Chapter Fourteen - Sorceresses of the Storm
Poppy hoped Ash wouldn't worry too much after their call was cut off. If only that tree branch hadn't smacked the mirror from her hand and smashed it. Things were a little chaotic in the Troll Tree Kingdom and Bergen Town. What started as a blustery day darkened to a storm. Then the winds picked up, thunder growled in the black clouds above, and the only light came from the flashes of lightning. Trolls broke out their glowsticks so they could see. Bergen Town had gotten sturdier over the years, meaning the homes and castle of the bergens were plenty strong enough for storms.
The trolls, however, lived in pods hanging from trees.
When the winds became too much, Branch, Poppy, Peppy, and Rosiepuff ran about the trees to order the trolls from their homes. It was too dangerous to be in the pods while they swung about in the wind. Branch's safety guides said the best place for the trolls would be either close to the trunk of the tree or inside the holes made in the trees by birds.
Rosiepuff arrived at Biggie and Belle's home and helped them climb out. Each troll had their pet tucked into their hair for safekeeping. Belle, who had been on bed rest for a broken ankle, nearly slipped off the branch. Biggie managed to save her, and Rosiepuff ushered them towards the center of the tree. A branch broke off in the wind and flew right for them, but Rosiepuff magically created a shield and the limb bounced right off it.
"Nice save." Belle sighed in relief.
"We're not out of the woods yet." Rosiepuff warned. "Go!" Biggie scooped his wife into his arms and took off. A bolt of lightning struck another branch, and Rosiepuff deflected that one as well. She noticed smoke from another tree, and she slid down to the ground and hurried over. Rain drenched her from hair to toe the moment she stepped out from under the cover of the trees. She doused the fire beginning in the foliage, turning to head back to Branch and the others.
Suddenly, someone popped up in front of her, and she jumped back. "Oh, Eclipse. It's just you."
"I sensed something was wrong." Eclipse said. "I'm glad I came, and I have an idea."
"All right, lay it on me." Rosiepuff pushed her wet bangs out of her face.
"This storm could rip the branches off every tree in this village." Eclipse explained. "We need a way to minimize the damage. The only way to do that is to change this weather. Just to soften its intensity."
"Even if I knew that spell, I don't know if Branch and I are strong enough." Rosiepuff protested.
"That's why we're going to do it." Eclipse said.
Rosiepuff looked excited. "You and me? With that technique we practiced?"
"Only if you're okay with it." Eclipse requested.
"Eclipse, situations like this are why we came up with it in the first place." Rosiepuff assured. "You and I are unstoppable together. We developed this technique so we could protect the ones we love, and no one can do it better than us. I trust you."
Eclipse finally smiled. "Then let's do this."
Rosiepuff grimaced a little. "Okay, I'm ready."
"You don't look ready."
"No, I am. I just hate this part."
"Yeah, I don't exactly enjoy this, either. Sorry!"
Eclipse lunged forward, and she disappeared into her friend's body. Rosiepuff jolted, shuddering as an icy feeling washed over her.
Branch rejoined his wife after helping the other trolls. "This storm's getting worse! I don't know if we'll be safe in the trees!"
"Maybe we should head for the nearby bergen homes!" Peppy suggested.
"We won't be any safer out there!" Poppy scanned the dark, rainy, windy environment. The trees always gave trolls a safe haven during danger. But, now, something was threatening to destroy that haven. What would they do? What could they do so no one got hurt?
Suddenly, an empty pod broke free and hurtled right towards them. Before they could even dodge it, the pod froze. It floated gently to the ground, and the trio saw Rosiepuff manipulating the pod. They hurried to her side.
"Grandma, that was great! You really—" Branch paused, noticing something different about his grandmother. Her demeanor had changed to one of calm, stoic strength. Her eyes were different, too: one remained bright green, the other had changed to purple like an amethyst gem. "Eclipse?"
"We know what to do, and we need you to do as we say." When Rosiepuff spoke, a combination of her and Eclipse's voices came out.
Branch, Poppy, and Peppy were collectively confused and impressed. Branch shook it off first. "Okay, just tell us what you need."
"Just in case this doesn't work, get everyone out of the tree branches and down towards the roots of the trees." Rosiepuff/Eclipse ordered. "We'll take care of this!" They ran off, leaving their friends to do what they said. The combined sorceresses ran through the rain, unaffected by the drenching, freezing downpour. They stopped in a clearing, looking up as lightning streaked across the sky.
Ready when you are. Rosiepuff thought.
Let's do this. Eclipse agreed.
Their hands began to glow in a bright purple light with golden sparkles. They shut their eyes meditatively, and the glow brightened. An invisible bubble seemed to form around them, and the rain and wind didn't hit them anymore. They opened their eyes, which now glowed, and they raised their hands skyward.
As the trolls made their way to the ground, they couldn't help but stare at the feat of magic. Wisps of smoke, colored like the glow in Rosiepuff's hands, floated up to the sky and swirled above the treetops. The bigger the cloud got, the less fierce the storm became. The winds quieted to a blustery day. The rain lessened to a gentle fall. The thunder was muffled by the purple, gold-sparkled cloud. The cloud even absorbed the lightning strikes.
The glow disappeared in Rosiepuff/Eclipse's eyes and hands, and they smiled at their handiwork. "Not bad. Not too bad at all."
"Grandma!" Branch came running, jumping into his grandmothers' arms. "That was incredible!"
"Thanks, angel." Rosiepuff jolted a little as Eclipse exited her body. The two friends smiled warmly at each other.
"Nice going, Eclipse!" Poppy called as she, Peppy, and most of the trolls hurried up to them.
"Ever the protector, I see." Peppy said.
Eclipse curtsied a little. "Good to see you, Peppy."
"Always a pleasure, old friend." Peppy said.
Eclipse looked a little surprised to be outwardly called a friend by Peppy, but she smiled nonetheless. Then, she heard cheers and applause, and she stepped back.
"Let's hear it for Empress Eclipse!" one of the trolls called.
Eclipse, once again, was surprised. She stared, perplexed, as the trolls cheered and clapped while looking right at her. She recognized several faces as former Moonlight Kingdom residents. But why would they cheer for her? She wasn't sure how she felt about this attention. That is, until Rosiepuff came up to give her a comforting hug. Rosiepuff even took Eclipse's hand in hers and raised them both to the sky triumphantly. Poppy, Branch, and Peppy joined in the exaltation.
Rosiepuff watched her friend steadily start to smile and humbly take the praise. I know this might be new to you, Eclipse. But accept the praise. You deserve it.
Eclipse didn't return the next morning. Harper and Prowlus reassured Ash, stating she surely stuck around to make sure everything was cupcakes and rainbows back home. Still, Ash refused to leave until he got in contact with his parents or Eclipse came back to confirm everything was great. Nobody protested, also wanting to know everything was safe at home. Finny did her best to express interest and concern for Ash's family. It still came off as awkward, but her heartfelt gesture was not lost on Ash.
Sir Tandeth approached Ash just after lunchtime and saluted to the young prince. "We are packed and ready to move out once Lady Eclipse returns, sire."
"Okay." Ash flipped through the scrapbook absent-mindedly.
"Does something bother you, my liege?" Sir Tandeth asked.
Ash made sure everyone else was far enough away to not hear them. But he and Tandeth were by the trees and shrubbery across from the lake. "I don't want anyone else to know, but I'm not sure where we should go next. That's why I wanted us to come here. It's not just to rest and relax. I wanted to buy myself time to figure out the next step."
"I have confidence in you, my liege." Sir Tandeth said. "Take as much time as you need to figure it out."
"Thanks, Sir Tandeth." Ash sighed in relief. He kept going through the scrapbook, hoping to find some form of inspiration from her mother's past adventures.
Ash never realized Iris watched him from her perch in a tree, where she gathered acorns for rations. She sighed. "Poor guy. What's he doing putting so much pressure on himself? I think he looks kind of nice with grey skin and black hair." Iris suddenly shook her head, almost dropping her acorns. "Wait, what am I thinking? Why do I care? I don't! I don't care about that—" She lowered her voice so nobody would hear her. "Stupid kid. Bad kid. Hated child of my worst enemy kid. I don't care about him. I'm taking my revenge on Larch by killing his grandsons." She glanced down to Ash, and then looked to Prowlus as he and Harper conversed by the lake. "But I have to do it soon. Now how to do it?" She looked back to Ash, still sulking a little. She hummed in thought. "Maybe…"
To his dismay, Ash spent the entire day looking for inspiration and still didn't know where he wanted to go. Even worse, Eclipse still hadn't returned, and he couldn't get in touch with his family. When his friends asked, however, Ash forced a smile and said, "I'm sure everything's fine. We'll keep waiting for her." Truthfully, he did believe things were okay. Eclipse was no doubt making sure everyone was safe. She would come back and report that everything was fine. Ash wasn't comfortable leaving until she returned. Plus, it would give him time to keep thinking of his next step.
I was hoping I'd have my colors by now. Ash poked at his dinner. But what if I'm destined to be like this forever?
"Whatcha thinking about?" Finny said, almost shouting in his ear and making him jump.
"Nothing." Ash said, rubbing his ear.
"Oh, sorry." Finny said. "You had that look on your face, which I'm learning means you're thinking really hard and something might be bugging you."
"Learning?" Ash chuckled. "You getting lessons on empathy or something?"
"Yeah, from that Harper lady." Finny pointed to Harper, who giggled after getting a kiss from her fiancé. "She's nice."
"Yeah, she is." Ash agreed.
"So are you okay?" Finny asked.
"I'm just thinking about my colors." Ash shrugged. "No big deal."
Finny stared at him for a moment. She got the feeling he didn't want to talk about it anymore. She ate a few more bites of her dinner. "For what it's worth, I think you look nice in those colors."
Ash cracked a small smile. "Thanks, Finny."
He was grey, and he was utterly alone. No matter who he approached, they turned their backs to him. He couldn't get anyone to listen to him. Voices echoed around him, repeating all his worst fears.
Then, Ash gasped and woke up. He curled up into his sleeping bag, taking a few deep breaths to calm down from the nightmare. He poked his head out and sat up, sighing softly.
It'll work out, somehow. Ash reminded himself. Everything is going to be okay. He glanced around at his friends, still fast asleep. Only Sir Tandeth and Steve were missing, doing their nightly patrol to look out for danger. Ash noticed something odd, and he did a double take.
Iris wasn't there.
"Iris?" Ash whispered. "Where'd you go?" He crawled out of his sleeping bag and walked to Iris's spot. He noticed faint footsteps in the dirt, and he followed them into the shrubbery. "Iris? Iris, where are you? Are you okay?" He looked under bushes and into holes. But he couldn't find the other grey member of their traveling party.
Something rustled in the foliage. Ash tiptoed closer. "Iris? Is that you? Are you all right?"
The bushes shook again, and then a strange creature Ash never saw before emerged. It looked like some sort of colorful octopus to him. It made a strange sound, too, almost like the chittering of a monkey.
"Hi there, little fella." Ash crouched a little. "What are you doing out here?"
The creature crawled closer, and Ash held out a hand. The creature rubbed its head against Ash's hand, and then crawled up his arm and clung to his body.
"Hey, stop it!" Ash laughed. "That tickles!" The creature went right up to his hair, and then suddenly wrapped its tentacles around Ash's head. "Hey, what are you—" In a flash, Ash fell asleep, and the creature settled into Ash's hair like a bird curling up in its nest.
Iris stepped from the shadows and into the moonlight. She grinned smugly. "Dream Sucker. What an ingenious plan. Now, little prince, it's time for us to go."
"Not if we can help it."
Iris spun around and saw Sir Tandeth and Steve. The knight had his sword drawn, riding on the back of the snarling crocodile. "You will not stop me, you pile of scrap metal." Iris growled.
Steve lunged, and Iris pulled a round object from her hair. She threw the pod-like object, and it burst open to spill out a cloud of dust. Steve whimpered, shaking his head, but soon succumbed to the sleeping powder Iris made from a certain flower pollen. Sir Tandeth leaped off Steve's back and swung his sword towards Iris. She dodged his attack, weaving and ducking to avoid his strikes. He made sure to put himself between Iris and the now-unconscious Ash. Iris still remembered the training her father drilled into her. She overpowered Sir Tandeth and threw another sleeping powder pod into his face. Unfortunately, it had no effect on him. So she resorted to using a vine from a tree to her advantage. She looped the vine around Sir Tandeth's helmet and yanked it off the rest of his body. The helmet head went up and then landed right in her hands.
"You'll not get away with this, miserable witch!" Sir Tandeth growled.
"I don't see how you can get in my way." Iris said. "Had you cooperated, I wouldn't have to do this. But if I can't make Larch pay, his family will pay for him." She drop-kicked Sir Tandeth's head like a football player punting a ball. The helmet landed somewhere in the darkness. Sir Tandeth's headless body wandered a little aimlessly, trying to find his head again.
Iris grabbed Ash with her hair and tiptoed to the campsite. She found some rope and tied up both Ash and Prowlus. Though Prowlus awoke while she did so, she punched him hard enough to daze him so he wouldn't struggle. She didn't worry about him screaming for help. Once both of them were tied, Iris began dragging the two princes away.
Finally. Iris sighed, a dark smile on her lips. I know just the spot to get rid of them.