The princess hobbled to the end of the branch and cried out. Wyrn watched her strange behavior for ages before the green leaves shifted.

He couldn’t see it at first. And then it just appeared, the biggest troll known to man. And…she was calling to it. That was the source of the voice—he’d taken it for another bird perhaps.

A fire sparked into Wyrn’s gut, and he shot from his very spot, the bark of the tree scratching his feet as he raced. He barely managed to leap before her, dragging her behind him as the thing spotted them.

“Stay here.” Wyrn scanned the unending leaves, desperate for a stick of some kind. Anything to jab it with. “If I damage an eye, it’ll leave. Maybe we can get some fire.”

He was already maneuvering her back when the troll paused in its movement.

Finally, Wyrn looked up; he found a solution.

“Sunlight. It just needs more, and it’ll turn to stone and we can crush it.”

But as he got in motion, the princess only watched him, confused and terrified.

Wyrn left her there and jumped down to a lower branch. He was taking a chance but felt somewhat confident that he could reach her again. But he had to hurry.

A sharp enough stick came into view. It wasn’t young either. After he snapped it off, he took a running start and jumped with all his might. He nearly overshot her branch but flailed his arms until he caught something and could drag himself up again.

The princess was gone.

“No.” Wyrn’s pulse raced but his heart surely stopped when he spotted the woman. Crouched down, hand extended to pat the troll’s nose, she closed her eyes and muttered something to it.

Wyrn debated what to do, how to get her away from it.

“Princess,” he hissed. “Princess!”

The troll’s eyes opened. It was nearly stone as it rotated its head in Wyrn’s direction.

“Can you hear me?” it said.

The voice was unfamiliar, and yet, Wyrn felt he knew the person.

“What?”

“It said I can use its voice. Can you hear me?”

Wyrn lowered the stick. “Princess?” he said, praying he was wrong.

“Yes. Brilliant. So you can hear me now? Good.”

“Good? What good, woman? Get away from that thing before it eats you.”

“Not everything in this forest wants to eat us,” it countered.

As much as Wyrn disagreed, this was an opportunity too rare to pass up.

“How are your feet?” Wyrn asked. He didn’t want to bring her thoughts back to what he’d done but he worried.

The troll hesitated. “It’s…it’s better now. Thanks to you.”

Leaves rustled against the creature, but it was not yet solid stone. By high noon, it would be.

Wyrn decided to make his confessions quickly. “I hadn’t known—and no, it’s no excuse, but please know I hadn’t known.”

“Of course, you hadn’t,” it said, “darling. I understand that. And I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused.” The princess’s body still remained crouched, her hand on the stone face, but the troll shared her mannerism.

“About becoming a fairy,” it said, “that is a bit harder to explain and darling, I want to, but you’ll have to keep a very open mind.”

Wyrn grunted, disgusted.

He hadn’t meant to, but she noticed.

“What is it?”

“I—I don’t think I can do this. Can’t we find another solution to the spell that won’t have me sweet talking a blasted troll?”

The once pleasant face shifted. The white eyes darkened to black. The round mouth widened, and the troll showed its teeth and snapped, “Well, what’s the damn alternative!”

Watching it react to her emotions was unreal. Still, Wyrn took the shaky steps needed to reach her body. When he sat at her side, he helped guide her hand away from the creature.

He rubbed her palms with his thumbs and faced her.

“You can hear me, and I can’t hear you and it’s not ideal but it’s not a complex fix. We’ll return to the temple and ask The Living Goddess to undo it. We have livestock we can trade. Or—or I can hunt and catch something. I may not look it, but I can take down even a moose. That’s the better solution, so let’s end this nonsense before we get stuck like this permanently.”

The resistance in her gaze disappointed him. And then he realized his words and he hung his head to hide his shame. She was a fairy, one so powerful that she did not fear the Fae’s natural predator, a troll.

Birds came to her rescue. Wood nymphs did her bidding.

He’d never seen anything like it. Nor did he want to.

And if she had the power to actually transform him, then he wasn’t sure it was wise to anger her, but he was honest when he looked into her eyes.

“Being this way fixes my back, but you don’t understand what it means to me to be a giant.”

Her softened expression meant he was making headway.

He was sure to kiss each of her hands before rubbing them yet again.

“I want to stay with you, Princess. I’d wanted you with me. But not like this. Not if it means I never see my family again.” Thoughts of his back came and went till now, but he took no pleasure in knowing she’d transformed him against his wishes in an effort to make him into something she favored more. “Do you love me?” he asked, taking a chance. The big nod he received made his heart heavy, “Then what does it matter if I’m a hunchback?”

She opened her mouth to protest but calmed in time.

He should have given her back her voice, let her argue it, but there was no point; he wanted to go home. He wanted to go back to his people, and this wasn’t up for debate.

“The way I treated you as a fairy was wrong; it was more than wrong, and I have no excuses. I want your forgiveness for that but—”

Her fingers touched his lips, and he obeyed and remained silent.

The moment she eased up and kissed his mouth, he felt defeated.

She was hesitant but reached out and touched the troll once Wyrn gave no indication to the negative.

“What is it you want to do, Husband, and we’ll do it.”

Oh, how he longed to hear the words from her lips and not a troll’s. The solution was simple; every fairy knew it. Return to The Living Goddess and pay to have the spell dissolved. The fact that she made no suggestion toward that told him all he needed to know, she wouldn’t—or couldn’t get it done.

Rather than spend the rest of his days a little fairy talking to his wife through the means of a troll, he made a decision he could live with.

“Take me to my family. They’ll know how to fix this. And I don’t hold it against you.”

Her eyes flashed hurt but she nodded in time. Whatever she said to the troll next, it turned its head, saying, “I can take you to the end of the forest, but not past. I serve The Living Goddess and those under her servitude cannot leave the forest directly. Only through a hidden passage and I am not allowed to show it.” The troll paused then nodded. “Yes. Anyone, Fae, troll or otherwise, free from bondage can roam wherever it pleases.”

The princess hung her head for some time then took Wyrn by the hand. She waved for the troll to lower, and it did just that. After she hopped onto its head, she held out her arms to Wyrn and he watched her.

Would she come back with him? He hoped she’d consider it. She obviously had the power. After he jumped on the thing, he was sure to sit down. He expected moss or something dirty but was surprised to find a bed of clovers on the troll’s head.

Despite how soft it was, the princess fell into his lap. Her wings tickled Wyrn’s nose, and he was gentle in easing them away.

She said nothing, opting instead to keeping her face buried in his collar.

It was a slow journey but comfortable. Seeing the forest from this point of view had its charm. A time or two, Wyrn was even tempted to consider this life, but then his father’s pleasant face came to him, then his mother who would more than likely venture into the forest daily looking for her son, and he came back to his senses.

A sound drew Wyrn’s focus. He heard it again and looked down to the princess who gripped her gut.

“Are you hungry?” She sported a blush, so he reached up to brush her black hair behind her ears. At least that color had been real. The rest of her was stunning, too, though he’d never admit it for fear he’d have to think of all the awful ways yesterday may have ended. Instead, he pecked her lips and said, “Then tell it to stop for a moment and you can eat.”

The princess stared at him for some time. Finally, the troll came to a halt.

Wyrn waited for her to get whatever she wanted. They were in the center of the road and after she glanced down at her feet, he remembered her wings and stood.

“I’ll find something,” he declared. “What do you fancy?”

She wore a big smile as she shrugged.

He groaned. “Oh, you’re no help. Stay right here.”

When she tried to stand, he eased her back down again.

“Don’t worry. I think I’ve gotten used to this speed. You wait right there.”

This time he decided to jump without the run first. He shot from the road and into a mess of leaves, but he managed to catch hold. There wasn’t much this close to the path, he knew. But something told him he could find an apple tree and perhaps some pears further in.

It took ages for him to secure one apple and two pears, tied by their stems with wet vines, to his back. With ease, he jumped from branch to branch.

He arrived back on the troll’s head to find it asleep. It wasn’t the only one. The princess rested on her side, curled up in the clovers.

Wyrn watched her for some time then remembered his cargo and lowered it. All his life, he’d carried something on his back. Having the fruit there felt comforting.

Instead of disturbing the princess, he curled up beside her.

When her eyes opened, he smiled.

Her stomach growled again but they didn’t move.

For a moment, Wyrn felt sorry for himself. Would it be so terrible to stay with her here? She’d already gone through so much trouble to get this far.

“I’d never imagined a fairy would pose as a princess,” he said.

Her smile that time held sadness.

The more he thought of it, the less sense it made. “How did you even get to a human palace?” he wondered. Thoughts of Orm had him shutting up. Obviously, there were ways. “So that’s why your father gave you to me?’

Her eyes widened, dotted with terror and he understood the truth.

“Instead of giving you to a prince who’d mistreat you, he relegated you to a useless hunchback—”

She gripped his hand, more than poised to disagree but he didn’t mind.

“It’s all right.” He kissed her, saying, “Fairy or princess, I didn’t love you for what you symbolized.”

The way her body stiffened troubled him.

Finally, he admitted, “Though I was proud of my win, deep down.”

When her stomach growled yet again, he laughed and sat up.

“Come, there’s no reason to waste it.”

To say he was impressed with the strength he now had was an understatement. The apple was nearly as big as he and yet, he could lift it without trouble.

He put it between them and waited.

Nothing happened.

Then he looked to his left, around it. The princess mimicked this action. Her blank expression confused him.

“Go on,” he said.

Nothing.

When she finally looked up at the gift, she leaned forward and took a bite. Her hands flew to her mouth, staving off the pain.

“Are you serious?” Wyrn marveled. “You can’t eat it that way.”

He stood and gave off a sigh as he chopped down with his hand and the fruit segmented. He chopped it several more times until it was in small pieces all around them.

The princess clapped with glee.

Wyrn supposed she wasn’t used to getting things by herself, as strange as that was. Or perhaps she was causing mischief.

She ate with joy and gusto and by the time she was full, nearly half the apple was gone.

Upon seeing her fat grin, Wyrn smiled as well. She wasn’t the only one hungry, but Wyrn ignored his own starved state. He hadn’t eaten much since her leaving. It had been days.

The princess worried enough to bring one piece of apple to him which she presented with both hands and a deep bow.

Wyrn chuckled. “No. Besides, it’s never a good idea to eat when magic is involved. I may end up stuck as a fairy for good.”

Her sudden frown held hurt and he struggled to counteract it.

“I don’t mean that it’s a trick.”

She made a face.

“Honest.” Wyrn’s stomach growled again, and he sighed. “Fine. Give it here. But I don’t eat fruit.”

But she snatched it back, serious in her anger, whatever she muttered.

She turned with her back to him, and he sighed in defeat. This was going to be a long day.

He wasn’t surprised to find her sleeping in no time. Fairies, much like giants, gave off large bursts of energy but would tire easily as well.

As Wyrn was the only one awake, the troll had turned to stone in the hot sun and would need some hours still before cooling enough to move again, he scanned the forest.

He wasn’t far from home. Even now, he could jump down and probably make it on foot.

Each attempt he made at fulfilling that thought, his eyes fell to the princess once more.

She looked pretty lying there.

Wyrn’s gut finally won out and he picked up a piece of the fruit. He’d never eaten an apple before.

Perhaps now was as good a time as any. It was probably his last chance.

He looked back at the princess then the apple piece and took one bite. The texture was odd at first, but a burst of flavor had his senses doing strange things. Everything around him turned black then blue and his body burned. Something tapped his back and he risked looking over his shoulder to see what it was.