Falling for a King (Revision)

Chapter 4

"Shouldn't we be helping?" Star questioned as she stared at the pop trolls running around the village.

Ash watched the trolls quietly; they were everywhere decorating, swinging by their hair across the village to decorate. She couldn't see any way they could help; as soon as she noticed something they might be able to do, some troll came by to do it in a fraction of the time she or Star could.

"What could we possibly do?" Ash turned to Star in disbelief. Are they not looking at the same thing?

Star shrugged. "I don't know; you're a good baker, maybe bake some non-butt cupcakes?"

"Great idea, point me towards the ingredients and ovens. Also, I think there's gonna be hundreds, if not thousands, of trolls. I guess let me ask Poppy for some ingredients so I can get started."

The blonde couldn't help but grimace at the heavy sarcasm. Yeah, that was a dumb suggestion. Then again, "Hey, if they do happen to have ingredients and ovens, we could make some just for the leaders?" Star looked hopeful; she loved Ash's cupcakes, which could give them something to do besides watching all the trolls swigging around.

Ash raised her brow. "We? You planning to burn this village down?" the last time Star helped Ash in the kitchen, she caught the oven on fire.

The memory left Star frowning; Ash's mother, Sarah, swore it wasn't Star's fault, and they had planned to buy a new one anyway because it wasn't in the best condition. Meanwhile, Ash disagreed with her mother, calling Star out for ruining her family's stove. "I said I was sorry! I was only twelve. Not everyone has a grandma that teaches them to bake from the moment they can walk."

Ash waved off the idea; even if they had ingredients and ovens here, she really didn't care to bake anything. "Anyway, there is nothing we can do that'd help; we'd just be getting in their way." As if to prove her point, some random troll flew over them, covering the treetops with stringed lights within seconds, which would've taken the humans hours.

She turned to Star to share a more realistic plan. "I've got a better idea; Poppy said it'll be a gift exchange, so let's make a gift for her. Maybe her and Branch? They welcomed us right away, and I'm pretty sure Poppy is gonna have gifts for us. She seems like that kind of person – er, troll. Maybe even make Branch something. He did save us from being eaten after all." She figured it was the best idea; they couldn't help out with decorating, so they should at least make some gifts for their hosts who saved their lives and welcomed them in this village. "Come on, let's see what we can find." Without waiting for Star to reply, Ash headed towards the outside of the village.

It's been over an hour, and they still had no idea what to get for the Queen and her boyfriend. Star suggested a bouquet or fruit basket. Unfortunately, neither one of them knew about the plants and fruit within the forest. Ash glanced towards a tall flower, grinning down at the two of them. Creepy.

What seemed like hours later, the two humans sat across from each other just outside the village. Star groaned in annoyance while Ash huffed. They hadn't found anything interesting that they could be sure was one hundred percent safe.

Chewing on her lower lip, Ash spoke up. "Maybe we can just stay in our pods; I really don't want to go to a gift exchange empty-handed, especially after being saved by the host." Across from her, Star nodded in agreement.

So that was the plan: just hang out in a pod during the party, appear afterward to introduce themselves to the other leaders, and make a plan to meet up with the leaders tomorrow. With that decided, the two of them planned to return to their pods to rest. Maybe one of them would finally come up with an idea for a gift, even if it was a day or two late.