Disclaimer: I do not own The 10th Kingdom. This is merely a fanfiction.
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"I think he went this way!"
"No, that way!"
"Last time we listened to you, we ended up in a match box!"
"And the last time we listened to you, we were turned into gold!"
Prince hid in the shadows of the Shoemacher factory as Burly, Blabberwort and Bluebell argued.
"I think I've got his scent!" Burly yelled.
Bluebell was sheepish. "No, it's just me."
Blabberwort wrinkled her nose. "I'm certain he went this way. Come on!" The three trolls snarled and lurched down a side corridor. Prince waited until they were out of earshot before he stepped a paw out from his perch. His nose twitched, smelling the air. Then he took off down the opposite way.
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Laborers groaned as they worked in the docks. The Leather Overlord guards paced back and forth, striking slow workers with whips. Prince watched from a balcony above as shipments of leather shoes were placed onto small boats.
A dock door rose out of the waters. Prince squinted his eyes and sniffed the air again. He could see a small shipping boat enter the docks. And out in the distance, a river – a river that led south into the woods – but a river that went south, nonetheless. A river that could potentially lead to the Fourth Kingdom.
The shipmaster descended a wooden plank to talk to one of the Leather Overlords. "Long day – this'll be the last stop of the evening."
The guard nodded to the shipmaster. "Us too. You're the last shipment heading out for the week."
Prince perked up at this. If this was the last boat heading out for the week, they had to be on it. Who knew what havoc the Snow Queen could wreak in a week? And who knew what the Shoemacher's would do to Tony during that time?
The shipmaster rubbed his swollen belly which was jutting out from his shirt like jelly. "I'm aching for a drink. Think the Shoemacher's can spare a mug?"
"No drinking and sailing. Especially not with our shipments."
"Oh come on, ya' ol' rag! Just one mug o' grog?"
The Overlord sighed. "Just one. You're a real pain in the neck. Come on – a half hour and then you're outta here." The two walked back up the docks while workers loaded the ship.
A half hour? That didn't give them much time. Prince took off back into the heart of the factory.
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Tony pressed himself into a tight alcove as Mr. Shoemacher led a team of Leather Overlords down a corridor.
"Spread out! I want that filth caught!"
Tony waited with bated breath. Their voices vanished down the hallway and he let himself breathe. He backed further into the alcove.
"Hey! Watch where you're stepping! You almost crushed me!"
Tony looked around for the source of the squeaky voice. "Who's there?"
"Look down!"
Tony glanced down – and nearly started. A small female elf stood there, clothes ragged and worn. The little elf only reached up to his knee and she was staring up at him with a botched pixie face.
"Sorry," he muttered, withdrawing his boot away from her.
"You on the run too?" She was peeking out the side of the alcove now. "You're not gonna turn me in, are you?"
Tony sighed and kneeled so they were eye level. "No – I'm trying to get out of here myself. Problem is, I gotta get my dog first. And I don't know where the exit is. Plus the guards are out for my blood."
The elf nodded. She motioned for him to follow her into the corridor. "Come on – I'll take you to my hideout." She began walking down the alcove.
Tony hesitated. "In case you haven't noticed – I umm – won't exactly fit any further."
The elf rolled her eyes. "Watch this!" She waved her hand, and the alcove began widening. Its walls sprung to the side enough for two full grown men to walk shoulder to shoulder.
Tony was incredulous. "You can do magic? Magic!" He was laughing. "Then you can get us out of here -."
"No can do," the elf sighed. "I can do cheap parlor tricks and stuff, but I'm still a novice. My teacher was captured by the Shoemacher's like the rest of us and I never progressed further in my training than the first stages."
"I can relate," Tony found himself saying. "I only reached a white belt in karate."
"What's karate?"
"Never mind. A hideout you said?"
The elf reached the end of the alcove. There was nothing there but a solid wall. The elf knocked three times. There was a flash of light and a door appeared.
"It'll only stay open for a second," the elf explained. "Then it seals itself up. Come on."
Shaking his head, Tony followed her through the doorway.
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Prince bolted down a hallway, his nose hot on Tony's trail. He rounded a corner – BAM! The three trolls were coming down the opposite way.
"It's him!" Bluebell pointed. "The dog!"
"Prince Wendell?" Burly asked, confused.
"Of course not!" Bluebell snapped. "Prince Wendell got his body back. This is just the Queen's dog now."
"But he can lead us to the Fat One!" Blabberwort exclaimed.
"Good idea!" Bluebell grinned. "Glad I thought of it!"
Blabberwort bopped him on the back of his head. "I thought of it!"
"And I'm going to execute it!"
"Guys," Burly pointed. "The dog's getting away."
Prince was bounding down the corridor.
The trolls roared. "After him! C'mere doggie, doggie!" And the chase began.
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"You got a name?" Tony asked as he crouched down through the newly formed doorway. It sealed shut behind him. The room he was in was big enough for several full-sized people. There was a luxurious bed with a kitchenette. "What is this place?"
"Spare bedroom created by Shoemacher's but they forgot it exists. Name's Leslie by the way."
Tony wrinkled his nose. "Leslie the Elf?"
"Hey, we can't all be named Leaffall."
"I guess not." Tony took in his surroundings. "So why are you on the run?"
"Because I refuse to work for the Shoemachers. They kidnapped us elves, forced us to work in this factory. The others may have had the fight kicked out of them, but not me! I … just haven't been able to get away. Not yet, anyway."
Tony gesticulated with excitement. "Well then we can work together! You and me! We'll escape! Once we find my dog!"
"A dog, you say?"
"Yes, a golden retriever! His name's Prince."
"How many of you are there?" Leslie asked.
"Just me and him. Oh, the trolls too, but I don't think they'd want to leave the shoe factory."
Leslie tapped her arms. "So just you and the dog … very good." She began tinkering with some stuff in the kitchenette. "It was a pleasure meeting you and I'm very sorry for this."
Tony was confused. "Sorry? For wha -."
A dash of pink troll dust hit him in the face.
Leslie shrugged. "You're a nice guy, Tony. But far too trusting. You'd think in a world where Jack and Jill were tricked by the old witch, or Snow White with her stepmother disguised as an old peddler – you'd have learned …"
Tony swayed and collapsed at the elf's feet.
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"Wakey-wakey."
Tony's vision crept back. He sat up. He was no longer in Leslie's hideout. He was back – back in Mrs. Shoemacher's bedroom. Mrs. Shoemacher smiled. "He's up."
"I only hit him with a tiny bit of troll dust." Leslie was smiling.
"Good. Be sure my husband and his guards don't find him."
Leslie bowed and backed out the door.
"Now hold on a minute," Tony protested.
"Don't worry. You're safe. My husband won't find you. It's best he think you escaped, that way he won't be looking for you. And you can stay here – with me."
"If you think -."
Mrs. Shoemacher waxed dramatic. "This morning I let down my guard to a handsome stranger and succumbed to your advances."
"You came on to me!"
Mrs. Shoemacher grabbed the front of his shirt. "It changed me, Antony. If I crave your touch again, you've only yourself to blame!"
"This is crazy! Supposing I just turn myself in to your husband?"
"You won't do that, Antony." Mrs. Shoemacher snapped her fingers. The door to the bedroom swung open and in came the three trolls, holding a struggling Prince. Mrs. Shoemacher gently stroked the dog's ears as the three trolls grinned. "Like I told you the other day, I always wanted a pair of leather dog shoes. Your choice."
Tony stared at Prince, and then his eyes fell on the three trolls. Pure fury filled his face. "You three – I thought you wanted a partnership with me?!"
To his surprise, Blabberwort smiled. "We actually do. NOW!"
The trolls released Prince who bounded over to Mrs. Shoemacher, snarling, driving the woman back. She screamed loudly as the trolls grabbed Tony. "Come with us if you want to live, Fat One!" Bluebell exclaimed. They shoved him out the door.
"Doggie!" Blabberwort whistled. Prince snarled one last time at Mrs. Shoemacher, before following Tony and the trolls out the door.
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Tony struggled to breathe as he kept pace with the trolls, running down the hallway, Prince at their heels. "You were on my side this whole time?!" He exclaimed.
"Like we said – a partnership!" Burly replied.
"Okay – I hope you have a plan!" The three trolls stopped and looked at him deadpan. Tony's arms were gesticulating. "You don't have a plan to escape?!"
The three trolls lowered their heads and shoulders sheepishly. Burly flexed a bicep. "Like we said – you're the brains, we're the muscle."
Tony racked his brain. Prince, meanwhile, had grabbed Tony's pant legs with his teeth and was pulling. "Now not, boy, I gotta think of an escape plan."
Prince pulled harder.
Burly pointed at the retriever. "Maybe the dog knows a way to escape -."
"Not now, I'm thinking!" Tony stopped. "Wait! Prince! Do you know a way to escape?"
Prince let out a soft bark in the affirmative, before turning and bounding down the hall.
"This way!" Tony exclaimed. "Follow the yellow dog!"
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Prince led the group along a catwalk overlooking the factory. Below, several Leather Overlords stood guard as the kidnapped elves were forced to make shoes. A pang of guilt stabbed at Tony's gut and he stopped short. Blabberwort walked right into him.
"Why are we stopping, O Fat One?"
"Enough with the Fat One, okay?" Tony stared down at the dirty and thinning faces of the elf slaves. "We can't just leave them here. I can't believe I'm even saying this, Virginia is rubbing off on me!"
"Your doggie has a way out," Blabberwort protested. "We can't waste time -."
"You're okay leaving all these elves here as slaves?"
All three trolls looked at each other and then spoke in unison. "Yes."
"I knew it was too much to hope for. Fine! I'm going down there – you want a partnership, you can either help me or forget it!"
Prince whined, his tail going between his legs. They were running short on time.
Tony stepped onto a ladder and began descending. When he reached the bottom rung, he dropped down. He walked into the center of the factor, arms up. "Elves! May I have your attention please!"
The elves stopped what they were doing and stared at Tony curiously. Across the room, the Leather Overlords brandished their spears, heading straight for Tony.
Tony ignored the approaching guards. He spoke to the elves. "What are you doing? You've been kidnapped and forced to slave and make shoes! And you won't even fight back?!"
The elves continued to stare at him.
Above, Prince and the three trolls watched in amazement. "They'll skewer him alive," Burly mused.
"If they do, I get his shoes," Bluebell grinned.
"We promised an alliance," Blabberwort said, staring at Tony. "Whatever else we are, we're trolls of our word. Who's with me?!"
Neither of her two brothers responded.
"You're right. The Fat One made his choice. We three escape without him." She turned to Prince. "Alright doggie – show us the way out.
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Tony sighed as the guards drew closer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the three trolls sneakily race across the catwalk above. Typical, he thought. He turned his attention back to his captive audience.
"Listen to me elves – you may be smaller than them. But you outnumber them ten to one! Plus you can do magic!"
The guards had reached him and pointed their spears at his belly. "They won't listen," came a voice on the far side of the room. Mr. Shoemacher had appeared with several more guards. "Their wills have been broken. They no longer have the willpower to break free. They no longer have free will. They belong … to me!"
Tony stared at the elves. "Don't listen to him! You can break free right now! I know the odds seem impossible! But you can do it! I've done it! You've all heard of Virginia Lewis?! She's my daughter! I'm Antony Lewis! We defeated the Evil Queen and saved the Nine Kingdoms! And if a janitor like me can do it, you can too!"
The elves continued to remain silent.
"A heartening speech," Mr. Shoemacher mocked, gently applauding. "But it falls on deaf ears." He motioned to his guards. "Take him away."
A shoe spun out of nowhere, striking two of the guards in the head, knocking them over.
Mr. Shoemacher and the other guards looked in all directions. An elderly elf stood on a table. He picked up another shoe and threw it.
"Grab him!" Mr. Shoemacher ordered. "He'll have to be reprogrammed!"
Another shoe came from the opposite direction, this time striking Mr. Shoemacher. He snarled. "Who did that?!"
"I did!" an elf shouted.
"No, it was me!" another replied.
"Me!"
All around them, the elves were standing up. And they were furious.
"Get back to your work!" Mr. Shoemacher screamed.
The elves all stood up together. The Leather Overlords seemed to realize that they were outnumbered.
"You elves get back to work," Mr. Shoemacher screamed.
The guards were suddenly pelted with shoes. The elves swarmed them. The guards screamed, staggering around in the chaos as they were covered head to toe by the tiny elves. They folded under the sheer numbers.
Mr. Shoemacher staggered back through a doorway.
"Go!" one of the elves yelled at Tony. "We'll take everything from here!"
Nodding, Tony climbed back up the ladder, following after the trolls.
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"This rope goes here, that one goes there!" Bluebell was yelling at Burly. The three trolls were on the docked ship. Prince was sitting on the bow, staring at the dock, waiting for Tony.
Blabberwort grabbed a hold of the ship's wheel.
"You don't know how to pilot a boat!" Bluebell yelled.
"Neither do you, but of the three of us I trust me most! Batten down the hatches, we're leaving!" Blabberwort spun the wheel and the boat began to back out of the dock.
Prince whined, barking at the trolls.
"Hey," Bluebell shrugged in answer to the dog. "The Fat One chose to stay behind."
Prince barked again.
"Wait for me!"
They looked up to see Tony racing into the docks, chased by several Leather Overlords. The boat had already pulled away and was heading through the loading dock.
"I don't know how to stop it!" Blabberwort yelled.
Bluebell and Burly raced to the end of the boat, arms out. "You'll have to jump!" Bluebell yelled.
"I'll catch you!" Burly added.
"No, I'll catch him!" Bluebell sneered.
"Somebody catch me!" Tony yelled. He picked up speed, racing along the wooden dock. The Leather Overlords were gaining on him. The trolls were yelling at him to hurry.
Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Tony sprang with all his might from the edge of the dock.
Prince barked. Tony soared through the air, landing straight on top of the two trolls.
"Is he secure?" Blabberwort demanded. "Then we're off!"
The ship steered through the loading door and out of the factory.
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The elves ran out the doors of the factory en masse, finally free. The Eighth Kingdom citizens in the village watched in amazement as hundreds of tiny elves raced down their streets, laughing and rejoicing in their newfound freedom.
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Mr. Shoemacher watched from one of the factory's windows. He slammed a fist down on the table as he yelled at his guards. "We can recover the elves anytime we want. But that fool who incited them – I want his head!"
A guard stepped forward. "Orders, sir?"
Mr. Shoemacher stared at him. "Get the archers ready."
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Tony raced up to the front of the ship where Blabberwort was at the wheel. "You can sail?"
"No, but how hard can it be?! And lookie, we're making fantastic time!"
Tony watched as the scenery around them changed. Trees were appearing on either side of the riverbed. "And this river will take us to the Fourth Kingdom?"
Blabberwort shrugged. "I don't know, but anything is better than being stuck back there."
Bluebell seemed to have different thoughts. "All those shoes …" Burly nudged him and opened his jacket. Inside were lined with leather shoes that he swiped from the factory. Bluebell grinned. "Nicey-nice."
"I'm surprised the Shoemacher's aren't following us," Tony said. His eyes fell on Prince, who was standing straight up, ears perked, nose sniffing. The dog sensed something.
WHIZZ!
Something flew right past Tony's head. An arrow.
WHIZZ! WHIZZ!
More arrows. "Spoke too soon," Tony lamented.
Burly pointed. "They're coming from the trees!"
Blabberwort ducked her head as more arrows came, bouncing and clattering at her feet. Tony watched as shapes jumped from tree to tree on either side. Figures in lean leather outfits.
"Shoemacher sent archers!" Bluebell exclaimed.
WHIZZ! WHIZZ!
The arrows were getting closer, littering the deck. One almost shot right past Tony's ear, nearly impaling his head. "They're getting closer! Can't you do any evasive maneuvers?!" he yelled at Blabberwort.
"This is a shipping boat, not a naval cruiser!" she retorted over her back. "But I think I could pull off a few tricks!"
"Well whatever you're gonna do, do it fast!"
The archers continued jumping from tree to tree. The shots were getting closer and closer.
Tony pointed ahead – the river was diverging into two paths. The right-hand path was full of woods – it would give the archers more hiding places and locations to shoot from. The left-hand side was filled with nothing but rocks – but at least the archers would be forced to be out in the open.
"Left!" Tony yelled. "Go left!"
Blabberwort spun the wheel and the ship began veering right.
"Other left!" Tony yelled. "Other left!"
WHIZZ! WHIZZ! The arrows were getting ever closer.
Blabberwort grimaced as she spun the wheel left with all her might. "We're caught in a current!" she screamed. "I'm losing control!"
Prince whimpered as he hid under a piece of equipment.
Dodging an arrow, Tony leapt onto the steering platform. He grabbed the wheel with Blabberwort. "Push … left …" he screeched through gritted teeth. He and the female troll pushed the wheel left with every ounce of strength they had. The boat began listing left.
Tony forced his full body weight onto the wheel. His muscles were burning with pain.
"We're not gonna make it!" Bluebell screamed.
"We're gonna make it!" Tony yelled back.
The boat listed to the left, out of the current, onto the lefthand river path. The trees vanished and the archers appeared at the tops of the last of them, watching their prey escape right in front of them. Bluebell and Burly made rude gestures at them, mocking them.
Tony breathed a sigh of relief as he sat on a bench on the ship's side. "We made it … we're out of danger."
"Ummm …" Blabberwort muttered. "I wouldn't necessarily go that far …"
"Oh what now?" Tony griped.
Blabberwort pointed. "That."
Tony followed her finger. "Oh cripes …"
A giant waterfall was ahead of them. "Stop the ship!" yelled Tony.
"I can't! The current's too strong!"
"Can we swim?!"
Blabberwort shook her head. "The current …"
The waterfall was edging closer and closer. Bluebell and Burly were holding each other, sputtering in terror. Prince's ears covered his eyes.
"Everyone grab hold of something!" Tony grabbed a piece of rope, wrapping it around Blabberwort's waist, tying her in place to the railing of the ship. "You two – hurry!"
Bluebell and Burly got the idea. They wrapped cords of rope around their wrists, nodding to each other. "Suckin' elf!" Burly groaned.
"Prince!" Tony was securing his own waist to the mast of the ship. "Here boy!" Prince bounded into his arms.
"Here we go!" Blabberwort screamed.
Tony felt as though his stomach had been taken out from under him. The boat raced over the edge of the waterfall. They were freefalling, the water cascading down around them, the sound of it drowning out everything else. Burly and Bluebell were screaming and Blabberwort struggled with the wheel.
SPLASH!
Tony dared to open an eye. The boat was right-side up at the bottom of the falls, now gently sailing along the river. Bluebell and Burly were blabbering incoherently. Blabberwort was staring straight ahead, holding the wheel, not quite even aware of her surroundings.
Prince bounded out of Tony's arms and shook himself off, spraying the brother trolls with water. He gripped Tony's bindings with his teeth, undoing it.
"D-did we make it?" Bluebell asked.
Tony nodded.
Bluebell raised a finger as Prince bit through his bindings, freeing him from the railing. "In that case," he said, "I'm gonna take a nice nap." He collapsed face forward onto the deck, fainting from sheer shock.
Tony stared ahead at the river, hoping there were no more waterfalls, not knowing where the river would take them, but praying that it would be the Fourth Kingdom.
