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The Story:
They just sauntered up to the fence. They deployed no charm to coerce a following but waited, knowing their offer spoke for itself.
“Should we go with them?”
“I think the illusion is that we have a choice in the matter, my love.”
He helped her onto the first horse, and the second one accepted him. As they settled onto the backs of their mysterious friends, a shout arose from a hill in the distance behind them.
“Arrix! You can’t keep her from me! There is nowhere you can hide!”
Their horses trotted away, turning their backs to the madman on the hill. He didn’t know for sure where they were going, but he had heard stories of wild horses that take you away to a paradise land.
“Arrix, I don’t… I don’t feel well.”
She slumped over on her horse without another word.
“Laria!”
He began to reach for her but realized that he wasn’t feeling well either. He slumped over on his horse and shut his eyes.
————————
Arrix awoke first. They were surrounded by darkness, but once his eyes adjusted, he could see they had been taken to a cave and dumped onto the ground. He crawled over to Laria and gently woke her.
“Where are we? What happened?”
“I’m not sure, my love. But I don’t think the stories about the horses were true.”
As they were rising to their feet, a laughter so loud it rumbled the cave walls filled the air. Arrix drew his bow and arrow. Laria followed closely behind him as they peered around a wall of the cave.
It opened up into a vast room with enormous stalagmites and a clear, shallow stream of water. Several lanterns were somehow suspended in the air, bathing the room in a yellow glow.
Beside the stream was a giant so large, they could both fit in his fist. His shoes could be carriages. A strand of his hair could be a spear.
The giant was laughing as he tossed one of the horses into the air and caught it. But he stopped and looked their direction, taking a big whiff of the air.
“Did you know that fear has a smell, young prince? Ha ha ha!”
His voice was deep and gruff. He leaned up.
“Come. I like talking to my food, first.”