After leaving Trollmarket, Winona came home to an empty house, well almost empty as there were Draal and Church. Her aunt wasn't home, and the teen assumed she was going to be working another late shift. Since moving into the Lake household, Winona had become accustomed to the doctor's work schedule.

The lavender-haired teen stomped her foot twice on the ground, signaling to the troll down in the basement it was safe for him to come up.

Steady, heavy footsteps crept up the stairs of the basement until she was face to face the spiked troll. The expression on Draal's stone features showed that he was none too pleased with her. She sighed, "I know I'm a bit late."

"That would be an understatement," He retorted. "It is past the 'hour' you said you'd return, I was prepared to search for you."

"I promise there is a reasonable explanation for my tardiness."

Draal crossed his arms over his broad chest and stared down at her, waiting for the human's reasoning for being late.

Winona pursed her lips and gazed up at the troll's fiery gaze. "Jim had an emergency, and he got attacked by the Stalkling, nearly died but he succeeded in killing the Stalkling."

The brutish troll was taken back by her answer, but he believed her. "And where is the Trollhunter now?"

"He's staying the night at Toby's house, so it's going to be only us here until my aunt shows up," Winona tapped her chin in thought before smiling. "Give me a few minutes to take a shower, and I'll make it up to you for being late."

Draal sighed. "Fine, go ahead," He sniffed the air and cringed. "It seems you are in need of bathing after all."

Winona rolled her eyes and pushed past him, making sure he heard her call him 'jerk' and she swore she listened to the troll chuckle as she left.

She went into her room and grabbed her pajamas before going into the bathroom. The switched on the shower and stripped herself of her clothes and closing the curtain behind her.

The teen sighed as she felt the hot water relax her muscles and rinse off today's grime. Winona let her mind wander off a bit as she was calmer than she has been for the past week.

It had been a bit stressful what with finding out her dad had an evil twin and a giant troll bird trying to kill Jim. You can say things were a bit hectic, but that is to be expected as she and her family were anything but ordinary, something Winona came to realize. The expecting teen was even more eager to raise her baby in such a strange family.

The lavender-haired teen stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her, but she suddenly stiffened as she felt a cold chill ran down her spine.

"Winona."

The voice of her nightmares, Morgana.

"Winona."

She knew it wasn't coming from inside her mind as the voice sounded close. The teen felt her stomach become heavy as if it were filled with solid ice and her mouth became dry. This couldn't be happening again, and the sorceress couldn't be here.

"Over here, my child."

Winona slowly craned her head over her shoulder and looked to see golden swirls in the bathroom mirror. She crept over to it with caution, her eyes becoming glued to the images transpiring inside it. Then they were soon replaced with the masked face of Morgana, her green orbs drilling into Winona's blues.

"You cannot be rid of me so easily, Winona," The sorceress said smoothly, her eyes glowing as she spoke. "I am inside you. We are one."

The teen gripped the edge of the sink and her eyes narrowing. "Why can't you leave me alone? I don't want anything to do with you!"

"Winona, are you alright in there?"

The young woman's head perked up at the sound of Draal's voice, and she turned her head and assured him she was okay. Winona looked back at the mirror and only saw her reflection, she sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead. So much for being free of Morgana's taunts and torments.

Winona unwrapped herself of the towel and pulled on her pajamas and opened the door to come face to face with the blue troll. She shook off any lingering fear she had from Morgana's surprise encounter and smiled Draal. "Give me another moment to get some things from my room, and we can start."

Before Draal could respond, the human pushed past him and went into her room, and he watched her as she began to grab all the pillows and some of the blankets off her bed. Winona walked up to him, the smile still plastered on her face, and she nodded her head to the stairs. "Come on," She adjusted one of the blankets over her shoulder. "You'll like what I have in store."

Then the lavender-haired teen jogged down the stairs carefully, avoiding slipping on one of the blankets she had. The troll furrowed his stone brows at Winona's retreating figure before following her into the living room.

He ducked his head under the entrance to the room, and Draal watched as Winona took the cushions and the pillows off the couch, he snorted in confusion. "What is all this?"

"I'm making a troll nest," She answered, not bothering to see the astonished look on the troll warrior's face. "Or at least attempting too. You've been living down the basement for a while and in one of the books Blinky gave said you guys make nests kinda like gorillas or something."

After moving a few blankets and pillows in order and pushing the coffee table out of the way, Winona stood up from her work and placed her hands on her hips. "What do you think," She shrugged. "I mean I know it's probably not anything like your nest back in Trollmarket, but I thought I'd give it a shot, you know?"

Draal slowly made his way over to Winona's little troll project and inspected it. He had to admit it was an excellent attempt to make a troll nest almost entirely accurate, but any other troll would tell this was a human's work. The spiked troll looked back up at the human, and he tilted his head. "Why did you make this for me?"

Winona pursed her lips. "I figured you'd be a bit homesick and you're my friend, so I wanted to do something nice," She tucked a hair behind her ear. "It's ok if you don't like it."

The troll felt a bit of guilt weigh in his stomach as he watched the expression on the human's face change . Draal looked down at the pile of blankets and pillows and then back at Winona, he sighed before beginning to make himself comfortable. "This is...nice."

The teen perked up, her smile creeping back onto her face. "So you like it?"

"Could use some work," Draal smirked.

Winona scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Would it kill you to make a compliment?"

The warrior chuckled and crossed his arms behind his head. "Perhaps."

The expecting teen shook her head. "Jerk," She mumbled and made her way to sit next to the troll. "Scooch over."

Draal obliged and Winona draped a blanket over her shoulders, and she grabbed the remote and clicked the tv on. "I know trolls don't know much about human movies so I'm going to pick a movie with lots of action I know you'd like."

He didn't respond but watched the human girl purse her lips as she scrolled through the television, searching for the perfect movie. Winona soon beamed when she finally found what she was looking for. "Yes! You'll love this movie!"

Draal looked up at the tv screen, and a muscular creature with green skin and a mask appeared, it peaked his interest. "What is this?"

"It's called Predator," Winona answered, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "A team of military enter a jungle, and they start realizing that they're being hunted down by that," She pointed to the being on the screen. "It's a great movie."

The troll gazed at Winona then back to the screen, and he'd give this Predator a try, as the teen seemed to enjoy it.

There were moments where Draal roared with laughter at a character's death, or he complimented the creature's skill. There were some things that the troll said that caused Winona to give him a funny look or snort at his strange sense of humor.

It wasn't until the end of the movie did the warrior notice Winona resting her head on his arm fast asleep with her arm wrapped around his arm and a hand gripping the blanket wrapped around her. Draal looked down at her, perplexed by how he hadn't noticed the human drifting off on him. He at first attempted to wake her up but she only groaned and snuggled closer into his arm.

The troll looked at the clock on the wall, and he grunted in annoyance. From his time down in the basement, he had taken into account of the Bar-bu-rah's work schedule, and she was due to return soon. He looked back down at Winona's sleeping form and sighed, waking her didn't work as an option, and he wasn't going to get exposed to the only other human of the household.

So, taking great care not to wake Winona, Draal lifted her into his arms and made his way to the stairs. He inwardly cursed at the creaks at every step he'd make, worried that the teen would wake up but became relieved when she didn't stir.

Draal reached Winona's room and squeezed through the narrow door, before finally gently laying her onto her bed. He grabbed the remaining covers on her bed and covered her up to her chin. The troll watched the lavender-haired teen shift to her side, and a smile etched her soft features.

For a moment, the spiked troll thought she was going to wake up for sure, but her eyes remained closed. He was a bit surprised on how much of a heavy sleeper the human could be. Draal wanted to take his leave, but he stood there, looking down at the sleeping form below him.

The warrior studied Winona, taking notice of how content she looked. It was something he hasn't seen in her for since they met, given their first encounter didn't start off to a good start, but still, the teen looked peaceful. Draal had a sense of calm as he listened to the steady breathing as the human slept.

His fiery gaze drifted to her small bump on her abdomen, and his fists clenched, remembering that Winona's former mate left her this way. In troll culture, it was a great dishonor to abandon an expecting troll, and it was punishable by castration and death. If he were able, Draal would perform such a task, but that was probably not the wisest idea.

Draal made his way to leave but stopped in the doorway and looked over his shoulder, and there was something about her that he felt a pull toward her. Whatever it was, it was undoubtedly unique.

The next morning Winona found herself tucked in her bed in her room. She remembered watching the movie with Draal last night and drifting off...crap.

And she thought she was done being awkward around the troll and now the teen realized that he had carried her to her room last night. Perfect.

Her thoughts were interrupted with Church making her presence known by marching into her room, meowing loudly. Winona got up out of bed and scratched her hungry pet's head, earning a purr from the one-eyed feline.

After the lavender-haired teen fed her cat, she went downstairs to feed herself and continue with her morning routine. Winona decided on wearing cut off shorts, black and white converse, and a worn Motörhead shirt that had a few holes in it and drooped over her shoulder. She decided it was best to wear a tank top under it for Jim's sake, and the teen didn't want to embarrass her cousin further when she beats him today.

Winona smirked at the thought, and she had years of defending his scrawny butt while he's only been in as many as two fights, three if you count the Stalkling. She had experience in fighting while Jim was still learning as it is part of his duty as Trollhunter. The teen couldn't wait to start the challenge, but there were some precautions she needed to take.

She stared down at the small bump on her belly and sighed. Winona would need to get some protection so her unborn baby would not be harmed in the little duel between her and Jim. So she texted Katrina about training again today and asked about the potion that shielded her the day before.

Her mother responded back saying she was about to ask about their next training session and would be happy to give her the same potion she drank that day. Katrina sent the location for their lesson, and Winona went on her way over.

The terrain for the wizard lesson was a bit different unlike last time it was more open, but it was far from anyone interrupting them. It was a grassy field with no building for miles and any if the teen had gone any further she'd be lead to a dirt road, it was peaceful.

"Glad you could make it," Katrina said, bringing her daughter in for a hug. "I got you that potion you asked for. Is there any reason you wanted this?"

Winona shook her head. "Nope, just in case something happens."

The dark-haired woman quirked a brow at her daughter, sensing the lie she received. "You want to try that again?"

"Fine," The teen sighed and crossed her arms. "I'm going to be having a small duel with Jim, and I wanted to be on the safe side."

Katrina smiled and patted the younger woman on the shoulder. "Now was that so hard?"

Winona rolled her eyes. "How about we start, please?"

"Very well. Come along."

Winona's birth mother leads her to the center of the field, and they stood some distance from the other. Katrina picked up her simple wooden staff and tapped it against the ground. "We're going to be doing something a bit different today. You have an idea why I brought you out here instead of the woods."

Winona shook her head.

Katrina grinned. "The open space gives us a place where we'll be flying today."

The teen's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the statement. "Are you serious?"

"Very," The older woman twirled her training tool in her hands. "It's simple, relax your mind, but you'll have to keep your body in complete defense mode while we fight."

"Relax but don't relax," Winona scoffed. "Yeah, that makes perfect sense."

"Just listen to what I tell you."

Winona sighed and cleared her thoughts, moving everything aside to relax her mind. She took a deep breath and felt her feet leaving the ground. She opened her eyes and found herself a few feet above the grassy field. A part of her wanted to panic, but she pushed that away and kept her focus, floating even higher.

Then she stopped moving, and the lavender-haired teen was still levitating and greeted by her mother who appeared to her in the air. "Excellent job, Winona," Katrina praised, her staff still in hand. "You were even able to stall your flying."

The expecting teen let out a shaky breath, the feeling of floating a bit high above ground scared her. "Yeah, I guess I stopped myself without realizing it."

The short-haired woman chuckled. "You're lucky you did that on your first try. When I first started flying, I couldn't stop! My trainer had to go up and put me back on solid ground."

Katrina let her daughter get used to the feeling of the new trick before beginning their sparring session. "Ok Winona, summon your weapon."

Winona did as instructed and her double ended spear appeared in her hands. Without warning her mother made the first attack and the teen blocked it and pushed her back. She made a jab at the older woman, but Katrina dodged it and spun around and smacked Winona's back with her staff.

The younger teen cried out and turned and swiped at Katrina, nicking her in the side. The experienced wizard hissed and brought her weapon down, and Winona blocked it once more. The two were now physically at odds with each other, both pushing against each other. It wasn't until Katrina wrapped her ankle around the back of Winona's knee and pulled causing her to lose her position.

Katrina took advantage of her daughter's vulnerability and made a stab at her. Winona kicked the staff out of her hands and landed on the ground below, and she looked back up with a grin causing the older woman to chuckle. "Not bad," She crossed her arms, sharing the smile. "You're a quick learner, and that's something you didn't get from me."

"That's great but could we talk more on the ground," Winona asked rubbing her stomach. "I'm getting a little airsick."

AN: Hey guys! Sorry, this is late but lord I'm the biggest procrastinator and sometimes that causes me to do things last minute. Anyway, I apologize if it feels rushed but I wanted to get it finished on time. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did leave a review! ~TheWriter'sMistress~