Chapter 20: Demonic Antics and Royal Proposals
For us Trolls, it's the celebration of how the Pop King Branch saved all Trolls from the monsters... by murdering King Stefan.
The words of Cyrus Dawn were still strong enough to echo in Audrey's brain to the point where she could have neither dreams or nightmares.
The dinner party had coincidentally ended at that reveal, but Cyrus Dawn, Trollthoven, and Ozzy wouldn't say anything about the matter because it would be unhealthy to think about it while going to bed. Definitely a good idea; pressuring for more details might have given away Audrey's nature as King Stefan's granddaughter.
Still, what had he done? Besides not inviting Maleficent and contributing in destroying everyone's livelihood to create a utopia, what had he done that was so horrible, the hospitable King of Pop and (at this rate) Willywaffle's potential father-in-law found it necessary to murder him? Even at her age, Audrey had no idea how her maternal grandfather died. Queen Leah and King Hubert had told her that King Stephan died from a blood-pressure related illness and that he passed away years before he could meet Audrey.
At least the demon left her alone.
In the end, Audrey ended up waking up far earlier than the others and getting herself ready. The breeze of dawn was still cool, so she wrapped herself in her cloak as she moved around the halls. There wasn't at least one wall that wasn't decorated with tapestries of the royal Pop family tree, each for a specific individual. At least one thing they had in common was that many of the members married into the primary line were commoners. If only she could rub it at her grandmother's face.
Audrey finally stumbled onto the most current tapestries. Prince Shamrock was too young to have his own, so the four tapestries were dedicated to Gladiola, her parents, and her grandfather. King Peppy the Protector. Queen Poppy the Positive. King Branch the Brave. Princess Gladiola the Gifted. But it was the tapestry of King Branch the Brave that alarmed Audrey. In a very well-weaved illustration, King Branch was depicted strangling King Stephan with his hair. Audrey didn't know what to react to. A crowd of Trolls rushing to an incomplete Auradon Wall while being guided by a sorceress? Her grandfather in armor? Or the fact that he was dangerously close to a broken, colorful eggshell where a baby Troll was crying on the ground? All she could react to was the general idea.
"Did he… try to kill Gladiola?" Tears escaped her eyes.
"No." Audrey found Gladiola standing next to her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to walk around the halls…"
"It's OK. I do it as well." Gladiola sat down on the floor in a Lotus position. "It also helps that I do early morning walks by my family's tapestries. It helps me remind myself that I don't want to do what they did."
Audrey sat down next to her. "Why is Sleeping Beauty's father near your egg?"
"Audrey, what did your old home say about his death?" Gladiola asked quietly.
"That he died of a blood pressure condition." Audrey shook her head at the tapestry. "Was he trying to kill Trolls just because they wouldn't join Auradon?"
"The monsters didn't want us. They said we were too loud and didn't fit their expectations. When we made it clear that we wouldn't surrender our capacities to satisfy them, they chose to persecute us." Gladiola bit her lip. "Sleeping Beauty's father hoped to take advantage of our exodus to snatch a Troll egg so he could give it to his future grandchildren. When he heard that royal Trolls had the best voices, he went after the only egg the Troll kings and queens currently had during the exodus. My egg."
"Did he try to break you out?" Audrey had already seen baby birds pop out of their eggs, but she was disturbed at the idea of imagining an unborn chick withering on the spot because a child tried to break it out.
"No. My parents took a detour to lure the monsters' troops away from the other Trolls and my mother tripped while carrying my egg. Apparently my egg landed safely, but they had to fight off the few who managed to follow them. I just happened to hatch when Sleeping Beauty's father caught up… and, you can imagine that my dad demonstrated why you should never hurt his family. Strangling the monster was the only method he could go for since cupcakes and rainbows were no longer an option. And of course, it took the arrival of the sorceress who encouraged the exodus to the other side to scare off the other monsters and cast a spell on the dead body's family."
"Excuse me?" Audrey freaked out.
"Oh yeah, the sorceress who encouraged everyone to make a run for it and who cast the mist." Gladiola nodded. "She has a scary personality, but everyone owes big time because she helped us all. She and my parents passed an agreement so the Trolls would have her protection. She happened to spot the conflict… she also did not appreciate how the monster behaved. Unlike the villain of his story, she loves children."
As Gladiola continued, Audrey tried to imagine a nice version of Maleficent saving a bunch of babies. It took her a while to see the picture.
"So she took the opportunity of cursing his legacy without his relatives even knowing that they were cursed. Don't worry, it wasn't another sleeping spell, but it was something that guaranteed that between his daughter's children and the rest of the family, one party's happily ever after would be the sad ending of the other."
"So… if the child was happy, the family wouldn't be, but if the family was happy, the child wouldn't?"
"Yep." Gladiola sighed. "She said that if Sleeping Beauty gave birth to a son, he would never reproduce an heir. If it was a daughter… the daughter would never true love with a prince, and because the family dared to provoke a powerful fairy through a trivial fashion, the sorceress decided to humiliate the family further by declaring that if the princess were to find true love, marry, and live happily ever after, it would be with a demon, and his reign would ensure the eternal suffering of his in-laws."
Audrey paled up at the story. "And… did your parents fulfill their agreement with the sorceress?"
"Yes. She's the godmother to me and Shamrock." Gladiola got up and helped Audrey do as well. "She gave me the Torch of Happiness, and every time I use it, it helps me remember that I was fortunate to survive, be there for the other Trolls, and that she must have seen something that was worth it in me. The fact that she sees me grow and is there to give me advice, the fact that she trusted me to wield a magical artifact, something that has never been done in my family, it… tells me that I have what it takes to be a good leader. And it's not easy… I always tell myself that I don't want to do the same mistakes as my family."
"What mistakes?" Audrey got up and gestured at the tapestry. "Your dad killed a tyrant! You Trolls are living in peace! You work with the other monarchs and heirs to keep harmony! You got a weirdo like Willywaffle who's over the moon in love with you and he's made it clear that he's not into your title but into you!"
"I agree with most of the things you say, especially about my beloved weirdo." Gladiola blushed. "But still, my family did shameful things in the past. My ancestor's selfishness was the reason why Trolls were separated until 25 years ago, my grandfather freed the Pop Trolls from the Bergens but he didn't even do a security check, my mom made friends with Bergens and helped reunite the tribes but in less than two minutes, she made it clear that she was an arrogant Pollyana with no sense of real life perspectives, and my dad… well, he's great at everything, but he could loosen up a bit."
This princess definetly was the opposite of what Audrey once was. Gladiola acknowledged her family made mistakes and was determined to prove she could be an open-minded ruler in the future. Back in the old days, Audrey didn't even think once to ask her grandmother how things would have been different if Maleficent had been invited in the first place. The sorceress who created the mist and cursed Audrey's grandfather without the family knowing sounded dangerous enough, but everyone in the lands of anarchy seemed to respect her out of gratitude to the point where the Pop King, the same king who strangled Audrey's grandfather, was alright to trust this sorceress into being the godmother of his two children.
For some reason, Audrey no longer felt dread at the entire notion.
Later, after breakfast
This really didn't work out for Audrey. Shortly after the sugary breakfast, Gladiola had insisted that the guest joined in as the royal heirs gathered to prepare for today's schedule.
"Is it because I accidentally put the Reef Palace in a sinkhole the last time I was here?" Beatrice asked.
"No, though that did terrify the triplets." Gladiola gestured to three pre-teen triplets, hybrids of Techno and Pop Trolls since the Techno King, Trollex, had married one of Gladiola's mother's friends, DJ Suki. "It's also because it's Monday. Everybody knows that my family has pancakes for breakfast on Mondays and Shamrock turns into an overdosed roadrunner! So technically speaking, I don't need another destructive machine!"
"Fair enough." Beatrice made herself put.
Gladiola pulled a scrapbook out of her hair and flipped through its pages. "OK, it's the Liberation Celebration. Things are going to be hectic and had to be sorted out and rescheduled far in advance, but if we keep things under check by doing the mixed team-ups, we'll have everything covered and we won't be all sweaty by the time of the evening Liberation Celebration. Any questions before we split into teams?"
The Trolls shook their heads, but Audrey raised her hand. "I have one. How are we helpful?" She gestured her finger at herself and her friends.
"Let's just call it learning through experience. Any other questions?" They all shook their heads. "OK. Time to split the royal teams. We know the rules: different teams every half-day, dibs are won through hair-blade-and gem. Who calls dibs first?"
"I call dibs on the Techno Triplets!" Ozzy called out. She and the Techno Triplets immediately went on to shake their hairs until Audrey realized that they were doing the Troll equivalent of rock-paper-scissors. When Ozzy called gem, it broke the Triplets' blade; the four immediately exchanged high-fives. The game went until Gladiola was paired with Trollthoven and Cyrus Dawn with the Funk Cousins-Easily-Mistaken-As Twins. "OK. Now's the part where you guys call dibs on which humans you want to go with you."
"And obviously the Pale Candy Cane goes with you." Ozzy rolled her eyes.
"Great observation, Rock Candy," Willywaffle chuckled as he high-fived his girlfriend.
"We call Dinomaggedon." Ozzy did a horn sign.
"But how will it work for our team? There's three left," Cyrus Dawn asked.
"I'll opt out." Beatrice raised her hand. "Somebody's gotta take care of the Bloody Bambi and ya can't really split Crystal and Gothy apart."
"But you'll miss out on helping some Trolls, Bea," Gladiola said as Beatrice got up. "Sure, I worry about you being near Shamrock on Mondays, but we don't want to leave you out."
"I'm the kid of Beetlejuice, I'm constantly left out." Just like that, Beatrice morphed into a fly and flew out the window.
Minutes later
Beatrice watched with discretion from the window of the guest chamber as the royal heirs split up with the others. Audrey was visibly getting on better terms on Princess Ozzy as they and the Techno Triplets went on with handling the needs of the Rock and Techno Troll civilians. Gagging coming from behind her alerted her that the Bloody Bambi was coughing as it rested on one of the beds. Beatrice frowned while the manifestation twisted its mouth so the demon could speak with a smile through it.
"Things aren't going well."
"You're telling me!" Beatrice walked up to the possessed animal. "Audrey woke me up and told me some weird garbage about how Penna De Mort cursed her family after King Branch killed Audrey's grandfather! Now she's freaked out about the idea that thanks Auradon's stupidity, she'll be married off to a demon!"
"I assure you in advance that I had nothing to do with it. It may have worked out with your parents, but I'm not some demon seeking a mentally-shattered spouse. You know me, I've managed to stay a powerful monster in the equivalent of 80 human years following my death."
"You're probably right." Beatrice shrugged in relief.
"But back to things not going well. I know you never destroyed Audrey's phone… and you did the right thing."
Beatrice pulled out the trinket in question from her shirt. "I still can't believe the connection works."
"I'm more worried about why the call was made. Think about it. I've constantly been by her side since we crossed the mist. I've talked to my Queen of Mean in her nightmares caused by her accidents, she had a small sight of my former human self, and the truth about her grandfather puzzled her enough to keep me from doing any appearances. This manifestation of mine has stuck by her side for more than a month. Why is it now that her grandmother calls her by phone?"
Beatrice thought about it. The Bloody Bambi had a valid point. She paced around the room until she spotted her reflection in the chamber's vanity mirror. "Remind me again. Based on what we've seen with Gothy's psychotic brother, only hybrids can cross the mist for endless round trips. What about half ghosts like me?"
"It means that unlike everyone else, we get to mess things up." The Bloody Bambi caught up to her idea.
"Maybe it's time I met Audrey's family…" A sick grin came on both of their faces.
Back in Auradon
"It's already October, Mal!" Ben was getting nervous. "What if she comes back asking again?"
"I don't know…" Mal admitted. "If Penna finds out I lied, we're all screwed, and if Penna kills Audrey, I'll never forgive myself.
While everyone was debating, Queen Leah was still in a state of shock due to the response she had received on the phone. She wasn't sure what she had thought back then. Maybe a diplomatic response? Bright side, Audrey was being taken cared of, but negative side, a young teenager had demonstrated her clinginess and badmouthed the Queen. And to worsen things, her grandmother was going to the turf of the same Trolls species that killed Stefan. "I can't imagine how things can go worse from here."
"Something's wrong with my mirror." Evie tapped on the magic mirror. "It won't talk."
"I thought it responded to you when you talk to it nicely?" Celia asked. With things worsening and without Charles Frollo, Leah had invited Celia and Dr. Facilier to the meeting.
"I know! But he won't appear when I summon him or knock. And for some reason, the glass is moving!"
"Hold on." Beast approached the mirror. Sure enough, he saw an opening at the bottom. "It almost looks like the mirror on the wall's glass is behaving like those mirrors that rotate…" Without even thinking, Beast pushed the glass forward, and as he did, the glass spun…
And the other side revealed a girl leaning on the glass. Beast backed away when he saw her, the others gasped… and Facilier screamed like a girl.
"B… Beatrice Deetz?" Leah got off from her seat.
"DEETZ?" Facilier exclaimed. "THAT BLACK-AND-WHITE OUTFIT? YOU'RE THE OFFSPRING OF BEETLEJUICE AND LYDIA DEETZ!"
"Don't say his name two more times if ya want him to show up!" Beatrice sneered. "He did mention he roughhoused a couple voodoo priests from New Orleans back in Hell… and I'll gladly toss you back there if I decide to get juicy!" Her statement made Facilier hide underneath a table.
"Don't!" Leah put herself in front of Beatrice. "If it's about the phone call…"
"The grandmother." Beatrice growled, her teeth sharpening. "What part of 'running away from home and cutting ties' escape you? You're lucky I had enough sanity to not transform your phone's reception into a sandworm the moment I answered!" Beatrice pointed at the mirror. "You've been using this mirror to spy on Audrey!"
"We only used this once! We were worried about Audrey! Something bad is after her!"
"Look, I know every grandmother is worried because her granddaughter summoned a demon and will have to fill a contract with him, but it's a part of life! Everyone makes a deal with the devil once in a while!" Beatrice raised her hands in the air.
"No, we got over that weeks ago!" Evie waved her hand in dismissal. "I know this is bad timing, but I really like your pinstripe dress!" Everyone besides Beatrice gave her one of those 'not now' glares.
"Thanks! I had it commissioned!" Beatrice chuckled. "I don't regularly compliment people who use their accessories to spy on my friend, but that's a good choice of blue hair color! My friend Delora has the same shade!"
"Not now, Evie!" Mal nudged Evie aside. "Beatrice, Audrey's demon not our current problem. Penna De Mort showed up in Auradon and she expects the carrier of my mother's magic to be killed on December 21st or else her dad will be set loose! I lied to Penna and told her I have it, but Audrey's the one who has it!"
Beatrice scowled. "So… that's why Gothy's brother wanted to drag her back in Auradon…" The hybrid stormed forward and poked Mal on the nose, causing the latter to cringe when she saw how deep the nail was going through her skin. "FYI, your buddy Pencil Hair sabotaged the train and nearly got me killed with his silver and iron blades! I had to fend him off until Crystal had a gargoyle snatched him away! WHILE I WAS CARRYING AUDREY KNOCKED OUT! IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL WORRYING ABOUT YOUR FRIEND?"
"We didn't know about the train!"
"Gee, I wonder why." Beatrice rolled her eyes and she appeared by the mirror's side. Without even a moment of hesitation, she grabbed the mirror and pushed it.
"NO!" But Evie was too late. The magic mirror fell glass first onto the ground. Shattered pieces spread everywhere before the magic dissolved into thin air and the glass turned into sand. A tear escaped her eyes.
"GUARDS! CAPTURE HER!" Beast called. Guards stormed in the room.
"You idiot!" Facilier exclaimed.
"Don't lose your heads!" Beatrice snapped her fingers. Just like that, the guards heads popped off their bodies and rolled around. Many bystanders freaked out when they saw the rolling heads still screaming. "I still got mine in the game!" Beatrice stretched her leg and kicked every single head out the window. Screams could be heard from outside, probably from the gardeners panicking at the sight of flying heads. "You don't look disoriented enough, let's go for another spin!" Faster than a bolt, she moved around and forced the headless bodies to spin. "Oh, you're all unraveled!" And just like that, she snapped her fingers and the bodies unraveled like threads.
"That's enough!" Jay made a run towards Beatrice.
"Drop it, meat sack!" Beatrice pointed a black-and-white bolt at him. Just like that, Jay dried up and gained the emptiness of a meat sack. Mal felt the usual stress that triggered her dragon transformation, but Beatrice picked it up and trapped Mal in an ice block before she could transform.
A fiery red portal appeared out of nowhere. The familiar red stag poked its head out, a creepy smile attached to it. "We've done our job, Beatrice. We can skedaddle."
"Good, I hate this place!" Beatrice glared at everyone. "Keep your lesson, you retards, or the next time I catch you spying, I'm sending a bunch of sandworms at you!" Beatrice jumped into the portal before it vanished. The victims were brought back to normal and Evie's tears over her broken mirror was the only thing standing out among the silence.
Back in the Troll Lands
Beatrice really hoped this was the last time she committed the illegal act of taking advantage of her hybrid nature to cross to Auradon through magic artifacts. At least she managed to destroy their primary source of observation, but she still had a migraine when she and the Bloody Bambi stormed into the guest chambers. Ozzy and Audrey were there, sitting on a bed while Ozzy worked on applying black eyeshadow on Audrey.
"You OK, Bea?" Audrey looked concerned. "How was your day with the Bloody Bambi?"
"He pees everywhere he goes." Beatrice's exasperated voice successfully covered her lie. "How was your day with Ozzy and the Techno Triplets?"
"Two words. Really rocking!" Audrey said giddily while Ozzy cleaned up the edges of Audrey's eyeshadow. "The Techno Triplets really have a way with high-tech neon lights DJ booths and electronics, the Rock Trolls use parkour to assemble equipment and decorations, and you had to see the guitars they come up with using Techno strings! And you're not going to believe it, but during the music breaks, I picked up the music waves! Check this out!" Audrey held out her right hand and sure enough, pink bolts popped out and destroyed the nearby coffee table. She then twirled her fingers around and pink waves came to brush away the debris. "Observing the Rock and Techno Trolls helped me create new spells!"
"Wow. I dare imagine what it will be like if you learn from the other Trolls."
"Not hard to expect." Ozzy smirked. "Cyrus Dawn asked Dinomaggedon for the first dances of any genre at the Liberation Celebration!"
"You can't be serious… We're not even here for 24 hours and you get goo-goo eyes from a Country Troll?" Beatrice exclaimed.
"It's not that far," Audrey shook her head in a tone that reassured Beatrice. "I mean, Cyrus Dawn has really helped calm down when we first got here, but I don't want to risk our friendship and I'm not prioritizing on romance since, you know, my ex-boyfriends. We're just dancing as friends."
"So why the makeup?"
"Dinomaggedon told me some details about the time she turned into a pink-haired she-demon, and I cut her off when she brought up the sloppy black makeup that magically appeared on her. So I'm just finishing my tutorial on Rock troll makeup." Ozzy pulled out a small pouch from her hair and revealed its purple glitter cotton. "OK, this is generally a Pop Troll thing to use a lot of glitter, but Gladiola showed me that even six glitter specks can make a Troll stand out, so I just dip my finger in the pouch twice and I tap your eyelids." Ozzy added the glittery touches on Audrey's eyelids and pulled out a compact mirror. "See? Evenly outlined black eye shadow and only a small portion of glitter, and you become Dinomaggedon the Dynamite!"
"It definitely works better than what I had as the Queen of Mean." Audrey admired Ozzy's work.
"Yeah, based on your descriptions, Queen of Mean eyeshadow is more 'I'm seeking revenge because I had no shut eye', whereas Rock Troll makeup is more like 'I dare you to challenge the Princess of Darkness.'" Ozzy jumped off the bed and stretched herself. "Speaking of challenge, we got to get ready. Willywaffle will soon be proposing to Gladiola."
"I thought he wanted his proposal to be private?" Audrey frowned.
"He is, but bets have been going around the Ring of Six, so we had cameras placed around the intended area of the proposal." Ozzy rubs her fingers. "One who guesses correctly wins all the jackpot."
"Trolls don't bet through money. What's the jackpot?" Beatrice leaned in.
"Let me think. My mom and I bet that Gladiola will scream at the top of her lungs after she says yes, King Trollex, Queen Suki, and the triplets think that fireworks will appear out of nowhere, Kings Cooper and D and their kids Chandler and Deity think fireflies will form hearts in the air, Delta and Cyrus Dawn guarantee that Gladiola will collapse in Willywaffle's arms, Trollzart and Trollthoven are rooting for a massive hallelujah, and King Branch and Queen Poppy are going for a big kiss and glitter showers. Overall, we're looking at a jackpot of Classical doilies, Rock leather, Techno threads, Pop glitter, Funk flowers, and Country buttons." Ozzy stared at Audrey and Beatrice. "You guys wanna place bets? Losers have to make an outfit for the winners using some of the jackpot."
"Ooh, I can really go for a new skirt!" Beatrice ran through her pockets and pulled out a golden beetle. "One authentic mummy scarab for the bet that none of your ideas will come to pass!"
"And I'll gladly cut my hair that all the ideas will come to pass." Ozzy and Beatrice gasped in horror at Audrey's bet.
"Dinomaggedon! Are you for real?" Ozzy choked. "Human hair ain't like Troll hair! If I cut my mane, it'll grow back, but yours will take longer than a sunflower in one year!"
"Take it or leave it!" Audrey grinned. "When I win, you'll be sewing my cloak into a coat fitting for a Dinomaggedon!"
"Oh, it is on!" Ozzy grinned and shook hands with Audrey.
During the Liberation Celebration
The Trolls really knew how to party as they celebrated 22 years of liberation. Nearly 30 minutes were dedicated to a specific music genre, and as told previously, Audrey was dancing each first dance with Cyrus Dawn.
"You seriously bet your hair on it?" Cyrus Dawn was equally baffled as they did the waltz with instrumental conducting from Trollthoven. "Had you been a Country Troll, we'd be saying that you were jumping on your first rodeo too quickly!"
"You'd be surprised." Audrey laughed.
It was probably somewhere around 9pm that someone noticed Willywaffle discreetly leading Gladiola away from the party. Immediately, King Branch and Queen Poppy convinced everyone to shut up while Trolls pulled up screens revealing the live footage of the couple finally stopping by a garden filled with gladiolus (Audrey was sure it wasn't a coincidence). Trolls had to hold back their tears or sighs as the cameras recorded Willywaffle detailing his love for Gladiola.
"They talk about how differences matter and that it's challenging to find things in common. But whenever I'm with you, I see how our differences really compliment with one another. For me, a gloomy overshadowed freak, you're the sun at dawn. Every time I spend with you is like a warm ray that fills my day, and every time I think of you when I'm away is like filling my brain with rainbow clouds. I am constantly in self-doubt but you're always there to refill my soul with faith. Your kindness, so altruistic and selfless, constantly melts my heart in a bigger boil than dark chocolate."
"So beautiful…" Crystal sniffed. Even Gothy had to pull out a handkerchief to wipe off the tears.
"I love you, Gladiola Trollkonge, with so much love that not even all the sugar in the world can match your sweetness. So I ask you…" Everyone held their breath as the camera recorded Willywaffle Wonka going down on his knees, pulling out a red velvet colored box and revealing a magenta diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"
The things that came were wild. Obviously, the yes came out in an excited shout that echoed all over the Troll lands, but what happened next was that during the couple exchanging a kiss, Classical Trolls flew around singing a hallelujah before flying away from the fireworks and glitter bombs, somehow not scaring away the fireflies that formed hearts in the hair, and Gladiola being overwhelmed with joy that she couldn't stand on her feet and collapsed in Willywaffle's arms.
Most of the Troll monarchies were speechless.
"I don't believe it…" Crystal whistled. "Audrey, how did you know they'd happen all at once?"
"Force of habit." Audrey shrugged. "One thing I learned back in the old days is that rich people are losers when it comes to bets. Clearly they were going to rig the proposal site. Problem is, everyone had the same idea." She snickered and shouted in a singsong tune: "OSBORNE! YOU OWE ME A NEW COAT!"
The newly engaged couple came out. While Gladiola was visibly upset that her family had spied on her, she was overly enjoyed when she hugged her parents. From the distance, Audrey could see that King Branch was very ecstatic about his future son-in-law.
"Hey." Gothy gently patted Audrey on the shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"I know the last time you assisted a royal proposal, things went a bit south. I just want to make sure you're feeling OK…"
Audrey held on to Gothy's hand. "I am. The circumstances were different, but I really feel happy for these two. I can't really picture Willywaffle in a leafy crown, but he clearly loves her. And from what I've seen, Gladiola is going to be a great queen."
"Come on. Let's go give them our congrats." Crystal got up and led them towards the couple surrounded by Trolls, visitors and other royals congratulating them.
"I can't believe it! I'm engaged!" Gladiola didn't even hesitate to give the group a massive hug. Audrey nearly suffocated at the bear hug. "This is probably the fifth best day of my life!"
"Hey!" Willywaffle frowned while Gladiola stopped hugging the girls. "What's first?"
"When you first told me that you love me, silly!" Gladiola poked him on the nose, causing him to blush massively.
"So when's the hitching date?" Ozzy asked. "I got to know in advance before I start crafting any wedding gift."
"Ozzy, we're civilized people, not the monsters from the land that shall not be named!" Gladiola calmed down her excitement to speak a bit more seriously. "The engagement is epic, but I still got major tasks coming up. We'll have until summer to plan out the catering."
"Why wait eight months?" One of the Techno Triplets whined.
"Three words, my little friend." Willywaffle bent down to show the small one his fingers. "Ice cream cake." Sure enough, those three words got the kids excited.
"So when do you think you'll find your sister?" Gladiola casually asked Gothy. "I'll have to know in advance your assumed availabilities before we start sending out invites."
"Wait… you'd invite us?" Gothy was surprised. "But Audrey and I are only refugees, not to mention complete strangers."
"That's what Trolls do." Cyrus Dawn shrugged. "They invite anyone."
"Plus, my godmother always told me that if you don't invite everyone in our side of the world, there's always going to be this one sensitive soul who decides to crash the party and put a curse on you. Speak of the devil!" Out of nowhere, an owl flew by and dropped a letter from its beak. Gladiola eagerly grabbed the envelope, opened it, and pulled out the letter. "It's a letter from my godmother!"
"Is it another of her last-minute RSVPs confirming that she's coming tomorrow for the continuation of the Liberation Celebration?" Trollthoven asked.
"Well, yes, but she's also coming to congratulate me for my engagement. She's coming tomorrow with her boyfriend Prince Marius Bogfae for her expected tribute."
