3 The Vision

By the time they got to the valley of the trolls, Reimund could barely walk. He was breathing hard. Helen was growing impatient.

"You must run a lot," the boy said, "I can barely keep up with you."

Helen smiled as she said, "I love to run! We can rest if you'd like, but we're almost to the Troll King's cave. You must speak with him."

Reimund stopped for a moment, put his hands on his knees and dropped his head. After a minute of heavy breathing, he said, "Let's go, I'm ready.". As Helen leads Reimund through the valley, the boy looked around, the lake was surrounded by the pine trees and huts, their walls were made of mud bricks and the huts had straw roofs. They entered the dark cave. It took a while for their eyes to adjust to the shadows, and also the silence. The cave blocked out many sounds from the forest. Reimund seemed frozen at the cave entrance for a few moments, but after Helen waved him ahead, he trudged forward.

The two human children found the Troll King snoring on his rocky throne. Reimund's eyes were huge at first as they approached him. The king was a very large troll; Helen guessed that Reimund was scared of just how big he was. But soon, Helen started giggling because the king still hadn't heard them, and Reimund relaxed and smiled when he saw that. Helen decided she'd play a little joke on the king, after all, she was free now to go and do what she wanted. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled directly at the king, "Your Majesty!"

The king of the trolls was startled and gasped in his seat. It took him a moment to look down at the children. "Who dares to disturb my slumber?" He growled at them.

"It's me, Helen, your majesty." The girl said while she curtsied. The king glared at her, then at the boy, then back at her.

Helen giggled nervously. Maybe she shouldn't have yelled in his face. She added, "I brought a friend to meet you."

The king looked back at the auburn-haired boy. "And who is this new friend of yours?"

"His name is Reimund Chairn." After Helen said his last name, it seemed to echo again and again throughout the cave.

The king glared at them in silence, for so long that they became very nervous. Suddenly he rose to his feet, took his scepter and slammed it into the ground in front of him. The children backed up, and the king's eyes focused in on Reimund. "Child," he boomed, "Do my old ears mistake me? Are you from the House of Chairn?"

Reimund shivered in fear. "Uh... uh, yes... your Majesty. Why?" At that the two heard footsteps skitter from outside the cave. They turned and saw that a crowd of trolls were rushing in. Helen saw Fern among them. Soon, the children were surrounded by them. The trolls were all looking at Reimund, and each whispered to each other about "A child of Chairn".

Fern placed a hand on Helen's shoulder and said, "What have you done?" It worried Helen so badly, it was like a heavy weight in her stomach. Reimund seemed frozen in place.

"Silence!" The Troll King shouted. The trolls stopped their chatter and knelt in front of their king. He beckoned to Reimund with his scepter. "Come closer, boy. I shall tell you of the prophecy."

Reimund walked to just in front of the king and knelt like the other trolls. Helen did the same.

The troll king raised his arms and began to speak in the old tongue. It was a strangely beautiful language, and Helen couldn't usually understand every word, but she knew what he now said to them. He then repeated himself so that they could understand, "Hair as black as raven feathers, skin, white as snow, and blue eyes cold as ice. A child born to the House of Chairn shall have a frozen heart and rule a frozen world. This is the prophecy we trolls have guarded for generations. We look for the signs of the one with the frozen heart, and warn all those who will listen."

He gazed upon the crowd of trolls, and then down at Reimund. "Boy," he said, "This day, my magic has whispered to me as has happened only a few times in our history. It has told me that there will come a time when you become a grandfather. It is one of your grandchildren that will bear the frozen heart in their chest and fulfill the prophecy."

The trolls gasped. At that moment Reimund fell back, and the air was sucked from his lungs. A vision came to his mind. There was a little girl with black hair and blue eyes staring at him coldly. She began to age rapidly before him. Her skin became blue to match her eyes. Suddenly, she was wearing a large white fur cape, and a tiara of jagged ice shards. The woman raised a silver staff of ice towards the sky and from it burst a lightning bolt which tore its way up and through the clouds with a crack of deafening thunder. The woman began to laugh like a maniac, her back arching and her eyes closed. Snow began to dump from the clouds and swirled in the wind.

Reimund was shivering uncontrollably when the vision ended. Helen had run over to hold his hand. He was freezing, and had turned very pale. His face seemed twisted in horror. "Reimund!" She nearly screamed, "Are you okay?"

The boy's eyes connected with hers. "You... you're insane." He looked around at the other trolls crowded around him and shouted, "You're all insane!" He jumped to his feet, pushed down a troll and ran out of the cave screaming.

Helen started to run after her friend, but a stern voice stopped her. "Helen!" She turned to look at her mother, and behind her the large King of the Trolls who watched quietly, his hands resting on his scepter.

Fern marched towards Helen and grabbed her hand. "Come with me right now." Helen flinched and then let her mother pull her out of the cave.

Helen had been pulled by her troll mother almost to their hut when she decided enough was enough. Fern had said she was free now! Why was she being yanked around like a child again just a day after being told that her life was now hers? She felt betrayed and angry. She slipped her hand out of her mother's grasp.

Fern turned around to face her daughter. She straightened up to her full height and towered over her. She was practically fuming with rage. "How dare you bring a child of the House of Chairn to this valley, after all that we've done for you!"

Helen shrunk back seeing her mother so angry. "I-I'm sorry Mama! I thought he-"

"Have I taught you nothing, Helen? You naughty girl... you're always misbehaving! I told you not to bring such a boy to the valley!"

"I'm really sorry, Mama, I-"

"I am not your Mother! Twig and I should have ignored your stupid cries so you'd starve to death!"

Helen stared at her for moment in shock. Tears began trickling down her cheeks. "I... I thought you loved me..." She said.

Fern looked around, and down at her feet, and then with a growl said to the human girl, "I never loved you. My father, the King, forced me to raise you, a foolish little human!"

Helen wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her dress even as new ones fell from her eyes. "I... I don't understand. You called me your little forest princess. You gave me warm baths!"

Fern sighed, shaking her head. "I had to be a nice and loving mother because my king commanded me to do so! I didn't want to be banished from my home! I can't believe I mothered a human welp for five years! I'm sick of it!"

Helen's sniffles turn into a wail and she cried with as much anguish as she had ever felt. If freedom meant to be alone and unloved, it wasn't worth anything.

Fern grunted and then sighed. "You are no longer under my care, Helen. Now, go! Run as fast as you can and never return! You aren't welcome here in this valley."

Helen turned, wiped her eyes, and did just that. She didn't want to spend another second with this brutish troll who had called herself her mother. She'd find a new home.

Fern watched her run off into the woods, and stood waiting to see if she was truly gone. She shook her head to get her mind off her aching heart. Instead of hearing Helen's tiny footsteps and sniffles approach, she heard much larger movement behind her. Twig, her mate, was there.

"You don't have to be so harsh on that little girl, Fern." Twig said in a low voice. He had seen it all.

Fern wouldn't have it. "You think I've done wrong! You shouldn't talk! This is all your fault!"

"My fault? You're the one that led us to that child five years ago!" Her mate furrowed his thick brows in confusion.

Fern snarled back at him. She didn't know what was right, but she knew it made her feel better to pretend she did. "I never want to hear another word from you again!" She yelled, then stomped away.

Twig watched her leave, surprised. He had never seen her so angry before. He sighed and started walking back to his hut.

Helen ran as fast as her small legs could carry her through the forest. All of a sudden, she tripped on a rock and fell to the ground. A fresh wave of tears rolled down her cheeks. She sobbed and looked up at the trees. They swayed in the wind, and Helen calmed herself until all she could hear were the quiet sounds of the woods. She remembered then, she still had the whistle that Fern had given her. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at it. "Mama..." she sniffled to herself. She rose from the ground, put the whistle back in her pocket and continued down the trail.

Reimund burst through the front door of his cottage. His aunt Lisle looked up from a pair of knitting needles and a scarf she was making. "Reimund, you're home!" she said, smiling, "Just in time for dinner."

Her nephew was breathing heavily and shaking. Lisle frowned. "Reimund, what's wrong? You're so pale. Did something happen?"

"A-Auntie, he-help me." He said. His aunt got up from her chair, came over to him and felt his cheek.

She gasped, "You're cold! Come, let's warm you up." Lisle guided Reimund to the rug near the fireplace and sat him down. She took her own place in her chair.

"Now, what happened with you and Helen at the valley of the trolls? Did you meet their king?"

Reimund bowed his head and shivered. When he looked up again at his aunt, he was crying. "He told me about a prophecy, auntie. I don't want it to be true!"

He couldn't say anything more, just hugged himself and cried. Lisle reached over and gently stroked his hair. "Oh child, it'll be alright. Reimund, I'm here for you. We shall see what happens when the time comes."