Gray Is Not All Colorless

Prologue

Gray Is Not All Colorless

A/N: Okay, so this one will also not have very frequent updates until I finish some stories, including "Catch a Rising Star." But I wanted to get this out there and spark some interest.

Well, let's see how this one will go. Just one little hint, this is not your average "Beauty and the Beast" story. Curious? Well, let's begin, then. And action!

Prologue

At first, there was only one gray Troll in the entire Troll Tree. The young trolling had lost not just his pretty, spritely colors, but his entire world when that hideous and evil Bergen took his grandmother away from him right in front of him when she pushed him out of the way to avoid him being the one taken.

Since the tragedy, the boy wouldn't let anyone come near him, nor would he come close to them, avoiding everyone and anything happy like the plague. The only one who even looked in his direction was the king, for the boy's grandmother was a dear friend to him, and he promised himself that he would look after the child.

But even though he had someone to look out for him, the child didn't interact very much in the village. He would stay locked away in the room he was given in, moping on the bed. The king would often try to coax the young boy to come out, but he would receive no answer from him.

As much as the king wanted to focus all his attention on the heartbroken boy, he had to focus more on the great escape of the Trolls and lead them to freedom outside of Bergen Town. The Trolls had been in captivity by the Bergens for much too long, while once a year having some of their people taken by them for their malicious holiday. Loved ones gone forever, including the king's own wife, who left him alone with their only child.

But the gray trolling's grandmother, she was taken before the dreaded holiday, which was against their own policies; a trait of anarchy. What was more is that it was also against their laws to take children as sacrifices. That Bergen had first reached for the trolling before his grandmother sacrificed herself to save him. Well, no more.

Eventually, the escape tunnels were constructed and dug, and not a moment too soon, for Trollstice, the annual holiday where Bergens can experience happiness by eating a Troll, was upon them. And what was feared the most was that the leading Chef of the Bergens had planned for the king's toddler daughter to be the Bergen prince's very first Troll.

As the great escape was happening, the Bergens tried to stop them, but luckily no one was captured. Soon, the Trolls found themselves free from at last. However, when they were outside, the king realized that his daughter, his little princess, was gone from his hair. She must've been left behind by accident during the escape, while the king was trying to make sure that everyone else had made it out, including the little gray child that was under his care. The king was heartbroken that he lost his daughter.

Watching the king fall to his knees and break down into tears, the gray trolling saw that anyone could feel sorrow and loss, no matter how happy; it wasn't just him. He couldn't quite imagine what kind of grief the king was experiencing at that moment, but he understood what it was like to lose a family member, and feel like you're the one to blame for their death.

Seeing their wise and brave king look so distraught finally urged the little gray Troll to walk towards him. Everyone was watching him with curious, and even wary, eyes to see what he might do.

To everyone's surprise, the little boy put a gentle tiny hand on the king's shoulder. When the king looked over at him with tear-filled eyes, for the first time in several weeks, the little gray Troll had actually hugged someone, as he gently wrapped his little arms around the king's neck. Surprised, but definitely not ungrateful, the king returned the hug tightly, wrapping his arms around the trolling's small frame.

When they broke away, the king lightly tousled the little boy's monotonous colored hair, making his lips curl up ever so slightly at the affectionate little action from him. It was a start, but at least the little one gave personal reassurance to the king so that he didn't become like him.

When the king saw that even though this kind gesture hadn't brought back the boy's colors, he knew that one day, they will come back to him, for at least he still has a heart. One that beats for the people around him, even if he was now forever destined to be very different than everyone else.

The king looked back over at the tunnel, and then up at his hair where his daughter had been. Seeing the sadness in his eyes, the little gray Troll slowly slipped his hand inside the king's larger one. The king smiled down at him briefly before looking back towards the tunnel.

Then, with a low voice, he whispered to the boy, "Never again."

The gray trolling just nodded mutely, understanding what he meant by that. He meant that this; losing a Troll in a time of crisis, was never supposed to happen again. The king smiled gently at him while lightly squeezing his hand, and then, without letting go of the young gray Troll's hand, began leading the rest of the Trolls towards what they would soon call their new home.

But what no one knew was that the Bergens did find the tiny little Troll princess left behind in the tunnel, but she too, had turned gray. No Bergen in history had ever seen a Troll turn gray, but they knew right away what it meant when they listened to her cry out in tears for most likely her parents. It meant that she was not happy, and since they couldn't eat an unhappy Troll, the king of the Bergens soon banished the Bergen chef, while the young Bergen prince took pity on the little toddler Troll and decided to keep her. However, this meant that no Bergen will ever be happy again. Now, there are two gray Trolls.

As the years went by, the Trolls lived in happiness in their new home deep within the forest, miles away from Bergen Town. But the little gray Troll never regained his colors, even though he was surrounded by those who were perpetually happy. He would hear whispered jeers and taunts from almost everyone from behind his back. He never sang, he never danced, the only one who he allowed to hug him was the king, and he always feared that the Bergens would find them again if they weren't careful. And he lived in a heavily fortified survival bunker that he constructed himself, a couple of miles away from the village. He had no real friends, other than the king and most of the harmless critters that lived around the forest.

While the other one, who also never regained her own colors, already lived in unhappiness in Bergen Town, never really knowing what happiness really felt like. She grew bitter and cold-hearted towards those Trolls who had "abandoned" her, and began to seek them out herself to exact revenge on them, locking them all up like the caged animal that she felt she was by the Bergens. She never even considered the Bergen prince, who saved her as a baby and who eventually became king himself after his father's death, as a friend. She often snuck out of where she was usually kept, just to explore or cause some mischief around the castle, which somewhat served as her only real source of entertainment.

One gray Troll, lonely and heartbroken because of his mistake, even though he was constantly surrounded by love. The other one, bitter and selfish due to the accidental faults of others and doesn't remember what true happiness felt like. Who is the real beast?

A/N: Can you guys guess the answer to that? I absolutely love "Beauty and the Beast", since it is one of my favorite fairy tales, and I was also partially inspired by another fanfic on fanfiction.net. It's a really good story, featuring a gray Poppy along with a gray Branch and how those two started to find love in each other.

Well, until next time, whenever I will update any of my Trolls stories, I'll see y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think. And remember to stay healthy.

Got to fly! ;)