True Colours

Chapter 11 - Bridget's Secret

Bridget hopped her way down some spiral steps with the Troll cage in hand, into the deepest part of the castle - the basement, aka, where her room was located. Once inside, the Troll trio quickly jumped down and scurried to the closest hiding place.

As soon as she set down the Troll cage, the chef's voice sounded from a tube above her. "Scullery maid!"

Suddenly dozens of pots, pans and dishes plummeted down the tube, falling right on top of Bridget and burying her in the process.

"Wash these pots and pans for Trollstice. The king's inviting everyone. Except you."

A small spoon came down the tube after Chef's harsh words, hitting poor Bridget against the head, and that seemed to be her breaking point. She suddenly burst out in tears, escaping from the mountain of crockery and rushed over to flop down on her bed, crying into her pillow.

The trio watched on in surprise, never imagining a Bergen could...express themselves like that. In fact, Popper and (Y/N) actually felt bad for her.

They noticed her cries come to an end as she looked over at her nightstand. She pulled back a small curtain below it to reveal a bunch of magazine clippings and noticed they were all of Gristle.

🎵Bridget: "I've been alone with you inside my mind."

As she sorrowfully sang, she used some scissors to cut the picture of Gristle out of the page, staring at it with solemn longing.

🎵Bridget: "And in my dreams I've kissed your lips, a thousand times."

She imagined herself going in for a kiss with the picture, only for it to tear apart the minute her lips touched it.

🎵Bridget: "I sometimes see you pass outside my door."

She then thought about every day, no matter what she was doing, how she'd gaze out the basement window to see Gristle pass by, wanting nothing more than for him to notice her back.

🎵Bridget: "Hello. Is it me you're looking for?"

And how she'd wanted nothing more than for him to realise she has always been there by his side, even since they were children, waiting for him to see her.

🎵Bridget: "I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in your smile. You're all I've ever wanted. And my arms are open wide."

She couldn't even recall how many times she had washed dishes over the years, only to think she saw his face within the reflection of a plate, smiling back at her. But she could probably recall how many times she had cried when she knew that none of it would be real.

🎵Bridget: "'Cause you know just what to say. And you know just what to do."

She could recall one night, as he yelled at his guards, how she cleared away his dinner. And, instead of going back to the basement to clean everything up, she instead stayed listening at the doorway, just wanting to hear his voice.

🎵Bridget: "And I want to tell you so much...I love you."

She gazed at a picture of Gristle taped to her pillow and couldn't stop herself from crying into it once again. But all these feelings and all this crying just exhausted her and, in the blink of an eye, she was fast asleep and blissfully snoring away.

Popper gazed at her for a moment before he felt his heart swell up at the scene. "Aw, she's in love with the king."

Branch gazed at him in utter shock as he harshly stated, "What are you talking about? Bergens don't have feelings."