Giantessa shook in fear, but I saw the determination in her eyes. She had decided to take over Nya's island, and she wouldn't leave empty-handed, but that wasn't going to fly with me.
"I understand your need for power and domination, but this isn't how to do it. I don't know why you think you can just take what isn't yours. You have your own island, and as far as I know, there are many other small islands worldwide. Why do you need to attack Nya and the Catfolk? You know that they are my descendants, right?" I asked as the massive woman got up, walked over to a massive stone chair, and glared at the two girls without saying anything.
"I guess you will be fine to deal with her on your own?" Tallia asked, and I nodded, giving her a kiss, and then Goldy.
The two girls left, and I turned back around to the giant woman and tried to think about how I would deal with Giantessa. I hadn't planned on coming to deal with her just yet, but she would not be messing with my kittens.
"So, what's up? Do you at least remember me?" I asked, and Giantessa turned her head to the side with crossed arms, and I shook my head as I looked around.
This place was like Tallia's place that had her house, and it was similar to my own Astral Island but much smaller. The place was just a massive clearing in a jungle filled with trees that stretched higher than I could see in some cases. It made me feel like an ant, but I was sure a place like this made Giantessa feel normal. She always struggled with that back in Yaggisdral, but she had also been a lot more kind-hearted then.
The Amazon was always kind and caring, and Nya used to spend a lot with her, so it was hard to believe that she had become so violent. There had to be more to this, but I was already stacking problems on problems right now. I would be coming here in the future after the Dwarven Island, but it looked like I would have to deal with things here sooner than later.
"Come on. Talk to me, Tessa. I get those five hundred years is a long time, but I can't help it if you don't talk to me," I said, and Giantessa turned to me with an angry look, tears the size of my fist in her eyes.
"You have no idea what it has been like!" Giantessa snapped, and I shook my head,
"Whatever you have lived through or been through, I have lived five times over. I am the only person that can always know what you are going through because I have lived more lives than you have been alive in years. Stop fighting me and just spit out what it is!" I said with a tired shake of my hand, and Giantessa looked away from me again.
I grew my body until I was just a bit taller than her, and then walked over to the goddess, that looked like an ordinary woman, and she was, aside from her height. She loved animals and nature, but she usually didn't like to fight, so I found all this extremely strange. I motioned for her to get up, but she did so slowly. I pulled her into a hug but then scooped her into my arms, turned, and sat down.
Giantessa looked away from me for a while, but then she turned and buried her face in my chest. I stroked her shorter-cut blonde hair and felt my shirt get soaked as she shook in my arms. She still looked beautiful, but I really wish that she had let her hair grow again.
Thinking about Giantessa's hair made me think about Kalli, and her short hair, which made me think about the reason that Kalli left Amazon Island in the first place. She hadn't said the reason, but Kalli had been brought to tears and begged me not to send him back after threatening to do that very thing. This could very well be part of Giantessa's problem right now, but I need to hear what was wrong from her mouth.
"Hey, Tessa. Why don't you tell me what's wrong? You can trust me," I said, and Giantessa looked up at me with her big blue eyes.
The Amazon Goddess sniffled before looking away again, and then she started to speak in a low voice. "It has been so long since I have felt wanted. All the people that used to come and visit me either think of me as a monster now or they are just scared of me. No one is ever happy to see me anymore unless it is to tell them we are going to go attack someone else. These girls are out of control, and every time I turn my back, they fight with each other. I have gotten caught up in it all, and I don't know how to stop them even if I wanted to. I grew up in this world of women, thinking that it was going to be a wonderful place, but most of the Amazons are arrogant, prideful of their strengths, and all they ever want to do is fight," Giantessa said before breaking into tears again.
I held her tighter in my arms and kissed the top of her head affectionately before speaking softly.
"It's okay, Tessa. You don't have to keep living like this if you don't want to. I can help you change things, and so can they. Let me show them that there is another way than fighting, and I promise that you will never feel alone again," I said, but Giantessa still seemed so sad and broken inside.
I took her hand in mine and held it close as I sent a warmth into her emotions, hoping that it would reach her. The warmth seemed to do the trick, and Giantessa smiled for the first time since I had arrived on the island.
"Thank you, Ophiuchus," Giantessa whispered before she leaned up and kissed my cheek, something that I hadn't thought was going to happen.
With that, Giantessa reluctantly agreed to not attack Nya's island, but I also agreed to help find a better way than fighting for the Amazons.
"How am I going to stop the other women from killing each other?" Giantessa asked, and I thumbed my chin. That was a good question, but I had my own.
"Why are you not exploring the islands instead of trying to attack the Catfolk Island?" I asked in response, and she sighed, putting her face back into my chest.
"Last time the women went out, thirteen women died in the ten islands that were visited. I don't know why, but all the islands within a reasonable distance are covered in extremely dangerous monsters. You would think that this would be an easy thing for a bunch of massive women, but here lies Amazon's greatest weakness in this world," Giantessa said and then looked up at me.
"Oh? And what would this weakness be?" I asked, and Giantessa looked away.
"Common sense. No Amazon will use a weapon or wear armor of any sort. It is hard enough to get them to even wear clothing most of the time," Giantessa complained and then tucked her head back into my chest. "Why did I have to wait so long for you to come back? I hate it here with these brutes! They were all women, and most of the other races act normal, but these women are really just big dickless men with breasts as swollen as their pride!"
I laughed and held her tighter as she seemed to relax a bit. "Don't worry. I can make sure that you get the help you need. We can find something that will work for all of them, but first, we have to start teaching them a new way."
Giantessa nodded as tears were silently streaming down her face. It was obvious that she had been holding this pain in for a long time.
"We will figure out something, Giantessa," I said with a smile and then helped the Amazon stand so that we could leave.
As we walked away from the clearing, I couldn't help thinking about what kind of world these women lived in and how much I could change it for the better. It also felt like Giantessa was getting tired of her role as a goddess, but that seemed to be the going thing with most of them that I had talked to. 500 years was a long time for anyone to serve at a post, and maybe it was time for me to talk to them all and see who wanted to keep their job and who wanted to be free.
The Amazon Island needs a goddess that is familiar with the island and its inhabitants and also willing to listen to their wants and needs. However, such a goddess would have to be strong enough to lead without being oppressive. Someone like me, who has done so many different kinds of things in life and knows a thing or two about peace-building, should be perfect, but I was the ringmaster for this circus, so I had to find someone else.
I sighed heavily, knowing that the hard times weren't over yet, but I knew that I could bring a sense of hope if the Amazons wanted it, not that I was going to give them a lot of choices. They needed to be entertained and kept busy, but I didn't have time for that yet, so I would have to just tell them to stop hitting each other and stay off the Cat Island. Sounded pretty straightforward and simple, but I knew this was probably going to go over about as well as a lead balloon.