(Cover Art by MimiNicolette )
The moment I said those dreaded words, I collapsed to the ground. This couldn't be happening...this had to be a dream! I could feel my heart breaking in my chest as I stared blankly at that pixel heart in Katheryn's hands. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her lips moving, but no sound was coming out. All I could hear was this high pitch ringing noise. She was frozen in shock, like the news was still sinking in. Trollex immediately rushed over to my side the moment he saw me collapse. His lips were moving too, but I couldn't hear what he was saying either.
I held my shaking hands out to Katheryn, and she carefully placed Roxy's heart in my hands. It was still warm...I ran my fingers over it as more tears fell from my eyes and plopped onto her heart. This was all that was left of her...
As I started whimpering softly, the ringing stopped...I was in complete denial...I just got her back...she couldn't be gone...I couldn't lose her again...
"Roxanne?" I finally managed to choke out. "Roxy...please...come back to me...I'm not strong enough...to lose you again..." No response.
All that greeted me was silence. There was no more music. There were no more colors. Just gray and painful silence.
"I'm so sorry for your lose, dad..." I heard Trollex say sincerely as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Was she...a friend of yours?" Upon hearing him say that, I couldn't hold back my sorrow any longer. I just clutched her heart close to mine and started sobbing uncontrollably. The harsh reality must've hit Katheryn at that moment too, since she also started wailing loudly.
All the other troll leaders, including the ones who barely knew her, formed a circle around us as they too started to cry. I could even hear a few distant sobs coming from the audience. For several minutes, we all just cried, until one of the troll leaders started talking.
"You know..." I heard Queen Essence start to say. "I only ever knew her for a few minutes when we were kids..." Everybody looked up and watched as she stepped forward to speak.
"It was just another average day for me. A few friends and I were standing around making small talk when, all of a sudden, I felt someone grab my leg and pull me over to a nearby table. There she was, and sitting across from her was none other than the prince of funk himself, Quincy." I watched her give King Quincy a small smile. Then she continued.
"She had planned on using me as a stand-in girlfriend for him, so that she would have a valid excuse for wandering off without her mother, but she wasn't very good at lying," she chuckled.
"After they had left Vibe City, I felt bad that she got dragged into that awkward situation, so I went looking for her..." Quincy continued. "I wanted to make it up to her, so...I asked her if she wanted to go out for dinner...as friends, of course."
"But we both know where that led us," Queen Essence said as she raised an eyebrow at her husband. Quincy nodded as a small smile crept across his face. Then, she turned her head to face me.
"Basically...what I'm trying to say...is that if she wouldn't have done that, I would've never had met him," she said as she lowered her head. "She has done...so much for us...and she doesn't even know it...She truly was a very special troll..."
I sniffled. She stepped back as Delta Dawn took a step forward.
"I'm just gonna be honest with y'all," she started. "When I first met her, I thought she was the strangest troll I had ever seen. She was so jumpy and excited to be in Lonesome Flats that it kind of freaked me out a bit...But, for some strange reason, I was kind of alright with that. So, when she asked me to show her the Lonely Gorge, I did! I actually felt...happy around her, and that's saying something once you consider where I'm from." She smiled slightly, only for it to vanish after a few seconds.
"She screamed so loudly into that gorge that she caused a landslide. She got in a lot of trouble for that. But, what she didn't know was that landslide unclogged an underground spring, which in turn created the winding river that is down there today. Queen Poppy and her friends would've died yesterday if it weren't for that river."
"That is true," I heard Poppy say. Delta gave her a side-eyed glance as she continued.
"I just wanted to say...thank you, Roxy...thank you..." She sniffled and stepped back as Trollzart floated forward.
"I never got to officially meet her," he started. "When they were in Symphonyville, she disappeared for a few minutes, but she showed up after a while. A few hours after they had left, I heard reports of a missing violin from one of my orchestra members. I immediately suspected that she had stolen it, and was about to fly all the way over here to get it back when that very same day, that troll told me that he didn't need it anymore. Turns out, violin wasn't the instrument he was meant to play. It was the penny whistle! So, I let her keep it. It was the least I could do."
"I only just met her a few hours ago..." Poppy said. "She told me her story, and, like a good queen and friend should, I listened. I was surprised to find that, after all she had been through, no matter what knocked her down, she got right back up. I just wish I would've gotten to know her a little better..."
An eerie silence followed Poppy's short speech. Once I was able to calm myself down enough, I started to speak.
"I wouldn't have met her if it weren't for her curiosity," I choked out in between small sobs. "She sank all the way down to Techno Reef just so she could listen to our music and experience it live. However, when she needed to float back up to the surface to breathe, she couldn't. It was like she was stuck. I didn't even know she was there, yet for some strange reason I could hear her calling out for help without even opening her mouth. So, like anyone else should do when someone's life is in danger, I saved her...and we became good friends. Then, my father had the docks built on the beach so that if she was to ever come back, she could still hear our music without having to risk her life." I sniffled and wiped my nose with my arm.
"I didn't get to see her again until ten years later, on my coronation day. I had swam up to the surface to get away from all the festivities for a few minutes when she showed up. She looked so...sad and angry...she scrubbed all of that heavy black makeup off her face and threw her earrings into the ocean..." I chuckled slightly. "Then, she accidentally kicked me in the face. She felt terrible about that."
I looked down at her heart again. "She was so scared...and injured...and she felt so helpless...I hated seeing her cry..."
Trollex gently draped his arm across my shoulders and gave me a side hug. "Well...at least she can be at peace now, right?" he said, trying to make me feel better. He didn't understand that only made me feel worse. I shook my head.
"I promised her..." I mumbled.
"What?" Trollex asked me with a confused look on his face.
"I promised her...that as long as I was by her side...I would never let anything hurt her..."
"Dad..."
"I've failed her..." I whimpered. Trollex placed his hand on my cheek and turned my head so that I was now looking him straight in the eyes.
"Can you tell me who she was?" he asked. "I feel like...she was very close to me...but I can't remember why..."
"Trollex..." I said as I tried to wipe the tears off my face. "What exactly do you remember about your mother?" Trollex looked startled.
"Well...not much..." he began. "I remember she had a pretty smile, she always smelled like flowers, she used to give me Eskimo kisses, and..."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, he started sneezing. "What the heck?" he said as he sneezed again.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Something is tickling my nose," he said as he continued sneezing. "It feels...cold."
I froze as a cold wind came out of nowhere and brushed across my lips. I shivered. Where did that come from?
Suddenly, the cold wind yanked Roxy's heart out of my hands and started carrying it towards the front of the stage as it's color turned from pink to blue. I quickly got up and started floating after it.
"Hey!" I shouted. "Give that back!"
The gust of wind gently placed her heart on the ground at the front of the stage, but before I could grab it, a blinding flash of light caused me to squeeze my eyes shut and sent me reeling backwards. Once the light disappeared, I opened my eyes and froze.
Roxy's transparent figure was sitting on the ground and she was facing the audience with her eyes closed. She was sitting right next to her mother. They looked so calm together.
"They are watching us now," Queen Renee said as she stood up. "Are you ready?" Roxy slowly opened her eyes, looked up at her mother and sighed.
"I'm not sure," she said hesitantly. Renee reached her hand out to her, and she gladly accepted it as she helped Roxy to her feet. "I haven't sang in years..."
"You just sang earlier today, you'll be fine, pumpkin."
"But-"
Queen Renee placed her hand under Roxy's chin and gently lifted her head up. "You'll be fine. Trust me." Roxy sighed again, but then gave her mom a sweet little smile.
"Okay," she said as she took a deep breath. "I'm ready."
"Now remember what I told you," Queen Renee said. "I will sing the lyrics that I wrote first, then you will sing the lyrics you wrote. Got it?" Roxy nodded as a sad and melodic tune began to play. As Queen Renee began to sing the first verse and chorus of their song, everyone around us stood still in wonder and amazement. However, once Roxy started singing, there wasn't a single dry eye in the stadium. I couldn't blame them. Her voice was what I imagined an angel's to sound like.
Why do my words
Always lose their meaning?
What I feel, what I say
There's such a rift between them
He said, "I can't
Really seem to read you."
I just stood there
Never know what I should do
Then, she turned to her mother, who in return nodded to her, and together, they sang the chorus in perfect harmony.
When this world is no more
The moon is all we'll see
I'll ask you to fly away with me
Roxy's spirit began to twirl around the stage like a ballerina as she continued to sing.
Until the stars all fall down
They empty from the sky
But I don't mind
If you're with me, then everything's alright
She suddenly floated towards me and looked deep into my eyes. She offered me a gentle smile as she sang the last lyric alone.
When you're with me...then everything's...alright
She reached one of her misty hands towards me and tried to touch my cheek, but her ghostly touch was so cold it sent shivers down my spine. I smiled as more tears trickled down my face. It felt so nice to see her beautiful face again. I could see Queen Renee's spirit smile at us out of the corner of my eye as she slowly began to fade away, leaving Roxy alone with the rest of us. She leaned forward and brought her mouth close to my ear so only I could hear her.
"Why doesn't he remember me?" she whispered. "Did he really hit his head that hard?"
"Well, yeah," I said. "I've tried telling him about you over the years, but every time I tried, I would start crying. I'm sorry..."
"Aww...you missed me that much?" she whispered playfully in my ear. I pulled my head away from her so I could look her in the eyes.
"Well, what do you think?" I said semi-sarcastically. She giggled at my remark.
"Um...dad?"
I turned my head to see Trollex slowly approaching us.
"You...never answered my question..." He looked very nervous and he was staring at Roxy suspiciously. "Who is she?"
Roxy lowered her hand and turned to face him with tears in her eyes. "Trollex?..." she whispered in disbelief as she floated towards him. I could see the fear in his eyes as he slowly started to back away from her.
"She's not going to hurt you, son," I reassured him. Trollex stopped backing away and let Roxy's spirit approach him.
"Should I...know you?" he asked her. She lowered her head and sighed.
"It's alright if you don't...you were only a toddler..." Then, she lifted her head back up and smiled at him.
"But a mother...never forgets her child's face."
Trollex's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock. Tears started to prick at his eyes as he stared in disbelief at Roxy. He tried to say something, but all that came out of his mouth was a series of strange noises. He was completely speechless.
"I think you broke him, dear," I chuckled.
Roxy just giggled happily, then she dissolved in front of us.
As her spirit reappeared at the front of the stage again, she began to speak to the crowd.
"Fellow trolls," she began. "You may not know who I am, but rest assured, I am not your enemy. I know that some of you may be upset with my decision to destroy the strings, but trust me when I say it was for the best. Music is not what divided us in the first place. It was the strings themselves. We don't need the strings in order to make music! Music has been inside of us all along, and I can prove it! All you need to do...is sing from your heart."
She closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and began to sing:
We used to hide under the covers
Serenade each other
With careless melodies
Something buried deep inside us
The major and the minor
We're like piano keys
You played for me
We all watched Roxy's spirit dance around the stage again as she sang for us. Even in death, she still found a way to enjoy herself.
You played for me
Oh, you played for me
She danced her way over to me and began to circle around me. I didn't even have to hear her ask me. I already knew what she was implying.
I swear it, even in my sleep
I hear it like the memory
Of everything we used to be
You played for me
Almost as if it was pure instinct, I started to dance alongside her.
You played for me
I had forgotten how much I missed dancing with her and how it made me feel. I closed my eyes and just let her angelic voice wrap its way around my heart.
You played for me
Even though I couldn't dance with her physically, I imagined that she was in my arms as I twirled around with her spirit on stage. Surprisingly, she was doing the exact same thing.
We couldn't stop the world from turning
It was like a whirlwind
Scattered us like leaves
But I'm stuck inside a feeling
The song that never leaves
We were like a symphony
You played for me
I could feel the music inside of me start to awaken as she continued to sing. The rest of the troll leaders began to nod their heads to the beat while Trollex was still frozen in shock.
You played for me
Oh, you played for me
My heart started glowing blue, but I barely noticed it. I felt so happy, yet my heart ached with sadness. But, as I continued to listen to her melodic voice, that sadness slowly started to melt away.
I swear it, even in my sleep
I hear it like the memory
Of everything we used to be
You played for me
Suddenly, the entire stadium was filled with glowing hearts of different colors as they all started to dance along with us.
You played for me
The song she was singing had the ability to awaken the fire of desire inside of all of us.
You played for me
This fire, this feeling, when I had first felt it, I thought it was a sign that I had found my soulmate, but now I understood that it was more than that.
You played for me
It was a constant rhythmic beat that would become more and more intense whenever I would hear or sing different kinds of music. It made me feel warm and happy on the inside. I never noticed that my very soul yearned to hear different music until she came into my life.
You played for me
I would pull down the stars and give her the moon if she had ever asked, because there is nothing I could do to repay her for what she had done for me...no...for all of us.
You played for me
Once she stopped singing, I opened my eyes to see her standing in front of me with the sweetest smile on her face. I smiled right back at her as she approached me once more and whispered in my ear:
"As long as harmony exists between the six kingdoms, so does the harmony troll."
My eyes widened in surprise.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You're smart. I'm sure you'll figure it out." She smiled again, cupped my face in her hands and brushed her misty lips across mine as she began to fade.
"Until we meet again, my love." And just like that, she was gone. That feeling of closure began to sink in as I bent down and picked up her heart again. For some strange reason, I didn't shed a single tear. I ran my fingers over her heart and smiled, then turned around to face the other troll leaders. Trollex was still standing there with the same shocked expression on his face. I don't think he's moved an inch since Roxy told him who she was...
I'm sure he'll be fine!
"We need to reunite our kingdoms," I told the other troll leaders. "We need to bring Trollstopia back to its former glory, and live in harmony again!"
"But how?" Queen Barb grumbled. She had been silent for a while now, and had finally decided to speak up. "She destroyed all of the strings and took our music with her."
Suddenly, Poppy's eyes lit up with excitement. "She just told us how!" she squealed. "Weren't you listening?" We all turned around to face the pop troll as she revealed to us what we were all born to do since the very beginning.
"Why don't we...just sing?"