A Grimm Warning (The Land of Stories, #3)(90)

“Did I say you could stop rowing?” Trollbella said. When the rowing stayed at a halt, she agitatedly sat up to see what the concern was. She cupped her gaping mouth when she laid eyes on what the others had seen.

“Hi, Trollbella,” Conner said sheepishly, with a wave. “Miss me?”

“Butterboy!” She gasped. “Am I really seeing you or are you a mirage in the water?”

“He’s here,” Alex said. “We’re both here.”

“But I thought I had lost my Butterboy forever,” Trollbella said in complete shock. “You went home through that portal and I thought you’d never return! Was our love too strong for the portal to contain? Did our affection for each other break it open? Have you finally returned to be the king of the Great Troblin Lake?”

“Um… no,” Conner clarified. “But the portal has been re-opened—that’s why I’m here.”

“The Great Troblin Lake, huh?” Alex asked. “Is that what you’re calling this place now?”

“Yes, fairy girl,” Trollbella said with a scowl. “And I expect all the maps to be changed at once! I’ve always wanted to live near the water and the Enchantress unintentionally made that dream come true. Now you must come aboard my boat so I can properly embrace my Butterboy.”

Lester swam to the side of the boat and Alex and Conner were helped aboard by two of the troll rowers. Trollbella leaped onto Conner like a spider monkey hugging a tree and almost knocked both of them into the water. He figured it would take her a while to let him go but she detached much sooner than he was expecting. She looked up at him and her big eyes were full of concern rather than the usual lust. Something was very different about Trollbella but the twins were too pressed for time to find out what.

“Look, Trollbella,” Conner said. “We’ve come to talk to you. Something very bad has happened and we need your help.”

Trollbella put both of her hands on her hips. “It puts a strain on our relationship when you only come to me to share devastating news, Butterboy,” she said. “Just once I wish you’d bring flowers or chocolates instead.”

“For the millionth time, we don’t have a relationship!” Conner said.

“Yes, I know our love is too strong for childish terms,” she said. “Our love is bottomless… it’s forever… it’s indestructible.…” The troll queen suddenly burst into tears.

“Trollbella, what’s the matter with you?” Alex asked.

“There is something my Butterboy must know before we speak any further,” Trollbella said. “While you were gone, I found someone else.”

“What?” the twins said together. This was the last thing they had expected to come out of the troll queen’s mouth.

Trollbella’s eyes darted around the boat guiltily and she turned away from them—what she had to confess was too painful to say while looking them in the eyes. “I knew after you disappeared into another dimension forever it would be challenging to keep our love alive. I tried to stay faithful to you for as long as I could and it was the hardest six days of my life. I was weak without you, Butterboy, and my heart strayed. I couldn’t bear the thought of being alone forever so I gave my heart to someone else.”

Alex and Conner exchanged the same dumbfounded look. With everything else going on at the moment, Conner was surprised by how much relief he felt upon hearing this.

“I always thought that one day if the impossible should happen and you returned to me I could easily give my heart back to you, but now seeing you in front of me, I realize I was mistaken,” Trollbella said. “Once I’ve invested my love in someone I cannot get my love back unless I know it’s a dead end, and I’m afraid I’ve planned a long, joyous road with my new love.”

“Okay, I’ve got to know, who is this poor guy?” Conner couldn’t help but ask.

“His name is Gator, and he commands my army as well as my heart,” Trollbella said. She dreamily looked to the back of her boat and waved at the small troll in the horned helmet. Gator waved back uncomfortably—apparently reciprocation wasn’t something Trollbella looked for in a relationship.

“Congratulations,” Conner said to them both.

“But I’ve failed you, Butterboy!” Trollbella said, and she fell to her knees. “I promised myself our love would be eternal and I’ve broken that vow! You’ll never love anyone else as much as you’ve loved me! I feel so terrible to leave you alone in this cruel world! Please tell me if there is anything I can do to make it up to you!”

Alex nudged Conner and cleared her throat. This was their chance.

“I don’t know,” Conner said, and gave his best heartbroken performance. “I’m in shock, complete shock. My heart feels like it’s been ripped out of my chest, trampled by a stampede of wolves, and chewed up by an ogre. I’m going to need some time to get over this—”

“But there is something you could do for him that would make him feel much better in the meantime,” Alex said, trying to speed things up.

“Oh yes, Butterboy!” Trollbella groveled at his feet. “I’d do anything to ease your broken heart! Please, the guilt is too much to bear! Just say the word!”

“Well…,” Conner said melodramatically. “If you’re serious about healing my emotional wounds, mending the pieces of my heart, and sewing the seams of my soul… access to your army would help me greatly.”