Author's Note: Keep in mind, I would add that Sparrow Scout oath, I just don't remember it, and I don't want to mess it up by accident. Otherwise, enjoy.
A new person entered the Sparrow Scouts.
It started when I showed my dad the photos I took during the Bird Parade.
"These are amazing, Louise," he said, "Told ya joining the Sparrow Scouts was a good idea."
I wasn't really paying attention though. I was only focused on one photo I took on that day. A photo of a girl with blue hair, red boots and jumper, yellow scarf, and a hat, riding on the Great Raven.
"What are you looking at," Dad asked.
"Just something weird," I replied, "When I was taking photos of the event, I saw a girl riding the Great Raven. Do you notice her?"
I showed him the picture of the girl. He seemed to look at it as if it had some… familiarity to him. I perked up to ask him about it, but then he put it down.
"Come on, it's getting late," Dad said, "And you had a pretty big day today."
Now that he had mentioned it, I was pretty tired. I listened, and went upstairs, into my room, got changed, and fell asleep.
The next day, things got a bit more interesting.
A new person is supposed to be joining the Sparrow Scouts today. This means I won't be the newest person to be joining the scouts. I arrived at the hall that day, as everyone was wondering who it would be.
"I wonder who the new kid is going to be," one kid asked.
"I heard that she was raised in the wilderness, and knows what's beyond the walls," another said.
"I heard that she may have been raised by trolls, or even fairies," someone else replied.
"That's impossible, nobody knows where fairies are," another person stated to that kid.
"I think I saw her riding on the Great Raven last night," one person said.
That's when my eyes widened.
Could the new kid actually be the kid we saw last night?
But just as I thought those things, the new kid came in, and confirmed my suspicion.
She had the same blue hair, the same red boots, the same hat… the only thing different was that she was wearing a different sweater, but I just assumed she just changed it, or misplaced it.
"Ok scouts, gather round," The Raven Leader said, as everyone came to attention.
"I like you to meet our newest sparrow scout being added today, Hilda," Raven Leader said.
Hilda shyly waved at everyone, as she said the Sparrow Scout oath. After that, the Raven Leader asked three people to help Hilda get used to the Sparrow Scouts. That's when I did something out of the ordinary.
I volunteered.
I wasn't the first to volunteer, as another girl Frida did. But still, I raised my hand up, as everyone noticed me. I shyly put my hand down.
But it was too late.
"Excellent Louise. You, Frida, and David will be joining Hilda and helping her get used to the Sparrow Scouts."
After that, we decided to head to Hilda's house. When there, Hilda, Frida, and David all talked about the task that we were about to do in a group, and the task we were going to do, I stayed silent. I still couldn't believe I was in the house of the girl who flew on the Great Raven.
"Hey, you haven't really talked all that much. Are you okay?"
I looked up, and saw Hilda, reaching out with her hand extended.
"Yeah, I'm fine…" I said, "I just… is that a deerfox?"
I just suddenly realised that Hilda actually had a pet… and it wasn't even a normal one like a dog, cat or anything. It was a deerfox, a creature that was said to just be a myth. I mean, I never seen anyone mention they saw one before.
"Yeah, this is Twig," Hilda said.
"I've read about deerfoxes, but I've never actually seen one," Frida replied, "Aww, look at those little antlers."
As we pet the deerfox, I decided to ask her something.
"Did you really fly with the Great Raven," I asked quickly.
Hilda, Frida, David, and Twig looked at me at the very random question. I felt pretty stupid on that, only for what sounded like a watch to ring.
"Oh, my mom and dad are calling me back," Frida said, "Probably for supper. See you tomorrow for the scout activity."
"Ok," Hilda said.
"I better go too," David said, "My parents are probably waiting for me too."
"Mine too, I guess," I said, as I went with them out the door.
"We're still up for clearing the area near the wall later," Frida asked Hilda.
"Yeah, see you then," Hilda said, as we left.
I biked all the way home, and arrived at home. I couldn't sleep that night. The fact that I'm part of a group is scary enough, but I'm in a group with the girl that flew in on the great Raven.
I'm honestly kinda nervous. I have never been friends with anyone really. I wondered how I should act, what I should do, what I could do.
'Guess I'll only know next night,' I thought to myself.
The next day, we headed to the area. I couldn't shake the feeling of something like I was walking in a circle.
When we got to the place, I figured out why that was the case.
We ended up in an area near the wall. Hilda looked up, seemingly amazed by the height of the wall. Meanwhile, I'm over here, having lived most of my life next to it, not really being phased by it.
"Huh, so this wall is supposed to keep the trolls out," Hilda asked.
"Yeah, they're all over the countryside outside of the wall," Frida explained.
As Frida and Hilda were talking, I realised that I have been here before. I usually would play here when I was younger, often just to get away.
But I also remembered someone else lived here.
David was about to dig a weed up, when…
"STOP," I yelled, as I grabbed the shovel, and threw it.
"Wha…" David started.
"Don't dig them up, these aren't weeds," I explained, "They're vittras."
"They're what," Frida asked.
Suddenly, the ground started to shake.
"Did you feel that," David asked.
Before any of us could respond, the ground gave in. We all fell into the ground, as we ended up in a really long fall. Just when it seemed like it won't end, we all landed.
"Is everyone okay," Frida asked.
"Yeah, I think I am," David replied, despite him landing face first.
"Me too," I replied.
"Same here," Hilda replied back.
"Good," Frida replied, as she looked around at their surroundings, "Now where are we?"
"The vittra tunnels," I explained, "It's where the vittra live, around this area."
"You knew this was here," Hilda asked me.
"Yeah…" I said shyly, "My dad and I don't live too far from here. I used to come here a lot when I was younger."
Suddenly, we heard a growl.
"Was that a vittra," David asked.
"No… that was something else," I said.
Suddenly, a giant figure came through the left side of the tunnel. A big, rocky being, with a large nose, sharp teeth, and glowing red eyes.
We all knew immediately what it was.
"T-T-TROLL," David screamed.
The troll roared at us, and we instinctively ran the other way. We ran through the tunnels, as the troll seemed to be right behind us, squeezing its body through the tight tunnels of the vittra.
We eventually managed to lose it in the tunnels, allowing us to catch our breath.
"How is this possible," Frida asked, "The wall is supposed to protect us from trolls."
"The vittra tunnels go underneath the wall," I explained.
"Why is it here anyway," Hilda asked, "What reason would it have to be here?"
"Uhh, to eat us," David said.
"It didn't even know we were here until we fell," Hilda said.
"Well, whatever's the reason, it's disrupting everyone here."
A random voice came into our heads, as we turned around and saw a vittra. And not just any vittra.
One that recognised me, the moment I recognised him.
"Louise," he said.
"Buck," I replied.
A moment of silence between us was shared, before Frida spoke up and said, "You two know each other?!"
Unfortunately, that quote echoed all around us and alerted the troll to our location.
"Quick, before it comes here," Buck replied.
We quickly ran, and seemed to get separated, as Hilda and Frida ended up on a separate path than David and I. We ended up staying with Buck as the troll looked around.
"So… kid, how've you been," Buck asked, "It's been a while since we saw you around."
"I'm fine," I said.
"Ok, now that we seem to be out of harm's way," David started, "You two know each other?!"
"Quiet, kid," Buck said, "Unless you want to be troll food."
"But yes," I said, "I used to go here when I was younger."
"Why," David asked.
"I don't know… I guess I just found it easier to connect with them," I explained, "Though, over time, I guess I stopped coming."
"Anyways, why is there a troll down here," David asked.
"I don't know," Buck replied, "It just showed up one day, and started terrorising us."
"Well, whatever it's doing, we can't let it into Trollberg," I said.
"What do you think we should do," David asked.
Then, I remembered the fact that apparently, bells drive away the troll. I saw that in action when my dad took me to the top of a belltower, and witnessed one of the other bell-keepers ring the bells to drive the troll away.
"Does anyone have a bell," I asked.
"I do," David replied, as he pulled out a miniature bell.
"I'll need it," I said.
"Why," Buck asked.
"To drive it out," I said, "I'll distract it, and hopefully push it out, and you guys run."
"What about you," David asked.
"I'll try to find Hilda and Frida," I said, "Maybe I'll be able to push it out."
With that, David gave me the bell, as he and Buck ran. I went deeper into the vittra tunnels, as I looked for the troll in the tunnels.
I eventually heard a growl echoing.
I ran towards it, and saw the troll. I wasted no time and rung the bell.
But then I stopped. The troll growled in pain as I did. Thinking I was hurting it, I stopped ringing it, only for it to turn towards me. The troll attempted to attack me, as the bell dropped from my hands, ringing louder.
The troll got angrier as it stopped, and chased after me. It eventually cornered me.
Just when it seemed like the end for me.
"WAIT!"
A voice that was familiar revealed itself to be Hilda, holding what looks to be a troll child. The troll immediately ignored me to head towards Hilda, as Hilda gave it the child.
The troll looked down, seemingly thanking Hilda, and then started to leave. In minutes, we heard stomping from the above.
The troll had left the vittra tunnels.
Frida helped me up, as she checked if I was okay. Thankfully, I didn't suffer that many fatal injuries.
"Hilda," I said, "What was that?"
"When we got separated in the tunnels, Hilda and I found a baby troll in it," Frida explained.
"It must've rolled into the vittra tunnels by accident, and when it woke up, it got lost," Hilda explained, "Then, the mother must've gone down to try and find it."
"Huh," I replied.
"Alright, now how do we get out," Hilda asked.
"Hey, kids!"
We heard a cry from up above, as a rope fell to our location.
"Grab on, we'll pull you up," David said.
We were pulled out of the hole minutes later, as David, Twig, and Buck pulled us out.
"Are you guys okay," David asked.
"Yeah, the troll is now out of the vittra tunnels, and shouldn't be bothering you," I said.
"Really, how…" Buck said, speechless.
"Believe it or not, Hilda actually found a way to get it out, peacefully," Frida explained.
Hilda looked nervously and said, "Hopefully, this helps the fact that we almost dug you up."
Buck looked at me, suspiciously, before shrugging it off.
"At least she knew," Buck said, "You always seem to recognise things that others don't."
They all looked at me, as I put my hands up over my head, and crouched down to hide.
"What's wrong," Frida asked.
I sighed, as I said, "I'm… not used to having everyone focused on me… I mostly kept to myself."
"How long have you been in the Sparrow Scouts," David asked.
"A month… but I mostly didn't say anything after the first day," I explained.
"That explains why I wasn't aware of you until yesterday," David said.
"David," Frida said.
"What, it's true," David replied.
"No… it's okay," I laughed, "I just… never had any real friends."
Hilda then went to me.
"I just moved here… and let's just say my first attempts to make human friends were… less than favourable," Hilda said, "But… you seem nice… wanna be friends?"
I looked at Hilda… I never thought I'd be making friends like this, let alone with a girl that seems to be an entire mystery to me.
"Yeah, we can be your friends too," Frida said.
"Really," David said.
"David, come on, it'll be fun," Frida said.
David thought about it, before replying, "Alright, sure."
I smiled, as I grabbed my camera.
"Picture to confirm it," I asked.
"Sure," Frida said.
I raised the camera as everyone got into the frame, even Twig and Buck, as I clicked it.
That night, I smiled as I putted the picture next to the nightstand table, as I fell asleep.
(End of Chapter 1)
Author's Note: Merry Nearly christmas. I was honestly expecting to get this done before my school break, but unfortunately, my parents had me called.
But, I hoped you enjoy it, I did have to rewrite it a bit, since the first draft was way to short for my liking, but I can't wait to reveal what I have planned.