The Troll Princess -Chapter 7-
by *Dawna-May
The sight of this new Terezi was something to behold. Tavros hadn't seen her mother in years, but she would always remember her flamboyant dressed and crazy tiaras she used to wear around the palace; however, this new getup was something else entirely.
Her horns were adorned with countless gold rings, each encrusted with a different colour of jewel. Her necklaces weren't any better, and they looked almost a little rusty from being sucked on. She wore what looked like several layers of swishy skirts, each a different shade of red or teal, and her top was a small piece of teal fabric garlanded with dangling gold pieces; they clinked together with her every step, like her personal fanfare. She wore no shoes, which came in handy when she, much like a nut-eating woodland creature, jumped and climbed half-way up the tree she had just come from.
Gamzee made a small laughing nose in the back of his throat, before following her lead, and making his way up the tree with about as much grace as a muscle-beast would have. Tavros gulped, looking to Nepeta, who was clapping excited.
"This is so much fur-un!" she squealed, "oooh, Equius is gonna be sad he didn't come! The valiant hero Nepeta jumped furward and climbed the tree effortlessly, like the good little kitty she is!" She ran towards the tree, doing exactly as she said she would, leaving Tavros and Gamzee in a trail of dust.
"Oh, come on, Tav," Terezi called down, "don't you want to hear this most delicious news?"
"I, uh, one sec, I'm coming, I think." She stumbled forward, hugging the tree like a long-lost relative, and trying to jump but making it look only like she and the tree were having a very intimate moment together. Terezi cackled.
"That's no way to climb a tree!" She cried, her laughter raining down on the ex-princess like little daggars. Tavros frowned, pressing her face into the tree; she had known her mother again for all of ten minutes and already the woman was ashamed of her. This was fantastic! Tavros sighed, gearing up to jump again, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she saw the poet smiling down at her, his hand open for her to take.
"I'm sorry, bro, but you suck at climbing trees, brother, and we all want to get all up in this bitch today," he said. Tavros smiled and took his hand. The Poet was surprisingly strong, and a small whimper escaped Tavros's lips as he was hoisted up onto a rainbow-painted platform, "see, that wasn't so bad, huh?"
"Thank you," Tavros murmured. Nepeta purred.
"Oh, you two are purrfect together!" She cried, her hands flailing in the air a bit, before adding quietly, "I'll have to update my shipping wall..."
"Oh, don't be absurd," Terezi flew in from above, startling Tavros and Gamzee, "they don't fall in love 'til later! Hehehehehe!"
"That's adorable!" Nepeta make a startling, high pitched noise probably only cats could hear. Or purrhaps dogs, but you wouldn't tell Nepeta that.
"This isn't, uh, the family reunion I was thinking of," Tavros said, her face turning bright brown again, "uh, Mom, maybe you should, uhm, tell us exactly what happened all those years ago."
"Oh, hehehe, yes," Terezi said. She ushered them into the treehouse, settling them down in some strange looking, multicoloured fluffy chairs, and giving them some cherry flavoured cookies. Then, she sat in front of them, her gypsy clothes chiming and shimmering in the fading sun, her smile like a bloodthirsty shark's, "as you know, your father chose me as his bride all those years ago, back when he was but an ikle little rosy-blooded prince! It was the best time of my life, living with him and you and your sister! But then the Spiderbitch came from nowhere—"
"Spiderbitch?" Nepeta asked, her head titled to the side like a curious kitten.
"Queen Vriska," Gamzee said, leaning so far back in his pellet-filled sack seating apparatus it looked as if his butt were being eaten, "right, man?"
"Totally right, my brother!" Terezi cried, "she ambushed me one day, totally jealous of what I had. I could smell the jealousy rays coming off her; they smelt like hatred and stinky eggs but she always smells like that. She mind-controlled me with her vision eightfold, and blinded me! Then she mind-controlled Dave, and make him declare my banishment! I had to leave, it was the law!"
"Oh yeah, and you, uh, totally love the law, right?"
"I totally super mega love the law! The law is right! The law is just! So I left the Kingdom for a while," she pouted, seemingly looking out the window, though Tavros wondered how this was possible when she was now blind. He wondered how a lot of things were possible if she were blind, but she was too polite to ask. Terezi sighed, "until I met Pyralspite!"
"Uhm...?"
"My pet dragon!" Terezi smiled like a shark again, "she taught me how to smell the colours of the wind!"
"Oh, uh, yeah, that's totally normal."
"Nah, I got it, bro," Gamzee spoke up, "now you can see all the motherfucking colours and shit with your burnt up redglare eyes even though there's no sight up in your mind?"
"Yes, exactly," Terezi said, though she still pouted, "I think. Sometimes I can't understand what you're saying."
"Hahaa, that's funny." Gamzee said. He took off his feather hat, lying back, placing it on his face, "I'm gonna go all up in dreamland now."
"Hm, I don't know if he's right for you, honey," Terezi said to Tavros, "he doesn't seem all there."
"Awh! He, uh, just lost his matesprit!"
"Doesn't mean he can't be nice to a Lady!"
"Mmm, Miss Leijon wants to hear more about your impawsible trials!" Nepeta was on the edge of her seat, looking positively, or, uh, I mean pawsitively fascinated.
"Oh, yes," Terezi nodded, twirling her thumb and index finger through her thick black hair, "well, being a blind troll, who are ridiculously oppressed in this area, by the way, I didn't have many options. So, even though through the great teachings of the mighty, ferocious Pyralspite, I could see better than before, I was still seen as disabled. So I went into the fortune-telling business," she waved an arm down towards her colourful get-up, "people really like being told things by a blind troll! I got so much money I snuck back into the Camternia boarders and built this house! I've been watching you and Feferi grow up with my magic crystal ball," she threw her thumb over her shoulder, gesturing towards a dusty white orb, "but that thing barely even works. I just talk to the prophets when I want to check up on you! Hehehehe!" she laughed like a crackling fire, shifting in her seating apparatus, "until not too long ago, when I woke up with the prophets telling me something horrible had happened to you! And I didn't even know who you were! So they told me everything again, and helped me think of a plan to help you!"
"And that plan is...?"
"Well it includes him," she said, waving an arm towards Gamzee, "believe it or not. And the help of a Knight, or, uh, Knight-to-be...and a Prince!"
"Okay," Tavros's eyebrows were furrowed so closely they ran the risk of becoming a unibrow, "h-how exactly?"
"Hm, I'm not too sure," Terezi said, her mouth twisting into her shark-like smile once more, "but I do know who you need to contact to turn yourself back!"
"Ohhh, exciting!" Nepeta purred.
"The Evil Wizard, Eridan Ampora!"
"Oh no," Tavros cried, "he's the one who, uh, got me into this mess!" She could still recall his face as it melted under Vriska's touch. What a loser! She didn't want to see him ever again!
"But as you probably know, he's under the spell of the spiderbitch," Terezi said, "you'll need the help of the Knight and the Prince to defeat him. Only when he's gone will your curse be lifted...oh, and you still have to get rid of the nasty Arachnid Queen, afterwards!" She crackled, looking them over, "are you ready?"
"Yes! Yes!" Nepeta cried.
"Yeah, bro-man," Gamzee slurred, "motherfucking ready for this my whole life."
"Uh...no?" Tavros stuttered, but it was too late, Terezi was already pushing them out the door. Nepeta eagerly jumped from the great height, landing safely on her feet. Gamzee once again proved himself to be a tree-creature, swinging down gently. Tavros just fell. She was good at falling off tall things, but at least she didn't break anything...like her back or something.
("Awh, bro, stop trying to self-insert your motherfucking self into this thing, it's not cool."
"Gamzee, this story is about us?"
"Oh, what?")
"Oh! Oh! Beware of the robots! They'll get in your way!" she cried down after them, "and maybe you should go find the Prince first? I don't know where he is, but I have a feeling the Knight won't be far behind!"
She cackled once more and slammed the door to her treehouse closed. Tavros found herself staring up at where the opening had been, slightly more confused than she had been before.
"This is exciting!" Nepeta cried, bounding from tree to tree, "Miss Leijon jumps in excitement, hurriedly telling her friends that they should head back into town. There are purrobably some knights and stuff there! Hee hee!"
"Yeah, that's the best bet, I guess," Tavros nodded, following after the cat-troll. She looked back at Gamzee, watching the Poet readjust his hat, "uh, let's go, then!"