Rules of a Fairytale

My butt was numb after the hours of sitting stiffly in the driver’s seat. We’d left behind the lush forests of Redgrove a while ago until the terrain became rocky, littered with deep canyons and rickety bridges. Caves were hewn into the cliffs, troll homes. The kingdom of the trolls was kind of forbidden territory, so none of us had ever been there. It wasn’t too much of a surprise when I hesitated at the first bridge over one of the canyons.

“What? Did you get us lost?” Ryder snapped as I pulled the wagon to a stop at the edge of the stone bridge.

I pressed my palms into my eyes to alleviate some of the ache in my head. I let out a deep breath and waited a second before I opened my mouth. “The sign’s pointing to the other side of the canyon. If you trust it enough to just cross, be my guest, but excuse me if I don’t want to go in blind here.”

He shot me a heated glare but didn’t have a snappy response. I climbed out of the wagon and our horse pawed at the ground. The bridge wasn’t Golden Gate, but it was wide enough for two average sized wagons to pass at the same time and looked sturdy enough to hold the weight they would cause. Still being cautious, I gently pressed one foot onto the grey rock and slowly put pressure to test it. It seemed strong enough and I took two steps in before the ground rumbled beneath my tennis shoes. I wobbled unsteadily then crashed painfully to my knees.

I big roar echoed from under the bridge, bouncing off of the rocky canyon walls in a creepy staccato. “Who tramples on my bridge?!”

An earthquake shook with each word. Boulders slid down the cliffs as something big clomped its way up the canyon wall. I couldn’t get my footing so I could scramble off the bridge and I screamed as that large something thumped right in front of me. A putrid stench like rotten fish and the boys’ locker room made me gag. Leathery greyish feet with yellow nails, brown pants with grimy patches, an orange vest filled my vision. The troll was ugly with a round face, flat nose, beady black eyes, dirt brown dreads, and the overall look like a pug, but not nearly as cute. He was over six feet tall with a potbelly. His sword was drawn and aimed straight at my heart.

“Trespasser! No one crosses without paying the toll. “

“Wait, wait, wait!” Ryder ran out onto the bridge with me and held a silk pouch high in the air. “How much for all of us to cross your bridge?”

The troll scratched his chin as he thought about it. A wicked grin curved up his thin lips and stained, broken teeth peeked out. That smile made my stomach drop. This was so not going to be good.

“You’re sure that he won’t eat the horse or anything, right?” Brooke begged me to reassure her. I’m not sure why she was asking me instead of one of the boys, but I could understand her trepidation.

“No. I learned enough from Grandpa Andrew to know that trolls are disgusting and vile, but their diets are a little like a human’s. Most likely he made the trade because he wanted the wagon to carry stuff to the capital. Trolls torture people, not animals. That poor horse was in more danger here with two wolves.”

She gave a nervous laugh, not sure if I was joking or not. She wouldn’t have liked to hear that Tate and I had feasted on bunnies the night of the full moon. She didn’t seem scared, which I guess was a good thing, and if I didn’t know how she was at school, we could have probably been friends.

We only had the single run-in with trolls four miles back when we lost our horse and cart. The barren landscape didn’t make for a fun trip and I was tired when we reached the sign that proclaimed Canyon City, the capital where the royals lived, a quarter mile away. I was wound tighter than a coil and my fingers shook a little as I made sure the dagger was fastened securely around my hips. I was pretty sure I would hyperventilate with each step.

The giant chasm deeper than the Grand Canyon in Arizona was the largest in all of the kingdoms and cut the land like a dark scar. I licked my suddenly dry lips and was careful not to set foot on the bridge suspended over Canyon City. Trolls were stupid and greedy but they were also homicidal and I didn’t want to risk every money hungry monster nearby to be onto us before we could sneak into the castle.

“There’s nothing here,” Brooke said in confusion. Wind buffeted us and her voice carried into the massive expanse of open air before us. “That sign said we were in the right spot, right?”

Tate tiptoed to the edge of the hole and glanced down. One misstep and you were a goner. “This is the right place. The whole city is built on the canyon walls, like the Anasazi houses we learned about in history last year.”

I blinked at my brother. I would have been less surprised if he started speaking Japanese than to find out he actually paid attention in class. I mean, I knew he was smart, but it had been a long time since he’d actually used his brain. Tate was more of the dumb jock stereotype.

I shook away the awed feeling to focus on the task at hand. “Grandpa said that there’s a trail along the ridge that goes right to the castle. Time to go hiking.”

Halfway down the trail I came to the conclusion that trolls had to be part Billy goat. I was more surefooted without shoes, but even taking them off to feel the ground on my bare feet wasn’t helping. If ever there was a time it would be helpful to be in wolf form, it would be on the side of that dang mountain. How did trolls do it with stuff to sell in the capital? No wonder the first one wanted our horse.

“At the risk of getting tossed off the side the cliff, I think we need to take a break, Tasha.” Tate immediately crossed his legs at the announcement, probably afraid I’d knee him in the groin. Ryder and Brooke looked as beat as I felt and Brooke was limping a little, not that she’d complained about her feet hurting or anything.

“I hate to agree with you on anything, but you’re right. We’re all tired and trying to storm the palace like this won’t do anything. I don’t want to waste any time, but hopefully a couple of hours won’t hurt.”

Brooke dropped right where she was against the rock face and pulled off her Nikes to massage her aching feet. Tate sat with her and offered her some water from his bottle. I walked to the edge of the road to look down into the valley below. Sour troll scents danced in the air mixed with something like the grocery store. We were getting closer but that only made this whole adventure more dangerous.

“Hey, you need to rest too.”

I spun on Ryder and froze. He’d taken off his pack and set it near the other two and stood before me wiping his face with his silky red shirt. Which means he was naked from the waist up. He didn’t look like a spoiled prince that did nothing all day. His muscles were clearly defined under his sun kissed skin. He looked just as lethal as any wolf. “I… um…”

He draped the shirt around his shoulders and reached for my bag. “Let me help you take that off.”

I was too stunned to object. In a daze, I obediently slipped my arms from the straps and let Ryder take my backpack. He frowned. “Why does your bag feel so much heavier than mine? How much stuff do you have in here, Tasha?”

I forced myself to stop being distracted by him. I shrugged. “I told you that first day that I could go out on my own. I have everything I could possibly need to survive. I can handle it.”

The frown deepened and a crease furrowed in his brows. “I’m sure you could, but you don’t have to. Why don’t you share some of the burden with me?”

I didn’t have time to answer before he started digging through my bag. He pulled out the tent, some pans I had, and half the food. He handed me the mirror I’d been ignoring since it didn’t work back at the pig house. “Here. Try to get a layout of the land while I make this a little lighter for you.” Surprisingly, I did what he asked.

I slept a little. It was a short nap and uncomfortable and I really needed an actual bed soon. When I woke up again my back was sore but I wasn’t tired anymore. Brooke was asleep on Tate’s shoulder and I wondered how his snoring didn’t wake her up. Ryder’s head was on his bag but he had his eyes open, staring at the blue, cloudless sky. It was late afternoon and we should probably have headed out soon. Except now that we were so close, I wasn’t sure if it was a great idea. I let out a heavy sigh.

“What’s the matter?” Ryder asked without looking my way.

“I checked the mirror. We’re only half a mile away and the castle is at the edge of the city so we won’t have to run into too many trolls. But I think that you and Brooke should stay here. Actually, I think the two of you should start heading back up the mountain.”

He sat straight up and his blue eyes zeroed in on me. “You have to know by now that that’s not going to happen.”

His intensity scared me a little and I chewed on my bottom lip. “Why not? We both know that it’s going to be super dangerous. You have a kingdom to run and Brooke’s little miss popular back home. You’ll both be missed if anything happens to you, and I’ll feel guilty. I don’t want to be responsible for everyone. It’s scary being in charge.”

He jumped to his feet and put his hands on my shoulders. I found myself gasping, in the middle of a full blown freak out. “Hey, hey. Tasha! Calm down! Nothing’s going to happen to us.”

“But what if it does?!” I pressed my hands to my stomach as if that would help me get enough air into my lungs.

I stopped breathing all together when he cupped my face in his soft palms and used his thumbs to wipe away tears I didn’t even realize I was shedding. I completely froze and stared up at him. Where his eyes always that blue or was my vision just off? “It’s okay. You’re doing a great job on this quest, Tasha. Just relax, okay?”

I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath, feeling a little more in control. When I was done hyperventilating, I pulled away from the prince and went to kick my brother awake so we could get things going again.

Canyon City was carved into the stone a few hundred feet down the cliff. An entire town’s worth of buildings dotted the rock face, but the most imposing was the gigantic palace. It was about the size of our school back in Miami but with a more medieval feel. After the twins had tried to take my mom, Grandpa went on the offensive. He’d attacked their castle and killed the king. That old war story was one he told a million times and right now I was grateful he had, because it gave us a good idea of where to go. Not much had changed in the sixteen years since my grandpa last came here. Tate sniffed out the service entrance used for deliveries right off the main road and it was suspiciously easy to sneak in undetected. The castle extended back into the canyon wall in a series of caves. They were musty and reeked of troll, but we didn’t actually see one as we zig zagged through the tunnels to reach the dungeons.

“Does anyone else think there should be more guards or something?” Brooke gulped.

My sweaty hand gripped my dagger hilt tighter. “Just consider ourselves lucky, I guess.”

Someone coughed a little deeper in the cavern and we all huddled closer together automatically. My heart pounded in my chest until I heard someone call my name weakly. “Tasha? No, it can’t be you. What trickery is this?”

Tate booked it down the aisle between mostly empty cells. I let out a little yelp and the rest of us ran after him. He came to an abrupt stop halfway down and when we caught up with him I could see a silhouette at the bars through the dim lighting. The man was a good six-foot-five and broad. You could tell that he’d been a soldier once upon a time, but now he was looking almost frail. White streaked his brown hair and wrinkles made cracks is his face. His eyes were a light green but there was an emptiness, like you see in photos of refugees. I felt like I was going to be sick.

“Grandpa? What did they do to you?” I cried.

“Tasha? Tate? No! You shouldn’t be here. If it’s really you, leave now. If you are some apparition to torment me, it will not work. You cannot harm my grandchildren.”

My brother’s tan face went pale and he shot me a look. For the first time in a long time, I knew exactly what my twin was thinking. My grandfather was the toughest human I’d ever met, so it was scary to see him so... broken. Tate’s voice softened to barely above a whisper. He sounded like mom when we found a scared kitty on the beach and she tried to coax it to eat something. “Grandpa, it’s really us. We’ve come to take you home.”

Grandpa blinked like an owl, not really comprehending. The grandfather I grew up with was a force to be reckoned with, but the man was almost pathetic, sad. I wanted to cry but kept myself strong, like he’d always taught me. “Just trust me.”

Tate gave the metal door a tug and leaned over to inspect the lock. It looked standard enough, like any cell you’d find at the county jail. All we needed was a key. Unfortunately, there was no one around who might have one. “Um, any ideas to get this thing opened?” Tate muttered so Grandpa wouldn’t hear.

“May I?” Brooke asked easily. I arched one eyebrow at her but gestured for her to have access to the door. She crouched down so the lock was at eye level then dug through her travel pack. A second later she pulled out a bobby pin, some tweezers, and a nail file. I bit my lip to keep from snapping that now wasn’t the time to be fixing how she looked. A second later, she stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth and inserted the pin and file into the lock. “Just give me a minute.”

I was dubious that she could pick the cell lock. This door was designed to keep trolls prisoner. I doubted that a teenage girl that lived in a mansion could- click. I straightened my posture and stared as the door opened a crack. Brooke pulled the tweezers and bobby pin from the lock and widened the gap.

“Okay, that was awesome,” Tate congratulated as he slipped inside and pulled Grandpa’s arm around his shoulders.

“How did you do that?” I marveled.

She tried not to look too pleased but failed. “I grew up breaking into my parents’ offices at home whenever I was attention depraved. It took a while to dawn on me that the doors were closed because of me. I ended up getting really good at picking locks before I realized that.” She said it so clinically that I felt bad for her, but we didn’t have time to express my sympathy in the lion’s den.

Tate practically dragged Grandpa out and we started slowly down the long corridor. I led the way, following my nose to get us out of the labyrinth of tunnels. We were almost to the kitchen and the service entrance we’d used when things got out of hand. A loud, shrill alarm that sounded like a cat’s wailing echoed through the caverns. On instinct, we all ducked and covered our ears. The screeching was an instant headache made a million times worse bouncing off the walls.

“What in the world?” Brooke screamed.

“I don’t know,” I shouted back above the noise. “Just hurry.”

We tried to pick up the pace, but it was hard with my grandpa so weak. Besides, the moment we reached the stairs down to the kitchen, they became packed with an army of trolls. Literally an army. Each one was ugly in his own way, but they all wore a vomit green uniform with the insignia of the kingdom, a bloody warthog head, stamped on their chests. They had no armor because their skins and heads were thick enough to stop most weapons. All of the trolls brandished onyx sword that were rumored to slowly burn you from the inside out if you were even scratched. I gulped and turned to try and go back the way we came but it and the other two tunnels leading to this hall were already full of more smelly soldiers.

“Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!” Grandpa shouted, quoting a poem from the mortal realm. He loved that kind of stuff, war epics from my world, but it wasn’t helpful right now because the gist of it was that 600 men died in the valley of Death.

“Okay,” Ryder said, “we each take a corridor. Brooke, you’ve got the stairs. They’re narrow so the trolls have to funnel in and you can shoot them before they advance. Aim for the eyes.”

It was a good enough idea, the only one we had. My one concern was that while the boys had long swords and Brooke had her arrows, all I had was my knife, which meant that I had to be up close and personal with my enemy to actually do anything. The troll stink I could probably handle, but how was I supposed to do anything against their heavy swords? I didn’t have time to dwell on my fear because with the first pink of Brooke’s arrow, the army converged quickly into our hallway. I choked on a scream and side stepped the first one that came after me. I tried to stay out of his reach but that didn’t do much but make me tired as more of them advanced.

I parried one soldier’s blade with my own as I spun out of his reach only to come face to face with one that towered almost seven feet and had red eyes as big as my fist. He raised his weapon above his head and I knew I didn’t have time for my normal evasion before he struck. His arm came down in a wide arch and I actually stepped closer so that the strike went too far and I felt the air whizz by behind my back. This close, the troll didn’t have the advantage because his blade was too long to get any real leverage. I dodged his hilt and jammed my dagger deeply into his gut, the only place I could reach. The troll roared and staggered a little, decapitating two of his comrades before he actually died.

Metal clanked from swords and the arrows from Brooke’s bow zipped through the air. My own blade made a clear ring each time it blocked a troll’s as I got in close to make the final attack. I went into survival mode with my movements automatic, getting tunnel vision where I couldn’t even tell how many of them fell at my hand. I didn’t notice when Brooke got a path to the kitchens cleared until Ryder shouted my name. I whirled around and pointed my dagger at him automatically. He held his hands up defensively and stared earnestly into my eyes. “C’mon, Tasha. Let’s go. Your brother’s got your grandpa and Brooke’s leading the way to keep the way open. I’ll cover you. Go.”

I swallowed and rushed down the narrow staircase. Sounds of battle echoed more in the confined space and I kept glancing back to make sure Ryder was okay. He cut down one troll at the landing of the staircase, blocking off the path for others to follow us. He kept his hand on the small of my back as we ran.

I was out of breath when we reached the empty kitchen. “Everyone good?” I gasped.

“Yeah. But now what? I don’t think we’ll make it up the canyon and out of the kingdom like this,” Brooke panted. She was sweaty and her blonde hair looked dry with tangles. There was an angry cut leaking drops of blood and a dark bruise forming under her right eye. For the first time, I actually respected the spoiled socialite.

“There’s a forest at the base of the mountain. If we can go down, we can lose them in the trees.”

The other girl eyed the edge of the cliff with trepidation. “And if we’re caught before then?”

“Then we’re dead.”

My grandfather moaned next to my brother and he struggled to keep his eyes open. “There should be as stable about fifty yards down. We’ll grab some horses and ride through the main street and down to the valley.”

Trolls roared and the body we’d left as a barrier came rolling down the stairs. I really hoped Grandpa was right about those horses because we ran in the direction he’d said before the body even hit the bottom step.

The stable housed seven donkeys and exactly zero horses. I froze when I saw that and figured it was a dead end, but Brooke of all people quickly ran up to the largest and threw a blanket over its back. “Tate, you and your grandfather should take this one. I don’t think you’re in the condition to ride yet, sir,” she added at my grandpa’s offended look.

I climbed bare back onto an ass and glared. How the heck was this supposed to work? I mean, who even kept donkeys instead of horses!

“They’re more agile on the canyon side. We should go to our as much distance as possible between us and the trolls,” Ryder said, probably sensing my doubts. I eyed the little animal but nodded and we were off.

The donkeys were a lot quicker and dependable than I gave them credit for. They knew how to navigate the harsh terrain and it didn’t take too long before we reached the canyon floor. Giant redwoods towered above us and we ventured into the cover of the trees. It was a risk and we had to stick closer together to avoid getting lost forever in the woods. If we could just get far away from the palace, we could decide on how to get back to Steven’s castle to get help for Grandpa.

“You’re sure this is smart?”

“It’s going to be fine, Brooke. Wolves are good trackers so Tasha and I can get us through here.”

There was a musty smell like decay floating around us but pockets of fresh air laid out a path, and mazes like this were a piece of cake for my kind. At one point, though, the rot smell got stronger for a second and two large trolls jumped out of the copse of trees. The shorter one tackled me from my steed.

A whoosh of air escaped my lips when my back hit the rocky ground and we struggled for a few seconds before he was on top of my. The troll straddled my legs so I couldn’t kick and pinned my wrists above my head. I still fought against it even though I knew it was useless. The other troll stood before my friends with one hand raised and what looked like a bubble surrounding them that they couldn’t get through. In his other hand he held their weapons.

“Ahh. So you are the daughter of Lisette. You look like her,” the magician said grinning evilly at me.

My eyes narrowed and I could feel the anger bubble up as they started to glow wolf gold. “You two are the ones that tried to take her.”

“Yes, but that stupid wolf got in the way. But you, my dear, are going to get us.”

“Get off of her!” Ryder shouted. I think princes in this realm where hardwired to rescue damsels in distress, but I wasn’t a helpless chick.

I relaxed my muscles, which was pretty hard in my predicament, and the troll brought his face close to mine. It was scarred and deformed with lopsided red eyes and a large nose. I glared up at him and slammed my forehead into the nose that covered a quarter of his face. The troll prince reared back holding the hopefully broken appendage. My left hand enclosed around a rock and I slammed it into his temple. He fell to the side and I scrambled up to my feet.

“I don’t think so, little wolf,” the other troll sneered as he turned to me. My body froze and I couldn’t even wiggle my fingers that hovered above my dagger hilt. He closed the distance and jerked the knife from its place.

The taller brother jerked away from me suddenly and rubbed the back if his hard head. He turned and I saw as a stone thunked to the ground. Ryder pulled his arm back to throw something again. The troll drew his sword and stalked toward the Redgrove prince. “You, boy, are not worth the magic,” he snarled.

The troll’s onyx sword raised and pure adrenaline coursed through me. Brooke, Tate, and my grandpa were all too far too do anything and Ryder’s only defense was a softball-sized rock. My body took over my rational mind and the next thing I was aware of, sharp pain flooded my left side. I looked down to see the blade poking against my lower ribs. Bad idea. My entire side was on fire, which quickly spread to the rest of me. Everything hurt as poison invaded my system. I screamed but I was vaguely aware of when the sound changed to a wolf howl. I started to fall but felt someone catch me before I could hit the ground. The last thing I saw before I slipped into blackness was the troll’s ugly head roll away without the body.