Chapter One – The Legend of the Grey Troll

"There is a legend in our kingdom of a mysterious creature known as the Grey Troll. As we all know, trolls are colorful, happy creatures who love to sing, dance, and hug. But the Grey Troll is the color of ash, and his heart is cold like ice. He hates singing, dancing, and all other troll activities. He lives alone in his castle with only his misery for company. They say his castle is enchanted and that the Grey Troll himself has some form of magic inside him. Of course, nobody would know for sure. No one has ever visited the enchanted castle in the West Woods and lived to tell the tale."

Gasps came from the troll children sitting before the pink troll with darker pink hair, a couple of them clutching each other in terror. Despite sitting by the fireplace in the library, it suddenly felt very cold.

"Poppy….." a red troll with orange hair droned. She wore white capris, a white and purple striped crop top, and a pair of headphones made of yarn. She had bangles on both wrists and a gem stud in her belly button. Poppy, the pink-skinned troll, wore a blue and green sundress and a green headband with blue flowers. Both girls had their hair pulled into ponytails.

"What, Suki?" Poppy shrugged. "It's just a story. The Grey Troll doesn't really exist."

"A-are you sure, Princess Poppy?" one of the troll children asked.

"Of course." Poppy assured. "It's just an old ghost tale."

"Then why is the West Woods forbidden?" another troll child asked.

"Not sure." Poppy's bright pink eyes shined with mischievousness. "Probably because there are lots more ghosts in there."

The children gasped again.

"That's not true!" Suki sighed exasperatedly, rolling her rosy pink eyes. "It's probably just because of predators or something."

"Or ghost predators." Poppy snickered.

"Poppy! DJ Suki!" someone called before entering the room. He had peach-colored skin and dark pink hair streaked with gray, with a pink-gray mustache to match. His eyes shined a dark hazel. He wore dark khaki pants and a teal vest.

"Hello King Peppy." The children greeted.

"Hi Dad!" Poppy and Suki waved.

"Ah, there are my princesses." Peppy cast a look to the terrified children and raised an eyebrow. "Poppy, have you been telling ghost stories again?"

"I found a new book of ghostly tales at the bookshop." Poppy held up said book excitedly.

"It would do you good to not scare the little ones with such stories." Peppy scolded gently. "Come along, children. Your parents are waiting."

"Bye Princess Poppy! Bye Princess Suki!" the children called as Peppy led them out.

Poppy and Suki waved goodbye. Suki cast her sister a look. "You know, Poppy, Story Time with the kids shouldn't scare them too much."

"I know." Poppy shrugged. "Next time, we'll go with fairytales. Maybe The Cinder-Troll."

Suki nodded in agreement. "So what should we do now?"

"I'm going to do some more reading." Poppy shrugged, taking down another book and settling down to read.

"More?" Suki asked incredulously. "Come on, you haven't been outside all day today. Let's go on a hike or something."

Poppy knew her sister would probably drag her along if she didn't agree. "Oh okay. Let's go." She reluctantly put the books away and followed Suki out the doors of the castle. Suki knew that, if she or Peppy allowed it, Poppy would stay inside and read all day. Like all the other trolls, Poppy loved to sing and dance. In fact, she was arguably one of the best in the entire kingdom. But as much as she loved singing and dancing, she equally loved curling up to quietly read. She read every book in the palace library and constantly borrowed books from the bookshop. Suki, the younger of the two princess sisters, could understand the need for quiet now and then. She just didn't understand how someone could enjoy reading so much. Thankfully, she could always manage to convince Poppy to go out and socialize.

Unless Poppy hid a book in her hair.

Suki led Poppy through the village so they could socialize with the villagers. Per the usual, the princesses got a few whistles from admiring troll youths who found them quite beautiful. Poppy and Suki responded with smiles and waves, trying to be polite while also conveying disinterest. They didn't really have their eye on anyone. Suki definitely wasn't ready for any kind of relationship quite yet. Poppy was always too busy reading to focus on the idea of a boyfriend.

Once the princesses reached the forest, they went right to a small lake to wade in the shallows. As they splashed around the cold water, laughing the entire time, they remembered to stay alert in case of wild animals.

Suki giggled as a shower of water rained down on her. But when she looked up, she froze. "Poppy….."

Poppy followed Suki's gaze and saw a cat-like creature with large, circular ears, a stubby tail, and grey fur with purple stripes. The princesses could easily see the cat's black, non-retractable claws. The cat sniffed the princesses' things and then turned to the two trolls themselves. Poppy stood at the edge of the shore, and therefore closest to the cat who stood a few inches taller than her.

Suki cowered in the water. "Poppy." She whispered. "Run!"

Poppy didn't move, keeping her stance calm and her smile soft. Curious, the cat stepped closer and sniffed Poppy's head. "Hello there." Poppy breathed. "It's very nice to meet you."

The cat kept sniffing, and then began purring. Poppy slowly held up her hand, and the cat rubbed its nose against her palm. Suki stared in shock. Of course, this really shouldn't come as a surprise. This wasn't the first time Poppy approached a seemingly dangerous creature and wasn't eaten. Somehow, Poppy knew how to interact with these predators and they always responded positively. That didn't mean Suki liked it when they came across these creatures.

Suddenly, the cat's ears went erect and its head shot up. After looking around for a moment, the cat darted off and disappeared deeper into the forest. Suki and Poppy got out of the water and started drying off just as a figure emerged from the trees: a troll with light purple skin, indigo eyes, and blue-teal hair, wearing yellow pants and carrying a bow with a quiver of arrows on his back.

"Good afternoon, Princess Suki." The troll greeted. "Princess Poppy."

"Good afternoon, Creek." Poppy nodded.

"Hello, Creek." Suki waved.

"I was hunting a great beast, and instead I find great beauties." Creek said. He focused mostly on Poppy when he said that.

Poppy noticed this. For over a year, Creek tried to court her. Creek was one of the most renowned warriors in all the kingdom. That being said, Poppy and even Suki found him prideful and arrogant. He tried to give off an image of being so Zen-like and strong, but he was also full of himself and loved the attention.

"If you'll excuse us, Creek. We must be getting home." Poppy said as she and Suki gathered their things.

"Actually, Princess Poppy, I was hoping we could go on a walk together." Creek requested. "It's such a lovely day."

"Perhaps another time." Poppy refused politely. "My sister and I must get home to help our father."

"Oh yes, of course." Creek nodded. "Your father certainly needs you two around. I don't know what he'd do without you."

"Do not speak ill of your king, Creek." Suki ordered firmly.

"I would never do such a thing, Princess." Creek said with a bow. "Our illustrious King Peppy is our benevolent and powerful monarch who rules us kindly and justly."

"He rules a very large kingdom as well, so we must go help him how we can." Poppy said. "Many hands make light work."

Creek grinned. "I think your father's wisdom is rubbing off on you."

Poppy grinned back. "Perhaps, except that came from our mother." She patted Creek's cheek as she and Suki walked off. Poppy took Suki's hand and gave it a squeeze, easing the distressed look off the younger troll's face. It had been several years since the queen died, and Suki still struggled with it. Poppy took up the motherly role early on, even though she could never truly replace their beloved mother.

Creek watched the princesses leave, his eyes mostly on Poppy. He certainly didn't want to show disrespect to Peppy, but everyone in the kingdom knew he was getting older, frailer. He would need to step down sooner or later and let his daughters take over for him. Creek didn't just want Poppy because of her character; he wanted the throne too. It was an added bonus, of course, being king of the trolls. But Poppy was the only troll Creek loved truly. Her refusal today wouldn't deter him, just like every other refusal that came before.

"Poppy will be my bride." Creek vowed to himself. "I will make sure of it."

One day, while Peppy ate dinner with his daughters, one of the royal messengers came into the large dining room. He had to jog across the long room to reach the head of the table, where the royal family sat near a grand fireplace. The messenger carried a scroll in his arms that was exactly the same size as himself.

"Your Majesty." The messenger bowed to Peppy. "A letter from our friends in Bergen Town."

"Thank you." Peppy said, standing from the table as the messenger set the scroll down. The messenger bowed and left the room. Poppy and Suki stood from their spots and helped Peppy unroll the scroll.

Dear King Peppy,

I hope life in the Troll Kingdom is treating you well. Your daughters are well, I presume. I hope we can arrange a time for them to meet my son.

While I had hoped to write with pleasantries, I'm afraid there's trouble in Bergen Town with an animal infestation of sorts. Since your kingdom is so deep in the forest, I was hoping you could come and give me some advice on the situation.

Please come at your earliest convenience.

Best regards,

King Gristle Sr.

"Oh dear." Poppy murmured worriedly.

"Well, I best head out in the morning." Peppy said. "Must make sure Bergen Town is safe. They're some of our closest friends."

"We'll pack our bags." Suki said.

"No, I need you two to stay here and watch over the kingdom." Peppy said. "I'll ride out alone."

"You sure?" Poppy asked worriedly.

"Of course. It's not a problem at all." Peppy assured. "Now, while I'm away, can I bring you two anything?"

The girls thought for a moment. What could their father bring back that they didn't already have? "You know, I've been working on a new dress design that's based off the petals of a rose. Can you bring me back some roses so I can study their look and texture?" Suki requested.

"Absolutely." Peppy nodded. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out for some. What about you, Poppy?"

"Actually, I would love some roses for myself." Poppy said. "They don't grow around here, so I want to press some in a book to save."

"Very well." Peppy agreed. "If I find any roses, I'll be sure to bring some back."