"Say, have you ever seen a real elf, in person?" she asked, smiling once more.

After thinking hard for a few moments, the troll replied, "Um, naw. Dey don't ride da tunnels much."

"Well, there you are then," Lila said with a wink. "I'm an elf, in disguise as a human."

"In da skies, again," the troll muttered. "Dint know elves could fly."

"Oh, you're thinking of fairies," she told him, trying to keep him somewhat off balance. "Distant cousins of ours. They have the wings. Always flying around, all over the place," she said, waving a hand in the air. "May I have my ticket, now, please?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Huh? Oh, right," he said, taking up the stamp and slamming it down on her passport. "Der youse goes. Hopes youse has a nice trip," he told her, handing over her ticket and passport.

"Thank you, so very much," Lila said, flashing him a last smile and feeling quite happy with herself. She took her ticket and passport and made for the tunnel entrance with only a few minutes to spare.

The troll watched her go, wondering why his head was hurting so much. Something wasn't right about what just happened--he had a feeling that he had been played for a fool, but couldn't figure out quite how.

He looked down to Lila's suitcase, still sitting in the baggage recess. He slid her case from the recess to the floor behind the counter and tipped it over. Placing one of his watermelon-sized feet on the suitcase, he slowly put all of his weight on that one foot. The suitcase immediately collapsed beneath his bulk and there was the satisfying sound of several items crunching within the bag.

The troll smiled, bent down and picked up the bag, then tossed the now permanently misshapen luggage onto the moving beltway behind him. It would travel to the baggage terminal and be transported to its destination, along with the 'big' female elf.

"In da skies, me big bumpy ass," the troll muttered as he turned back to the counter. "No one messes wit da trolls an' gits away wit it," he said, flashing a big, toothy grin to an approaching customer.

"Next," he said.