Ruth and the King of the Giants

Chapter 1-1

Chapter One

Present Day:

Seven Kingdoms: Isle of the Giants

“What has you so riled up?” Gant asked with a huge grin.

Koorgan shook his head and kept walking. As Gant followed him, his boots against the hard stone floors sounded like a herd of Nali’s Hippogriffs charging down the hallway.

“Do you always walk this loud?” he growled.

Gant chuckled. “You’ve been doing paperwork again, haven’t you?” he asked.

Koorgan winced when his friend, chief advisor, and Captain of the Guard slapped him on his shoulder. He resisted the urge to throw Gant out the window. The only reason he didn’t was because there would more than likely be more paperwork involved in dealing with the cost of the replacement and repair to the window, and Gant would probably demand a few days off as compensation.

“Ashure sent another one of his contracts – and this one was especially… annoying,” he replied with a sigh. He’d practically thrown Ashure’s latest diplomat out and told the man to not come back. If Ashure wanted to do business with the Isle of Giants, he’d better start offering better deals. At this point, Koorgan was about ready to go stomp the arrogant pirate flat.

“Why don’t you hire someone to take over the mundane stuff?” Gant suggested.

Koorgan stopped and turned to face Gant. “Don’t you think I’ve tried? That damn pirate seduces every woman I’ve assigned – and before you ask, he didn’t stop even when I put Agatha in charge! The woman has to be pushing five hundred years! She is a cyclops for crying out loud! If I put a man in charge, they are either too intimidated by Ashure or seduced by the jingle of gold. I would ban him if we didn’t need his wares so badly. Negotiating so much with him is a steep price to pay for closing our borders,” Koorgan grumbled. “I am starting to wonder if I would rather have dealt with the evil spreading through the kingdoms. Between that, the blight, the accounting, the inventory, the contracts, and dealing with other diplomats… I feel like I’m suffocating here. I hate it, Gant,” Koorgan admitted.

Koorgan immediately felt bad for unloading on his confidant. Advising a king was no easy job, and Koorgan tried not to impose on Gant unnecessarily, afraid someday their friendship would break under the strain. He ran his hand down his face before dropping it to his side.

Gant gazed back at him with a serious expression. “I understand… and you know, your upcoming nuptials will help solve at least one of those problems. Perhaps we should speak of…?” Gant gingerly asked.

Koorgan shot Gant a hostile glare. “No,” he growled, turning and starting to walk again.

“You do understand that it helps to have a woman – or man if that is what you want – already picked out before you contemplate marrying them, don’t you?” Gant called out from behind him.

“Shut up, Gant! You are not helping me,” Koorgan retorted.

Koorgan kept walking. He needed to get out for a while to clear his head. The guards standing by the main doors hurried to open them when they saw the dark scowl on his face. He swept through the doors and was down the steps by the time Gant caught up with him again.

“What was so annoying about Ashure’s contract?” Gant inquired, keeping pace with him.

“He offered to find me a bride in exchange for a ton of trees and three barrels of my finest brandy,” Koorgan replied.

Gant looked at him in surprise. “That doesn’t sound like a bad offer. It would fulfill the requirements,” he said.

Koorgan scowled. “I don’t wish to allow anyone – much less that damn pirate – to pick out who I will take as my bride,” he snapped.

Gant grabbed his arm and stopped him. Koorgan reluctantly turned to face his friend. He impatiently shrugged his arm free.

“You know what will happen if you don’t find someone, Koorgan,” Gant warned.

Koorgan felt the weight of his responsibility bearing down on his broad shoulders. Yes, he knew. The Kingdom of the Giants would be no more.

The Rule – the governing force set forth by the Goddess herself – stated that for the giants to find harmony, their leaders must find a mate who completed them by their two hundred and thirty-fifth year. If he or she did not, the last of the mushrooms that gave them their magic would die. The giants would be reduced to mere mortals, unable to defend themselves against the other kingdoms. Already a mushroom blight was spreading through their kingdom.

“The mushrooms have been disappearing faster than we can grow them, and the ones already harvested have begun to turn to ash,” Koorgan said grimly.

Gant nodded. “I wish it were otherwise, my friend. Leading the search has been…a discouraging exercise,” he told Koorgan.

“I still have a few more weeks before I need to make a decision. I’m going out for a little while,” he said.

Gant looked doubtful before he nodded. “I ordered the new members of the guard to meet me in the courtyard for training, but if you can give me a few minutes to arrange for Edmond to take over, I’ll ride with you,” he said.

Koorgan shook his head. “No, keep your training session. I’ll be back within the hour. I’m just going for a short ride. I need the time alone to clear my head,” he said.

“If you are sure. Please stay close to the palace this time. Your short rides tend to leave me with ulcers. You have to remember, I’ve known you our entire lives. You have a bit of a knack for getting yourself into trouble,” Gant replied, his forehead creased and his smile strained.

Koorgan chuckled. “There is no need to worry, my friend. We are no longer boys. I can take care of myself. I won’t go far or be gone long. Besides, Genisus needs to stretch his legs. There isn’t another steed in the Kingdom that can keep up with him. A few times around the field will be good for him,” he replied, resting his hand on Gant’s shoulder and squeezing it in reassurance. He knew Gant was as worried about him as he was about the kingdom. Koorgan wouldn’t let his people down – even if it necessitated making a deal with a pirate.

The worst thing about the Rule was that he was required to choose a bride who was not from the Isle of the Giants. That limited his choices to a dragon, a mermaid, a witch, an Elemental, a pirate, or a monster – and there were a few problems with each of those options. The relationships between the Isle of Giants and the other Kingdoms were cordial, but there wasn’t much trust shared.

He had resigned himself to the fact that his wife would likely be a spy for whichever Kingdom he picked, and he had looked for someone he could stand to share to his life with, he really had, but…it wasn’t like the aftermath of war was conducive to this sort of thing. The Isle of Magic was the most recent kingdom to have been devastated by the Sea Witch’s treachery, but every kingdom was affected, and had been for a long time. He felt tired just thinking about it.

“Your mount is ready, Your Majesty,” the stable boy said, holding the reins to a large steed who was pawing at the ground.

“Thank you,” Koorgan replied.

Koorgan ran his hand along Genisus’s muzzle before caressing the huge battle steed’s jaw. The thick, coarse hair shimmered under his touch. He took the reins from the stable boy, gripped the saddle, and swung himself onto the stallion’s back. The stable boy stumbled back when Genisus rose up on his hind legs, pawing the air, and tossed his head.

“Easy, boy. I know it has been a while since we’ve enjoyed a good ride. How about we remedy that?” Koorgan chuckled.

The stallion nodded his head vigorously in agreement. Koorgan’s eyes glittered with excitement. He leaned forward and tapped his heels into Genisus’s side.

The stallion bolted, the power in the huge body surging them forward with a flurry of flying dirt. Koorgan’s laugh filled the air.

“Clear the gates!” a guard yelled.

The guards at the gate quickly ran to help those entering and exiting the palace clear a path. Koorgan raised a hand in thanks as Genisus and he flashed by. Residents of the Isle of Giants turned with smiles on their face as he raced by them.

Their trusting smiles added more weight to his shoulders. When Koorgan turned Genisus toward the vast forests, the stallion’s muscles gathered and his hooves dug deeper into the soft soil beneath the grass as if Nali’s monsters were nipping at their heels.