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CHAPTER ONE
Two Weeks Later
The sun is about to set, and the wriggling tongue of the Spider-Frog kept moving. Johanna held on to dear life on the car's bumper, feeling it strained from the pressure. Her hand is about to slip, and she knew she doesn't have much time. She looked at her other hand, and there was Hilda.
Holding on to her mother's hand, she clung on despite the tongue's harsh grip. Hilda didn't expect tonight would be her last night, but she held on tightly to Johanna.
"Don't let go of me, Mum!"
Hilda cried out, her hand deadening to the touch of her mother's, about to slink away from her grasp. Johanna kept her hand steady at her daughter's, feeling her other hand slip to the edge of the bumper. It was becoming clear how this will end for them.
Though helpless, seeing her daughter suffer this fate alone is something no mother would ever wish for. She couldn't let Hilda go, she would never let her go. There was only one option left.
"Never!"
In one move, she embraced Hilda as she let go of the car. Whooshing their bodies against the paved road, all they could do is close their eyes and face the consequences. Although they might never live to see another day, it was preferable to die as a family.
In one gulp, the Spider-Frog rolled its tongue like a carpet in its mouth and swallowed them both whole. Already satisfied with its meal, the monster then turned to the deerfox held in the air. Twig squealed and whimpered for mercy, but it was all for nothing. Before it received his final judgement, he sheds a single tear.
Two weeks have passed, and no sign of Hilda came abound.
David rushed out of the hallway with his bag in tow. He looked around the classrooms, the alleyways, the outside schoolyard and the halls for any sign of Hilda. No such luck. Having spent his entire lunch break in vain, he resigned himself in the canteen to eat a fresh batch of potato pancakes. While gnawing on a piece, he pondered his eyes around the area. A question lingered in his mind.
Where is Hilda?
He could only occupy this question with reasonable proxy answers.
Maybe she had a fever or a sickness going on?
Maybe an adventure gone awry for her?
Maybe she's on vacation?
None of these questions helped resolve his growing uneasiness. It had been two freaking weeks now. Hilda would never be absent or tardy to school like this. Unable to be recompensed, he kept eating his lunch.
Then, Frida sat next to him.
"Did you see her?" she said.
David shook his head. "You?"
"No..." she looked pensive, "This isn't like her."
"Really?" David took a bite of his pancake.
"Yes," she answered, "I mean, we haven't seen her since she went with her dad that Saturday. Whatever might have happened to her, she's bound to come up anytime soon."
"Right...But this isn't the first time she's been absent, is it?"
"Well..."
"Who knows? Maybe Hilda and her Mum got into another encounter with a troll...at least I hope so."
"David, why would you–"
A soft thud of a canteen tray entered the scene. The two friends looked at who placed the tray.
"Oh...am I interrupting something?" Louise asked.
Now Frida and David felt a pang of embarrassment having this discussion out in the open. Especially to their new friend. They turned to her with tentative smiles.
"No, you're not. We're just..." she looked around the room, "...chatting, yeah just chatting."
"Is it?"
"Yeah, yeah," David affirmed, "Just chatting about...homework." He tried brushing it off, but it came off more awkward than convincing.
Louise sighed.
"Guys, you don't need to hide it." She looked at both of them with a face bordering on disappointment. "Aren't we supposed to be friends?"
"Sorry." David said first. "It's just that we were worried about–"
"David!" Frida hissed at him.
"Worried about who? Hilda?" She pulled out one of their pictures from their boating activity.
Frida took a look at it, before politely facepalming. "Yes...her."
"What about her? Has something happened?"
"Well," David exhaled, "It's complicated. All we know is that it has been two weeks since we saw her, and now she's gone."
"There's more to this than that, but yeah. Hilda kind of just... disappeared on us."
"Disappear..." Louise repeated the word, feeling the color in her face drained as she realized it, "Disappear, no, that can't be."
"I'm afraid so," Frida sighed heavily, "And we haven't even told her goodbye."
Soon, she sulked her head over her hands. David just covered his face. Louise just stared at the two, nearly about to feel the same way. She just earned a friend a week ago, and now she's gone. There had to be a solution.
"...I may have seen Hilda."
This caught their attention immediately. "Really? When? And where?"
Louise took some time to think. "I was just riding the bus back home two weeks ago. It was raining and I wasn't really paying attention to anything. But I did saw Hilda near a bus stop, running after some man in the street. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but I knew it was her."
"Wait," David raised his finger, "If she was in Trolberg two weeks ago, then that means–"
"She must've left Trolberg at that time."
The idea now made far more sense. If Louise was right, then Hilda was here in Trolberg after she went out with her father but before they disappeared. It was a narrow window of time that they have to investigate now.
The three arrived at the building where Hilda's flat is located. After managing to get the key to their apartment, they walked up the stairs. With each step, they noticed how dusty the staircase has become before they reached the door. David coughed at the dust around him.
When they reached the door, it was properly locked but its handle caked in dust. Clearly nobody bothered to check on them for any reason. Using the key, they gently opened the door.
It was quiet. Awfully quiet. They went inside cautiously, as if something might jump on them. They split up to search the house for any clue on Hilda's whereabouts.
Hilda!
They all screamed.
Hilda!
Louise cried out, walking into the kitchenette area.
"Hilda!" Frida yelled, going into the hallway leading to Hilda's bedroom.
She took a quick glance around the hallway. Nothing. She looked inside of Johanna's bedroom for clues. Nothing. Then she approached the door to Hilda's bedroom.
Suddenly, she could hear someone in there. It sounded like someone was pushing on the door very lightly to get out. And a familiar voice can be heard through the cracks. Frida opened the door and an exhausted Alfur fell to the floor, hat off his head.
"Alfur!" She kneeled to the floor. "Have you seen Hilda? And why were you pushing the door?"
Alfur finally gained his composure and picked his hat up. "Well, I was about to ask you the same question." He stretched his back.
"But I just couldn't get to Cedric without Hilda's help, so I tried every possible way out! It was tough."
"I can imagine."
Then David and Louise went up to Frida. Their faces looked exasperated.
"Frida," he panted, "We couldn't find anything. There wasn't anything in the living room or the kitchen that could explain where she could've gone."
His sweat had drenched him way more than it should. Louise kept her distance.
"Well all we did is find some leftovers of some foods and art supplies," she shared her polaroid photos of them, "But other than that, there really was nothing."
"Hmm..." Alfur thought to himself. "Maybe I could exp–LAIN!" He flinched when he saw Louise standing next to Frida and David. "Frida...who is this?"
"Uhh..." Louise couldn't understand this, for she couldn't see Alfur. "Frida, who's talking to you?"
"I'll explain."
"Sign here, here, and here."
With Frida's help, Louise was able to sign the forms in order to see the elves. With each signature written, she couldn't help but be bewildered by this needless bureaucratic gatekeeping that the Elves do to others.
"Is this really necessary?" Louise questioned before signing the last form, "This feels a little too much, don't you think?"
"It's really the only way to see them," David shrugged, "No way around it other than doing what they say."
Taking their word for it at face value, Louise then signed the paperwork and left the pen alone. Expecting something to happen, she sat back and waited for the contract to do its magic. Yet, the contract stayed as a contract.
"Frida, nothing's happening."
"Look underneath your ear."
"Who said that?" She turned her head back and forth.
"Look in the mirror."
Louise did as instructed and then, on cue, Alfur stuck out of her ear and waved back at her.
"Cooee!"
"That was...a surprise."
"Well, I wasn't the best at greetings so... I'm Alfur."
"It's nice to see you, Alfur."
"It's nice to be seen, and I would like to–"
"Alfur," Frida interrupted, "I know it's nice to be seen and all, but about Hilda. Do you know what they did around the house before they disappeared?"
"Dis- Disappeared?" Alfur couldn't believe it. "That's preposterous! They didn't disappear, they went on a trip."
"A what?" All three said at once.
"A trip! I saw them both packing bags and food around before they left. All they told me is that they'll be off to a short camping trip, but as we can see, it has been long overdue."
They listened carefully to his testimony. The friends sat this idea on their heads for a while, connecting the pieces together. If Alfur is to be believed, that means that Hilda and possibly her mother could have left without notifying others about it.
Then, Louise approached Alfur.
"Have they told you where they were going?" she held out a piece of paper.
Alfur tried recalling it. Frida looked at some of the rummage.
"Hilda did once told me that they were going to the Tree Sprite Campgrounds for a weekend."
"Wait," David jumped at that statement, "Isn't that where we camped for the End of The Year badge ceremony?"
"What's that?" Louise asked.
"Oh, it's just some camping outside of town. The usual stuff." He just shrugged it off playfully.
"But if that's where they're going, then that means we have a clue!" Frida felt giddy with this revelation. "If they went there to camp, that means–"
"That might be where they ended up!" David finished her sentence.
"And if we contact Raven Leader about this, there might be a chance of finding them." Louise joined in.
"Okay, we're finally getting somewhere! Come on!" Frida convinced both David and Louise to run out of Hilda's bedroom and out the door.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaait!" Alfur screamed as he jumped off the desk and on to Louise's satchel.
"If we get this right, we might be able to rescue Hilda in no time."