Hello, my beautiful creatures! How y'all doing today? I hope y'all are well and healthy! I know my schedule for writing has been a little, well, fucked up, but I hope this longer chapter is worth the wait! Especially when I had to re-write the ending twice because it didn't save... Sad face.
BUT ANYWAY! I hope you guys enjoy it! Much love, everyone!
Standing before the large museum building as I now knew from Douxie's adventures here made me feel as if I was tampering within enemy territory. The two adults before us seemingly felt unnerved, but I knew between Toby and I both that we were anxious enough for all those involved to be within the area.
"This is Killahead Bridge." I looked down at the picture with curious eyes. The structure was even more intricate than I could have ever imagined as my eyes traced over the large troll face that was in the center of it with a circular structure missing in the center. "This is what I found out the Janus Order has been assembling and this structure, almost completely on its own, will lead to the Eternal Night."
"Did you get any glimpses of our new enemy, Douxie?" He shook his head for a moment before presenting another picture to Toby and I.
"Not in the form I needed. I got the heads of the order in their trollish forms, but not in their human." I saw two of them. One of them was tall and green with a feather-like neck structure around his neck. His arms were gestured out as a purple figure was right beside him. A figure I knew all too fell.
"Nomura."
"You know that one?"
"I know her human form as well."
My eyes kept themselves on the museum correlator as she continued to speak. My mind slowly changing her features to that of the trollish form I knew all too well.
"She was attacking Claire. I bounded her to a tree and forced her back into her human form. I have no clue what she is to let them have it there, but she's a strong opponent."
"Keep an eye on anyone that seems close to her then. Anyone she associates with might be a changeling as well."
I watched the interaction between my history teacher and Nomura as they were seemingly deciding how they wanted to actually go about looking at the exhibits. They seemed as if they knew each other for years as Strickler started to speak about how we should be allowed to explore the museum ourselves. As I followed the crowd of my fellow classmates with ease, my mind danced around the idea even more.
Mr. Strickler couldn't be a changeling? Could he? He never gave any hints toward being anything more than just a history teacher, but I have been wrong before. Hell. My own mother was able to hide her magic from me for years before I had started showing signs of my own magical gifts. So it could be a possibility.
I felt a nudge to my side as Toby and I started making our way toward the upstairs portion of the museum together.
"You seem like you have something on your mind, dude. What's up?" I looked over to Toby with a worried look on my face. I glanced around us for a moment to see that there was anyone too close to hear us. I brought my eyes back to him I started to speak.
"Did you notice how close Nomura and Strickler are? It's as if they've known themselves for years and I haven't seen Nomura around Arcadia until recently."
"They could be friends. Or something else." I groaned as I knew exactly what he was saying with the large smirk on his face that then suddenly vanished as he rubbed his chin with a curious look taking over his features. "Wait. Can changelings even-?"
"Can we not speak about that kind of stuff? Especially about our history teacher?"
"Hey! It's a whole part of being human. Or animal-like. Wait, does that nature even tie itself to trolls?"
"I'm being serious here. I rather not speak about this anymore."
"But if it included a specific Latina you would listen." I shot him a glare as we reached the top of the staircase together. "Speaking of a specific Latina." I turned my head toward where he was looking to see Claire looking at a medieval dress within a glass casing with a large smile on her face. I felt myself smile softly as I noted how the light caused her dark hair to seem as if it was a shade lighter as she placed her hands behind her back rather delicately. It was wonderful to see that the gentleness the Trollhunter had from before she was called upon by the amulet was still within her as she looked over the dress as if it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
Do I have the same look on my face as I look upon her?
I shook my head a little with a goofy smile taking over my face.
I don't doubt it, honestly.
I felt a small nudge push me toward her. I looked over toward Toby who I know caused it before he gestured toward her with a smile on his face.
"Go talk to her man. I'll go take a look around the area to see if I can find anything out of the norm." He gave me a wink before nudging me toward Claire once more. "Go. Talk up your Juliet." I smiled toward him before bringing my attention back toward Claire. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as I started making my way toward her with a small smile still dancing on my face. But before I could make my appearance known, a familiar blonde made himself known instead.
"Hey there, Nuñez." Suddenly, Claire's demeanor changed as she stiffened the soft look I could see from my view of her hardened. She looked over toward Steve as a cold voice came out of the Trollhunter.
"What do you want, Palchuk?"
"Whoa. You sound a little hostile there. Does that have to deal with the Lake and me fiasco? I already said I was sorry."
"To the wrong person. The people you should be apologizing to is Jim and Eli. Not me. I could care less about your half-assed apologies." Steve deflated as she spoke.
"They're not half-assed."
"Well they weren't genuine so what else do you call it?"
"Is everything alright over here?" The two of them turned their heads toward me. A smile appeared on her face as a stone glare appeared on Steve's.
"Hey, Jim. Everything's okay, honestly." I flashed her a smile as I then glanced over toward Steve with a glare of my own. Claire brought her attention back to the blonde who's glare went away suddenly as she spoke to him once more. "You were just leaving, weren't you?" He looked between me and her for a moment before giving a small huff as if he wanted to go against her word but knew it would only cause a ruckus if he did.
"Yeah. See you around." His voice had a bit of defeat within it as he turned and started walking away down the hall. I could tell without even looking at her to know she had a satisfied look on her face while she watched the retreating figure leaving the hallway. I decided to join her as I took the open spot at her side. I turned my head to glance at her as I found out my hypothesis was correct with how a simple smile was on her lips as she watched the blonde turn down toward another hallway.
"You didn't have to be so hard on him." My voice was soft but shocked me when I heard myself speak. I wasn't planning on making it known that I saw the whole commotion, but it seemed like my mouth had other plans.
"You saw all that then, huh?" I gave a small nod as I watched her satisfied look turned sour while a small sigh escaped her lips. "I'm sorry. I know I was a little rough there, but can you blame me? He's done so much to Eli," She turned her head toward me and I could see the ragging sorrow that was dancing in her eyes as hers met mine. "To you," She looked away from me toward where Steve had adventured off to as she continued. "Is it so wrong for me to hold it against him? Especially when he only cares what I think about his actions?"
"I didn't say your emotions are wrong, Claire. What I meant is that you never truly know where outburst like his are stemming from." She brought her eyes back to mine and I couldn't help but smile slightly at the action. "Each of us has a battle we are fighting. May it be home life struggles or," I gave her a small smirk and a shrug as I looked over to the side. "Something a little more magical. We each have our own little issues." I brought my eyes to look over toward where she was earlier as I continued. "Maybe his actions come from those. I know if I didn't have good forms to deal with mine, I would be the same."
"Yeah." I brought my eyes back toward her to see she was looking down at her hands that she brought before her. "You're right. I'll go easier on him next time." I felt a giant smile appear on my face as I responded with a gentle voice.
"That's all I can ask for." I glanced out of my view to see the dress that she was looking at before the whole situation began. "It's a beautiful dress, by the way. I can see why you were captivated by it."
"You saw that too, huh?" She gave a small giggle that almost caused my heart to stop.
Great Glory of Merlin, even her giggle is adorable. It's like a soft chorus of angels that's singing to me in such an amusing and taunting way that will probably repeat within my mind like an earworm melody I'm happy to listen to.
"It is lovely though. If only we could afford styles like this for our costumes for the play. With how things are going, I think I might get stuck acting out the play in that armor I showed up in during auditions." I felt a smile dance on my face.
So we're going to dance around this way, huh? Good thing I'm quite terrible at it.
My smile only widened as I started to speak once more.
"That wouldn't be that bad now, would it? You did wonderful within it before." I smiled as my eyes found their way back to her to see her eyes were looking back at me. I couldn't help but say what else was dancing in my head as her hazel eyes just pushed me forward. "You looked beautiful in it anyway." I felt my face flush as I realized exactly what it was that I said. "That wasn't saying too much right? Sorry if I stepped over the line or anything I just meant that I-." I stopped when I saw the smile on her face coupled with her soft giggle as I felt her hand place itself on my shoulder.
"Jim! Don't worry! It was lovely. Honestly. Thank you." She drummed a small rhythm on my shoulder as a sweet smile danced on her lips. "You're quite the looker yourself after all." She started to walk off and slipped her hand off my shoulder with a gentle graze of her fingers. After a few steps, she looked over her shoulder toward me with a sweet smile. "Aren't you coming along?" I felt a sudden flush appear as a smile appeared on my face right along with it. I couldn't trust myself to speak as I jogged the few steps she was ahead of me to join her side once more while a single thought danced within my mind.
You enjoy toying with me. Don't you, Trollhunter?
"I never got to thank you."
"For what?"
"Well, for starters, you never had to actually get me a caramel coffee like that."
"I thought this was about the cajeta I made." I saw the wide smile appear on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"You made them? They tasted just like what my grandmother would make." I felt a wide smile dance on my face as I felt a slight blush take over my cheeks.
"I'll take that as a compliment then. It took a lot of attempts, actually. Toby as my taste tester and my friend Douxie complaining over my shoulder for about an hour that I making a mess in the cafe kitchen."
"Well, it was delightful. Honestly." We made our way together down the staircase toward the main heart of the museum as I felt her hand place itself on my shoulder. "Magical even." I smiled at her words as I heard thundering feet coming across toward us.
"Jim!" I looked over toward Toby to see that he wasn't wanting to interrupt anything but whatever it was that it was urgent. "Sorry, Claire. Can I snag Jimbo for a second?" I looked over toward Claire as we reached the final step to see a sweet smile dancing on her lips.
"Of course. Seems a bit urgent so don't let me hold you back." She looked over to me for a moment and placed a delicate hand on my arm before continuing. "I'll talk to you later, alright."
"Definitely."
"See you around, boys." She brought her hand off of my arm and gave us a small wave before walking off toward where I saw Darci and Mary were looking at a few artifacts in a small glass casing. I watched her until she started conversing with her friends before bringing my attention toward my best friend.
"Are you alright, Tobes? What's got you in a hurry?"
"Goblins. Found over by the forest line over by Delancey. Eli had photos of them but I ended up deleting them from his phone before anyone else could see them." I felt my eyes widen as I slipped my hands into my jacket pockets.
"Oh fuck."
"Oh fuck indeed. We need to talk to Douxie as soon as we can." I pulled my right hand out of my jacket and got it to fish out my phone from my jeans pocket instead.
"Why wait when we can talk to him now?" I lead the way back upstairs where I knew a lot of kids were not hanging around as I dialed Douxie's number with ease.
If goblins were so close to humans, that means whatever it is that they want is something they're growing increasingly desperate for it.
"Exactly what I thought it is." Douxie poked at the slim with a stick as it moved so slightly. "Goblin essence and by the looks of it, it was run over by a large simple tire." He tossed the stick to the side of the road before dusting his hands off with one another as he stood back up to his full height. "Bastards are getting desperate. Probably to get that last piece I saw was missing."
"What do we do then?"
"I'm going to keep surveying the museum. I suggest you two keep a close eye on our Trollhunter." I gave him a confused look before glancing over to Toby.
"What would they want with Claire? Besides the whole, they want her dead thing."
"Because the amulet is a key piece to opening the bridge." My eyes widened as I brought my attention back toward Douxie.
"So they're going to go after her next?"
"Or whoever it is will go after those closest to her." He crossed his arms over his chest as my mind started to go into overdrive.
Who would they go after though? Darci? Mary? Her parents? There are so many people that she keeps close to her that she cares more about than anything else in the world. I can tell just by the way she speaking about her family and friends.
"But I did see a goblin earlier this morning carrying a small white bundle. Is there anything you guys can think about that could be tied to our Trollhunter by that?" My thoughts calm to a screeching halt as I suddenly remembered the one that seemed to be the closest to the Latina's heart.
"You have a little brother?"
"Yup! Mi hermano is only a little over one year old, but he's a little delight." She had a smile dancing on her face as we sat backstage together while waiting for Miss Janeth to arrive. "Honestly, I never thought I wanted to have a sibling. I thought I was rather content with being an only child. Especially with how distant my parents can be at times." She shook her head slightly as she brought her eyes up to the ceiling. "But when I first held him, dios mio, it was like something changed within me." Her smile widened on her face just the slightest as she continued. "It was like I wanted to make-up for everything my parents didn't do for me. That I wanted to be the one he would come to when he gets to my age. That I would be the shoulder he knows he can lean on when things get rough. I want him to know that no matter what happens with our parents, that we have each other. That the age difference doesn't change the fact that I'll be there for him, you know?" She brought her attention toward me as I felt a smile appear on my face.
"You sound like one hell of a sister, actually."
"You think so?"
"Absolutely." I felt my smile twitch up more on the right side as I noted the shocked look on her face at my reaction. "You sound like you truthfully care for him. It's obvious you would do anything for him if it called for it. What else could someone ask for out of a sibling?" I chuckled a little I continued speaking. "Mind you, that's coming from a guy whose closest thing to a sibling is either his childhood best friend or a British accent having senior at the academy."
"That just makes it even more valuable to hear it from you then. Thank you."
"It's just the truth."
"You should come to meet Enrique one of these days. He loves meeting new people." I felt my smile deepen as my heart fluttered at the fact of being introduced to such a major part of her life.
"I would love to. Just so you know though, I've never been around infants before."
"That just means you have to then!" We shared a small laugh together as my mind faded back into the present.
"Enrique." My voice was soft but it seemed Toby understood instantly what I was meaning to say.
"Claire's little brother! Seems like the perfect way to her, actually. A small little infant? Easy to grab and hide from the public, if you think about it." Douxie crossed his arms over his chest as he seemed to lull over the information.
"It does." He turned his attention toward me before he started speaking again. "When you meet with her again, let her know what we have gathered. As much or as little as you want. All because we don't technically work together, per se, does not mean she doesn't deserve to know what is going on here. Especially with how personal these matters are becoming for her." I nodded my head as a determined look came over my face. "Perfect then. I'll be keeping watch over the museum for now. We need to make sure nothing else is going on within there before we plan any further. Besides that, we can call it a night for us." He uncrossed his arms and flipped his hood up over his head as a smile appeared on his face. "Rest well, mates. We have a long journey ahead of us."
"You as well, Doux."
"Yeah! You as well, Douxie!" The wizard gave us a small nod as thanks before turning and making his way into the darkness of the night. But as Toby and I started making our way toward our little cul-de-sac, my mind started to delve into a journey of its own.
Her little brother. It truly seems no one is safe from this magical world, huh? Not even the innocent youths of the world. She never asked to be called into all of this and he never asked for anything more than to be fed and given attention, seemingly.
And what am I to do within all of this? Still keep myself out of what had been dubbed her battles? How am I supposed to do that now? She's going to tear herself into pieces over this! She's going to claim that she should have done so much more for the little one. Am I supposed to just tell her everything will be okay even though I know I can do so much more?
I felt a determined look take over my face as I knew exactly what I was going to do now.
No. I can't. Not this time around. I'm sorry, Doux. But this battle is mine now as well. Claire would do the same for me, so I can't just let her deal with this on her own. Not when I know I can do so much more to help her. I hope you'll forgive me, Teach.
I leaned against the cold concrete as I waited patiently for the Trollhunter to appear. I made a note with a simple gift of more caramel candies into her locker saying that I needed to meet her here. I signed it with the letter "J", but I figured she was smart enough to put the pieces together as I stood there with my night patrol apparel. My hood still covered my face as I saw the familiar glimmer of armor come under the bridge and make itself known to me.
"Leaving candy in my locker is one hell of a way to get my attention. How did you even get in it in the first place?"
"Magic." I didn't bother trying to deepen my voice as I spoke to her. There wasn't a real reason to hide it anymore as I stood there before her. The only thing helping keep my identity at this point was the hood that covered my features for the most part.
"Really now?" She crossed her armored arms over her chest with a curious look on her face as if she already knew that wasn't the truth.
"I need to get into Claire's locker." I mumbled my request to Mary as if I was like a toddler asking for candy that they knew they weren't going to get. Her friend gave me a wide-eyed look before crossing her arms over her chest as a smug one took over her features.
"And why do you need to get into Claire's locker."
"Because I want to leave her something."
"Why can't you just give it to her at theater practice?"
"Mary, please. Can you just help me out here?" The girl chuckled a little and I noted how much more menacing her laugh seemed in comparison to her closest friend.
"Fine. But you owe me, Lake." I let out a sigh of relief and was given a small little paper with Claire's locker number and combination on it before she walked away as if she had made a powerful business deal. It wasn't until she was out of view that I noticed I had basically made a deal with the devil and that I now owed Mary Wang a favor.
I mentally shook myself out of the memory before letting out a small sigh.
"Okay, fine. I owe a friend of yours a favor. I rather forget that though. Just knowing I might need to do something absolutely embarrassing is going to torment me enough." This pulled a laugh from the Trollhunter which caused me to swallowed dryly in response.
You're not going to be laughing soon, Claire. I'm sorry.
I pushed myself off the wall and dug my right hand into my jacket pocket to pull out the polaroids that Douxie had given me a few days prior.
"Anyway," my voice came off a bit more somber even though this was going to be the joyful part of the conversation. "My friends and I have found out a bit more about what the Janus Order is planning." I handed the photos over toward her as my voice came out in its normal tone.
"Thank you." She took the photos before looking down at them. "These will come in handy, actually. Vendel wasn't believing me that changelings were in Arcadia so maybe these will help me convince him I'm not crazy." I noted the tired look in her eyes as she was shuffling through the photos. My mind replaying what I had heard earlier that day in my head as Douxie's hypothesis from the night before rung true.
"My little brother was missing this morning. The window was open but there were no footprints or anything! It's as if he was taken without someone even entering the room!"
I swallowed hard as I knew what I had to say next might make her situation worse or better mattering on how she takes it.
"My teacher was watching the museum, the place we know now for sure is their acting headquarters within Arcadia, and he said he saw a small bundle being carried by a goblin slip into there." I took a deep breath before continuing. "And we think it might have been your brother. We weren't sure until earlier, but we think they're using him as a way to get to you." I watched as her eyes widened in shock. It was painful to watch as all I wanted to do within that moment was pull her into my arms and never let her go.
"Why would they do that? Why bring an infant into this?" I stepped closer but I had to restrain myself from reaching out to her. But with how broken her voice sounded, it was a battle I knew I was going to lose at any moment now.
"They're going to need the amulet to open up the bridge. I don't doubt they are using him as leverage or maybe something worse. I have no clue beyond that, honestly." She looked down toward the concrete under her feet as I decided to continue speaking. "I'm sorry, Claire. I wish there was more that I knew or I could help even more in some kind of way, but right now that's all I have."
"No, it's fine. Thank you." She brought her eyes up to me but when she brought them up to my covered face she couldn't seem to keep them there for any longer than a minute as she tore them away from me. "I just-. I should have known. I should have kept a better watch on him. Those bastards seem to know exactly who I am, where I live, and who I know. With or without the mask. I can't let them keep doing this. I have too much to lose if they continue with these antics."
"If you ever need a hand with all of this," I swallowed hard after I noticed I seemed a little desperate to get my words out. I took a small breath before speaking once more, this time the words not seeming as desperate. "If you ever need anything, I'm here for you. This battle is growing way too personal for me to ignore it or act as if we're in different plans anymore." A soft smile broke out on her face as she turned her head toward me. Her eyes were still full of turmoil, but there was a joyful tint to them as she started to toy with me like always.
"Does this mean you'll take off that hood then, wizard?" I felt a smile spread across my face with ease as leaned my weight against the cement wall of the bridge once more.
"Not just yet, Trollhunter. I hope you understand."
"Of course. I won't force you to until you're ready." She placed the photos somewhere in her armor before presenting me with a soft smile.
Wait, that thing has pockets? What in the hell?
"But honestly, thank you for telling me all of this." I shook myself mentally out of my thoughts as I continued to give her a smile that I hoped she could see from the small exposed area from the hood.
"You deserved to know."
"Doesn't mean anyone would have told me." She reached out and placed a hand on my right shoulder. "So truly, thank you." She dropped her hand as she tried to turn and make her way back into the darkness of the night, but I called out to her before she could.
"Claire," She turned back toward me as I continued to speak. "What are you going to do now? What's your plan?" She just gave me a smirk before a tone of determination took over her voice that almost caused my skin to tingle as she spoke.
"I'm going to give them hell."