With the Roc's Divine Protection--Annabelle
Natasha Weber
Clarice read the young troll's journal, and the story absorbed her as if she were there.
***
In the past, a long, long time ago, Annabelle lived under a bridge with her troll family in a village on the border of the Lands of Haalan and the Land of Yab; the village was called Cree. It was a small village, but pleasant and charming. The bridge Annabelle lived under was the only one in the village but was long enough for about fifteen trolls to live under.
Annabelle had no job; she volunteered at a nearby infirmary for humans and trolls alike. Annabelle was often charged with bandaging weeping and festering wounds for the patients that resided therein. She was also in charge of fetching things for the true medics in the building.
There was a man who had to have his leg cut off before an oncoming disease could spread. Annabelle was charged with his care after the professionals had severed it. Her tasks ranged from reading to the man, to fetching him water, to taking out his waste. It was fun sometimes, and incredibly rough at others.
Annabelle was a volunteer, and so she did not get paid. This was fine, however, because most trolls got their money from charging creatures of Dru money to cross their bridges. Most trolls lived in nature and ate things like berries and other fruits. But, because Annabelle had something of a job, her parents did most of the berry gathering and fruit gathering.
The man Annabelle was tending to was named Artemis. She was reading to him when he suddenly interrupted and asked her, "you know the Roc?"
Annabelle put the book down for a second and crossed her legs. "Of course. Why do you ask?"
"Do you think he can give me my leg back?" Artemis asked.
Annabelle bit back tears. "I don't think he can do that..."
"My final wish is to see the Roc..." Artemis cried bitterly.
Annabelle couldn't keep her tears back after he said that. "I wish I could help..."
Artemis held her hand and smiled. "It's not your fault."
But the thought of getting the Roc to meet Artemis before he died was something she wanted to happen, but she didn't know how to get it done.
"There must be some way..." Annabelle mused aloud.
Artemis said, "if you wait in the temple, he may just show up. They offer him eggs all the time."
Annabelle thought about it. She supposed there was no harm in waiting in the temple after her shift at the infirmary everyday.
***
Annabelle did so. It was a small temple that was upwards of the infirmary on an elevated hill. There were a few pews and a platform for the priest to give sermons on the Roc facing the pews. Sometimes Annabelle waited around long enough to hear sermons about the Roc. There was also a library in the room adjacent to the room where sermons were held.
They were all stories about the Roc. Some of them she knew were true, and others she wasn't so sure about. She had heard about how the Roc had saved a house from sinking into the mud rather than assisting in the skirmishes on the border of Yab and Haalan. The Roc had lost some worshippers after that, and more still when the Roc made it clear he would not take part in any coming wars.
Annabelle respected the Roc for that. She did not worship him as most people did, but she loved hearing stories about him. He seemed the kindest, sweetest individual out there, and that, above anything else, garnered him worship.
But the more Annabelle read about him in the temple library, the more she became enthralled. The more she wanted to meet him for herself.
He had conjured gold from thin air to keep families off streets as well as food and clothes.
He had kept weather clear for all those who asked it and needed it. He did almost any reasonable task that was asked of him. Such kindness made her heart grow bigger, and according to friends and family, Annabelle already had a gigantic heart for working for free and helping sick folks.
She never expected the Roc to arrive at such a small temple; he never had been to the Cree village before, and so she didn't expect him to come now.
But she had kept turning in notes to the pastor requesting a wish to meet with the Roc due to the circumstances of Artemis dying. The pastor assured her a messenger would try to get them to the Roc. But the Roc did live far away.
Two months later, she was shocked when she encountered the gigantic Roc, in bird form, in the village square.
***
It was a mighty and beautiful creature. Shaped like a dove--shining ivory with sparkling feathers and soft beyond belief. The pastor told her the Roc came just for her.
As Annabelle encountered him in the square, she curtsied with her head down in admiration. The Roc shifted into a human then, becoming a similar size and height to Annabelle. He was the most beautiful human to ever exist upon Dru. He had a beaky nose, ivory skin and hair, and distinct red eyes. He wore a comfy, oversized red robe with the sun etched into it.
Annabelle looked upon him in awe--he looked almost dead in the face. He looked upon Annabelle and said, "are you Annabelle?"
Annabelle nodded. "That's me!"
"Where..." The Roc began, but stopped as he noticed all the humans, trolls, and other creatures of Dru staring at him in the village square. He swallowed and continued. "Where is Artemis?"
"I'll show you! Follow me!" Annabelle said giddily.
The Roc followed her slowly, looking around awkwardly at the people watching him.
Although Annabelle had heard he was shy, she was still surprised by it. Annabelle was great at her people skills and putting people at ease, however. "I love your feathers! You have the nicest, fluffiest, feathers and hair I've ever seen!"
The Roc, walking at her side as they left the village square and descended on a grassy path that led down to the infirmary, blushed a little and looked down at his feet, embarrassed. "Thank you..."
"No problem! You don't have to be shy or embarrassed around me, by the way. I'm definitely not judging you! You should be judging me!"
The Roc chuckled a little. "You're funny."
Annabelle straightened her clothes with a satisfied expression. "I'd like to think so!"
***
The Roc joined Annabelle at Artemis' side on the infirmary bed. Artemis cried when he saw the Roc. He asked the ivory man, "can--can I hug you?"
The Roc nodded with a sincere smile. Artemis hugged the Roc and the Roc closed his eyes with a smile. Annabelle could tell that this is what the Roc loved to do; help people with a genuine love and compassion for them.
Artemis looked over at Annabelle, who was clasping her hands behind her back and biting back tears as well. "Thank you, Annabelle."
Annabelle held up a hand, "there's no need. I'll leave you two alone."
***
Annabelle attended to other patients while the Roc talked with Artemis. Many of the nurses and volunteers who worked in the infirmary stopped their work for a moment and stared at the Roc.
Annabelle kept working steadfastly. Treating patients was more important than gawking.
***
The Roc was there until the end of Annabelle's shift. When Annabelle stepped outside, ready to head home to her family, the Roc met up with her and leaned against the front of the building--looking down shyly. "Thank you for... Penning me about him. He is kind. He said I give him hope. I like hearing that. I can't give him a new leg, but I think just seeing me cheered him up. He'll be okay, I think..."
Annabelle grinned. "That makes me so happy. I can't believe you took time out of your busy day to come visit him!"
The Roc shuffled his feet and said quietly, "there's nothing more important than cheering up and taking care of the elderly."
Annabelle looked up at the sun setting in the sky. "What about the threatening war and the skirmishes? You could save lives out there, right?"
The Roc looked fearful. "I don't want to help with that."
Annabelle smiled gently. "I respect you for that... That's why people worship you."
The Roc shrugged sadly. "They don't want me to stay out of it."
"Do what you want to do. You don't have to listen to anyone else. Anyway... It was an honor to meet you. I hope I'll be lucky enough to see you again sometime."
The Roc watched her as she walked away and headed home. In a moment, he shifted into a bird and flew off.
***
Annabelle slipped down into the mud under the bridge and closed her eyes, exhausted. Her parents were probably out gathering food and water. She waited for them to return patiently. A boy from another family under the bridge said to her, "did you meet the Roc, Annabelle?"
The boy's name was Richard, and he was a childhood friend. Annabelle opened her eyes and smiled. She felt blessed and honored to have met the Roc. "I met him... It was..."
She hesitated to say it was the best thing that ever happened to her, but she thought that it was. Admittedly, she hadn't seen much, but meeting the Roc made her feel worthy and noticed. For a troll girl who blended in and never really stood out, that made her feel very good. "The best moment of my life."
Richard grinned. "I can tell it was! I saw him from afar, but I was too shy to greet him..."
Annabelle stood up and mud slid off her dress as she did so. She stretched a little in the muddy ravine and looked at her friend intently, feeling very sorry for him. "That was your chance.... There was no reason to be shy. To be honest, the Roc himself seems to be very shy."
Annabelle's parents gently climbed down into the muddy ravine under the bridge carefully and joined Annabelle and Richard in the mud.
"Mom, Dad! You won't believe who I just met!" Annabelle said, dancing around giddily.
***
Time rolled on, and life resumed as usual. Annabelle kept the meeting with the Roc close to her heart, and she helped the patients in the infirmary with a renewed vigor. Annabelle was doing such a good job that the head nurse offered to start paying her for doing her work. Annabelle almost took her up on it in an instant, but she remembered her troll values, and remembered she didn't want to get paid.
But it wasn't just that.
It was the Roc. She thought about how he helped people selflessly; how he refused to do harm. Annabelle knew she had to refuse when she thought about it.
Many months passed, and the threatening war came closer and closer. Skirmishes happened in nearby towns and villages--Annabelle could sometimes hear warfare and screaming in the night. She clapped her hands over her large green ears and screwed her eyes shut. She couldn't sleep when that happened.
During such dark times, she tried not to let go of her belief that the right thing was for the Roc to stay out of the fighting.
But as time rolled on, and she became increasingly fearful of her village being destroyed. She prayed for the Roc to take the side of Yab, upon which her village technically lay. She begged with tears in her eyes as the land around her became scorched with flame and neighboring villages were sacked and pillaged. Annabelle suggested to her parents that they move, but once trolls picked their bridge, they refused to move.
And still, the Roc never came.
One day, while Annabelle was working her shift at the infirmary, everyone's ears perked up at hearing fighting outside.
Annabelle froze in fear. She knew the Yab knights which the king had posted in the town were attempting to fend off invading Haalan soldiers. A guard ran in through the infirmary door and said to the workers inside, "invading soldiers! We're trying to hold them off, but we're losing ground. Everyone needs to evacuate now!"
Many of the nurses and medics worked on getting the patients safely out of the infirmary. Annabelle was too stricken with fear about her parents to help. She dashed out the door and headed over to the bridge under which her family lived. The sun was setting, and it was cold and the world was shot through with red light.
Annabelle yelled her parents' names as she lowered herself into the ravine.
There was no one there. Her parents must have gone out scavenging for food. Annabelle waited until the usual time for them to come back, but they didn't come.
Annabelle climbed out of the ravine under the bridge and a chilly wind caught in her hair as she looked up the world that was cast in red due to the setting sun.
Annabelle ran towards the sound of swords clanging. She wondered if her parents had gotten caught in the fighting.
Her vision was swimming as her feet carried her and her vision was blurred with tears. She ran past crowds of people who seemed to be evacuating the village. Annabelle called her parent' names many times as she went.
She saw Yab soldiers who were ordered by the King of Castle Yab to guard the village fighting soldiers from the Land of Haalan bravely, but they were nonetheless losing.
Annabelle called to her mother one more time through the noise of people yelling with fear and swords clanging, but there was no answer.
Annabelle arrived at the town square and called out and she glanced around frantically. An enemy soldier grabbed her wrist--intending to take her away. Annabelle yelled and cried out in fear.
Suddenly, as if all her time of praying to him paid off, the Roc appeared and snapped the enemy soldier up in his beak.
Annabelle was horrified. She had tears in her eyes and she ran away.
The Roc, however, flew after her and landed in front of her; spreading his wings and cawing ferociously. Annabelle's hair was being blown about fiercely in the wind as the Roc took flight again--this time, with Annabelle in his talons.
***
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