The Lost Tribe 2: Secrets of the crystals

Chapter 5

The Paradise Isles was just in sight nearer the horizon, which meant the trolls had to continue their journey on foot. Anyone from around would be able to spot a large flying glowing creature carrying a handful of trolls on its back.
They couldn't risk it.

"Alright guys, just a little further to walk and we'll be there." Aria exclaimed.

"When you say 'there' where exactly do you mean?" Branch asked. "You said that they weren't letting anyone in or out of the Isles."

"Don't worry, I know the perfect place for us to hide." Aria assured. "It's an underground hideaway in the side of a cliff. No one knows about it apart from me and Dusk who found it." Poppy caught up with Aria as she heard her mention Dusk.

"Who's Dusk?" Poppy asked.

"He's my best friend." Aria replied. "We go exploring together a lot!" Poppy smiled at Aria. "He's a great guy, he really helped and supported me when my mom died." Poppy's face dropped slightly, she almost forgot that Aria had lost her mother.

"He sounds wonderful." Poppy said, trying to sound more positive. Aria smiled at her and nodded.

***

The trolls weren't too far from the boundary of the Isles. Aria pulled her hood over her head so that no one would recognize her if they spotted her. She gathered the trolls behind a tree and told them to stay quiet.

"We need to move quickly and quietly until we're in the tunnel of the hideaway." Aria whispered. She went ahead and into the open cautiously and knelt down by a small stump. The trolls tilted their head in confusion before following behind.

"I don't get it." Hickory said, looking around. "Where's the hideaway?" Aria put a finger to her lips and lifted one of the roots on the side of the stump, underneath there was a dark tunnel which made them gulp.

"Go in and crawl to the end of the tunnel." Aria demanded. Poppy nodded as she went into the dark tunnel first while Aria stayed at the back and made sure all the trolls got in. Once everyone was undercover, she pulled the root back down to conceal the tunnel. It looked as if the tunnel had never even existed.

The inside of the tunnel was cramped, not tall enough for the trolls to walk through so they had to crawl. It was almost pitch-black in there, luckily Poppy lit up her hair to lead the way.

"I can see a light at the end." Poppy exclaimed quietly.

"Good, now hurry up and get over there." Barb said. "I'm tired of staring at Branch's butt!" Branch rolled his eyes at her words.

"I'd gladly swap places with you, Barb." Poppy said casually which made Branch go wide-eyed.

"W-what?" Branch stuttered, completely flustered.

"What?" Poppy looked back at him and smiled as if she had said nothing. The light at the end of the tunnel was coming from behind streams of vines covering the entrance of the hideaway. Poppy brushed back the vines to reveal a huge cavern covered with grass and moss with a small pond in the middle. It had even more vines hanging off the ceiling among the stalactites. It was such a beautiful place.

"We can use this as a base while we figure out what to do about Zora." Aria explained. "Feel free to relax at the time. There's also a beach outside, we're still pretty far from the boundary so hopefully we won't be spotted." The trolls obeyed and immediately started to relax and recover form the long journey. Hickory and Barb caught up on lost sleep, Trollex relaxed in the pond. Branch however, kept on thinking about what to do about the anniversary. All the fireworks were gone and even if there were more, there wasn't enough time to organize it all.
For now he had to focus on helping Aria, but the thought kept on lingering in the back of his mind.