The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Valentina began her training. A bit later on, Hua spotted her. He couldn't stay for long, so he trained with her for an hour or so. After that, he caught a wagon to the palace at the bottom of the rock their home rested on.
Valentina sighed, now alone. After that, she ate a light breakfast and headed out herself. She descended from her home as well and headed to the East of the village. That's where the training hall was located. She spent two hours instructing classes and one hour leading a session of tai chi.
Still, her father had not returned…and it was only 9 o'clock. It was still very early and she was now very bored. What was she supposed to do? Sit back, go home, and watch TV all day? Eat breakfast again, perhaps?
The second option seemed like the better option. Now, she found herself inside Ping's quaint, cozy, and small restaurant with a bowl of soybean milk and doughnut sticks. She was sitting with her two most trusted friends as she quietly told the two what was going on. Thankfully, there weren't many people in there at the moment.
"So…there's something super shifty going on, all the greatest fighters are meeting up to discuss it, and you can't go?" The large fox asked, making sure he understood everything. "Man. That bites." He leaned on the table, comically making it creak from his weight.
Valentina shifted on her mat. "Yeah. I know. I may not be liked but I'm a good fighter. I can help. I want to help." She stirred her doughnut stick in the milk before she looked away with a sigh.
Ping waved at the last few customers that left, standing up to collect the tip that they had left behind.
That's when the second male was able to toss off his hood and reveal himself. He was tall and graceful, his body covered in emerald green scales that were tipped with gold. He was lean and didn't have an adam's apple while his face was sharp and handsome. His eyes were a vivid yellow and had light blue speckles in them that stood out brilliantly. His long and thick eyelashes looked as though they had plenty of mascara on them while his eyebrows were black and plucked to perfection. His long straight hair was as black as the night sky and had various golden bands in his hair to which emeralds and jades were attached. Under his cloak, his white and emerald kimono looked more like a female's with it's elegant and flowing design that had several jade and emerald colored flowers. The sleeves were quite large and long and had small green gems decorating them while the traditional belt on the kimono had a golden flower on it. His draconic feet had barely visible tattoos while his large vivid emerald wings shimmered brilliantly beneath his cloak and his tail dragged along the ground.
The dragon troll looked over at Valentina before he smiled and poked her on the shoulder. "Val?"
Valentina blinked before she looked up at him. "…Don't give me that look. That…comforting pretty boy look that makes me feel better. I want to be huffy!" Her cheeks comically puffed up as she folded her arms.
The dragon troll shifted a bit and lowered his head…before his pupils grew large and sad. "Don't be huffy over that stupid family~" He spoke in a pouty voice and stared at her.
"No! Stop it!" Valentina shook her head and tried to turn her gaze away. "Li Jun, I command you to stop right now!" She twitched heavily, trying not to melt.
Ping merely snickered at the sight. "That's it Jun! Hit her with the chibi dragon face!" He cheered the other male on.
Jun smirked and leaned in. "The royal family are stuffy, and mean, and you shouldn't want to go meet mean people." He continued speaking before his lower lip trembled…and his eyes became glossy. "Think of me, Val…"
"If the royals like me, then everyone else will like me too..." Valentina continued as her twitch became worse.
"Nuh-uh. You have me and P-Ping…think of your friends, Val. Not of traditional weirdos." He dramatically spoke…before a few tears did escape. He leaned in closer. "Don't leave me behind, my dearest friend." He nearly threw himself into her arms.
Valentina trembled…before something snapped in her brain snapped. That's when she comically fell over, knocked out with teeny ninjas running around her head. "Ughhhh…"
Ping walked over with some smelling salts. "Way to go. You beat your last record by three whole minutes." He told Jun, referring to the knocked out female.
"I told you I was a good actor." Jun wiped away the tears and snickered.
After Valentina was revived. She grumbled. "Mmm…Curse you, Jun…" She dizzily rubbed her head.
"No, no cursing me. You needed that." Jun waved his hand.
"I needed to take a ten minute nap?" Valentina deadpanned at him and sat up.
"Totally, you weren't thinking straight." He smirked a little.
Valentina pouted a bit before she looked away. "I love you guys. I do, but the way I'm being treated has gotten old a long time ago. I'm always looked at as a tourist or a freak. Is being treated as an equal really too much to ask?" She sighed and looked up at them.
Ping walked over and rubbed her on the head. "Val, I've known you since we were kids. You're a great person. If no one else can see that, then tell them to go to hell. Simple as that." He said with a calm smile.
"He's got a point." Jun agreed with a soft growl. "And who says going to the stuffy palace will change anything? You might feel worse there."
"But they are talking about The Pool of Yin and Yang. That's one of our most sacred parks. It's important to Dragon Hollow. It's important to us. What if someone is trying to harm it?" Valentina asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"What on Earth do these rebels want with the pool anyway? Nothing's there. My family and I went there to take pictures just the other day." Ping said with a light frown of confusion.
"I've heard nothing of importance, stealing wise, being there. At the end of the day it's just a park with a pool that wouldn't matter to them." Jun hummed and tilted his head.
Valentina looked down in thought. "…Hua's face looked so…serious when he spoke of the pool. Hua's never serious. I think I'm going to go there." She began to gather her belongings with a nod.
"Wait, Val…don't be hasty. For one, Hua is always like that when he has to go mingle with the royals. You might have mistaken his seriousness for one thing rather than the other." Jun said with a small frown. "I…honestly don't want you to get all hyped up and nothing to be out there. Especially with this whole meeting nonsense."
"Yeah. Like we already established. It's just a park." Ping added with a blink.
"But we don't know that if no one ever goes and looks around." Valentina tied her sash around her waist, securing her sword. "I'll be back in time for lunch. If you guys are right, I'll run around the village naked again." She looked up at them with a smirk.
"Please don't." Jun comically said with a twitch.
While Ping puffed up at the thought, Valentina laughed a bit.
"Guys, I was kidding. I'll be back in a bit." Valentina smiled at them before she placed some cash in the tip jar on the way out.
Ping…shifted a bit. "Eh heh. I'll be back out in a few minutes. I have something to handle in the men's room." He said with a blush on his cheeks.
"S-Seriously?" Jun twitched at him before he covered his nose. "Shoo-shoo."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm going." Ping fussed as he comically fled the scene.
Ooooooo
It took Valentina about thirty minutes to travel to The Pool of Yin and Yang on foot, but she didn't particularly own a ride of any sort. She could only hitch a ride on the back of a few wagons if someone was nice enough to give her a ride. This wasn't Kotyo. Not everyone owned vehicles.
The park seemed as peaceful as ever. Beautiful plants surrounded the area, flowers, and small waterfalls. In the center was the well known Pool of Yin and Yang. It was quite literally shaped as a giant yin yang with lily pads as each dot in the center of the symbol. The dark side was covered by the shade of the cave while the lighter side was directly hit by the sun. Naturally, this is where the majority of the plants grew while the dark side was were a lot of the cave water was.
Valentina looked around curiously. Everything was the same. The park was as beautiful as ever. Maybe Jun and Ping were right? Maybe there is nothing going on?
"Wait a minute, Val. Look around first before you start making assumptions." Valentina said to herself and started to look around.
As she walked, she noticed that no one was in the park today. It wasn't uncommon for the park to be empty in the morning. Not everyone is off from work yet.
The second thing she noticed was something she only saw when she was deeper into the park. There was a deep claw mark on one of the tree roots.
Valentina hummed and lowered herself to look at the mark. "Looks like a dragon must have gotten frustrated. Either that or decided to sharpen their claws." She snorted at the thought.
That was when she looked up and saw a pair of muddy footprints. They weren't dragon footprints. They looked like fox prints…but bigger.
Valentina furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before she stood up and looked in the direction the footprints were headed. That's when she saw something that changed her view entirely.
All of the tree roots had claw marks on them. Claw marks of different sizes, quickly slashed through the wood. It was as if someone had marked the spot. Upon closer inspection, Valentina noticed puddles of water in places where they shouldn't have been. Wherever there was a puddle…there were muddy paw prints.
"Wait…" Valentina finally put everything together. "Where are all the animals…and the bees, and the butterflies? There may not always be people at the park, but there is always wildlife. Today, there was no sign of them. Not even a sound.
It was dead quiet.
That fact alone made Valentina want to reach for her sword. However, she didn't. If those rebels were here, she had to play it cool if they were to believe she was just a naive bystander.
Finding some cover would be nice, though.
That's when Valentina heard a sound. It sounded like…talking. The voices were getting closer.
The red troll blinked at that and climbed up a large stone. After that, she hid behind it, holding on so she could get a peek at what was happening.
One of the voices growled to themselves.
When Valentina was able to peek at him, her eyes widened with a few blinks. He was a gorgeous red troll with a sculpted body that was covered in soft feathers. Unlike the other troll species, his ears were larger and more round. His nose was round and small as well and it was black in color. His long train of feather dragged along the ground from under his white and gold kimono which displayed a Japanese sunset, many vibrant pink eye markings on it. Black and white striped markings traveled down his sides. He wore a pair of black sandals on his feet as well as a matching black sash around his waist. His feathery hair nearly fell over his face while his silver eyes looked over the park in a calculating manner.
He cautiously looked around before he continued. "I don't understand. I know we are in the right place. This is the only place in Dragon Hollow that would be majestic enough for the sanctuary to be located, but we've searched every crack, cave, and hole and we've still found nothing!"
"I've heard the princess's private garden is more majestic." The other voice snickered a bit. "Maybe we should do a nice thorough search there because this place is fucking empty." He swore, speaking in a lazy voice. He was a troll of above average height and had grayish dark blue skin along with a black nose and deadened gray eyes. His skin appeared as though it was scaly in some areas while his nails were sharper than normal. His black hair was short and messy and covered one of his eyes while his visible eyebrow was pierced. He appeared to have black eyeliner around his sunken eye while he had two black spike piercings in both ears. He wore a black leather jacket that was rather featureless aside from two lines of blue at the collar of his jacket. He matched the jacket with a pair of ripped black pants and brown heavy duty boots.
The peacock looked at the other male with a sigh. "No, it can't be the princess's garden. It's not ancient enough. This park was built within the same year the piece was hidden away. It has to be here, Blackstone."
"Ooooor not. We could just be wasting time that could be spent elsewhere." Blackstone rolled his eyes and glanced around. "Get it into your head, it isn't here. It could be in some ancient burial ground that's hella haunted with something more than a divine being." He placed a hand on his hip.
"Hey, you do the machines. I do the digging and the directions." The peacock honked at Blackstone as he poked the other male. "The one thing you are correct about is us wasting time. We might just have to drop by the palace and make a quick visit. I'm very curious about their little park."
Blackstone stared at him. "...Can you not honk at me? I can never tell if you're angry or screaming 'fuck me'." He said in a deadpan, his lone eye locked onto the peacocks.
The peacock's tail swayed as if he had full control of it. "…It's all in the tone, pitch, and context. A seductive honk carries more of a…" His eyes caught a hint of red on a large rock.
However, before he could spot Valentina, she swiftly lept and hid elsewhere.
"…A deepness in it." He merely continued, leading Blackstone past a giant flower…which Valentina peeked out of.
"Just tell me when and where, bud. I don't discriminate." Blackstone snickered again and wore a wide grin.
"…" The peacock dryly deadpanned. "I think I need a drink. Where are those dumbass wolves?" He grumbled as he kept walking.
Clearly Valentina had seen enough to deduce that bad guys were ravishing the park. However, she still had no idea what they were after…so she continued to follow them, using the colorful plants as cover while she quietly slipped by. When she took a moment to catch her breath, her eyes widened at the sight that lay before her.
It was a large camp of sorts that was populated by many armed trolls. However, these trolls weren't any regular trolls. They looked like wolves with fur, sharp teeth, claws, and large ears. For the most part, they were all sorts of colors. Some of them were roaming, living life, sitting at a camp fire…or guarding their tied up hostage.
Valentina's eyes widened at the sight of the tied up male.
"For the last time. I'm not going to sleep with you." The peacock griped as he rolled his eyes.
"C'mon, bud, I know those are mating honks. I gotchu covered, I don't mind riding or being ridden." Blackstone suggestively growled and wagged his eyebrows.
The red male deadpanned before he twitched. "Are not and of course you don't. If you're horny, bang the hostage." He jabbed his thumb at…Floyd who was tied up in thick rope. "Or one of the wolves." He jabbed his thumb at a group of wolves…who immediately fled at the mention.
Blackstone…merely grinned in an almost maniacal manner. "Or I can do…this!" He promptly smacked the other male's ass then took off further into the camp, grinning like a mad man the whole way.
Immediately, the peacock squawked at Blackstone and flew after him. As soon as he caught up to Stone, he eagerly began to have at him with his claw-like talons.
While Blackstone comically screamed and made…other noises, Floyd shook his head and wore a dry expression. "Rock trolls…"
Since all the wolves in the area had fled, the two men in charge were busy, and the pop troll was all alone, Valentina took a risky move and abandoned her hiding spot. She quietly ran over to the male, looking over his ropes.
Floyd blinked and looked at her but stayed silent. He merely raised an eyebrow at her, wondering why she was here.
Valentina met eyes with him but also remained quiet. She glanced around, nearly jumping when she heard the peacock fuss. Once she saw he was still distracted, she slowly unsheathed her sword and…swiftly moved it upward. That caused Floyd's, now cut ropes, to fall to the ground. After that, Valentina smiled a bit and offered him her hand.
Floyd glanced back before he silently nodded and took her hand, allowing her to help him up.
Valentina glanced around again, not minding Blackstone's moaning. She ran off into the shrubbery as soon as Floyd was free. Valentina ran for a bit before she stopped. They were some distance from the campsite but they weren't safe yet. They had to get out of the park.
"Okay. Who are you and where are you from?" Valentina asked him…before she blinked when he looked completely clueless. "I guess you don't speak Chinese. What about Vietnamese? Korean? Japanese?" She switched through her languages before she sighed, "What about English, then?"
Now he understood that.
"Uhh yeah, English." Floyd blinked at her.
Valentina nodded and said, "Alright. Let's try this again. Why are you and where are you from?" She asked as she glanced around.
"Floyd. Pop Village." He answered with halved eyes.
"Pop Village. Never heard of it. In fact, it sounds completely made up." Valentina squinted at that.
"It's not." Floyd wore the same expression, sounding as if he had heard something similar before.
"Who on Earth would purposely name a civilization Pop Village? How would their children and their children's children be able to stare their adversaries in the eye and say, "I'm from Pop Village."." Valentina glanced away as her stoic expression remained.
"We don't have 'adversaries' anymore and even when we did, no one reacted like you." Floyd rolled his eyes. "I get that people like you and all of the random people I meet are as equally weird as you say I am, but you can drop the Pop Village thing." He waved his hand.
Valentina merely stared at him before she looked him over. After that, she directly poked his chest. "…You don't have any scales." She spoke to him. She also noted the lack of fur and feathers. He really was a Pop troll. She had only seen one pure Pop troll in her life and it was her father. That was, of course, before she ended up in Dragon Hollow.
"I…hope I don't." He raised an eyebrow at her.
"You are…a pure pop troll. Nothing else? You're not a V-Pop troll, are you?" Valentina continued to inspect him.
"I don't know what a V-Pop is. Listen, I just have an issue with getting kidnapped and being used for evil plots." Floyd spoke in a dry tone, clearly too unbothered beyond anything else.
"Right." Valentina wore an expression that said many things. One of that being that the male was very…weird. "Well, you are free. The exit to the park is that way. Steer clear of The Pool of Yin and Yang." She said…before she zipped up into a miniature Japanese tree. Of course, to them, these trees were normal size.
Valentina, began to sneak around in the trees, seeing what else she could find out about the bad guys and recklessly leaving the male.
Floyd stared blankly at the trees. "You're not very good at this." He commented and glanced around before he sighed and followed her. "I guess I can only hope that John Dory and Rhonda track me down again."
Valentina hung from a branch, using her legs. "What are you talking about exactly?" She continued her stealthy travel.
"My brother and his uh…pet. They tracked me down the last time I was held hostage." Floyd muttered, following her with surprising ease.
"Aren't you supposed to be escaping?" Valentina asked him, ducking into the shadows when she heard a noise. She deadpanned at him before she used her hair to pull him into the shadows with her.
"I'm not from here. You think I know how to get out?" He looked at her as if she was the stupid one.
Valentina rolled her eyes. "I've seen tourists do better, outsider." She looked at him in mild annoyance as a few wolf trolls ran by.
"Oh, no! I don't see him anywhere!" One of the wolves whispered. "If we don't find him, we're dead!"
"We are going to find him. We need him to activate the piece." Another said.
"We're surely not getting anything done by hanging around here. Start sniffing."
The wolves…immediately began to sniff around.
"Hey…something…smells like candy." One wolf said.
Valentina grabbed a nearby stone. She squinted her eyes as she got a feel for it.
"Yeah. Me too. It smells like it's coming from…" The wolf rubbed his chin before his eyes widened in surprise when a rock was thrown at his head.
It bounced off of his head at high speeds, allowing the rock to ricochet off of nearby trees, hitting the other two wolves in the head and knocking them all out in one quick blow. They all crumpled to the ground with swirls for eyes.
Valentina merely walked out of her hiding spot and looked over them. "Hm. That's what you call taking out 3 wolves with one stone." She quipped before she began to casually walk away.
Floyd landed out of the tree…and started following her. "Sooo…you're like some wannabe superhero? With all the hostage saving a weird quipping? You failed the hostage part, by the way." He comically said, staring at her a bit.
"That's because I'm not a superhero. I just live in the area, heard there is some funky stuff going on and decided to come check it out. I am a trained warrior, trained by the most talented master in the known world in all styles and forms of martial arts. It's…a bit of a flex." Valentina shrugged at that.
"My brother's girlfriend has a black belt in all the hair versions of those. Also…I'm guessing your master didn't teach you how to save a hostage. Or were you too busy moving your hands and asking to beat something up?" He quirked an eyebrow up at her.
"There are never any hostages here." Valentina looked at him in humor. "Everybody here knows a bit of martial arts…even the babies."
"Ever think that your bubble might get popped? People will find your little abode, and people will come in here. Yeah, I don't know any of that martial art stuff because I am not one of you. I was kidnapped because those sexually tense dimwits are plotting and they needed me and unfortunately I am still weak from literally dying." Floyd twitched a bit as he squinted at her. "So cut it out with the flexing, flex your brain muscles and think for a moment."
Valentina…comically walked right past him.
They were once again at The Pool of Yin and Yang. She was trying to avoid this area…She was sure the bad guys were still checking it.
Valentina looked around, checking the perimeter…but she saw no one. She heard no one. Where had they gone? Her eyebrows furrowed, not minding the gawking male who she had completely overlooked. She traced her hand on the pool's stone as she looked around.
"And she didn't listen to a single word I said. Maybe I should just go and get kidnapped again. At least I was getting fed there and not walking with…this." He comically gestured to her as if she was some sort of strange object.
Still not paying the male any attention, Valentina's hand continued to trace the pool. She felt a little better once she began to hear crickets again. After that, came the beautiful ambience of winged insect.
"They're gone." Valentina looked around, seeing the wild life come out of hiding. "That's a relief. But…if their gone…where did they go?" She mumbled…before her finger detected a small dip in the stone.
Valentina blinked and looked down at the dip. It seemed to be a shape carved into the stone, coated with dirt. She furrowed her eyebrows before she crouched down and tried to scratch the grime off.
Floyd…had begun to walk off. "Okay, you know what? I don't care, weird…troll, I need a nap and I will probably get one with my old captors. At least my brother can rescue someone properly and not play in the dirt." He spoke in a sassy voice…then yawned. He seemed to pout a bit and looked away "I'll tell everyone about the weird troll I met when I get my butt properly saved."
"I'm very sure someone already beat you to it. The exit is that way." Valentina pointed to fingers at the gate of flowers at the entrance.
After that, she blew the dust off the shape…and coughed a bit when it got into her lungs. She fanned the dust away before she looked down and was surprised to see a little star engraved into the stone.
"When did that get there?" Valentina mumbled to herself with a raspy voice.
"No-you know what? You are not good at whatever it is you think you are good at." He abruptly turned to face her and twitched repeatedly, clearly a little…sleep deprived. "You are playing in the dirt, staring at rocks and pointing a guy who was carried in here blindfolded to an exit leading to a place I don't know. I am just in your stupid big cave and you are the worst at being helpful." He gained a rather comical tick mark as he approached her.
"…You need a nap." Valentina comically said as she glanced at him. She looked over the tiny star shape before she rubbed the star gem on her cheek.
"Huh…I bet my gem could fit in that little star hole…" Valentina thought to herself. She tilted her head and out of pure curiosity she leaned forward, aiming to place her gem in the hole.
"Oh I need a lot of things, a nap, a bath, but most importantly, a troll who doesn't happen to have lazy brain muscles." He smiled in an almost maniacal manner. "At least the two people who killed me were smarter than you, and they used me as perfume."
Valentina…kept placing her cheek up against the fountain, trying to get her gem to fit into the shape. "You say the weirdest stuff. You have to be the oddest tourist I've seen in a while." She said…before she grinned when she actually got her gem to fit inside.
Interestingly, as soon as she got her gem inside, there was a glow from inside the small hole. After that, the pool began to shift and the ground began to quake.
That caused Valentina to gasp. She hopped up and backed up, stumbling a bit.
Meanwhile, the pool, the yin and yang seemed to separate. The soil was moved to reveal the buried mechanism that was moving the two and it was all coated in ancient writing. The yin and yang circled as they grew farther and farther apart. As they did so, the ground opened up, displaying an entrance to a cave. The letters all glowed with purple energy, the same purple as the gem on Valentina's face.
Floyd comically stared before he slowly looked at her. "…Oh, so you'll mess with ancient buried history but not help me?" He comically said with another tick mark.
Valentina stared at the structure. She had to snap herself out of it before she said, "This…was an accident. She stood up and walked up to it. She looked down into the entrance, seeing spiral stairs as the pool waters flowed down into it, giving a waterfall effect. "…Some things are hidden in plain sight…" She mumbled Hua's words…before she began to descend the ancient stairs without a second thought.
"…Oh come on. Seriously?" Floyd stared at her before he looked around. "Ugh…you…are actually the worst of the worst." He grumbled and slowly went down after her.
"And you have no idea what's going on. Go away." Valentina swatted at him as she walked, marveling at the ancient writing on the wall.
"Like you know much more than me. You also master reading hieroglyphics?" He placed a hand on his hip.
That's when Valentina fully turned toward him and said, "Pop Troll, this matter is none of your business. Thousands of years ago, your people caused a terrible war and lost the honor of seeing what is inside this sanctuary. Your people haven't changed a bit. You're spoiled, entitled, immature, and unworthy." She said with a serious expression, not walking any further.
"And you don't know how to save someone's life. You're not a holy entity either. You're like…some sort of weirdo who's had her ego inflated too far and you're trying to keep it plugged before it starts deflating." He folded his arms. "You're not perfect, sweetheart. You are a troll with faults, flaws, and issues."
"Well, sorry I didn't rescue you to your liking. First day on the job, honeybunch. If you want a five star rating, call this brother of yours up if you are ungrateful for the things I have done right." Valentina huffed at him as she poked his chest.
"And what are those things?" He sassily asked.
"Setting you free, giving you directions, knocking those kidnappers out in the forest?" Valentina raised an eyebrow as she placed a hand on her hip.
"Giving me directions only out of a garden…and right into your big dumb cave. You call me spoiled and immature? That's all you, because only a child would look at me and think 'Hey, that guy can probably get out on his own-I wanna go be a big awesome hero and be beloved by all~'" He mockingly said and then poked her back. "Those guys have weapons that could crush you and you don't even know that. I heard them, saw them-I know about them and you know how to move your hands and your hair."
"You know nothing about me, pest. Go on and run back to your beloved captors." Valentina sassily replied before she headed deeper into the tunnel.
"And you don't know anything about me, judgemental glitter butt." He comically stuck his tongue out at her.
"So far, I know that your comebacks are sub par." Valentina deadpanned before she tilted her head at a moss covered entrance.
She pushed the stone entrance open with her foot. After that, she merely gawked at what was inside. Apparently, that passage was an entry into the main room. The room was much bigger with a more well designed atmosphere. There were waterfalls of springs pouring through the walls, landing on large pink crystals that jutted out of the earth below and glowed, lighting up the area well. Said earth was covered with water that seemed to be a very deep pond upon further exploration. In the center, was a small island that was the resting place of a pedestal and a floating pink disk that hovered about it.
The disk seemed to be some sort of turntable. It was a deep pink color with golden markings about the face of it. It was coated with a layer of glitter and gold coated the inner and outer rim. It hovered gracefully, kicking out glitter every time it turned. On the walls behind it were noticeable murals displaying the "pink circle" and ancient trolls bowing to it.
Valentina smiled a bit at the sight. Not paying any mind to the male, she shook her head. "I never thought I'd get to see it in person…" She slowly started to walk up to it.
"That looks like something Suki owns." Floyd commented, standing far away from the glowing object.
The ruby troll had made her way up to the pedestal. She glanced back at the male before she reached out and tried to touch the disk.
Valentina was shocked when some invisible field rippled and repelled her hand, making sure she couldn't touch it. "What?" That's when she saw a smaller pedestal with a star shape on it.
"Oh." She said with a blink.
Valentina placed her cheek on the pedestal and smiled when the larger pedestal hummed. The invisible field dissipated and allowed Valentina to pluck the disk from its resting place.
The ruby troll looked over the design of the disk with a grin, rubbing her thumb against the smooth surface. "Awesome…" Valentina tilted her head. "I expected it to be more…impressive, though." She stared at it as if she expected it to do something.
"Hm. No matter. The guys are gonna eat their tails when they see this." Valentina chuckled.
"Classic…" Floyd muttered under his breath before he saw her glance at him. "Oh you know, stealing something for your own glory. It's a classic. People with no talent do it all the time."
"How shallow of you." Valentina merely said before she continued to walk. "If you must know everything I'm doing, I'm going to take this to my master and the emperor. Those freaks are clearly after this piece. Since this was hidden in my home, I must make sure this relic is taken care of."
"So…you can be famous and beloved. I really have a way of meeting individuals like you. The V twins, the two morons, tens of trolls who tried to use me to make them money with lazy contracts-even my own brothers at one point. I'm like a magnet for people who need outside help to earn their fame." He lazily walked after her. "Maybe you should work harder instead of relying on long lost artifacts."
"Don't talk to me like you know me!" Valentina finally snapped. "Ninety-nine percent of the people I met don't like me! My own family didn't like me! I ran away from home and had to figure out ways to keep myself alive without any money! Finding this cave was a stroke of luck! My master saved me from being arrested! When he took me in, I was forced to adapt and learn a new way of life and learn multiple languages at once and learn how to fight because everyone else knew how and I didn't!"
At this point, Valentina was on the verge of tears. "Do you know how many times the other kids hurt me? Do you know how many times I couldn't defend myself? Huh?! I learned all these styles, I learned all these languages, for me. So I could survive. Still, no matter what I do, I am still a disgrace and bring nothing but shame to my master by only existing. I just want him to be proud of me…I just want to be accepted." She turned her gaze elsewhere. "…I want to be proud of m-myself."
Floyd was silent before he pursed his lips. "You aren't the only one who's suffered. You aren't the only one who has been dragged through the mud. Some of us have had worse than no respect or being hated. I get that you have been alone…but that doesn't mean you get to use that as an excuse to be rude to everyone 'lower' than you. Yeah, I'm Pop. Yeah, apparently my ancestors ruined everything. But I am not my ancestors. I…am just a guy who has been to Hell and back, seen everything important to him die, and lost his way because he thought he knew better." He spoke in a softer tone before he turned his head away. "Just be glad you have someone waiting for you, I didn't for most of my life…and sometimes I still don't." He stepped away and began to walk again.
Valentina stared at him. "I am and I will make him proud if it kills me." She wore a stubborn expression, heading towards the exit as well.
"You don't mean that." He muttered in response. "Death isn't fun." He ran his fingers through his faded hair.
Valentina…was nowhere in sight. Apparently, she had dashed out in an attempt to relocate the piece.
"...Sometimes I wish I was a rock troll." He deadpanned to himself, slowly leaving the area without much thought concerning the other troll.
Supernova here! I thought I'd post these two chapters together. I don't know why. It just felt like the right thing to do lol.
Oh, if anyone is wondering, this story is based on the one I made a few years back called Lost. I just wanted to clear that up sp no one would come hunting me down and accusing me of stealing ideas...Anywho!
I still hope you guys enjoy the story and I will try to post often.
If you guys gimme reviews I guarantee that I will respond to every single one. No lie!
Dragon Hollow: I just wanted to make a note on Dragon Hollow, a world I built that took a TON of thought. Dragon Hollow was originally made as only a place for the K-Pop trolls to dwell, but then I decided later on to add more forms of oriental pop music such as J-Pop, V-Pop, Classical Oriental, and so on. So, I made the whole world based on Eastern Asian themes from the peaceful valley with waterfalls, large stones (mountains), and pools to Kotyo (Tokyo), the large and fast paced advanced city.
Until next time, guys. See ya!