HELLO MY BEAUTIFUL CREATURES! I hope everyone is well! Hope you guys are staying safe out there. Remember, we're all in this together, mates!

I hope you all enjoy this! I know it took a little longer than normal, but it's all good. I go from one story at a time so sometimes updates for one story is a little bit more difficult to do than others. This one though is always a joy to write. I just hope it's just as joyous to read!

Anyway, much love, my friends!

"I'm going to die and I hope you know, Jim, that I leave Archie to you."

"And what am I? Chopped liver?"

"Toby, I promise you that you are most certainly not allowed to take care of Archie. Bad enough the poor thing had to nearly burn you to a crisp for you to understand that his ears weren't playthings." I looked over to Claire, Darci, and Mary who all stood beside the ruckus that was a wizard, a halfling, and a human trying to come to terms they were going to a land nothing like their own. I gave them a nervous smile as I noted the very confused looks that the three girls were giving us.

"Who in the hell is Archie?" Mary was the first to speak which caused Douxie to stop his meddling with Toby to answer her with a lopsided smile.

"My familiar. A dragon who likes to take the form of a black cat. If anyone is able to care for him in my more than likely inevitable end once I'm in Troll Market, it will be Jim."

"Is it because of the whole halfling thing?"

"Oh, of course not. He's just the best between these two," Douxie pointed a thumb toward Toby and me respectively. "That can deal with him. He might not look like much, but Archie is more than just a handful. Love him dearly, but it's painfully true."

"Even though your familiar is quite an interesting topic," Darci gave us all a smile as she grabbed the horngazel out of her side bag and made her way toward the bridge canal wall to drawn an arch on the wall. "Why are you saying this will be the end of you? They're fine with us three running around here."

"Humans were the trollish kind's worst enemy at one point in time," Douxie began as the doorway to Troll Market opened itself in the wall of the canal. "But it is magic wielders that caused hell for them for centuries."

"It all started with Morgana, correct?" Douxie gave me a wide smile as he placed a hand on my left shoulder.

"Correct! Seems you were listening all this time." I chuckled at that as he continued speaking. "Morgana was the sister to King Arthur of Camelot. It was her that allowed Gunmar the power to control the minds of his people. It was her that created changelings. It was technically a combination of her ambitions and Arthur's hatred for magic that led to the Battle of Killahead Bridge as well as the war between trolls and Gum-Gums."

"So don't mind him as he's dreading his existence and why he's exactly here." I put a hand onto his shoulder as the wizard just gave a small laugh.

"Most definitely, my friend." We turned our heads toward the small group to see Mary and Darci giving us confused looks as Claire just gave a small smile to our antics. "What? Never seen a wizard have an anxious crisis before?" I laughed wholeheartedly at Douxie's question as Claire decided to lean the way into Troll Market.

"Well, the sooner we get this done with, the sooner you can finish your crisis." She flashed us all a half-smile before turning toward the staircase and started her way down to Troll Market that glowed as she went. Her hair shined as the blue crystals shined gently upon her while her figure fleeted from us and her friends followed. I felt my shoulder being shaken gently as Toby and Douxie laughed at me for my sudden silence.

"You know, you two really have this 'starcrossed lovers' thing down pat."

"Shut up or I'll fireball you." I slipped out of Douxie's grip as the two boys kept laughing at my reaction.

"Aw come on, Romeo! Isn't killing friends, not in your resume?"

"I'll make it my specialty in a minute if you don't shut up."

"He thinks he's frightening, doesn't he, Tobes?"

"Oh definitely. Watch though, he'll calm down once Claire bats her eyes at him."

"I SWEAR TO GOD YOU TWO!"

"So, how do you feel about all of this?" I smiled toward Darci and Mary before looking back toward Douxie and Jim who were being put through the physical mill by Draal and AAARRRGGHH.

"Won't you stay still!?" I heard Jim laugh at the large troll's anger as ducked and rolled out of the way.

"How about you move faster?" I watched the blue-eyed halfling give a wicked smile toward the dark blue skinny troll as he tried to swipe him off his feet. Jim jumped backward just out of reach before the towering figure could get to him. "How are you holding up there, Doux?"

"I'm holding!" I gave my attention for a moment for the black and blue haired wizard to see he was on top of AAARRRGGHH's scruff as the larger being tried to smack the flea like presence off of him. "HEY! Watch the hair, mate!" Jim laughed loudly at this as he weaved between Draal's attacking fist like and an insect. My smile widened at the scene as I brought my attention back toward my best friends.

"Honestly, I feel great about it all. They have the physical readiness to be great hands to us."

"At least two of them do." Mary nodded her head toward the right of the four beings sprawling to see Toby panting on the sidelines with his hammer over his shoulder.

"You know," The redhead gave out a few pants as he clicked something on the handle of his hammer to cause it to retract into its original pen form. "To think. I've been-. Oh boy. Give me a second."

"Aw, come on, Tobes! Isn't battling creatures and magical beings in your resume?" Jim gave a sly smirk toward his best friend that oozed of confidence as he dashed out of Draal's grasp once more.

"Hey! Don't use my-. Aw, fuck it. I'm too tuckered to fight with you."

"He'll need endurance training. Nothing major." Mary gave me a raised eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah. And I'm some kind of magical centaur. I just have a magical belt that hides away my horse half." I shot Mary a half-hearted glare as Darci nudged her with her elbow.

"Give the guys some credit. They have been in this business longer than we ever had."

"So. How long have you been fighting the creatures of the night?" Jim chuckled at me as he walked beside me after play rehearsal.

"Since I was fourteen. I think? Time kind of flies by when all your time is put into one specific goal."

"And what was that?"

"Not dying." He flashed me a lopsided grin that nearly took my breath away. If one thing could be said about the boy, it would be that he is probably the only thing that could get me to react in such a way. But I was able to keep my composer as I flashed him a smile in return.

"It seems we have the same motivations so I guess we'll work well together."

"Seems so, Trollhunter."

"I have a lot of faith in them." Mary grumbled by my side as she looked over the four fighting figures like I was.

"You have a lot more than just faith in one of them." I elbowed Mary's ribs which caused her to yelp in reply. "HEY! I'm wrong!"

"Doesn't mean you have to say it." Darci laughed at the two of us as Blinky made his appearance known to the left of me.

"Marvelous. Seems our new allies have skills of their own." I looked up toward the multi-armed troll as he looked over the two magic wielders while Toby cheered for them where he was resting. Suddenly, Blinky narrowed his eyes while his upper left hand rubbed at his chin. "Fascinating." I felt myself raise an eyebrow at his statement.

"What do you mean by 'fascinating', Blinky?" He turned his attention to me for a moment before bringing his eyes back toward the wizards.

"Master Jim, if I remember you calling him, doesn't use a gauntlet or staff. His magic seems to be unfiltered. Straight from within him. There seems to be no cryptics or markings on his skin to encapture mana of any kind. His eyes do not change in vibrancy from where I stand. He is quite a unique case from what I have read." Mary jumped in at this point as she gestured an open hand toward where Jim was now using a shield spell against Draal's heavy fist.

"So that is even more not normal than usual here?"

"Certainly."

"He's a halfling. Would that have anything to do with it?" I smacked Mary's hand down as I spoke so that it wasn't evident to the boys that we were speaking of them.

"That only makes it even more complexing. Even master wizards and sorcerers need a staff of some kind to embody their magic. Yet he casts them freely with no strain seemingly. No pain. No hesitance. There doesn't even seem to be a delay in his switches from spells. Normally, halflings need more gadgets to help them reel through their spells."

"What do you think makes him able to do that then?"

"There were tales of wizards like him from centuries ago. The last one I have personally seen that was able to do such actions was Morgana herself."

"Morgana? Douxie was speaking about her before we came down here. She was King Arthur's sister, right?"

"Precisely, Lady Claire." He placed each of his hands behind his back which only told me that there was a story coming out of the troll in mere seconds. "Long ago, there were wars against trollish kind and humanity which only led to eternal conflicts within my kind. It was what led to the strives between what you have seen of trolls and Gum-Gums. One witch that led to the conflicts the most as well as to Gunmar's power was Morgana. He gave him the ability to mind control his troops to the point where they would walk straight into sunlight if he commanded it."

"Yeah. The English guy was saying that before we came down here. What does that have to do with Claire's little Romeo?" I kept my eyes on Blinky as he continued even though the urge to elbow Mary again was filling my system.

"I believe he might be as powerful, if not more, than Morgana herself. With the right guidance and weaponry, he'll be a force to reckon with." It was obvious he stopped before he let out all of his thoughts so I urged him to go on.

"But?"

"But he may also be a great enemy if he decides to be. Morgana was once one of the most powerful allies that Camelot had within its walls. Once she and her brother truthfully lost one another's love and trust though, she became the force that nearly led to the end of humanity in general."

"So you're worried that Jim might become our Morgana?"

"If corrupted through his flow of magic, yes. With his magic flowing through him with such ease, it would be easy for any dark magic to weasel it's way into his mana well and switch his magical field completely." I turned my attention back toward the blue-eyed boy that had captivated me for a little over a year now. The thought of him being anything else but the soft and gentle guy that I had first fallen for shook me to my core as I saw him give a wide smile toward his teacher that was now right next to him. The two magic wielders gave each other a pat on the back as the two trolls before them seemed to give the two small smiles on their stone features.

No matter what happens, I won't let that be one of them. I would rather have something happen to me than to any of them.

Especially not him.

"Enjoy your first time down to Troll Market?" I flashed the Latina beside me a large smile as the rest of our small crew of misfit warriors had disbanded besides the two of us.

"I did. I even think Douxie got over his nerves after a little while. Especially when Vendel of all people welcomed us after realizing that he was Merlin's own apprentice." He put a hand onto his chin as he seemed to be in thought for a second before speaking. "Now that I think about it, I think that all on its own caused the Brit to loosen up a bit."

"Can't blame him." I gave the halfling a smile as he dropped his hands to slip them into his jumper jacket's pockets with a smile of his own.

"Of course! When the elder welcomes you, there's nothing else anyone else can do about it. Especially when you're the creator of the amulet's apprentice." I flashed him another smile as I rummaged through my bag I purposely had hanging off my right shoulder before bringing my attention back toward him.

"Speaking of welcomings." He gave me a confused look before I presented him with the horngazel that Darci had used to open the passageway. "I wanted to give you this. I gave it to Mary and Darci respectively as a way to tell them that we were all in this together. That no matter what that we'll go with the flow and deal with all of this as a team."

"So now you want to do the same with me?" He gave me a soft half-smile as his blue eyes nearly glistened in the shadows that the bridge had given us. I felt a blush hint my cheeks as he took the object gently out of my grasp.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" His smile deepened slightly as weighed the horngazel within his hands.

"Thank you. It means the world to me."

"It's nothing, really."

"But it is." I gave him a confused look as he let out a soft chuckle at my reaction. "You welcomed me into your world with such ease even as I was lying to you. Being able to look over that with such ease makes you a better person than I ever will be." I felt my blush deepen slightly as I let his words sink in.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Jim. But thank you. I know you would do the same if roles were reversed. Well, technically you did since I was lying to you too for a little while there."

"It's got me here, didn't it? I think this a wonderful place to be." He gave a sweet smile in return as it was obvious to me now that he had a slight tint of pink on his cheeks as well.

"It is, isn't it?" I zipped up my bag without a second thought and adjusted it so it now hung at my lower back. I stood before him with my hands before me like a shy child. I reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear out of nervousness before I dropped it to where I had it originally. "So."

"So." He dropped his occupied hand to his side as he grasped his bag strap with his free one. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Definitely." He let out a small nervous chuckle as it seemed he was just as happily anxious to be before one another.

"Are you okay to go home by yourself? I could always portal you or something?"

"No, I'm quite alright. I actually like the ride homes after training. Cools me down in a way." I gave him a shy glance before looking over toward where our bikes were leaning against the canal wall. "But I wouldn't say no to some company."

"Then I guess we can say our goodbye later then." I smiled at him as we made our way toward our bikes together. The promise I had made cementing itself completely within my mind as I watched him place the horngazel into his bag before readying himself for the bike ride together.

No matter what happens, I'll do whatever I can to keep everyone safe and sound. I don't know what I would do without them. I wouldn't be the same without Darci or Mary.

Especially without Jim.

When I laid my head down to rest that night, the events of the day played through my mind like an old film reel. Switching and burning through scenes with ease as it went from one to the next.

"Wizards. I could tell from a mile away." I watched Douxie give the elder a soft chuckle as he pointed toward me.

"Well. More like one and a half. I'm a pureblood. This one right here is a halfling." Vendel rubbed his chin gently before stroking his beard as he looked between me and my teacher. All the others were left outside as he already decided that Toby was alright to stay within Troll Market walls. He had stated to Douxie and I though that he wanted to judge us personally before him within his Heartstone chambers.

"You," He pointed toward Douxie as he looked him over once more. "You have a light aura within you. Your magic comes from the light just as the amulet does. Makes sense with how you stated you were the apprentice to the one and only Merlin." He then turned his attention toward me as his features seemed to darken. "But you," He pointed toward me now as he continued. "Your magic is undecided."

"Undecided? But his magic act and looks the same as mine. I have been teaching him the basics for a few years now. If he had the abilities of dark magic, I think I would realize it."

"Has there been spells he had accomplished that your magic just never seemed to complete?"

"Well yes, portal magic specifically, but beyond that-."

"That is enough for my conclusions to be true. Light magic has never been able to toy with portals. Only dark magic has ever been able to complete such a task." Vendel looked back toward me as he took a step closer. "Your magic seems to be on the edge of light and darkness. If you are not careful, halfling, you will end up on one spectrum instead of the other. You need to either keep your balance or decide on which path you must take." I looked over toward Douxie that was only giving me a soft half-smile as Vendel's words sunk in.

"I always knew you were a special case. Ever since you could cast spell without your training gauntlet." I smiled toward my teacher as pride seemed to swell within his eyes.

"If that is true," I looked back toward Vendel as he placed both of his hands onto the handle of his staff as he looked onto me once more. "Then you truly are a rare case. The first of your kind, to be exact."

I placed my hands onto my chest as I sighed lightly.

First of my kind. What is that supposed to mean? I thought it was normal to be able to cast spells the way that I do. Even Douxie said he knew wizards and witches that were capable of what I could do, but now it seems as if I'm some kind of enigma.

Well. That's not wrong. I am one of the few dozen halflings left in the world, but now it seems a lot more evident.

I closed my eyes as my mind went on to have images dance across my closed eyes of hazel eyes and dark hair with a splash of blue within them. I felt a smile appear on my lips as the weight that was sitting on my chest seemed to lift itself off of me as the thought of the Trollhunter appeared in my mind.

At least now I'm not as alone in that. Claire herself is the first of her kind as well. The human Trollhunter. The first to bring interactions of humans and wizards alike to trollish kind once more. The bridge between not just two, but three kinds.

The amulet couldn't have picked anyone better, honestly.

My smile deepened at the thought as I felt myself drift gently into sleep.

And with that amulet in her hand, I will stand beside her.

Even if I didn't need an amulet to tell me that.