5 The troll queen

Chapter 5 The troll queen Asta woke from her sleep to find herself covered in frost.

With stiff limbs, she climbed the crags to the castle door. From behind a rock, she watched the trolls lumbering in and out. They carried buckets and mops, rolls of red carpet and yards of white silk.

"They're preparing for the wedding!" Asta gasped, and she slipped inside the castle to search for her prince. The castle was filled with trolls... but her prince was nowhere to be seen.

Finally, she came to a grand room lit by candlelight. There, on a great stone throne, sat the troll queen herself. She had string-like hair which she combed with long, yellow nails, and a nose that drooped down to her lap.

"What do you want?" she asked, in a voice like grinding stones. "I've come to see the prince," Asta replied. The troll queen beckoned Asta closer. "First you must give me something in return," she said.

Asta looked down at her tattered clothes, then remembered the old woman's gifts. "I could give you this golden comb?" she said. The troll queen grabbed it from her with a claw-like hand. "You may see the prince tonight," she snapped. "He's in the room at the top of the tallest tower."