"Give it up for your former leaders!" Queen Barb roared into her microphone.

"Funk, Country, Techno, Classical, and worst of all, Pop!" Huge spotlights shone down on the trolls as they winced at the bright lights.

Barb picked up her guitar with every string that she had stolen from the other tribes attached to it.

"Who wants to see what the ultimate power cord can do?!" The crowd of Rock trolls roared in excitement.

The other troll leaders started shaking a bit. Barb noticed.

"Oh, you thought I was going to test this on you?" She threw her head back and laughed. "Oh no! Such a beautiful and powerful instrument as this won't be tested on the likes of you. In fact, it'll be tested on one of our very own! Rockers! Bring out the traitor!"

The floor opened up above me and the platform I was standing on began to rise. I weakly tugged at my chains but it was no use. I could barely stand and everything around me seemed to blur into a red and black mess before my eyes. I was tethered to the ground whether I liked it or not.

"You all know her name! This troll is soooo well known across all the troll kingdoms that she doesn't need an introduction! Say hello to Princess Roxanne!"

I squinted against the spotlight as I finished my ascension to the stage. Hundreds of rock trolls booed as they saw me. I didn't blame them though. I was nothing but trash to them now. I looked down at my shaking hands to see exactly how sickly pale my skin had turned after Barb had placed the final string on her guitar.

"Princess Roxy here thinks that all music should be saved! She actually thinks that all music is beautiful in their own unique way! Ha! How pitiful. It's obvious that she's sick and in need of...special care. What do you guys think? Should we help our princess see that our music is the only music she should be listening to?"

The crowd screamed with excitement. Barb turned to face me with a sly grin on her face. "What do you think, Princess? Shall we fix you?"

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. I was staring at the ground hoping to wake up from this nightmare I had been living for most of my life. Barb started to get annoyed with my silence.

"Hey," she growled. "Did you even hear what I just said?" She marched over to me and jerked my head up violently. She chuckled nervously.

"Wow, Auntie. You look terrible! What happened to you?" She mocked. She waved her guitar in front of my face. "Is it because of this?" I stayed silent.

"This is madness!" I heard Queen Essence shout from my right. "She didn't do anything wrong! Can't you see that she needs serious medical attention?"

All the other troll leaders agreed with her as they begged Barb to let me go. That is, everyone except King Trollex.

My eyes drifted over to him as I made eye contact. He looked dazed and confused as tears began to form in my eyes. "Please, Trollex," I thought. "Don't you remember who I am?" Almost as if he was reading my mind, he shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know you..."

What was left of my broken heart shattered into a million pieces as those dreaded words left his mouth. I felt like I had nothing left to live for now. A sudden feeling of emptiness washed over me as my legs finally gave up trying to hold me. I fell to my knees as hot tears streamed down my face.

Barb turned her head to stare at Queen Essence and growled. "Everything she has ever done is wrong! No troll can love all music! It's preposterous! She needs to be fixed!"

I finally took my eyes off of Trollex and glared at Barb with a dead look in my eyes. "Do it...," I muttered shakily.

Barb chuckled. "I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you-"

With one hand I grabbed her shirt and yanked her closer to me, and with the other, I reached forward and grabbed the guitar's head, aiming it directly at my heart. "Are you deaf?!" I shouted. "I SAID DO IT!"

Barb, startled by my sudden outburst, let go of my face and pried my hand off her instrument. She backed up and aimed her guitar at me with a sly grin on her face. "Alright, Auntie. If you say so!"

She plucked her pick out from between the strings and began to strum her guitar at a rapid pace. My heart pounded in my chest as I was hit with the blast. Every last ounce of music I had ever loved was being ripped out of my body in the blink of an eye, until only one genre remained.

My darkest nightmares had come to life and were now circling in my mind like vultures around a dead animal.

This was really happening, and for the very first time, I had given up trying to stop it.

I'm sorry ancestors...I've failed you...