Desperate Times

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Hope walked through her village, and it was a grim sight. The crops had failed, and the town could not pay the local Lord his tribute, let alone feed themselves. She walked into the tavern where a town meeting was held so the elders could decide what to do about it, but that was going nowhere.

"I'm sure that our Lord will understand that we can't give him tribute this year and show mercy."

"Are you daft, Hogen!? The Lord will have our heads and sell our wemen and children into slavery so he can pay to fill his fat gut!"

"Well, what else can we do aside from begging for mercy!?" Hope watched as the village leaders argued back and forth, accomplishing nothing except making each other madder. It was then that the tavern's door slammed open, walking in was the very man they dreaded confronting. Lord Acres Garfield, he was grim man, made even grimmer by the food shortage, he walked to the table silencing the village leaders with fear.

"Good day, my people. Fear not, for I have made a trade deal that will ensure this lands continued prosperity. Return to your homes and await the traders that will come to the village." Everyone in the tavern cheered for Lord Garfield and his clever trade, but Hope felt that something was wrong. What did the Lord trade for food? She did not know, and that ignorance only fueled her dread. All she could do was go home and wait to see how things turned out.

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Morgen walked through the woods toward the mansion; when she heard that the local Lord wanted to see her, she was a bit nervous. Giants and humans did not get along very well, what with giants eating humans and humans not wanting to be eaten. But if the letter she had received was real, then it was well worth the risk, a whole village all to herself, how could she pass that up? She spotted the mansion and a large mob, but they were not armed; they had carts and wagons, so far, the deal seemed to be real.

"This is Lord Garfield! Did you bring food!?" Morgen looked down at the human in shiny armor; he seemed to be the one in charge or his double. She set down one of the two baskets she brought with her, removing the rag from the top she revealed that it was full of food. Tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and ham, all of which was as big or, in some cases, bigger than the carts they brought to transport it. Some of the mob moved over to start gathering the food, but she stopped them in their tracks by slamming her fist down in front of them.

"Now now, where is your half of the deal?"

"The village is ten miles west of here; there should be more than enough people there to pay for all of this."

"Ok, but if I find out that this is a trap, I will come back and eat you one limb an a time." Morgen then started moving west, by the fear in both the mob and their Lord; she did not think he was lying.

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Hope was woken up by the sounds of screaming, jumping out of bed she rushed to the window to see what was going on. Her eyes widened in horror at what she discovered, a giant woman reeking death and destruction upon her town. The giantess hummed a merry tune as she grabbed up screaming villagers and stuffed them into her basket like she was harvesting berries, rather than people. Hope knew she should move away from the window, she knew she needed to hide and wait for the monster to leave, but she was frozen in fear as she watched her home be destroyed. Hope finally came to her senses when the giantess started walking over towards her house, she dashed under the bed and did her best not to scream as the roof was ripped off her home.

"I COULD HAVE SWORN I SAW A HUMAN IN HERE?" The giantess said to herself, her loud booming voice hurt Hope's ears, she prayed to the gods that she would go unnoticed by the horrible thing hunting her people, but be it by apathy or spit the gods ignored her. Her bed was carelessly tossed aside by the giantess, and she felt the monster's massive hand wrap around her.

"FOUND YOU! THOUGHT YOU WERE CLEVER DIDN'T YOU?!" Hope tried to struggle free from the giggling monsters grasp, but it was no use. She then froze in horror at the grumbling sound that suddenly came from the giantess holding her.

"SEEMS YOU'VE WORKED UP MY APATITE LITTLE ONE, HOPE YOU TAST AS GOOD AS YOU LOOK." Hope screamed as she was moved closer to the giantesses mouth, the massive pink tongue of the monster moved out and tasted her from chest to forehead. She frantically tried to wiggle free from the giant hand as the gigantic lips parted, and she was moved past them, soon finding herself entirely inside the beast's mouth. Face to face with the giant's throat; Hope started to crawl backward, trying to back out the way she came in. But the whole world shifted around her, and soon she found herself pointing down at her doom.

"No, no, please god no, don't eat me PLEASE!" Hope screamed at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face and dripping into the throat she was hanging over. But her pleading fell on deaf ears as the giant tongue curled up, pressing her down the throat, and in one gulp, she slid down the monster's tight throat. The tight wet tube crushed against her whole body as she was forced deeper and deeper down it, until she fell down into a dark, damp place. Hope knew where she was, and what was going to happen to her, she just curled up and started crying, hoping that it at least would not hurt too much.

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Morgen let out a small belch, satisfied with her light snack she continued to gather humans, downing a few more before she was done. A half-hour later, she could no longer find any more humans, ether she got them all, or some got away, but she did not care, she had a suitable hall. She walked back home with a spring in her step; her friends were going to be so jealous when she shows off how many tasty humans she got her hands on!