The Horns of Kern

  Chapter Three

  A pounding on the door before dawn woke Gertrude and Winifred. It was Winifred who opened the door, broomstick held high, ready to strike. She opened it cautiously. It was only after she saw who it was that she lowered the broom. It was her neighbor and best friend, Derry. “What is wrong, Derry?”

  Derry looked pale in the moonlight streaming through the door and she was shaking. “I was on my way up to the emergency meeting Toggart has ordered. Your nephews came to my door a half hour ago to rudely awaken me. I was on my way when I had noticed your house dark. Didn't Meade and Zeon awaken you for the meeting?”

  Winifred scowled, “Those no good nephews of mine are going to get a good talking to!” She clenched her fists. Gertrude, eyes still full of sleep, came from his room to see what the commotion was all about. “Get dressed quickly, Son. We have business to attend to.” Gertrude quickly dressed and rushed from his room a minute later. A moment after that, Winifred came out of her room all dressed and carrying a tattered copy of Council rules and all of the troll laws. Out the door the three went, headed to the glen where all of the council meetings were held.

  In the distance they could make out the glow of torches. It appeared that they were the last of the members to arrive. Winifred saw Toggart talking to a couple of his cronies that had seats on the council. She wished that she had brought her broomstick. Winifred and Derry made their way to their assigned seats. Everyone was talking and whispering. No one seemed to know what the meeting was called for.

  Toggart finally turned around and the two delegates, Nox and Borggst, he was talking to went to their seats. Making his way up to the podium, Toggart looked all around. He seemed quite pleased with himself until his eyes landed on Winifred. Winifred made it a point to wave and smile in his direction. Toggart stepped up to the podium and, clearing his throat, began speaking.

  “My fellow council members…” He halted in mid-sentence when he noticed Gertrude leering at him. He averted his glance and continued. “I have called you together for this emergency session to inform you of a serious matter that came to my attention late yesterday eve. It seems that we have a human-lover in our midst!” There was some grumbling from the committee members and one stood up. Toggart recognized him.

  Gillion, the oldest member of the council fussed. “Toggart, you woke all of us up to tell us that? Why is this so important? We do business with the humans every day. There is not one amongst us that do not do dealings with the humans, and that includes you.”

  Toggart waved his hand to have Gillion sit down. “It is true that we deal with the humans. It is a must. What we don't need is trouble from the humans. It has come to my attention that one of our own council member’s sons has been seeing the princess of the kingdom.” Toggart paused and was ready to speak when Winifred stood up. “Please sit down councilwoman. I have not finished.”

  Winifred did not sit down. She opened up the book she was holding. In a defiant voice, she related, “Rule number twenty five, paragraph B: All council members must be recognized by the Grand Troll and be allowed to speak. Rule seventy three......” Winifred quickly flipped the pages to the rule she wanted. “Senior members shall have the privilege of podium when requested. Fellow delegates, and Grand Troll, I request the podium.” The other members applauded, except Toggart. He looked around and all eyes were upon him. Trying to control the anger rising from within, he turned towards Winifred. “Winifred I recognize you, and you have the podium.” A feigned smile crossed his face as he gestured for her to come his way.

  Winifred made her way up to the podium, with the other members applauding once again. The old frog-troll knew what power she had and she used it wisely. Now was the time to use that power to her advantage. She smiled as she passed Toggart, making sure that it was only his eyes that saw her stick her tongue out at him.

  Rising to the podium, she smiled and nodded towards the others. “Fellow council members,” she paused while the glen filled with noisy clapping. “Fellow council members, it is true that my son has made a friend of the Princess Norman. He has broken no law. Yes, he has given the princess a gift. He has also given a gift to Queen Emmaline.” Winifred paused for a moment, and then continued. “Grand Troll Toggart, I am sure, had nothing but good intentions about calling this meeting at this hour...” Winifred turned to give Toggart a sticky-sweet smile. She knew from looking at him that his temper was about to explode. She continued. “However, I do not see any emergency, do you?” She opened wide her arms, taking in the whole council. There were murmurs and then applause.

  Toggart exploded from his seat, yelling “I have had enough of this!" He ran up to the podium and practically knocked Winifred down to the ground. "

  “This is an emergency! I will not stand by and let this demented woman make a mockery of this council!” There was an awed hush from the members.

  Winifred stood by Toggart, shaking her head. She once again opened up the rule book; “Fellow council members…” Toggart glared at Winifred. She could feel his cold aloofness and his raging anger. “I do agree with Grand Troll Toggart that there is an emergency.” Winifred looked over the seated council members. They all seemed shocked by what she had just said. Her statement also seemed to shock Toggart. Winifred started reading from the council’s rule book once again. “Page one hundred and one, paragraph two, section three, sub heading...”

  “Get on with it, will you, woman!” Toggart slammed his fist down on the podium, his temper escalating with every word.

  “It so states that if the council, by a majority of two thirds, deems the Grand Troll incompetent…” Winifred had barely got the words out of her mouth when Toggart picked Winifred up and threw her down on the ground. She lay there very still. Two of the council members close to the podium ran up and wrestled Toggart to the ground. Three other members rushed to Winifred’s side

  Gertrude came running from the back of the glen where he had been watching everything. By the time Gertrude got to his mother’s side, she was sitting up with the aid of the council members. She stood up and shook herself, and tried to regain her senses. Then with a glance toward the throttled Toggart, Winifred regained the podium. “Fellow council members, you have seen with your own eyes the incompetency of The Grand Troll, Toggart. It is with great urgency that I request a vote on his removal as grand troll.”

  Toggart was bellowing, in a rage and another council member came over to help restrain him.

  Winifred continued. “Council member Gillion, you are the council member with the most seniority. I believe it is your duty to call the vote.”

  Gillion made his way to the podium. He looked at Toggart as he passed and shook his head. He acknowledged Winifred. “Fellow members, we have a request before us to remove Toggart as Grand Troll for incompetency. Do I hear a second on that request?”

  “Second!” Councilwoman Derry stood up.

  “I recognize Councilwoman Derry.” Gillion was about to call for a vote when there was a sudden loud scream from behind them.

  Toggart had bitten one of his restrainers and was screaming at the top of his lungs. “You cannot do this...! I will get even with all of you...! You will all regret this...! You will all suffer!” Toggart fell silent only because someone had stuffed a dirty sock in his mouth to shut him up.

  Gillion continued now that it was quiet. “We have a second for Toggart’s removal. The vote shall follow with a show of hands. A two-thirds majority of the council is needed. All those in favor of keeping Toggart as Grand troll raise your hand.” A moment passed. The two trolls that Toggart had been talking to before the meeting were the only ones with raised hands. Gillion continued. “All those in favor of removing Toggart as Grand troll please raise your hands.” Gillion looked out over the council at the sea of raised hands. “So be it! Toggart is no longer Grand Troll.” Cheering and applause followed. Gillion raised his arms in a gesture for silence. He looked towards Winifred and nodded. “We now must nomi
nate two trolls as candidates for Grand Troll.”

  An elderly troll in the back of the glen stood up. “I nominate Wixor.” There was an immediate sound of approval for the nominee.

  Another member arose. It was Derry. “I nominate Gertrude for grand troll.” Once again there was the sound of immediate approval.

  Gillion smiled. “We now have our two nominees. The nominees have three weeks to accept or decline the nomination, and then a vote will be made by the whole committee. If there is no further business, I shall call this meeting adjourned.” Looking over the committee, Gillion nodded. “Meeting adjourned!”

  Winifred started walking toward her son who was surrounded by well-wishers. Gertrude saw his mother approaching, while at the same time Toggart threw off the three trolls that were holding him down, lunged at his mother, bellowing revenge. All Winifred heard was Toggart and the gasp of surprise from onlookers.

  Gertrude knocked his mother out of the way just in the nick of time, taking the full force of Toggart's weight and fury. They started to struggle with one another, Toggart on top first, then Gertrude, while screams of pain and rage echoed through the meeting hall . Toggart hadn't planned on fighting another troll, but his anger had gotten the best of him again. He knew that by troll law, fighting with another troll was forbidden. To lose the battle, he would be exiled from his village.

  However, he did forget whose son he was fighting. Gertrude's father was known for his tremendous strength. ‘Like father, like son,’ as the old saying goes. Toggart thought he had bettered Gertrude when, with one hand fixed around his foe's left arm and his right under his stomach, Gertrude lifted Toggart over his head and hurled him into a berry thicket. There was silence, all eyes fixed on the thicket.

  Gertrude stood at the ready to take another charge from Toggart. One of the council members went over to where the old troll had landed. He parted the foliage with a couple of sticks. There, lying in a heap, with thorns sticking out of him, lay Toggart. He looked like an old rag troll-doll tossed away by a child. The council member poked the motionless figure with the stick and the frog-troll moaned. Someone found a container, filling it with icy cold, mountain-fed river water and very unceremoniously poured it over Toggart's head.

  Spitting and choking, Toggart jumped up quickly with his arms raised to land another blow on his foe. Looking at the group before him, he quickly realized he had been beaten by Gertrude. He stood there, a feeling of humiliation enveloping him. Toggart looked at Gertrude with surprise etched on his ugly face. In a sudden burst of anger, glaring at Winifred, Toggart screamed in a loud roar, dripping with venom, “You will regret that you crossed me, Winifred!! You will be crying tears of sorrow over the loss of a loved one! I vow it, if it is done with my last breath!”

  Winifred stepped forward. “You do not scare me, Toggart. You have never scared me. You may have had all the rest of the troll populace scared and under your thumb, but not me. You never scared my husband, either, but he made the mistake of calling you ‘friend’, and trusting you. He said he would trust you with his life. You threw both his trust and friendship away the day he died. You truly deserve everything bad that comes your way...” Winifred started to choke up with emotion. She turned and walked through the crowd. Derry caught up with her and put her arm around her shoulders.

  “You’ll be sorry, Winifred! You’ll all be sorry!” Bellowed Toggart. With fists clenched and veins protruding from his face, he turned and kept roaring his threats until he disappeared into the darkness.

  Gertrude stood there, stunned by the whole event. Everything that had gone on in the last couple of hours ran through his head. He felt dizzy. What happened? How did it happen? Why did he feel so awful, when he knew that he should feel proud of what he had done? He had just defeated someone that he didn't like...and he felt bad. He turned to walk away, hoping to catch up to his mother and Derry. That hope disappeared with handshakes and well wishes from everyone. He feigned a smile and winced a couple of times as his fellow trolls slapped him on the back. Toggart had landed some severe blows and his body was crying out in pain. With his face swollen and bleeding, he limped out of the glen and headed home. As Gertrude rounded the corner by Derry's house, he looked up to see the sun rising over the castle, dawning a new day.

  A ray of sunshine greeted Princess Norman as she awoke. She smiled as she thought about the previous day’s happenings. Her mother was truly impressed with Gertrude. She said that if all trolls were just half as nice as Gertrude, there would be no suspicion between humans and trolls. Norman dressed quickly and went downstairs to have breakfast. Upon nearing the great hall, she heard voices. It sounded like her parent’s voices, but the third voice eluded her. She walked into the room and three figures turned to look at her. The third voice was the commander of the guards, Andre.

  “Good morning, dear.” The queen came over and gave Norman a kiss and a hug.

  “Why do we have the honor of having the commander of the guards in our presence? Mother? Father?” Norman walked over to the king and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I am hungry. May we sit down and have breakfast, please?”

  “Join us, Andre, please.” The king motioned for him to sit down.

  Norman was curious as to why Andre was here so early to talk to her father and mother. Picking up a tart, she made her curiosity known. “So what brings you to the castle this morning, Commander?”

  Andre looked at the king, and the king nodded. “I am here to tell your parents about all of the commotion in the troll village this morning. Over the past few hours, there was some sort of meeting in the glen on the other side of the river behind the village. A fishmonger relayed to one of my men that he had seen two trolls going around to various houses and waking the inhabitants. We do not recollect the trolls ever having a meeting at this hour of the day. The whole glen was lit up with torches. The monger said that he could hear clapping and cheering and an awful lot of yelling, as the sounds carried well over the water. We have our suspicions that they are planning to do something about the farmland that we both claim. We have jurisdiction over it at this time, but it may change. The trolls that some of us do business with have mentioned their anger over losing the use of the land. We are just not sure that the land is the reason for this meeting.”

  Norman was quiet, deep in thought. She offered, “I shall ask Gertrude what the meeting was all about. I am sure he will tell me.” Norman looked around, hoping to get a positive response.

  “It would be a wonderful idea if this troll, Gertrude, was an old friend. However, you have known him for only a few days. He might be suspicious of your motives for asking such questions.” The king ran his fingers through his beard as he spoke, knocking crumbs from the marmalade tarts down the front of his robe. H noticed his wife’s eyes gazing at his chest and peered down. “Goodness, I hope my people don't think I'm a crumby king.” He smiled and looked up to see his wife coughing crumbs from her mouth. The four laughed.

  Andre rose from the chair. “I must be leaving now before I fall behind in my duties.” He bowed and left the room.

  “The king stood up from the table, excusing himself from their company and went to catch up with Andre. Norman and her mother sat there finishing their breakfast, both lost in thought. Norman broke the silence. “Mother, do you think Gertrude would take offense if I asked what all the commotion was this morning? He seems very open-minded and I believe he is of good heart.”

  “We both have known Sir Gertrude for a very short time. If he does not offer the information, I would not pry into his matters.” Queen Emmaline picked up a small book. “Have you seen my reading glasses, Dear?”

  Norman tapped the top of her head. She was hoping for a positive answer from her mother. “I think I will go sit in the rose garden for awhile, Mother. Do you wish to join me?”

  The queen picked her spectacles off of her head. “No thank you, my Dear. As soon as I finish this chapter, I have to go meet with the tailor's wife, Hilda.
She is going to make my gown for your birthday ball. I haven't decided on a color yet. I was thinking something in a soft yellow.”

  Norman just nodded her head. “I'll be in the rose garden, Mother. I will not be long, though.” Norman left the great hall and headed down the steps. Within a few minutes, she was admiring the newly opened roses and found a deep red rose that she liked. The scent of it reminded her of a whole field of flowers in bloom. Norman bent over to smell the rose. A sudden push from behind sent the princess head first into the thorny brambles. Her face, arms and legs all scratched and bleeding, she tried to get up but was knocked down again. “What are you doing?!” She cried. “Leave me alone, whoever you are!” She thought she heard some low, guttural laughter, but she couldn't tell what direction it was coming from. The bushes to the right side of her moved. She thought she had seen the small squat figure of a troll. “Gertrude? Is that you?” There was no answer. Suddenly, a tall figure loomed above her. She could not make out the figure’s face because the sun was behind his head. “Who are you? What do you want from me?” Norman was getting more frightened with each passing moment. Then she heard a very familiar voice.

  “Tis Welch, my Princess, the gardener. Please give me your hand and I will help you up.”

  Norman extended her hand and felt the gardener’s strong, gentle hand enfold hers as he lifted her to her feet. Norman started crying and Welch softly held her, trying to calm her.

  “My Princess, you are safe now. No one will hurt you while old Welch is around.” He held her as if she were his own daughter and kept reassuring her that she was all right. Welch took a large hankie out of his back pocket and gave it to Norman.

  The young woman was regaining her composure. “Did you see who it was - who was attacking me, Sir Welch?”

  “Nay, child, I did not. I heard your voice cry out and I came running from the lower garden where I was picking carrots for the cook. I heard some thuds as I approached and saw some of the shrubbery move, but I saw no one.” Welch scratched his forehead as though he were deep in thought. “You know, my Lady, I remember chasing a couple of trolls out of the garden the other day. Hmm, I wonder...” He looked at the princess. “We had best get you back up to the castle so you can get cleaned up.” Welch extended his arm and Norman locked her arm in his and they started to walk up to the palace.

  Norman was glad that Welch had come to her aid. “How is your daughter, Meg, doing at school?" Norman asked. She often thought of Meg, and she missed being with her. They had grown up together. In fact, they were born on the same day. They had explored the castle and all of its gardens together. Norman most cherished the nights that she had spent at Meg's house. Meg's mother would always make apple turnovers for her.

  “Meg is doing very well, Princess. Thank you for asking. She sent a letter telling us all about the school. They are teaching her all the music she will ever need to know. My wife and I are very thankful that your parents sent her there.”

  They soon found themselves at the castle door. Norman gave Welch a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for rescuing me from whomever or whatever it was that was tormenting me.”

  “You are most welcome, Princess.” Welch watched as Norman disappeared behind the huge door. He turned and headed back to the gardens. He was going to see about exterminating a couple of varmints.

  The queen was coming from the great hall into the foyer as Norman entered the castle.

  “My dear daughter, what has happened to you?!" Her mother gasped. Norman ran over, burying her face in her mother’s chest, crying once again. The queen ushered her daughter over to a settee. They sat down and Norman told her mother of the events in the garden.

  “Thank goodness Welch showed up to help you! I wonder if Gertrude had anything to do with this incident?” Queen Emmaline studied her daughter, looking for an answer to this new puzzle. Both were quiet for a bit.

  Norman broke the silence. “No, I do not think Gertrude had anything to do with this. It would not make any sense for him to be so kind and generous to me...and you... and throw it away like this. I wonder, though, if it has anything to do with the meeting of the trolls this morning? I would like to get a message to Gertrude, if I could, to tell him about what happened.” Norman looked at her mother.

  “I think that is an excellent idea, my Dear. We could have Andre take it directly to Gertrude. I will call for Andre immediately. You go and clean up and change, Norman. Then pen a note asking Sir Gertrude to meet us up here at the castle. Perhaps we can find out who is responsible for this nasty deed.” Queen Emmaline spoke with great concern in her voice. “Go now, daughter, and I will have Andre summoned.”

  Andre arrived within the hour, apologizing for taking so long as he had been off in another part of the village, investigating some thievery.

  Norman walked into the great hall where she found her mother and Andre waiting for her.

  He looked at all of the scratches on the Princess' face and arms. “My Princess, your mother was telling me about your unfortunate encounter with some dastardly fiends down in the garden. How may I be of service to you?”

  Norman handed the rolled up letter to Andre. “ Please take this letter and deliver it to the frog-troll, Gertrude. He lives in the troll village by the river’s edge. It is important that you deliver it right away. We must meet with him later this day.”

  Andre bowed to both ladies. “I shall be on my way then. Do I wait for a reply?” Andre quickly looked at the queen and princess to gain their approval.

  “Please do, Commander. Please be careful....” the queen cautioned