CHAPTER SEVEN

Grim ran hard and fast through the wilderness until he got back to Zanna's resting place, he stopped, bent over, hands on knees to catch his breath. Then he walked over to her and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand to get the slobber off. He leaned over, planted a wet kiss upon her lips, and smiled. He waited but nothing happened, she did not open her eyes or even twitched. He kissed her again and again. "What the heck?"

He tried again but he heard someone behind him clear his or her throat. "Grim?" He knew the voice, it was Baldur and with that Grim spun around with a grunt. "You're too late, she's mine!"

"No, Grim, she is not."

"I was the first to kiss her and when she wakes her heart will be all mine."

"You forget that you are human now, you can't break the enchantment she was placed under."

"You were always such a fool."

"Step away from her, that's my last warning."

He growled, "Or what? What will you do! NOTHING that's what. You were never a fighter, goody two shoes, you've never thrown a punch in your life!"

Baldur stepped toward him and Grim cowered around the other side of the stone plinth as if Baldur might try to hurt him. Grim watched helplessly as Baldur checked Zanna for the very time; he put his hand upon her forehead and caressed her cheek. Grim looked around him and found a big rock; he lifted it above his head and snuck around behind Baldur. He struck Baldur on the upper part of his back. He intended to beat him to death with the rock.

It didn't take long for Baldur to recover, he spun around and punched Grim right in the nose! The impact sent Grim off his feet and down onto his bottom. He then passed out. Baldur unclenched his fist and shook his hand a little. He turned to Zanna and decided it was time to free her from the spell that put her under a coma. He leaned down and gently kissed her and immediately she opened her eyes and smiled when she saw his face. Baldur smiled back and allowed her into his embrace. He lifts her off the platform.

"Baldur," says the queen. He pauses and looks over his shoulder. "I can't let you take her out of the kingdom if she is with child."

"We're going into the wilderness, I'm taking her far away from this place and I will never return."

"Unfortunately, you've broken the law of the kingdom."

Zanna holds tighter onto Baldur and puts her hand on his cheek, there is great worry in her eyes. Her body starts to go transparent.

"No!" He tried to hold onto her tightly as if doing that would change her fate.

The weight of her body became like air and with tears in both of their eyes, they were separated from each other's embrace. She had completely vanished into nothingness. Baldur lost his mind and Grim woke up from being knocked out earlier. He witnessed Baldur flip over the platform and decided it was not a good idea to stay nearby so he got up and ran away.

Baldur shouted to whoever might be listening and he knew they could hear him. "You haven't heard of the last of me! I will always fight and defend for Zanna's honour! But NEVER again for the huldurfolk kingdom! Do you hear me? Understand that, you are not my queen anymore! I am now an outcast." He kicked dirt up into the air and backed away. "An outcast for the rest of my years, know that from this day on I will never speak of the fairies."

Of course, every night when not a single person was in peril, he would look into the moonlight and wonder about his long lost love; he wondered if she was thinking about him too, the pain to see her face again was too much for him and the heartache nearly ended him every time. He had to be strong, she was not dead, she was lost in the kingdom of fairies somewhere, perhaps they might be reunited, but if not he'd never love anyone ever again, and that was a promise. Zanna would be in his heart for the remainder of his existence but he'd never speak of her to anyone, no one would know that he secretly suffered. But right now Latibær was in trouble and that was his first concern. He had to return to it.

When Robbie Rotten returned to town, he stole everyone's vegetables and destroyed the flowers that Sportacus bloomed. When morning arrived, he made another public speech to the fed up and weary folk. "It appears that the dark elves were at work last night on your flowers and gardens. Fear not, I will make everything right, I am Robbie Rotten, and I am your saviour."

Stephanie overheard him while she is on her way to school. He was talking into that stupid megaphone again and getting everyone around him all riled up and angry. She walked over to the crowd, "You're a bad man, Robbie, and full of lies."

"Quiet, little girl!" He said irritably. "And I know WHO is the cause of all your grief," he addressed the people, and pointed at Stephanie and Halla (the girl walking to school with Stephanie), "THEM. They are in leagues with the dark elves and last night have wrecked havoc on your vegetables and flowers. Lolli Lögga? Lock em' up!"

The police officer standing by grabbed Stephanie and Halla by their backpacks and Robbie Rotten laughed as they were taken away. For hours afterward the girls sat in their cell, punished for something they didn't even do. The mayor visited them and shamed Stephanie for what she had done but she pleaded that she is innocent of the crimes.

Robbie Rotten feeling he has completely won over Latibær slept in his hammock slung between two trees in some shady park. A great stir roused him from his deep sleep. Everyone was pointing to the sky. There is excitement. Robbie fell from his hammock and in anger shouted, "What is going on now? Can't a man get a decent rest these days?"

Maggi Mjói, that sloppy looking kid, was pointing to the clouds above too. "Look! It's so amazing!"

"What?" Robbie said and gasped when he saw this big blue blimp arriving in Latibær. He clawed his hands in frustration and marched over to his trusty megaphone. "Look!" He yelled into it. "We don't want you here! Get out of my lazy town, you blue freak!"

Maggi frowned at him after having said that, "Dude, that's really depressing. It's Sportacus. If anyone can set things right, it's him."

Robbie lowered the megaphone slowly, obviously annoyed, "Do you think he's an expert on elves and fairies like I am?"

"Well, he is an elf himself?"

"Yeah, so? He's a curse and must be stopped! He's come to destroy us all; he's even come in a zeppelin probably full of evil little imps."

Maggi shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

In fact, everyone grew tired of Robbie Rotten, no one cared to listen to him anymore. "Where are you all going? We have to chase Sport…Sportcrap outta here!"

On a rope ladder Sportacus descended and landed in front of Robbie Rotten, Robbie cringed as if Sportacus might punch him again. "Grim Galdur…?"

"It's Robbie." He protested quietly.

"You're time is up, this town is no longer yours."

"And who says? YOU? Ha!"

"I think these people are saying that for themselves, it's not me they want out, it's you."

"You're on the losing end of the stick, blue elf, you have lost Zanna…"

Sportacus pointed a warning finger at him, "Never mention her name off your lips again."

"And you have lost your little pink haired girl. Yes, she's locked up, punished for crimes against the people of Latibær. She'll be in there for about twenty five years."

"It's time you were revealed."

"You can't reveal me. No mirror will deceive me."

"No, but I have recorded you in the midst of the crimes you framed Stephanie for."

He squinted. "How's this?"

Sportacus introduced all the imps and fairies that Robbie tried to terminate. "I'll let them have the honours, it will give them closure."

The mayor stepped forward after hearing the conversation, "What is going on here, what record of crime?"

Robbie crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes, snickering and frowning in scepticism.

"I have proof that Robbie Rotten defiled your gardens. He is in fact none other than Grim Galdur."

Robbie growled and lowered his arms in anger. "Am not! Prove it."

The elves who arrived with Sportacus carried a flat white disc. Sportacus explained its mystery to the mayor, "This disc records bad deeds, and I am glad I made this item actually. I can see danger seconds before it happens in it, one night I saw Robbie Rotten destroying Latibær's vegetables and flowers in it."

The image played on the white disc of Robbie's shenanigans from last night.

"It's a fraud!" Robbie exclaimed. "That's not me. I was in the wilderness when that supposedly happened."

Sportacus smiled, "Also, mayor, when I bloom flowers I leave behind a residue of sparkling powder, a powder that you will find on Robbie's soles."

The mayor looked at Robbie now, "Let's see the soles of your shoes, Mister Rotten."

"No."

"Why no?"

Robbie started to back off.

Sportacus continued, "Stephanie had nothing to do with any of this."

The mayor rubbed his chin, "And you say Robbie Rotten is Grim Galdur? Isn't Grim a troll?"

The grin on Sportacus' face vanishes. "Was, his rank as a troll was removed when the queen of the huldurfolk kingdom banished him for being deceitful."

Robbie wriggled his nose. "You still can't prove anything, Sportacork."

"Mayor?" Sportacus said, "If you have a mirror, I recommend shining it upon Robbie."

"Yes," he replied, "I have a mirror in my pocket, actually."

Robbie gasped, "Wait…"

The mayor took his mirror out and held it at Robbie whose reflection came back as Robbie and not an ugly hair troll. Sportacus was serious now, "Do you see, mayor? He is no longer a troll. He is now a human."

"Yes, Sportacus, I see that now. Oh," He lowered the mirror, disheartened. "Oh, how we've been being tricked…Robbie, we trusted you and now I have to release Stephanie and apologise to her. Robbie Rotten? You're under arrest. Wait…Can I do that?"

Robbie pushed his way through everyone and took off in the direction of his old manor.

The mayor sighed. "Oh dear, what about Latibær now?"

"Don't worry, Mayor Milford. I will replenish it. Go now and get Stephanie."

The mayor apologized to all the fairies and elves publicly that day and told everyone about the sinister Robbie Rotten. Sportacus' name was saved and Stephanie hugged him happily. She joined him in bringing life back to all the plant life and they rebuilt all of the homes that once belonged to the fairy folk. Now the town was peaceful once more and will never trust Robbie Rotten ever again especially now that they all know that he is Grim Galdur.

Stephanie went to live with the mayor, who adopted her after her father's death. She is planning to visit the huldurfolk one day but as long as her friendship with Íþróttaálfurinn -that sports elf- is continuous and her life is kept busy, she has no time to dwell on that kingdom ever again. In future, Stephanie will always miss her father, but her deep sorrow will be elapsed by the supporting alliance with Baldur and her friends.

Grim Galdur adopted the name Robbie Rotten for all his exploits, he has come to learn that the townsfolk have nicknamed him the slimy master of disguise. He sat in his lair night after night plotting how he will take over Latibær again. Since he lost all his magical powers, he turned to mechanics. For months, he dedicated himself to building a large contraption that will enable him to change into any disguise he wants with the pull of a lever. Then one day, pósturinn delivered a parcel to the manor, Robbie, thinking it was his gears and gadgets, opened the box only to find a big white egg.

"What? A rooster egg? WHO sends a rooster egg?"

He shrugged his shoulders, will be nice to have a pet companion around while plotting his return. He decided to mother the egg and hatch it. In time, a little white rooster was born and he named it Haninn. He laughed evilly and the rooster not knowing what he was laughing about laughed too.

Robbie gloated, looking into his big mirror, "Latibær will never hear the last of me! I will come back to get you all and THIS TIME I will be successful. It's disguise time."