The Hunchback's Reluctant Bride ✔

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The princess hobbled to the end of the branch and cried out. Wyrn watched her strange behavior for ages before the green leaves shifted.

He couldn't see it at first. And then it just appeared, the biggest troll known to man. And...she was calling to it. That was the source of the voice—he'd taken it for another bird perhaps.

A fire sparked into Wyrn's gut, and he shot from his very spot, the bark of the tree scratching his feet as he raced. He barely managed to leap before her, dragging her behind him as the thing spotted them.

"Stay here." Wyrn scanned the unending leaves, desperate for a stick of some kind. Anything to jab it with. "If I damage an eye, it'll leave. Maybe we can get some fire."

He was already maneuvering her back when the troll paused in its movement.

Finally, Wyrn looked up; he found a solution.

"Sunlight. It just needs more, and it'll turn to stone and we can crush it."

But as he got in motion, the princess only watched him, confused and terrified.

Wyrn left her there and jumped down to a lower branch. He was taking a chance but felt somewhat confident that he could reach her again. But he had to hurry.

A sharp enough stick came into view. It wasn't young either. After he snapped it off, he took a running start and jumped with all his might. He nearly overshot her branch but flailed his arms until he caught something and could drag himself up again.

The princess was gone.

"No." Wyrn's pulse raced but his heart surely stopped when he spotted the woman. Crouched down, hand extended to pat the trolls nose, she closed her eyes and muttered something to it.

Wyrn debated what to do, how to get her away from it.

"Princess," he hissed. "Princess!"

The troll's eyes opened. It was nearly stone as it rotated its head in Wyrn's direction.

"Can you hear me?" it said.

The voice was unfamiliar, and yet, Wyrn felt he knew the person.

"What?"

"It said I can use its voice. Can you hear me?"

Wyrn lowered the stick. "Princess?" he said, praying he was wrong.

"Yes. Brilliant. So you can hear me now? Good."

"Good? What good, woman? Get away from that thing before it eats you."

"Not everything in this forest wants to eat us," it countered.

As much as Wyrn disagreed, this was an opportunity too rare to pass up.

"How are your feet?" Wyrn asked. He didn't want to bring her thoughts back to what he'd done but he worried.

The troll hesitated. "It's...it's better now. Thanks to you."

Leaves rustled against the creature, but it was not yet solid stone. By high noon, it would be.

Wyrn decided to make his confessions quickly. "I hadn't known—and no, it's no excuse, but please know I hadn't known."

"Of course, you hadn't," it said, "darling. I understand that. And I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused." The princess's body still remained crouched, her hand on the stone face, but the troll shared her mannerism.

"About becoming a fairy," it said, "that is a bit harder to explain and darling, I want to, but you'll have to keep a very open mind."

Wyrn grunted, disgusted.