A/N: Hope the last chapter left off okay. I feel like some of you wanted to see more of the….ah, physical romance, if you will. Sorry, but then this story would be M-rated, and it wouldn't get the same traffic. Maybe I'll make a deleted scene or something for those of you who are old enough.
Feanwen – You're going to get your answers in this chapter!
Warning: more implicit content ahead, lighter than the last chapter.
Chapter Eleven – Stella's Secret
That most recent act of love solidified a relationship between Larch and Stella. Every free moment they had, they tried to spend in each other's company. The evenings were specially reserved for time together, where Stella would practically drag Larch into her room and lock the door behind them. While very few of the rebels were aware of any physical acts between the two, most everyone knew that there was chemistry between the Moonlight Kingdom troll and the one from the Troll Tree.
Their evening routine continued for over a week, and their bond blossomed like a spring flower. Larch lost a bit of focus in his training. Not that he minded. He only lost focus when Stella was around. He always looked forward to their evenings together, though he often waited for Hawk and Eagle to go to bed.
After assuring his housemates were fast asleep, Larch snuck out of the house and headed for Stella's home. He left his vest behind and wore only his shirt and pants. Most of the base was asleep by now. He would have an easy walk to Stella's.
"Hey Larch!"
Or not.
"Hey guys." Larch turned as Electra and Fire approached him. "What are you doing out here?"
"Oh, we're on our way to stargaze." Electra said. "I see you're on your way to Stella's."
Larch's entire face turned dark from his blushing. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Electra patted his cheek. "You're so lucky, Larch."
"Keep on it, man." Fire said. "You got a good one." He put an arm around Electra's shoulders, and the two of them laughed as they left Larch still blushing in the street. Larch tugged at the collar of his shirt as he continued to Stella's. He walked up the stairs to her pod room and knocked.
"You're late." Stella said when she opened the door. She pulled him into her room and shut and locked the door. Larch accepted her eager kiss, pausing only to pull off his shirt. He backed up as she walked forward, and they ended up on her bed.
After a minute, Larch stopped. "Why me?"
"Hmm?" Stella asked. She lay on top of Larch, lightly drumming her fingers on his bare chest.
"I mean, am I doing better than Eros?" Larch asked.
Stella laughed. "Aw, you were jealous."
"What?" Larch scoffed. "No. I'm just curious. I mean, why were you seeing him in the first place?"
"I wouldn't call mine and Eros's evening exercises 'seeing each other.'" Stella said.
"Okay. What would you call it?" Larch asked.
Stella thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "Exploring my tastes? Some people like to do that, you know. Does that make me trashy?"
"No! Not at all." Larch assured, kissing her. "You're beautiful and wonderful in every way. If Eros wasn't kind to you, I'll kill him."
Stella laughed lightly. "Calm yourself, Larch. Eros is good in bed, and he treated me very well."
Larch nodded slowly. "Do I treat you well?"
"If you didn't, you'd be walking out of here with a bloody lip and a broken bone." Stella said. "Larch, what happened between me and Eros meant nothing. We had our fun, but I told him that I wanted to be with you. I'm with you, now, and I don't want to be anywhere else."
Larch smiled and pulled her in for another kiss. "I love you."
"Love you too." Stella sighed happily.
Larch laughed with his friends as the phoenix trainers returned from training drills. "I'm telling you, Hawk, that was a cheap shot!"
"The point of throwing a mudball while you weren't looking was to throw it at a moment when you wouldn't see it coming." Hawk said. "And Pollen started it!"
"It was funny!" Pollen laughed.
"For you, everything is funny." Stella said. "All right, phoenix trainers, brush down your steeds. We're done for the day." She guided Stella to the alpha's perch.
"Pollen, I'm starting to think you're in the rebellion because you played a prank on Eclipse and need to hide from her." Larch said.
Pollen gasped dramatically. "How'd you guess?"
Larch did a double-take. "Wait, seriously?"
"Pollen's more hardcore than you think." Fern said. "The real reason he's hiding from Eclipse is because he kept trying to start impromptu dance sessions in the village square. One day, he did it while Eclipse was out of the kingdom, and Titan tried to kill Pollen on the spot."
"He went running into the forest like a bat out of hell." Pine chortled. "Titan and his guards chased after him and beat him to a bloody pulp."
"I still got the scars, man!" Pollen laughed. He pointed to several scars on his arms, head, and even pulled up his shirt to show off a long line that went from his shoulder to his hip. "Boy, did that hurt."
"Yikes." Larch laughed, staring at Pollen's scars.
"Might've died if Stella hadn't found him." Olive said. "She saved him from Titan, brought Pollen back to the bunker, and healed him."
"I was good as new in two months!" Pollen cheered.
"Although I'm not convinced he didn't suffer some brain damage." Holly mused, earning laughs from her friends.
Lavender looked up. "Uh oh. Larch, you've got trouble coming your way."
"Huh?" Larch turned, and he saw his mother walking towards him. As much as Rosiepuff tried to hide it, she had a look on her face that said she needed to talk about something important. "Oh boy. I think I'm in trouble." Larch gulped.
"What did you do this time?" Lily asked.
"No idea." Larch shrugged.
Rosiepuff walked right up to her son. "Larch, can we talk in private for a moment?"
"Uh, sure." Larch said. "Let's go over this way." He led her over by the tool shed, far enough away from the other trolls so they wouldn't eavesdrop. "So, what's up?"
Rosiepuff crossed her arms. "I just noticed you seem more…disheveled, these days."
Larch was a bit confused. "Uh, no. I'm good."
"Really?" Rosiepuff didn't sound convinced. "Not doing much sneaking out, are you?"
Suddenly, Larch got a sinking feeling in his stomach. "Not at all. Why would you think such a thing?"
Rosiepuff raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'll try a more direct route. Do you remember, when you were five, you asked me where babies come from, and I told you 'the paint stork'?"
"Yeah….." Larch said slowly.
"I know you and Stella are playing stork." Rosiepuff said.
"Okay!" Larch jumped, laughing awkwardly. "Yeah, great. Okay. That's all I needed to know." He let out a few more nervous laughs, and then groaned. "Are you mad?"
"No, Larch, I'm not mad." Rosiepuff sighed.
Larch's ears drooped a little. "Are you disappointed?"
"No. I'm worried." Rosiepuff corrected. "Worried that you're not thinking things through."
"I'm in love, Mom." Larch said with a small shrug. "I don't think there's much room left for thinking things through."
Rosiepuff stared at Larch with exasperation. "Larch, be serious."
"How did you find out, anyway?" Larch asked.
"That night at the river." Rosiepuff said. "I saw you and Stella kissing on my way back to the bunker; and you were pawing her the same way your father did before he and I—"
"Whoa, Mom!" Larch yelped, looking around for anyone who might be listening. "I do not need that image in my head!"
"Oh, Larch!" Rosiepuff rolled her eyes. "You went to your mandatory health class in the Troll Tree. It's perfectly natural. How do you think we got you?"
"Yeah, but it's still disturbing. Thinking about my parents…." Larch shuddered.
Rosiepuff frowned at him. "Why is it that it's fine to talk about you and Stella doing it, but even thinking about your father and I doing it is gross?"
"Because Stella and I are young, and you and Dad are—" Larch shut his mouth quickly.
"Old? You're saying your father and I are old?" Rosiepuff asked.
Larch shook his head vigorously. "No! Not at all! I'd never say that." He lowered his voice to a mutter. "Out loud."
Rosiepuff rolled her eyes. She became very serious now. "While we're on the subject of age, let me remind you of something very important. You are only seventeen years old. Stella is just sixteen. You are not ready for a child and if you—"
"Whoa, hold up there, Mom!" Larch laughed a little. "I'm not going to get Stella pregnant."
"Are you sure?" Rosiepuff asked. "You do know how a troll's body works when you're doing….that."
"We're being careful." Larch said.
"How?" Rosiepuff demanded. "This is not a great time to have a baby, Larch. Neither of you are ready for a baby."
"I know." Larch said. "Mom, trust me. I know what I'm doing."
"I don't think you do." Rosiepuff said. "I'm afraid that you're going to get yourself into trouble and you won't be able to get out of it."
Larch smiled confidently. "Mom, I can handle this. I'm not going to get Stella pregnant. But I am in love with her. Maybe I'll marry her someday. You think you'd like her as a daughter-in-law?"
"Slow your roll, soldier." Rosiepuff droned. "Survive this war and then show me you know what you're going to do with your life, and then we'll talk about you getting married at an appropriate age."
Rosiepuff's Hug Time bracelet went off again, and Larch hugged her. He turned to head back to the phoenixes. "Trust me, Mom." He said as he left. "You'll get grandchildren out of me when I'm good and ready to be a dad!" He jogged away.
Rosiepuff watched him leave, anxiety eating away at her heart. If Larch wasn't careful, he would get Stella pregnant and might not even know about it. There weren't very many ways to prevent pregnancies except to not do the thing that causes pregnancies. Even worse, Larch was truly in love with Stella. But she belonged in Moonlight Kingdom.
No matter how much Rosiepuff loved Stella, she feared that Larch would choose to stay in Moonlight Kingdom instead of returning home.
"So, how do I look?" Eagle asked, doing a turn in front of Larch and Hawk. She wore a new dress she made herself: knee-length skirt, short sleeves, and a bone bead belt.
"Simple, yet pretty." Larch said. "Got a hot date tonight?"
"Yep. And here's the hot date." Hawk said, pointing to himself. "Fire and Electra are joining us."
"What kinds of dates do you go on in a rebellion?" Larch asked.
"We're just going out for a picnic in the forest." Hawk buckled his sword around his hips. "We always bring our weapons, just in case."
"Well, have fun." Larch said. "Be safe."
"Will do." Eagle said. "See you later!" She and Hawk left their house, meeting with Fire and Electra at the stables. The quartet flew out on their respective steeds for their double-date in the forest. Electra had the picnic basket. Dates were a rare thing due to the dangers of the forest. Not only did Titan like to send his troops on patrols of the forest and searches for the rebellion base, but there were plenty of dangerous creatures. Fire found them a spot in a clearing where they could eat in peace and their phoenixes could properly keep watch.
Electra and Eagle laid out the blanket while Fire and Hawk rummaged through the picnic basket. "You think we should've asked Stella and Larch to join us?" Hawk asked.
"Everyone else may know that they're an item, but I don't think they've explicitly confirmed it." Electra said.
"I'm pretty sure their nightly activities confirm it pretty explicitly." Fire said.
"Fire." Eagle scolded. "Do not speak that way about Stella."
"What?" Fire shrugged. "I can't compliment my leader on her rockin' body?"
"No." Eagle droned.
"And hey." Electra pouted. "I thought I had the rockin' body."
"Oh, you do." Fire said, pulling Electra into a kiss. "From your toes to the tips of your hair."
Hawk gagged. "Gross." Eagle laughed, kissing Hawk's cheek. Someday, perhaps Hawk would develop a level of physical love like Fire's. For now, she was content with his goofy, loving self.
"Larch is quite the looker, too." Electra said. "He's very handsome."
"And so kind." Eagle agreed. "I'm going to miss him when he goes home."
Hawk paused mid-chew, and then forcefully swallowed the food in his mouth. "I wish he wouldn't leave. I'm worried about him."
"Worried?" Electra repeated.
"I don't like that king of his back in the Troll Tree." Hawk said. "That Wolfrick fellow? He sounds even worse than Eclipse."
"I agree." Fire said. His tone was hard, very strange from the laid-back and casual-speaking troll. "And I don't trust Wolfrick's son, either."
"I don't know." Eagle shrugged. "Larch always spoke so fondly of the prince."
"Yeah, but we all know what Zelenia is like." Fire said. "If Wolfrick is as bad as we think, who's to say his son isn't going to be just like him?"
"We all heard what Rosiepuff said about him." Electra said. "First off, how can anyone not like Rosiepuff? And if he's going to throw them to the Bergens when they go back, why should they go at all?"
"Yeah. Larch and his mother need to stay here." Hawk agreed. "They belong here with us."
"Yes! They belong in Moonlight Kingdom." Electra agreed. "We could even sneak into the Troll Tree and bring Larch's father here."
"But how do we convince them from leaving once the war is over?" Eagle asked.
"Well, Rosiepuff will stay wherever Larch does." Fire said. "Maybe Stella will be the one to keep Larch here."
Sticking to the shadows of the buildings in Moonlight Kingdom, Larch easily made it to Amethyst's home without being spotted. The grey troll met him at the back door to her house.
"I don't know what you're planning, but I hope this will work." Amethyst handed Larch a small bag, and Larch looked inside to see a variety of bone beads.
"Thanks, Amethyst." Larch reached into his hair and handed Amethyst a pouch of tea. "That should help your dad. I hope he gets better soon."
"Thank you, Larch." Amethyst hugged the green troll. "Best of luck in the rebellion. Long live the Flame of Happiness."
Larch bowed to her, and he hurried away and out of the kingdom. He kept the bag of beads close to his chest and hid the bag in his hair when he arrived at the bunker. When he arrived at his house, he made sure Hawk and Eagle were gone and then pulled out some thread he took from the scraps in Jasmine's sewing basket. Larch sat at the table and got to work. He braided the threads together to make a thick enough string, creating a knot on one end. Then he dumped out the beads and searched for just the right ones. He wanted only the ones with the best colors and best designs. Once he filled the thread, he tied a tiny loop on the open end. He tucked the knot through the loop to complete the necklace.
By the time he finished, it was time for dinner, and Larch stowed the necklace in his hair before joining the other rebels. Rosiepuff soon joined him, flour dusting her face from helping with the cookies on the table. Larch loved seeing the happy smile on his mother's face. He took it as a sign that she was settling in with the rebellion.
When dinner was over, Larch helped with the dishes to kill some time. By the time he finished, he already bid his mother goodnight and the rebels disappeared to their homes for bed. Larch snuck away to Stella's room.
"Ah, there you are." Stella laughed from her spot on her bed, pulling off her jewelry and setting it gently on her nightstand. She took special care of her Flame of Happiness pendant, even laying out the chain flat so it wouldn't tangle.
"Before we start, I have a surprise for you." Larch said. He pulled out the necklace he made.
Stella gasped, accepting the necklace and putting it on. "It's lovely. What's the occasion?"
"I can't make something for you out of the goodness of my heart?" Larch shrugged, stooping down to kiss her.
"Do you make gifts like these for your friends back home?" Stella asked.
"Yeah, especially around the holidays." Larch confirmed, sitting next to Stella. "I made Ninfea a wooden pendant carved with water designs. She loved it."
"And did you love her?" Stella asked.
"I don't think it was love. I might've thought it was, at the time I was dating her, but I guess she wasn't my type." Larch kissed Stella again. "I think you're more my speed."
Stella laughed, pulling Larch fully onto her bed. "You're a shameless flirt, Larch."
She said it to tease him, but it was really one of the things she found most endearing about him. It still surprised Stella to think that she fell in love. When she was younger, she didn't have many guy friends. She certainly wasn't attracted to any of them. Later in life, when she formed this rebellion, no romantic feelings aroused when she was near the trolls who joined her cause. Eros didn't even count for that. Stella and Larch were both rainbow trolls. But because of how they grew up, they were so different in many ways. Despite their ups and downs, they found a true love. It made Stella smile like she never had before.
That smile was permanently plastered to her lips when she woke the next morning to find Larch still in bed with her. Larch's body pressed up against hers, and one of his arms draped over her stomach. Stella soaked up his warmth for a few more minutes, and then turned around and kissed his nose.
"Morning…" Larch yawned.
"Time to get up, Sleepyhead." Stella said.
"No….." Larch moaned sleepily. "I wanna cuddle with you a little longer. You're so cuddly."
Stella rolled her eyes. She lightly punched Larch's stomach. "Come on. You have chores to do and I have a full day of scouting."
"Okay. Okay, I'm up. I'm up." Larch groaned, crawling over Stella and falling to the floor. He tiredly redressed himself. "Why aren't you getting up?"
"Oh, I can sleep for a bit longer." Stella said. "You just have to go."
Larch snorted. "Whatever." He kissed her head. "See you later."
"See ya." Stella murmured. She heard Larch chuckle, and then the door opened and closed. She waited a few more minutes, and then opened her eyes. Larch was gone, and all his clothes were off the floor, so he wouldn't have forgotten anything.
Stella sat up in her bed, gathered her undergarments from the floor, and pulled them on. She stared at the door and listened closely to ensure nobody came her way. Then Stella put a hand to her stomach, and she shut her eyes.
A soft blue glow enveloped her hand. Stella kept her eyes shut, searching thoroughly. Then, she gasped. "There it is. I did it!" She sighed heavily. "Finally." The glow disappeared from her hand. She stayed on her bed for several minutes, completely silent. Then, she dressed herself fully and slipped out of her room. She went straight for the stables. Nobody stopped her, never questioning their leader. Stella mounted Symphony, and the phoenix transported her to the edge of Moonlight Kingdom. Stella left her loyal steed in a tree, and Symphony even settled down for a nap.
Stella snuck away, crawling up and over the wall. She went straight for the garden behind the castle, tiptoeing across the moat like Cloud Guy does. She hid in the bushes of the garden.
When she was sure there was no one around, she stepped back and snapped her fingers. She looked down to analyze her appearance, nodded in satisfaction, and walked up to the castle. None of the guards stopped her as she strolled to the library.
Empress Eclipse was not expecting a visitor, so she was slightly apprehensive when someone opened the door to her library. However, when she saw who entered, the empress relaxed with a smile. "Good morning, my child."
Princess Zelenia grinned back. "Hello, Mother."
A/N: Muwahahahaha!