Chapter Eleven – Rosiepuff's Story
Hill monsters were interesting creatures. They varied in size, but the ones who lived in the forest generally didn't get much bigger than large elephants. The wider and more spacious the area, the bigger the hill monster. The one who snapped up Peppy and Rosiepuff was about twice the size of an African elephant. Another thing to know about hill monsters was that they were remarkably smart for creatures with rather small brains. The hill monster who took Peppy and Rosiepuff had heard of their journey, and was surprised to find the two famous trolls. The hill monster did not swallow them, but instead held the two trolls in its mouth as it lumbered slowly through the forest and across wide meadows.
Inside the hill monster's mouth, Peppy and Rosiepuff went through various phases of reacting to the situation.
First, Peppy panicked and ran about the inside of the hill monster's mouth. Rosiepuff pounded her shoulder against the beast's teeth.
Then, Peppy had a panic attack and Rosiepuff had to calm him down.
There were a few more rounds of intermittent calm and panic after that.
Finally, Peppy began ramming into the hill monster's teeth. The hill monster hadn't swallowed them, so they had been sitting on the beast's tongue for the past few hours. Peppy went back as far as he could while staying far away from the throat. Then he would charge towards the hill monster's teeth and slam his full body weight into them. But the bony teeth, obviously, didn't move. That didn't stop Peppy as he continue to beat against them for an hour. Rosiepuff, meanwhile, tried to occupy her time as best she could. In the hour Peppy spent smashing himself into teeth, she had analyzed their surroundings for a way out (that didn't involve being swallowed and going out the hind end), touched up her lipstick, combed her hair, doodled some pictures in a sketchbook she stored in her hair, and even used the hill monster's tongue as a slide to kill some time.
Rosiepuff watched with a bored expression as Peppy shouted in effort and rammed into the teeth yet again. "Would you stop that?"
"NO!" Peppy snapped, backing up for another charge. "Don't you understand where we are?"
"Yes. In a hill monster's mouth." Rosiepuff said calmly.
"Yes!" Peppy yelled angrily. "And it's all your fault! If you hadn't shouted at it, it wouldn't have found us!"
"Well excuse me for trying to get some help." Rosiepuff huffed, blowing her bangs from her face. "I was just trying to talk to him. The problem with that plan was you freaking out."
"No, the problem is you're insane!" Peppy yelled. He slammed himself into the teeth, hitting them with his cane. "I have to get out of here! I have to find my daughter! I have to tell her that I met a llama-troll!" Peppy finally tired himself out, sinking to the floor of the hill monster's mouth. He buried his face in his hands, lamenting over the situation.
Rosiepuff stared at Peppy for a long moment. She sighed softly, stood, and walked over to Peppy. She took the spot beside him and smiled gently. "Hey, come on. It'll be all right."
"No. No, it won't." Peppy said.
"Oh, sure it will." Rosiepuff assured. "Just you wait and see. Everything is going to be all right."
Peppy shook his head. "It's not going to be all right. This is all my fault."
"What do you mean?" Rosiepuff asked.
"I promised her." Peppy sighed heavily. "I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to her."
Rosiepuff's eyebrows knit together in thought. "Hm. That's a funny thing to promise, don't you think?"
"What?" Peppy finally looked at her questioningly.
"You can't 'never let anything happen to her.'" Rosiepuff said. "Because then nothing would ever happen to her. Like, absolutely nothing."
Peppy stared at her, letting her words roll around in his head. Poppy is a bright and energetic child. She never liked to stay in one place for very long. Hobbling around on crutches didn't stop her, even when her father tried. But after Peppy lost his wife and the unborn twin, he became determined to never let Poppy go.
"I'm just saying." Rosiepuff shrugged. "Doesn't sound like much fun for little Petunia."
Peppy sighed again. "Rosiepuff, I appreciate your failed attempt to cheer me up. But you don't have a family. Even if you do have one, you don't remember them. So you really have no idea what it's like to be in my situation. You don't know how it feels to lose someone you love."
Rosiepuff's smile disappeared. She looked both hurt and insulted. After a tense, quiet moment, Rosiepuff reached into her hair and pulled out a photo, worn from age. She stared at it, and then handed it to Peppy. Peppy looked up in surprise, and he took the picture. The image depicted two trolls, laughing and seeming to simply enjoy life. One of the trolls was clearly Rosiepuff. The other was a young boy with blue skin, dark blue hair, and icy blue eyes. He wore brown shorts and a suspender strap to keep them up.
"Who is this?" Peppy asked.
"That's Branch. He's my grandson." Rosiepuff said. "Believe me when I say I remember him very well."
Peppy looked surprised. "So…where is he?"
"I don't know." Rosiepuff shrugged. "I've been searching for him for a long time." She took the photo back and stared at it sadly. "He was so young when he was taken from me. It was just a normal day out in the forest. Nothing seemed off about it. One minute, he was right by my side. The next minute, he was gone."
"Look at me, Grandma! Look at me!" Branch called, bouncing on a Trampoline Mushroom and doing flips.
Rosiepuff giggled, watching her five-year-old grandson bounce around like a hyperactive frog. "Do be careful, Branch."
"I will! Whoa!" Branch made a small mistake with his jumping, and he ended up flying off the mushroom. He landed right in his grandmother's arms, and she hugged him tight. He grimaced when she kissed his cheek. "Ew! Grandma!" Branch whined, wriggling out of his grandmother's arms. He rubbed his cheek. "That's gross!"
"But you're just so adorable." Rosiepuff cooed, tickling the boy's ribs. Branch couldn't stop his laughter then. Rosiepuff held her grandson close. When she set him down, Branch started running after a butterfly. "Don't go too far, Branch!" Rosiepuff called after him.
"I won't!" Branch called back as he dashed through some bushes to chase the butterfly.
Rosiepuff shook her head with a chuckle. But she jumped when she heard Branch shout in surprise and fear. "Branch!" She sprinted through the bushes. On the other side, she saw her grandson running away from a bergen child who chased after the little troll. With a mighty leap, the child leapt forward and slammed a glass jar over the troll, catching Branch inside.
"Gotcha!" the bergen laughed. He scooped Branch up into the jar and screwed on the lid, which already had a few holes punched into it for air.
"Put him down!" Rosiepuff shouted, even when she knew no bergen would understand her. Once she was close enough, she threw her hair out to grab the bergen child's wrist. She jerked his grip lose, and the jar holding Branch fell to the ground. It didn't shatter, though. Rosiepuff retracted her hair and dodged the bergen child's attempts to grab her. She ducked through a hole in a root, and the child tripped and fell to the ground. Rosiepuff ran back to her trapped grandson.
"Grandma?" Branch whimpered.
"It's okay, Branch. I've got you." Rosiepuff assured. "Everything is going to be all right." She moved to the lid of the jar and tried to pry it off. Unfortunately, she didn't see the bergen child recovering from his fall. The child picked up a small rock and threw it. By some sheer stroke of luck—good for the bergen, bad for the trolls—the rock hit Rosiepuff's head and knocked her to the ground. She was out cold instantly.
When Rosiepuff woke up thanks to the chill of raindrops on her face, her head throbbed and a dried blood trail graced the side of her face. She looked around and jumped to her feet when she realized it was dark with rainclouds and there was no sign of the bergen child or her beloved grandson. There was a crowd of forest creatures in the area. None of them had noticed her unconscious form, nor did they see her wake up.
"Branch!" Rosiepuff shouted, scanning the crowd. "Branch, where are you?" She ran towards the creatures, trying to stop one to talk to them. "Have you seen a bergen anywhere? A child? You couldn't have missed him." Nobody paid any attention to her. Everyone pushed past her or ignored her. "Please, someone help me! They took Branch! They took my grandson!" Still, she was pushed aside and people shrugged her off. "Why won't anyone listen to me?"
Quite abruptly, someone shoved Rosiepuff to the ground to get her to shut up. Rosiepuff fell right in the mud. In response, the creatures around her laughed at her expense. The rain encouraged everyone to retreat to their homes for shelter, and Rosiepuff was left alone in the mud. She moved to a kneeling position, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She was absolutely heartbroken, and fearful for her grandson's life. He was out there somewhere, taken away by a selfish bergen child. Nobody would help her, either.
Rosiepuff's sorrow turned to anger, and she wiped her tears away while simultaneously getting mud on her face. She paid no mind to it as she stood and started walking.
She would find him, even if it killed her.
"That was ten years ago, but it's a memory that's burned in my mind." Rosiepuff said. "My grandson—the only family I really had left—was ripped away from me. But did anyone help? No. They were too busy with their own lives, too selfish to think of a poor old troll who just went through something horrible. Then, I decided I didn't need anyone to help me. I decided I would find Branch no matter what tried to stop me. So, for the last decade, I have searched the forests, gone through a desert, even climbed a mountain. But I haven't been able to find him."
Peppy stared at Rosiepuff. "You don't have short-term memory loss, do you?"
"Nope." Rosiepuff said. "But I swore that I wouldn't let anything distract me from finding Branch. I wanted to make sure everyone left me alone so I could better focus. And people tend to leave you alone when they think you're sick, especially in the head. When you ran into me, I thought it would be easy to repel you. But you stuck with me, and expected me to lead you on some insane mission. I have to admit that you looked even crazier than I acted. I took one look at you and thought, 'Here's a guy that will waste my time.' So when you didn't leave at first, I went along with those crocodiles to show you just how looney I was. But then you decided I was useful for reading bergen off a thermos."
"So all of that craziness you put me through? That was an act?" Peppy asked.
"Pretty much." Rosiepuff nodded. "You kept me around so you wouldn't forget the address. Or maybe because you didn't know the forest and thought I did know. So I had to really amp up the act, while continuing my searching while we walked. We were just about to split up, at last, when we ran into those fireflies and got the directions. I realized that I would feel guilty if I just left you going in the wrong direction. I followed you so I could tell you what the fireflies told me about going down the right path. When you went down the other one, I almost just left you there. But something gnawed at me, so I followed you again. And then that whole issue with the spiders happened."
"But then, after all that, why did you still stay with me?" Peppy asked. "You could've left after Cooper and Harper healed you."
"I almost did. I figured all you needed was a pep talk/song, and then I could go on my merry way and continue my searching." Rosiepuff finally looked to Peppy. "And then I heard your story. You told me about how you lost your daughter. When I heard it was because of a bergen, I realized that helping you find your daughter might bring me one step closer to finding my grandson. I've been to half a dozen other bergen cities and towns, and I haven't found hide nor hair of Branch. I thought that, if I stayed with you, I would have a better chance."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Peppy asked. "Why keep up the short-term memory loss act?" It took a few seconds for Peppy to reach a good theory. "Is it because you were planning to leave once we reached Bergen Town?"
Rosiepuff nodded slowly. "Yes. I figured you would find your kid all right, and I could go on. You wouldn't miss me because you'd have been fed up with me and my issues."
"I don't think I…." Peppy trailed off at Rosiepuff's raised eyebrow. He realized that was exactly what would've happened.
"Like I said: people tend to leave you alone when they think you're crazy." Rosiepuff stared at the picture of her grandson, and her eyes became tear-filled. "But you know what? I've been pretending for so long, acting with such conviction, that I'm starting to think I really am…" She let out a shuddering sigh, turning away from Peppy and rubbing her eyes dry on her wrist.
"Hey, come on." Peppy put a comforting hand on Rosiepuff's shoulder. "You're not crazy. You're just…" He thought for a moment, and then smiled. "You're just like me. A parent who lost their kid and would move heaven and earth to find them again."
Rosiepuff sniffled a little. "At least we're getting closer finding your daughter. I've been searching for ten years, and I don't think I'm any closer to finding my grandson."
"Maybe because you didn't have someone to help you." Peppy said. "I'm sorry no one would stop to help. But you have to understand how helpful you've been to me. You read the writing on the thermos. You saved me from an angler-snake. You got the directions from those fireflies. Most of all, you didn't let me give up. You didn't let my frustrations stop me. I can't thank you enough for that."
Rosiepuff finally allowed a small smile to appear on her lips. "Well, it's been nice having some company, for once."
Peppy nodded in agreement. His expression shifted to one of determination. "Rosiepuff, I promise you right now that, after we find Poppy, we're going to find Branch."
Rosiepuff gasped softly. "What? But—"
"You said you've been to half a dozen bergen communities. Maybe Branch is in Bergen Town!" Peppy suggested. "We'll find Poppy, and maybe she's heard or seen something while staying there."
"But what if we don't find him?" Rosiepuff asked.
"Let's cross that bridge when we get there." Peppy said. "You help me get my daughter, I'll help you get your grandson. Deal?"
Almost completely overcome with emotion, Rosiepuff hugged Peppy tightly. Peppy returned the embrace. Finally, he could call Rosiepuff his friend, the only true friend he had this entire trip.
The two trolls jumped when they felt the hill monster's tongue shift beneath them. A soft grumbling sound echoed in the hill monster's mouth.
"What's happening?" Peppy murmured.
"I'll ask." Rosiepuff offered, standing.
"Uh, Rose? Maybe you shouldn't—"
"Hello! Excuse me!"
"Okay. She's asking. Okay." Peppy sighed. He wasn't even sure if the hill monster would hear them. Even if it could, hill monsters weren't so good at speaking to other creatures. The hill monster language itself was hard to understand.
"Hello!" Rosiepuff called. "What's going on?"
Another growl, this one louder, echoed through the hill monster's mouth and forced the two trolls to cover their ears.
"I didn't quite get that." Rosiepuff said. "But it almost sounded like he said we stopped."
"How exactly can you understand him?" Peppy asked as he stood.
"I do know some words from other animal dialects." Rosiepuff said.
Peppy nodded slowly. "Right." he said with some disbelief. "Why don't we stop talking to him before things get worse?"
"We're inside the mouth of a hill monster. I don't see how it can get worse." Rosiepuff paused. "Why are my feet wet?"
The two trolls looked down, and they realized the hill monster's mouth began to fill with water. Already, the water reached above their ankles. "What's happening?" Peppy asked in a panicked tone.
"I'm not sure." Rosiepuff said. "Maybe he's just thirsty?"
Another growl came from the hill monster.
"Okay, I almost got that one." Rosiepuff said. "He either said we need to relax and float, or he needs laxatives for his bloat."
"What?!" Peppy looked like he would have another panic attack.
"I know. Laxatives are not going to help with bloating." Rosiepuff said. "Maybe he really does just want us to relax."
"Relax? How can we relax?" Peppy demanded. "He wants to eat us!" He and Rosiepuff yelped when the hill monster shifted his tongue, knocking them off their feet and into the water. When they stood up again, the water was up to their necks. Peppy grabbed Rosiepuff's hand and swam/ran towards the hill monster's teeth. He stabbed his cane between one of the hill monster's teeth and the gums. The hill monster growled a little, but the water kept coming. Then, the entire inside of the hill monster's mouth shifted ninety degrees up, dumping the water to the back of the throat. Peppy and Rosiepuff were left dangling, Peppy holding onto his cane with one hand and keeping a tight grip onto Rosiepuff with the other.
"Peppy?" Rosiepuff gulped.
"What the heck is going on?" Peppy demanded.
"Do you want me to ask him or are you going to yell at me some more?" Rosiepuff snapped.
"You shouldn't have been talking to him in the first place!" Peppy snapped back. "It's not like you understood him!"
"I can too understand him!" Rosiepuff insisted.
"No, you can't!" Peppy shouted. "You think you can, but you just can't, Poppy!" Peppy froze. This was too much déjà vu for him. He suddenly became aware of the many similarities between Rosiepuff and Poppy: their curiosity, their cheeriness, their determination to solve their own problems through sheer stubbornness. Though Peppy worried now like he did for Poppy, he began to wonder if it truly was his fear that drove his daughter away.
The hill monster's tongue shot from the water and grabbed Rosiepuff's ankle. The beast's tongue yanked her away from Peppy before he could tighten his grip. She disappeared in the water.
"Rose!" Peppy scanned the water desperately. No…no, please….don't leave me…
In seconds, Rosiepuff's head popped up from the water. "Peppy! Peppy, let go!"
"What?" Peppy gawked.
"Just let go!" Rosiepuff called up to him. "Everything is going to be all right!"
"But how do you know?" Peppy asked. "I mean, how do you know something bad won't happen?"
"I don't!" Rosiepuff admitted. "I have no idea what will happen, but I do have faith that everything will be all right!"
Peppy stared at the water. The hill monster hadn't moved. It was waiting for him. But if he let go, would he live to see his daughter again? Or would he be this beast's dinner? Rosiepuff encouraged him down. She had faith everything would work out, even when she didn't know what would happen.
Taking a deep breath, Peppy jerked his cane free and fell into the water.
Rosiepuff swam over and grabbed his wrist. They hugged each other so they wouldn't be separated again. They braced themselves for whatever happened. After a moment, many large bubbles appeared as though the water were boiling.
Outside, the hill monster lounged on the edge of a lake. The hill monster gargled the water in his mouth and then spit it out, spitting out the trolls right along with it. Peppy and Rosiepuff shouted in surprise as they flew through the cool night air. They sailed overhead and landed right in another body of water. It took several seconds for them to regain their bearings and swim up. The two trolls broke the surface with deep gasps, crawling up onto a piece of driftwood and coughing.
Peppy burst out laughing. "We're alive!"
"Told you!" Rosiepuff said, laughing right with him.
Peppy looked around. They had apparently landed in a lake, which explains how the hill monster got his water. He gasped when he saw the silhouette and lights of a town across the lake. "Rosiepuff, that sign! Can you read that?"
Rosiepuff squinted a little. "Bear….gain…Ber….Bergen….." She gasped. "Bergen Town! Peppy, we're in Bergen Town!"
"We made it!" Peppy whooped and cheered.
"We're going to find the kids!" Rosiepuff cheered. The two of them looked to the shore when they heard a low bellow, and they saw the hill monster waving to them.
"Thank you, mister!" Peppy waved. The hill monster let out a low moan, like a whale call, and lumbered back into the forest. "Come on, Rose, start paddling!" Peppy urged. "The sooner we get to town, the sooner we find the kids!"
"Right!" Rosiepuff nodded.