Chapter 23: To Be or Not to Be Proposed to

Four years later.

A car burst from a dark alleyway as sirens seared through the night air. A man in the passenger seat of the car had on a ski mask and pulled out a gun. He rolled down his window and shot at the pursuing police car. He shot at the police car until one of the tires burst, causing the car to veer off the road. The driver of the escaping car snickered as he and his accomplice escaped with the gems they stole from a jewelry store.

"Too easy," The driver said as he pulled off his mask. They sped through the streets towards a city called Bellridge.

Suddenly, there was a loud roar of an engine coming up from behind them. The two men were surprised to find a man in a dark suit of armor, horns on his helmet, face covered, and on a motorcycle with weird-looking wheels riding next to them. The mysterious rider motioned for them to pull over.

"Is this guy a cop?" The masked man in the passenger seat questioned.

"Is he a cop? Does he look like a cop? Shoot him!" The driver said.

The thief pulled out his gun and shot at the motorcyclist through the open window. The armored man jerked his motorcycle back and moved close behind their car. The driver noticed and stepped on the brake. The rider swerved to avoid getting hit and took off onto a side street.

"Sheesh, what was that?" The gunned criminal asked.

"I don't know but I think we scared him off." The driver said speeding up and glancing out his side window to look for any signs of the motorcyclists.

"Look out!" His accomplice yelled, pointing in front of them.

A dark-haired woman was standing in the middle of the road, about to get hit by their car. The driver slammed on the brakes and their car came to a screeching stop. The woman had disappeared. The driver blinked his eyes a few times to make sure they were still working.

Where'd she go?" The partner said paranoid.

"Who cares let's go," Immediately after the driver spoke, a fist came bursting through the glass of the driver's side window and pulled him out of the car. The criminal yelled as the motorcyclist slammed him to the ground, holding him there.

"You know speeding is against the law right?" The rider said to the driver. His dark visor still covering his face.

The passenger side door opened, the other criminal stepped out of the car and brought out his gun. He was about to shoot the rider when a purple glowing rope shot out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the gun, pulling it out of his hands. He looked over to see the woman that they almost hit held up his gun in her gloved hands. She quickly dismantled it and let the pieces fall to the ground with a smile.

"You should also watch where you're going, running someone over isn't very nice," The woman said.

If the criminal wasn't so freaked out, he would have tried to hit on the woman. She was lean and had long dark hair with a white streak in the front. Half her face was covered with a black cloth, but her eyes radiated a warm brown color in them. He didn't notice until then that she also had a staff. What was she, an anime character?

"As well as stealing," She remarked.

The thief pulled out a knife he had in his pocket.

"Look lady you don't want to mess with me," The thief said. Then a bright purple stream of magic shot from the woman's staff. It wrapped around the man and he was lifted up in the air.

"What the f-" He cried before he was thrown against the car multiple times. It wasn't until he dropped the knife that the woman stopped.

Sirens cut through the silence and were approaching quickly.

"Let's tie them up." The woman said.

"The rope's in my side satchel," Replied the motorcyclist.

The woman walked over to the rider's motorcycle and rummaged through the mounted side bag.

"Uh, it's not here."

The rider paused.

"You forgot to pack it didn't you," The woman said.

"Maybe," Which meant yes. The sirens were seconds away. "Guess we'll have to improvise," He said.

The rider pulled the driver off the ground and slammed him onto the hood of the car. The woman followed and set the other criminal next to his partner. With incredible strength, the rider gripped both edges of the hood with his hands. The metal whined as he curled the edges up and on top of the men, pinning them to the car.

Then the armored man and the women quickly hopped onto the motorcycle together and revved off in a flash of light. The sound of the motorcycle died out as the police cars pulled up in front of the thief's car.

"Well...that just happened," The driver said to his dazed partner.

•^^•

This was Jim's favorite part, riding home with Claire after a successful night of catching the bad guys.

The shops and building lights blazed by as Jim navigated the city streets on his gyrecycle. Claire had on goggles so she could see the beautiful streams of color as they flew past. This was also Claire's favorite part.

As he rode, Jim reflected on how far they both had come.

A lot had happened since they arrived at the New Jersey Trollmarket. Even after Mordred, new enemies surfaced, but nothing the Trollhunters couldn't handle.

As for things back in California, it didn't take long for Arcadia to be in mortal danger again. Luckily they made it back just in time to help save the city and also the world. Now they visit often.

Over the last four years, Jim earned his high school diploma with the help of Claire homeschooling him. He also figured out how to make troll-food a little more refined and even opened up a little restaurant in Trollmarket.

Claire had grown into a beautiful young lady, a few inches taller and she'd let her hair grow out. She got into a prestigious performing arts school in New York and was in her last semester of school. She also learned everything she could from Merlin and became a remarkable wizard.

With the stones that Blinky kept from previous Trollhunters, Jim managed to find the one that let him walk in daylight. And with it, Jim and Claire got to go on more dates together. Not to mention that October was the time when he could walk freely around. Always using the excuse that he was heading to a costume party. And whenever they did go to costume parties, he usually won best costume.

Merlin had been traveling around the world, revisiting places he knew, reuniting with old acquaintances, and searching for more wizards to teach.

Nomura was made the commander of the Troll Guard. Krem became the leader of Trollmarket and Galerg got Krem's old job as assistant. After a lot of failed attempts, Krem managed to share his feelings towards Nomura and after many more attempts, she began to see he wasn't such a weakling after all.

Blinky taught troll history to the young trolls in the library, many needed to be updated on how Angor Rot helped defeat Morgana in the end.

Life eventually calmed down enough that Jim and Claire worked part-time fighting crime, saving lives, and catching human bad guys. Which was what they had just finished doing for the night.

Jim pulled off the street and drove down into a big sewerage pipe off the city's river. He drove until they reached the gyre station entrance. He came to a stop and cut the engine. Claire hopped off and Jim parked his bike. They traveled through the pipes and tunnels until they made their way onto the balcony overlooking Trollmarket.

Jim removed his amulet and put it in his pocket. They casually leaned on the balcony banister as they kept talking.

"I totally thought I packed the rope. Guess I was a little distracted today," Jim said.

"Why's that?" Claire asked.

"Oh well, it's a secret," Jim said playfully.

"Secret? I thought we weren't keeping secrets from each other." She said skeptically.

"You were the one that promised that if I remember correctly. Besides, this one is special," He smiled.

"How come?"

"Because it will change the future," He said with a wink.

"Yeah sure." Claire rolled her eyes, turned and gave Jim a kiss on the cheek. "Then I'll leave you to your secret. I need to head back to my dorm, I have a paper due next week and I want to finish it tonight." And she started walking away.

Jim's expression fell.

"Wait, I thought you were going to stay a little longer."

"Sorry, homework calls," Claire called out as she made her way to the exit.

Jim started to panic as things weren't going exactly as planned. So he decided to skip to the part that would catch her attention.

"O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?" Jim called out.

Claire paused. She raised an eyebrow and smiled at Jim over her shoulder, recognizing the line in a heartbeat.

"What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?" Claire turned and responded.

"Th' exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine," Jim said confidently. He stepped closer.

"I gave thee mine before thou didst request it, And yet I would it were to give again," Claire said with a dramatic sigh.

"Wouldst thou withdraw it? For what purpose, love?" Jim asked playfully.

"But to be frank, and give it thee again. And yet I wish but for the thing I have. My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep. The more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite." Claire passionately said.

Jim smiled, he forgot how good she'd gotten. Even better than she did opening night in high school. Jim was so distracted that he nearly forgot his line. He cleared his throat to help transition to his next part.

"O blessed, blessed night! I am afeard. Being in night, all this is but a dream, Too flattering-sweet to be substantial." Jim said dramatically.

Claire tittered but continued. "Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed." Then she turned away from Jim, acting as she did four years earlier. "If that thy bent of love be honourable, Thy purpose marriage," She turned. "Send me wor-" Claire stopped. She found Jim down on one knee, smiling up at her.

From his jacket pocket, Jim pulled out a small ring box. Claire's eyes widened and she covered her mouth to keep it from gapping.

"Claire, I liked you the moment I met you and my love for you has only grown. You are amazing. You've stuck by me through more than I thought possible. You mean the world to me."

He opened up the ring box and showed a beautiful violet diamond set in a silver band with 2 more gems surrounding it.

"Claire Nunez, will you marry me?"

Claire smiled from ear to ear as tears were building up. "Yes, of course, yes." She choked out. Jim's smile widened and he immediately stood. She took a joy-filled breath and brushed a tear from her cheek as she let Jim slip the ring on. It fit perfectly. She examined it briefly and loved everything about it. Claire smiled up at Jim and took his face in her hands and kissed him. Jim pulled her close and tightly held her.

As they kissed, Jim thought he could stay in this moment forever.

Then a noise caught them both off guard. They turned to see a small gathering of trolls including their friends down in Trollmarket cheering for them.

"Well done Master Jim!" Blinky yelled at the top of his lungs.

Claire and Jim laughed at the crowd that was gathering but that didn't stop them from completing the moment with another blissful kiss.

•^^•