Love’s Chains

(Content Tags: M/f, Violence, Male Half-giant, Young Character in Peril)

A low, chilling moan was carried upon the wind during the night. Those who heard it felt the cold far deeper in their bones than other winters. It was an ill omen. 

Nanna was with her father and mother this night, as the howling and wailing on the wind stirred up. The hearth in the middle of the house the only warmth available.

“There is that miserable wind again. Nothing good can come of it.” Nanna’s mother said.

Her father was silent for a time.

“It already has the animals spooked. Even in their pens, they are restless.” he said

“The same for some of the neighbors, dear.”

Nanna’s father looked to her mother.

“It has been going on for weeks now. Everyone is on edge. Whole families setting watches in their own homes.” She continued.

“Whatever it is out there, it has stayed where it is. It isn’t getting any closer, but it isn’t going away either.” Nana’s father said.

Nanna’s mother got up and stirred the pot over the fire, checking the contents before sitting down again. 

“It doesn’t sound angry, father…” Nanna said.

Her parents turned their attention to her.

“How does it sound then?” her father said.

“It sounds sad, father. How can something that sounds so sad sounding be a threat?”

“There were plenty of things out there in the world that would feign weakness, only to catch you unaware.” 

“If it is trying to lure someone out, they would have left by now. No one here would venture out alone. No animal would stay so long for such a hard meal.”

“We’ll wait it out, Nanna. It’s just like anything else here. It just seems like we’re going to have to wait a little longer.” 

A hunting party left the next morning, but no matter where they looked, they could not find anything that could have made such a noise. So at least there was safety, it seemed, in the daylight.

Winter continued, and the moaning with it. Soon, the moaning began to appear in the day and fears rose again. Talk of the voice’s source grew even more fantastical, and everyone in town was on edge.

“I’m going to search for what is making that noise” Nanna said.

“No you will not, Nanna.” Her father said.

“The men found nothing. It is now the women’s turn.”

Her father leaned back in his chair, and folded his arms over his chest. Nanna did not avert her gaze. She did not back down. They stared into each others eyes, weighing the other up. After a long, tense moment, her father grinned like a proud wolf.

“Let no one say that my daughter is anything but brave. I will get my things, and go with you.” 

“There is no need, father. I can move faster by myself, and can keep out of sight. If I succeed, then your daughter will bring glory to your house.” 

Her father’s face soured

“And if you are not…”

“Then your daughter will have died fighting.” Nanna said simply.

Nanna’s father fell silent, and stood up. Going to a shelf near the hearth, two things. 

“Your own weapons?” said Nanna, shocked.

“You will not go unarmed.” he told her.

The next morning, she dressed with the help of her mother, donning furs and heavy boots to help keep away the cold. Her mother braided her hair securely, fastening a strand of cord from her own hair. With the sword at her hip, and her shield slung on her back with her provisions, she set off into the woods.

The moaning started after midday, but today she noticed something different. It was not as easily heard. It seemed strained. This was a good sign, she thought. This meant that whatever it was, it was alive. If it was alive, then it could be killed.

Following the sound of the voice was challenging, as at times it felt as if it was coming from everywhere. After some hours, she found herself a the mouth of a cave. Looking behind her, she realized this was farther from town she had ever been, but was confident that she could find her way home. Looking back to the cave’s entrance, she took a deep breath to steel herself, and entered. 

The moaning had stopped, the silence was eerie as she made her way through the cavern. It soon opened up into a large, vaulted room. The ground was bare, but what seemed like a large beast was huddled in a corner. It was strange, though, as it was sitting on a shelf of rock coming from the wall. Nanna realized it was far larger than any creature she had heard of. 

Nanna crept up to it, quietly drawing her sword. If she was careful, she would dispatch it before it could swipe at her. 

“Do it.” it said.

This caused Nanna to pause, wary of how to proceed.

“Do what?” She said.

“End me… end my pain.” the creature said as it shifted in its seat. The sound of metal clinking beneath the furs.

Nanna saw a pair of hands, human but far larger than hers, reach out toward her. This caused her to step back. When the hands were clear of the furs, she saw that a length of chain, which looked almost dainty by comparison to the body that it bound. The furs parted, and Nanna gasped.

A giant.

The tales her mother and father told her came flooding back to her mind. Images of the frost giants of old, far taller than any man, capable of such death and destruction. What she saw before her was less than that, though. His arms and body seemed thinner, emaciated. 

He was starving.

Nanna whipped her shield from her back, her pack falling to the ground beside her. She would not take chances with this.

The giant did not move. It only raised its head. She saw his beard was unkempt, his hair disheveled. His eyes, however, were empty. No rage, no bloodlust, devoid of all emotion.

“Who are you?” Nanna said

“I am the Other.” The giant replied.

“The other what?”

“Just ‘The Other’.” 

Nanna watched the giant sit there for some time, until it shifted to lean forward, placing its elbows on its knees. It regarded her, now curious.

“Did they send a little girl to kill me? Is that how little they think of me?”

“I was sent by no one, but I can kill a man as easily as any other could.”

The Other smiled.

“Neither could kill a giant.”

Nanna tensed.

“Good thing I am not a giant. I am only a half giant.”

“What difference does that make?”

The Other leaned back, the chains tinkling from his wrists.

“It means that I can at least die to such a splinter of a weapon you have in your hand, provided you know how to use it.”

“Tell me why you wish to die, Other?”

“Because I have already been betrayed by one of your kind. It’s only fitting that I die so I do not have to endure the pain of living with my loss.”

“What could you possibly lose that you would do this to yourself?”

The Other said nothing for a few minutes, only looking to her. She wondered if he was weighing his words until he answered.

“The only woman I will ever love.”

The Other went on to tell her of how he came to be in his position. He had fallen in love with a woman he had found in the woods. He watched her for days, keeping out of sight as best he could, until he made himself known to her. She was frightened at first, as he expected, but he had shown her his sincere desire for her, and had displayed a level of gentleness that obviously went against anything the woman had thought of his kind. They had met in secret from that point, bringing gifts, whisking her to scenic places beyond her town. They had been happy. 

One day she came to him and told him that he had to leave, but he said he could not. He could not bear to be without her. She then produced a pair of manacles, looking more like bracelets compared to him. 

She told him that if he truly loved her, he would have to do as she said. She confessed that the townsfolk had confronted her and told her that if she did not stop what she was doing, they would hunt down and kill whatever it was that was making her disappear. She told him that she could not bear the possibility of him harming anyone she knew, so agreed to chain up what was with her and lead it away. She told him that she had to do this, or else blood would be spilled needlessly. He took pity on her, and he allowed himself to be bound. They walked for some time, until they arrived at this cave. It was there that she helped him settle in, and told him that what he did now was his own, but to never return to her. She left him then, and he had cried himself hoarse since.

“You starved yourself for her?”

Showing his chains once more, he noted that the chain was set into the rock, not affording him the ability to leave.

“Are these magic chains? Can you not break free of them?” 

The Other shook his head.

“I choose not to.” he said.

“You choose to die like this for her?” Nanna said

“If I must.” 

Nanna lowered her weapons, moved with pity for the Other.

“I will go back to my town, get you some food, and help you get out of this.” Nanna said, packing her weapons and grabbing her bag.

“I will not leave if it means breaking these chains. They are all I have of hers.”

She did not argue with the Other. He would come to his senses after he had eaten.

Nanna did not get very far from the cave’s entrance before a hand grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides.

“What do we have here?” a voice boomed above her.

She felt the ground fall away from her feet and looked upward, seeing a far uglier half giant. It sneered at her, regarding her with disdain as he had a closer look.

“A child… a woman child… what are you doing out here?” 

“Not for you to know.” Nanna said, reflexively.

The half giant grinned

“A brave woman child. Foolish, but brave.” He said.

“You must be out here for something, aren’t you?” Nanna said

“My kinsman has gone missing, child, and I am here to search for him. I heard his cries from a distance. If he still lived, I would have found more of your kind killed and rotting. Yet here you are, the first human I have found.”

She felt his grip tightened around her, squeezing the breath from her.

“If you little things have dared to kill him…”

“He’s still alive!” Nanna squeaked, struggling for air.

“Is he now? Where, then?”

Nanna looked into the cave.

“Hah, your kind would try and trap and kill me in a cave?”

“No! Honest!”

The half giant pulled a large club from his side with his free hand, holding it confidently. 

“Let’s see if they make things interesting at least.”

With that, the half giant entered the cave. His eyes gazing about, looking for any sign of a trap, until he arrived at the vault within. 

The Other saw them enter, and looked up to what held Nanna. If there was some sort of reaction, he didn’t show it, and simply looked back at the ground. The half giant let go of Nanna and his weapon, both landing on the floor unceremoniously, the shock on his face more than apparent.

“What have you done to yourself?” he asked the Other.

“What I have chosen, brother.”

The half giant walked before the Other, looking him over, appraising him.

“This is nothing short of disgraceful, brother. Letting yourself get captured by humans? What would possibly make you do such a thing?”

    “A woman.”

    “A woman? You, a proud half giant, bewitched by a human woman?” 

    The Other broke his gaze and simply looked at the floor.

    “I am not bewitched. Leave me, brother. I have chosen this fate and I will see it through.”

The anger the half giant began to surface, and he kicked the leg of the emaciated thing before him.

“Stand up, you coward.”

    The Other didn’t stir, only staring to the floor, his intentions hidden as well as his face behind the mess of hair and beard. 

“You disgrace to your birthright! Stand up and leave this nonsense. No human is worth this.”

    It was with this that the Other looked up.

“You don’t know a damned thing about her, brother.” the other said, rage building.

“You sit here, moping, cowering in a cave. You let yourself be held by chains that you could break without a thought. Why do you subject yourself to this?”

Silence only responded. The two half giants met their gazes, Nanna could see the forces pressing in against each other.

“He truly loved her.” she heard herself say

The half giant turned slightly, regarding Nanna as casually as he would regard a small animal, cute at first, but quickly losing its novelty.

“Love? Is that it?” he said, looking back to the Other, searching deeply.

A look of disgust and anger flashed across his face as he took a step forward, his hand resting on the wrist.

“We are leaving this place. Now.” he said as he pulled at the other’s arm, trying to force him up. The other was strong, but compared to his kinsman, his frailty was starkly apparent.

“Let me go!” the Other said, trying to wrest his arm from his brother’s grip, but it was ironclad.

The two struggled with each other, but the starved, weakened Other was quickly losing ground. The half giant gave a strong, single pull, causing a small, snapping sound of metal. 

Everything stopped, and the Other looked to his own arms. The chain between his two wrists was severed, swinging ends, broken at the halfway point. He was silent for far too long, before in an instant, he bellowed a war cry and lunged at his brother. His hands like claws, he tried to wrap them about the other giant’s neck. He did not last long, though, and was soon thrown to the floor.

His kinsman glared down at the Other’s prone form, then spat upon him. 

“Fine! Live in here with your weakness! Cower like the insect you are and never come out!”

He stormed out of the cave, Nanna barely able to get out of his way. His boots felt as if they thundered along the ground as he vanished into the light at the mouth of the cavern. Nanna turned to look at the Other, and saw him still lying upon the ground. He did not whimper, he did not whine, he only held the two ends of chains in his fingertips. His hands held them as reverently as prayer beads.

Nanna was hesitant to approach him at first, knowing what terrible power he had even in his rage, but it seemed as if the last of the fight was gone in his eyes. All she saw were the milky whites of his eyes, set with an ingot of coal each, simply watching.

“O-Other..?” Nanna said.

“My name is Othrim.” The Other said, simple and hollow. 

“O-Othrim, then…” 

Nanna knelt down at the half giant’s arm, and slowly set a hand upon his wrist, her fingers touching the iron manacle and causing the metal to clink. Othrim’s gaze shifted toward her eyes. She reached her other hand over and softly touched his cheek above his beard, causing Othrim to sigh softly, his eyes closing half lidded.

“You loved her, but she could not love you. She knew they thought you would only bring fear and death. They did not want to see what you were offering them. She would have wanted you to break your chains, and go. They were satisfied that they thought you were bound and gone, but she would never want to see you die like this.” 

She felt cold tears upon her hand, burning at her skin, but she still held him. 

“I will go.” Othrim said after some time.

“Where will you go? Your kinsman just disowned you.” 

“They will forgive me in time. I will find my way. I just should not stay here anymore.”

    Nanna watched Othrim stand, confident, renewed. He glanced down to the girl, his eyes softer now, at least as soft as could be for one so intimidating.

    “Thank you, little one.” 

    “My name is Nanna” She said, simple and with a smile.

    He smiled too.

 “Thank you, little Nanna.”

    Othrim walked to a corner of the room, and picked up a pack, big enough to hold several girls Nanna’s size, and slung it over his shoulder. He tightened his furs around his slight frame, and walked toward the entrance. Nanna watched until he disappeared into the woods before she, too, went home to her father and mother. It was dark when she arrived. They held her and kissed her, and then set her near the fire to warm herself. She told them what she saw, and they were happy, but whether for her bravery or her kindness, they could not say.