Chapter 1
The children of Lazytown huddled in the corner, trying to keep their heads below the wall and out of the vampire's line of sight.
"Is he still—"
"Shh!"
Even that small noise was enough to catch the monster's attention, and his methodical footsteps changed direction. Pixel gasped involuntarily, prompting another "shhh" from Stingy. The others gave him dirty looks, but their faces turned fearful once again as the footsteps stopped close by. Ziggy tightened his grip on Stephanie's hand enough to make his knuckles turn white as they listened desperately for the vampire's next move.
No sound came from the other side of the wall.
"Do you think it's safe?"
"Boo!"
The children screamed, for leaning over the short brick wall was the monster himself. The vampire was pale and slender, with vicious fangs poking out of his mouth. He laughed as the kids cowered under his long purple cape.
"Noisy little children are easy prey for the king of the darkness! If you had only been quiet and lazy, then I wouldn't have to...suck your blood!"
They shrieked again, but their screams were interrupted by a series of whooshing sounds. The children cheered as a blue blur whirled through the air and landed above them on the wall.
"Blood isn't very good for you. Here, try some sportscandy!"
Smiling cheekily, Sportacus pulled a lacrosse stick and a head of garlic from his backpack. In one smooth, he tossed the garlic in the air, caught it with the lacrosse stick, and launched it at the vampire's face. It hit him in his pointy chin, and he stumbled backward. Stephanie let out a whoop as she watched the vampire trip over his own feet and hit the ground.
"Ow!"
His fangs slipped out with this exclamation, and the children gasped.
"Robbie Rotten!"
"Oh, that guy!"
Robbie scowled up at Sportacus, his nose twitching.
"It's bad enough that you haul your disgusting 'sportscandy' all over the place...but did you have to weaponize it?!"
Sportacus grinned down at the villain. With a flip, he jumped off of the wall and landed in front of Robbie.
"Sorry, Robbie! Are you okay?"
The children looked on, amused, as the hero pulled Robbie to his feet. He wiggled out of Sportacus's grip and began brushing himself off, wincing as his fingers grazed his tender jaw. Ziggy winced in sympathy. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with an idea.
"Hey Robbie! If your chin hurts, maybe Sportacus can kiss it better!"
The other kids burst out laughing as Robbie turned bright red. With a swish of his cape, he stomped off, muttering to himself. Sportacus followed Robbie with his eyes until the villain had strode out of sight, then shook his head and turned back to the children. They were still giggling, confusing Ziggy even further.
"What? That's what my mommy does when I get hurt."
"We'll explain when you're older."
Trixie winked dramatically at Stephanie, starting a whole new round of giggles. Sportacus, his face just the slightest bit pink, pulled a soccer ball from his backpack.
"Who's up for a game? We should have time for one more before it gets dark!"
"Ooh! I am!"
"Yay!"
They laughed as they played under the orange sky, still full of energy. Trixie was somehow even wilder than earlier, which was reflected in play. Eventually, she managed to kick the ball over the park wall, and it rolled into the woods.
"Aw, Trixie!"
"Heh, sorry for being too good at this game!"
Sportsacus gave her an admonishing look. She wrinkled her brow, but relented.
"Ok, ok. I'm sorry I lost the ball."
"That's better. Stingy, would you please see if you can find it?"
The boy stuck his nose in the air.
"Of course I can find MY property."
With a warning from Sportacus not to stray too far from town, Stingy set off into the trees.
"Let's see...it couldn't have rolled too far..."
Stingy mumbled to himself as he strode deeper and deeper into the forest.
"Aha!"
Triumphantly, he lifted the ball from its resting place between a few tree roots. He began to turn away from the tree, but froze.
Something was different.
It was subtle, just a change in the smell of the air, a faint whiff of something earthy. Yet, it was enough to make Stingy's skin crawl. He turned his head slowly.
A woman was standing behind him. She was beautiful in a sharp, intimidating way, like a delicate flower surrounded by thorns; her severe features and her knee-length hair were striking, but what drew his attention were her gleaming moss green eyes. Stingy shivered, but steeled himself enough to speak.
"Excuse me madam, are you lost?"
She smirked, revealing needle-like teeth, but said nothing. He tried again.
"M-madam, do you need help getting to Lazytown?"
"Lazytown...is that what they call it?"
The woman's expression soured. When she spoke again, her voice was as harsh as grinding stones.
"Disgusting."
"Excuse me?!"
Stingy was aghast; his fears slipped from his mind.
"How dare you say such mean things about MY town!"
"YOUR town?"
In a flash, she had Stingy by the collar and pinned him against a tree. He felt her long, cold nails against his throat and her hot breath on his face as she snarled.
"Human scum like you has no right to this land!"
With every word, her features seemed to grow sharper. She tightened her grip around Stingy's neck; his vision went spotty, and the blood rushing through his head drowned out every sound.
Suddenly, a familiar beeping noise rang through the forest.
"Let him go!"
Sportacus ran frantically toward the woman and the child, but stopped short. A tufted tail was peeking out from underneath her dress. His breath caught in his throat.
"Skogsfru...!"
She snapped her piercing gaze toward Sportacus.
"Íþróttaálfur."
The woman released Stingy from her vice-like grip, and he fell to the ground, sputtering. As she turned to face Sportacus, a tree root burst from the ground and wrapped around the boy's waist, making him gasp for air again.
"If you wish this worm to live to see tomorrow, I suggest you stay back."
"Why are you doing this?"
Sportacus managed to keep his voice steady, but he couldn't look away from Stingy's face, twisted in terror. The skogsfru growled. She seized his face and forced him to meet her eyes.
"Humans are like rats! They spread their filth over the land that belongs to the huldufólk—to our ancestors."
The hero swallowed hard, but maintained his composure.
"The Íþróttaálfur Council made a declaration long ago that human territory cannot be seized—"
"I care not about their rules!"
She dug her fingernails in harder, and droplets of blood began to trickle down Sportacus's neck.
"You have betrayed this blood in your veins. I do not acknowledge the laws of traitors, nor the wants of vermin. This land belongs to the huldufólk."
The skogsfru released Sportacus, and he stumbled back, but quickly regained his balance. She smiled maliciously as he charged toward her.
"It belongs to me."
The roots by her feet parted, and she disappeared under the soil. Sportacus felt the ground ripple, and watched in horror as more roots began bursting out of the dirt to wrap around Stingy.
"No!"
He rushed to the boy's side and tore at the thick bonds, but they refused to yield. Stingy was barely visible through the cage of tangled roots. So intent on his task, Sportacus didn't consciously notice that the skogsfru's earthy scent had faded, nor that the smell of cane sugar had replaced it.
Tendrils of mist gathered around Stingy's prison. Sensing the movement, Sportacus glanced up from his task. He found that, directly across from him, the mist was becoming denser and denser.
All of a sudden, it condensed into a pair of stormy grey eyes.
The eyes focused on him briefly, and he could see his own shocked expression reflected in the irises. He watched as the eyes flashed purple before fading back into mist.
The hero forced himself to return to his task, but when he looked down again, his jaw dropped. Streaks of the same mist were flowing out between the tangled roots, and Stingy was gone. Sportacus stumbled to his feet. Not daring to look back, he dashed out of the forest, his mind still struggling to process what he had just seen.
For a split second, he had been face-to-face with Robbie Rotten.
A/N: Quick definitions of the folkloric terms used in this chapter
Skogsfru—female forest spirit
Íþróttaálfur—sports elf, a general species name (Íþróttaálfurinn is a specific designation)
Huldufólk—"the hidden people," a general term for a magical being