Gray is Not All Colorless

A/N: Okay, this took me a really long while, but I actually managed to push through this chapter for the past four days, trying to finish it. Geez, this was tiring.

And the job hunting that I've been doing lately hasn't exactly been helping me with my creativity, even though looking for a job is important to me personally at the moment. The job hunting, it's going okay so far, but now I'm like on pins and needles, waiting for a reply, either positive or negative.

But I really think that this chapter was worth it all, since this was one that I was looking forward to writing despite the long writing period. Well, enough worrying and waiting around. Let's finally get on with Chapter 10! Roll it!

Chapter 10

Rescue from Spiders

Tempest ran as fast as she could, even though both her legs and lungs felt like they were burning her, her cloudy gray eyes swimming with tears as she ran further and further away from Bergen Town and deeper into the dark forest. How could she have been so stupid?! Even though she hated being trapped in that place like some kind of feral, exotic pet, she thought that....

Ah, who was she kidding? She was just that, a little pet for Gristle's entertainment. Something that should have been killed a long time ago, probably when the Bergens first found her as a baby. But instead, she was prolonged to a life of eternal loneliness. It was all she ever really knew.

She felt like a fool for even starting to think that maybe Gristle cared about her. Otherwise, why would he even keep her alive for all of this time? But no, he just wanted to have a pet Troll only because he couldn't... eat her.

The very thought of that was only increasing the nausea building in her stomach. But she didn't want to stop. She just wanted to keep running until she literally couldn't run anymore. Not even the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance overhead or the cold shivers of a drizzle starting made her stop.

**********************

Over at the edge of the forest, Bridget had just arrived, wearing a tatty raincoat and carrying a lantern in her hand. Branch was hanging onto the lantern near the top of it, his hair acting like an umbrella.

Even though it was only drizzling for the moment, from what Branch had gathered earlier about how dark the evening sky had gotten in the span of the time they traveled, and from the strengthening scent of rain above, he had a feeling that the weather was only going to get worse.

Just then, he saw something on the ground below. "Over there." He said, jumping off.

Bridget carefully followed him, providing him some light from her lantern. What Branch saw was a set of Troll-sized footprints leading into the forest.

He knelt down and gently felt around one of them. They seemed like they were made just recently, which meant that Tempest hadn't gotten very deep in there yet.

The male gray Troll looked around and found a large enough stick for him to use. He pulled out his flint from his hair and started creating sparks. Soon enough, one of the ends of the stick caught on fire, and Branch carefully picked up his newly made torch.

He then turned around and looked up at Bridget, putting the flint back in his hair. "Stay here, and keep that lantern going." He said. Then, he dashed off into the woods with his torch, following Tempest's footprints.

"Branch!" Bridget called out to him.

She wanted to follow him, but he had said to stay. And she trusted his survival skills. So all she could do was wait until he got back, and keep her lantern burning so that he could find her again.

*******************

Back with Tempest, she finally stopped running when she literally couldn't hold down her nausea anymore. She immediately went over to some bushes, dropped down onto her knees and started vomiting onto the ground near them, clutching her stomach with one arm while the other kept her steady.

She threw up five more times before she felt like there was nothing left in her stomach. She coughed and panted as she shakily tried to catch her breath.

Finally, after about ten minutes, Tempest shakily got up and got back on the game trail, walking slowly along, even though her legs still felt sore and tight from all of the running. She must have run almost seven or eight miles without stopping, at least according to her size. But she still couldn't go back, not when her mind was still reeling from the terrible revelation.

She looked around the area and finally noticed how dark and creepy the forest had gotten as the drizzle turned into a more pronounced rainfall, making her dress wet and clinging onto her body. Tempest rubbed her arms up and down in an attempt to keep herself warm as she went onto a different path.

Suddenly, she felt the ground beneath her drop away and she screamed as she fell down a good few meters, eyes shutting closed. However, her fall was broken when she landed onto something sticky. She opened her eyes and saw that she had landed on a giant spider web.

"Oh, great!" She exclaimed as she tried to pull herself off the sticky threads.

But they proved to be too strong for her to pull free. However, as she struggled, she didn't notice that there were four pairs of piercing beady eyes looking at her.

Tempest then heard a low gutteral screeching sound. She looked up and saw that there were four tarantuapuffs descending down towards her. She began to panic and tried even harder to break free of the web's fibres. But when they all were almost nearing the web, she did the only thing she could do.

"HELP!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!"

Her shrill cry made the tarantuapuffs flinch at the volume of her voice. At least it got them to stop for a few brief seconds, which apparently proved to be all the time needed.

A familiar figure suddenly swung from out of the shadows of the forest and onto a large tree branch overlooking the web below as rain started to pour down. The figure threw a torch into a little nook of the tree branch, the orange light of the flames illuminating its familiar face.

"Hey, you hideous walking sticks!" Branch called out to them as he reached into his hair and got out his bow, along with an arrow notched in. "Wouldn't you like more of a challenge? Come and get me!"

He then fired it at one of the giant spiders, hitting it right in the leg. It screeched in pain, and then Branch fired another arrow at the leg of the closest tarantuapuff that was nearing Tempest.

Seeing the male gray Troll as more of a threat to them, the giant spiders started to chase after him, and Branch began leading them away from the trapped female Troll.

Tempest was beyond shocked. He followed her? He actually.... came to save her? After their massive argument from before in the library? Why? It was plainly obvious that he doesn't like her, so why would he come to save her?

When Branch circled back around after he fired his third arrow, he reached into his hair and got out his dagger.

"Here!" He shouted to Tempest before he threw the dagger at her.

Tempest shot her hair up at it and grabbed it, pulling it back to her. Luckily for her, the force of her stretching out her hair left the web strands weak enough for her to get an arm free. She then set to work on freeing the rest of herself, unsheathing the dagger.

******************

Branch lightly gritted his teeth when he felt that he only had a couple of arrows left in his quiver. He was running out of time. Soon, the tarantuapuffs would give up on chasing him and go back to their easy meal. That is, if Tempest hadn't already freed herself.

He fired another arrow in between the eyes of one of the tarantuapuffs, making it screech in pain. But another one managed to kick the male Troll, sending him flying into a boulder and his bow went flying out of his grip. Branch grunted in pain as he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head.

The remaining spiders then started to make Branch back into the boulder, cornering him. He reached into his hair and pulled out his frying pan, realizing that it was his only weapon left on him.

"You've gotta be kidding me." He muttered with disdain.

But he gripped the pan in his hands and took a defensive stance. If he was going down, then he might as well go down fighting. The tarantuapuffs crawled closer to him, hissing with their fangs showing as thunder clapped above.

Just then, there was the sound of something whizzing through the air, and then there was a sickening "schrikt" sound. One of the tarantuapuffs screamed out in pain and then slumped forward onto its face, revealing that there was a familiar dagger sticking out of its back.

Branch looked ahead and saw the drenched form of Tempest standing a good few meters away, her arm outstretched, panting slightly as the rain washed away any remaining webbing from her skin and dress.

She was the one who threw that dagger. She saved him. Even from a distance, Branch could see the relief and horror in her eyes. She must've thought that she had just killed a living creature.

The other tarantuapuffs looked down at their fallen comrade, and then with murder in their beady eyes, quickly started to advance on Tempest. She immediately backed away and started running, now completely defenseless as the giant spiders chased after her.

Snapping out of his shock, Branch went over to the fallen tarantuapuff and saw that it was still breathing. He carefully pulled out the dagger and then started to go after Tempest.

Tempest ran through the forest and through the pouring rain, trying to shake the giant spiders off her tail. Once she couldn't run anymore, since she had already exhausted a lot of energy and strength, she turned around and tried to fight back, extending her hair until it was long enough to start whipping at them. She managed to scare one of them away, but they still tried to get close to her.

Suddenly, a familiar dagger whizzed in the air and landed in between Tempest and the tarantuapuffs, making the giant spiders back away from the female gray Troll. Tempest slightly backed away from it just as Branch landed next to them.

To her surprise, as he came next to her, he lightly smiled at her and then started whipping the tarantuapuffs with his hair as she had been doing earlier. Tempest then began to whip at the giant spiders again, making the giant spiders back away from them.

Soon, they forced the spiders into a nearby opening, like a cave in one of the little hills. The opening then closed, trapping the tarantuapuffs inside as Branch and Tempest backed away from the now revealed hill monster as it relaxed itself back into the ground. Both gray Trolls were panting heavily as they looked over at each other, their adrenaline wearing off.

Suddenly, Branch was kicked aside, his body slamming against a tree root. Tempest tried to run over to him, but she was immediately picked up by a long and fuzzy leg.

It was the tarantuapuff that she had thrown the dagger at earlier. She struggled fiercely in its grip, but it only brought her closer to its mouth, ready to sink its teeth into her. She whipped her hair at it, getting its mouth away from her, but one of its fangs had grazed her arm.

Something was burning when the fang brushed against her skin, and she was already starting to feel a little drowsy and dizzy. Her struggling became less fierce as she became more limp in the giant's spider grasp. The tarantuapuff saw that its prey was becoming more compliant and tried to bring the female Troll to its mouth again.

But then, there was a loud clanging sound. The giant spider went still for a couple of seconds, and then it fell down to the ground, unconscious. Branch was then revealed to have climbed on its back without its knowledge and knocked it out with his frying pan with one good swing to the back of its head.

He panted heavily with exhaustion, greatly relieved that all of that was finally over. But then, he saw Tempest on the ground, not moving.

"Oh, no." He whispered, tucking the frying pan and his dagger back into his hair before quickly running over to her still body.

He listened to her pulse by placing his head on her chest, and then sighed with relief when he heard her heart still beating. He then saw the slowly infecting cut on her arm and realized that the tarantuapuff still managed to get a little bit of its venom in her system.

Branch carefully picked up Tempest in his arms and found a little makeshift shelter under one of the tree roots. He went over there to get out of the pouring rain and laid Tempest down. He fumbled around in his hair and pulled out his first-aid kit.

He then placed some ointment on her wound and then wrapped her arm with some bandages. It will at least keep it from getting infected until they get back to the castle.

Branch gently shook her, hoping that she was still trying to keep her consciousness. "It's okay." He said, trying to comfort her as she blearily opened her silvery eyes.

"You're gonna be okay. You just have to hang on."

Her cloudy gray eyes seemed pretty hazy, and she just closed them again. Branch found another little stick to use as a torch, and ignited it with his flint. He held it with his hair as he picked up Tempest again and started running back towards the edge of the forest.

********************

Bridget had been waiting at the edge of the forest for at least half an hour, and she was starting to get really worried. "Where are you, Branch?" She asked herself as she slightly shivered in the cold. The rain was only getting worse.

Just then, she heard a voice call out, "Bridget!" She looked ahead and saw a tiny prick of light coming in her direction. She immediately realized who it was.

"Branch!" She called out, feeling greatly relieved that her little friend was alright as she got down onto her knees as he came up to her.

Then, she saw the limp female gray Troll in Branch's arms. "Is she okay?" She asked him.

"She's alive." He assured her as he jumped onto Bridget's awaiting palm. "But we need to get her back now."

Bridget nodded and lighted Branch up to her head, and he tossed the torch before pulling himself and Tempest underneath her raincoat hood. Bridget then picked up her lantern from the ground and started running back towards the castle.

********************

Tempest felt like a limp bag of sand, like her body couldn't move. She slowly opened her eyes, feeling like there was a little light guiding her towards her. Everything looked colorful and blurry. Just then, it was like something inside of her flicked a switch of fear in her.

She gasped and sat up straight, looking around her surroundings frantically. She saw that she was not in her colorful but lifeless room in that old dollhouse. She was instead in a nice little makeshift room with glass walls. She was in a little bed made out of cotton, under a piece of green wool fabric that acted as a blanket. The pillow her head was resting on was just a simple cotton ball.

"Hey, hey!" Someone chided her gently.

Branch came over to her and gently grabbed her shoulders. "Easy there. You're safe here."

Tempest looked over into his sky blue eyes, slowly starting to calm down. Once she was relaxed enough, he let go of her. She then looked around the area.

"Where am I?" She asked quietly.

"You're in my new room." Branch answered. "Bridget made it for me. That cage Chef put me in felt a little too constricting for me."

Tempest looked around, taking a better look of her surroundings. "It certainly looks better than my old room." She said to him.

Branch raised a brow. "Really?" He asked.

"Eh, it's just in an old dollhouse." Tempest answered. "Everything looks fake, anyway."

Branch still wasn't sure on how to react to this little tidbit of information. But then, he saw Tempest hold her head.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked her.

The female Troll just nodded. "What happened?" Tempest questioned.

Branch gestured down towards her forearm, which now had clean and dry bandages wrapped around it. "One of the tarantuapuffs managed to graze your arm. Their bite is venomous, but it's not really fatal except in large doses. In small amounts, it can still make you pretty weak. We managed to bring you back and make a special tea that will neutralize the venom, as well as warm you up."

He looked over at Bridget in the far side of her own room, who waved to them as she let a couple drops of tea that she had been boiling on the stove into two doll-sized teacups. Once she was sure that nothing was dripping out of them, she used two of her fingers to carefully pick them up and then she brought them over to the terrarium.

Branch gently plucked them out of her fingers with his hands and handed one of the little teacups to Tempest. "Here." He said.

Slowly, Tempest took the cup from him and took a sip. After she swallowed it, she looked back at the male Troll.

"Why did you come after me?" She asked.

"I had to." He said. "You wouldn't have lasted a day out there. Especially in this crazy weather." Both of them looked out the window and saw that it was still raining hard out there and it would most likely keep going throughout the night.

"Was that all?" Tempest continued to question.

Branch lightly bit his lip. "And I guess.... I didn't want someone else to be killed because of me." He admitted.

Tempest raised a brow at him, to which he narrowed his eyes firmly. "A story that I will not go into detail about."

He took a sip of his own tea as Bridget brought her lantern next to the terrarium to give them some extra warmth. "So, you realized that I was telling you the truth." He said.

Tempest nodded her head silently. Branch then sighed through his nose. "I know that it was shocking, but all of what I said was true." He said. "No matter how horrifying it was."

"That was why you called the Bergens monsters back before." Tempest replied quietly, lightly gripping the teacup in her hands. "I thought that they were monsters just for imprisoning me my whole life. But they only kept me trapped here because they can't eat a gray Troll."

Branch then shrugged with the corner of his mouth slightly curling up. "But then I learned that not all Bergens are bad." He said, looking over at Bridget, who just smiled at him. "So who's really to say?"

Tempest then had a thought. "So... maybe Gristle... actually cares about me?" She asked him cautiously.

Somehow, saying it aloud was starting to make her feel lighter than she had previously been feeling. What was it, though? She had never felt it before.

Branch thought about it for a few seconds. "It's possible." He finally said. "But I'm not entirely sure. Do you want to ask him about it?"

Tempest rapidly shook her head. "No." She replied quickly, squashing away the strange but light feeling for the time being, her fear of facing the young Bergen king taking hold. "I'm not... ready to talk to him right now. Can I... just hide out here for now?"

Branch slightly tilted his head at her before looking over at Bridget. "It's fine with me." The scullery maid answered his unspoken question. "If you're okay with it, Branch."

Branch lightly bit his lip in thought, looking back over at Tempest. The usually stubborn and rebellious female Troll was looking at him with pleading, cloudy gray eyes. It was a different look on her, and it was one that was starting to make him feel like he should help and protect her. Finally, he sighed.

"Well, you do need to take it easy until you feel completely better." He said. "The venom will be completely gone in a couple of hours, but you might have also caught a cold from running around in the rain."

Right after he said that, Tempest let out a little sneeze, making him smirk. But then he himself let out a tiny sneeze himself, making the female Troll smirk at him.

"Speak for yourself." She teased.

Branch just scoffed while rolling his eyes at her, but as he took another sip of his tea, Tempest could see the brief little amused smile on his face and the glimmer of that shining in his sky blue eyes. The sight of it made her cheeks grow a little warm, but she felt the upward curl of her own lips soften into an attempt of a more genuine smile as she sipped her own tea, trying to hide that smile.

Branch was a little surprised at Tempest's attempt to try and smile at him, even if she tried to cover it up, but he hid it well. For some reason, there was the feeling deep inside him that maybe he could help her. Not just in hiding her away from Gristle until she was ready to talk to him and get answers, but to also show her what it would be like to have a real friend in her life. Goodness knows that she could use that without knowing or possibly even recognizing it for her whole life.

Well, it may not bring back her colors, but even if not so, he could still help her overcome her previous grudge towards the other Trolls so that they both can be free once Branch deems it safe enough for them to leave.

But he might also want to tell her about what the Trolls are like before they get welcomed back with loud music and glitter cannons. Oh, the thought of it made him briefly shudder in fear and disgust, but at the same time, he would expect something like that when he returns to the village. They would probably double the glitter and confetti when they learn that he had brought back a lost and forgotten Troll with him.

But regardless of what big welcome home party the Trolls might throw for them, at least they can both go home at last. Eventually. That was a promise.

A/N: Things seem to finally be starting to get better for both Tempest and Branch, huh? Eventually, they'll get into the tragic backstories, along with a secret that Tempest had been keeping. I think you guys can already guess what that is.

The next chapter though, we'll go back to the other Trolls, where a certain group of them are starting to hatch up a plan of their own. But I think you-know-who won't be completely on board with it. If you know who, then put his picture on a dartboard and go and practice your aim.

Until then, whether or not I'll have a job or back in college by then, I'll see y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think. They are highly appreciated, and remember to stay healthy!

Got to fly! ;)