*
Gertrude had seen the glow from the fire when he left Bertha’s hovel. He did not like what he saw. The orange glow could mean only one thing: more raids. He found himself running to Gillion’s. He was the acting Grand Troll until elections. Gertrude would have to have him call an emergency meeting…. ‘No, on second thought, that may draw too much attention from the humans.’ He was almost certain he knew who was behind this. But why?
Gertrude came around the corner of the hovel and stopped short. Two of Andre’s guards were escorting Gillion, who was bound and gagged, out his door. One of the guards picked up the old troll and unceremoniously threw him into the back of a wagon. Gertrude had to help Gillion, but how? He had no time to think of a better plan than to lead the men away from Gillion. He quickly jumped out of the shadows. “Do the King’s guards always pick on helpless old trolls? Why don’t you pick on someone younger and stronger, cowards?”
The guards took the bait and started pursuing Gertrude, who took off at a dead hop with the guards close behind. His mind was racing just as fast as his feet. He had to get these men lost in the village and then make his way back to help Gillion. Through the back yards and alleyways they ran. Gertrude could not lose them, and he was starting to tire. Quickly, Gertrude ducked through someone’s laundry they had hanging outside. He had no time to turn and see one of the guards get all tangled up. Gertrude ran through chicken yards and hog pens. He could still hear one of the guard’s footsteps pounding behind him. They sounded as loud as his own heart pounding in his head.
Gertrude felt himself tiring more. He knew that he was in trouble. He turned onto a main street, and willed himself to try and hop faster. Suddenly he found himself rolling on the cobble with the guard that had been chasing him. The guard had a lot of strength and soon Gertrude found himself fully throttled. The weight of the guard made it hard for him to breathe. What was going to happen….? Before he could finish his thought, the guard seemed to levitate off of him. Gertrude watched as he sailed through the air and hit the cobbles with a bone-jarring thud. The guard quickly picked himself up and ran away. Gertrude turned his head and could not believe his eyes.
“Sir Gertrude, are you alright?”
Gertrude felt a pair of strong hands pick him up and place him on his wobbly legs. When he saw who it was, he felt angry and quite confused. “Your Highness….?”
“Gertrude, I have been searching for you. I need to talk to you concerning the raids.” The king’s voice was filled with a sense of urgency.
“Why are your guards kidnapping people in this village?” Gertrude blurted out, anger rising in his voice.
King Octavius appeared startled by the question. “Guards….What guards?” He asked with a puzzled expression on his face.
“You just lifted one of your guards off of me. They started chasing me because I came across two of them kidnapping one of our committee members.” A look of exasperation came across his face. “I have to go back to Gillion’s house and untie him.” Gertrude started hopping as quickly as possible. The king’s horse appeared beside him.
“Grab a hold of my hand, Sir Gertrude, and we will both go to your friend’s house.”
Octavius’ hand appeared in front of Gertrude’s face. Gertrude shook his head in disbelief. He grabbed the king’s hand and was lifted up onto the saddle behind the king. They took off at a gallop. Gertrude uttered directions. Soon they were in front of Gillion’s house. King and troll jumped off the horse. In the back of the wagon they found Gillion along with two other committee members. “Gertrude, Are these trolls important members of your village?” Octavius asked as he untied one of the trolls.
“These three trolls are committee members. They make up a part of our governing council.” Gertrude released the gag from Gillion’s mouth.
“Cough, cough..” Gillion gasped as he was freed. His temper was boiling, and he let loose with some not so nice ‘troll slang’. He aimed his anger directly at the king... “You have the nerve to come and pretend to help us when it is your very own guards that have done this to us! Your father would be ashamed of you…”
Octavius looked at the old troll. “Did you know my father?” The king halted in mid-sentence for a split second. “Your name wouldn’t be ‘Gillion of the Rock’?” Octavius and Gertrude untied the other two trolls.
Gillion smiled. “Aye, that is my name. I knew your father well. We were friends, but not as close as Gertrude’s father and your father.” The look on Octavius’ face appeared as if he had been struck by lightning. The king looked upon Gertrude with astonishment.
The King’s gaze actually was making Gertrude feel uneasy. “Your Highness, are you all right?”
Octavius shook his head with disbelief. “Gertrude, was your father’s name ‘Sebastian of Tinker Hollow’?”
Gertrude nodded. “Yes, that was his name.”
King Octavius bowed to Gertrude. He was overwhelmed at the information he had just heard. He spoke with awe and reverence. “Gertrude, my father told me about your father’s heroism in the last Troll Wars. My father spoke highly of him, how he could shoot an arrow through a keyhole, about the first time they met in battle and how they dueled to the point of exhaustion. The times they met in the rose… Gertrude, you and my daughter have become friends. This is truly fate. Gertrude, if it had not been for your father’s bravery and selflessness, I would have grown up without a father. It was Sebastian of Tinker Hollow that took the sword meant for my father.” There were tears welling up in the king’s eyes.
Gillion smiled. He turned to Gertrude. “Your father, Sebastian, was a brave man, and you are meant to follow in his path.”
In those few moments, Gertrude found out more about his father than in all of the stories his mother had told him. He was just as stunned at how fate had brought the two families together once again. “Your Highness…”
“Please call me Octavius, Sir Gertrude. Our families, though different, are of the same blood. I recognize you as my friend.” Octavius smiled.
“Your…er…Octavius, why were your guards rounding up our committee members?” Gertrude asked. All four of the trolls turned their attention to the monarch.
“Those men were not members of my guard. My Commander of the Guard and his troops are over there, to the north.” Octavius pointed in the direction. “I did not recognize the man I pulled off of Gertrude. However, I cannot deny that he was wearing the uniform of my guards. I know each and every man under my command, and I assure you they were not in my service.”
Quince, one of the other trolls, agreed with the king. “When those two guards grabbed me, I am positive that I overheard one of them say that they had stolen the uniforms. This was done to stir up more trouble.”
“I don’t think they were the king’s guard, either, as they were wearing pigskin shoes. Do you not fit your men with boots, your Highness?” Haiden, the other troll, asked the king.
Octavius looked at all four trolls. “My men are all fitted with leather boots. In fact, they are made by one of your fellow trolls, Mellen the cobbler. He has made the boots for my men since before my time. Gertrude, I came looking for you tonight hoping that we could talk. I have some questions concerning the raids.”
Gertrude looked thoughtfully at Octavius. “I also have questions for you, Sire. There is trouble brewing. Is the trouble being caused by trolls, humans, or both? We need to find out.” Gertrude looked hard at Octavius, looking for some sign of uneasiness. The King seemed just as much in a quandary as to what was going on as everyone else. “We shall go to my house and talk this over, if this is acceptable to you.”
Octavius looked at the other trolls. “Are your fellow trolls coming also, Gertrude?”
Gillion answered the question even before Gertrude could open his mouth. “Nay, we shall not be coming. We have some talking to do ourselves. I must also decide whether or not to call an emergency meeting of the committee for tomorrow. Besides, I am exhausted by all of the exciteme
nt tonight. The three of us shall bid the two of you a good night.” Gillion turned to head into his house with Quince and Haiden tagging alongside him. He stopped abruptly and turned. “Thank you both for saving us all from an unknown fate. I can only speak for myself, but I will always be deeply indebted to both of you.” The other two trolls nodded in agreement. They all turned and disappeared into Gillion’s house.
Octavius tied the reins of his horse to the back of the cart. “Come, Gertrude. I am in need of some blog.” Octavius climbed into the seat of the cart and took the reins. Gertrude climbed up and sat in the seat next to him. “I shall need directions again, my friend. Your village has more twists and turns than a meandering stream.” The king chuckled.
Gertrude smiled. “I would rather walk through the twisting and turning streets than walk up and down all those darn stairs in the castle.” He laughed and so did Octavius.
The odd pair soon found themselves at Gertrude’s hovel. Human and troll climbed down from their perch.