A/N: Hi! Here's the next chapter! So, I'd like to thank neomoon585 for the ideas that he gave me. I highly appreciate it! Anyway, I won't talk much until the end of this chapter, so...Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Callisto Altair got lost in space, there's no way that he could own Trolls.

Inside the cavern of the Troll Tree, each of the characters etched on King Pebble's shrine lit up. A vortex of blinding light swirled, and formed a ghostly image that resembled the statue of the First King. "Guardians, awaken!"

Upon his command, a purple light glowed over the western side of the cavern. The air began to swirl, and formed a tempest that swept the whole place. Over the southern portion of the cavern—near the entrance—a blue light appeared as well. The drops of rainwater from outside clumped together and swirled violently like the air over the west.

The beams of light became blinding inside the vortices of swirling matter, until two insects emerged from within. A purple damselfly came from the west and a blue mayfly from the south. They both stretched their crystalline wings before they took flight and approached the spirit hovering above the statue. "King Pebble, how may we—"

"I live!" a voice hollered from the northern part of the cavern, just behind the statue. The King and the two guardians rolled their eyes before looking at the other insect that emerged from the vortex of fire and red light. It was a dragonfly, a very tiny scarlet dragonfly. "So, tell me, what mortal needs my protection, King Pebble! You just say a word, and I'll be there before you know it!"

"Fugue" the spirit of the former King said.

"Wait, I'm not yet finished! Let me say something, anyone foolish enough to threaten our Kingdom…vengeance will be mine!" The dragonfly coughed tiny flames from his mouth before he snarled.

"Fugue!" The Dragonfly stopped whatever he was doing and looked up to the King. "Waft and Dew are the Kingdom's guardians." The King gestured at the mayfly and the damselfly perched on his statue. "They…"

"Protect every Troll in the Kingdom" Fugue grumbled. He looked away from King Pebble because he knew the things that he'll say next. Things that would slightly undermine his precious pride as a guardian of the Kingdom.

"And you, O demoted one?" the King asked with slight smirk on his face. The dragonfly felt a pang in his tiny chest upon hearing the words.

Fugue rolled his eyes and tried to give the biggest smile that he could muster. He wanted to act all excited with the new job the Troll Tree has given him; although, deep inside his heart has broken into a million pieces. "I ring the bell…"

"And you won't be restored to your old form until…" King Pebble said.

"Until the Tree says so!" the dragonfly said trying to sound enthusiastic. He rolled his eyes because the former King was being so mouthy since he and the other guardians arrived from their dimension.

"Good" the King muttered. "Since you're here anyway, why not do something good for a start, and wake the other Kings?" Pebble gestured his hand to the many headstones lined around his shrine.

"Sure! One family reunion coming right up!" Fugue said. "Okay, Your Majesties! Time to look alive!" he shouted as he flew above the crystals, making sure that the sound of the tiny bell tied around his neck would reach the spirits of the former Kings sleeping underneath. "Let's go! Come on! Get up! Let's move it!" Like the shrine of the First King, the headstones began to glow, until a swirling vortex of light formed the ghostly images of the former Troll Kings. All of the fifty-seven former Kings were present from the very first, up to the last one who died. "Rise and shine! You're all way past the beauty sleep thing!"

Fugue rested on top of King Pebble's shrine after waking the spirits up. He and the two other guardians quietly watched the former Kings do some stretching and yawning. "In 3…2…1…" Fugue muttered.

"Oooh! I knew that Poppy won't do any good to this Kingdom!" one of the spirits said. He looked around to every Troll King and tried to get them to agree. "She's nothing, but a troublemaker!"

"Don't look at me! She got it from King Perry!" another spirit said while pointing at the King that he mentioned.

"She's just concerned about her father!" King Pepper's ghost said.

"But if Peppy finds out…she'll be greatly punished!" one of the spirits frantically said. "She will be a dishonor! The whole Kingdom will collapse! We can never let that happen!"

"Calm down, Pod!" a few of them shouted. "That won't happen for sure!"

"For sure!? I would never allow such thing!" King Pear exclaimed. "I would get crushed under a Bergen's foot first before I let the downfall of this Kingdom!" Like King Pike, he looked around and tried to get some support from the other former Kings.

"That woman needs to learn her place in this Kingdom!" King Peach shouted, to which most of them agreed. "She's nothing like my daughters! They're regal and poised…and they never disobeyed my orders! They were even able to marry wealthy Troll merchants!"

"Oh! As if we could just allow Peppy to get Poppy married to some wealthy merchant, huh?" King Pea scoffed. "She's the only heir to the Throne, remember!? If her father would send her off, then no one would be left to be the heir of this Kingdom!"

"Why don't we just do something to help my granddaughter?" King Prairie suggested.

"Your granddaughter, who had to be a cross-dresser!" some of the Kings shouted.

"She only did that to help my son and the whole Kingdom!" King Prairie defended.

"Oh, your son!?" King Perry scoffed. "Your sons are the reas—"

"Enough!" King Pebble shouted. The former Kings fell silent and ended their pointless argument. He looked at each of them with great distaste. "Now, anyone who would want to speak should come forward and give their suggestion!"

King Prairie did not hesitate and approached the statue of the First King immediately. "King Pebble, please…send a Guardian to help my granddaughter…our granddaughter!" He emphasized the last phrase to remind the other Kings that Poppy came from their own flesh and blood. "I don't care if she's a woman, she's my grandchild and my son loves her dearly. Besides, she's the only heir this Kingdom has."

"Send Waft! She's the wisest!" some of the Troll Kings suggested.

"No! Send Dew! She's the most compassionate! She'll be able to convince the Princess to come back!" some of them said. Deciding which guardian to send sparked a new argument among the spirits, which made King Pebble groan. The King waved his hand to the guardians, as a sign that he's letting them leave.

"Alright, I'll lead the way." Fugue said placing himself in front of Dew and Waft.

"What do you mean with lead the way? You're no longer a guardian, remember?" Dew said.

"That's right. Your recklessness almost burned the Palace!" Waft said. Fugue looked at her quizzically. "The Great Fire in the Capital? You said that those fireworks needed to be lit, so you ignited them all at once!"

"I, uh…can't recall" he said. Inside his mind, he could see the fire that burned almost half of the village. Trolls had to evacuate outside the Capital to keep themselves safe from the fire that lasted almost three days. King Pier, who was the King that time burned most of his hair when he helped in extinguishing the fire.

"L—let's forget about that funny story, shall we? You two are good at making stories" he chuckled nervously. The two raised their brows. "Anyway, I have a proposition for the two of you."

"And what is that 'proposition'?" Waft asked lethargically.

"Since none of you two believes that I can be a guardian again…" Fugue started. He saw the two nod their heads, so he immediately glared at them. "How about we settle this with a bet?" Fugue said.

"Not one of those bets again" Dew complained.

"Listen Dewdrop!" Fugue spat. "Whoever reaches the Princess first will be her guardian. That means if I reach her first, I'd be her guardian, and you two are going to help me get reinstated." He gave the two an annoying smug on his face.

"That's the funniest bet I've ever heard?" Waft remarked with a slight smirk on her face. "There's no way that you're going to get to the Princess before the two of us."

"But what if I do?" Fugue retorted.

"You won't because you've lost most of your powers when the Tree demoted you. We're powerful, you're not." Waft said. "And besides, you've had your chance to guard this Kingdom, but you failed…many times!"

"You don't think that I can do it, don't ya?" Fugue asked. He blew a tiny flame from his mouth to show the two that he still has powers.

"Fugue, what Poppy needs is a real guardian" Waft exhaled. "Someone who could guide her and protect her from harm. A real dragonfly will be great though."

"What? But I'm a real guardian! And I am a hundred percent real dragonfly!" Fugue complained. The two other guardians laughed at him. His pride has been soiled way too much that he can feel his tiny heart flinch inside his chest. "Come on guys, just one chance! Is that too much to ask?"

"Fine..." Waft said. Hope sparked inside Fugue's heart when one of them finally agreed to his wager. "But…if we get to her first and be her guardian, you'd be spending the rest of the century doing some chores for me and Dew."

"What?" Fugue protested. "That's unfair!"

"Nope. It's pretty fair, I guess" Dew said. Fugue grumbled a bit and pondered if he'd still go with his plan. Waft is too smart for her own good, and Dew is too supportive and lenient. He needs to work extra hard to get to Poppy first.

"Fine. It's a deal" Fugue grumbled once more. The three formed a circle and released a bit of their powers to create a seal to their deal. Anyone who breaks the wager shall face dire consequences.

The three flew outside the cavern and left the former Kings to quarrel. Upon their first glimpse of the palace, they were instantly filled with awe. They've been asleep for many years; the last time they woke up were years ago. The Palace, the garden…everything has changed.

"So, I guess I better get going!" Fugue said before he flew away and left the two guardians who were still marveling the beauty of the Palace.

"Aren't we supposed to leave now?" Dew asked. However, the damselfly was so amazed and mesmerized with the flowers that grew in the garden. "Waft! Waft!"

"Dew!" the damselfly said, her voice filled with wonder. "It's more beautiful than before!" Waft moved around the place faster. She wanted to see every part of the Palace and see how much it has changed over the course of time.

"Waft!" the mayfly called once again. "We have a mission, remember? Fugue is already on his way to the Princess!"

The damselfly, however, paid no attention to her companion and continued to explore. Her mind was completely taken away from the task the former King has given. Dew, on the other hand, needed to move twice as fast than her usual pace to keep up with her friend.

On the other side of the Palace, just a few distances away from the garden, a red dragonfly was flying around. "Now, where could that firefly be?" he muttered. "No, she lives on a tree. Come on, Fugue, get that brain of your working and remember where she lives!" He returned to the garden and searched every tree. "Sunny!"

A firefly jumped in surprise upon hearing the dragonfly shout. "There you are!". The insect took flight and approached Fugue excitedly. "The task I gave you last night…how was it?" Fugue asked.

The insect approached one of his ears and made a few buzzing sounds. "Nice, good job! Do you know where she went?"

Again, Sunny went to his ears and buzzed. "Great! Let's go!"

The cold gale swept across the northern lands of the Kingdom sending flurries of snow up in the air. The howls of the strong winds from the north was the only sound that filled the lifeless and barren land. A blanket of white powder covered the mountaintops and the horizon.

A few miles south of the Great Wall, smoke rose from behind the snow-covered mountain. Clusters of tents made of patched cloth and animal skin stood on the forsaken land. Hundreds of grey Trolls moved about, doing the usual things they do when they set camp. Some of them were training to prepare for the battle, while most of them train to see some blood. The once happy creatures have succumbed to their barbaric ways.

"Still enjoying the cold, huh?" a female Horn with an ash-colored skin said. "We should be moving by now. Stardust Fields is just a few miles from here. We could have some fun with those worthless Trolls."

"Why the waste? Those Trolls can't even put up a fight" a dark grey Horn said. "Besides, I'm anticipating the arrival of the King and his mighty Army. A warm welcome from His Majesty, would sound great, Bones."

"Whatever you say, King Canyon" the Horn responded with a slight smirk on her face. Bones left Canyon alone with his thoughts, and went to the other Horns to train.

Canyon stared at the horizon and watched as the cold air swept the snow that covered the ground. His anticipation for the battle against the Troll Kingdom becomes stronger, as well as his desire to claim the Throne for himself.

"King Canyon!" one of his soldiers called. "Raven has returned!"

Canyon glanced at the Troll that stood behind the soldier. It's wearing a black hooded cloak that covered most of its body, and a pair of boots powdered with snow.

"You still look like one of them…" Canyon chuckled before looking back to the horizon. "Ashamed of your true form?"

The Horn smiled. "Of course not." Slowly its skin turned grey and its hair turned black with streaks of white and silver. "I will never be ashamed of this form, Your Majesty."

"A troll who can change color at will. The perfect spy in the Kingdom." Canyon clapped his hands slowly. "So, tell me, what is the King and his Army up to?"

"They've been sending out conscriptions to every town and village to gather new recruits" Raven said. "They're preparing for your arrival."

Canyon laughed, an eerie laugh that echoed all over the northern mountain. "New recruits to fight against me? He better be kidding." Canyon wiped the tears that formed at the corners of his eyes because of laughing too much. "Then I guess, this Kingdom will be ours faster than we expected. I have one of their precious guardians, and with that feeble King leading the Army, I'm sure the Trolls in this land would never survive without any ruler."

"The King has already proclaimed his daughter to be his heir to the Throne, Your Majesty" Raven stated.

"A Queen for a ruler? The King has gone crazy" the dark grey Troll laughed again. "Still, she could be a great hindrance to our plan…dispose of her."

"Yes, Your Majesty" the other Troll replied. There was a momentary silence between the two. All they could here were the howls of the wind and the Horns that were training. "Your brother is…"

"King Canyon!" two Horns suddenly called and interrupted the conversation. The King of the Horns turned his attention to them. "Spies from the Kingdom!" The other Horns behind them tossed two Troll soldiers in front of their King.

The dark grey Troll lowered his head and examined the two. He sniffed them and his sable eyes looked straight into theirs as if he was staring at their souls. "Great job, gentlemen" he said. "You've been good spies to your King. You've found the Horn Army." Canyon laughed out loud. His voice sent shivers down the captives' spines.

"King Peppy will stop you!" one of the soldiers said.

"Stop me? But he and his father made me want to come here!" Canyon said with a pout on his face. "When they sent me to that wretched tree and beyond their precious wall, they challenged my strength!" The dark grey Troll's voice was powerful enough to make the snow on the mountain tremble. "But…I'm here now. And I would really enjoy playing his little game. Go! Tell your King to bring his strongest soldiers! I'm ready!"

Canyon raised his hand, and the two soldiers were immediately released. They scurried away from the fearsome Troll and ran as fast as they could. They wanted to be far away from the dark grey Troll. Canyon watched them leave, and smiled widely.

"Thorn, how many Trolls does it take to send a message?" the Horn King asked one of his soldiers.

"One"

"Okay...How about this?" a red Troll said before puffing her chest. "Excuse me, sir…where do I sign in?" Poppy said in a slightly deep voice. "What do you think, Kit?"

The fox shook his head in response. Poppy sighed and groaned. She's been practicing the whole morning. They've finally reached the norther lake where the training is supposed to take place as stated on the conscription. The other recruits have arrived, and Poppy could clearly see the huge tents all lined up inside the barricaded area that serves as the camp.

"Okay, okay…how about this?" Poppy took a deep breath and puffed her chest more. "Excuse me, where do I sign in? Ah! I see you have a sword. I have one too, they're so manly." Poppy tried to wield the weapon with her hands. She tried to do what Branch and Creek would usually do when they're on training; however, she failed miserably and dropped the sword on the ground.

Kit laughed really hard upon seeing how she failed. Poppy glared at the fox, and threw him the tiniest pebble she saw. "Why the waste?" Poppy groaned. "It would take a miracle to convince them that I'm a man, and not a Princess."

"Did I heard someone say 'miracle'!" a sinister voice from behind a huge boulder said. The whole place suddenly went warm and hellish as a huge shadow of a dragonfly emerged. Fire spewed from his mouth and smoke rose up from where he stood. "Well?"

"Y—yes! Th—that was me!" Poppy responded.

"Very well then…" the shadow said. "I was sent here by your ancestors to guide you and make sure that you succeed in this masquerade of yours!" He laughed maniacally. "For if your father finds out what you've done…you will dishonor not only him, but the whole Kingdom!"

"W—Who are you!?" Poppy asked. She felt her knees shake in fear. She stood very close to her fox and held tight on his legs.

"Who am I? Who am I!?" the voice laughed. "I am Fugue…the guardian of the fiery depths, the guardian of wars and passion!" The fire that surrounded him grew bigger.

"Hey, little buddy, stay with me. I'll just have to make her agree to choose me before those two arrive okay?" he whispered to his little firefly friend. The firefly tried to keep its tail aglow and fanned the coals faster to make the flames bigger.

Kit sniffed something odd, so he immediately left Poppy to investigate. He followed the scent of what seems like burning coal and grass that led him behind the boulder where the shadow appeared. The fox snarled upon seeing the tiny dragonfly who was making all the ruckus that frightened Poppy. Kit lunged himself on the insect and stepped on it with its forelegs.

Poppy was baffled on the sudden actions of the shadow. Kit returned to her and spat a tiny insect on the ground. "Okay?" she said. She picked up the insect with her hands and examined the tiny creature. "So, my grandfathers sent me a tiny bug as a guardian?"

"Dragonfly! I'm a dragonfly! I don't do that buzzing sound like that little critter over there!" Fugue pointed at his little firefly friend. "And how dare you mock me!? I'm a guardian!" The dragonfly flapped his wings to get some of Kit's saliva off before he hovered in front of Poppy.

"I'm sorry. It's just that…you look…" Poppy said.

"Awesome? Inspiring? Majestic?" Fugue cited. He raised his brows in anticipation.

"Tiny…" Poppy said, trying not to laugh. The guardian is, indeed, too tiny to be a guardian. He's barely the size of her palms, almost the same size as the firefly. When Maester Hawthorne spoke of the guardians, she expected majestic looking creature...not a tiny insect.

"Watch it! I—I'm just not…in my true form! Yeah! I'm travel-sized…for your convenience!" the dragonfly said. "If I were my original size, this little dog of yours would be running for his life!" Kit walked closer to him and snarled. "Down boy! My powers are beyond your imaginations!"

The insect's expression suddenly fell when the wind blew stronger and the water on the river became turbid. "They're here" he nervously said. Poppy watched the dragonfly frantically fly around her.

"What? Who's here?" Poppy asked, she started to feel a bit terrified as well.

"Doesn't matter!" the dragonfly said. He stopped flying and hovered in front of Poppy. "Listen, Princess, do you accept me as your guardian?" Fugue asked.

"What?" Poppy said.

"Just say yes or no! We're running out of time! I'm running out of time!" the dragonfly said. Poppy became even more confused; although, she could feel that the forest is starting to feel a bit odd. The wind has become stronger and the water in the river is no longer calm. "Princess!"

Poppy became frantic. She does not know what to do. It's her first time to meet a guardian, and no one has ever told her how to handle such situation. "Uh…Yes!" Poppy said. "Yes! I accept you as my guardian!"

The tiny dragonfly smiled widely on Poppy. He flew high up in the sky and released a powerful blast of red light. Fire began to circle Poppy and everything around her. A red string emerged from Fugue's heart and wrapped around the Princess.

"Wh-what's happening?" Poppy asked. Fugue's fire continued to engulf Poppy. The heat from the fire spread across the Princess's tiny body…through her feet, her arms, in her heart and even on tips of her hair. The flames that surrounded her dispersed and vanished after a short while. Poppy looked at the dragonfly, confused. "What did you do?"

"I'm a spirit, okay? And if someone accepts me or the other guardians…we become one with that Troll, until our deal is over" Fugue said. Poppy, however, gave him a baffled expression. She didn't quite understand the essence of what the dragonfly said. "Look, I'm bound to you now and only death will tear our souls apart! I can see through you! Through that elderberry juice on your skin! And through that armor!"

"That's kinda creepy if you ask me" Poppy said nervously.

"Creepy? You just merged your soul with a guardian from the Troll Tree, and you find that creepy?" Fugue said. "I'll have you know that I am the guardian chosen by your granddaddies to protect them when the Kingdom is at war. I gave them the strength to fight even the Bergens!" Fugue smiled proudly.

"Really?" Poppy's eyes widened. "My ancestors chose you as their guardian?"

"Well, most of them" Fugue clarified.

"Princess!" two voices called. Poppy turned and saw two insects emerge from the air and from the river.

"Hah! I got here first!" Fugue bragged.

"Princess Poppy, listen…you can still change your mind. Please don't choose him as your guardian!" Waft begged.

"Yes! He's a complete nutjob! He'll get you in more danger than getting you guarded!" Dew said.

"Ladies, I'm sorry to break this to you, but…she already accepted me as her guardian!" Fugue said as a wide smirk formed across his face.

The two guardians looked at Poppy and saw the distinct glow that surrounds her body. She has that same red glow that Fugue has. Fire emanates from her soul like the dragonfly. They were too late, Poppy has already made a deal with the fire guardian, and there's nothing that they can do to intervene or reverse the situation.

"Your Highness, would you mind if we talk to your 'guardian' for a while?" Waft asked. Poppy nodded in response, so the two insects immediately pulled Fugue at a considerable distance. "If something bad happens to Poppy, I swear by the Troll Tree…I'd squeeze the air out of your lungs!"

"No, I'll drown him in the deepest part of the ocean if the Princess gets into trouble!" Dew said. Her words seem to have surprised the two spirits because she's the gentlest among the four guardians of the Tree. Dew never demonstrated any act of violence to anyone, not even to Fugue.

Poppy watched the three argue for a moment before she looked down the hill. Her heart began to pound inside her chest. Her plan is starting to unfold. All she needed to do next is walk down to that camp, enlist her name and save the Kingdom from the Horns. Most especially…save her father from the enemies.

"You ready, Princess?" Fugue asked. "You're still a long way ahead to get this charade of yours convincing." Poppy looked up and saw the dragonfly hovering just beside her. She needs to trust him, no matter what the other guardians may have said,

Poppy took a deep breath and picked up her things. She prayed one last time to the Troll Tree for a bit of guidance. She took Kit's reins and led him down the hill to join the Troll Army. "Uhm…Fugue…I need to ask you one thing…" she said when she realized something important.

"And what is it, my Princess?" Fugue asked.

"Please…once we're inside…don't call me 'princess'"

A/N: Fugue rhymes with few, just to clarify. I made him a dragonfly because...one, Mushu's a dragon...and the second reason will be a secret for now because it involves the other guardians as well. Anyway, hope you liked it, again, thanks neomoon585 for the ideas. Thanks everyone for your suppport...although most times, I forget to update LOL. I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible! Got something in mind? Tell me!