Princess Elena and the Trolls
By Emma Redmer
Princess Elena was the bravest warrior
in all the kingdom. She was fierce in battle, with a keen intellect
and a courageous heart. She was also cunning, with an animal instinct
and something many princesses, or people, did not possess – common
sense. She could outfox many an evil nobleman or king. Though many
men courted her, Elina suspected they only saw her titles, or her
curvaceous figure, long velvet-brown curls and flashing eyes that
changed from blue to gray at a moment's notice, depending on her
mood. She wanted to be loved for herself, not for a title or her
looks.
She was out hunting one day, riding
through the kingdom neighboring hers. The young princess was dressed
simply, in a hunter's green and brown outfit. Her horse, her favorite
dappled gray Esmerelda, trotted through the dark, dense Enchanted
Forest. She shivered. The forest held many secrets. She'd heard the
prince of this kingdom had disappeared on a routine hunting
expedition a few days before. His horse had returned without him. The
entire kingdom was in an uproar, searching day and night for the
missing man.
The further she went, the more she
became determined to continue. “I'm not afraid,” she told
herself. “I won't allow whatever magic these woods possess to intimidate me.”
Even as she said these words, she heard
voices. Elena winced at the shrill noises, loud enough to crack the
strongest glass. It sounded as if they were fighting. She turned her
horse for a look.
Three of the ugliest trolls she'd ever
seen were gathered around what, at first, appeared to be simply a
tree. They were mixing some kind of black goop in a cauldron over a
fire. A handsome man, tall and slender, with a fiery mane of
red-brown hair that flowed past his shoulders and a smooth,
strong-jawed chin, was bound hand and foot to a thick tree. One of
the trolls stroked him, caressing his neck, shoulders, and chest.
He'd once been dressed in the rich clothing of royalty, but they had
been torn to rags by the trolls' claws. A second troll forced a
goblet of purple liquid into his full, pink lips.
The third troll tauntingly waved a
golden crown in front of his nose. “No more a prince are thee. When
you wed one of us, we will turn the king and queen into frogs and
take over the kingdom. You will become our slave.” The man opened
his mouth, but no voice emerged. The troll cackled, a sound that sent
a shiver up Elena's spine. “You can scream, shout, yell. It will do
you no good. The potion we just gave you made your throat too stiff
to speak. You will not be able to cry out for help.”
The second troll shuffled over to the
cauldron. She leaned over it and took a deep sniff. “It's almost
ready! This will turn you into a pretty puppy. We'll be able to
control your mind, your very shape. You will be human when we want
you to pleasure us.” The prince struggled harder, but the other two
trolls tightened the ropes, until he could no longer move a muscle.
The first troll yanked his mouth open. “Open wide, fair prince...”
Elena put her hand over her mouth to
stifle the gasp. So this was the missing prince! She had to do
something to help him. He certainly didn't deserve brides like these.
The brave princess rode boldly out of the protection of the trees and
into the clearing.
The three trolls were, at first,
surprised to see a young woman in green and brown holding an arrow
right at them. “Unhand that poor man! He's much too good for the
likes of you!” The prince looked up, his green eyes now filled with
hope.
The trolls only laughed, their deep
guffaws echoing amid the trees. “You could never defeat us, silly
human! You're just a little thing. What could you do?”
“I can do plenty. I'm stronger than
you think.” She lowered her bow and arrow. “Would you like to see
how strong I am?”
The largest troll, the one holding the
prince's mouth open, snorted. “Why not? We could use a good laugh.”
“And after that,” the second troll
added, “we'll turn you into a puppy, too! Or maybe a birdie!”
She pulled a stone from under the tree.
“Do you see this rock? Why, I could crush this rock with my bare
hands!” The prince raised his eyebrows, but the trolls continued to
laugh. They laughed until she actually took the stone between her
palms and broke it apart, as if it were sand. In truth, the stone was
already weak and crumbling, but the trolls didn't need to know that.
“Look at what she did!” gasped one
of the trolls. “She crushed that rock like it was glass!”
She leaned over the cauldron. “I
could break this cauldron and tear it to shreds!”
The largest troll laughed again.
“That's no rock. It's made of iron. You could never break it.”
“Perhaps I can't,” she admitted.
“I'll just have to do this...” she pulled off her cape and
wrapped it around the hot cauldron, lifting it into her hands,
“instead!” She threw the black goop at the three trolls.
They screamed, writhing in the
foul-smelling potion. Black smoke gathered around the trio. When it
subsided, three rather ugly little puppies squirmed among the thick
liquid.
Elena set about freeing the prince,
cutting his ropes with her hunting knife. He nearly fell into her
arms when she released him. “Thank you,” he gasped. “When you
turned the trolls into puppies, you broke their spells, including the
one on my voice.” He dropped shakily to one knee before her. “My
name is Prince Herrold, the heir to this kingdom. You have saved me
and my family from those evil trolls who ruled these woods. We are in
your debt, huntress. If there's anything you need, anything at all,
just ask.”
She dropped into a deep curtsey. “I
am no huntress, but Princess Elena, of the neighboring kingdom. All I
ask of you is your respect, and your friendship.” She gently took
his hand and helped him to his feet. “I could take you to your home
on my horse. Perhaps we could get to know one another better?”
Elena very much liked Herrold's kind
smile. “Yes, Princess Elena. I think I'd like that a lot.” He
took her hand. She gathered the puppies in her other hand, and the
two walked off to her horse together.
Elena and Herrold did become great
friends. It turned out Herrold was as fond of riding and as cunning
and intelligent as she. The trolls had lured him into a trap, taking
him off his horse and tying him fast to the tree before he could stop
him. The three nasty little puppies were given to Elena's six
cousins, who were not known for playing gently. The kings and queens
of both lands were happy to see their son and daughter getting along
so well. They hoped someday the two would even wed, but for now,
Elena and Herrold were content to just be who they were together.
No comments:
Post a Comment