Perspectives

Chapter 32

"So females never wear skirts in your dimension?" Celia asked curiously. After Devon had left to get some clothes for Piper, Celia had struck up a conversation about how humans usually dressed, perplexed by the fact that Piper showed an aversion to wearing a skirt or dress. 

"No, some do. I mean, I do for special occasions and stuff." Piper explained. Anyone who had met her knew that she wasn't especially 'girly' in the traditional sense. At the same time, she wouldn't label herself as a tomboy or whatever. Personally she just felt more comfortable wearing pants or shorts, that wasn't to say she had a problem with anyone who liked to wear dresses on a more regular basis.

Celia nodded her head in understanding. "I see, that's very interesting." She noted. Coming from anyone Piper knew on Earth, the comment would have sounded instantly insincere, but as it was coming from Celia, it came off as completely genuine. 

It was then that the distant sound of voices met Piper's ears. She jumped to her feet, the hair on her arms standing on end. Although Piper was fairly certain the voice she was hearing was Devon's, he clearly wasn't talking to Celia, which meant there had to be someone else with him. 

Panic in her eyes, Piper turned to look up at Celia. Eyes wide in confusion and surprise, Celia moved away from where she had been leaning against the counter opposite the island. "I know how you feel about being touched, and I regret that I even have to suggest it but--" She began but Piper was quick to brush her apology away. 

"It's fine, I can't stay out in the open if there's someone else here." Piper assured the giantess hurriedly. As desperately as Piper wanted to avoid being touched by giant hands, and especially avoid being carried by them, she wasn't so irrational as to not realize that it would be much worse for her to be spotted by someone else. She was forced to choose the lesser of two evils. 

With a soft nod, Celia stepped up to the island and quickly but gently lowered her hand down onto the counter top with the palm facing up. With Devon's voice growing louder in volume as it grew closer, Piper didn't have time to relish the fact that for once she wasn't suddenly being grabbed and swept up into the air. She also didn't have the time to properly ready herself for giant hand travel before she was hopping onto the waiting platform and being lifted into the air.

Celia's fingers carefully rose up behind Piper to serve as a kind of barrier between certain death. Piper could feel how tense and focused the muscles beneath her were, fighting to remain soft and still. As steadily and swiftly as she could, Celia carried Piper over to the counters behind the island. Then, Celia slowly lowered herself down in front of the lower cupboards underneath the counter. With her free hand she pulled open one of the doors and placed her hand inside on the lowest shelf among the stacks of salad bowls. 

Not wasting any time, Piper quickly jumped down onto the shelf, turning around just in time to see Celia shutting the cupboard door, plunging Piper into darkness. She let out a long and heavy sigh. She had lost count of the amount of times she had been trapped in dark spaces. Although to be fair, technically she wasn't trapped this time, and it had been pretty much voluntary. That didn't make her any less sick of it though.

Piper could hear Celia moving around outside, hopefully hiding the little doll's chair somewhere, it would definitely be difficult explaining why that was sitting in the middle of the island. 

A moment later came the sound of two pairs of feet descending the staircase. Piper swallowed hard. There was every possibility that this giant was a part of the Sovereign Council, one that would be far less sympathetic to Piper's predicament than Celia and Devon had been. 'Nobody else knows I'm here, they have no reason to search for me' Piper tried to reassure herself.

"Dear, I ran into someone at Elbridge Park I think we should have a conversation with." Came Devon's voice, followed by the sound of more footsteps. 

"Oh I see." Piper heard Celia say, sounding a bit surprised by whoever it was Devon had brought back with him. "Well, please take a seat." She quickly added, Piper imagined she had gestured to the small breakfast table in the back corner of the room.

Piper heard more footsteps and the amplified sounds of the three giants shuffling around. When the ruckus finally died down it was the stranger who spoke first, and it was his voice. The voice that had been haunting her ever since she'd last heard it.

A storm of emotions instantly came over her. The last time she had heard that voice, it had been telling her goodbye forever. Piper clenched her fists tightly at her sides. Of all the people in all this dimension, why did it have to be him?

"Kalen, we have very little doubt that you were responsible for the disappearance of the human." Devon's voice boomed from outside. "Any denials you may make are unlikely to convince us." He added. What the hell did Devon think he was doing? Why would he bring Kalen here when he knew he had been the one who had abandoned her in that godforsaken park in the first place? 

"We will give you our word not to report your actions to Lord Rothgard, if you explain to us why you did it." Celia stated calmly yet firmly. 

There was a moment of hesitation before Kalen spoke up once again. Piper winced at his voice. "What do you want me to explain?" He asked.

"Why you released the human, and then went back looking for them at the park." Devon told him, specifically opting to not use Piper's name or reveal that he knew that she was a she. However Piper didn't pay much attention to this, she was much more concerned with the fact that Kalen had apparently gone back to the park, supposedly looking for her. It didn't make any sense.

Piper heard Kalen take a deep breath. "I...I didn't feel right letting Rothgard take her off to a lab to be tested like some kind of specimen." He carefully explained. "I had to take her out of the district and leave her somewhere where she wouldn't be easily found." He said it so simply, like it was normal, like it made sense to abandon someone in a gigantic public park. 

"You believed Elbridge Park was your best option?" Devon asked, no judgment in his voice, only a desire to understand. 

"I didn't have a lot of time, I figured it would be less dangerous than somewhere more remote, and that there would be less possibility of her being found by someone than somewhere indoors."  His justification was weak and Piper didn't buy it for a second. "I couldn't explain to her what I was doing--"

Piper shoved against the cupboard door with all the force her four inch body could muster. Incredibly, it flew open, revealing the seething girl standing inside. "You motherfucker." In an instant, three giant faces were turned towards her, staring at her in wide eyed disbelief. Twisted around in his chair sat Kalen, his face painted in complete and utter shock as he gaped at her. 

Jumping out of the cupboard, Piper began storming towards the table, her actions now being entirely fueled by rage. "You are full of nothing but shit!" She jabbed her finger up at him. "Everything you say is bullshit, everything you do is bullshit, and everything you feel is probably bullshit too, because you clearly don't have any feelings!" The words shot out of her mouth, dripping in acid. 

When Piper finally halted her steps, she was standing before the back of the chair Kalen sat in. He was turned around in the chair, now staring down at where she stood on the floor, glaring up at him with contempt in her eyes.