World's Over Journal XII The Beauty of Dread

     Today the loneliness left by Charles and Freya’s departure was lost and forgotten for what I felt after a strange encounter encompassed my whole day. I saw a troll, a female to be sure. I had been sitting upon the steps in the early hours of the day, remarking on the size and structure of the dark alder brown footprint against the light tan pine steps when I saw her. She was standing beyond the fence of the yard in the open clearing before the ravine, the dawn’s green refractive light glowed green upon her pale white skin.

     She was looking up the tree line along the ravine so I could not make out her face, save for two large tusks protruding from her mouth, up and slightly out. Indeed from that distance all I could not make out just how large the troll was, for she looked to be hunched over, almost kneeling. She seemed no taller than myself, nor did she seem to be of great bulk, a beautiful yet terrifying slender creature. Her long white-gray hair was draped nearly to the ground. It was kept up in several braids of various sizes which were held together with binds woven of black and lavender cloth, the main middle one seemed as large as both my arms put together. Despite the vast amounts of beautifully kept hair, it seemed to be receding, that or trolls just had larger foreheads than we humans do.

      Amidst her many braids were her ears, which she had four of. I could see that her left ear, the one closest to me, had several piercings with red hoop or bone though them and stuck out at least a six to eight inches above her head, as I’d imagine some elves do. Behind and just below the tall front ear was a smaller ear, with no piercings at all, but it was much like the first. It seemed to be pulsing, that is how I noticed it at first, hidden amongst the braids.

      She turned slightly away from me, then I realized she was beside the water basin. The troll lifted a brown leather pouch from the basin held in a white hand with but three broad fingers, with great talon like nails and held it flask to its lips. As she did the tension in the air fell away and her foot long pointed ears relaxed to rest on her shoulders which her cloak of grey, brown and green draped over, all the way to the ground availing the details of her form from my eyes.

      Only after her ears relaxed did I dare move, before that I had been bound by fear and intrigue, trying to take in every aspect of the beautiful yet terrifying creature before me. As she lowered the flask of water her face tilted towards me, ever so slightly. I could have sworn that the troll’s great yellow, cat like eyes, flashed in the sunlight. From what I recall of her face, it was not ugly, though I was held in dread for a moment by her eyes and could not take in the its full beauty. It was of purest white, with but two large tusks which protruded as high up as her forehead, though she had six lesser fangs, a set each going up and down on the inside of the larger tusks.

     The troll remained perfectly still with extraordinary balance motionless and beautiful as a stone gargoyle. I suddenly found myself at the bottom of the steps, and as the flask was once again hidden from sight underneath her cloak that my bare feet touched the grass. In that moment she knew me, my presence was known, her eyes flashed their full glare upon me, I blinked and saw only the green light of the sun reflecting when I opened my own and she was gone.


In earnest anticipation of,
Jane
With Charles