The Nisse, the Cat, and the Apple Tree Part 5

A mouse and his pack of wolves, now the Troll doesn't look so bad.

For a precise moment of surprise, no one moved, unsure why the Troll was crying in pain, and the ropes were now cut. Christian glanced to his side to see Persephone mix-matched eyes staring at him. “Run,” she ordered him, and Christian let her word force him to action. He punched a few goblins in their noses, tossing them back into the others. He caught the hilt of his sword from some random goblin, kicking him in the chest, and freeing the blade. As he ran, he was chopping left and right, making heads roll.

                He raced following Persephone’s black body into the night, but the Troll roared of pain started to fade from her claw, pushing him to give chase after them. The Troll didn’t care about any of the goblins under his feet, crushing them and moving tree out of his way. The trees, when crashing to the down taking out countless goblins, but the Troll could care less about their deaths.         

                “I’m not sure we can kill him,” Persephone shouted back to Christian.

                “Aye,” he agreed. “I’m not sure I can outrun him.”

                “That I can see,” Persephone said, slowing down to run beside him. “Jump on my back.”

                “Are you sure?”

                “Do it,” Persephone ordered, and Christian dashed to mount the cat sure his weight would keep her from running at the speed they needed. He was sure they were going to be killed by the raging Troll, but Persephone seems to be able to bear his weight, and most of all, move quicker with him all her back. There had to be magic under her fur to keep moving at the speed they were fleeing.

                She started to head up the hill towards the tree. “No,” Christian told her,” head around the hill.”

                “What? Why?”

                “He won’t follow us into the mics kingdoms,” he said.

                “Are you sure?”

                “Only if he wants to die,” Christian said with Persephone dropping her head a bit and then turning towards the small wood around the other side of the hill. The Troll seeing where they were heading, tried his best to pick up his speed to catch them but the cat, as you know when they are being chased, was faster than most creatures on this world.

                Persephone bolted pass a tree coming to a hard stop, almost tossing Christian off her back, but she was done. She could no longer run everything she had been used up, and now it was taking all too much for her stand. Christian spun on his heel, holding his sword at the ready, seeing the Troll stopping in front of the line of trees. He kneeled, staring long and hard at the Nisse. “I’ll find you,” he said calmly, “and I’ll bleed you.”

                Christian said not a word and be stilled his heart for the battle to come, but the Troll stood up, heading back to his home in the wood on the other side of the hill. Once the Troll was over the hill, Christian dropped the sword letting out a deep sigh.

                “That was close,” Persephone said, coming up beside him.

                “We are not safe yet,” Christian glanced around the dark woods.

                “Are we ever?” She asked, following his eyes. “How bad is this war?”

                “Bad enough,” Christian said,” to where I don’t want to be here. It’s why I went the other way.”

                “Great.” The fur on her back started to stand up. “Led the way, my short friend.”

                Christian nodded, stepping into the night heading up the hill but around it so the goblins couldn’t see them move. He knew the Troll was now watching the Apple Tree and might meet them up there soon but wouldn’t tear the tree down. No one in the hills dear to cut down the tree because it held the hills together, and there was a magic to its roots.

                “Thank you for saving me,” Christian said.

                “No need to thank me,” Persephone said,” I’m not sure I saved either of us.”

                “Fair enough,” He agreed, “nevertheless, thank you for showing up.”

                “Did you doubt I would?” She asked, glancing over at him.

                “For a moment,” Christian said.

                She smirked, “I’m wounded.”

                “You are a cat,” he added.

                “I’m not sure if that is a compliment or insult,” she said.

                “It is a little of both, my friend,” Christian said.

                “You are not funn---“Persephone stopped shooting her fur up, trying to make herself look larger then she was while at the same time showing her teeth in a hiss. Christian had no idea what caused her to become sacred, but he knew it wasn’t good. He readies his sword yet again, feeling the tickling fingers of fear on his back. He grew closer to the cat seeing the bright yellows eyes of the wolves coming out of the dark. They were surrounded long before they knew it, and the whole pack of these monsters was licking the lips for cat and Nisse meat.

                “You must be mighty foolish,” a tiny voice bellowed from somewhere among the pack of wolves, “to come into my land when you turn your back on our war.” Christian tried to find the voice until he saw a mouse crawling on top of the Alpha’s head, scowling down at them. The mouse was whiter than snow with a black nose and eyes and wore a blue cloak with a crown made of roots and berries.

                His paw rested on the hilt of a sword, nothing more than a needle to some people of the forest but the sword gave him domain over the trees. “King Artio,” Christian bowed his head, “I mean no offense in entering your realm.”

                “And yet, the offense has been taken,” King Artio said with some of the wolves moving forward.

                “King,” Christian quickly protested, “I tried to avoid your realm and your war, but the Troll had pushed me into the woods. I am trying to reach the top of the hill.”

                “You are trying to get to the Sun Tear,” King Artio said.

                “I am,” Christian said, “for a human child, who is dying of sickness.”

                King Artio laughed, “You Nisses are always worried over your human pets.”

Author's Note

If you had made it this far, then I appreciate it, and before you start to tear my work apart (which doesn’t bother me too much), let me explain something. The most common critique I see is about my spelling and grammar. It is an understandable critique, and I do not blame you for pointing it out. After all, spelling and grammar are the tools in which we use to craft our work, like a paintbrush or a chisel. The artist must know how to use these tools well, but like an artist who has a tremble in their hand's somethings will never be perfect.
My tremble in my hand is caused by my dyslexia. It is something, no matter how much I learn, study, or works on, it will never go away. It is the reason you will find a good bit of spelling and grammar mistakes in my work. I ask you to keep this fact when you are about to write your critique.
Also, I feel the need to point this out, this website is like a journal for me. A messy journal I used to work out problems in my stories or to simply warm up before digging into my novels. I do not hire an editor for the work here. I do not spend hours and days pouring over these stories to make them perfect, that energy is saved for the project I plan on taking to market. Everything on this website is my world-building exercise or sketches for other projects.
I do hope you enjoy my work, but this website is not a publishing house for me, and it shouldn’t be for you either. Something to keep in mind as you write your critique.