Hello, my lovelies! How are y'all today? I hope everyone is doing well and happy. I'm in a hella good writing mood so I hope y'all are ready for a lot of updates to this and some of my other stories. At least I know those like me trying to find new stories to read or waiting for updates can relish in this lol.

ALSO! I have my final exam for my class this coming week and then my new class starts the 18th so I'm going to have to adjust the writing schedule that I have at the moment once more. So I hope y'all are okay with the updates being spread out a little more.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this update! Much love, everyone!

"Douxie?" I looked over toward the wizard as he sat down across from me on his bed while a curious look danced across his face.

"What's wrong, little one? You seem as if a war is raging within your head." I gave him a weak smile before looking down at my hands which were clasped together before me.

"I've been thinking." I brought my eyes back up to him. "What would happen if they figured out what I really am?"

"What are you talking about? The trolls? They already know you were a knight of Camelot. I don't think it would surprise them any if they found out your ties to-."

"Not the trolls, Doux." I sighed as I realized I cut off my dearest friend kind of bluntly before he could speak the woman's name. It sounded angered which I didn't mean within that moment, but my mind needed to get this thought out of my head before I allowed it to consume me, and hearing her name would only make it worse for me. "The others. Toby, Mary, Darci," I hesitated for a second before speaking the one I truly feared the reaction from. "Claire. What if they find out I've been lying to them? That I'm a teenager, sure, but one that should most definitely be rotting underground by now if it wasn't for the mythical Merlin and my ties to the fabled Roundtable. Let alone the Trollhunter." I released my hands from one another as I placed them both on my knees before continuing. "I know, I have done many of worse things within my life, but lying to them is probably the first to have me feeling as if guilt is eating at me from the corners of each room I enter." I started speaking with my hands as my mouth started speaking without my mind's consent. "I can't bear for them to hate me. I can't bear for her to despise me. I can't. I just can't." I tried my best to calm myself with steadied breaths while I looked down at the carpet flooring in between us. I couldn't get myself to look at him in the eye at this moment but his soft voice told me enough that I wasn't alone.

"I understand the torment, James." I heard him remove himself from his bed before his voice came closer. "I've lived for over 900 years of going between lives. Ones where I wish I would have told the truth and those that I wish I had never spoken of it in the first place." I felt the weight shift on my bed as I knew now he took the spot beside me before placing a hand on my right shoulder. "But one thing I learned from it all is that if those that you tell truthfully care for you, they will understand why you were hesitant to speak in the first place." I looked over toward him to see a small smile was dancing on his face even though his last words had a somber tone to them. "Even then," his voice became a bit more chipper as he squeezed my shoulder slightly. "I believe Claire specifically wouldn't mind at all. The others would come around, even if they do despise you for a moment. If not, you always have me by your side, my friend. Always." I smiled as I knew the reason why he stopped was for me to finish our shared little mantra.

"And forever."

I allowed the memory to fade within my mind as the voice of the museum curator started to present itself.

"We will begin this tour with the ideas of our new Renaissance pieces that are upstairs in the painting bay of the museum but rest assured students that we will be making this a rather informative as-." I allowed my brain to wander off as I glanced over to who has quickly become one of my closest friends in this new era. Toby just held up his hand to mock the woman speaking to us. I chuckled at his actions as I nudged him in his right arm to cause him to stop it before the historian and our teacher noticed his disrespectful yet hilarious action. After we shared a small chuckle together, I glanced over to my right to see Mary hiding her phone as she was typing away as if she was writing an essay to whoever it was that was receiving it. Claire, who was beside her, seemed to be fighting to keep her attention as she gave a small yawn to the situation we were all in. I smiled as I mentally noted how she looked with her eyes closed for a moment before fighting herself to opening them once more.

Maybe if you spoke to her a little more than just staring at her, mate, you'll get a little bit further with her.

I smiled widely as Douxie's voice rang within my head as I brought my attention back toward the museum correlator once more.

Ever since I was young there were two ideas that I would always keep in mind. First was the idea that all because someone was older doesn't mean they know what is best for those around them while the second was the fact that Douxie was a sad case of it. He always had the best interests at heart, but there were a lot of moments were his plans had got us into great deals of trouble.

"Do you two boys even understand the gravity of this situation?! The beast are amongst the innocent people now! Some were already killed in the ruckus. Have you no shame for your actions!?" I swallowed dryly as I was already on my knees before the king. My arms kept behind my back as my helmet was forcefully removed not long ago. I bit at the inside of my mouth as I tried to even come up with something to say toward the angered king.

It wasn't that we wanted to defy him. It was just that the trolls within the dungeons weren't deserving of the torment of which they were going through. Especially the blueish one that was always so kind to Douxie and me as we made our patrols down there. Even said I reminded him of someone he once knew. A human friend of his he lost to the war long ago.

He claimed to fight for the same reasons as I did. The voices of the dead or long forgotten ringing within his mind like that of guardian devils to remind him of his failings and why he needed to be stronger. That he was fighting for the lost wishes of another. That he was young when he was a victim of the war as well. He was courageous when we released him. A small smile dancing on his lips as his two tusks came up on both sides. He was unlike any troll I have ever met. Decked out in armor yet had a softness under his steel covered stone skin. He was caring to us humans. Almost as if he understood us. He made me feel so wrong for what I had done to all those that I crossed paths with before him and it cemented to me that Arthur was wrong for his persecutions. They weren't beast. They were capable of our beloved "humanity" too.

Though I was the one that wanted to do the act first, it had been Douxie's idea to go through with it. I was just going to bite my tongue and do what I could within my ranks as Morgana's protector. Give them spare pieces of metal and extra water if I could. He had the best intentions, but it ended with us both being scarred from the encounter. Both physically and mentally. A small crown was placed on our skin right under our elbows to have us remember who we had sworn our lives to. We got off rather easily in comparison to what Arthur would have done to any other person besides to two of us.

Yet I know he only did so because he knew Morgana treated us like her own children and the fearsome enemy to encounter is a mother scorned.

I reached up and rubbed my left arm where I knew the crown-shaped scar sat as I pulled myself out of my thoughts for my own good.

"How about we do something else, Ms. Nomura? How about we let the children have their own look around the area? As they say, information is only good for those that desire it." This seemed to make my classmates perk up a bit at the idea of not having to listen to this woman drone on for the next few hours.

"I guess I can allow that. As long as you follow the museum guidelines, children."

"Of course they will." Mr. Strickler looked out over us with a lopsided grin as if to say that if any of us didn't that there would be hell to pay. The two of them entered the building before stepping aside to allow us all entry. "Have fun, class. We'll meet back here in a few hours." With that, each of us started going off into our groups heading in our own directions. Toby and I specifically split off on our own adventure around the first floor until, after about an hour, we decided to start heading upstairs.

"Dude, how do you know so much about medieval stuff? You legit just named every piece to a knight's armor set without even reading the plaque things!" I smiled toward the smaller teen as I gave a small shrug.

"My father was a historian of medieval culture." Well, he knew medieval culture personally. "He was insistent that I understood what he did for a living. Ended up in me picking up on quite a bit of it." Not a complete lie. My father was a knight to a lower lord outside of Camelot. He taught me how to hold a dagger as well as how to use it when I was three. Not long later he would find out what my mother truly was and then try to kill her himself before running off into the unknown. Never to be heard from again.

"Damn. Sorry about your loss, by the way. Douxie explained why you never came to Arcadia Oaks until recently. Must have been hell losing your dad."

Honestly, I rather have never known him, my friend. The dirty bastard couldn't rot faster wherever he was laying, in my opinion.

"Life works in mysterious ways, my friend. Everything happens for a reason." He gave me a soft look for a moment that seemed to scream that he understood.

"He lives with just his grandmother. His parents died ages ago. Back when he was an infant."

I felt a sting of pain go across my chest as Douxie's voice once again echoed in my mind. I had asked what Toby's home life was like and I wasn't expecting such a dramatic answer for such a joyful being. But then suddenly a happy look appeared in his eyes once more as a devious smirk joined on his lips.

"Seems it does. Look who's looking at the old European stuff ahead of us." I followed his gaze to see Claire standing before what I knew from Douxie's hold wardrobe was a Shakespearean style garment. It was a beautiful dress, to say the least, but my eyes were dancing on the beautiful smile that was on her face as the sunlight seemed to act like a spotlight to the actress. I was hesitant with what I knew Toby was implying for me to do as guilt ate at me once more as if I was an endless buffet for his enjoyment. That was until Douxie's voice rang through my mind once more.

I believe Claire specifically wouldn't mind at all.

Can't you leave me alone for more than one minute, your British twit?

Make me, you wanna be Scotsmen.

I smiled as the small encountered filled my mind, but it seemed my physical hesitation allowed for someone else to join by Claire's side. A specific brute that I would rather not see for the rest of my existence.

"Hey there, Claire. Enjoying what you see?" His voice made me roll my eyes as I knew exactly the kind of tone he was trying for. A forced huskiness being placed within it as he leaned against the dress display that Claire was looking at. I couldn't see her face as she turned her head toward the blonde, but I could tell by her voice that followed that she much rather been left alone than for him to disrupt her.

"I was. Until you came along."

"What? Is this about the whole Jim thing? Come on, that was nothing to be so worked up about, Nuñez."

"It is when you punch him." She seemingly growled at him as she spoke from what I could hear from this distance.

"Hey! Did you forget that asshole broke my tooth? It took a solid week for them to figure out what they wanted to do with it."

"Personally, I wish it wasn't the only thing he broke when it comes to you." She turned her head back toward the dress as Steve decided to stop leaning on it to defend himself from her truthful accusation.

"I thought you weren't one for violence, Nuñez." The forced huskiness returning to his voice as he tried to reclaim the moment.

"Keep talking to me like that and I might just change my mind, Palchuk."

"How about I make it up to you then? I got a spare ticket to the Papa Skull conce-."

"Even though they're my favorite band, I rather not associate them with the dude that punched my Romeo across the face twice as if it wasn't going to cause a reaction out of him. So, no. Have a nice day and carry on, won't you?" I felt a flutter in my chest as she spoke.

I knew I was right about her. She would never do such a thing.

"Aw come on, Nuñez! I said I was sorry for what happened!"

"To the wrong person, now leave me alone."

"Don't be like that-." I stepped out at that point from where Toby and I were hiding at the top of the staircase and jump into the matter.

"I think she said to leave her alone," I growled slightly as I continued. "I would leave it at that and give her what she wants." He looked me over for a moment as Claire turned her head toward me with a thankful look. Soon after, Steve seemed to understand that I wasn't going to allow him to continue the behavior he was presenting so he left the way he came. I watched him leave for a little while to make sure he didn't want to try another attempt. After he made his turn down the hallway and toward another, I let out a sigh and brought my attention back toward Claire with a soft smile. "Sorry, you had to deal with all of that." She gave me a happy smile as placed a hand on my bicep.

"Just thankful you were there to lend a hand. I was about to lose my mind if he spoke a second further." I chuckled lightly at her as I reached up and placed a hand over hers that was still on my bicep.

"Just happy I could help before nothing went too far." I smiled weakly toward her as I felt her take my hand and removed both of them together so she could bring them before us. I felt my heart jump to my throat as my mind went back to the event from last week were I went too far myself. The feeling of her fingers intertwining with mine felt like a lovely reminder of what had happened.

"You and I both know that if it did, I could handle myself." She gave me a smirk but her voice and eyes stated that the moment was more sweet than playful as the smirk would normally make me believe.

Oh, sweet Glory of Camelot she's going to be the death of me. Not Bular. Not Merlin. Not the damned amulet. Her and her alone.

"I know." My voice was soft as I swallowed dryly afterward. I glanced out of my eye to see the dress that she was looking at before as I decided to change the moment before I lost myself within it. "It's a beautiful dress, by the way. I could understand why you were captivated by it." She gave me a sweet toothy smile before turning her head toward the dress once more.

"I know right? I wished we had costumes like this for the play. Knowing the budget though, I might be lucky to do the balcony scene in a bathrobe."

"You would make it work. I think you could captivate an audience in anything." She looked back toward me as I felt her thumb rubbing against the back of my hand which caused a chill to run down my spin. I nearly forgot that she had my left hand on her right until that moment and the sudden movement caught me off guard.

"You think so?"

"Most definitely." A small giggle came from her that sounded like that of the chorus of angels to me.

"You're not half bad yourself, Romeo." She tugged me gently along as she kept our hands together as she started making our way down the empty hallway together. "I swear, I know you said you were never in a play before but you act as if you've done it for centuries." A bing of guilty hit my chest as I tried my best to keep a smile on my face.

Kind of hard to act for centuries when you're asleep for all of them.

"Trust me, I never even gave it a thought until you had asked me." We stopped at a painting that was oddly familiar to me as it depicted a dark-haired man with a silver and gold sword raised high above his head in his right hand toward the clothing choice seemed that of a commoner, but he carried power in his stance that only reminded me more of the truth I was hiding from the young woman beside me.

"So, tell me then, is there something your passionate about then? Because if you're that good at acting and it's not even something you've been dedicated too far very long, I would love to see what you've got beyond that." I reached up and scratched the back of my neck with my free hand as I gave a small nervous smile.

"To be honest, I don't think I have anything that comes to mind." That doesn't involve slaying magical creatures that harm the mortal plain. "Unless you count cooking or something. But even then, it was something I picked up because I got tired of always eating jelly and bread while waiting for my mom to come home from work." More like waiting for your adoptive mother to come back from her witch training, but that's a story for another time which may never come.

"Cooking? Really?"

"Is that surprising to you?"

"It's just, I don't know a lot of guys that will be so willing to admit it." I gave her a small smirk and glanced at her from the corner of my eye as I leaned against the small counter before the painting.

"I'm definitely nothing like normal men, I assure you." I saw a smirk appear on her own face as well as she turned her head toward me with a spark in her hazel eyes that surely might have caused my heart to stop if it were any other moment in time.

"Please, stay that way. I enjoy it so far."

Be careful about what you wish for, Juliet. Your Romeo is nothing like he seems.

I smiled toward her as I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out to see my mother's contact name appearing on the screen. My eyes widened slightly as I looked back up to her for a moment.

Mother? I wonder as to why she's calling. She normally just speaks to me at home if she needs to talk about something. She was always once that was afraid of the technological advancements throughout history, as Douxie had said. Always paranoid that they would be used against her for what she truly is.

Can't really blame her, but it makes moments like these a lot more anxious filled for me.

"Huh, may I get this?" Claire slipped her hand from mine as she placed it on the counter of the painting sight with a soft smile on her face.

"Of course. Take your time." I gave her a thankful look even though I was already missing the feel of her hand in mine. I turned so I could walk away from her slightly before answering the call.

"Mother, is there something wrong?"

"Are you with Douxie at this moment?" Her voice was in a panic as I looked around the museum slightly before answering her. Trying to keep my cool as I spoke to her.

"I'm on a grade field trip to the museum still. He's at the high school at the moment. Why? Your voice is worrying."

"The Janus Order is reading themselves for something. Something we need to be ready for."

"Who? Mother, you need to explain yourself. You need to remember, I don't know much about Arcadia yet."

"Changelings. Creatures with two forms and faces created by Morgana from normal trolls. They are vicious beings. I saw the effects of one on an adult human today in the hospital. Claw marks across their face and all." My eyes widened in shock as she continued. "I fear one may be with you boys in that school building or more may be in Arcadia itself. Stay safe, my boy. Keep your head low. Follow the rules."

"I will. We'll talk more about this later, right?"

"Of course, but please stay safe until then. I don't want to lose you so soon after having you back." I smiled at her voice as I chuckled lightly in reply.

"You won't lose me, I promise. Not if Douxie has anything to do about it, at least. I love you, mother, but I must go now."

"Me as well. I love you." With that, the line ended and I turned myself back toward Claire who was now looking out onto a different painting that was straight across from the one we were leaning toward together.

Changelings. Creatures that can take two forms and faces. Created by Morgana. Shouldn't be too much of a hassle, right?

I walked over toward Claire with a small smile which she greeted me back with one of her own before gesturing toward the painting of a woman on a balcony with an armored man gesturing out toward her from below. She seemed to gush about the art style and how it reminded her a lot about the play that we were doing, but my mind was somewhere else as she spoke.

But even if it is, I won't let anyone else get involved in it. Douxie and mother are enough possible casualties for me.

I felt Claire's hand find itself into mine once more as she pulled me toward the end of the hallway where she was saying a suit of armor much like mine from my auditions was sitting while my mind continued onto its thoughts.

Not when there's someone so close to me beyond them that I'd probably be in ruin without.