BB In Toyland, Part 3

We took the train to The Forest of No Return. It turned out to be the scary-looking dark woods I saw out the window of the train on my way here. I shivered as we got out at a tiny depot on the edge of the forest. “Do a lot of monsters live in those woods?” I asked.

Poe squeezed my hand as we stepped off the platform. “Well, there's bats. Deer. Bears. The gypsies, although I think their camp is on the other side of the forest.”

“The gypsies aren't bad,” Rey explained as we moved into the woods. “Some people in Toyland Town don't like them, but I think they're fun. They tell your fortune and perform the most wonderful dances! And they wear colorful clothes, like one big rainbow.”

“But there's other things in these woods!” Poe grinned and leaned over me, waving his hands and looking like a demented spider. “Spiders with long arms that will grab you, and vultures the size of toy airplanes, and huge, furry monsters that can tear your arms off with one grab!”

I gulped. “I hope we don't run into those!”

“Would you stop it?” Rey swiped the back of his arm as he chuckled. “You'll scare the little one!”

“Never mind the little one.” Hux gulped, turning even paler than usual. “He's scaring me!”

Phasma rolled her eyes. “You're such a chicken!”

“If you're all going to stand there until next Christmas, fine.” Rey started out into the woods. “I'm going to find those sheep.”

“Rey, wait!” I ran after her, nearly tripping over a log. “I want to come with you!”

“BB!” Rey frowned as I managed to catch up with you. “You need to be careful. You don't know these woods like we do.”

“They are kind of spooky.” Birds chirped in the distance. The wind blew through the mint leaves. A deer leaped past us, a graceful as a ballerina. “Do you think there are really monsters here?”

“I don't know.” Rey shivered as we passed through a circle of thick old trees. “I love flowers, but my realm is Cockleshell Gardens, not the woods.” She turned around as we heard something over our heads move. “Who's there?” We looked around, but all we saw were the trees. “I guess it was our imagin...whoa!”

I screamed as one of the trees came to life! It had two big knotty eyes, a long thin nose, and a wide wooden mouth. Its branches wrapped around Rey, lifting her into the air! Rey kicked and screamed, but it didn't do much good.

“What are you doing here, human girl?” The tree stared at her like she was the tree that just moved and talked! “You're a trespasser in these woods!”

Rey struggled in his long branches. “My name is Rey Quite Contrary. I'm looking for Sir Kylo Ren and a flock of lost sheep.”

“Hey!” I pounded my fists on that mean old tree! “You let Rey go! She wasn't doing anything to you!”

I'd just started to climb the tree to get Rey out when the tree next to him grabbed hold of me! “Let me go!” I could kick and scream as well as anybody, and I did. “We're not hurting you!”

“This is the Forest of No Return.” The big tree holding Rey shook her, ignoring her surprised squawks. “The only humans who come here besides gypsies are criminals, or those who want to chop us down for firewood!”

Rey tried to twist and turn in his branches. “Do we look like we have an ax or saw on us?”

“Let her go!” Poe, Jack, Jill, and Kaydel sprinted into the clearing. Poe brandished a log. “They did nothing to you!”

“Why can't you pick on squirrels or something?” Jill Phasma pulled a knife from somewhere under her dress.

Jack Hux pulled back, putting up his hands in surrender. “Look, we don't want any trouble. We're just passing...whoa!” He didn't get a chance to finish before a tall aspen lifted him into the air by one leg.

“What do you think you're doing?” Jill lunged at the tree with her knife, but it threw her aside.

Hux shook his head wildly. “Jill, don't antagonize it! You'll make things worse!”

Kaydel swatted tree branches away with her long white crook. “Where's my poor sheep? What have you done with them?”

“What would we want with sheep?” The cedar grabbed at Kaydel's crook. She fought him for it, tugging back and forth. “We don't eat their meat or use their wool.”

A black oak wrapped its limbs around Poe and Jill, dragging them to the ground. “It's time to get rid of all of you!”

That mean tree was about to throw me away when I heard someone...whistling? Yeah, they were whistling. A long shadow shuffled across the woods. It turned out to belong to an old lady with reddish-dark skin and big round glasses. A bright blue and green paisley scarf was tied around her head. She wore a long tunic and a skirt with a big ruffled on the bottom in every color of the rainbow.

The oak tree that held me put another branch down in front of her. “State your business, human. What are you doing here?”

“Just walking home, Oak. I wish you wouldn't carry on so.” The lady reached into a pack on her side and pulled out a match. “It's getting dark. I'd better make some light. I don't want to get lost.” She swiped the match on a piece of dry wood, setting it on fire.

That did it. All the trees screamed like little babies. “If you'll free your prisoners and leave them in my care,” she told them, “I'll take it away.”

All the trees dropped us at once! Jack somehow managed to land on Jill, who shoved him off. Poe got up quick enough to catch me, then Rey. Kaydel grabbed her cane back from the cedar.

“Come on.” The lady pushed a branch aside, revealing a dirt path. “Follow me.”

“Thanks, Maz.” Poe got alongside her. “You probably saved our lives back there.”

“Maz?” I giggled. “That's a funny name.”

“Thanks.” The lady turned around and squinted at me. “Barbara Beatrix Dameron, what are you doing here? You should be at home with your family, getting ready for your Christmas party.”

I was so surprised, my mouth dropped open like a fish's! “How did you know my name?”

“I'm a seer, child. A fortune teller. I know all.” She gave me a little bow. “Maz Kantana of the Takodana gypsy clan. Some people call me Floretta, my original name.”

“Excuse me, Miss Kantana,” Kaydel began, “but we really don't have much time. We're looking for my sheep. They were stolen by Sir Kylo Ren.”

“Yes, I know.” Maz gave her a hard stare. “Sir Ren did not steal your sheep. He helped, but it wasn't entirely his idea. Barnaby Snoke is the one who ordered your sheep to be taken.”

“But why?” Kaydel wailed. “What did my sheep do to him?”

“He wants to lure you to Crooked Castle.” Maz looked over her shoulder. “As for you, Dameron, you must be wary. Sir Kylo Ren especially wants you out of the way after what happened earlier in the Toy Factory. He has already accused you of taking part in the theft of the sheep to the police at Toyland Town.”

“Poe wouldn't do that!” I ran right over to that old lady. “He wouldn't steel the sheep! He's not a thief!”

“Thank you, little one.” Poe ruffled my hair, just like my brother Poe does. “No, I would never steal the sheep. I've stolen pigs before and gotten into trouble for it, but that was years ago.”

Jill stopped and glared at him. “How do we know you won't again? Or that you aren't just leading us into a trap?”

My bro...Poe the Piper's Son just gave her one of his smooth grins. “You'll just have to trust me then, won't you?”

Maz pushed some branches aside. “We should be just about at the camp...” She frowned as some commotion rattled the treetops. “What's all that racket?”

I'd heard about gypsies in stories, but I'd never seen real ones. The “camp” was a ring of carts painted in bright reds and golds, with fancy carved trim. The people were even more colorful, with their long, dark curls and loose clothes in all colors of the rainbow. They danced a wild number, tumbling this way and that. They reminded me a lot of the music group that performed on the street outside of Skywalker's Department Store. Maz even joined them, telling us more about what she could do as “Floretta.”

As soon as they finished, a big, furry brown dog came barreling right at Maz. She gave him a hug and let him lick her face. “Chewbacca!” Maz laughed, rubbing his belly. “Who's a good boy? Who's my favorite boy?”

“Oooh, I know that dog!” I bent down next to him. “Hi, Chewie! Where's Officer Solo?”

Maz shook her head. “He was Han Shaftoe's dog. He came here to live with us after Han vanished at sea.”

I looked up at her. Chewie rolled over and nudged my leg. “I thought he was dead. That's what all the grown-ups said.”

“Look who knows so much!” We rubbed Chewie's soft back. “He disappeared at sea, but that doesn't mean he's gone. There was no body. You'd be surprised how close some people can be when you think they're gone.”

“Poe!” Uh-oh. Finn, Snap, and Rose had been tied to the biggest tree near the big purple cart at the edge of the encampment. Two men guarded them. Finn called out to us. “Poe, over here! Talk to them! Tell them who we are!”

“We found these three wandering around in the woods.” A big gypsy with a thick beard held a knife to them. “They claim they come from Toyland Town. Accused us of stealing sheep! People will accuse gypsies of anything.”

“We thought you might have seen them.” Rose was concentrating more on her hands. I saw something glinting in the sunlight peeking through the trees. “We didn't say you stole them!”

Snap wrinkled his forehead in worry. “Poe, oh buddy, you're in so much trouble. One of the gypsies came to Toyland Town and claimed he saw you help Sir Kylo Ren steal the sheep!”

“I did no such thing,” Poe growled. “I hate Kylo Ren. I'd never help him with anything, let alone stealing sheep. My thieving days are over.”

Rey and Maz ran over to untie them. “Well, you'd better hide, then.” Rose dusted off her vest after they did her. “The police are already out in the forest, searching for you. Mother Leia is with them. I don't think she really believes you did it, but I guess she wants to know who does.”

Maz narrowed her eyes under her big glasses. “Did you hear the name of the gypsy who accused Poe?”

Snap shrugged. “He only called himself 'DJ.'”

“I knew it.” The old lady frowned. “He's a rogue gypsy who follows no clan. He'll steal and lie about anything if it will net him a few coins. Most clan gypsies hate him. He gives us a bad name.”

“Oooh, a bad guy!” I made a face. “Why would he pick on my bro...Poe? What did he do to him?”

“He was probably hired.” Poe groaned. “And I can guess by whom.”

“Yeah, Barnaby.” Rey pounded her fist into her hand. “Let's go get 'im! I'll bet he has the sheep, too.”

“Wait!” Maz put up a hand. “We have to be careful. There are trolls in these woods. Not to mention the Knights of Ren.”

“We can handle them.” Rey took a long, sharp stick from the ground. “You'd be surprised how strong we can be.”

“You'll need help.” Maz climbed up onto one of the carts. “We'll give you a ride to the castle and help you inside.”

“They probably have the sheep in the courtyard.” Poe climbed into a cart. He tried to help Rey in, but she shook her head and nimbly ducked around him.

“Poe, can I sit up front?” I grinned at Maz. “I've never ridden on a gypsy cart before?”

He shrugged. “Sure, why not? As long as Maz is watching you at all times.”

“Sure as I'm sitting here.” Maz crossed her heart. “I'm good with little ones. They like me.”

Finn lifted me up onto the driver's seat with Maz. The cart was pulled by two big horses. One was brown with fluffy feet. The other was white with brown spots. Chewbacca barked so loudly, Finn ended up putting him in between us.

I giggled when he climbed right into my lap! “Silly doggie!” I had to push him out. “I don't have enough lap for you to do that!”

Maz pushed him in the middle of the seat. “Get off, you big lump. You'll smother the poor girl.”

I shivered. Miss Maz handed me a pretty woven blanket made of threads in reds and greens and golds. “Thank you.” I pulled it around me. Chewie cuddled up against me, too. “When are we going to be at the Castle?”

“Soon, my child.” I watched as the horses clip-clopped down a dirt path. The woods were getting thinner and thinner.

“Miss Maz,” I asked, “why does Sir Kylo Ren hate all the people in the Toy Factory? Why did he quit his job?”

“He thinks that's the only way he can be truly powerful.” Maz sighed. “Barnaby Snoke filled his head with a lot of rubbish about how his parents neglected him and no one loved him. It didn't help that Luke knew how powerful he was and tried to stop him, but he ended up almost harming himself and the boy instead of helping anything.”

“The Toymaker?” I frowned. “But he was so nice! If Kylo Ren is his nephew, why would he hurt him?”

“Let me tell you something important, little one.” Maz looked me right in the eye. I squirmed, feeling like I was at school and Maz was my teacher. “People make mistakes. It's what makes us human. Just because Luke is a great Toymaker doesn't mean he hasn't done the wrong thing once in a while. Being nice doesn't mean you don't get angry or afraid. It's how you act on it that matters.”

I thought about what Miss Maz said as the horses clip-clopped along the road. As the trees started to thin out, the sky became darker. The mountains beyond the woods were sharp and scary, stabbing up into the puffy gray sky like sandy knives. I was glad I had big, furry Chewie curling up against me. He kept me warm. I put my arms around him and leaned into his head.

“Where are we?” I shivered. “Are we at the North Pole? It's awfully cold.”

Miss Maz pulled her bright red and gold woven wrap over her shoulders. “We're at the Parched Mountains. Crooked Castle is just beyond this road.”

“Ohhh!” As the cart rattled down the dirt path, the same tall black castle I saw from the train came into view! It definitely looked like somewhere Hordak would live. It was all spindly and crooked, like it was leaning on a thin ledge and would fall off any minute like Wil E. Coyote. “It's so spooky!” I leaned further into Chewie. “How does anyone live there?”

“Barnaby doesn't care for color or happiness.” Maz lead the line of carts around the back of the huge old castle. “He liked it better when everything and everyone is as gloomy as he is. That's why he was able to control Ben Boy Blue so easily. Ben was sad over his parents and his uncle, and in his sorrow, he took control of his mind.”

“Like Dracula or something,” I added. “Only I didn't see any pointy teeth on him.”

The carts had just stopped along a row of deep purple hedges that surrounded the castle. “How are we going to get in?” I asked as Poe helped me down.

Kaydel shrugged. “Maybe we could just ring the doorbell.”

“And have every troll in the place after us?” Rey frowned and pushed Poe and me back. “Speaking of trolls,” she groaned, “we have a few very ugly problems.”

I wrinkled my nose as four big, ugly, hairy things with long claws and fuzzy ears marched around the corner. “They smell like rotten eggs.”

“Trolls don't exactly smell like a flower garden.” Rey pulled out a long wooden stick. “There's four of them. How are you with trolls, Poe?”

Poe cracked his knuckles. “I think I could handle at least one or two.”

“I could at least knock them down.” Kaydel pulled a pink sash from around her waist. “We can tie them up with this.”

“Me too!” Oh boy, did I want to show those ugly guys a thing or two!

“Sorry, little one. You're too small for fights. You stay with Maz.” Poe gently nudged me into Maz's arms, then ran right at a troll, managing to knock him into the ground.

It was almost better than She-Ra. Rey knocked one troll down flat on his back, then hit the other over the head with her stick and smacked him in those parts of a guy Poe tells me it's not nice to smack. The troll doubled over with a noisy groan. Kaydel got her crook around the third one's head and yanked him on the ground. Rose rigged up a big slingshot from a board, a piece of leather string, and a pan in one of the gypsy's carts and threw fruit at the fourth one, knocking him down. Kaydel and Snap tied them all up with her sash.

“Uh oh!” Lots more trolls were coming out, even as they took down the others. “Watch out!”

Maz frowned. “Run, little one. Get out of here! This is no place for a child.”

I frowned. “But I want to help!”

“You can help by protecting Chewbacca.” The big dog barked behind me. Maz turned to him. “Chewie, keep an eye on her. Don't let her get hurt.”

“But...” Something hairy grabbed me around my waist and lifted me into the air! It was a mean, ugly troll. He had a nasty grin with sharp yellow teeth. He was all brown hair, from the top of his fuzzy head right down to his fat feet. “Let me go, you ugly jerk!” I kicked hard at him, but he only laughed in my face.

All of a sudden, he screamed and dropped me on the ground! Chewie was behind him, biting his leg really hard. I landed with a rough thud. “Owwww!” I managed to get up and check myself. My white and orange Polly Flinders dress was dusty and my rear was sore, but I otherwise seemed to be okay. “I'm never going to sit again!” I gave the mean old troll a kick in the shin. He howled and dropped to his knees, wailing about being under attack by gypsies in big boots and hairy assassins with knives.

“Chewie, come on!” I started towards the castle. “We have to get out of here!”

I tried every brick and every window on the castle, hoping that one would be open, like in all the spy movies. Finally, the last brick in a row opened, revealing a secret door in the wall. “It's our way in.” Chewie got in front of me, sniffing at the ground with his nose. “After you.”