A/N: Here it is, as I promised! The first chapter of my Brave version of Trolls! This story will mostly follow the movie, but with some twists! I won't promise daily updates due to my crazy schedule at the moment, but I'll try to not keep you hanging for too long!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or storylines from Brave and Trolls. If you see something or a character that's not from either movie, that is mine! I have a couple OCs I'm introducing here, which you are welcome to use in your own stories provided you get my permission and cite me as the creator.

By the way, since I noticed this from a lot of my reviews on the last chapter of Cinder-Troll, you guys do realize that if I had done a more graphic death for Guffin, I couldn't keep the story at a T rating. ;D

Chapter One – The Boy and the Dragon

"Come on, Cybil!" Harper called excitedly as she sprinted towards the Troll Tree.

"I'm coming!" Cybil called back, the child hurrying after her friend.

"Wait for us!" Aspen pleaded, he and Rudy hurriedly trying to catch up.

"Let's go!" Karma laughed.

The children of the Troll Tree tribe laughed as they ran to the Troll Tree itself, climbing up to the royal pod. The adults they passed only smiled and shook their heads. Everyone knew that the children loved Story Time with the princess. Their beloved princess always had the best stories to entertain the children with, and she even wrote books of her own to read to them.

The royal pod was actually multiple pods all stuck together, housing the royal family. There were several troll clans around the forest, but the High King in the Troll Tree Tribe held the highest power over all the other tribes. Once the children settled in the drawing room, the princess arrived.

"Good morning, children." The princess greeted.

"Good morning, Princess Rosie." The children chorused.

Princess Rosie, a sixteen-year-old troll girl, had lavender skin and jade green hair and eyes. She dressed rather simply for a princess: a blue sundress, a crown of blue and green flowers, and a leafy vest. She sat at the front of the room, the children huddled together in front of her.

"What story shall I tell you all today?" Rosie asked the children.

"Ooh! Ooh ooh!" one of the boys waved his hand like it were a flag, sounding a little like a monkey.

"Yes, Birch?" Rosie asked, giggling in amusement.

"I wanna hear the story about Kerec the demon dragon!" Birch said excitedly. The other children echoed the request.

"Oh, I don't know." Rosie said, pretending to be doubtful. "I've told that story so many times. It must be so boring." The children shook their heads so hard their hair swung around like grass in the wind, practically begging for a story they've heard a hundred times before. Rosie laughed. "Very well, settle down." The children got comfortable again, listening attentively. Rosie began the story.

"A long ways from here, there was a prosperous, flourishing kingdom known as Flowering Fjords. It was called this because, no matter what the season, there would always be some sort of flower in bloom around the mountains, and the fjord just behind the castle offered an ideal trading route. The kingdom was ruled by a king who was wise and adored by his people. The king had four sons, each gifted in his own way: the youngest, Prince Tyto, was wise; the third, Prince Fern, was compassionate; the second son, Prince Blade, was just; and the king's eldest son, Prince Creek, was strong.

"One day, the king grew ill. On his deathbed, he proclaimed the crown would be split amongst the four brothers, so that their combined gifts would make the kingdom stronger. But Prince Creek felt cheated, believing he should be the sole heir since he was the eldest and strongest of his brothers. After the king passed, Creek went to his brothers and demanded they call him alone their king.

"Words turned to war. Brother fought brother. Prince Creek commanded a powerful army, but the battle remained a bitter stalemate. Desperate to defeat his brothers, Prince Creek sought out the magic of the forest. Upon coming to an ancient ring of stones, the will-o'-the-wisps guided him to the cottage of a witch. Prince Creek demanded that she create a spell that would give him the strength of a beast, to change his fate and defeat his brothers. The witch saw the prince's wounded heart behind the anger. She made him a spell that offered him a choice: to fulfill his dark wish or heal the family bonds he had broken.

"Baiting his brothers with a false truce, Prince Creek claimed his kingdom. To the brothers' protests, he stood before them and drank the spell. At that moment, the spell took effect, giving him strength tenfold; but, to Prince Creek's surprise, in the form of a great black dragon. Still, there was the spell-breaker the witch had given him. If he would only choose to mend the bond torn by pride. Instead, he accepted the shape of the monster, and struck down his brothers.

"He returned to command his army, but they saw only the beast. He slew a great many, and the rest fled the kingdom in terror. With the armies of the brothers fractured, the kingdom collapsed into darkness, and the reign of the great black Kerec fell across his domain. Desiring power over the bonds of family, Kerec has wandered endlessly, his soul forever buried inside the scarred and tormented shell."

The children sighed in awe, just as they had many times before. Birch frantically waved his hand again.

"Yes, Birch?" Rosie asked patiently.

"Is that a true story, Princess Rosie?" Birch asked skeptically.

"Yes, it's very true." Rosie nodded.

"How do you know?" Aspen asked curiously. The other children echoed him.

"Have you ever met Kerec?" Harper asked.

"No." Rosie admitted. She smiled knowingly. "But my father has."

The children gasped. "Your dad met Kerec?"

"Met him?" Rosie scoffed. "My father and great-grandmother fought Kerec and freed the soul of Prince Creek."

"When?"

"How?"

"Where?"

"Why?"

"Was it scary?"

"Did they die?"

"What happened?"

Rosie laughed as all the children spoke at once. "Settle down, settle down! It's a long story."

"Tell us!" Mandy requested eagerly. The other children echoed her, clapping excitedly.

Rosie's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "It is not a very happy story, though it does have a happy ending. I do not wish to scare you."

"Aw, please?" the children begged simultaneously, giving the princess their best pouts and pleading eyes.

Rosie smiled again. "Very well." The children scooted closer to her as Rosie began the new tale. "Well, the story actually begins when my father was only a child, many years ago."

Rosie's great-grandfather, High King Oaken, led his kingdom with wisdom and justice. Per tradition, the immediate family members lived in the royal pod in the Troll Tree. So when Oaken's son married and had children of his own, they all lived together in the Troll Tree. The royal family also had a little tradition of their own where the family would travel for a royal's birthday, the location chosen by the birthday boy or girl.

When little Branch, Oaken's grandson, turned five, he decided he wanted to go out and camp in the woods for his birthday. So the family packed up and headed out with the exception of Branch's mother, who had to stay at home and take care of Branch's recently-born triplet sisters.

After food and games, Oaken decided to do some archery practice with his son while his wife played with Branch. Oaken's wife, Rosiepuff, adored her grandson and somehow had enough energy to always keep up with him. Of course, if she ever wanted him to settle down, her lullabies could always put Branch to sleep no matter how fussy he was.

"Where are you?" Rosiepuff called in a singsong voice, searching for the blue hairball that was her grandson. The young boy scampered off while she wasn't looking, and she could hear him giggling as he tried to hide from her. Though royal, Oaken and his family tended to dress modestly. Branch wore a pair of brown shorts and a suspender strap to hold them up. Rosiepuff dressed in a cream-colored dress and magenta knit shawl with pink hearts on it. The silver circlet resting at her hairline indicated her royalty.

"I'm coming to get you." Rosiepuff laughed as she looked around. She heard more giggles, and Rosiepuff crept towards the table. "I think you're under…here!" She quickly checked under the table, but Branch already scurried away. Rosiepuff laughed again. "Oh where could my little birthday boy be? He better hope I don't find him, or I'll snatch him right up!"

Branch bit his lip to stifle his giggles, hiding behind one of the shields in the tent. He tiptoed closer to Rosiepuff, intending to scare her. But she turned and they ended up startling each other. Branch squealed as he tried to escape, but Rosiepuff scooped him right up and began tickling him.

"Grandma!" Branch said between laughs. "I give up! Stop!"

Rosiepuff laughed as she hugged her grandson. "Shall we go two out of three?"

"I wouldn't. The lad will be long gone before sunset." Oaken chuckled, dropping his bow on the table to pick up some food. Branch looked almost identical to his grandfather: same blue skin, same dark blue hair. Even the same icy blue eyes. Except Oaken had a nicely-trimmed goatee. He dressed in brown pants and had a forest green cape clasped around his shoulders, a silver circlet around his brow to signify his rank.

"Oaken, no weapons on the table." Rosiepuff scolded her husband.

"Can I shoot an arrow?" Branch requested, jumping from Rosiepuff's arms and pulling Oaken's enormous bow into his tiny arms. The weight of the bow forced him to fall on the ground, still laughing.

"You'll not be able to shoot very far with that monstrous thing." Oaken mused teasingly. "Of course, if you had one of your very own…" He pulled out a smaller bow from a box under the table. The cream-colored wood of the bow complemented the black designs well, and it was just the right size for Branch to grow into as he got older. At the moment, the bow was taller than him.

Branch gasped happily. "Really?"

"Happy birthday, my lad!" Oaken laughed heartily as Branch cheered and eagerly reached for the bow. Rosiepuff seemed nervous, but Oaken and his son already led Branch to one of the targets nearby to teach him how to shoot. Branch didn't hit the target once, but he stubbornly refused to give up.

"Try again." Branch's father encouraged the boy while Rosiepuff watched anxiously. Branch's father dressed only in a pair of black pants and wore his own circlet, his coloring identical to his mother's save for the darker shades of purple and green.

"Draw the string all the way back to your cheek." Oaken instructed as Branch struggled to pull the string back. "Keep both eyes open. And…..loose!"

Branch let go of the string, and the arrow flew high over the target and disappeared into the forest. "I missed." He frowned.

"Why don't you go find it?" Rosiepuff encouraged, taking the bow as the child bounded off. Rosiepuff frowned at her husband and son. "A bow, Oaken? He's a child!"

"A good prince should learn to fight." Branch's father shrugged. "He should start young. I did."

"I remember a certain young troll who almost gouged his eye out the first time he played with his father's sword." Rosiepuff raised an eyebrow. Branch's father chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

Branch trotted through the shrubbery, taking some time to stare at the scenery around him while he searched for the arrow. The sunlight streamed between the leaves and branches of the trees, and the warm summer air wrapped around Branch like a blanket. He walked along logs and looked all around before he finally found his arrow stuck in the trunk of a tree. He eagerly pulled it out.

Snap

Branch looked up and all around, but he didn't see the creature that could've made that sound. He knew the forest teemed with creatures, including those big enough to swallow him whole. Then again, his pet crocodile Barnabas was big enough to eat him, and the baby croc was about as playful as a puppy.

The boy spun around when he heard a whispering, whistling voice. He saw a little, blue, ghost-like light with a pair of glowing eyes and smoky tendrils serving as arms, gesturing for Branch to come forward.

"A will-o'-the-wisp." Branch breathed. He slowly stepped towards the wisp, and it disappeared just before he could touch it. = He saw more wisps, a whole trail of them, and he followed them to the tree line and back up to the camp.

"Branch!" Rosiepuff called.

"Come along, Son!" Branch's father called. "We're leaving now!"

"I saw a wisp!" Branch panted a little, running up to his father and grandparents. "In the forest! They led me back here."

Rosiepuff gasped. "You know, some say that will-o'-the-wisps lead you to your fate."

Oaken rolled his eyes. "Aye, or an arrow."

"Come along, Mother, let's be off." Branch's father said. "Before we see a dancing jackalope."

"Or a giant!" Oaken joked, the two them chortling as they walked off.

Rosiepuff lifted Branch into her arms. "Your father and grandfather don't believe in magic."

"Well they should, 'cause it's true." Branch said firmly. He knew for himself. He just saw a will-o'-the-wisp.

A shadow passed over them, and Branch suddenly screamed. Rosiepuff spun around to see a great, black dragon towering over her on its hind legs.

"Kerec!" Oaken gasped. "Rosiepuff, run!"

Rosiepuff turned and took off, still cradling Branch in her arms, while Oaken, Branch's father, and the other warriors charged forward to do battle with the demon dragon. Branch's father lunged with a spear, but one swipe of Kerec's claws and destroyed the weapon. So the troll dropped what remained of the spear and drew his sword instead. Oaken did the same.

Branch watched with wide eyes as his grandmother rode off with him on one of the crocodiles, disappearing into the forest and to safety.

"Come on, you!" Branch's father goaded.

Kerec roared as he lunged.