Jake & The Giant (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 2) (22 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Casa De Snorri

“Home sweet home! Come in, little masters! Welcome to my humble abode.” A few minutes after his joyful reunion with his sheep, Snorri flung open the huge front door to his turf-roofed cottage and beckoned his visitors in.

“Would you care for bramble
berry tea?” he offered. “It’s very refreshing.”

“Why, thank you, that would be fine,” said the gentlemanly Archie. He was satisfied with the spot where Snorri had stowed the broken Pigeon before they had come in. The flying machine awaited repairs in the garden shed outside.

“Brambleberry tea, Master Jake? I grew the brambleberries myself, grafted from wild ones. I admit I’ve got a bit of a green thumb,” Snorri said cheerfully. He was obviously delighted to be home.

“Er, sure, I’ll try it.” Jake couldn’t stop gawking at the gigantic furniture. The simple wooden table was easily fifteen
feet high.

Before them stretched a braided yarn rug as wide as a lake. To the left loomed a massive stone fireplace, its rustic mantel as tall as an ordinary rooftop.

As Snorri shut the door carefully behind them, Jake shook his head at the huge boots tucked against the wall. They were nearly as tall as he was.

Stepping over the boys, Snorri hastened to put away a few bits of clutter lying here and there. “Pardon the mess. I’m not used to having visitors,” he apologized. “Just an old bachelor, me.”

Soon they had the brambleberry tea with a gob of Snorri’s homegrown honey from his own beehive in the back.

Jake didn’t even want to think about giant bees.

They all were exhausted from the day’s long journey, in any case, and everyone was starved. Though the boys had their supplies to draw from, Snorri did not want to be seen as lax in his hospitality, for this was a point of honor with all the Norse people. He went outside and picked one of the apples as big as soup-pots from his orchard, and cut it up into pieces for the boys.

With his guests settled, Snorri bustled about preparing his own meal.
It seemed the average giant required prodigious amounts of food for his dinner.

So
, while Snorri cooked, humming to himself in front of his roaring hearth fire, the boys climbed up onto the footstool. Then, one by one, they took a daring leap across the gap, bouncing onto the cushion of the massive armchair.

The seat of the chair had about the same dimensions as their shared dorm room back at the University.
It looked like the perfect place to get some sleep, as long as Snorri didn’t forget they were there and accidentally sit on them.

Archie took off his coat and draped it over himself as he lay down on his side.
“Nice and comfortable,” he said, letting out a large sigh. “It feels so good to shut my eyes…”

With a yawn, Jake finally closed as eyes, as well. Red lay down protectively beside him, his eagle beak resting on his crossed lion-paws, his wings tucked against his sides, his tufted tail wrapped around his haunches.

As tired as Jake was, though, he found he couldn’t fall asleep, pondering all the astonishing things that had happened today.

“I wonder if the girls have seen Henry and Helena yet,” he remarked after a few minutes, but there was no answer from Archie.

He looked over and saw that the freckled boy genius was already fast asleep. He smiled wryly, but a few minutes later, he drifted off, as well.

About two hours later,
voices from outside awoke him.

Blinking
against the light of the evening sunset, Jake found that Red had not left his side. The Gryphon was awake, though, and listening; his small tufted ears were pricked up toward the window. Archie was still sleeping.

Before Jake
could decide whether to ignore the noise and go back to sleep, the door to the other room opened and Snorri poked his head out, looking groggy and more rumpled than usual.

Having finished cooking and eating alone, the giant must have decided to get some sleep, too.
Snorri noticed that Jake was awake, also, and nodded to him as he stepped out of his bedroom. The giant shuffled past the armchair where the boys were resting and crossed to the window. He moved the curtain aside and peered out.

“What’s going on out there?” Jake whispered.

“Not sure,” Snorri whispered back over his shoulder. “Bunch of my neighbors are standing out along the road. Looks like they’re watching a parade or something.”

“Maybe we’d better go see what’s going on. Make
sure this has nothing to do with Loki,” Jake said.

Snorri glanced grimly at him. “Aye, maybe you’re right.”

Archie sat up rubbing his eyes. “What’s going on, fellows?”

“Get up. We’re leaving,” Jake said, and relayed to him what Snorri had just reported. Both boys hurried to put their boots and coats back on.

Snorri returned to his bedroom and did the same.

He seemed worried when they rushed out of his cottage a few minutes later. “When you see my neighbors, be careful what you tell them,
” he advised. “If anyone figures out that you two are from Midgarth, that could be trouble for me.”

“Well, what are we going to tell them?” Jake ask
ed.

“It’s obvious we’re not giants!
” Archie agreed as he threw his tool-bag over his shoulder and ran to keep up.

Snorri mulle
d the question. “Why don’t we just tell them you’re dwarves?” he suggested as they hurried across the fields toward the road.

“Dwarves?!” the boys exclaimed
in unison.

The giant nodded earnestly. “We don’t often see them in these parts, but at least dwarves are allowed in Jugenheim.”

Before this matter was quite decided, they reached the country road that wound past Snorri’s farm, and Jake and Archie stared in amazement at what they saw.

It
was
a sort of parade. Giant peasants watched, applauding, as towering giant warriors rode past on gigantic horses, heading for the vast Viking great hall in the distance.

The sunlight glinte
d on the passing riders’ helmets or crowns. Seated on their gigantic steeds, with extra horses carrying their gear, they wore chain mail and rugged riding gauntlets. They looked like giant princes or royal knights on their way to a jousting tournament.

“Who are they?” Jake yelled to Snorri over the thunderous applause
of the gathered crowd.

“I don’t know.
I’ll see what I can learn,” Snorri mumbled, then he shuffled off to consult his neighbors.

The ‘dwarves’ and the Gryphon followed warily.
With all of the commotion of this impressive caravan arriving, nobody paid attention to such small creatures.

“Hullo, Petunia,” Snorri
greeted a massive, homely lump of a peasant giantess who was carrying a fat white goose in a basket. She wore drab, shapeless clothes in a vaguely medieval style. “What’s all the excitement?” he asked her.

“
Why, Snorri! There you are!” Petunia greeted him with a rap him on the shoulder that would have been enough to knock down a tower back in Midgarth.

“She’s a dainty thing,” Archie whispered to Jake.

“Where’ve you been, boy? Nobody’s seen you in days!” Petunia bellowed.

Snorri quickly feigned a cough. “Been a bit under the weather. Summer cold. The worst.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that. Better now?”

“Aye. Used the chamomile growing in my garden.”

“Just as you should!” she agreed. Then she cackled. “Why, poor thing! We all thought the reason nobody’s seen you was because you’d heard the news and were in your cottage sulking!”

“I don’t sulk,” he said indignantly. “What news?”

“Oh, dear.” Big Petunia hesitated. “If you haven’t already heard, I’m not sure I should be the one to tell you, then.”

“Te
ll me what?” he asked in alarm.

“You’re not going to like it. I’m afraid it’s Princess Kaia—”

He gasped aloud in horror. “Is she all right?”

“Of course, she’s fine, lad! Though she’s none to
o happy, I’d imagine. She’s a headstrong one, that girl. Mind of her own, which always leads to trouble. I reckon now she knows what defying her father will get her.”

Snorri stared at his neighbor lady in confusion. “Defying her father? W-what did she do?”

“Well, she refused to—” The giantess suddenly stopped herself with a guarded frown.

“Refused to what?” Snorri cried in alarm.

“No.” Petunia clammed up with a stubborn shake of her head. “I’m keepin’ my mouth shut. Only a fool would get in the middle of this. Nobody likes a gossip—especially when the talk involves Prince Gorm,” Petunia added in a whisper.

“Gorm?” Snorri
echoed, paling.

Petunia nodded shrewdly. “You were always a friend to the princess, ever since you two was babies. You should go and talk to her yourself.”

Snorri had turned three shades of white at this cryptic news.

“What are you doin’ with them dwarve
s?” the giantess suddenly asked him, eyeing Jake and Archie in suspicion.

“Oh—they’re just visiting,” he forced out.

Petunia squinted at Red. “What’s that thing they got with ’em?”

“He’s a gryphon, ma’am,” Jake ventured.

She nodded, still looking rather skeptical about the strangers. “Dwarves, eh? Big feast tonight to welcome the visiting princes. Whole village is invited. You dwarves should come up to the great hall and sing us a few of your famous dwarf songs.”

Jake and Archie stared at her, then exchanged a startled glance.

Fortunately, she lost interest and wandered off, now that the parade had passed.

When the boys turned to Snorri,
he looked on the verge of panic. “I’ve got to go and see if Kaia’s all right!”

“Are
you
?” Jake inquired.

“If anything’s happened to her—”

“Now, now, calm down,” Jake ordered. “Your neighbor said the princess is fine.”

“Yes, it
’s just—I have this terrible feeling,” Snorri forced out. He turned to face the distant great hall. “King Olaf has been badgering her to marry Gorm for months, like I told you. But Kaia doesn’t like him. The King kept saying Gorm would be the best leader for the people after him, so she was sort of willing to go along with it. But then I went and told her she shouldn’t have to marry that bully if she don’t like him.”

“Did you?” Jake asked, bemused.

“Aye, she don’t need no Gorm. I said when her father dies that she could lead the people by herself. Well, she
could!
” he added pugnaciously. “She’s smarter than ten Gorms and a whole lot braver than me. Brave as any warrior. She can fight—she can even read!”

“Y
es, you mentioned that,” Jake muttered.

“When I stood
up in the great hall and told everyone that she could be Queen all by herself, everyone laughed at me. That’s why I was so angry the day I pulled the boulder out of the sheep meadow and broke the earth.” Snorri shook his head, looking slightly dazed. “What if she actually took my advice while I was gone and told her father that she’s refusing Gorm? Now all those princes coming here…what if I’ve only made everything worse for her with my advice? Oh, why would anyone ever take my advice?”

“Now, now, let’s not jump to conclusions before we have the facts,
” Archie chided.

“You’re right.” Snorri took a deep breath to calm himself down, nodding.
“I must go and see her. Find out what’s really going on.” He turned toward the great hall. “Come on, dwarves.”

“Hold on!” Jake called
as Snorri turned to go.

The giant turned.

“You are
not
going to see the princess lookin’ like that,” Jake declared.

Snorri glanced down at himself in surprise. “Wh
y not? What’s wrong with me?”

“Y
ou’re a mess!” He gestured impatiently at Snorri’s dirty clothes. “She’s a royal princess, man! You’re going to have to do better than that. Especially now,” he added. “Hate to say it, but I’m afraid you just got more competition for your princess than Gorm alone.” Jake hooked a thumb toward the knights and princes who had ridden past.

Archie nodded in agreement. “At least wash your face so you don’t show up smelling like
a musk-ox.”

Snorri looked taken aback at the
boys’ simple advice. “Kaia don’t care about that stuff.”

“Maybe she’s just too polite to tell you,” Archie said pointedly.

Jake gave a sage nod. “No girl likes a stinker, my large friend. Remember Isabelle’s advice. Clean yourself up first, then you can go and see her. Trust us.”

Snorri frowned, then sniffed his armpit and grimaced. “Maybe you’re right.”

The boys nodded, coughing at the cloud of odor that came down like a fog. Even the Gryphon looked revolted; Red covered his beak with the edge of his wing and gagged.