Zelda the Grey Quiet One
Book 1 – Of Butterfly and Elves
Chapter 4 – Gertrude the Car
Summary: I'm nothing like my sister. While she's out and about exploring the wilderness. I spend most of my days huddled around the fireplace reading books, watching DVDs, snuggling Twig, and all in all being a smol couch potato. When ideas of moving to the city popped up, she was distressed, while I was apathetic.
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Handy Hardware
"Are you sure this isn't some ploy to convince me into moving to the city with you?" Hilda asks from the back seat, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Ugh, for the last time, Hils, it's not a scheme!" Zelda huffs from the front seat, slouching against the window, while Johanna taps the steering wheel, with a weary face from this now-recycled conversation.
The family, minus Twig, is on their way to Trolberg for hardware supplies to fix the broken window from the Elves' attack the night before.
But, somehow or predictably, Hilda's convinced it's a plot to drag them into city life. As if one simple trip will prove her right—that they're on the verge of leaving their home in the wilderness for good.
The small yellow car, affectionately named Gertrude—Hilda's choice—rumbles along the familiar dirt road. The fresh, cool air of the wilderness fills the car, carrying the scent of damp earth and pine needles. Outside, birds chirp faintly in the distance, and the crunch of gravel beneath the tires.
Hilda grabs her sketchbook, sketching the autumn leaves clinging to the window. She frowns slightly when a soft breeze sweeps them away, sending them twirling into the horizon. Her gaze follows until the looming walls and bell towers of Trolberg come into view.
Soon the last of the dense woods fades behind dirt path slowly gives way to the cracked concrete of the city outskirts. Sparse woodlands now dot the landscape, broken up by scattered farmhouses, fields, and homesteads.
Brave souls who live outside the safety of the walls.
Leaving the isolation of the wilderness, Hilda's nose scrunched up as she felt the air grow thick and warm. The natural scent of pine and moss was gradually replaced by something stale and heavier.
"We're here," Johanna announces as Gertrude the car joins a long queue inching toward the city gates. The quiet hum of the engine is drowned out by distant honking and the growing cacophony of city life.
All three of them wear matching deadpan expressions as Gertrude crawls forward, slowing to a near standstill. The one thing they can agree on, city life or not—no one enjoys traffic.
Hilda winces as the blaring of a car horn cuts through the air. She glances back, seeing a driver leaning on his horn as if it might magically make the line move faster.
With an irritated huff, Hilda rolls down her window with a fist.
"Hey! Beeping's not gonna make it move faster, mate!" she shouts, giving the driver a pointed glare. The man glances away, shamefully lifting his hand off the horn.
Satisfied, she rolls the window back up and slumps in her seat with a humph. Her mum doesn't even bat an eyelid.
"Soo, how'd it go with the Prime Minister?" Zelda asks, sitting up and leaning against the headrest to face her sister.
She never really got the full story of their trip; they'd come home, eat dinner, and hit the hay, too knackered from the hike and subsequent fighting off the blasted Rabbit Cavalry to explain anything to her.
Johanna and Hilda perk up at the question, eyes darting to the window, suddenly very interested in the passing scenery.
"It was…" Johanna nervously trails off.
"Terrible. It was bloody terrible," Hilda sums up, crossing her arms.
Zelda raises an eyebrow, clearly expecting more.
"Apparently, the Prime Minister and Parliament said they'd kick us out just to get voted in! Can you believe that? The nerve of 'em. And when we tried to negotiate a peace, they said it was out of their hands!" Hilda fumes.
Johanna nods. "Mh-hm, our whole plan would've been scrapped right there if it weren't for Alfur—bless him—agreeing to take us to see the Elf King."
"Yep," Hilda confirms. "—Wouldn't know what else to do without him..."
"Wow," Zelda mutters, slouching into the headrest. Her face barely shifts, showing a hint of boredom more than anything else. "Sounds like a right rollercoaster."
"It was." Hilda sighs, shaking her head like the whole ordeal drains her just thinking about it.
The car lurches forward as the traffic finally starts moving. When they reach the city gates, Johanna grumbles as they stop to pay the toll—five pounds, which feels like daylight robbery to both her and Zelda.
As they pass through the shadow of the ancient gate, sunlight spills across the highway stretching ahead, leading into the heart of Trolberg.
The city sits nestled between snow-capped mountains, with the glistening Björg Fjord stretching to the north and imposing southern walls and bell towers looming behind. The mighty Bjorn River winds through, dividing the city into distinct districts, each with its own purpose and way of life.
The streets, both paved and cobbled, are flanked by a patchwork of pastel-coloured wooden houses with red-tiled roofs. Each building stands mid-story tall, its unique façade proudly distinct, creating a kaleidoscope of colour and shape along the city's winding paths.
Gertrude glides along the streets, pausing every so often at crosswalks or intersections. Each stop jolts Zelda forward, her head bobbing lightly before sinking back against the headrest. The constant rocking stirs an uncomfortable feeling in her throat and her head begins growing heavy as a queasy warmth builds.
Johanna's eyes flick to Zelda, catching her daughter's pale, limp form in the seat. With a quiet sigh, she presses a button to crack the window open.
"Feeling car sick?" Johanna asks, glancing ahead as fresh air slips in.
"Yep, thanks," Zelda mutters, her voice weak, as she leans toward the window, letting the cool breeze brush her face. She tries focusing on the passing buildings, their bright facades blurring slightly in an attempt to distract herself from the nausea.
"How d'you get car sick in the city?" Hilda pipes up, peeking over from the back seat. "We've been drivin' through the wilderness for miles!"
"I dunno, Hilda. I just don't," Zelda groans, her eyes half-lidded as she slumps deeper into the headrest, not caring to explain further.
Hilda peers out the window, eyes wide as people dart along the streets—kids her age miling about, shoppers weighed down with bags, and couples laughing together. She blinks, taking in the sea of strangers, their unfamiliar faces and vibrant activities swirling around.
A frown creases her brow as she struggles to make sense of it all, much less the appeal.
Thankfully, the ride sways to a stop, and Gertrude parks with a soft rattle in front of the hardware store. Zelda immediately stumbles out of the car, taking a deep breath of the relatively fresh air.
"Finally!" she sighs, steadying herself on the pavement, her queasiness vanishing the second her feet hit solid ground.
Ding—ding.
Inside, a little bell tinkles above as they step through the door. It's a modest place with a handful of customers scattered about. The store bears the faint whiff of sawdust and metal.
Johanna gives her daughters a firm look, "Behave yourselves," she tells them before she grabs a cart and heads off down the aisles.
Hilda wastes no time, bounding toward the shelves, glancing at whatever trinkets the store has to offer to pacify her boredom.
Meanwhile, Zelda hangs back and drifts over to a magazine rack. She traces a finger lazily over the glossy covers. Her eyes brighten at the sight of a magazine, Comic Jump.
Specifically, the cover image of Zombies drawing her in. With a gasp, she pulls it down, her excitement bubbling over.
"Ooh! The latest issue of The Walking Dead! Finally!" she squeaks, as she buries her nose in its pages.
Beep… Beep…
Johanna listens to the rhythmic beeps of the cash register as she joins the queue for checkout, her cart brimming with supplies needed to repair their home. The clatter of shopping bags fills the air, and she shifts her weight from one foot to the other as she waits.
Suddenly, she feels a tug on her maroon sweater and looks down to find Zelda, eyes wide and hopeful.
"Hey Mum, can I go visit the comic book store for a bit?" she asks, her fingers fiddling nervously with her thumbs.
Johanna glances outside, where cars zip by and crowds bustle along the sidewalk, then back to her daughter, who shifts her weight, biting her lip. "Zelda, dear. Are you sure it's okay for you to go off on your own?"
"She won't be alone; she'll be with me!" Hilda pops up beside her sister, throwing an arm around Zelda's shoulders. She grins and points a thumbs-up to herself.
"What are you doing?" Zelda grits out.
"I'm bored out of my mind in here. Just let me tag along," Hilda whispers back, eliciting an eye-roll from her twin.
"I'll be fine, Mum. The comic bookstore is just a block or two away—you'll know the first thing if something goes wrong," Zelda assures her, pushing off her sister to stand a little taller.
Johanna furrows her brow, studying her daughters. Zelda's gaze melts into a puppy-dog look, and Hilda quickly follows suit, mirroring her sister's expression.
The twin combo of puppy-dog eyes is too much to resist, and she lets out a heavy sigh.
"Fine," she concedes, a smile breaking through her hesitation. "Hilda, you two stick together, yeah? Don't wander off from each other."
"Aye aye, Ma'am!" Hilda proclaims like a certain sponge character, puffing out her chest and saluting, drawing curious glances from the other shoppers.
"At ease?" Johanna chuckles, shaking her head at Hilda's antics, adorable.
Ding—ding.
The bell jingles above the door as they exit the store, and Zelda turns to Hilda with a teasing smirk. "Aye aye, Ma'am?"
"It just popped into my head," Hilda replies with a roll of her eyes and the two share a laugh.
Inside the store, Johanna peeks out the window, smiling as she watches her daughters walk along the pavement and disappear from view. She's used to them roaming the woods alone, dealing with whatever creatures the wilderness throws their way. But here, in the city—supposedly safer and all—she can't shake a small knot of worry that tugs at her.
For now, she tells herself to let it go, trying to ease her mind as she moves forward in the checkout line.
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Pocket Grass
Zelda leads her sister down the block and around the corner, the comic bookstore just across the street. Hilda skips alongside her, glancing at every corner and storefront.
They come to a halt at a small, grassy pocket park tucked awkwardly between the buildings, a thin strip of green amid the concrete.
At its center, two Sparrow Scouts—a scouting troop sporting a yellow jersey, sashes and badges, and a red scarf—hover around a crumpled, half-collapsed tent, which flops uselessly on one side.
Hilda stares while Zelda squints; even she, who barely leaves the house, could put up a sturdier tent than that.
"You're not listening, Aaliyah!" shouts a boy with a mop of blond hair, pointing an accusing finger at a girl in a magenta hijab. He holds a bent tent pole, brandishing it like a weapon. "You're meant to stick this bit through the loop!"
"Yeah, I know that, Sinon!" Aaliyah snaps, yanking the pole from his grip. "If you'd stop yammering and let me focus, I'd have it sorted by now!"
"Oh, focus, right," Sinon retorts, crossing his arms. "Focus on what, making it even worse? If you'd just pay attention to what the manual said, we'd be done ages ago!"
Aaliyah rolls her eyes, twisting the pole with unnecessary force. "Pay attention to you? Like you're the expert! Why don't you just stand there and let me handle it, yeah?"
"Handle it? Sure, because you're doing such a brilliant job," he snaps back, edging closer. "Look, you're making a right mess of it—"
"Will you just let me do it!" Aaliyah practically growls, shoving his hand off as he tries to grab the pole again. She spins around, fixing her glare on the pole, pointedly ignoring him.
They pause, glaring at each other in steely silence before turning away, arms crossed and each muttering under their breath with the same dramatic huff.
"Can't do anything right," Aaliyah mutters.
"Always has to be in charge," Sinon grumbles right back.
Hilda watches the scene, lips twitching with a barely contained grin. "Think we should lend a hand?" she asks, glancing at Zelda.
Zelda gives the struggling Scouts one look, then flicks her hair over her shoulder and starts to turn away. "No time. We're off to the comic book store, remember?" She waves a dismissive hand, not even looking back.
"Right…" Hilda murmurs, biting her lip, eyes darting from Zelda's retreating figure to the two scouts in their tent disaster.
Zelda catches a flash of Hilda at her side, hands twisting together and that telltale, sheepish grin creeping onto her face. She sighs, already knowing where this is going.
"Hey, Zel. I know I promised Mum I'd stick with you, but… can I—?"
"Go on, Hils," Zelda casually says, cutting her off with a half-smile, not needing to hear the rest.
"Really?" Hilda's eyes light up like she's just been given the keys to the kingdom.
"Yeah, just don't wander too far, alright? Be back in ten minutes, or Mum will have a fit." Zelda firmly says. "Besides, it's about time you mixed with kids your age."
"You're the best!" Hilda's arms fly around Zelda for a quick hug, catching her off guard. Then she's off in a heartbeat, already bounding toward the clueless scouts with a grin.
Somehow Zelda watches, feeling a weird flicker of pride. It's strange seeing her sister that way—usually, the shadow at her side, now fully caught up with other kids—but, honestly, she's a bit pleased.
But why is there a small ache?
Ignoring the lingering feeling, the sisters go their separate ways—one to make new friends, the other to stir up trouble in a comic store.
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End Scene
Chapter 4 - Gertrude the Car
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A/N: Chapters 4, 5, and 6 were originally planned as one massive 10k-word chapter! But for the sake of my sanity and to keep updates weekly instead of every two weeks, I'm splitting them into shorter chapters of 2-4k words. Thanks for taking the time to read this and not just skipping over it—I really appreciate it!
Est. Word Count: 2200
Published Date: November 2, 2024
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Reviews
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Leave a Review! My reply will be in the respective chapter you posted the review at! As Fanfic writers, we do this shit for free and in our own volition!
Kudos to:DEV, Tziput13, and axelkurian121
DEV: "I was surprised by the shorter length but it was a nice start none the less. I thought your description of Trolberg was especially good, very vibrate and descriptive. Also, drawing attention to two lesser known characters from the Sparrow Scouts was an interesting move. There is a bit of potential in this set up. Good luck on the rest of the Trolberg Adventure and keep up the good work."
- Thanks for the compliment on my description of good ol' Trolberg! I tried to keep the geography and ambience quick and effective, sprinkling it throughout the scene instead of dumping it all at once. I find it helps keep the flow going between the action and dialogue. And yep, if you check out Chapter Five, you'll get to meet Aaliyah and Sinon! This chapter is really just setting things up for the next couple of long chapters in Book 1. So, buckle up!