Everything felt at peace at where it was currently going in Winona's life. It wasn't the most ordinary life what with a troll living in your basement but it was something that was beginning to feel normal. It had been three nights without the nightmares and Winona felt the worst was finally over.

As for today, the lavender-haired girl couldn't have been happier as she had decided to have breakfast with her birth mother. The two women chatted about many topics other than themselves. They had discussed what happened on television shows, celebrity gossip, and even what bands were playing. It was beginning to feel they were never apart but Winona wasn't ready to call Katrina 'mom', it was too soon.

After that the two women went their separate ways, promising the other to do this again the next day. Winona returned home and sat on the couch, a sigh escaping her lips as she let herself sink into the cushions. She positioned herself so that she was laying on the couch and rested her arms beneath her head. She crossed her ankles and looked up at the ceiling, smiling.

She was going to relax for a bit before going to pick Jim and Toby up from school, her cousin had said that she was going to be visiting Trollmarket today. Winona was looking forward to it, a whole new world thriving under her feet. Well, new to her since the troll civilization has been around when Arcadia Oaks was founded over a hundred years ago. But it was still an experience the young woman was looking forward to having.

Winona had always liked fantasy and now she knew that it was all real. It was a strange feeling to have such knowledge but then again some people may have familiar feelings about ordinary things. Life could be strange that way but of course, not everyone knew that trolls existed in a society under their feet.

A small mew alerted the lavender-haired girl and she looked down to see her one-eyed cat looking up at her. Winona smiled and leaned over and placed Church on her stomach, scratching the feline's ears. The black cat purred with delight and rubbed her head against her master's hand. The cat laid down and tucked her paws underneath herself, continuing to purr loudly.

"I hoped you behave for Draal," She cooed, patting Church's head. "I don't want to have to hurt him if he did something to you."

"I highly doubt you could."

'Speak of the Devil.' , Winona thought to herself. She looked up to see said troll with his arms crossed, his fiery eyes looking down at her. She narrowed her eyes at Draal. "You know for someone so big, you're very quiet."

The spiked troll rolled his eyes at the human girl's comment. "Before the Trollhunter, a human has never bested me in battle and I do not think you'd put your child in danger if you tried. As for the cat, it doesn't bother me nor I it."

Winona quirked a brow at him while continuing to pet the one-eyed feline. "True but one day I'd like to put that to the test. Also, Church is a she not a it."

Draal smirked. "One day you could but that day is not now." The troll made his way back to the basement but he heard the human girl call out causing him to stop in his tracks.

"Do you just want to hang out for a bit?" Winona asked, leaning up into a sitting position. "At least until I have to pick Tobes and Jim from school."

Draal looked over his shoulder with a bewildered look on his face. "Hang...out?"

"Yeah, hang out. It means to spend time with someone," The lavender-haired girl help up her cat and crossing her legs in lotus position before settling the cat back in her lap. "We can talk about anything really. I can ask you a question and in return, you can ask me a question."

The troll eyed Winona, his stone face expressionless. "Fine," He said, turning to face her. "Ask."

Winona tapped a finger against her lip, contemplating what to ask him. She searched her mind before settling and smiled. "Before Jim, have you ever been defeated in a fight."

Draal snorted. "What sort of question is that? I haven't as I am still alive."

She shrugged, a bit concerned about the brutality of trolls but satisfied with the answer. "Just a question but thanks for answering. Your turn."

The spiked troll hummed, crossing his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. His fiery eyes looking up at the ceiling before looking back at her. "Are you concerned for the Trollhunter?"

Winona frowned and sighed. "Of course I am. He's a kid and he shouldn't have to juggle two lives. But since it's a permanent job, I'll do my best to help him no matter what it takes."

The troll's face remained emotionless but nodded at the human's answer. "It is your turn."

The lavender-haired girl felt a dull ache in her legs and lifted her cat off her lap and set her on the couch. Winona stretched her legs out in front of her, feeling her knees pop. She clicked her tongue against her teeth and bit her lower lip. "Have you met a lot of humans?"

This continued between two for some time, each one giving an honest answer. Winona was beginning to enjoy the troll's company, he was a bit of a brute but he was cool. She learned a bit of him and some troll knowledge that Jim hadn't told her.

For one, she learned trolls had honor in high regards but some of the ways they gained it was strange. Some trolls would gain in their time in battle, others through the scholarly ways, or it all depends on their heritage. Draal had a lot of honor for his fighting skills and his father being Jim's predecessor.

She thought having a dad like that would have a lot of pressure to keep up with appearances. Of all people, Winona would know how that would be like. That was why her adoptive parents kicked her out of their home because it did not look good for them to have a pregnant teenage daughter.

Some of the questions Draal asked caused her to laugh but he didn't know much about humans so it was understandable. Winona wiped a tear from her eye after calmly answering the question. "Ok, your turn." She sniffed.

"Where is the father of your child?"

Winona widened her eyes and held her knees close to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She avoided looking at the troll and instead choose to look at the ground. "He's...," She sighed. "he left."

Draal shifted his feet uncomfortably and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Winona cleared her throat before looking back at him, her chin resting on her knees. "I should probably get going anyway, Toby and Jim get off from school soon."

She got up from where she sat on the couch and grabbed her keys, she looked over her shoulder and smiled. "It was good talking to you, Draal."

Then she opened the door and locked behind her, leaving the troll to alone.

"Meow." The troll looked down at his feet to see Church looking up at him with her one yellow eye. Well almost alone.

*THTHTHTH*

The lavender-haired girl drummed her thumbs against the steering wheel, waiting on the teen boys in the parking lot of the school. She had managed to get some tacos before heading to the school. About a dozen ultra spicy tacos and few regular burritos. Years ago she could eat all the spicy tacos with only drinking a sip of a drink but now she was expecting, she was retired.

Winona sighed when she heard the bell ring, letting all the students out and she kept her eyes out for the boys. She searched through the crowd of teens until her eyes finally laid on Jim and Toby. She honked the horn and waved them over.

The younger teens grabbed their bikes and helmets and placed them in the trunk of Winona's mustang. Toby gasped. "Did you get tacos again?"

"Yup," She said handing the bag to Jim. "but you're not eating them in the car today. I don't want you blowing my car with your farts."

The chubby teen groaned and buckled his seatbelt in the backseat. The lavender-haired girl adjusted her mirror and looked over to the boys. "Now where did you guys say Trollmarket was?"

"The canals," Jim answered, causing Winona to stiffen. "We have to make a portal there to go in."

The canals. Her hands tightened on the steering wheel as she recalled the last time she was there. She had heard the voice from her nightmares there and she dreaded having to go back. Her mouth felt dry and her knuckles turned white from her grip on the wheel.

"You ok, Winona?" She heard Toby ask. Winona blinked and she saw the two boys looking at her with concern.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," She smiled, relaxing her hands on the steering wheel. "Next stop Trollmarket."

The lavender-haired teen then drove off to their next designation and Toby was excited about her going. The chubby teen went into great detail how incredible Trollmarket was and how their troll friends were. She knew a bit about these mysterious trolls from Jim but he wasn't as giddy talking about them as Toby was.

Winona couldn't wait to meet the two trolls and everything else Trollmarket had to offer, though she would like to avoid where they keep cat meat. She wasn't sure if she'd be upset or furious but either way, it would be a problem for her and she didn't want to get banned on her first day there.

The expecting teen took a deep breath as the three made it to the canals. "Are you sure you're ok?" Jim asked, worry in his eyes.

She playfully punched the lanky teen in the shoulder. "I'm fine, Squirt. Now how do we make a portal to Trollmarket?"

Jim opened his backpack and pulled out a big orange crystal with a wooden handle attached to it. The lavender-haired girl furrowed her brows at the object in the younger teen's hand. "What's that?"

"A horngozzle. It's we will use to get there." The young Trollhunter explained.

"How does it work?"

"You'll see." The three teens exited the vehicle and made their way to the canals. Winona felt a shiver go down her spine and she shuttered. She did not enjoy having to come back here to see Trollmarket and hoped the trip was worth it.

Jim walked up to a wall and used the crystalline object to draw a semi-circle and he placed a hand in it causing the drawing to glow bright blue. After a brief flash, it now revealed a glowing blue crystal staircase. The lanky teen swept an arm out and smiled. "Ladies first."

Winona cautiously entered inside and she was struck by the beauty of the crystals that surrounded her. There were crystals embedded into the sides of the walls glowed, each of them a different size and color. She made her down the staircase, watching her step as she went. Winona felt butterflies flutter in her stomach, the trip was definitely worth it so far.

Nearing the bottom, she was startled by two figures staring up at her. One was larger than the other and had grey skin and green hair covering the top of its body. The smaller one was blue with six eyes and four arms. "Jim!" She called out.

The younger teen came up from behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's ok these are the guys we were telling you about."

Winona glanced at Jim and back at the two below and back at him. He smiled at her grasped and her hand and walked her down the steps towards the two trolls. The two stepped off the crystalline stairs with Toby not far from them. She bit her lip, glancing at the trolls in front of them.

The smaller one was not as big as Draal or the troll beside him but he was a good half a foot taller than the human girl. But despite their strange appearances, they offered her smile. "Winona," Jim said gesturing to the larger troll. "this is Aaarrrgghh."

Winona scrunched up her brows. "Aaarrrgghh?"

"With three r's." The green-haired troll said holding three large fingers.

Jim gestured to the smaller troll beside him. "And this is Blinky, my trainer."

The troll known as Blinky bowed in front of the human teens. "It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, dear Winona."

Gaining some confidence, Winona smiled and let go of her cousin's hand and curtsied to the blue troll. She held then out a hand to Blinky. The troll grabbed her hand and shook it. "Jim's told me all about you." She said gripping his much larger stone hand.

"As he did you," He said letting go of her hand. "Now there is much to see but let us make our way to the Hero's Forge. There will come a time when we can give you an extensive tour but Master Jim needs his training."

Winona quirked her brow and looked at her cousin. Master Jim? Maybe it was a formal thing. She shrugged and followed the two trolls and the human girl was in complete awe with Trollmarket and the beings in it.

There were colorful crystals all over to light up the secret civilization and many trolls of different color and sizes. Some had large horns and others did not, some were a little over a head taller than her and others were about as big as a house. Winona tried not to look at them too long, in case they became hostile to her gaze.

But the lavender-haired girl couldn't help but feel all eyes were on her as she walked through the streets. A large green troll shoved past the group and he turned to glare at them, a growl escaping his lips. She huddled closer to Aaarrrgghh and kept her eyes on her surroundings.

The group came upon a large entrance that a lit up sign in the shape of a sword, they entered through a dark tunnel and upon them was a stone walk away leading them to an arena. She took note to tread carefully as the route was narrow and if she fell that would be it, the thought made her gulp.

The expecting teen was just in awe of the place, it looked ancient yet of course dangerous. It made her worry for her younger cousin but she had to trust that he was in safe hands, if he had been training for over a month Blinky had to be doing something right. She sighed, she would need to have a talk with the troll trainer. Since her aunt had no knowledge of her son's secret life, Winona was feeling the need to step up and look out for her Jim.

"Cool, right?" She heard her cousin say. Winona gave him a smile and ruffled his hair.

"Sure is, Squirt." Winona walked past him and over to the six-eyed troll.

He gave her a smile and had his first row of hands clasped in front of him and the second set of hands clasped behind his back. "Impressive, wouldn't you say?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded, returning the smile. "It is but I have concerns about my underage cousin taking on this responsibility."

"I understand," He said his top hands grabbing his suspenders. "but I assure you he has by far done well for one so young. Perhaps watching him train would assuage these concerns?"

She looked over at Jim and back at the troll and sighed. Accepting the offer, the troll eagerly instructed the teen to the center of the Hero's Forge and guided her to a safe distance. Winona hoped that her fears for Jim would lessen if she watched how good he has gotten since beginning his training.

AN: Hello again, my Lovelies! Winona has finally met Blinky and Aaarrrgghh and what will she think about them? Keep reading to find out and leave a sweet review to let me know that you are there! Btw, you will soon find out why the nightmares Winona was having is relevant. Will they come back? Or will the stay gone? Stay tuned!

~TheWriter'sMistress~