LJ Idol- A Bridge to Cross

Mildred strolled up to the familiar stone bridge, her boho style purse swinging behind her as she lumbered along. At the edge of the bridge, she knelt down and ran her fingers along the mossy stone, picking the larger clumps from between the stones and tossing them into the riverbed. Normally, she would just plop down and lean against the rocks, but recently she did so, only to find someone's old chewing gum in her hair, so she'd become a little more discriminatory about her spot.

She sat down and removed her wide brimmed hat, throwing her face up towards the sky and taking one large slow breath after another. She loved the feeling of the sun against her skin in the first days of spring. Even though the air was still brisk and she'd layered herself with sweaters, Mildred knew that the sun was about to give her cheeks a pink tinge and a spray of freckles.

Mildred propped her glasses up on top of her head and pulled her book from her purse, ready to start the day's reading. She'd read this one before, and it was one of her favorites, even if she couldn't totally relate. The heroine of this novel was fair haired and petite and docile, and she had none of these traits. Mildred would never be waiting around for a knight in shining armor, and honestly, she was disappointed in the knights she had encountered. They weren't the dashing, brave heroes that she'd read about. They were immature young men with unrealistic ideals. They weren't crafting or cunning, just full of unfounded bravado.

Still, the book was worth a read. It transported her to a whole different beautiful universe as soon as she opened its musty pages. Maybe someday someone would write a heroine like herself, someone she could really relate to, but for now, she could try to imagine herself as the lithe princess.

After a couple of hours, Mildred started to feel sleepy, her eyes starting to droop. She found herself needing to refocus her eyes on the page and re-read paragraphs that she'd blinked her way through. She was about to pull some snacks from her purse when she heard a horse approaching the bridge.

"Who goes there," she shouted, with no idea who or what may be waiting on the other side of the trees.

"It is I, Lord Walsey, of the Dancing Glen," shouted the newcomer. The Lord brought his horse to a halt just in front of Mildred's reading spot. He wore a suit of iron armor, much like the characters in Mildred's book, but with a bright red plume emerging from his helmet, as though he were someone of real importance.

"And what do you have for the toll for the bridge," asked Mildred.

"Be gone with you, troll," he responded, resting his hand on his sword as though he were about to brandish it if needed.

Mildred rolled her eyes and placed her glasses back over her eyes so as to get a better look at the knight. "You know how this works, right? You get to the bridge, you pay the toll, and I let you cross." Mildred spoke slowly and clearly so the knight would understand her.

"I have no time for tolls," shouted the knight, in a tone too loud and boisterous for the situation at hand. "I'm on a mission!"

"Let me guess," said Mildred, still crouched in her reading spot. "You're on your way to save the maiden in Belshoi's Tower from the green dragon? You're too late. The dragon was banished a month ago."

"Oh," the knight groaned, dejected. "I guess I was a little late to the party on that." The knight removed his helmet, showing off a mop of jet black hair and a pair of wire brimmed glasses. "I'm actually not one for fighting. My dad has been pushing me to rescue a bride of my own, but I dunno."

Mildred almost felt badly for this knight. She'd never seen one so vulnerable before. She lifted herself to her feet, her curly red hair swinging in the breeze, until she towered over the man and his horse. Normally, those who didn't pay the toll would now become her lunch, but since this knight didn't need to pass after all, she could spare him. She wanted to spare him. There was something about him. She expected the knight to recoil at her size, to be scared of her giant hands and sharp teeth, but the knight just looked at her in wonder instead.

"What are you reading," he asked. "I've read everything in my house already, so I'm always looking for new stories." Mildred showed him the book, but it was one he's already read, and they spent the next half hour comparing their book collection. They lamented that it was so hard to get a hold of new materials to read, as they both loved the experience of reading a new book and finding new friends on its pages. "You should come over sometime, and I could show you my library."

Mildred had never been to a human's house. She'd never been invited. She'd never thought that she would ever be invited. "What are you going to do now that the quest for the princess is over?"

Lord Walsey looked at the ground and bit his lip. "I'm going to try something new. I'm going to try writing my own story."

Mildred smiled. "Will you write about a new princess and try to will her to life?"

Lord Walsey smiled back. "No, I think I'm going to write about an unexpectedly beautiful troll."