"And here we are, the Grand River."

After a long journey through the forest, the couple realized the twins' weren't too bad after all. They shared Liana and Alexa's love for music and were seasoned adventures, often going exploring in their time off. There were a few failed attempts at flirting that died down after being refused or interrupted each time. The cold stares they got from the partner was enough to stop them from trying too hard and just focus on getting to know them as friends first.

Liana didn't accept Jeremy's help down, favoring to get to Alexa's side and show Melody their progress. "Do you know this place, Melody?"

"This is good, really good!" Melody smiled to them once they turned her back. "We just have to make it across to the Seven Stones."

"I wonder…" Jeremy suddenly muttered to himself before looking at his brother. "Ian, do you remember those odd rocks we passed by last spring?"

"Yes, I do…!" Ian realized after a moment. "There was something almost magical about them!"

"Melody, what do the Seven Stones look like?"

"Here." Melody smiled, showing them a vision of seven high stones in a circle that were surrounded by fog.

"Well there you go!" Jeremy grinned. "I know exactly where that is!"

After a few more miles, Alexa noticed a sign as they were passing. "Hey, look. The sign shows a bridge."

"Oh…" Jeremy mumbled, strangely quiet. "Probably washed out long ago!"

"But it would be so much faster." Liana frowned, crossing her arms.

"We should check to make sure." Alexa agreed with her love at once.

"Mmmm… what do you say, Ian? Better to go around, yeah?"

"Definitely." His brother agreed.

Neither pairs were budging on their sides.

"Well, we have to decide something. Get Melody out here, we need a tiebreaker!"

Just as Liana was about to take out the mirror, Sparkles leapt out of her basket, running towards the supposed bridge, Lily followed soon after.

"Well, that's our decision!" Alexa said, hopping off to join Liana in chasing down the puppies. "See you there!"

"We could just turn around and go back..." Jeremy joked after a moment of silence.

"But we won't."

"No…"

"Sparkles! Lily! Here, girls!" Liana called, looking around a clearing near the edge of the river.

"Where could they be?" Alexa wondered aloud.

"Looking for these morsels?"

The two grabbed each other before turning to see a short and grubby creature with green skin and sharp teeth. He held a puppy in each hand.

"A troll…" Alexa whispered in surprise. She'd only read about such creatures, never seen one in real life.

Liana gripped her tighter as she glared at the mythical creature, putting on a determined face. "Put them down!"

"Now why would I do that?" The troll chuckled.

"Common courtesy!"

Ian and Jeremy had appeared brandishing their swords with cocky smiles.

"I know you, and you!" The troll grinned sharply, stepping forward to get a good look. "Double trouble! You owe me!"

Liana gave a sigh in disappointment, of course they did. "No wonder you two wanted to go around!"

"It's ancient history!" Ian laughed nervously.

Before they could say another word in their defense, the troll dropped the puppies in order to take out a curved blade. He pointed it at the brothers' with a taunting smirk. "Meet your future!"

"He's got a point." Jeremy gulped.

"And a rather sharp one, at that!" Ian agreed.

The troll slammed the sword into the ground, creating a crack in the earth that opened up into a pit, trapping the young men.

"Don't be afraid, I'll handle this." Liana assured her love. Sure the twins were obnoxious and annoying but they didn't deserve to be trapped down there, at least not forever. The many hours on the road together had made them slightly more tolerable, enough to call them friends. "Thank you for releasing the dogs, you'll be freeing our friends next!"

"Free them?! I'm going to eat them!" The troll laughed.

"Those boys? They'll give you indigestion." Liana scoffed.

"Don't care! Collecting on an old debt!"

"They owe you money?" Alexa asked worriedly. Their coin purse had burned up in the fire and even then it probably wouldn't be enough…

"Their lives." The troll growled, making the two take a few steps back. "They wanted to cross my bridge!"

Liana looked over at the river in disbelief. There wasn't a bridge for miles, surely he knew that? "But there isn't a bridge…"

"Of course there is!" Alexa insisted, surprising her. She looked at the troll. "We'd need to solve a riddle to make it appear."

"That's right! And they failed, just like everyone else!" The troll said smugly.

"Tell us your riddle!" Liana called suddenly. "If we answer correctly, you let the guys go. If we don't… you'll have dinner for tomorrow night too!"

"It's a deal!"

"Liana!" Alexa gasped in horror, wondering how she could suggest such terms.

"Don't worry, we'll solve it." Liana smiled hopefully. She nudged Alexa gently. "After all, I've got the smartest girl in the world on my side! You know all about magic, riddles should be a breeze!"

"Don't be so confident!" The troll laughed, interrupting the moment. "No one has solved my riddle before.

"Then we'll be the first!" Liana retorted.

"If you say so! Alright, here it goes:" The troll cleared his throat. "It grows and blossoms, it dies and wilts. It happens in the beginning and happens in the end. It can make you cry, it can make you sad, it can make you smile, and it can make you brave. Anyone can have it, there's no end to its abundance. What is it?"

The girls exchanged a glance in worry. What could it be?

"Your time starts now!"

"We're on a time limit?!" Alexa gasped. She began stroking a stray strand of hair from her bun in worry. Her and her love's lives were on the line, she felt she could cry. "Oh, Liana…!"

"Hey, hey, look at me." It pained Liana to see her like this.

She met her eyes.

"You've got this, we're in it together. Now let's list off some ideas, okay? How about… money?"

Alexa nodded, her heart swelling with courage thanks to Liana. "Time?"

"Is that your final answer?" The troll asked.

"No!" They chorused, giving him a glare.

Liana took out the mirror and Melody appeared at once. "What do you think, Melody?"

"I'm not sure, I've never heard a riddle like that even in the most complicated of songs and legends…" Melody mumbled. "It could be lots of things!"

"But there can only be one answer, it would have to be something everyone could have at any point otherwise it wouldn't apply to everyone." Alexa realized.

Liana smiled. While Alexa thought, all Liana was fascinated by was how her eyes hardened while doing so. Alexa was an overthinker to the point it made Liana crazy, sometimes even sad that she had to plan out everything, but she was also very grateful for it since it had kept them on a budget. All those feelings were simply because of…

"Love! The answer is love!" Alexa shouted, it seemed she'd figured it out too. She took Liana's hand proudly. "Since the very beginning, Liana and I didn't have much but we always had that! When I see her sad, it makes me want to cry. When she's happy, it makes me smile. It's something I never, ever want to lose! That feeling that everyone can have and share, it's love!"

"Yes!" The troll laughed in astonishment before realizing he'd been beaten. "Wait, no! No, no, no!"

As the troll threw a temper tantrum, the once invisible rainbow bridge suddenly appeared to them.

The troll vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the two to embrace as a rainbow bridge appeared.

"Is it real?" Alexa asked in disbelief.

Liana placed a hesitant foot down and gasped in delight when it hit the solid bridge. "Yes! Alexa, you did it! Oh, I knew you could!"

Liana laughed in relief. She gave her a passionate kiss as the reward for saving them all.

Alexa melted into it, they hadn't kissed since they'd been away from prying eyes.

"Guys!" Melody's voice broke them out of their kiss, annoying Alexa greatly until she realized Melody hadn't wanted to interrupt, merely warn them but it was too late.

Jeremy and Ian stared slack-jawed at the two, clearly having never seen two women together. How could they have? It wasn't exactly socially acceptable.

"You two are…?" Jeremy started to say but couldn't find the words.

"Yes, we're together, romantically."

Liana knew what would happen next from the many rumors and stories she'd heard from passing merchants of the people who didn't conform to society. The twins would out them to the entire village which could spread to their own, they'd regret ever helping them in the first place. They couldn't be friends anymore… That was just what happened to people like them.

Looking at Alexa, it was clear she was thinking the same. She looked heartbroken by the idea of losing their friendship and Liana would be lying if she said she wouldn't miss it too…

"Thank goodness, I was beginning to worry our charms had worn off!" Jeremy laughed.

The girls stared in shock.

"You're not upset?" Alexa asked in surprise.

"Not if it makes you happy." Ian shrugged. "To be honest, I actually wondered if that was what was going on after we saved you two from Slyder."

"You did? How?" Liana asked in surprise.

"You kept turning us down and then I noticed how you were looking at each other."

"You did not!" Jeremy insisted. "Why didn't I see it, huh?"

"Because you're the dumb twin." Ian retorted easily.

"Oh, so you mean I'm the beauty of the equation!"

"We share the same face, brother. I'm simply the full package."

"Oh, I knew they'd understand!" Melody giggled happily, turning to her friends. "The world isn't as cruel as Lydia wants it to be after all!"

"I guess so…!" Liana could only smile seeing them fight like kids.

Sparkles and Lily seemed to be wrestling as well, making the trio laugh.

Alexa watched a few minutes more before realizing the sun was beginning to set. She whistled, getting the puppies and boys' attention. "We'd better get going, it'll be dark soon."

"You're right." Liana nodded, letting down her basket so Sparkles could join Melody.

The moment the couple stepped aboard the rainbow bridge it began to take them away, leaving the guys stranded in the clearing likely as punishment for not solving the riddle.

"Hey, wait up!" Jeremy protested.

"We can't!" Alexa called. "Meet us at the Seven Stones!"

The twins watched as they faded away into the distance in disappointment.

"We just can't catch a break, can we?"

"No, we cannot, o' brother of mine…"