Page 43 of Switched

“About the harp…” Jack steps into the cloud and disappears. “It can’t be lifted out of here. It’s why I couldn’t take it with me last time I climbed up. The harp only moves when it’s being played, and it can only be played by someone with pure love for another.”

“You never mentioned that before,” I say as I rub the petal on my neck.

Jack sticks his head back out of the cloud. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Come on! And be quiet!”

I’m the last one through the cloud. When I come out the other side, I am in awe. If I thought the beanstalk was high, Cloud City’s buildings are even higher! They’re modeled after the ones we have in Enchantasia, but everything is giant in size, and the whole city is tan. Every building looks like it’s floating in midair. There aren’t many flowers or decorations though. The city is pretty plain, which is surprising since everything I’ve ever learned about giants taught me their world was full of riches they had stolen from our kingdoms. We walk quickly past a doorway higher than the roof at FTRS. A cloud floats by, obscuring the home in front of us from view.

We walk in silence for a while, each of us staring up at the buildings in awe. They’re so large it could take five minutes to walk by just one of them, and at this rate, it’s going to take forever to get to the city center even if the streets are deserted. Where is everyone?

Suddenly, everyone who is in front of me stops. AG is pointing frantically at a wall. I use a cloud to bounce over to her and see the red, childlike lettering on the side of a building.

WARNING! Rump zone! Resisting is futile! Escape we must!

It looks like someone has tried to wash the message off but couldn’t. Some of the red paint has dripped down the side of the wall. I look down at the ground and spot a human-sized scrap of scroll blowing in the wind. There’s part of a message written on it in scratchy script.

…by the Trickster! Run! Hide! Or you will be imprisoned like the others!

Running? Hiding? Was this written by a giant? Or a squad member who wants to leave and can’t?

Jack takes the paper from my hands and reads it himself. “I don’t understand,” he whispers. “These weren’t here the last time. They look like giants’ handwriting, but who would those lugheads be afraid of? They can eat people in one bite.”

The cloud we’re on starts to shake, and we hold on to the building to steady ourselves. I can’t see anything through the mist and cloud cover. Jack is motioning wildly, but I don’t know what he’s saying. Suddenly a large, dirty hand comes into view.

AG freezes in fear, but I pull her along as we press ourselves against the nearest wall. Jack tries to push the door open so we can hide, but it’s too heavy to move. We’re trapped.

The giant walks out of the nearest cloud right in front of us. Great. We’ve already given ourselves away. Any second the rest of the giants will come running. My mouth feels dry, and my hands are clammy. I place my hand in front of AG to protect her, but then I notice something different about this giant. It’s much shorter, and its face looks so young.

Is it a baby giant?

Jack pulls his dagger back out of his pack and prepares to aim it at the giant’s arm.

“Wait!” I shout. “I think it’s a toddler!”

The giant opens its mouth and smiles, revealing a single tooth. Then its left hand comes through the cloud, and I see it’s holding a bottle! The giant sees Maxine, who is the largest of our group, and giggles. The sound is so loud that we have to hold our ears, but I’m relieved. It’s just a baby!

But then a larger arm comes into view, swooping the baby high into the air. The toddler drops his bottle, which crushes the corner of a fence just feet from where we’re standing. AG screams. If no one knew we were here before, they definitely know we’re here now. AG’s hands start to grow fur at an alarming rate, and I know it’s any second before she howls and gives our location away. The momma giant looks at AG and roars. I clutch my bow and arrow, ready to fight her off before she can snatch us and make us a toddler snack.

“Run!” Jack shouts. “Run!”

Before any of us can move, the giant takes off with her baby, running in the opposite direction. She glances back at us as she runs, and I could swear she actually looks frightened. What the fairy is going on?

“Guys, I think that giant was afraid of us,” Jax says.

“Don’t be a fool, Prince.” Jack rolls his eyes. “Giants eat people and crush villages. They’re not scared of humans. They hate us. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

“Maybe they were just mad at you because you stole from them,” Maxine guesses. We all look at Jack, who opens his mouth to speak and says nothing.

“Or maybe they think humans hate them.” Jocelyn motions to the piece of scroll in her hand. “Both this flyer and that sign on the wall make me think they’re trying to escape our kind.”

“Or if not our kind, then Rumpelstiltskin,” Ollie says.

I’ve never seen Jack look so doubtful. He pulls the scroll from Jocelyn’s hands. “But…you saw the giants at FTRS. They were attacking us.”

“Did anyone else think they looked kind of confused?” Kayla asks.

“Yeah, they kept stumbling around as if they didn’t know where to go, until they headed for Alva’s statue. Once they got it, they left,” Jax adds.

“How did Stiltskin know where the statue was hidden anyway?” Maxine asks.