Once Upon a Time - 4. So the queen gave them the prize as she had promised.

Waking up in a cold sweat, Noah looked around his small bedroom before realizing that it was just another nightmare. He sighed, both relieved and exhausted as he dropped his head back onto his pillow. The nightmares he was having for the past few months were having a toll on his sleep, sleep that he vitally need just to function normally as a logger that paid the bare minimum. Which meant that taking one day off just to get more sleep meant that he could not pay next month’s rent for his crappy, but livable apartment.

It felt like he was a child again, calling for his parents to comfort him after Noah had a bad dream about monsters. It was even more depressing since he was not having nightmares about financial strain or the stresses of work, but about monsters, literal monsters chasing after him before grabbing him and eating him alive. Specifically, they were giants chasing him, though it was not like those dreams came out of the blue since the whole reason his parents were not here to comfort him and sooth him back to sleep was because they were taken by giants themselves.

Noah could still remember the day when he woke up when he felt tremors of something stomping on the ground, which caused him to realize that something. A few seconds later his parents barged into his room and got him out of his bed. He was still dazed from just being woken up that he did not completely register what was happening as his parents ran out of the house with his father carrying some sort of weapon with a handle. They were other people outside the street of his neighborhood as well and the sudden realization of what was happening came when he saw a tall figure at a short distance away.

With his eyes widened, Noah screamed as his father held onto him and mother trying to calm him down as they ran together from the giant that was not too far away, grabbing people and holding them in his clutches. He also saw that same giant swing its massive hand across a house, destroying its roof like it was made of sticks. He could not believe what was happening, and neither could he believe when he turned his head around and saw another giant appearing in front of them. It was hiding behind another house and must have knew that people would running away from the other giant, hence why it hid and capture anyone running by surprise.

Screaming again, Noah felt his parents stop upon seeing the giant in front of them and Noah turned his head again to see the other giant fast approaching them as well. Then the next thing that happened was both giants grabbing both his father and mother with their dirty hands as Noah was left on the ground, crying with only the weapon his father was holding next to him. He watched as the giants held onto both of his parents as well as other people from his neighborhood before walking away, leaving him a crumbled mess, a mess who no longer had his parents to rescue him from his nightmares of monsters when real monsters snatched them away from his life forever.

Those months after that night was the hardest time that Noah had live through as an orphan in a messed-up foster care system that did not know what to do with a child who lost his parents to a giant invasion. So, when he became sixteen, he escaped a foster home that only saw him as a servant and became a logger since that was the only job that would hire an inexperienced teenager while still being able to stay in his home state of Washington. Though it was not the most ideal job, it was the only one that would take him, and it somehow also felt natural to him to cut down wood and even carve wood into figurines like horses during his spare time.

And Noah also believed those times of hardship were past him, but it seemed it was not since those nightmares he had after his parents were stolen from him were coming back with full force, but with no trigger or reason for why they came back. However, like that night, Noah was just going to have to live with it and find some way to make it, at most, tolerable. If there was one thing that all this taught him it was how to continue living in the real world even when your dreams, either good or bad, took you somewhere else entirely.

However, things began to change when one day after work Noah came home from another tiresome day of logging, he was told by the clerk who worked at the front desk of his apartment that he had a package. Perplexed, he asked who it was from, but was only told that it had no returning address and was only labeled with his name. Also, the clerk did not see who deliver the package since she was reading a book during the moment when it was placed on the front desk, and when she looked up the person was gone. He thought that was very strange since he did not know anybody outside of the people he worked with at his job as a logger, but they were nothing more than acquaintances and none of them would go out of their way to send him any package. And the only neighbor he knew in this apartment was the one who lived right across from him and that person was mostly a recluse.

Despite the mystery, Noah accepted the gift anyway and walked to his apartment where he placed it on his coffee table before looking at it in wonder. The reason was because the box was not made of some flimsy cardboard, but of wood that was carved with very intricate and beautiful designs. And his name was on the box, not in marker, but etched on the box with both his first and last name designed like the first letter of those old books a person would find in the dusty section of a library.

Unable to contain himself, Noah opened the box with the belief that maybe it was his parents’ untold fortune that would get him out of his cramped apartment to a new house in the better part of town, or even better like enough money to get a mansion and three cars. So, when he opened the box that only revealed an old-looking axe inside, to say that he was disappointed would not illustrated it enough. It felt like he was taken up to heaven with an angel, only to have that same angel drop him down to purgatory where he knew he would remain forever.

Sighing, Noah held the axe in his hand with disinterest before placing it back into the box and closing it. He did not know who gave him this axe, but all he wanted to say to that person was to screw off since a simple axe was not going to solve any of his current problems or even look pretty on a shelf in his living room.

Then the next day at work, Noah was sawing a tree with his small chainsaw that would be turned into logs with other loggers around him doing the same thing when the chain of his tool broke. Cursing, he asked his fellow acquaintances if they had another chainsaw to spare, but alas they did not, and he could not believe what he did next. He decided to get the axe that was still inside the box from his car since he wanted to sell it to a pawn shop after work and make some money from it if he could. From closer inspection, the blade of the axe looked unusually sharp for something that also looked too old to chop trees with, but it would at least get him through the day, so he could buy a new chainsaw with money meant for his food budget.

Returning to the tree that only had one notch from his broken chainsaw, Noah swung the old axe into the trunk of the tree and with one cut the tree fell to the ground. He was amazed by what just happened, not believing at first that one swing of this average-looking axe would cut down an entire tree. He then assumed that the tree was already weakened from his other axe and walked to another tree to chop it down, and with only one swing it fell too.

Noah looked at the axe that now felt like it had some sort of energy emitting from it and then at the other loggers who all looked at him with the same bewilderment. He could not blame them since he literally chopped down two very thick trees with just one swing of his axe each before they felt to the ground. He now knew that this was no ordinary axe and that he was completely wrong to simply sell it at a pawn shop since this object had magical qualities to it.

Noah managed to get this quota done in less than an hour with his fellow loggers betting on whether he could continue chopping down all his trees with just one swing. He made friends with some who got plenty of money from the betting and not so with the ones who lost, but regardless he was so happy to leave work early much to his boss’s surprise when he saw all the trees were cut down and chopped up into logs ready for the winter season.

Relieved that he had the rest of the day that was still early to relax, Noah drove back to his apartment with a smile on his face. But that smile soon disappeared when he was home relaxing and a knock on his door was heard.

Looking through the peephole, Noah saw two men dressed in regal attire standing at his front door. Not knowing who they were or even what to do, he just stood there at the other side of the door when he heard the knocking again.

Deciding to finally answer it, Noah opened the door and said to the two men, “Hello, can I help you two?”

“Is your name Noah?” one of the men asked casually.

“Uh, yes. Yes, it is,” Noah answered.

Both men looked at each other before the other one said, “We’d like to take you to the queen of the logging company that you currently work for. She has…something she wants to propose to you.”

With his eyebrows raised, Noah asked, “But why?”

“I think you know why,” the first man said with a frown. “You completed your quota of logs cut for the day in just an hour and we have plenty of loggers who could attest that you had an axe that could cut down trees with just one swing. So, if you may, will you follow us to the car where you’ll be transported to her workplace? And can you bring the axe with you as well?”

Noah sighed, knowing that he could not deny the leader of a company that he worked for if he wanted to keep his job. So, turning his television off and grabbed the box containing the axe, he walked out of his apartment and followed the two men to the car that would drive him thirty minutes later to the city. And that was where the headquarters of the logging company was located, and the men directed him to an elevator and through a large floor filled with cubicles and officer workers to the office of the queen.

The two men gestured their hands for Noah to enter, and so he did. Upon entering the office, he was introduced to a man who had to be in his late twenties arguing with an older woman who was rubbing her temples, most likely from the argument she was having with the gentleman.

“Explain again why I can’t go there by myself,” the man asked as he faced the ceiling-to-wall windows of the huge office.

“Because, Noel, even though you’re a prince who has trained for years in swordsmanship, you’re still my son and I don’t want to risk your safety when you’re up there. That is why I want someone to accompany you on your journey to the sky kingdom…and here he is,” the queen said as she looked at Noah with a smile and stood up from her desk chair. “You must be Noah.”

“Um, yes, ma’am,” Noah said politely.

“Come and sit. There’s much I have to offer a person of your caliber,” the queen said as her son, Noel, looked at him for a moment before returning his eyes to the window.

Noah did as he was asked and sat down at the front of the desk with the box containing the axe on his lap. As the queen was typing on her keyboard, he looked briefly at the man who was of similar height to him as well as build, assuming he garnered those muscles from being a swordsman while Noah obtained his physique through years as a logger sawing down trees just to get by and pay his monthly rent.

“So, Noah. I see you have received your family’s axe,” the queen said as she turned her chair to face him.

“Oh, well I did receive the axe, but I didn’t know this was part of my family,” Noah asked as he looked at the ornately-carved lid of the box.

“Well, it most certainly is. I spent years trying to track down the owner of the axe ever since it was found on a street from a town just recently invaded by giants. It seems, however, that the most recent owner was unfortunately captured by giants along with his wife… But when I discovered that he has a son who’s still alive and living only thirty minutes away from here, I had to bring you here, especially since you’ve been working for my company as a logger for years. Very expected considering your past.”

“And what is my past?” Noah asked curiously.

The queen smiled. “You’re from a long lineage of giant killers, people trained to use axes with magical properties that enable them to kill giants with just a few swings of their weapon. And you’re the most recent and only known descendent of a family notorious for killing creatures that threatened the existence of entire towns and villages. You’re the key to ending a possible invasion of this city.”

“What? Me!” Noah said with astonishment.

“See, I told you, Mother. He doesn’t even know what to do, let alone who he is,” Noel said.

“Be quiet, Noel,” the queen said and faced Noah again with a serious look on her face. “Noah, you must know that the skies over the past few months have been especially cloudy and getting heavier as we speak. This could possibly be a sign that giants are planning to invade this city and take as many people as possible into their hands before they level this city to the ground. That is why I request your help, Noah. Even with no experience, you managed to cut down dozens of trees with little effort from your axe and with some training from my son, I can see you killing those creatures from their sky kingdom and ending a possible invasion of this city. And I’ll make it worth your while.”

The queen started typing on her keyboard again before turning the monitor, so Noah could see a seven-digit number on the screen. “If you succeed in your quest of defeating the giants and save this city, I’ll reward you with over a million dollars for your success. Is this something that appeals to you?”

Noah could not believe what he was being offered. Over a million dollars, money that he could use to finally move out of his crappy apartment and be in a more suitable home, with a brand-new car and no more work since that money could sustain him until the day he died of old age. How could he say no? Well, other than the fact that he had to go into the sky first and fight numerous giants, ones that took his parents and made him an orphan to get that money. However, he had nothing else to live for in his opinion, and if killing these giants prevented them invading a city and leaving more children without parents, he was willing to do it.

“I’ll do it,” Noah said.

“Excellent. You’ll begin your training tomorrow since time cannot be wasted as the next invasion draws nearer. And look it at this way, Noel. It’s a guarantee that you’ll be coming back as a giant slayer that will most certainly shoot you up the ranks to become the next Prince Charming,” the queen said with elation which was received by a grunt from her son.

After a few words of enticement from the queen involving his prize, she sent Noah and her son on their way to his penthouse where there was a training facility. Noel did not look pleased with having to train someone to fight the giants with him since it appeared that he wanted to do this quest on his own, so he alone could reap the benefits. However, Noah was not going to allow this since the prize was the main motivator to accomplish this quest, and finally live the life that he dreamed of.

It was not easy, however, with training starting at six in the morning and lasting for hours with few breaks until it was dusk. His muscles were so sore that not even a day of chopping down trees into logs could rival. Noah also knew that Noel was putting extra pressure on him, and though it was a nuisance, Noah did not complain, and he continued his training until two months passed and the queen ordered them to begin preparations. The clouds were close to blocking all sunlight and it was possible that a giant invasion was imminent. So, it was now or never.

Equipping his axe to his belt, Noah walked to the elevator where it would take him to the very top of the tower where the queen was waiting. When the doors opened, he saw that Noel facing him with his hands gripping tightly on the rail. Entering inside, Noah pressed the button for the top floor and waited as the elevator slowly made its way up. As he waited, he heard heavy breathing coming from Noel and when he turned around, he saw the man was sweating and shaking as well.

“Noel…are you okay?” Noah asked with concern.

“What? Oh, um…yeah. I’m okay,” Noel said as he wiped his forehead with his arm. “Just…really antsy is all.”

“I know the feeling. Slaying giants isn’t what I call a picnic.”

“I know, right,” Noel said as he chuckled, sounding nervous.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Noel?” Noah asked as he approached him.

“I’m fine,” Noel said with his hand extended in front of him. “It’s just…I’ve been having nightmares for weeks now and I know that sounds pathetic coming from a grown man…but they feel so real and I’m starting to doubt that I can really do this.”

“Hey. You’re not doing this. We’re doing this,” Noah asserted and placed a firm hand on Noel’s shoulder. “Whatever happens up there, you can count on me to help you out as I count on you. Okay?”

Looking up at Noah, Noel then smiled and said, “Thanks, man.”

“No problem. We’re comrades ready to fight against a common enemy and celebrate afterwards by getting drunk with a woman by both shoulders,” Noah joked.

“Yeah, well when this all done, I’d rather have someone of the male variety accompany me in my bed instead.”

Noah chuckled, but then his eyes widened by that sudden confession. “Oh…”

“I hope you’re okay with that,” Noel said, looking nervous again.

“Oh, of course I’m fine with that!” Noah said a little too loudly. “I mean…if it makes you less nervous, I kind of share the same sentiment as you.”

It was Noel’s turn to look surprised. Noah never had time to satisfy his carnal urges since there were trees to chop and bills to pay. So, he did not have many opportunities to go out and have his way with someone he found attractive and who thought the same of him. And when he looked at the man in front of him who was licking his lips and gazing at him with utter fixation, he could not deny that he found the man who was busting his balls for two mouths very enticing.

However, when the elevator dinged, Noah had to keep his urges in check as the door opened, and they had to walk a short flight of stairs to the very top of the tower. There they were greeted by the queen who was standing in front of a huge beanstalk that stood erect on top of the tower and into the dark clouds above. Next to her where two steeds, one dark and one fair, that looked ready to assist them in their trek to the sky.

“Finally, you’re here,” the queen said.

“So, this is the infamous beanstalk from that fairy tale,” Noah said as he looked at the vine that encircled the beanstalk in a spiral in which they would traverse on.

“It is. This beanstalk somehow opens a portal to the sky kingdom that no other form of magic or technology can create. That is why I grew it here yesterday and this is where your quest begins. Are you both ready?”

Noah and Noel looked at each other before nodding.

“Excellent.” Walking to Noah, she said, “I trust you that you’ll protect my son by whatever fiends you find up there.”

“I will,” Noah promised.

The queen smiled and faced her son. “And remember what I told you, Noel. I love you.”

Noel nodded before receiving a kiss on the forehead. “I will, Mother.”

“Good. Now go and save this city from those giants!” the queen ordered.

Getting onto their horses, both Noah and Noel started their trek onto the vines of the beanstalk and into the clouds. The clouds obscured their view of everything except themselves as they stayed close to one another and went further up into the sky.

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Noel said with both nervousness and excitement.

“Yeah, me neither,” Noah said as he held the reins of his horse.

“Hey, Noah…I believe you’re a very hardworking and trustworthy man, considering the training you did and…I would like tell you something if you don’t mind.”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

Sighing, Noel said, “Killing these giants to stop an invasion…it’s not the only reason why we’re doing this.”

“Really?” Noah said with surprise.

“Yes. The other reason is that my mother also wants what the sky kingdom holds above…a gold item.”

“You mean the same fairy tale of that beanstalk and the boy who found gold coins and a goose that could lay golden eggs isn’t just a myth?”

“Correct. More precisely, the clouds that make up the foundation of the sky kingdom is made of the geese’s fallen feathers in which fish with gold coins for scales swim in and are then eaten by the geese that then produce golden eggs. The giants, like the ones in Greek mythology, craft the gold into instruments like the gold harp that can play by itself. My mother wants a gold harp that will allow her to finally sleep peacefully at night without nightmares. That’s the main reason why we’re doing this.”

“I see,” Noah said as he thought about what he was just told.

“Yes, my mother deserves this ever since she took the position as queen of the company after my father died from being taken by giants. She understandably has had a hard time sleeping since then and even though acquiring the gold harp would solve her problems, the last thing that she wanted was to risk the life of her own son without at least having someone else to accompany me on this quest. And that is why you’re here,” Noel explained.

“I understand. Whatever allows your mother to have a peaceful night of sleep again, I’ll do it. And hey, maybe when this is all over and I receive my prize, we can get to know each other…outside of training…and in a warm bed,” Noah flirted.

This caused the powerful swordsman and prince to blush. “I’d like that.”

Noah smiled when they were suddenly engulfed by sunlight from above. They finally managed to enter the sky kingdom which was confirmed by the giant geese that flew above them and the fish with gold coins for scales jumping in and out of the clouds. And when they heard the song of a harp playing at a short distance away, they immediately sent the horses to its direction. Though the white clouds looked weightless, the horses had no trouble galloping towards the source of the music and they suddenly skidded to a stop when they saw the harp…and the giant sleeping by it.

The giant was incomprehensibly huge and was the most likely reason why the clouds looked so heavy from below. So, carefully they moved their horses towards the harp that played the most harmonious music that made Noah want to sleep right there on the clouds. But they had a mission to do and when he finally reached for the gold harp, he gently moved it on top of his horse’s back behind him and strapped it tightly with rope.

Suddenly the harp stopped playing and the giant opened one of its huge eyes. The humongous being then snarled before lifting its body up in a sitting position and shouting. The horses neighed as they started to back away from the giant.

“You know, I once heard that giants were the manifestation of nightmares… This is indeed a nightmare!” Noah shouted.

“We got the harp! Let’s get out of here!” Noel exclaimed as he motioned his horse to the other direction.

“But what about the—”

“Don’t worry! I have a plan! Now let’s go!”

Noah agreed, and they immediately galloped to where the top of the beanstalk was, and though the clouds did not betray the giant’s footsteps, he knew that it was not far behind. They managed to get to the beanstalk and made their way down with their horses, not by the vines, but by air when the harp transformed into a pair of wings that played as the horse flew down along with Noel’s horse. Noah quickened the wings of the harp when the beanstalk began to shake and signaled that the giant was attempting to climb down and capture them.

They soon saw the top of the tower again and they both directed their horses to fly down from the beanstalk and onto the tower below.

“You’re back already?” the queen said.

“Yes, but we have problem! A giant problem!” Noah exclaimed as he saw the feet of the giant coming out of the clouds.

“Chop the beanstalk with your axe, Noah!” Noel said.

“But it’ll fall onto the city!” Noah protested.

“Trust me, it won’t! Now do it!”

Knowing he had no other choice, Noah grabbed his axe from belt and began chopping away the beanstalk just as the giant’s lower body appeared above. With one swing, then two and finally a third, the beanstalk was chopped, sending it upwards along with the giant whose scream faded into the clouds that soon began to recede, and allowed sunlight to pass through once again.

“Wow! So, by the sky kingdom’s logic, what comes down must go up,” Noah said.

“Precisely,” Noel said before patting Noah on the back.

“And you found the gold harp!” the queen said as she approached the gold item that was strapped to Noah’s horse.

“Yes, Mom, and you’ll be able to sleep peacefully once again.”

“Oh, thank you, Noel!” the queen said, elated as she hugged her son tightly. Then she looked at Noah and said, “And thank you for bringing my son back here safely. You can have your prize, and it will be doubled.”

“Thank you, your highness,” Noah said respectfully.

“Yes, thank you, Noah. Thank you so much,” Noel said as he neared Noah and placed his lips onto his.

Taken aback at first, Noah then leaned into the kiss and enjoyed the sensual feeling of another man’s soft lips on his own, his tongue teasing his mouth and the hot breaths they exchanged that made steam between them thicker than the clouds above.

Their lips eventually departed and they both looked at the queen who had a surprised, but nonjudgmental look on her face.

Clearing his throat, Noel said, “Sorry, Mom, I was just—”

“No need to explain, Noel. Whatever makes you happy,” the queen said with a smile.

So the queen gave them the prize as she had promised, Noah the money and Noel the rank of a possible soon-to-be Prince Charming. However, they also won the prize of each other. As the queen was finally getting a well-deserved, peaceful night of sleep, the two men celebrated their victory by drinking and exploring each other’s bodies that led to explosions of ecstasy. Two months of training certainly could build a man’s libido as Noah finally took charge of Noel with a hard cock in his ass and Noel moaning shamelessly in the cloudless night sky. And falling asleep in each other’s arms most certainly was the dream that Noah wanted all along.