BB In Toyland, Part 4

It was dark and spooky in that hallway. There were lots of cobwebs that got in my face and old bones and junk I tripped over. Chewie just kept his nose to the ground, snuffling around. “I guess you're trying to find a mouse for dinner or something.” I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. “I wish I knew where we were. It's cold in here! There's a wind blowing somewhere.”

A wind... “Wait! If there's wind, it has to be coming from somewhere.” We came to the end of the pathway. Hot air puffed through the bricks, raising the I pushed at the wall...and found myself walking through a door behind a bookshelf in a huge office. There were all kinds of books and papers and globes and maps on the walls. I went to inspect the biggest map while Chewie kept sniffing. It was of Toyland Town, but the factory was crossed off. “Crooked Castle Training Base” had been written over it in fancy letters.

Chewie put up his paws on the heavy black desk. He let out a happy bark and grabbed something black and triangular with his teeth, just as I heard voices. “Chewie, shh!” I tried to open the bookshelf again, but it was stuck! “We have to hide!”

I dove under the desk, just as four figures barged in. I could tell from their fancy painted wooden shoes that two of them were Jack Hux and Jill Phasma. The ragged boots with old fringe belonged to tall man with short brown hair and fuzz on his face. The shiny black boots were Kylo Ren's. I couldn't tell what the last person was wearing. Their shoes were covered up by a long black cape.

“Good work, all of you.” The cape turned to the fringed boots. “Especially you, Mr. DJ. You did very well, stealing the sheep from under that silly girl's nose. I knew it would bring them here.”

“Thanks.” The tall man wore the same colorful clothes as the gypsies, but they were ragged and dirty. His grin was very nasty. “So, where's the gold you promised me?”

“All in good time.” Snoke turned to Hux and Phasma. “The others are locked up in the basement with Shaftoe?”

Hux nodded. “The trolls should have gotten them there by now.”

Oooh, Phasma and Hux were working for Barnaby! No wonder they knew where the sheep were. And it sounded like those bad trolls had taken the others away! I had to find the cellar. Chewie and I were the only ones who could now.

Sir Kylo Ren crossed his arms. “I've spent the better part of the last two weeks questioning my father. He refuses to reveal where the deed for his share of the factory is. Dameron and the other factory workers will make excellent leverage.” He was probably trying to be all dark and mysterious, but he really came off as kind of whiny. “As soon as Father turns his share over to us, we'll lead the trolls to take over the Factory and Toyland Town. They'll never know what hit them.”

He leaned on the table. “After we've taken over Toyland, I'll take Rey Quite Contrary for my bride. There's something about her. She's beautiful, yes, but also strong, stronger than she knows.” His lazy smirk looked kind of familiar. “And I'll make sure you wed Mother, Mr. Snoke.”

Snoke nodded. “Mother Goose is quite lovely for her age, and well-versed in magic and in business. She's popular with the people, too. I never thought that rapscallion Shaftoe was good enough for her. He was a poor sailor with no magic or wealth. She deserves a man who can provide for her.”

Phasma raised an eyebrow. “What about Santa Claus and the Christmas Festival?”

I didn't like how happy Barnaby sounded. “Leave him to me. My trolls will make short work of that fat idiot.”

Hux sniffed his long nose. “Does anyone else smell dog in this room?”

Everyone started making sniffing noises. “What would a dog be doing here?” Phasma turned to Ren. “Did one of your people pick up a stray?”

“Well, yes.” Hux's thin face had a nasty grin as he turned to Kylo Ren. “They picked up him.”

Kylo Ren said something mean about Hux's mother that I get into trouble for saying. Hux lunged for him, and they probably would have killed each other if Phasma hadn't gotten in between them. “Enough, you two idiots! We don't have the time for this. We have to find that dog.”

“Uh oh,” I whispered. I tried to pull further under the desk, but it was hard with all of Chewie there. Chewie whimpered, but I nudged him. “Shhh!”

“What do we have here?” Barnaby's ugly face suddenly appeared right in front of mine. “It's the little girl from Toyland Town. And she has herself a puppy dog.” His long, bony hand tried to grab at me. “Come here, girl. Good doggie.”

Chewie didn't like him reaching for me or calling him a puppy when he wasn't one. He bit Barnaby in the hand! “Owww!” Snoke pulled away, clutching his bleeding fingers. “You vicious mongrel! Your next stop is the pound!”

“I won't let you do that to Chewie!” I dove out from under the desk and kicked Barnaby in the shins. “You're a mean old man, and vicious, too!” I didn't know what “vicious” meant, but I figured it wasn't nice.

“You little brat!” Kylo Ren jumped at me. “I knew I didn't like you!”

“You're a brat, too!” I kicked him in the knee. He howled louder than Chewie and hit the floor. “You're a big bully, locking up all my friends and my bro...Poe the Piper's Son!”

“I had to do it.” Ren was puffing, clutching his knee. “Shaftoe wouldn't talk otherwise.”

Phasma grabbed my arm. “Oh no, you don't! You're going in the dungeon with the rest of them!”

She screamed and nearly fell over Ren on the floor as Chewie bit her rear. “No, I'm not!” I yanked my arm away. “I'm getting out of here! Come on, Chewie, let's go!” I ran out the door as fast as I could, with Chewie on my heels.

We wandered around in that castle for hours, or at least minutes. It felt like hours. Every time I turned the corner, I either found more black stone hallways, or more trolls we'd have to hide from. I tried grabbing a sword from one of the old, rusty suits of armor in the corners, but it was so heavy, I had to drag it along. I didn't know knights in the fantasy movies were so strong! Robin Hood never looks like he has this much trouble with his sword in the TV show.

I got so tired of tugging the sword along, I sat in an old wood chair to rest. Chewie just kept sniffing along, his mouth still full of black hat. “Hey Chewie, can I see that?” I pulled it away from his mouth. It was a black hat shaped like a triangle, like George Washington wears in the chapter on American history in my social studies book at school. It was old and battered and it smelled like the ocean. I had to wipe my hands on my dress to get off all of Chewie's drool. “Does this belong to your owner?”

He nodded and barked, sniffing around again. Chewie went down a long, steep set of stairs. They were much longer and steeper than the stairs at Skywalker's or our apartment building. It was really dark and spooky in there. I thought I could hear people screaming in pain. “Chewie,” I said nervously, “where are you leading us? Is this where they're holding your owner?”

Chewie ran faster the further down we went. The moment we hit the bottom of the stairs, he barked happily and dashed down the gloomy hall, sniffing like crazy. It was hard for me to keep up with him. I had to lean the sword against a wall.

I followed Chewie under a rusty metal grate and into a dark, damp hallway. The screams and moans were coming from a series of barred cells, like in a prison. “Figures Barnaby wouldn't keep normal things in his basement, like gardening stuff and beach toys,” I muttered. “I'll bet Dracula's around the next corner.”

But he wasn't. A big troll snored in a chair next to one of the cells. Chewie rushed right to it. “Chewie?” An older man, his wrists and ankles bound with chains, looked up from the mossy stone wall. “Is that you, boy?” He was dressed like a pirate from the old movies, in a brown jacket with lots of fancy brass buttons and trim over a big, flowing white shirt and black vest. His long, thick silver hair was tied back with a brown ribbon. I shouldn't have been surprised that he looked exactly like Officer Solo, only with longer hair. His face was wrinkly, too, but his skin was tan like my brother's and mine, and he was much more handsome than Snoke.

I tip-toed past the snoozing troll and opened the door to the man's cell with the keys I stole from Snoke. It squeaked as I passed, but it didn't wake up Sleeping Ugly. “Chewie!” The dog barged in after me and jumped right up into the man's lap. “I'm happy to see you too, boy.” He looked up at me as I went to get Chewie down. “Thanks, kid. What's your name?”

“I'm BB,” I said carefully. “What's yours?”

“Name's Han Shaftoe, kid.” He squirmed in his chains. “Want to see if any of those keys will open these? I can't feel my wrists anymore.”

My eyes widened. “Han Shaftoe?”

He frowned, his eyes a little bit sad. “I used to be, squirt.”

I ignored that 'squirt.' “Mother Goose's husband? I thought you were dead!”

“That's what they wanted everyone to think.” Han's twinkly greenish-brown eyes narrowed. “The Knights of Ren attacked my ship, the Falcon. They sunk the ship to make it look like I died, then kidnapped me and held me here.”

“But why?” I kept trying keys, turning each one to see if they fit. “Why did they want you?”

“I'm one of the three owners of the Toy Factory. Luke, Leia, and I each own a share we inherited from Leia and Luke's parents and the previous Toymaker, Ben Kenobi.” Han frowned. “Barnaby tried to get Luke, Leia, and me to sell the factory before, but we refused. He must have figured that the only way to get our shares was to separate us.”

“He wants to marry Leia, too.” There was a “click” as I twisted the last key in the lock. As soon as it opened, I worked on the next one. “I heard all the bad guys talking. They're going to take over Toyland and the Toy Factory and make Mother Goose marry Barnaby!”

The old pirate rubbed his wrists as I undid his ankles. “I'd say 'over my dead body,' but that might give my son ideas.”

“Mr. Shaftoe,” I asked softly as I twisted the key, “why does Kylo Ren hate you, and Mr. Luke and Mother Goose? I thought you all seemed nice, but Miss Maz told me Luke did something to Kylo Ren that got him awfully upset.”

“Call me Han.” He shook his head. “Leia spent most of Ben's childhood running the factory, and I spent a lot of it at sea. He mostly stayed with his uncle. Something happened between Luke and Ben that really frightened him. Ben tried to burn the factory down. Luke fired him instead, and he ran away.” Han leaned over and rubbed his ankles, wincing as he did. “We never saw him again until he turned up with the Knights of Ren. We made a lot of mistakes with that boy. I don't know if we can ever fix things.”

“You can.” I shrugged. “Everyone makes mistakes. That's what Miss Maz told me. I'll help you. I can't do it for long, because I have to go home and help my brother and go to our party. But we can at least fix some of your mistakes.” I handed him his hat. “You're not a 'used to be' to me, Mr. Han.”

Mr. Han looked down at the hat in my hand. He looked down at Chewie at his feet, his big blue eyes shining hopefully. He finally took the hat and put it on his silvery head at a jaunty angle, then gave me that familiar lazy grin. “Ok then, kid. Let's go.”

Chewie was so happy to see Mr. Han moving again, he let out a loud, happy bark and jumped right on him! “Chewie,” I whispered, “no! Bad boy! You'll wake up the troll!”

“Huh?” The troll nearly fell out of his chair. His ugly, puggy nose sniffed around. “What's goin' on? Why do I smell dog?” Beady little eyes fell on the three of us. “How did you get out?” Those big claws reached out for Chewbacca. “Sorry, but I'm gonna have to put you all back, startin' with the mutt there. Boss' orders.”

The moment he jumped at Chewie, Chewie ducked away! That big troll landed right in the cell. Mr. Han and I shut it quickly and locked him in!

“Uh oh.” The troll rattled the bars. “Let me out! If the boss finds out about this, he'll have Kylo Ren turn me into a fur muff!”

“Sorry there, pal.” Mr. Han smirked. “We've got more important things to do than mess around with you.”

“Wait!” I went back into the hall and dragged the sword in the dungeon. “Here. I swiped it off one of the suits of armor upstairs. Maybe you can lift it, 'cause I sure can't.”

“Thanks.” He was able to lift it, but I heard and “oomph” as he did. “Heavy sucker. I think it might belong to one of those old Jedi warriors.”

“Jedis?” I had a hard time keeping up with him and Chewie. They had really long legs. “Like in Star Wars?”

“Ain't never heard of wars in the stars,” Mr. Han explained, “but the Jedi used to be Toyland's exclusive guards, years and years ago. They're all gone now.”

We stopped right by the next line of cells. A whole line of trolls trooped up and down the worn old stone floor. I could see Poe in the first cell, trying to reach for one of the troll's keys. The mean troll slapped his hand back when he saw him. Mr. Han gently nudged me behind him. “There has to be a way we can distract these guys.”

Chewie took care of that! He dashed right over to one of those big ugly monsters and leaped up onto him to lick his face! When the troll tried to push him away, he stole his belt with the keys and ran off. The troll ran after him, waving his hands. “Bad dog!” He yelled. “Somebody stop that mutt!”

Mr. Han grinned when four of the five other trolls went after Chewie. “Not bad,” he admitted. “There's only one left.” He hefted the sword over his head. “You stay here, little lady. I'll take care of this.”

He tapped the troll on the shoulder. “This is for lockin' me up, gruesome.” The moment the troll turned around, he punched him in the face...and reeled back, holding his fist. The troll just stared at him. “Ok, I'm going to have to get brutal with you.” He tried again, only to let out a yell and hold his fist. “Oww! Are you made of metal?”

Looked like another grown-up was going to need my help. I ran under the troll's legs and stomped on his toes. The moment he started jumping up and down, Mr. Han stabbed him with the sword. When he dropped to the ground, I pulled away and grabbed his keys. “Good work, squirt.” Mr. Han patted my shoulder. “You ever been at sea, kid? You'd make a nice cabin girl.”

“Uh, my family went on a dolphin-sighting cruise when we went to Wildwood this summer,” I admitted. “Does that count?”

“Good enough.” Mr. Han unlocked the first cell with Poe in it. “Here you go, boy.”

Poe's eyes were really wide. His mouth kept opening like a fish. “But...how...you...begging your pardon, sir, but you're supposed to be dead!”

“I'll explain how I came back to life later.” He looked up just in time to see Chewie scampering back into the room, four trolls on his heels. “You get the others out. I'll deal with these creatures.”

“Sure!” He leaned down and grinned at me. “Want to help release the rest of them?”

“Ok!” I nodded. “As long as I can help.” I hate it when the grown-ups leave me out because I'm littler than they are. It's not like I'm a really little kid. I'm 8 years old. That's old enough to stay up until 10 on weekends and read really long chapter books like Sweet Valley High (even if I think all the stuff with the Wakefield Twins and their boyfriends is kind of silly).

Finn and Rose were in the next cell. Poe let me unlock them, since Han got to do the last one. “Go help Han take care of those trolls,” Poe told them. “BB and I are going to get the others out.”

Rose nodded. “Right.” Finn looked like he was going to to run away, but Rose grabbed the back of his vest. “Don't even think about leaving. I need your help.” She grabbed him and pulled him down as one of the trolls reached for them. “And now would be a great time for it!”

Poe and I unlocked Kaydel and Snap, then Miss Maz and the gypsies. Maz shot two trolls with a big old pistol, like you see in John Wayne movies. “Thanks there, little one.”

“Where's Rey?” Poe frowned, looking around him. “She's not here.”

“Kylo Ren took her upstairs.” Maz ducked, letting another troll fly over her and into two other trolls. They all fell over like dominoes. “She screamed and fought and bit like a wild animal, but he managed to get her away. They're probably gone by now.”

“They were in the office. I saw them.” That was when I remembered what I heard. “Oh man, Poe, Miss Maz, we have to get out of here! They're going to raid Toyland!”

Maz raised an eyebrow. “They who?”

“Barnaby Snoke and his trolls.” All my words came out in a hurry now. “He had some man called DJ steal the sheep, so we'd come here and he could force Mr. Han to sell his part of the factory. They're going to attack Toyland Town and make Mr. Luke give up his part and tell Mother Goose to marry Snoke!”

“No!” Poe shouted. “I won't let them do that! Toyland Town is our home. And what about the Christmas Festival, and Santa Claus? He needs that order tonight!”

“And if they hurt Santa,” I wailed, “I'll never get home! Not to mention, no kid in the whole world will get any presents, including me!”

Poe's face scrunched in anger. “They're going to hurt Santa?”

I shrugged. “Mr. Barnaby said he'd 'take care of him.' I didn't think that was a good thing.”

“I doubt it is.” Han and Maz hurried up to us. Han nodded at me. “We have to get out of here.”

“You're not going anywhere, Shaftoe.” Phasma and Hux stood side-by-side in the doorway. A bunch more trolls were behind them. Phasma had her hands on her hips. “Except for right back in that cell where you belong.”

Mr. Han crossed his arms. “Now, what makes you think I'll be doing that?”

Maz raised her gun. “Where's Snoke, Sir Kylo Ren, and that turncoat DJ?”

“They've already left for Toyland Town.” Hux stuck his nose in the air. “You won't be joining them. Trolls, return them to their cells.” He turned to me. “Except that little girl. Lock her in the upstairs rooms, where she can cause no more trouble.”

“No!” I grabbed Poe's hand. “Don't let them take me away!”

“We won't.” Poe frowned. “Leave the poor girl out of this. She's already frightened and far from home.”

“I want my sheep back!” Kaydel raised her hook and grabbed Hux by his leg. “Where's my poor sheep?”

“They're in the courtyard...ack!” Kaydel yanked Hux off his feet! He smacked his head as he fell down. “Oww! Like my poor head wasn't in bad enough shape!”

Maz pointed her gun at him. “Bring us those sheep, or you're going to get a lot more than a bump on your head.”

Poe and Finn leaped onto the trolls, riding on their backs and covering their eyes until they ran into each other. I wanted to try that too, but Mr. Han pulled me back. “Sorry, kiddo, but they shouldn't be doing it.” He slashed ropes that were holding up old woven fabrics with fancy pictures, dropping them onto the other trolls. Rose, Snap, and the other gypsies tied them down.

Mr. Han held his sword up to Phasma. “You're going to take us back to the Toy Factory and right up to your boss, or I'll find six different places to stick thing on that long body of yours.”

Phasma still stood tall. “And what if I don't?”

Chewie growled at her as Finn and Poe dragged Hux over. Han pushed his sword further at her. All of the gypsies lunged into her face. “All right,” she grumbled, “all right!”

“So,” I asked as the gypsies grabbed Phasma and Hux, “how are we going to get into Toyland Town? Sir Kylo Ren and Barnaby and all the other bad guys must be there by now.”

Mr. Han gave me that lopsided grin. “Kid, I know that toy factory like the back of my hand. There's a secret entrance in the back.” He poked at Phasma. “And these two are going to make sure we can get past all their ugly friends here with no more trouble.”

“All right!” Phasma glared at him. “We'll do it. But only because we have to, and because you have the sword.”

It was kind of neat, how we got out of there. Mr. Han and Miss Maz and the gypsies grabbed shaggy old rugs from upstairs and made themselves look like trolls. I hid under a thick red rug with Poe, trying to growl and snarl and sound like I was a big monster. Poe held my hand the whole time. He kept giving me a little smile, but it wasn't really happy. I thought he missed Rey Quite Contrary. I couldn't blame him. I felt bad for Kylo Ren, but that didn't mean I wanted him to marry Rey or Barnaby to marry Mother Goose.