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Chapter 1: Erica, 13
"You're my mother!" Erica cried, resorting to screaming in the faulty belief that maybe her mother just hadn't heard her the last hundred times. "You're not supposed to be my friend!"
Erica's mother sat, cross-armed and stoic, and listened to her daughter as she ranted. She knew the girl would be thirteen the next day, and that teenagers - those obnoxious brats with pubic hairs - normally suffered from some illusion of being independent, but the current situation was bordering on extreme. When Erica paused to breathe, her onyx-colored hair falling haphazardly in front of her eyes, her mother took the opportunity to speak. "I've already told you ten times not to go to the village without Cephas," she said, her voice as calm as her demeanor. "And yet, what do you do? You go alone." She watched as Erica turned her eyes from her and saw the telltale signs of a blush. "Not all of the giants are gentle, Erica. Especially not the older ones, the ones who remember what the Germans-"
"Yeah, I know," Erica said, rolling her eyes to feign resistance. In truth, she was glad her mother had sent Cephas to find her - she had wandered into the worst part of town, and had Cephas not intervened she might not have been able to wander away. "But you're so controlling. Can't you just let up a little?"
Cephas laughed lightly, standing so deeply in the shadows of the room's corners that Erica had forgotten he was there. "Ausra gives you more than enough freedom," he said, his smooth, deep voice soothing to the young teen. "And even where she doesn't give it to you, you manage to take it yourself."
Erica blushed deeper. She knew Cephas would follow her from a distance many days - he might be a giant of almost two-and-a-half meters and two-hundred-twenty-five kilograms, but he was adept at hiding and staying silent - and on one such day he had followed her as she wandered around the seedier parts of the village. He told her a few days later that he had seen and heard her talking with the blacksmith's son about buying an axe, and that he knew she was planning to steal some of her mother's money to pay for it. She looked to Cephas now and he winked silently at her, which only made her more uncomfortable.
Seeing her daughter hushed, Ausra smiled and stood from her chair. Walking around the table on which the two candles stood burning, she passed Erica and, as she reached the door, called over her shoulder, "You can be the smartest girl on the planet, for all I care, but that doesn't mean you're as smart as your parents."
Erica gave a short 'hmph' as the door closed behind her mother, taking her chair and sitting in it with her arms crossed. "I wasn't going to actually do it, you know," she said softly.
"Yes," Cephas said, stepping out from the shadows and laying the money Erica had taken from her mother's bedroom on the table, "you were." He turned to Erica, smiling, and extended his hand to her. "It's nearly midnight, Erica, and tomorrow is your birthday. You should get some sleep."
Erica sat frozen in the chair, staring at the pile of coins glinting in the candlelight. "But I hid it-"
"Under the false rock inside the small cubby that Ausra had me make for you so you would feel like you had more privacy than you did." He chuckled at the surprise on Erica's face, his rusty orange eyes sparkling as they always did when he was amused. "You don't need to worry. She only told me to make it, she doesn't know where it is."
"Because that makes me feel better," Erica said, her eyes wandering to the highly polished stone in Cephas' outstretched palm that reflected the glow of the candles. She gave him a half-smile. "What, you're going to carry me in the hand with the rock in it?"
"Again, it's a gem, not a rock." He retracted his hand. "And I wasn't going to carry you, I just wanted to help you to your feet."
Erica laughed. "I can walk on my own," she said.
"I think your mother and I have had enough experience of your walking."
"That's not fair." She stood and walked over to the giant, rubbing the smooth, round pink gem in her shoulder. "Why is it called a gem, if it looks like a rock?"
Cephas smiled. "I'll tell you when you're older."
"I'll be older in twenty minutes."
"If I can help it, you'll be asleep in twenty minutes," Cephas remarked, holding the door for Erica and then following her into the torch-lit hallway. "And don't worry about the money, I'll give it back to your mother for you."
"Can't I keep even five crowns?" Erica asked, counting the doors on her left as she walked. Her door was the tenth, but she could have found it without needing to count - it was one of only two with a doorknob, and her doorknob was white and metal, unlike her mother's dull, gray stone one. Please?"
"Sorry," Cephas said, opening the door quickly and ushering Erica inside. "Now go to sleep, you want to be awake for your birthday tomorrow." He waited for the young teen to close the door behind her, and stood back a few yards, smiling. He had spent twelve years preparing this next day, and he wanted both Erica and her mother rested and energetic. God knew they would both need it. When he was satisfied that Erica would not try to sneak out, he turned down the hallway, back to the room where he had left the money.
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Erica woke slowly and sat up, staring at the four newly-lit candles on the table in the center of her room. In the cool, rock cavern that was her bedroom, she sighed and undressed. As she had grown accustomed to over the years, Cephas had entered her room and laid out an outfit for her, and this one she recognized from almost two weeks ago; it consisted of a loose-fitting, sky blue tee-shirt and a pair of dark gray jeans. She smiled, realizing as she pulled on her underwear and socks that Cephas had somehow guessed that she had liked the outfit the first time - normally he would repeat outfits monthly, or close enough to it, but this repeat was too soon.
Considering that the giant was, perhaps, psychic, Erica buttoned her jeans and walked over to her door, beside which her sneakers were neatly placed. Cephas put those there, too. As she slid her foot into the sneaker, she paused. Suddenly, her thoughts of being independent from her mother and the giant found a new wrinkle; Cephas provided all of her clothes, as far as she knew, and everything from her food to the candles in the rooms. She frowned, wondering where the giant held all of the supplies. Despite her constant searching and exploring, she had never seen a single unlit candle, or any sign of where her clothes - or her mother's clothes - might be held.
Erica knew that the giants had no need for candles; they could see as clearly in darkness as she could see in light. And where had Cephas gotten her clothes, she wondered. The proportions of a giant's body was different to a human's, or so Cephas had taught her; giants had broader shoulders than their human equivalents, but were more flat, if that was the proper word - the giant's front and back were closer together than a human's. And then there was the problem of general size; by Erica's age, most giants were already nearly two meters tall.
"Erica?" Cephas called through the closed door. "Can I come in?"
So he knew she was awake. She pushed her questions aside and told herself that she would ask later - she had a more important query for the giant. "Sure," she said brightly. She expected Cephas to walk into her room with a handful of presents in one hand, and a package of photographs from cities around the world in the other. Wistfully remembering last year's group of pictures, from a beautiful country in Western Europe called Ireland, and still hoping that Cephas would offer to take her somewhere farther than the cave's entrance, she turned her eyes to the doorknob as it twisted.
The image that greeted Erica did not disappoint her imagination. Cephas stepped into her room with a stack of seven boxes, each wrapped in a different color paper that gleamed in the light. And in his right hand, he held a large manila envelope, inside of which, no doubt, was a good selection of new photographs. "Happy birthday, Lady Erica."
It took Erica a moment to realize what sounded odd about Cephas' greeting. "Lady Erica?"
"Yes. Lady Erica." Cephas smiled sincerely. "You've turned thirteen, so you're obviously not a child anymore. I take it you want to be treated as an adult, and this is how I treat others as adults."
Erica nodded, staring at him with her soft blue eyes. "You don't call my mom 'Lady Ausra.'"
"She told me not to," the giant explained, shrugging; the motion was certainly foreign to him, for it seemed forced and it distorted his skin around his shoulders and neck to a point where Erica was surprised she didn't see bone.
"Well," she said, grinning, "I like it." She tried it with her own tongue, emphasizing the 'Lady' and drawing it out so much she had to inhaled before she could say her name.
Chuckling lightly, Cephas placed the pile of presents on the bed and turned to Erica, motioning toward the boxes with a wave of his hand. "Care to guess what is what?"
Erica grinned. The gifts were one of her favorite parts of her birthday; each present had some correlation to the color or design of its wrapping, and she loved trying to figure out what each box held before she opened it. "Let's start with the white one," she said. "Is it clothes?" Cephas shook his head, and Erica asked herself why she even for a moment thought to guess clothing, knowing full well that she had never gotten a piece of clothing as a birthday present. "Is it a tool?"
Cephas nodded. "Is it for public use?"
"Now why would it be for public use?" Cephas asked, grinning. "You know you're only allowed into the village with me at your side, and I always have whatever we'll need with me."
Erica frowned. "I thought I was being treated like an adult now."
"Like an adult human," the giant clarified. "I even accompany your mother into the village."
"Whatever." She paused. "Is it something I've used before?"
"Yes, and no," Cephas said, smiling.
So Erica would need to be more specific. "Have I used it with you?"
"Yes."
Three items came to mind, none of them she would consider a birthday present. She tried each one, but Cephas shook his head three times. Sighing, she walked over to the bed and sat down beside the stack of presents. "Can I use it more than once?" Cephas nodded. "Can I decorate it?" Again, a nod. "Is it round?" A shake of the head. An image was forming in Erica's mind, but she had to be sure. "Is it one thing, or more than one?"
Cephas raised two fingers.
"A notebook?" The giant nodded, smiling, and Erica grinned happily, grabbing at the white package and ripping the paper off of it. The box was cardboard, and she tore it open easily enough, to reveal a somewhat large, solid-spine book with a blank, blue cover that matched the color of her eyes. As she took the book out of the box, running her fingers across its smooth, wood cover, a pencil rolled across the cardboard bottom. Taking it out as well, she turned her attention to the next box. "Red," she said simply. "Personal use?"
Cephas nodded.
"Metal?"
A nod. "How did you guess that to quickly?"
"Rust," Erica said dismissively. "Is it something I've used before?"
"No," Cephas said. He grinned. "I'm sure you'll know what it is, though."
"Is it practical, or decorative?" Two fingers from the giant; decorative. "Do I wear it, or does it sit around?" One finger. Erica paused, shifting slightly on the bed, her eyes never leaving Cephas. "A necklace?"
Cephas nodded, explaining as the girl opened the box and took out a simple, silver chain necklace. "As an adult, it's expected that you start wearing jewelery of sorts. I figure, a necklace is a good start."
"It's beautiful," Erica said softly, gazing at the chains as the flames of the candles reflected on the polished metal.
"Ausra picked it out."
Erica raised her head and smiled. "I'll be sure to thank her," she said, unclasping the chain and putting it around her neck. When she had reattached the clasp, she turned her attention to the next box. "Green."
"It's exactly what you're expecting."
"Jewelery?" Cephas nodded. "Well, that's no fun. What kind of jewelery?" When the giant winked at her, she smiled. "So I do get to take a guess."
"Of course you do."
"A ring?" The giant nodded. Inside the box, Erica found a ring of emerald bordered on both sides by strips of silver less than a third the thickness of the precious stone. "Are all these jewelery?" she asked.
Cephas shook his head and leaned his hand on the table that held the candles. "Now would I really do that? That would take all the fun out of this."
"So, black is next." Erica frowned in thought. "A tool?" The giant shook his head, smirking. "A decoration?" Again, no. She spent a long few moments deep in her thought, and finally sighed and shrugged. "What then, clothing?"
Cephas nodded.
"Really?" Erica was stunned. "What? A shirt?" No. "Pants?" Again, no. "Underwear?" Cephas shook his head, his smile growing. "Socks?" No.
"You're going to have to open it and find out," Cephas said finally. "I don't think you've ever worn one of these."
Frowning in her confusion, Erica opened the box and pulled out a bowl-shaped piece of cotton, attached to which was what resembled a bird's bill. "What is it?"
"A hat," Cephas said, and explained how to wear it. He pulled a mirror out from his right pants pocket and handed it to Erica, so she could see herself in it.
"I like it," she said simply. "Thanks."
Cephas smiled. "Three to go."
The next package, the smallest of the seven, was a pale tan or peach; it was the color of her skin. "Clothing?" Cephas nodded. "A shirt?"
"Yes and no."
"I wear it like a shirt?"
"Yes. And you've seen this before, but haven't ever worn it."
An image popped into Erica's head, something she had seen giants wearing before, over their shirts. "I don't know what it's called, but..." She explained it to Cephas.
"Good!" he said, clapping his hands together. "It's called a jacket. It keeps you warm in cool weather."
The jacket was a dull, black leather one that was slightly big on her. "What's this symbol on the arm?" Erica asked, pointing to a cross-like black symbol inscribed in a white circle.
"It was a Nazi jacket," Cephas said, taking a small switchblade from his pocket and tugging the jacket lightly from Erica's hands. As he cut off the swastika, he explained, "When the village got attacked, a few of my friends managed to sneak into their camp and steal some of their supplies. This jacket was too small for any of the survivors, but we kept it anyway." He handed the swastika-free jacket back to Erica. "That symbol was the Nazi symbol."
"I saw it before..."
"On the walls of the caves, I know." Cephas shook his head. "They carved it everywhere into the rock, we're still finding more."
Seeing that the memories of the Nazis affected the giant more than she had seen anything else affect him, Erica stood, walked over to Cephas, and hugged him. "Are you up for the last two presents?"
After a pause, the giant nodded. "Yes, sorry," he said.
"Don't be." She turned to the boxes. "Blue and gold." She smiled. "The blue is another stone, right?"
"Of course," Cephas said, grinning. "Just like every year."
Erica took the blue present and placed it, unopened, on the floor. "That leaves gold."
"Yes it does."
"Is it clothing?" Cephas shook his head, focusing on the game of guessing as he tried to put the memories of the Nazis behind him. "A tool?" Again, no. "A decoration?"
The giant smirked. "Shake the box, that might give you a hint."
Erica obliged and, hearing nothing, grew confused. "There's nothing inside?"
"Open it."
Inside the box, Erica found a small piece of paper, on which was written, "The birthday present of your dreams will be revealed tonight at dinner."
"So what is it?"
"I won't tell you, even if you guess it."
Erica frowned and put the paper back in the box. She fingered the necklace that hung around her neck and sighed. "Oh, well. This was fun." She stood and tilted her head to the side. "What about the pictures?"
Cephas smiled. "I have something better," he said, standing. "We're going outside."
-/-/-
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