"Where am I?!" the girl screamed, her voice slightly slurred.
King Llort stood in between the girl and the guards, holding his hands up. "Guards, stand down! Little girl, put down the scissors. There's no need for violence."
"I'm not little! I'm 14! Where am I?!"
The king watched as the human tried to keep her balance and focus. Her body shook in fear. He attempted to speak more softly. "You're in the Kingdom of the Trolls. Where are you from, young lady?"
"K-kingdom of Trolls? There's no such thing..." The girl became weaker and collapsed, unable to stand. She was put to bed again, and all sharp objects were removed from the room.
Once everyone was safe, Llort dismissed the guards, servants, and doctor and sat on a big bed that was a few feet away from the small bed. It was going to be his responsibility to keep watch of this human. After all, she had mysteriously appeared in his kingdom. She was asleep now, so maybe she wouldn't cause any more trouble for the rest of the night.
In the morning, the girl slowly woke up. Sitting up, she found herself in a room where the walls were made of stone. A big bed was a few feet away from the one she was currently laying in, and a giant green crystal was across the room, across from the beds.
At the foot of the bed she laid on was a small dog, curled in a ball.
As the girl reached to pet the dog, she suddenly felt a horrible pain in her head, and she whimpered. The dog woke up from the noise and barked.
King Llort entered the room after hearing the dog. "Good morning," he told the girl, standing in the doorway.
The teenager stared at Llort in disbelief. She had never seen anyone like him before except in movies and books. "This is impossible. I must still be dreaming."
"Before you do anything rash again, I want you to know you're in no danger," Llort quickly told her, holding the door open slightly and using it as a shield. Humans were unpredictable, especially this one.
"Who are you? Where am I?"
"I'm King Llort, and you're in the Kingdom of the Trolls."
"I hit my head pretty hard," the girl groaned.
"I see that. You had a rough ride. How did you get here, anyway? No human has ever come here before."
"There...There was a ball in a park. I got in it, and the next thing I knew, I was being moved around. That's all I remember."
"Hmm...That doesn't help much. Where are you from?"
"I won't tell you!" she snapped at him, crossing her arms.
"Okay, okay. I just thought I'd ask. We need to get you home."
When Llort said this, this only agitated the teenager more. "No! I won't go back! I'd rather die than go back!"
There was a deep fear buried underneath the anger in her voice. Llort immediately picked up on it and told her, "Okay. I won't take you home. Will you at least tell me your name?"
The girl paused, unsure if she could trust this being. Finally, she answered, "Deanna."
Llort walked into the room, slowly. "It's nice to meet you, Deanna. Would you like some breakfast? I don't know what humans usually eat, but we have some swamp mush."
Deanna made a disgusted face. "No thanks. I'm not hungry. I really have to go, now." She tried getting out of bed, but quickly became dizzy and stumbled.
Llort rushed to help her lie back down, but Deanna just shoved his hand away. Llort told her, stepping away, "Take it easy. There's no rush for you to leave, is there?"
Deanna covered herself back up and didn't answer. Llort sighed. He wasn't going to get much information or get her out of the kingdom at this rate. What was he going to do?
Suddenly, he thought of an idea. Stanley had dealt with human children before. Maybe he would know how to get this one to talk more openly. The trouble was, Stanley was in New York City, and he didn't even know if Stanley would help him after what he and Gnorga did only half a year ago.
Llort shuddered. He didn't like thinking about that time in his life, but he had to do something, and this was the best plan he could come up with.
Before he left to go to New York, Llort told Sivread and a couple of servants to take turns keeping an eye on Deanna. Then, he went to the library in the tower and looked through some spell books. He mumbled to himself, "I hope this works. It's not like I have any magical powers..."
The king read a spell from a book, then suddenly felt a whirlwind under him. He was whisked away out of the castle and the kingdom. Before he knew it, he was thrown, face-down on the ground, in front of a bridge in Central Park.