Willow's redemption

In a world still filled with magic and wonder which had barely been touched by modern technology there was a small town. It had a small population of good hard working people. There wasn’t much crime here besides the odd pickpocket or two. But other then that nothing much happened here.
But on this day everything would change. It had started out like any other day. The town was busy doing their everyday work and just got along as normal. But there was a man sitting down in an inn having a drink. He was about to pick it up when he noticed something in his glass. His drink began to ripple every couple of seconds. At first he thought that it was an earthquake. But soon he realised that it was something much worse. They were footsteps.
Outside a giantess came into the town. Everyone began to panic at the sight of this juggernaut. She was around 60 feet tall with blackish brown hair and hazel eyes. She wore black clothes. They had been sown together quite crudely but they still served their purpose. She also had black shoes that were again cheaply made. They were also black and closed toe.
The giantess was very beautiful but unfortunately underneath this beauty was a beast. All over the land everyone had learned to fear her. They had heard about how she would go to towns and partially destroy it and terrorise the civilians. The main thing that was taken was food and a couple of times raw materials.
The giantess was called Willow. She saw everything in front of her and was not impressed with what she had seen.
“That’s right run you little bugs!” she shouted.
She then kicked a nearby small building completely destroying it. There were screams of fear all around. But Willow’s first target was the market. Her stomach was growling and she was very hungry.
The market had all the foods that she liked. There was fruits, vegetables, meat and even a couple of things that she had a sweet tooth for. But along the way Willow would destroy a random building. This wasn’t because she didn’t like it. She was just striking fear into the hearts of the civilians.
When she did reach the market she flicked the marketers away and began to take the food. No one had the power to stop her. She was just doing what ever the hell she wanted.
But then she felt something hard hit her back. This caused her some pain and she turned around. She saw a group of soldiers with cannons. She quickly stood up and began to walk towards them.
“You’ll pay for that you little shits!” shouted Willow.
“Fire!” shouted one of the soldiers.
The platoon began to fire their cannons at Willow. Most of them were missing. But some were hitting her. A couple of them hit her in the head and knocked her out. This had been very lucky for the platoon. She had almost reached them and she most likely would have killed them all.
When Willow did wake up she found herself in a strange room. There were several human all around her. It was like she was in some kind of court house. There was a judge sitting in a relatively high chair.
Willow tried to move but she was being forced to the ground by some kind of magic force.
“Oh good you’re awake,” said the Judge. “Now we can start. Willow you are being charged with theft, property damage and disturbing the peace. How do you plea?”
“Fuck you!” replied Willow.
“Very well. It’s by sheer luck that neither manslaughter nor murder have been added to the charges. For the past ten years you’ve been terrorising people. You’ve struck multiple towns and villages. You’ve laid waste to them all over the land. Thankfully no one’s been killed but you have destroyed several lives in the process.”
“What’s your point tubby?”
“My point being that you will be punished for your crimes. But simple punishing you isn’t enough. You need to learn that people are equal to you. Their lives are just as important as yours.”
“You monsters deserve nothing.”
“I’m afraid you’re the only monster here. Bring them in.”
Just then a guard escorted two men into the court. One was an old man wearing a robe and had a walking stick. The other as a young man wearing scraggy clothes. He had light brown hair and blue eyes. He wasn’t a poor man but he seemed to be an average worker in this day and age.
“This is Henry,” said the Judge. “He has very kindly volunteered for this little procedure.
The old man began to mutter something and both Willow and Henry began to glow. This lasted for a couple of seconds before disappearing. Willow didn’t feel any different.
“What the hell was that?” she asked.
“Guard if you please,” said the Judge.
One of the guards then slapped Henry in the face. This caused him some pain. But strangely Willow also felt it. She had never been hit but she felt the pain that Henry had suffered.
“What the fuck?”
“As you can see Willow a binding spell ahs been placed on you. Anything that Henry feels you feel. Break his arm, your arm gets broken, shoot him you also get the wound. He dies you die.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
“No if you intimidate him you’ll feel his fear. If he’s cold you’ll be cold. If you go more then 500 feet away from him then you feel immense pain. You’ll learn to care for humans even if it kills you.”
Just then the magic force keeping Willow to the ground disappeared. But before she could do anything the old man muttered another spell and both she had Henry disappeared.
They reappeared several miles away in a random field. Willow was pissed off with what had happened. But she looked down to see Henry. Without hesitation she picked him up and began to squeeze him. But this caused her pain so she had to loosen her grip and rest him in her hand.
“Err hi,” said Henry.

“Shut up bug,” replied Willow.
“We can’t be having that,” answered Henry. “Remember the spell will be lifted if you change your ways and I’m afraid that’s not a very good start.”
“What the hell are you a shrink?”
“Yep got by degree at Toadstool University.”
“What’s that?”
“Let’s just say its one of the best universities in the land. Now my job is to find out why you behave like this?”
“Because I’m bigger and stronger then everyone else.”
“I don’t think that’s it at all. There have been others like you and I don’t think a single one of them went rampaging like you.”
“That’s because they were all stupid.”
“Again I don’t believe that. You can tell me.”
“No.” She then felt her stomach grumble. “I’m going to have to stop you there. For two reasons.”
“And they are?”
“One I’m hungry and two you’re boring the hell out of me. Things will go a lot more smoothly if you shut your mouth.”
Willow then began to walk towards a forest. She began to look through the trees for food. Eventually she saw an Elk eating some of the grass. It hadn’t noticed her yet. She crept towards it very quietly.
When she was close enough Willow snatched the elk with her free hand. The elk struggled for its life but with one swift move she snapped its neck and dropped its lifeless body on the ground.
“Dinner is served,” said Willow.
“Are you going to eat it raw?” replied Henry.
“Yeah.”
“Don’t do that. It’s not as tasty. It’s best that you cook it.”
“I know that. I’m just too big to make a fire.”
“Then allow me. Just get me some firewood and then I’ll start a fire.”
“Ok.”
Willow somewhat reluctantly grabbed several pieces of firewood and put them in a pile. Henry then grabbed two of the sticks and began to rub them together. He created a small flame and then he began to blow it so that it would be able to spread. In a matter of minutes they had gotten a fire burning and the elk was cooking. But Willow was getting impatient. She was hungry and all she wanted to do was to eat the elk.
“Is it done yet?” asked Willow.
“Not yet,” replied Henry. “It might take a little while but I assure you its well worth the wait.”
“You better be right or else.”
“Or else what?”
“I’ll flick you like a flea.”
“But then you’ll be flicking yourself.”
“I don’t care.”

Although Willow didn’t like it she sat there and waited for the elk to finish cooking. She was very tempted to just eat it as it was. But it began to smell delicious and she almost gave into temptation. But then Henry began to take a couple of shreds off for himself. He took a bite out of it and he looked up at Willow.
“Ok it’s done,” replied Henry.
With no hesitation Willow picked up the cooked elk and she took a bite out of it. Not only did she tear off flesh but she also took a couple of ribs and she began to chew. Henry could hear the cracking of the bone as she chewed. But then she began to feel intense pain from her tooth.
“Shit!” cried Willow.
“What’s wrong,” replied Henry.
“Fucking bone’s got stuck in my teeth. I fucking hate it when that happens.”
Willow tried to take the bone out herself. But she just could get to it. But all this did was cause her more pain. She was almost in tears and Henry couldn’t stand her like this. He quickly came up with an idea.
“Maybe I can get to it,” said Henry.
“You?”
“Yeah I could probably pull it out.”
Willow didn’t really want him in her mouth. But right now she didn’t have much of a choice. It was either that or suffer from immense pain for the rest of her life. She then carefully picked him up and brought him up to her level.
“Ok listen up the bone is stuck in my molars,” said Willow. “They’re your right my left you got that?”
“I got it. Just remember not to swallow.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
Willow then opened her mouth and Henry climbed in. It was very dark and moist. But after a few seconds Henry located the bone that was stuck in Willow’s tooth. He began to pull but it wasn’t budging. He tried with all his strength and after several seconds the bone came out and the pain Willow was feeling was gone.
Willow took Henry out of her mouth and rested him in her hand. He was wet from her saliva but he was unharmed. He also had the bone in his hand and she couldn’t help but crack a little smile.
“Thanks that’s the second kindest thing anyone has ever done for me,” said Willow.
“What’s the first?” replied Henry. Willow fell deadly silent.
“Never mind.”
“But Willow.”
“I said never mind.”
Henry knew that he was making a little progress. But he wanted to investigate why Willow wouldn’t tell him. He didn’t want to pursue it straight away. He knew that she would tell him eventually. But it would probably take a lot of work and she would have to trust him a great deal. He had earned a small amount of trust through helping her but he still had a long way to go.
“Now tell me Willow what do you do on a daily basis?” asked Henry.
“Not much really,” replied Willow. “Just move about and go to town when I’m hungry. You know that kind of thing.”

“So you terrorise people because you’re hungry?” asked Henry.
“Not just that,” replied Willow. “They just piss me off.”
“Why do we piss you off?”
“Because you’re the scourge of the planet. If humans didn’t exist the world would be a much better place.”
“Do you truly believe this?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t believe you do.”
“You can believe whatever you want. It still won’t make a difference.”
After a short while Willow stood up and began to walk away with Henry in her hand. She seemed to know where she was going but Henry had no idea where she was taking him. He knew that she wouldn’t hurt him. But he was still feeling nervous. But because of the spell Willow was also feeling nervous and she didn’t like it.
“Stop that,” she said.
“Stop what?” replied Henry.
“Feeling nervous. You’ve got nothing to be nervous about.”
“In that case tell me where we’re going.”
“You’ll find out soon.”
“I prefer now.”
“I said you’ll find out soon enough.”
Henry would have liked to inquire more. But he didn’t want to make her angry and in her haste squash him. It didn’t ease his nervousness but he thought that he was in no immediate danger.
Eventually they reached a large cave. Henry expected it to be dark and empty inside. But instead he saw a bed, a table, a chair and even a couple of torches. One was already a light and Willow used it light the others.
“So this is your home I guess?” asked Henry.
“Yeah when I’m not hundreds of miles away this is where I call home,” replied Willow. “I’ve been here for years.”
“I can tell and where did you get the furniture?”
“I made it myself.”
“Really?” He was quite impressed with this. He could tell that they weren’t made by a furniture company. But they were good craftsmanship considering what Willow most likely used. “That’s very impressive.”
“You think.”
“Yes tell me what else can you do that doesn’t involve hurting anyone.”
“I can farm.”
“Why don’t you farm instead of taking other people’s food?”
“I don’t farm anymore.”
“Why not.”
“Because I don’t ok. Stop asking so many fucking questions.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
“Shut up for a while. I’m feeling tired.”
“Then get some rest. There’s a couple of things I want you to do in the morning.”
“Like what?”
“You’ll see.”

The next morning Henry woke up to the sound of something being crushed. He slowly got out of bed and went to investigate. He saw Willow in what seemed to be a kitchen. She seemed to be making some food. He walked to the end of the table he had slept on. Willow saw him and she didn’t really respond at first. But after a couple of seconds she finally acknowledged that he was there.
“Oh you’re up,” she said.
“Yep what are you doing?” replied Henry.
“Making breakfast. It’ll be done in a minute.”
“Smells good.”
Henry saw that Willow had made what seemed to be a stew made out of meats and vegetables. He figured that she must have had this food here already. But he thought that it was strange to have stew in the morning. It was more of a dinner meal.
It only took a Willow a couple of minutes to finish the stew off and she put it into a large wooden bowl. She put a small amount in a small container for Henry. She then brought it over to him and she saw down on the table. But there was no cutlery to use to eat the stew.
“How do you plan on eating without a knife and fork?” asked Henry.
“Like this,” replied Willow. She then brought the bowl up to her lips and she started to drink the stew. She took a few mighty gulps and the stew was completely gone. She belched after she finished. “Good stew.”
Henry tried to do the same. But he instantly noticed that the stew he was eating was in fact cold. Willow hadn’t cooked it at all. It was all raw. But since it was most likely the only food he would get he did drink it. He took considerable longer then Willow. She just sat there and watched him.
When he had finished Henry put the bowl down and looked at Willow. She just stared at him intensely.
“Lovely,” he said. “Now there’s something I plan on doing today.”
“What’s that? Leaving me in peace?”
“Until you change your ways I can not leave. Not without killing you. Now I’m going to say a word and you’re going to say the first word that comes into your head. Do you understand?”
“Yes but I don’t like it.”
“Ok your first word is food.”
“Goats.”
“Home.”
“Rest.”
“People.”
“Bugs.”
“Friends.”
“Worthless.”
“Interesting now what comes to mind when I say understanding?”
“No need.”
“Father.”
“……”

“No comment,” said Willow.
Henry was still intrigued with Willow’s answers. He had hoped to make a little progress. But it seemed that he had made less then he had anticipated. For him it was a minor setback. But he wanted to find the route of Willow’s anger towards people. It was most likely from some kind of trauma in her past. He wanted to know about her life before she began to terrorise people.
“Willow I want to ask you another question,” said Henry.
“Make it quick,” replied Willow. The tone of her voice indicated that she was becoming impatient.
“I want you to tell me about your childhood.”
“I didn’t really have a childhood.”
“Is that because of anything in your past?”
“No my species we’re born as adults. Unlike you. I can’t believe you have to go through something called puberty.”
“Ok who raised you then?” Once again Willow fell silent. “Is there something wrong?”
“Can we change the subject?”
“No Willow we must…”
“Change the subject!” snapped Willow.
This had caught Henry by surprise. Although he knew that she couldn’t harm him without harming herself. But he didn’t want to dig any deeper for now. He wanted to try again when Willow had more trust in him.
Then Willow gently picked Henry up and she stood up from the table. She began to walk out of her cave. He didn’t say a word to him. He was trying not to be worried. But he was still a little.
“Where are we going?” asked Henry.
“I want to show you something,” replied Willow.
“What is it?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“A nice surprise?”
“You’ll see.”
Willow walked for several minutes before reaching a river. Henry expected her to cross it. But instead she just sat down next to it. It was like a scene from landscape paintings. The area was very beautiful. Henry would have thought that Willow would have detested places like this. But instead it seemed to be having some kind of calming effect on her. To Henry this was very odd.
“What is this place?” he asked with curiosity.
“Think of this as my happy place,” replied Willow. “When I feel bad about anything I come here.”
“Do you fear guilt about anything you’ve done?”
“You mean to the people of the villages and towns I go to?”
“Yes.”
“No I don’t.”
“Do you think you should?”
“No I have no regrets.”

Henry couldn’t help but absorb the scenery. He could see why Willow would come to a place like this. Everything seemed to be perfect in every way. Henry wouldn’t mind being stranded here and just looking.
Willow seemed to be relaxing. She could feel everything that Henry was feeling and it made her feel good. She still found him annoying. But for now he seemed to be far less annoying.
“This place is beautiful,” said Henry.
“That’s why I come here,” replied Willow. “I found it a few years ago. And now I can’t stop coming back.”
“I can see why.”
For the next few minutes the pair just relaxed. Henry even fell into a little nap. But this didn’t last very long. He began to feel what seemed to be tremors. But he soon recognised them as something else. They were footsteps. He had felt similar ones when he was around Willow but these seemed to be a lot bigger.
He wasn’t the only one to feel these footsteps. Willow also felt them and she was shocked with what she could see. She was engulfed by a huge shadow and she had to look up, and up, and up.
She was looking up to a giantess who dwarfed her. She was over 600 feet tall with long black hair a red top, black pants and red shoes. She glared down at Willow and she didn’t hesitate in picking her up.
“YOU!” shouted the giantess.
Henry finally opened his eyes and saw the giantess. He felt small compared to Willow. But compared to this even larger giantess he felt like an ant. He thought that he would feel scared. But for some reason he was calm.
“Oh hi Kath,” said Willow. “Long time no see.”
“Don’t start that bullshit with me!” replied Kath. “Do you know what you did to me you bitch?”
“Yeah I used to show you who was boss.”
“Do you know how small you use to make me feel. I told you that one day I would be bigger then you and look its happened.” Kath then noticed that Henry was in Willow’s hand. “I’ll take him.” She then gently took Henry out of Willow’s hand. Kath looked down at him and smiled. “Don’t worry I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a protector. I have vowed not to harm innocent lives.”
“Whatever you’re going to do to Willow I beg you to reconsider,” replied Henry.
“Sorry but this is between me and her.” She then squatted down and put Henry on the ground. “Now run along. I’ll make sure she won’t hurt you.” She then stood up to her full height.
Now that Willow out of range of Henry pain rain through her entire body. She began to scream out in agony. Kath was somewhat confused. She had never expected Willow to act like this.
“Argh!” shouted Willow.
“Stop screaming I haven’t done anything,” replied Kath.
“Kath!” shouted Henry. “That’s your name right?”
“Yes.” She looked down at Henry. “That’s right.”
“You need to bring me closer to Willow. The pain could likely kill her if you don’t comply.”

Kath was taking into consideration what Henry had said. She did want revenge on Willow. But she had to admit that he was right. She had sworn to never harm innocent life. She then gave out a sigh.
“Fine,” she said.
She then picked up Henry with her free hand. When he was close enough to Willow her pain stopped and she gasped for breath. Although she hated to admit it Willow probably owed him her life. Or at the very least a serious injury.
“You made the right choice,” said Henry.
“Please don’t make me regret it,” replied Kath.
“I assure you I won’t. But I must know. What exactly did Willow do to you?”
“It was a few years back. I was only around 20 feet tall back then but I heard about Willow’s rampages so I aimed to put a stop to it. Back then I was too small so when we met Willow was too powerful for me. But she didn’t just beat me she humiliated me. She gave me a wedgie and she made me kiss her feet.”
“Willow!”
“What?” replied Willow. “She got what she deserved.” Just then Kath’s grip around Willow tightened.
“You know I’m starting to regret sparing you,” said Willow.
“Wait Kath,” replied Henry. “Do you feel any better now that you’re bigger and stronger then your tormentor.”
“Somewhat.”
“But what about your vow?”
“I vowed never to hurt innocent life. Willow is not innocent. If I took her out now the world would be a better place.”
“But that make you feel good inside. For now you feel good but down the line you’ll regret it. Besides Willow’s trying to change her ways. I admit that I’m making little progress but I’m sure she’ll be somewhat like you in no time.”
“You better be right. If she stays the way she is I will hunt her down and take vengeance for all the innocent people you’ve made suffer.”
“You won’t have to do that. But there’s one last thing I’m wondering. How did you get so big?”
“I grew. I was expecting Willow to be a lot bigger. But she hasn’t grown an inch since I last saw her.”
“At least you’ve stopped now.”
“Are you kidding? I’m growing like there’s no tomorrow. I wouldn’t be surprised if this time next year I was double if not triple my current height.”
“You’re tall enough.”
“You’re probably right.” She then put them both on the ground and then she looked down at them. “I’m taking your word. If anything happens I’ll go to the ends of the world to find Willow and make her pay.”
“No need for that.”
Kath then walked away. Each of her footsteps made a small earthquake. The pair just watched as she walked further and further away. Willow was silent. She knew that she had been close to meeting her maker. For once she felt what others before her had felt during her rampages.

Henry looked up at Willow. She was somewhat shaken by the events. But she was staying strong. But he did notice something different in her eyes. He thought that it was fear. But it wasn’t. He knew that it was something else.
“That was a terrible experience for you,” said Henry. “But I think it could be a blessing in disguise.”
“Why do you say that?” replied Willow.
“Because you are ten times taller then the average man. Kath was ten times taller then you. For the first time you were the smaller one.”
“Not the first.” She had said this so quietly that Henry could barely hear her.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
“Fine. But there’s still things I want to know.”
“And what’s that?”
“I want to know about how you were raised. Surely you haven’t been living by yourself for your entire life. I want to know about your life before you started your rampages ten years ago.”
“Too bad you’re not going to know.”
“But I can’t truly help you if I don’t know.”
“I’ve told you before I don’t want your help. If it wasn’t for this fucking spell you’d be a red stain at the bottom of my shoe.”
“You wouldn’t do that.”
“How would you know?”
“In all your rampages you’ve injured many people. But never have you killed any of them. If you were truly as cold blooded as you claim you are all those people would be dead. You wouldn’t leave any survivors. I think there is some humanity left inside you. The one that prevents you from killing people.”
“Humanity? You really think I have humanity. You’re so wrong in many different ways. You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough about you to know that you’re not simple. Rampaging is not the only thing you think about. There’s something else. If you were truly alone all your life you wouldn’t care about people’s lives. But there’s something you’ve experienced that makes you more human.”
“NEVER COMPARE ME TO THEM!” shouted Willow. Her voice shook the ground. “I AM NOTHING LIKE THEM!”
“On the contrary I’ve met people who are truly what people call monsters. You are not a monster yet. But if you continue will become one. And I think there’s someone besides me who doesn’t want to see that.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m trying to help you.”
“I don’t need help. Just leave me alone.”
“You know I can only go a certain distance.”
“Then go I just need to think.”
Henry reluctantly walked away to the maximum he could walk before harming Willow. He saw her sitting there and there was a tear in her eye. Henry realised that he was actually making some progress.

What is Willow thinking? Find out next time.