A Grumpy Troll and A Prince

Chapter 8 ~ A Happy Ending

Today was the big day. The return of the long awaited holiday, Trollistice! All the Bergens made their way through town, all the way to the castle while repeatedly chanting "Trollistice! Trollistice! Trollistice!" King X waited at the top of the stairs, hoping that his plus one would show up. He held onto the skate that the boy had lost on their date night.

Servants wandered the kitchen with dishes and supplies as Mr Puzzles opened a big container and said "Let's prepare our main course." He zipped open the bags and dumped the rest of the village into the big pot. "THE TROLLS!" The trembling things watched as the TV man gave them a sinister grin before closing and locking the lid. The king slowly got up as he looked around, thankfully spotting the prince. "Smg4! Thank goodness your okay!" he said in relief, running over to hug the unharmed troll. However, Four didn't seem like his usual happy, cheerful self.

He pushed the king away and said "I'm doing great. I got everybody I love thrown into a pot. Thanks for asking." Smg3 pushed through the crowd to see how miserable Four was. Mario quietly asked "Is Smg4...being...sarcastic...?"

"YES!" Four shot back in anger, which frightened everyone and Boopkins once again replied "Oh my god." much more startled this time. Four turned from anger to guilt and regret. "I'm so sorry. I don't know why I thought I could save you." His friends looked sad to see him this way as he continued. "I just wanted to keep everyone safe. But I couldn't." He turned his back and said "I let everyone down..." as tears trickled down his cheeks. This pain was too much for him so with nothing left to do, Four collapsed onto his knees and gave up.

Three couldn't bear to see Four like this. He sighed and started "But Four..." until the prince cut him off. "You were right Three. The world isn't all fun and laughter." Then something massively depressing happened. Just like Three did long ago, Four's colors began to fade. Tari and Melony gasped, hearts breaking. Bob tried to act like it didn't bother him, but his eyes lowered. Mario sadly whispered "Smg4..." in great ache. Now that the prince had given up, all his friends had given up too, causing everyone to fade as well.

Three watched as all the color had left till nothing was left except grayness and great sorrow. Three sat in silence thinking to himself. Four just can't give up like this. But what could he do?

FM was scrubbing dishes when he saw his reflection in the plate. He sighed and looked over to the roller skate on his bed. What had he done?

X sat patiently in his seat, watching everyone come in and not one of them was the guy he wanted. He held the other roller skate and frowned. Had he gotten his hopes up for nothing?

Nothing, but silence. Soon they would be put out of their misery. Three just kept watching Four with a heavy heart. He should've been happy that he was right. But he didn't want to be right. He wanted to be...his friend.

Four's tears were still dripping and he refused to speak. Then out of nowhere, he heard behind him-

"You with the sad eyes."

Four's eyelids slowly flickered as his friends wondered who was singing that sweet tune. Four looked over and they all saw that it was Three.

"Don't be discouraged."

Four was surprised at first to hear this grumpy troll finally singing, but he soon dismissed it, seeing that it didn't matter anymore. Three walked up and knelt next to the prince as he just stared at the ground. Three placed a hand on his chin and brought his head up to meet the other's eyes.

"Oh I realize. It's hard to take courage. In a world full of people. You can lose sight of it all. The darkness inside you can make you feel so small."

Four's hug time bracelet went off and Three opened his arms to gesture a hug, but Four just ignored it and covered the light till the stupid thing went off. Soon all the other trolls's bracelets were going off, harmonizing a gentle tune. FM was outside, putting his ear to the pot so he could see if the trolls were okay. "What are you doing!?" FM jumped back in surprise to see Mr Puzzles standing behind him. "The king is waiting! GET THOSE TROLLS OUT THERE!"