1 week later...
I drummed my fingers on the table as I stared at Barb, who was busy sleeping with her feet kicked up on the other end of the table in our designated meeting room.
I raised my gavel and brought it down onto the block as hard as I could. Barb snapped her head up, startled by the sudden noise, and fell out of her chair.
"Attention everyone!" I announced. "This emergency meeting of the council of harmony is now in...session..."
I took a quick glance around the room. I hardly noticed there were so many empty chairs around the table until now. Other than Titus and myself, there were only two other trolls in the room.
"Where is everyone?" I asked to no one in particular. Titus looked at my clipboard and sighed.
"Well, Quincy, Essence, and Trollzart are still missing...along with..." His voice trailed off as he sucked air in through his teeth. I sighed.
"Along with Delta Dawn..." I mumbled.
We received word earlier this morning about Delta's disappearance. Apparently, someone spotted her going out for a midnight stroll last night, which was something she did every now and then.
Except she never came back...
I put my head in my hands and groaned. My headaches were getting worse as each day passed. I've gotten to the point where I no longer knew what was causing them.
I was stressed, paranoid, and very tired...my nightmares have been becoming more vivid each night as well. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and found it difficult to fall back asleep. Sometimes, I would wake up Titus so that he could comfort me, but other times, I just let him sleep.
I was lacking so much sleep at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if I looked liked a zombie that needed to be put out of its misery...
"Poppy and Branch are still coming, right?" I asked Titus.
He nodded. "Yeah, they should be on their way right now."
I took a deep breath and sighed. That state of calm lasted for about two seconds before I noticed the chair that my son normally sat in was now empty.
"Wait...where's Trollex?!" I shrieked. "He was just here a second ago!"
"Calm down, my dear," Titus reassured me. He took my hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. "He's just-"
"I'm right here, mom." The door to the meeting room opened and closed as Trollex hovered over to his chair and sat down. He then proceeded to open up a bag of pretzels that he had brought with him and shoved a small handful of them into his mouth.
"Where have you been?!" I asked. A hint of concern could be heard when I spoke.
"I was hungry, so I went to the kitchen and got a snack. I told you this..." He raised his brow at me. "Were you not listening?"
I didn't remember him telling me that. "I guess not...I'm sorry sweetie..." I replied. "Just...don't scare me like that again! You nearly gave your poor mother a heart attack..."
His ears drooped and he stared down at the table. "Sorry, mom..."
My eyes lingered away from him only to spot another empty chair that just so happened to be right next to him.
"...where's Maya?" I asked him. Trollex looked up from the table and stared at me.
"Huh?" he asked, obviously confused. I felt a chill run down my spine, but not in a good way.
"Trollex...where is your wife?" I asked again.
"Oh! She's at Pop Village hanging out with Lee like she does every Saturday. She's fine," he reassured me. Then he popped another pretzel in his mouth.
"You'd think with what's been happening you'd keep a closer eye on her," Barb said. Trollex rolled his eyes at her.
"She can take care of herself," he managed to say with food in his mouth. "I'm not her dad."
Barb snickered at his remark. Trollex nearly choked on his snack and just shook his head disapprovingly.
"I didn't mean it like that, you sicko! Get your mind out of the gutter!" he said. He set the bag down on the table and crossed his arms.
Barb chuckled and crossed her arms as well. "Nah! I don't think I will."
I looked over at Katheryn, who was twiddling her thumbs and sweating nervously. She hadn't said a word since she and Barb arrived. Thrash was supposed to be here as well, but he decided to stay in Volcano Rock City to help Riff with something.
"Is something on your mind, sis?" I asked. If there was one troll who was gonna start visibly panicking first, it was her. She looked up at me and sighed. Her hands were already starting to shake.
"What are we supposed to do about this, Roxy?" she asked sheepishly. "Troll leaders are disappearing without a trace! There HAS to be a reasonable explanation for this! They wouldn't just abandon their kingdoms without leaving a note or something!"
"Yes, I agree. There has to be a reasonable explanation for all of this," Titus answered for me. He was surprisingly calm. I was trying my best to stay calm as well, but I didn't know how long that was going to last.
"For right now, we need to make sure that the tribes that don't have leaders have someone lined up as their replacements until they either come back, or we find them," I said.
"That's just the thing!" Katie continued. "At least the funk trolls have backup! They have Darnell and Cooper, but the classical trolls...they don't have that kind of luxury. Trollzart has no wife, no living family, and no next-of-kin! Heck, I don't even think he has a girlfriend! The classical trolls have no one to lead them! They are lost without their conductor!"
"Well," I started. "Maya told me that Trollzart and Goldie are pretty close, so..."
"Oh yeah, sure! That sounds like a great idea!" Barb proclaimed sarcastically. "Let's have a pop troll lead the classical trolls! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?!"
I stood up and slammed my hands onto the table. "Don't get sassy with me, missy! It's better than nothing!"
Katheryn stood up, too. "And while we're at it, what about the Country trolls? Yes, they do have backup, but she's not old enough to run Lonesome Flats all by herself! She's only eight!"
"Well I-"
"Who's gonna lose their leaders next, huh?" Katie interrupted. "The pop trolls? The techno trolls? Us?! Are you two suddenly gonna go missing?!"
The room felt like it was getting smaller and smaller the more Katie spoke, causing me to feel a bit lightheaded and dizzy. I placed a hand on my head as my breathing started to become heavy.
"Roxy?" Titus asked as he squeezed my hand again. "Are you feeling alright? You don't look so good..."
"I-I'm fine...C-Can we take this out to the main hall, please?..." I asked. Without even waiting for a response, I quickly walked over to the door and exited the room. Everybody else followed suit.
"Okay Roxy, deep breaths..." I mumbled to myself. "Everything will be okay..."
I stood on the second step of the grand staircase and turned around to face what was left of the council of harmony. I took a deep breath, then plastered on my best smile.
"Okay, Katheryn, first you need to calm down," I reassured her. I had no idea that I was also trying to reassure myself at the same time. Katheryn took a deep breath, then allowed me to continue.
"We...we shouldn't be so worried about this," I continued. "Wherever our friends and fellow leaders are, I'm sure they're fine. E-Everything is fine! Everything is completely...under control, so let's all just take a deep breath, and try not to panic."
Suddenly, we heard the front door swing open, and I looked up to see Maya rush in. She was wearing a light yellow petal-ruffle dress with cute, short puffy sleeves, and she was also wearing her crown atop her head.
"LEE?! LEE, ARE YOU HERE?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She was breathing heavily and their were tears streaming down her face.
Trollex rushed forward and held her still. He tried his best to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Maya?! What's wrong? What happened?!" he asked frantically.
"I-I went back to Pop Village t-to visit Lee for our weekly hangout, b-but when I got there...oh god..." She let out a sob and covered her mouth with her hands.
I stepped forward. "What? What did you find?" I asked. She looked up at me as more tears threatened to fall at any second.
"Pop Village was in pieces..." she managed to choke out. "Queen Poppy a-and King Branch are missing...and..."
She buried her face into Trollex's chest and started sobbing loudly. "I-I...I can't f-find her...I can't find Lee...she's...g-gone..."
"Well that's new..." Barb mumbled. "I thought only troll leaders were going missing."
I could hardly believe what I had just heard. In the short amount of time since Delta was reported missing, not only were Branch and Poppy gone, but also Lee? What did Lee ever do? Why was this happening now?!
"Shh, everything's gonna be okay..." Trollex tried to reassure her. Maya lifted her head up to look at him. Her bottom lip was still quivering.
"B-But everything's not okay!" she whimpered. "I-I've looked everywhere for her...where is she?! She wouldn't just run off somewhere without telling somebody! That's so unlike her!"
Trollex wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and gave her a gently kiss on her forehead. "I know...I know...But we'll find her, don't worry."
Maya's eyes suddenly widened as an idea popped into her head. "What if someone kidnapped her?..." she asked herself.
Barb rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Pfft! Seriously, Maya? Kidnapping? Who would dare try to do that?"
I watched as Maya slowly turned her head in Barb's direction and started glaring at her. Barb's smile quickly fell off her face as she uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips.
"Let me guess, you think I'm kidnapping everyone, aren't you?" she asked. Maya let go of Trollex and started marching towards Barb. She looked very angry.
"You're the only other one who's still here! And you've done it before! It HAS to be you! NOW GIVE ME MY BEST FRIEND BACK YOU-"
"Ladies! Calm down!" I said. "L-Let's not start blaming each other for what's-"
"Um exCUSE me, are you hearing yourself?" Barb yelled back at her, completely ignoring me. "I've been here, trying to help figure out a solution to our current dilemma all morning! There is no way I would've been able to kidnap anyone, even if I wanted to."
"Says the one who tried to destroy all music about three years ago..." Maya grumbled. Barb's right eye started to twitch.
Uh oh...
"Alright, you know what..." Barb growled. "Now you're starting to piss me off..."
I could practically see smoke coming out of Maya's ears. "You wanna go?! I bet I could take you down in less than a minute! Bring it on!"
"Do you want my foot to end up in a place it's not supposed to be?!" Barb shouted back.
"HEY!" Trollex shouted. "Knock it off you two! Now is not the time to start arguing!"
"Oh, shut up Nemo! No one asked for your opinion!" Barb screamed.
Everybody in the room continued to throw yell at each other as Katheryn started to spiral into a full blown panic attack.
"We were better off divided!"
"Oh my goodness, we're all gonna die!"
Then, to make matters even worse, every once in a while, I'd hear one of them scream:
"Auntie!"
"Roxy!"
"Roxanne!"
"Mom!"
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! DO SOMETHING!"
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I couldn't think...I couldn't move...I was frozen in place, like a deer in headlights.
Poppy, Branch, Delta, Trollzart, Quincy, and Essence...they've always been there for me since Titus and I started our reign...They were there to help me whenever I asked...
Even Lee was there for me...and I barely knew her...but I still considered her to be my friend...
And now it was my turn to help them, and I didn't know what to do...
How could I have let this happen?...How could I have been so ignorant?...
Their yelling started to fade away as a high pitched ringing noise replaced it. I placed my hands on my head and grabbed onto my hair as the room started to spin, making me feel nauseous. I closed my eyes...and screamed as loud as I possibly could:
"STOP IT!"
When I opened my eyes, everybody had vanished into thin air. The room was empty and still. However, there was something else...different about it.
The main hall was normally supposed to be a combination of colors that you'd normally see in SymphonyVille, except that's not what it looked like now. The hall was dark, with hints of black, grey, and dark red scattered about.
As I scanned the room, my gaze drifted across four silhouettes that were standing in front of me. They must've been waiting for me to notice them, because when I did, they opened their eyes and stared in my direction.
I could feel my blood run cold, not because I didn't recognize them, but because I did. Slick, Carly, and Harrison were standing only a few feet away from where I was standing. They were glaring at me with red, glowing eyes and growling like animals.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing...I didn't want to believe it! Those three were exiled from Trollstopia years ago. This had to be a dream!
I rubbed my eyes and pinched myself, but they didn't go away.
This wasn't a memory...or a dream...this was happening in real time!
Lava started oozing down from the ceiling, turning everything it touched into rock. The light from the lava lit up the room, making the trolls even more visible and terrifying. My hands started to shake and my breath became heavy.
I turned to where my sister had been standing only a few moments ago, hoping that she would still be there. She was...but not the Katheryn I knew. Her eyes were black, her hair was purple, and that spiked choker was back around her neck. I knew that wasn't her. She had sworn never to wear it again...Barb told me she burned it along with everything else that reminded her of dad.
I watched as she threw her head back and started laughing maniacally. Then she pointed at me, and her three minions started to slowly walk towards me.
A feeling of pure panic and fear washed over my body as I took a step backwards up the staircase.
"Do you know how long it takes for a sunflower to wilt in the dark?" Slick asked me.
"No...no..." I whispered to myself. I took another step back, but they just kept getting closer.
"Who controls the would-be queen?" Katheryn growled.
"Ha! No wonder she doesn't have any friends," Carly laughed.
"Look! She's shaking! What a weakling!" Harrison mocked.
I shook my head. "I'm awake...my eyes are open...this can't be happening..." I whimpered.
Once all four of them got to the bottom of the stairs, they stopped. Then, they bowed down to me. "My king!" they all said in unison.
I was confused. Why were they calling me their king? I was a queen, not a...a...
When I took another step back, I bumped into something. I felt someone's hands grab my shoulders...they weren't bowing down to me...
They were bowing down to whoever was standing behind me...
"Young lady..."
I froze. I recognized that voice...
I pried his hands off my shoulders and turned around, hoping that it wasn't who I thought it was...but to my horror...when I matched that voice to his face...that was when I felt true fear...
My father towered over me and crossed his arms. "I'm done playing these stupid games of yours, Roxanne," he said in his deep, threatening voice.
I backed away from him, staying on the same step and taking care not to trip. "STAY AWAY!" I screamed. But dad didn't listen. He took a step closer.
"Roxanne..." he groaned. He took another step towards me. How could he be here?! He was dead!
Katie and the others started slowly walking up the stairs to get to me as well. Now I had backed up so much that I had bumped into the stair railing.
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" I sobbed. I couldn't stop the tears from falling...I was so scared that my entire body started to shake. Everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at me.
Everyone...except dad. He just kept getting closer and closer.
"Listen to me!" he shouted. I covered my ears and shook my head.
"NO!" I screamed. "YOU NEVER LISTENED TO ME! WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO SAY, I WON'T LISTEN! I WON'T LISTEN! I'LL IGNORE YOU JUST LIKE HOW YOU IGNORED ME!"
"Roxanne..." he groaned again. Now he was only two feet away from me.
"Stay away from me...don't touch me..." I whimpered.
"Roxy..."
My father reached out and placed his hand on my heart.
"Are you...still...there?" he asked.
"I SAID DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU MONSTER!"
I couldn't control myself. Out of both fear and anger, I closed my eyes, reeled my fist back, and punched him in the nose. Then, I bolted up the stairs as fast as I could.
"STAY OUT OF MY LIFE!" I continued. "I DON'T NEED YOU! I NEVER NEEDED YOU! GO AWAY!"
My first instinct was purely maternal. I ran to the baby's room, opened the door, and locked myself inside. I ran over to the pod, took out the egg, wrapped it up in a blanket, then crawled under the table while hugging it close to my chest.
"Shh...there there..." I whispered as more tears fell down my face. "The bad trolls can't get to us in here. You're safe...I've got you..."
I can't remember how long I sat there, sobbing and hugging that egg. An hour...maybe two at the most? No matter how long it was, I eventually fell asleep somehow...
The next thing I knew, I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door.
I yawned and stretched. The morning sun was shining through the stained glass window, spilling out into the room. Guess that all was just a bad dream.
"Hey, Auntie?" I heard a voice speak from the other side of the door.
"Barb? Is that you?" I asked.
"Yeah...can you unlock the door, please? I need to talk to you..."
"Oh...of course..."
I crawled out from underneath the table and placed the egg back into its pod. Then, I walked over to the door, unlocked and opened it.
"Hey..." Barb said. She looked concerned.
"Hey..." I replied. We avoided eye contact and just stood in a sort of awkward silence for a bit.
"So...how exactly did I get up here?" I asked her. Barb's eyes widened with shock.
"You seriously don't remember what happened yesterday?" she asked.
"No...why?"
Barb started biting on her fingernails and looked at the floor. "You...might want to sit down..." she suggested.
She took my arm and led me back in the baby's room. So, per her instructions, I grabbed a chair and sat down. I was starting a feel a bit worried. The fact that Barb started pacing back and forth in front of me wasn't helping. "W-What happened?" I asked her.
She took a deep breath, let it out, then turned to face me.
"Listen Auntie...there is no easy way for me to tell you this, so I'm gonna try to summarize the story for you...but trust me..." she crossed her arms. "You're not gonna like what you're about to hear."
I nodded. "Whatever happened, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for it. Now please, tell me what happened..."
"Well," Barb began. "All of us kind of got into a screaming match, blaming each other for everything that's been happening, ya know...then all of a sudden, your eyes rolled into the back of your head and you started hyperventilating. We tried to approach you to calm you down, but you kept backing away and screaming at us. You sounded completely crazy!"
"Uncle T tried to approach you, too. He just wanted to help you, but you started yelling such obscene things at him. He put his hand on your heart, you know, like he always does, to let you know that you were safe...but then you..."
My eyes widened. I could feel a lump begin to form in my throat...I already knew what she was going to say next...I guess it wasn't a dream after all...
"You punched him in the face..."
I covered my mouth with my hands and lowered my head into my lap.
Oh god...what have I done?...