik, Ah ken Ah could handle him. 'twas when you, ye daft, dear man, stepped in 'at Ah grew afraid, as ye oanly made him angrier. Fortunately, he calmed down an' left."

Roger took her hand and said earnestly, "I saw you crying, there were tears on your face, I had to do something!"

She smiled at him, "Ay course Ah was cryin'! 'at pig headed lout had me sae frustrated, he jist wasnae listenin'. Ahm a lass, lasses dae 'at. We cry fur mony different reasons an' we ne'er apologize fur uir tears!"

She stooped slightly and easily lifted Roger to her eye level and gently kissed him before setting him back down.

Sigurd rumbled in laughter and said cheerfully, "Ah'll get back tae me fishin' noo." He turned and started back to the lake.

Freya cried happily, "Ah'll come wi' ye, Papa!"

She caught up to his mountainous form and took his arm, his little girl once again. Roger returned to his labors, that stubborn weed was not going to get the best of him!

It was well after dark when Sigurd and Freya returned from the lake, lugging a basket of freshly caught and cleaned lake trout.

Father and daughter beamed at their success and Roger showed off his harvesting efforts by presenting a basket of freshly washed potatoes.

Gudrun smiled, the large smoker was already loaded with the elk Roger had shot the day before and when she was done tying the fish to the racks, they'd go in too.

Freya hugged Roger and laughed when he wrinkled his nose and declared, "Peeyew! Somebody's been cleaning fish!"

She gleefully retorted, "An' somebody's been pullin' weeds!"

"Fishwife!"

"Farmer!"

Freya laughed and lifted Roger for a kiss while Sigurd and Gudrun smiled at the happy couple, as they headed off to the bath room.

After the two had taken a bath together and changed into clean clothing.

The family all gathered around a couple of the long tables and sat down to eat.

With her four brothers and their families all together again, it made for quite a gathering of giants, with the children playing while the grown ups ate and talked into the wee hours of the night.

The next morning, the family gathered at the water's edge to see Roger and Freya and Harald and Iona with their three children off.

Roger had offered to fly them back across Canada to the lake nearest their own home.

Harald quickly took him up on his offer in spite of Iona's misgivings, their children were quite excited about the flight, never having been on an airplane before, it would be an exciting adventure for them.

The bulky Martin Mariner was opened up and soon, the giants were settling in for the long flight.

The Martin Mariner had been chosen for its size, the interior could be reconfigured to accomodate the height of the giants and it had auxiliary fuel tanks added to increase its range.

When everyone was strapped in, Roger stood before them and said amiably, "We'll be taking off soon, once we get airborne and up to cruising altitude, you'll be able to unbuckle your seat belts and make yourselves more comfortable. We do have earplugs if the engine noise bothers you, they're right here in this box." with that said, he gave a signal to Freya and she began cranking up the engines.

After a few moments, the first engine caught and was soon churning the air with its whirling propeller.

A couple of minutes later, she started up the second engine and let it warm up for a few minutes, while Roger completed checking that everything was ready for take off. Freya waved out the window at her family and they all waved back as she began pulling away from the primitive dock and taxied out onto the lake prior to take off.

Lining the plane up with the long axis of the lake, Freya paused a few moments for a final checking of the instruments and GPS settings.

Satisfied that all was in order, Freya throttled up the engines, reset the pitch on the Hamilton-Standard propellers and with a roar, the bulky Martin Mariner surged forward, gathering speed and riding higher in the lake water until the bumping ceased and the ride became much smoother as the plane left the surface.

Easing back on the stick, Freya slowly banked the bulky aircraft into the heading she desired and continued climbing to clear the mountains surrounding Ape lake. Leveling off at 10,000 feet altitude, Freya turned off the 'seatbelts' light and the kids were soon peering out the glazed over waist gunner positions in the fuselage at the ground far below.

Turning the controls over to Roger, she climbed down from the flight deck and joined her brother and his family.

Harald grinned at her and said with a hint of pride in his voice, "Ah ne'er thought me own kid sister woods learn hoo tae fly an airplane, Ah am impressed!"

She grinned at her oldest brother and replied, "Roger sent me tae flight school because Ah made sech a nuisance ay meself abit learnin' hoo tae fly."

She glanced around at the roomy interior of the Mariner and said, "As Ah got older, we had trouble findin' a plane Ah coods fit in. Thes war sittin' at an airfield way doon yonder in Brazil. We flew doon thaur an' mit Henri DuValliere an' he an' Roger got 'er up an' flyin' agin. They flew it back tae Texas an' the fowks thaur went through everythin' tae make it airworthy."

She glanced up at Roger's back as he sat at the controls, "It was th' oanly time he left me behind, he didn't ken if it woods e'en make it back tae Texas, an' he dinnae want me in th' plane if it crashed."

She grinned and said, "Last year, we flew thes tae Hawaii an' athwart th' Pacific tae Japan wi' nae troubles at'all."

Harald glanced out the window nearest him and muttered, "Tae thenk Ah walked half way across Canada tae meet me bride an' noo we be flyin', loch birds we are."

An hour later with the novelty having worn off, Harald and his family were all sound asleep, lulled to sleep by the steady drone of the 18 cylinder engines at the 180 MPH cruising speed.

They flew through the Pine Pass gap in the Canadian Rockies and continued towards the town of Dawson Creek where they would cross into Alberta and continue North Easterly to Lake Namur in the Wood Buffalo National Park, their destination.

When they were about a half hour from their destination, Roger turned on the cabin lights as Freya gently prodded her oldest brother and his family awake. "Wake up ever'body an' buckle in, we'll be landin' verra soon!"

She cheerfully announced, the kids stepped away from their perch by the glassed in waist gunner's position and buckled in without complaint.

A short time later they felt the bulky aircraft begin its descent as Lake Namur hove into view.

At several hundred feet altitude, Roger leveled the plane off and made a slow circuit of the lake to alert the Jotuns there that he was going to touch down on the lake. When he was satisfied that the message had been received, Roger eased the bulky Martin Mariner PBM-5A onto the lake's surface and once again, the bumping and bouncing of a watery landing commenced.

Slowing to a crawl, Roger manipulated the throttles to maneuver the amphibious Martin Mariner closer to the shore where several curious Jotuns could be seen watching the airplane's moving closer to shore.

Freya opened her co-pilot's window and waved at them enthusiastically, she laughed as they realized she was one of them and began frantically waving back while sending a couple of the younger ones into the forest to fetch more of their people to see the Jotun girl in the airplane.

Before long, a small group of Jotuns came down to the lake's shore and maneuvered a boat into the water while Roger opened the side door and dropped anchor.

There was a brief pause when the approaching Jotuns saw Harald and his family inside the bulky flying boat smiling at them.

Harald called out, "Me sister offered us a ride, Ah cooldnae verra well refuse!"

That changed everything and more Jotuns came out of the forest to see the airplane up close and meet the Jotun girl who had flown it.

Even with the boat securely tied to the side of the aircraft, unloading Harald's family was a delicate operation.

No one wanted to be the one who caused anyone to fall into the chill waters.

It was a nice day, too nice to get a chilly dunking in the lake's icy waters.

With Harald and his family successfully unloaded along with their things.

Iona smiled at them and said, "Yoo're mair than welcome tae bide wi' us fur a couple ay days, we hae a spaur bedroom ye can use if yoo'd loch!"

Freya looked at him and said, "What dae ye think dear?"

Roger grinned at his towering fiancee and replied, "Let me secure this bird and I'll be right with you!"

Freya's smile was dazzling and she grabbed up their overnight bags and his rifle case. Roger secured the big Martin Mariner and tied it off securely to a stump near the water's edge.

The hike to the Jotun village was fairly short and nothing like the steep trail from Ape lake to the hamlet Harald and Freya had grown up in.

As Roger entered the village with Harald and his family, he noticed the residents eyeing him with mild curiosity, evidently he wasn't the first of the 'wee fowk' to visit their village.

A couple of the huge guardian wolves rose to their feet and gave both Roger and Freya the 'sniff test', during which he managed to give one of them a good scratching behind her ears.

She quickly decided she liked him scratching her ears and so, she presented her rump.

Roger dug his hands deeply into her dense fur and scratched and scratched and scratched.

One of the villagers, a huge fellow with a vast belly and equally vast beard and mustache chuckled and called out, "Cannie noo laddie, yoo'll be spoilin' 'at stoatin' beastie an' she'll want ye tae scart 'er some mair!"

Roger grinned at the huge man and replied, "I don't mind, this is how I make friends with these wolves, they all love getting a good scratching!"

He just chuckled and took a swig from his large wooden tankard.

Holding it up afterwards he said politely, "Caur fur a taste ay mah ale? Ah jist tapped th' keg thes morn!"

Roger grinned at his new found friend and disengaged himself from scratching the huge she-wolf who whined in protest at the interrupted scratching.

Roger strode over to his enormous host and extended his hand in greeting, "Roger Tate, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir!"

The giant smiled at him through his immense beard and reached out his own baseball mitt sized hand and shook Roger's hand, "Torlief Gunnarson, th' pleasure's aw mine." Torlief picked up a much smaller tankard and proceeded to fill it from a large oaken cask sitting nearby.

Blowing off the foam with one mighty breath, Torlief handed him the foaming tankard of ale with a smile on his face.

He raised his great tankard and they briefly bumped their tankards together and as one, they said, "To your good health, sir!/Tae yer guid health, sairrr!"

Their celebration was interrupted by a great voice declaring, "Haur ye ur, wastin' time skitin' wi' strangers, when ye hae chores tae finish!"

Torlief spluttered and he hastily set down his now empty tankard while saying in his defense, "He speart me fur a wee taste ay me ale an' Ah was merely bein' hospitable!" Roger quickly finished off his tankard and bowed to the towering giantess glaring at them. "My apologies ma'am, it's all my fault. We just flew in from Ape mountain and I was very thirsty, so I asked Torlief here for a taste of his fine ale."

She rolled her bright blue eyes and muttered, "It's hard enaw gettin' heem tae help it aroond me hoose, withit wee strangers beggin' heem fur a bevvy."

Roger was about to reply when he felt Freya's hand resting on his shoulder and heard her voice asking, "Is me betrothed causin' onie trooble ma'am?"

The huge woman paused at her remark then smiled at her and replied, "Nae mair than onie other cheil askin' me guidman fur ale. He does brew a mighty fine ale, Ah'll grant heem 'at. It's gettin' heem tae help wi' th' chores 'at's difficult."

Roger held up his hand and said, "If it will help, I'd like to order a barrel or two of his ale for our wedding feast next year."

The huge woman laughed a great booming laugh and said with her eyes twinkling, "An' how dae ye plan oan payin' fur it an' deliverin' it tae your weddin' feest?"

This time Freya spoke up and said, "That's nae problem, we'll pay fur it in advance an' pick it up afair th' weddin' feest in uir airplane. We hae tae be haur anyway tae pick up me brother an' his fowk."

The woman, evidently related to Torlief raised an eye brow and held out a work roughened hand.

Freya shook her hand, smiled at her and asked, "Woods ye tak' a couple ay yoong elks as part payment?"

She grinned hugely and retorted, "Ah'd tak' them intae consideration if'n ye had a couple ay yoong elks tae bargain wi'!"

Freya glanced over at Roger who merely smiled, and she said, "We can gang it oan th' morrow an' hunt a coople ay them, if yoo'd loch."

The woman laughed again and said cheerfully, "Yoo're oan lassie!"

Roger stepped forward and extended his hand towards the giant woman in greeting, "Roger Tate, it's a pleasure to meet you ma'am!"

She smiled at him and gently shook his hand while saying, "Mah nam is Olga, Torlief is mah guidman. A pleasure tae meit ye tay."

Roger was about to elaborate further when he felt a gentle tugging on his sleeve, it was little Elise.

Harald's youngest child, she was about six now and already standing well over five feet tall.

Like her mother, she was slender and dark haired in contrast to the usual robustness and reddish hair most other Jotuns had.

She smiled shyly and said politely, "Papa wants tae ken whaur yoo've bin?"

Roger laughed and said apologetically to Olga, "I must be going, my future brother-in-law sent out his secret weapon to get me!"

Olga raised a reddish eyebrow, laughed and remarked, "Ah'll be expectin' ye oan th' morrow!"

Roger grinned and flashed her a thumb's up, "Gotcha!"

Taking up their bags and the rifle case, Roger and Freya followed young Elise to her house.

Like many of the newer Jotun built structures it was more out in the open.

The revelation of their existence and the protections under the first nations act extended to them by the Canadian government made their lives a lot easier, now that they didn't have to hide anymore.

Elise led them into the Jotun scaled cottage and they saw Harald and Iona working together in the kitchen, she was tending several pots, all bubbling away and Harald was busily cutting up the ingredients and adding them to the appropriate pot.

Harald grinned at them and said amiably, "Ah see yoo've mit uir brewer, Torlief, th' Vast. He brews some mighty braw ale 'at one!"

Roger chuckled and replied, "Yes, I did try a tankard, it was everything it's claimed to be. Can't say Olga appreciated us interrupting him at his chores though."

Harald grinned through his only slightly less impressive beard than his father's and replied, "He does bear watchin', he'll lollygag if she doesnae bide after heem. Yoo're nae th' oanly ones he stahps workin' fur."

He bent over slightly and asked little Elise to show them their room.

The child straightened up to her full height and said with gravitas, "Come wi' me an' I'll shaw ye tae yer room, please."

Roger grinned and said cheerfully, "Lead on, MacDuff!" causing Elise to look at him strangely and in a matter-of-fact tone say, "Mah nam is Elise, I dunnae ken onie MacDuff!"

Freya laughed and said, "Ye shooldnae tease me niece loch 'at, she doesnae ken ye 'at well, she thooght ye waur callin' 'er MacDuff."

That said, the young girl led them to a room with a roomy bed and a chest of drawers with a night stand next to it.

Entering the room, Roger set his bag and rifle case down and looked around, like typical Jotun architecture, it was built to their size and he felt dwarfed by the scale. The bed was twelve feet long and about eight feet wide, the same as Freya's bed back home.

Freya chuckled and said teasingly, "Nae fair takin' advantage ay me while Ah sleep, we hae uir oath ay chastity, remember?"

Roger smiled at his towering fiancee and replied with a wink, "Think of this as a test of our resolve. Without Dena to keep us honest, how will we ever manage!"

She merely smiled at him in reply, she could play the waiting game as well as he could.

She also looked forward to holding her bethrothed in her arms while they fell asleep together.

Elise spoke up suddenly, briefly disturbing Freya's visions of connubial bliss. "I'll lae ye be, an' I'll come gie ye when supper's ready!"

With that, the girl did an about face and strode from the room, her mission from daddy completed.

Taking off his boots, Roger climbed up onto the Jotun sized bed and flopped backwards with a smile on his rugged face.

Freya grinned at him and remarked, "Plannin' oan takin' a nap?"

"It had crossed my mind dear." came his reply.

She smiled at him and removed her own shoes, then lay down beside him and murmured, "Mind if Ah join ye?"

Roger smiled at her through closed eyes and snuggled against her long, lean form with a sigh.

Putting up little resistance, they slipped quietly into the peaceful land of Nod.

Harald found them peacefully asleep an hour later when it was time to eat, he didn't wish to disturb their rest so he returned to the kitchen and reported, "They've fallen asleep an' looked sae peaceful, jist lying thaur loch a couple ay wee bairns. Ah couldnae disurb their slumber."

Iona merely shrugged and said, "Ah'll pit enaw in th' warmer fur them tae eat somethin' later oan when they awaken."

For once, it was Freya who woke him up instead of the other way around.

Roger opened his eyes to see Freya up and dressed or rather, changed.

They had fallen asleep in their clothing and had slept the night away.

Freya had awakened first and recalling their commitment to Olga Gunnarson, got up and after washing up, changed into hiking clothes.

Roger stumbled and mumbled his way into the bathroom and washed up while Freya made them a breakfast.

After changing his clothes, Roger entered the cozy for a Jotun, kitchen and dug into Freya's cooking.

Harald came in and joined them.

When Roger looked at him with an obvious question on his face, Harald remarked with a sly grin, "Ahm comin' alang, Ah cannae lit ye twa hae aw th' fun! Besides, Ah ken whaur th' elk ur likely tae be foond."

Roger grinned at his future brother-in-law and replied, "Fair enough!"

Harald's oldest son Snorri, a sturdy lad of eight and already well taller than Roger came into the kitchen.

He wore his own hiking gear and had a stout knife belted around his waist.

He stood his tallest and said clearly, "Ah wish tae come alang an' help wi' th' hunt." Harald exchanged a glance with Roger who merely shrugged and remarked, "If you think he's ready to help, I have no objections."

Harald gazed at his oldest and said quietly, "Ye dae realize 'at we will be killin' a coople ay large animals an' field dressin' 'em. It will gie uv a gory an' ye will see a lot ay bluid. Ur ye okay wi' at?"

Snorri paused a few moments and said quietly, "Ah hink sae, Ah've seen when mom dresses a hare fur a soop. An' it didna bortha me."

Harald grinned at his son and said, "Okay, ye can come alang. Yoo're abit auld enaw noo."

Snorri grinned from ear to ear and with that, they set out for the hunting fields.

They found Olga waiting for them and as they drew near, she noted the old Marlin rifle slung across Roger's back and commented, "That's kin' ay auld isnae it? Will it dae th' job? Uir elks gie bonnie big aroond haur."

Harald chuckled and retorted, "Ah've seen Roger use thes rifle tae kill twa elk in twa shots. It main be auld, but it diz th' job!"

Olga just shrugged and said, "Ah jist want th' twa elk loch we agreed oan, Ah caur nae hoo ye gie them."

Roger paused a moment and asked, "What if we see moose instead of elk?"

Olga smiled and replied, "Meat's meat, ain't it?"

"Works for me!" replied Roger with his trademark grin.

Harald led the way and they headed northwesterly towards Moose Lake, a hike of several miles which proved to be fairly easy going as the terrain wasn't really rugged like it was around the Ape Mountain region.

It was almost midmorning when Harald paused and pointed out to Roger, a small group of elk bedded down in the shade.

Nodding in reply, Roger carefully unlimbered his old Marlin rifle and slipping off the safety, he took careful aim, he would only have a few seconds to get off a second shot.

The gold bead settled on the young bull's nearside shoulder for just a moment when "Bang!" a 400 grain soft nosed bullet snuffed out his young life.

Quickly levering in another round, he fired again and one of the cows jumped up and fell over, kicking only briefly.

The remainder of the elk scattered in all directions and were soon out of range anyway.

Harald chuckled and said, "Ah guess auld Torlief has tae brew yer weddin' ale after aw! Guid shootin'."

Roger glanced over at Snorri and saw he was looking a little stunned at the brief spate of violence followed immediately by the peaceful forest ambiance again.

He asked, "You okay there Snorri?"

The boy nodded a 'yes' and smiled weakly.

They quickly closed in on the two carcasses and surveyed their wounds.

The bull had died instantly while the cow had thrashed a bit after getting hit.

Looking at them Roger muttered, "The bull died instantly while she kicked a bit, I had to rush the second shot so I didn't have a whole lot of time to aim."

Freya muttered, "Time tae get tae work!" and she rolled the young bull onto his back and opened up his belly with her knife.

Roger got out a roll of heavy twine, slipped on some plastic gloves and said, "Yeah, I'm cheating." he then proceded to remove the innards in one great bloody mass while leaving the heart, kidneys and liver in place.

Snorri visibly paled and hastily turned away muttering, "Sae much bluid!" he glanced at his father apologetically, then Harald smiled at him and remarked, "Dorn't apologize son. Ah did th' sam 'hin when Ah went oan me first hunt wi' me faither. Oanly Ah threw up!"

Roger then picked up the small intestine and proceded to grasp one end and slip his free hand along its length, neatly forcing the contents out onto the ground.

He grinned at the already pale Snorri and said, "For sausages!" then he placed the now empty intestine back inside the body cavity.

Roger and Freya repeated the entire performance on the cow while Harald and a recovering Snorri took the roll of heavy twine and tied the bull's carcass into a more easily managed bundle.

When both animals had been field dressed and tied into bundles, Roger got out two large game bags that were a day-glo orange color and while he and Freya wrestled them over the carcasses, Harald remarked, "What sort ay a colur is 'at? I've never seen th' loch afair!"

Roger grinned at him and replied, "It's called 'day-glo' orange and the idea is to make yourself very visible, so you don't get yourself shot by another hunter who may not be as smart as you are."

Harald looked at him soberly and asked, "Dae ye hink we shoods start wearin' mince loch thes? We stopped wearin' th' bear skins fur 'at huir av' a reason."

Roger shrugged slightly and remarked, "It probably wouldn't be a bad idea, I know the Canadian government has been doing a "There are giants in the woods" publicity effort to let sportsmen know they don't have the woods all to themselves. Still, you will get the stubborn ones."

Roger noticed the look on Harald's face and chuckled, "I think just wearing brighter colors will help, especially during hunting season."

Glancing at the sun, Harald commented, "We need tae be gettin' back it afair it gits mirk out."

And with that, he picked up the young bull and set it on his massive shoulder.

Before Roger could protest, Freya did likewise with the cow elk and grinned at him. He shook his head and muttered, "Crazy Jotun girls!" and fell in behind them as they headed back to the village near Lake Namur.

Roger glanced over at Snorri and the boy grinned at him as he held up the empty brass casings from Roger's rifle.

Souvenirs from his first real hunt.

Tirelessly, Harald and Freya trudged along, carrying the elks agreed upon by Olga as the price for a barrel of Torlief's wedding ale.

Roger couldn't help marvelling at their strength, Harald he expected to be strong, but Freya as always, had a surprise in store for him.

She may have had a slender build, but she was scary strong, and now he was her fiance.

It was almost dark when they arrived at the home of the Gunnarson's.

After knocking on their door, Roger stood patiently while the door was being opened. Olga opened the door, smiled broadly and remarked, "Back sae soon? Ye got me elks?"

Roger smiled at her and uncovered the two carcasses with a flourish.

"As promised madame, two elks, a bull and a cow!"

She grinned toothily and replied, "Ah see ye dressed them, did ye lae onie innards?"

"Yes ma'am, the heart, liver and kidneys. We also cleaned and threw in the small gut for making sausages." replied Roger.

Olga grinned at him and replied, "Ye got yerself a barrel ay weddin' ale!"

She turned and called out, "We got th' elks, now ye needs tae get tae brewin'!"

She smiled at all of them and said, "Come in out ay th' nicht air an' we'll write up an agreement tae make it official loch."

They carried the elks inside and laid them on the kitchen table.

Olga took a knife and swiftly cut the binding twine to spread open the body cavities. She looked the carcasses over for a couple of minutes and said, "Guid job ay field dressin' them. Ye saved me some extra wark."

Torlief lumbered into the kitchen and admired the elks, he nodded his approval and said, "Ah'll make ye th' best ale yoo'll ever taste ur Aahm nae a brew master!"

Olga solemnly laid a piece of paper on the table and a written agreement was approved and signed by both parties and witnessed by Harald.

Iona greeted them with a nice curry she had made for dinner.

Freya had introduced curry to her family and the recipe was slowly making its way through Jotun households across Canada.

Roger smiled at her interpretation of it.

She had used native wild rice instead of the white rice ordinarily used, making for an interesting flavor and texture.

After dinner they sat outside in the summer evening air and enjoyed the starry skies overhead.

Prompting Freya to remark, "Th' sky ower Portland is sae deem compared tae haur, thaur Ah can see barely half th' stars Ah can see haur."

Harald sipped at his ale and said, "Yoo're aye welcome tae come bide wi' us ye ken. If city livin' gits tae be tay much."

Freya smiled at her oldest brother and replied, "Thenks, Ah'll keep 'at in min' when Ah'm in college thes faa an' swamped wi' skale wark!"

Iona sipped at her tea and asked, "When dae ye hae tae gang back? Yoo're welcome tae bide as lang as ye want ye ken."

Roger chuckled a bit and replied, "Unfortunately, we have to leave in the morning, it's a long flight home and I don't want to fly after dark, not without a clear view of a landing place.

"Next time, I'd like to stay about a week or so and do some fishing, I'll bet that lake has some nice fat trout in it!"

"Aye, it diz, it diz," remarked Harald.

They had bathed and dressed for bed when Roger groaned and muttered, "I swear they're out to get us!" at Freya's puzzled expression he elaborated. "Ever since we got engaged, we keep having to share a bed when we're supposed to behave ourselves until our wedding day. It's gonna be a loong year!"

He smiled at her and said glumly, "All the times we slept together before, it didn't matter and now that it does matter, this happens."

Freya looked down at her modest night gown and said softly, "Why dae ye think Ahm wearin' thes bit ay modesty? It's nae fur yer viewin' pleasure!"

Pinching out all but one of the candles, they lay down together and Freya snuggled him into her long arms and held him against her wonderful bosom.

Lying down together, their size difference wasn't as apparent and they shared several sweet kisses before composing themselves for slumber.

Rising at dawn, they quietly dressed and packed away their things for the flight home.

Entering the kitchen they saw the entire Harald Sigurdson household awake and eating breakfast.

Iona laid a couple of food laden platters on the table and said cheerfully, "Ah cannae hae it said 'at Ah wasnae a guid hostess. Eat up!"

Roger laughed and replied, "I would never say any such thing!" After their hearty breakfast, the whole family trooped down to the lake where the big Martin Mariner was moored.

As they approached the lake shore they saw a smaller float plane also moored and a couple of fishermen standing at the shore and casting their lines for fish.

The fishermen stood gaping at the sight of the giants emerging from the woods and walking towards them.

The older of the two men smiled and said, "Good mornin,' fine day for fishin' eh?" Harald smiled back and replied, "It certainly is. We'll oanly be a wee while tae say guidbye tae me sister. Then ye can hae yer loch back."

The older man grinned and said, "Take your time, no rush."

Roger slid the collapsable boat into the water and he paddled out to the Martin Mariner to unlock it and open the side door.

Meanwhile Freya was hugging and kissing her brother, his wife and their children.

Roger returned to shore and he too, said his goodbyes, when they were finished.

One of the fishermen asked, "That's a Martin Mariner ain't it?"

Roger grinned at him and replied, "Yep! We found it down in a backwater airfield in Brazil. We put the engines back in it and nursed it back to Texas where they rebuilt it completely and made a few modifications as they went."

The man grinned and said, "I can see y'took the gun turrets off of it for starters."

"Yeah that lightened it a whole bunch and made it more streamlined so it has a somewhat higher cruising speed. Still, it helps."

"I'll bet!" grinned the older fisherman.

Having said all their goodbyes and exchanged pleasantries with the two visiting fishermen, Roger and Freya paddled out to the big airplane and clambered aboard, pulling the collapsable in after themselves.

They went through all the preflights and after a final wave to their family and friends on shore.

Started the first engine, it coughed and spluttered and began waking up as each cylinder joined in the noisy chorus, until it was churning merrily along.

They started the second engine and it too, coughed spluttered and generally complained about waking up so early, before long both engines were humming along smoothly and they worked the flaps and rudder and other control surfaces.

When all was ready, Freya took the controls and she began maneuvering the bulky seaplane into alignment with the long axis of the lake.

Roger waved out the window at the shore party and as they waved back, Freya throttled up the engines with the propellers feathered for a few moments before engaging them and the bulky plane surged forward with a mighty roar.

Roger closed his window while the bouncing and surging smoothed out as the heavy Martin Mariner left the water's surface.

Freya closed her own window and she eased back on the controls to bring the plane to a cruising altitude before banking to a southwesterly heading.

Roger grinned at his bride-to-be and said cheerfully, "Our friends're gonna flip!" Freya smiled at him and said, "Some ay me friends wull ask why Ah didne ask ye sooner, they knew how Ah felt aboot ye. Ah ne'er tried tae hide me feelings frae 'em." Roger reached over and squeezed her hand, he said, "I knew some time ago that I had feelings for you, but I was concerned about how to express them without seeming like a jerk. I've had such bad luck with women and I did not want to hurt you in any way."

Falling into a companionable silence they flew on for a little while, then Roger asked, "Would you like me to make us some coffee?"

Freya's big grin was all the answer he needed so he unbuckled himself and climbed down to the small galley and its two burner electric stove. Mounted on the bulkhead was a coffee maker that came out of a C-5 Galaxy and after a few minutes of tinkering, it was soon brewing up a fresh pot of coffee.

While waiting for the coffee to finish brewing, Roger looked around the roomy interior of the big Martin Mariner, it was a little hard to believe that six years before it had languished at the edge of an airfield deep in Brazil, unknown and forgotten.

Seemingly destined for the scrap heap it was rescued by Roger and Henri DuValliere and brought back to the United States for a complete rebuild.

Roger smiled at the memories of this large airplane moored in lakes and atolls around the world as he and an ever growing Freya travelled the world in it.

Lost in his memories, he closed his eyes when he felt her long arms slipping around him and holding him against her taut stomach, she squeezed him gently and murmured, "Is th' coffee ready?"

The red indicator light on the coffee maker winked out and a green light came on.

"It is now!" remarked Roger and slipping from her arms he filled their coffee mugs with the hot liquid and dosed them with powdered creamer.

She bent over and kissed him tenderly as she accepted the one quart mug she drank her coffee from.

Returning to their seats, they gazed out the windows and listened to the steady rumble of the big eighteen cylinder engines.

The ground far below them was mostly forests with an occasional village or hamlet to break up the monotonous greenery.

They had hours of flight time ahead of them and they relaxed and enjoyed each other's company.

Roger smiled, he had come to prefer Freya's company over anyone else's, even the beautiful Anna Karlsen had no charms for him, as much as he enjoyed her company, they were strictly very good friends.

Dena the woodwife was another story, she had no qualms about kissing Roger even though he was three times her height and he had lost count of the times he had seen her in the altogether or had slept with her.

Anita Larsen, another addition to their household was much more casual about nudity around the house, after all, she had Freya and Dena as examples to go by.

The latest addition, Flora the Northern wood nymph only reluctantly wore clothing and that was at Silky's insistence while she was inside the house.

Roger just accepted his fate.

Their only real problems came up when Roger's first ex-wife, Marlena turned up on their doorstep.

It was shortly after Anita had moved in with them and Marlena simply appeared on their door step demanding to know where Roger was and was he sleeping with her? Anita was still struggling to reason with her when Roger and Freya returned home. Freya had largely remained inside the van while he dealt with her and gave her money to leave them alone.

Freya's voice saying, "We're leavin' Canada an' enterin' th' U.S." snapped him back out of his reverie. Thankfully, he hadn't heard from her since.

Roger glanced at the fuel gauges and remarked, "Let's land at Renton Municipal Airport in Seattle to get some fuel and stretch our legs a bit."

"Gotcha!" replied Freya and she banked the plane slightly to take it to Seattle, Washington.

They regularly stopped there after coming back from Canada to fuel up and get the customs inspection.

Roger contacted the tower at Renton and advised them of their impending arrival, then he settled in to wait for their signal to begin the approach.

Soon after, they entered a flight pattern that would bring them onto a smaller runway. One by one the aircraft ahead of them all landed safely and made way for the approaching Martin Mariner, after all, the seaplane was nearly the size of a B-24 Liberator bomber and needed more room to maneuver.

Even the commercial jets waited their turn at the runway.

Freya checked the landing gear for the third time to make sure it was deployed and ready for landing on the hard deck of the runway and she slowly eased the heavy airplane in for a flawless landing.

Exiting the runway, a ground guide led them to the fueling area where after a quick visual of the indicators showed all green, Freya shut the engines off.

The usual airplane spotters started taking pictures of the big Martin Mariner and when the side door opened up and Freya stepped outside, they all gaped when they realized just how tall she was.

The cameras really went into overtime, after all, it wasn't every day the world's tallest pilot was in town.

They strolled over to the airport cafe to get a bite to eat while the Martin was getting topped up with oil and the fuel tanks filled.

Roger and Freya relaxed and perused the menu before placing their orders with the waitress who had watched Freya grow up.

Bella gave Freya a big hug and said cheerfully, "Hey, how are ya? You coming back or going up?"

Freya smiled at her and replied, "We're comin' back frae a week lang trip back haem."

"That's good, that's good." replied Bella, "So, y'goin to school in the fall?" she asked.

"Aye, Ahm studyin' library science an' ancient languages." Replied Freya "Ah've been takin' care ay me granny's books an' scrolls fur th' museum Roger warks fur. Sae Ah migh' as well study at bein' a librarian."

Bella chuckled and remarked, "You sure won't have any problems with library patrons actin' up in your library!"

Freya just grinned at her and ordered a couple of the one pounder cheese burgers with extra fries and their largest size soft drink.

Bella jotted that down and commented, "Not really hungry?"

Freya just smiled and replied, "Jist a bite tae tide me ower."

Roger placed his order and the two relaxed and ignored the looks from the other patrons who had never seen a nine foot two inch tall woman before.

Bella returned a few minutes later with their order and they dug in with gusto.

Having finished their meal, the two relaxed and waited for the fuel service to call them.

Bella handed Roger the check and he slipped her the money plus a nice tip.

Bella smiled at him and said, "You've always been a good customer, y'know that? I really do appreciate your business."

The door opened briefly and the young man from the fueling service came over to Roger and handed him the bill with a comment,"She took a lot more than usual this time around."

Roger looked it over for a couple of minutes and commented, "Yeah, we took a side trip to Namur lake to drop her brother and his family off."

Leaving the cafe, they followed the young man back to his office and paid the sizable bill.

Thirty minutes later, the heavy seaplane was roaring into the air over Seattle and they flew south to Portland and home again.

Where they found Anita and Anna sitting in their van with big grins on their pretty faces.

Freya had called Anita with the big news and she brought Anna with her, they were determined to be the first to congratulate them.

Exiting the bulky Martin Mariner with their luggage in tow, the newly engaged couple were greeted by Anita who stoutly declared, "I've known Freya the longest, therefore I get to congratulate her first!"

Anna rolled her eyes and retorted, "I met them before I met you, that makes me the older friend of theirs!"

Roger laughed and said, "If this is our 'hail the conquering hero' moment here, what can we expect at home?"

Anita grinned and said, "I told a few people, they're at the house right now waiting to congratulate you two!"

That said, she swooped in and hugged Roger first, then she hugged Freya, or rather was engulfed in Freya's memorable hug.

Anna seeing her opportunity, went in for a warm hug and a kiss from Roger, then she too experienced a memorable hug from Freya.

Dabbing at a tear she said, "Congratulations you two, you've finally acknowledged your feeling towards each other and yes, I will cry at your wedding!"

Anita declared, "We've got people waiting to wish you guys well, let's not make them wait!"

Returning home again, Roger immediately noticed several cars parked in their driveway and that the house was all lit up like a party.

He glanced at Anita and asked, "Just how many people did you tell?"

Anita grinned and replied, "Oh, just about everybody we know in Portland."

Roger rolled his eyes and muttered, "Aye, yi, yi, yi...How long 'til the cops show up?"

Parking the van in its usual spot, Anita shut if off and grinned, "Come on, everybody's waiting!"

They exited the van and approached the roomy house.

Standing outside were Warren Johnson, Flora Oakenwood, Sheila Ericcson and lastly, Alexandra Wolf.

They smiled and applauded the couple, hugs and kisses were freely given and accepted until Warren said, "Freya's school friends are in the front parlour, and we wanted to greet you out here to save explaining Flora."

Stepping inside, they were greeted by a very happy Sasha and Golden eyes the great guardian wolves, Lana the menehune, Dena the wood wife and the wood elf family or rather the wood wives and children, the males, in keeping with wood elf tradition were unseen.

Freya's human friends started cheering her as soon as she entered the front parlour.

Lorna Yamada, her first friend in Portland grinned at her and after Freya knelt to bring herself down to a more average height, they hugged and laughed together, tears of joy freely flowing from their eyes.

In stark contrast, was Deirdre Shannon with her milky white complexion and flaming red hair barely under control, the 'Gaelic Medusa' some wag had called her and it stuck.

She too, was quite tall and played on the Portland U's womens basketball team.

Tiny Christina Aquino then stepped forward and she grinned at Freya before saying, "Congratulations! You beat all of us to the chapel!" Then she virtually disappeared into Freya's arms in one of her memorable hugs.

Everyone laughed at her comment and grinned at the sight of her being hugged by a woman twice her height.

Freya stood fully nine feet two inches tall while Christina came up to barely half that, at four-foot-six inches.

There was a knock on the front door and when Roger answered it, he found a pizza delivery guy standing there with a stack of flat boxes all marked with bright colors and lettering on them.

He grinned and said cheerfully, "Pizza delivery!"

Stepping to one side, Roger admitted the pizza guy who strode into the kitchen and placed the collection of boxes on the table.

He held out a order ticket and said, "That'll be $99.50 please!"

Anita scurried in and said crisply, "I got this!" and she pulled several rumpled bills out of her pocket and paid the fellow, plus a generous tip which he grinned at and slipped into his pocket.

As he was turning to leave he caught a glimpse of Freya standing in the parlour and stopped dead in his tracks.

He blinked a couple of times then looked closely at Roger and in a hesitant tone he asked, "Is your name Roger Tate? And is that Freya I'm seeing in there?"

Roger squinted at him slightly and asked, "You're Pete Turner aren't you?"

The young man grinned and replied, "Yeah, I'm Peter Turner." he stuck out his hand and Roger clasped it firmly.

As they shook hands Peter remarked, "I haven't seen Freya since I got expelled from her school." he grinned and remarked, "She wasn't kidding about how big she would get. I'd see stuff in the news papers about her sometimes, mostly about her sports activities. I sure didn't expect to see her tonight."

Roger grinned at him and asked, "So how have you been doing?"

Peter shrugged and replied, "I pulled my head out of my ass and enlisted in the air national guard at 17, dad was only too glad to give his consent as it got me out of the house. Between the guard, work and night school, I'm pretty busy."

"Still living at home?"

"Oh, hell no! I found a little place near school, it's a granny flat behind Mrs. Simonds' house of all places!"

Roger chuckled and remarked, "I'll bet she was surprised to see you asking about renting the room."

"She was, then we got to talking and I told her what I had been up to and she gave me a real break on the rent. Believe me, I am grateful!"

Roger smiled at him and said, "If you've a couple of minutes to spare, go in and say hello!"

Peter grinned at Roger and stepped into the parlour, he waited until Freya glanced at him and he said, "Hello Freya, it's been a while."

Freya broke into a big smile and she said pleasantly, "It certainly has, it's been nigh oan ten years now."

She knelt down and welcomed him with a warm hug, Roger smiled at the sight of him being engulfed in one of her memorable hugs.

Moments after that Freya said to everyone, "Everybody, thes is Peter Turner, Ah knew him frae grade school about ten years ago."

Peter smiled at everyone there and said, "The truth is, I tried picking on her and she kicked my ass. I learned a valuable lesson that day about not being a jerk."

He glanced at his cell phone and said regretfully, "I gotta take off, duty calls and all that...enjoy your pizza and thanks for your business!"

He waved good bye at everyone and they all smiled at him and waved back as he dashed outside and jumped into his car.

It was nearly two A.M. When the last of the guests departed, leaving behind a nearly whole pizza in odd slices.

The wolvies looked at Roger expectantly and he said flippantly, "Sorry guys, this stuff is fattening and probably bad for you. So to protect you, I'll eat it myself."

The huge wolves looked at him reproachfully and Dena commented in her squeak of a voice,"Ah dornt hink they're buyin' yer story."

Roger just shrugged and slipped the box into the fridge. He did give them a chew bone each and an ear rub as consolation though.

Dena smiled at him and said, "Ye auld fraud, yoo're jist a big softie when it comes tae them. Ye cannae fool me nane."

Roger just laughed and replied, "I never could fool you, you're much too wise for me."

The tiny wood wife grinned at him and said, "An' dornt ye forgit it either!" She hopped up on to the kitchen table which made her now about four and a half feet tall, instead of only two feet tall.

Roger, as always, bent over and she reached up and planted a kiss right on his lips, as always.

She smiled at him and said softly, "Congratulations oan yer betrothal, Ah ken yoo'll baith be verra happy togaither."

Roger smiled at her and replied, "Thank you Dena and I'm certain you'll make sure we do stay happy."

"Ahm a woodwife, it's whit we dae!" with that, she jumped off the table and strolled out of the kitchen as if she owned the place.

Leaving the kitchen, Roger climbed the stairs and walked towards his room.

Freya came out of their bedroom and said, "Ah've got uir bed all ready."

He paused a moment and she asked, "You are gonnae sleep wi' me arenae ye?" Roger lamely replied, "I thought our sleeping together was on hold during our betrothal."

Freya chuckled and retorted, "You dear daft man, Ah'm nae gonnae seduce ye. Ah jist want tae sleep wi' me beloved."

She reached out and took his hand then pulled him into the bathroom with irresistible strength.

Roger had no choice but to accede to her demands, Freya was just too much larger and stronger than him.

Once inside, they took off their clothing and once the shower was up to temperature, stepped into the outsized stall.

Roger felt like a small child in such close proximity to his gigantic fiancee and he found himself delighting in scrubbing her amazingly long, beautiful legs.

Freya remarked softly, "It would be verra nice if we had a hot tub we could soak in."

Roger snuggled against her towering form and replied, "We can put in a hot tub behind the house. I'm sure it will be popular with our 'neighbors', you know Flora will enjoy soaking in it!."

Freya sighed and said softly, "Ah'd like that verra much an' sae wull they."

Freya sat down on the wooden stool and Roger scrubbed her back thoroughly, Freya giggled when he tickled her gently and she reached back to pull his hands forward under her arms.

Roger felt his hands being placed over her firm breasts and she said huskily, "They're yoors you ken, play wi' them as much as ye please." he obediently fondled and caressed them, marveling at their firmness and feel in his hands.

He found himself becoming very aroused, his manhood at full alert.

Roger groaned and begged, "Please stop, we can't, you're killing me!"

Freya let go of his hands and as he stepped back, she suddenly turned around on the stool, her bright blue eyes gazing at his erect manhood.

He tried to cover it with his hands but Freya caught his hands in her own much larger ones, and held them away from his groin.

She smiled at him and said softly, "Yoo're me betrothed, Ah hae lookin' privileges, same as you!"

She let go of his hands and playfully splayed her knees giving Roger a very intimate showing of her girly parts.

He groaned and stepped into her arms, they kissed and kissed and kissed while the warm water cascaded over their nakedness.

Roger staggered when he nearly climaxed while they kissed and Freya held him closely as the warm water washed over their nakedness, "Ah've got ye me love, Ah've got ye." she murmured in his ear.

Once back in their bedroom, Freya turned on a tiny nightlight and they lay down together in their sizable bed.

Freya held him close and murmured, "Ah love you."

Roger snuggled against her and the combination of the warm shower, lying naked in bed together and exhaustion, carried them both into the land of Nod.

They slept in late the next day and by the time they had gotten up and dressed and come down stairs for breakfast, it was nearly noon and Anita was long gone.

She was at the library doing some research for a book she was collaborating on with Anna Karlsen, AKA Anastasia Karloff.

Axel as always, had gone with her.

Anna was ensconced in her room, deeply involved with editing her latest novella.

Alexandra and Sheila were out, putting the young werewolf body guard through her paces.

Feeling romantic they decided to go out for a nice brunch and went out to a nice cafe that met two criteria.

One, the food was good and two, there was enough headroom for Freya.

When they entered the cafe, the regulars smiled at Freya and she smiled back, the tourists gaped and took out their phones to get a picture.

It was sunny and the patio was open so they went out there to sit.

The server came out and set down two cups of coffee without their even asking then said, "How are you guys doing today?"

Freya grinned at her and replied, "We are doin' verra well indeed, thenk you." They ordered their food and settled in with a cup of coffee while the kitchen whomped up their order.

They'd finished their coffee when the server came bustling out with their food carefully balanced on her shapely arms, she set their food down and said briskly, "Be right back!" as she scurried off, only to return moments later with a fresh pot of coffee to refill their empty cups.

Having eaten their fill, they returned home and Freya firmly declared,"We, ur gang tae relax thes day!"

And so they relaxed.

As Silky had the night off, dinner was a simple affair of cold pizza and other leftovers scrounged from the fridge, popped in the nuker and warmed up a bit.

Anna had emerged from her room to snag a slice of pizza and retrieve a blood pouch from the reefer.

Alexandra and Sheila were out still training.

Anita grinned and said, "I got a lot of good info from Induna's books today, I'm really glad you taught me how to read those runes. It's amazing to me how so much of Norse mythology is actually from Jotun legends and history."

She looked thoughtful and muttered, "It kinda explains why tales of the old Norse seem to peter out, they lost the sources when your people left the old world."

Anita laid a note book on the table and opened it.

Roger could see her copious notes and drawings covering the opened pages.

Anita jabbed a finger at one of her notations and said, "I copied this because I couldn't make any sense of it. I figured you might know what it means."

Freya leaned closer to look at the item Anita had pointed out while Roger got up and went to feed the wolvies and filled their water bowl.

He then grabbed the phone and went into the parlour to call George Bryce.

George answered in a couple of rings and said, "Hi Rodge, how was the trip?"

Roger grinned and replied, "Well, it went better than I her coming of age ceremony, we visited with her older brother Harald and his family near Lake Namur for a couple of days, we met a few interesting people and wangled a deal on a couple of barrels of wedding ale."

"Wedding ale? Whatever for?"

"Freya asked me to marry her and I said yes." replied Roger.

"You, did, what?!" Cried George in Roger's ear.

He grinned and replied, "We got engaged or rather we are now betrothed, Freya and I."

George spluttered, "H...How is that even possible...I mean, you can do that?"

Roger chuckled and replied amiably, "Of course it's possible, people do fall in love all the time."

"But, aren't you like her foster parent or something? Is this even legal? I mean, you raised her since she was like, nine or something?"

"Nine and a half, actually."

"Whatever, since she was young!" George muttered.

"It's all legit, I was never actually her foster father, even though I had power of attorney. Any really big decisions were made by her parents and I merely acted on their behalf." replied Roger.

Roger heard Mia's voice in the background, "Who're you talking to that's got you so riled up?"

"Roger and Freya got engaged to be married!" he heard George reply.

"Eeeeee!" Cried Mia and moments later she took the phone and, "Omigodwhendidthishappenandwhen'sthebigday?" she gushed, her words all crammed together.

Pausing to draw breath she continued, her voice bordering on a squeal, "Tell me all about it! Mom will be so thrilled! She knew you guys would fall in love and she's never wrong!"

"Well, it was..."

"Oh! I'm sooo excited for you guys!"

"At her coming of age..."

"Where are you going to have the wedding and where will you go on your honeymoon? Oh! This is sooo romantic!"

"She declared her..."

"What shall I wear? I know, I'll ask the Whartons!"

"And I said 'yes, I accept!"

He heard George say firmly, "Mia! Please give me back the phone!"

"Awwww! Meanie!" wailed Mia and a moment later, "Ooof! Not so hard..."Groaned George.

Moments after that, "Now! Where were we?" he said.

Roger chuckled and said playfully, "Do I even want, to know what happened just now?"

George replied, "She's so excited right now that she forgot her own strength. When she tail squeezes me, it's an experience not to be forgotten."

Roger laughed and retorted, "Try getting squeezed by Freya when she's really happy!"

George chuckled, "And you loved every minute of it!"

"Hell yeah!" replied Roger with a grin.

"Seriously Roger, how did this happen?" asked George.

"As I was trying to tell Mia when I could get a word in edgewise. At the mid-summer's feast, young maidens who are coming of age during the summer can declare their heart's desire and name who they wish to wed. She stood up and declared that she wanted to marry me, of all people. Before I knew it, I said 'yes, I accept!' and the party commenced! I don't remember much after getting congratulated by her father and four huge, older brothers."

George chuckled and replied, " Are you still fighting that uphill battle?"

Roger grinned and replied, "At least I wasn't the only one with a headache the next morning!"

George laughed and replied, "You always were a little slow in that regard. Anyway, I gotta scram because Mia's got her bedroom eyes on and the kids are at grandma's. Congratulations and give Freya a hug from both of us!"

Hanging up the phone, Roger smiled to himself.

George and Mia were still madly in love even after ten years of marriage and several children.

Their home was now part of a lamia village with all three of her sisters now married and raising children of their own.

There was even a couple of arachnes living there as well!

Glancing at the kitchen clock, Roger poured himself a large mug of coffee and placed a cup of fresh heavy cream on the mantelpiece for Silky's enjoyment.

With the mundanities out of the way, Roger returned to his studying the copies of a few of the ancient scrolls and books Induna had given to Freya upon her death.

These scrolls contained the stories of Freya's people from before their first encounters with the small, fierce people they called the Scandis.

Much too fragile to unroll, they were scanned using a particle beam reader and printouts were made for easier studying.

The scroll in front of him told a long tale of a slow retreat from the spear carrying, warlike southrons who became known as the Vikings.

A retreat that ended when the Jotuns had no where else to go and were crowded into what was called Jotunheim by the southrons.

The epic tales of exploration and discovery of a new land far from the terrible Scandis and a voyage across storm tossed seas to a new home.

All of these lay within the age stained scrolls borrowed from the library and now their copies lay on his desk in the study.

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