Mary Anne Gruen - The House of Red

Over night the trolls lost a lot of territory on each front, especially where there were wolf troops. The Ice Maidens, with all their military abilities, were hard pressed to keep up.

In the morning, the fighting continued.

Demetrius was now the only giant on the battlefield. And with his help, Wendell’s troops quickly moved through the forest at the border of the Second Kingdom. Burly thought of trying to force the populace of his captured country to fight alongside the trolls. But it didn’t seem feasible. He just didn’t have any extra trolls to do the forcing.

By the second morning after the full moon, Bluebell and Blabberwort’s forces had been pushed back well inside the troll kingdom.

As for Burly’s forces, the troops that had been at the border of the Sixth Kingdom had fallen back to join those that had been at the border of the Fourth. They were now all gathered together for one last battle. Burly did not want to give up his captured kingdom without a good fight. And he got one.

Queen Matilde and Wolf each appeared with their three cannon crews at Red Riding Hood’s castle. Burly and one of his battalions were inside. But most of the troll soldiers were outside trying to look mean. It was hard because they were exhausted from fighting around the clock. Demetrius led the way. He knocked over the little troll men with his stick like they were dolls. The elves shot arrows at them from the air. And Wendell’s troops and Princess Alicia’s Ice Maidens shot at them from the ground. The trolls were clearly outnumbered. They backed toward the castle and wished that Burly would surrender. But he did not.

That was then that Queen Matilde gave Wolf the signal. She felt that he, as a new prince of the realm, should be the first to fire in its defense.

“Fire!” Wolf called to his crew.

And they fired at the castle, causing great damage to several of its walls and destroying the parapet that Queen Red and Burly had been so fond of.

Matilde waited for signs of surrender. But when they didn't come, she too yelled “Fire!” Her three cannons shattered the entire back corner of the castle.

Wolf paused and then again shouted “Fire!”

The piece of the roof that Spider had tried to put back when he had taken the castle, was blown off and these last reverberations destroyed most of the windows.

At that point, the trolls were ready to submit. They didn't care what Burly wanted. They rushed forward and handed their weapons to any elf, human, or Ice Maiden they could. “We give up!” they yelled. “No more! We surrender!”

Burly himself was even easier to arrest. He was sitting on the floor of castle swaying, almost deaf from the thundering cannonballs.

King Eranthis’s cannon crew, as well as the one led by Tony and Lord Rupert, were called into play later that day as they moved into the Third Kingdom itself. Bluebell surrendered quickly. But Blabberwort tried to back her troops into the castle that had served her father most recently and Gretel the Great so long ago. She only needed one cannon blast, however, to change her mind. Gretel’s old castle was not in good repair. Trolls aren’t builders by nature. So, they'd let the place go. The one cannon blast it received was almost enough to destroy it.

Within two days the cease-fire was arranged.

Matilde, as the head of the Council of the Nine Kingdoms, was the one to deliver the terms of surrender. Without question, the trolls gave in to both of their conquerors’ demands. They had been beaten back too badly to argue.

First, Relish’s children were to be banished to a tiny island off the Third Kingdom and kept under guard by the Ice Maidens. Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell were really happy about that. Their own people were furious at them and would have loved to have given them a far worse penalty.

Second, the Third Kingdom was to be placed under the rule of the Council and overseen on a daily basis by the Ice Maidens until the trolls proved they were ready for proper self-rule. It was done this way because everyone knew that the Ice Maidens with their warlike culture were the race most respected by the trolls.

Very shortly after this Queen Red Riding Hood the Third rode back into her country in an open carriage, amidst much cheering from her people. It wouldn’t be long before she’d see that Ichabod had been right. The people of the Second Kingdom would see their Queen with her wounds and watch her heal. And in her healing they would find the strength to heal themselves.

Queen Leaf Fall rode behind her friend in a more understated entourage. She and her elves had pledged to help the Second Kingdom rebuild itself. Demetrius stayed behind for a while to make what repairs he could to the castle, before returning to his monkish ways. And Wolf, Rose, and Wendell followed Queen Red to her castle as a good-will gesture. They had done much to save her and the Second Kingdom. And Rose wanted to extend the hand of cousinly friendship.

Queen Red had been back in her castle only minutes before she and Rose went off to talk privately. Red wanted to hear again about Ichabod's brave deed and his last words. Rose let her know where they had buried him, just within sight of the border.

“I marked the spot well,” Rose told her new cousin. “When you’re feeling better, we will both go and visit him.”

“Yes,” Red said, taking Rose’s hand. She couldn’t keep the tears from her eyes, so she let them fall. “We will go together.”