Bon Voyage! Volume 1: The Beginning

Prologue: Possessed

1953, Gooseberry Peak, Troll Territory

Long ago in a mystic meadow, there once was a willow tree that stood tall among a field of wild tulips and lavish roses that spread across its buried roots. The tree's branches spread outwards toward the sky, reaching towards it as if attempting to touch it, the green coated limbs stretching past the other trees as it reached to break the white sphere that shined along the sapphire sky. A quiet hum suddenly rustled its branches, and the critters weaving through its intricate fingers glanced down towards the source of the sound.

Near the roots of the great willow tree was a woman sitting on a brown wooden bench that was elderly looking. She hummed quietly to the little blanket she held tightly in her grasp. Her face was tilted down towards the blanket, a hood hiding the expression placed upon her dainty rose-colored lips and thin cheekbones. With a single motion, she pulled down the hood, revealing a thin, beautiful face framed by dirty blonde hair which was pulled back in a bun. A single braid draped across the side of her head, barely passing above her small ears, and faded away into a bun, the hair molded perfectly into shape. Her clover eyes peered down at the blanket and her rosy lips pursed into a smile, for the blanket now had a chubby hand that fished its way out of the blanket.

The woman's name was Calantha which meant Lovely Blossom, according to the Greek myth, "The Rain in the Storm." The Greek Myth went like this: A storm came over a diminutive village and it had rained for twenty days straight. On the first day, a tulip had spread a copious amount of buds throughout the village making it seem like the gods were leaving a sign of peace, but one bud didn't want to leave and fly away like its brothers and sisters, so it did something the villagers never thought it would, it planted. Every day since then the rain watered the bud and it grew into a magnificent cherry tree that had blossoms about to bloom. On the twentieth day, the cherry tree with hundreds and hundreds of cherries, ready to be plucked, was fully grown with the measurements of 12 feet. The rain finally stopped and the clouds finally cleared as a beam of sunlight fell on the cherry tree; it was a miracle. The villagers started plucking the cherries; but they left one by mistake and in a couple of days, the cherry bloomed into a marvelous blossom. The blossom was a symbol of Hope for that even the slightest of fruits in the world, the villagers left this one to blossom into something magical, worth wonders for all to see, and above anything anyone has ever seen in their entire life. The villagers thought maybe it was a sign that things would get better and, in the end, it did. The crops grew once again and the village was restored to its former glory due to a single cherry tree. Her name meant hope and peace, much like the cherry blossom from the tale, and her physical features mirrored the grace behind it as well.

Stars began to twinkle in the now dark blue abyss above, and the willow tree seemed to twist up towards it, stretching its branches delicately towards the sky in a nearly invisible motion, yet Calantha saw the stars and smiled at the beautiful sight. The child wrapped in the blankets began to cry softly as she showed her small head through a fold, giggling despite the tears that dripped from her eyes. As the soft sniffling of the girl was heard in the small clearing, a small creature with long poufy orange hair and golden yellow skin crawled out of a hole and onto a smaller branch found near Calantha's head.

The troll leaned away from the tree as she peered down at the child, and the flower hiding her home began to glow, causing a domino effect as other flowers bloomed and glowed as well. The troll watched Calantha with a mesmerized stare as the woman gently stroked the baby's dirty blonde hair. "Who's that?" Stella asked, her orange hair blowing gently behind her in the tiny draft of night. "This is my little darling," Calantha responded as Stella moved to sit on the woman's shoulder. "She's pretty," The little creature cooed as she wiggled stubby fingers at the child who was still crying. Calantha smiled as she pulled something out from behind her and handed it to the baby who was no longer crying. The gift was in the shape of a rattle, and was the same color as the sky on a cloudless day. There were initials on the top: S E C.