Chapter Eight: Changeling

"I know contemporary media might lead you to believe that European History is full of swords, sorcery, and scandal…"

Zelda Nomura's voice echoed from atop the steps of the museum over the heads of Strickler's obviously zoned-out history class. Jamie would not be surprised if the amulet had to choose another Trollhunter because she'd died of boredom. It would probably be whoever was snoring behind her. Mad skills falling asleep standing up, she thought offhandedly. Even Strickler was rolling his eyes at Nomura's less-than-titillating speech.

"I assure you, the truth is far more interesting," the excitable Asian curator smiled serenely, oblivious to the vacant stares of Jamie's schoolmates. "And there's no better place to start than Renaissance Era pottery!"

A collective groan resounded, broken only by Eli's excited "wow!"

Strickler managed to earn himself another point in Jamie's favor when he approached Nomura to lay a hand upon her shoulder, stopping any further assaults upon the teenagers' fragile psyches. "Since we have limited time, Ms. Nomura," he interrupted suavely, "perhaps it's best if they explore the museum on their own?"

Whoops of relief erupted around Jamie and the class scattered before the adults could change their minds.

Jamie quickly fell into step alongside Toby, who chatted excitedly about the play. "Everyone dies in this! Did you know that?! I thought this was supposed to be the ultimate love story!"

The girl giggled at her friend's antics and was just about to reply when she caught sight of Claire standing alone in front of a beautiful Renaissance Era gown. Though her abrupt cancellation of their study session had hurt, Jamie couldn't help but notice the dark circles that framed Claire's eyes. Something was going on with the girl, something that was interfering with her ability to see Jamie. What kind of friend—what kind of protector—would she be if she didn't at least try to figure out what was going on?

"Hey, Tobes," Jamie said slyly, eyeing her friend out of the corner of her eye. "You should go talk to Claire about this. I bet she'd have way more to say about it than I would."

Toby's jaw went slack. "Talk to Claire? Like, outside of rehearsal? After what happened last time?!"

"C'mon, Tobes," the girl pleaded. "If you talk to her, maybe we can figure out why she cancelled on me! And besides," she smirked at her friend's nervous display, "you can't still be scared to talk to her after spending so much time together at practice."

"Of course, I'm still scared!" Toby hissed indignantly. "It's Claire freakin' Nunez we're talking about!"

"Well, then, Duke of Awesomeness," Jamie whipped around her friend and shoved him directly into Claire's line of sight, "stop talking about her and start talking to her!"

It was too late for Toby—the moment Claire caught sight of his involuntary approach, she beamed and waved. There was no backing out for her friend now. Jamie smirked in triumph as the boy worked his charm on the Latina and she turned to explore the museum on her own…

Only to run into the very last person she wanted to talk to.

"C'mon, Jamie," Steve said, intent on charming. His casual lean against the museum wall only served to heighten the overpowering stench of his liberally-applied cologn. "You can stop playing hard to get. I know you want me back."

She couldn't hold back the sound of disgust that burbled in her throat. "In your dreams, Steve," she managed to grind out through her teeth, pushing past the arrogant jock.

"What we had was special, JL!" he cried, placing a hand on her shoulder before she could escape him successfully. "I just wanna talk about what happened."

Oh, I am so glad we are over, the girl fumed silently. "Yeah?" Jamie hissed at him. "Well, I don't. Now, if you'll excuse me-."

"I thought it was an alien—definitely not human!"

Jamie gasped and whirled toward the voice that had just spoken, completely ignoring Steve's line about everything he did being "just a big misunderstanding." She was unsurprised to find Eli, holding his phone up and showing it to a skeptical looking girl.

"It's some sort of monster!" the bespectacled boy exclaimed desperately.

"C'mon," his unwilling audience crossed her arms and cocked her hip to the side, "give it up, Eli!"

"No!" he argued. "This time I have photographic evidence!"

Jamie raced over to where Eli was standing, but was surprised to find Steve had beaten her to the punch with his long-legged stride. The bully ripped the phone out of Eli's hands and gave the image on the screen a quick once-over. "This just looks like road-kill!" he guffawed at the smaller boy's expense.

The Trollhunter released a sigh of relief—anything that looked like road-kill couldn't possibly be a troll. Instead of listening to Eli try to explain himself, Jamie opted to escape Steve's attempt at getting back into her pants. She slipped discretely behind a white curtain around the corner to wait out the crowd of teenagers.

It was only when she was alone and able to relax that the girl finally noticed her amulet pulsating frantically in her back pocket. "What's up with you?" Jamie whispered as she retrieved the trollish artifact. That same, familiar tug from the amulet pulled at Jamie's gut, seeming to guide her forward—it wanted her to go forward.

The girl's eyes rose, scanning the perimeter only to see a door with a sign that clearly said "Do Not Enter; Employees Only." Of course. Mustering up all of her Trollhunter courage, Jamie opened the door and pressed onward. The sight that greeted her upon entry, however, made her stop in her tracks and stare.

A bridge, one that seemed so achingly familiar, sat in the middle of the space, surrounded by boxes. It was the markings carved into the stone that elicited a gasp from the teenager—they were Trollish.

Slowly, carefully, Jamie walked toward the ancient, stone bridge, her eyes drinking in every detail and committing them to memory. The archway was nearly completed, the side that faced her depicting a battle from long ago. At the apex was a circular indention that begged to be filled—possibly a missing ornament?

A hand plopped suddenly upon Jamie's shoulder, startling a cry out of the teen. She whipped around and came face-to-face with an incredibly stern-looking Strickler.

"It appears," her mom's boyfriend drawled in that way that let her know she was in for it, "your quest for knowledge has finally gotten you into trouble, Little Athena."

Jamie gulped as the severe history teacher led her quickly through the white curtain that separated her from her peers. She could feel the flush inching along her neck as she was forced to pass her classmates, clearly on the receiving end of punishment. Mary Wang's vindictive giggles echoed in her ears as Strickler led her out of the museum to speak privately upon the front steps.

Oh, great, Jamie bemoaned silently. I'm so dead.

To her surprise, Strickler did not immediately lay into Jamie for suddenly breaking the rules and putting her nose where it didn't belong. Instead, he looked around to make sure the coast was clear and turned back to his confused pupil. "It would be wise if, in the future," he said softly, "you displayed a tad more caution before embarking upon any more quests. We wouldn't want your mother grounding you and keeping you from LARPing, would we, Little Athena?"

Jamie gasped as Strickler's eyes lit a brilliant yellow for the briefest of moments before he smirked dangerously and turned away, leaving her stunned upon the museum steps.

"Are you certain?" Blinky asked. "Are you absolutely, unequivocally certain?"

"I know what I saw!" Jamie exclaimed for the umpteenth time. "It was the Killahead Bridge—the exact one from A Brief Recapitulation—and then, Strickler's eyes glowed!"

She paced anxiously around the Forge in front of her skeptical mentor, flinging her arms around exactly the way he did when he got excited about anything. Blinky's six eyes bored worriedly into her, his lips tight as he considered her words carefully.

"I have a theory," the blue troll said as softly as was possible for his booming voice, "but you must keep it quiet until we know for certain whether or not it is correct, lest we start a panic."

Jamie stopped pacing and whirled on her mentor. "There's already a panic, Blink!" she cried. "I'm panicking! My mom's boyfriend might be working for Bular and they might be trying to open the Bridge!"

Behind her, Aaarrrgh muttered something softly to Toby, who handed him another bag of cat dander.

"How are you not freaking out, Tobes?!" Jamie whirled on her best friend. "I can't fight Strickler! He's like…" She stopped, all the energy leaving her in a rush of emotion, and sighed.

Toby, as usual, picked up on Jamie's train of thought and rose to hug her. "I get it, JL," he said into her shoulder. "So, why don't we just try talking to him first?"

"Oh, no, no!" Blinky said vehemently. "If my theory proves correct, you could not possibly hope for positive communication from this man! He will only deceive and manipulate you, as changelings are wont to do."

"Changelings?" Jamie questioned.

Instantly, Blinky shushed the girl, racing forward to place a hand upon her lips. He glanced around to ensure they would not be heard before freeing her. "Yes," his gaze was intense and full of fear. "In the old world, Gumm-Gumms stole our young and did something unnatural to change them! Their sole purpose: to spy on the world above."

Jamie felt her jaw drop and her eyes widen. "That's… that's terrible!"

"How did they change them, exactly?" Toby asked timidly.

"Nasty business," Aaarrrgh said forlornly. "Very messy."

Jamie frowned as she met her mentor's six blinking eyes. "So," she stumbled over her words, "you're saying that… if Strickler is one of these changelings… he's actually a troll who was experimented on as a child?"

"And then forced to fight in a war for an evil maniac?!" Toby exclaimed. "Omigosh. Jamie, your future step-dad is a child soldier!"

Blinky's expression became pained and his gaze flicked briefly to Aaarrrgh. "Trolls…" he said solemnly, "don't much care to reminisce over the loss of their children."

The Trollhunter sighed. "If Trollmarket won't listen," she said. "How are we supposed to expose the changelings and keep Gunmar from escaping, all without getting Strickler into trouble?"

"I am not sure it is avoidable, Lady Jamie," the blue troll said as if he were delivering bad news. "If it was, in fact, the Killahead Bridge you saw in the museum, it would have taken an army of changelings decades to retrieve the missing pieces!"

Jamie sighed, "So, what do we do?"

"We have to tell Vendel," Blinky stated solemnly. "He will know how to proceed."

At that moment, Draal entered the Forge, eyes steely and expression impassive. His yellow-red eyes locked with Jamie's and his mouth tightened. The girl felt her stomach clench. After the events of earlier, she had no desire to work with the brutish troll who so despised her. Uncovering Strickler's allegiances seemed so much more pressing.

A stone hand upon her shoulder drew her from her solemn musings. "I will inform Vendel," Blinky said reassuringly. "You focus on winning Draal's favor. If what we suspect is true, we'll need allies now more than ever."

Jamie placed a tiny hand over his, pushing her gratitude into the troll through her touch. With a final shared smile, Blinky squeezed her shoulder before moving to depart. The Trollhunter did not miss the way her mentor glowered warningly at Draal as they passed by one another. The deadly troll simply snuffed, his confidence its own threat, before turning his contemptuous gaze back upon Jamie. "So," Draal said, towering over her in his usual domineering way. "You think yourself strong enough, brave enough, honorable enough to emulate my father…"

"No," Jamie said simply, cocking her hip in an uncooperatively sassy manner. "That's why you're here."

Draal huffed his bullring into swinging and rolled his eyes. "The first thing you must know about Kanjigar the Courageous," the troll redirected, "is that he gave up everything for the good of others, from his loved ones to his life." Jamie heard clearly the bitterness in his tone as he spoke. "To him, to serve was to sacrifice. Today, Trollhunter, you will serve by sacrificing your comfort so that you may learn to persevere through any pain."

The girl did not like the sound of that. "Wait," she said, heart plummeting at the look in his eyes. She looked to Toby and Aaarrrgh for reassurance, both of whom seemed just as uncertain as she. "What do you mean?"

"Prepare, Trollhunter!" Draal lunged low as though he were about to sprint. "And mimic my movements…"

"I'm dead."

Blinky rolled his eyes at his overdramatic charge's proclamation. "You'll be fine, Lady Jamie," he said without pausing his task of replacing the towering piles of books back upon the semi-organized shelves.

"No, really," Jamie affirmed from her place upon the floor of Trollmarket's library. "I'm actually dead. Draal killed me."

"The only reason you are in so much pain," the Conundrum stated flatly, "is because you refused to stretch after that excessively brutal training session."

The Trollhunter moaned and twitched in a failed attempt to roll over, pain rocketing throughout the shoulder she'd just tried to contract. "I couldn't even stand," she whined. "How was I supposed to stretch?"

Jamie couldn't help the Cheshire-like grin that consumed her lips as she listened to her trainer grumble under his breath. Upon returning from his meeting with Vendel and seeing the state in which Draal had left his Trollhunter, Blinky had been furious. After he'd accused the brute of being an "obviously unqualified trainer" for "not even performing a basic assessment" and then "destroying her fragile, fleshy body through forced overexertion," Jamie could never again doubt her trainer's care for her.

Currently, the scholar was grumbling about Draal's "gross misuse of trust" and "what if the Trollhunter had been called to serve in such a state" and even "never leaving her alone in his presence again." Personally, Jamie agreed with Blinky, but not because she feared pain—she couldn't afford to be rendered useless with the world in potential peril. She was just grateful Blinky's upset had not chased Draal away—in fact, it had probably secured the brute as a permanent fixture in her training regiment, so great was his dislike of the scholarly troll.

"Isn't there some kind of post-workout potion trolls use?" Jamie complained, dismissing her heavy armor so she could flop gracelessly onto her side. "Literally anything that will help me recover?"

"Alas," Blinky said forlornly, "trolls do not experience overexertion the way you humans do. I have, however, been researching exercise recovery practices from elite athletes in the hopes of improving your performance in the Forge." He finally ceased his work organizing tomes and approached the floored Trollhunter. "If I may…?"

Jamie grunted her consent and allowed the four-armed troll to flip her back to supine. "Ordinarily," Blinky said in his teacher-voice, "sports massage involves a pre-exercise session of total-body compressions to warm and stimulate your muscles and a post-exercise session of effleurage and mobilization techniques to encourage circulation and relaxation."

"Okay, I have no idea what you just said," Jamie said as her trainer began to effleurage along her limbs in a clinical manner. "And how'd you even find out about all of this stuff?"

"I have paid frequent visits to the Arcadia Oaks Library over the years," Blinky stated smugly. "Since your induction as Trollhunter, I have visited on a near-nightly basis to procure the knowledge necessary to train the human body effectively."

Jamie hummed thoughtfully, marveling at how easily she could have interacted with the world of trolls if only she'd known where to look. "I wonder if you ever saw me running around before all of this," she said absently.

"Probably not without experiencing a great deal of fright," Blinky stated with a wry smile. "Simply recall how you reacted to our meeting and understand the need for our world's secrecy."

The girl grinned at the memory as her mentor passively stretched her hamstrings. "I can't believe I hit you in the head with a broom," she said with a laugh. "If only I'd known how good of friends we'd be."

Blinky smirked. "I suppose I'll forgive you, seeing as we're such good friends," her trainer teased as he lifted her arms above her head and tugged in a final stretch. "There. You're cured."

"Am I?" Jamie sighed mournfully at the loss of her massage. "I still feel kinda stiff in some parts. Maybe you should do it again…"

Blinky rolled his eyes and pulled the Trollhunter to her feet. "Tobias and Aaarrrgh should be back with the ice momentarily. In the meanwhile, I advise you perform gentle dynamic stretching. Your body must be fully recovered if we are to enact Vendel's plan."

That seemed to get the Trollhunter's attention. "Oh, yeah," she said absently. "What did he say about the possible you-know-whats?"

"Aaaah!" Toby's voice interrupted from the library entrance. "It's cold! It's cold!"

Jamie's head whipped toward the source of the distressed exclamation. Toby was carrying an enormous bag of ice with his bare arms, his skin flushing where it made contact with the frigid plastic. Aaarrrgh followed closely behind the boy, carrying another ten bags in his enormous grip.

"Holy crap," Jamie said. "Is that all for me?!"

"All but one," Blinky said vindictively, crossing his upper two arms. "The remainder is to be dumped unceremoniously upon Draal's head the next time I see him."

Toby dropped his bag of ice at the Conundrum's feet and proceeded to dance around in an effort to warm his body up. "Still cold, still cold!"

"What Vendel say?" Aaarrrgh asked immediately as he, too, deposited the ice in a heaping pile.

"He is unwilling to accompany us to validate the Trollhunter's suspicions without prior proof," Blinky stated. "Unfortunately, he is far more skeptical than we."

"Okay," Jamie said slowly. "But did you talk to him about the changelings?"

Blinky seemed hesitant to divulge the Elder's response to the possibility of changelings running amok. "Yes, I did," he said simply.

"That good, huh?" Aaarrrgh asked dryly, not for the first time surprising Jamie with the wit he hid behind his mask of simplicity.

"He was less than pleased with the implications," the Conundrum stated, wringing his hands nervously, "hence, his desire for proof. Upon uncovering even one changeling's identity, he will be willing to accompany us and see for himself that the Bridge is a threat once more."

Jamie could work with that. "Great!" she said enthusiastically, wincing at the pain that shot through her calves at her accompanying bounce. Another though occurred to her that dampened her mood once more. "But Strickler's our only lead. I don't want to put him in danger if he is a changeling!"

"There are methods of exposing a changeling's true nature without causing them harm," Blinky reassured the girl, reaching into his pocket and retrieving something round and metal. "Specifically by using this…"

Aaarrrgh hummed thoughtfully from his place beside Toby, "Gaggletack."

"Gaggletack?" Toby asked, cocking his eyebrow.

"Rare artifact," the giant troll rumbled in explanation.

"An object of great mystery!" Blinky said dramatically. "With physical contact, it reveals the true nature of a changeling."

Gazing owlishly at the supposedly rare and mysterious artifact, Jamie reached out to take it from her mentor's grasp. "A horseshoe?"

Blinky snatched the item from her hand with a look of affront, "Why would you put such a valuable item on a horse's foot?!"

Jamie rolled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time that night, feeling like she would never understand trolls. "So, we're gonna use this to expose Strickler," she mused. "How do we do it?"

Blinky held the iron shoe aloft, "Simply touch the subject you wish to test," he tapped Jamie's exposed neck softly with the gaggletack, "and voila! Strickler's true nature will be revealed!"

"Be careful," Aaarrrgh said, placing an enormous hand upon Jamie's tiny shoulder. "Could make changeling mad."

Her mentor hummed thoughtfully beside her. "Yes," the blue troll drawled. "Perhaps it would be best if one of us accompanied you on your mission, should he react poorly to being forcibly exposed."

"No way!" Jamie exclaimed vehemently. "Strickler would never hurt me! I don't care if he is half troll or whatever. He's had plenty of opportunities to turn on me since I became the Trollhunter."

Blinky made a huffing sound and crossed all four of his arms, fixing her with a serious look. "I trust your judgment, Lady Jamie," he said firmly. "But I also know your heart is prone toward seeing the good in all beings, worthy or otherwise. I would rather ensure your safety than trust a changeling."

Jamie gnawed her lip indecisively as she met her mentor's gaze. She could see his resolve plain as day, but there was something else shimmering in his dusky orbs; something akin to concern. It made the last of Jamie's resistance crumble.

"Alright," she conceded. "But it has to be you. Aaarrrgh can't move quickly enough through my place to help me escape if he does turn on me," she folded her arms stubbornly, matching Blinky's body language to a tee, "which he won't."

"Excellent," the blue troll smiled, obviously more at-ease with their current plan that their previous. "We shall venture to the surface tonight! Aaarrrgh, you stay at Master Toby's house to ensure the changeling does not try to leverage our Trollhunter's friend against her. I'll gather some supplies that should help us escape the changeling's wrath should he respond poorly to his exposure."

Nervousness twisted in Jamie's gut as her mentor handed her the gaggletack. She stowed the offending item away in her backpack and tried to forget her upcoming mission. The task proved more difficult than she expected as thoughts of the man she'd hoped would someday become her step-father transforming into a monster refused to leave her mind.

"For now," her mentor interrupted her train of thought, "we must ensure you are ready for your upcoming mission and get you in an ice bath."

Jamie groaned. "I can't stay any longer," she said sadly. "I may not be grounded, but I'm still on thin ice. Mom thinks I had a long track meet and I need to be home in…" her brow furrowed and she turned to Toby. "What time is it anyway?"

The boy cringed. "Almost 7:00 pm."

"Ugh," Jamie whined and hobbled for the exit. "Right now." I'm so dead...

Before she could reach the doorway out, she felt four stone arms scoop her up and carry her backward. "Recovery takes priority," Blinky stated factually.

"Over me being allowed to leave the house and fulfill my destiny?" Jamie countered as Blinky reached the back room, where a tub of water awaited her submersion. "I don't think so."

"Five minutes," her mentor demanded, "and then we can go. Aaarrrgh, if you would be so kind…"

Aaarrrgh picked up the ten bags of ice with ease and filled the tub, sloshing water all over the stone floor. Jamie moaned, absolutely dreading what was about to come. "We'll slip out so you can recover, Trollhunter," Blinky smirked as he and Aaarrrgh made for the exit, "before you get cold feet."

The teen rolled her eyes. "Please, tell me you're out of ice-bath puns," she complained, turning away so he couldn't see her smile.

"On the contrary, Lady Jamie," his tone turned sly, "that was just the tip of the iceberg."

With that, he shut the door, leaving Jamie wash her worries away in an agonizing bath of ice.

Dearest Readers,

Strickler's comin' outta the closet, Blinky drops some mad puns, and Draal and Jamie become full-on sparring partners. Five chapters left of Arc One: Goodbye Childhood.

To 17: SO glad you found it funny! I was worried I didn't play it up enough to actually make Coach feel awkward and run away, but eh, it's smooth enough.

Yours,

Elora Story