The beeping of the alarm broke through the still morning air, a slender hand reaching over to the electric clock on the nightstand to turn off the incessant noise that woke her up. Yawning tiredly and stretching slightly, Claire sat up in bed, not ready for whatever the day would bring.
She wasn't at all looking forward to going to class with barely any sleep, her body ached from laying in bed. How could she sleep after the events of the previous night?
Getting out of bed, she picks out a set of fresh new clothes to change out of her pajamas, and into her signature turtleneck, pencil skirt, tights, and vest, all branded as her favourite band's merch, after washing up.
Claire splashed her face with cold water one more time before looking at herself in the mirror. Sunken eyes with dark bags under them, she was also rather pale.
God did she feel sick.
Toby wasn't the only reason she couldn't fall asleep though, she knew this. It was because of those voices she heard, specifically the one that called out to her in the heartstone, and the pain that accompanied them.
It was like, she knew those voices, but she didn't. Like they were a missing part of her. There was a strange sense of fear and sadness that welled up within her at the thought of those voices.
She remembered one of the voices that spoke was hers. And she spoke multiple times, but she never remembered ever saying any of that.
"Claire! You're going to be late for school!" Javier, her father, called out.
"Coming!" Claire called back before running to her room and picking up her bag, quickly steeling herself for school.
The drive wasn't long, about ten minutes in comfortable silence as her father drove down to the school. Once there, Claire gave her dad a quick kiss on the cheek before getting out of the car, her mind still thinking about the events in heartstone.
Claire couldn't focus, everything around her was hazy. She needed time to think, time to process, time to prepare for anything. There was a nagging feeling at the back of her mind that told her that she needed to find and tell someone, someone specific. But who?
With a sigh, Claire rubbed her forehead trying to think of who she was supposed to find as she leaned forward against her locker.
"Hello? Mare to Claire? You in there?"
Jumping slightly from surprise, Claire turned to face her two best friends, Mary and Darci who watched her with worry clear as day on their faces.
"Uh… sorry… lost in thought." Claire said, opening her locker to grab some books.
"More like completely zoned out!" Mary exclaimed, arms crossed over her chest with her eyebrows furrowed.
"We've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes, Claire. What's wrong?" Darci asked, a gentle hand on Claire's shoulder to make her face them.
Claire knew she couldn't tell them about what happened the previous night, not about Toby and the trolls at least. But that didn't mean that she couldn't tell them about the voices that had called out to her or the visions she would continuously have the previous night whenever she closed her eyes to sleep.
"It's just…" she started, looking down to her feet, trying to come up with a half truth, just so she wouldn't sound crazy. "Last night, I barely got any sleep… I kept having these… dreams?" She said, walking next to her two best friends.
"What kind of dreams?" Darci asked, helping lead Claire through the crowd of students that were also heading to class.
"Well..." she trailed off, chewing on the inside of her cheek, she tried to make sense of what had happened in order to form proper sentences as they entered Strickler's classroom, said teacher already up front, writing down their class objectives for the day.
"There were these voices, they were saying different things-" She started only to be interrupted by Mary.
"Ooo what kind of things?" She said, wiggling her eyebrows, wondering if those voices were what she thought they were about.
With an exasperated sigh, Claire rubbed the bridge of her nose. "No, Mare, they weren't like that. It was like a sequence of past events. Some of the voices I could recognise as my own, others I couldn't place. They were all talking about different things, too, like they were pulled out of random points in time during different events. There was a name said multiple times but every time it was said a haze would block out the name, but it felt so familiar."
"And then what?" Darci urged on.
"I ran, trying to get away but when the voices were gone I was face to face with this crystal that showed my scattered reflection. Then a new voice was calling, it sounded desperate, afraid, begging. Then my image flashed to that of this ginger haired lady in gold armour before she disappeared."
"Wow that sounds like some dream, C-Bomb." Mary said, leaning on the backrest of her chair.
"C-Bomb, is it? Consider meblown away, 'cause you are nuclear." The voice came back, clearer and she reeled back. She heard the voice again, but this time it was only one voice. A familiar voice. Eyes wide, the image of a tall teen in black with blue streaks in his hair flashed in her mind as he handed her her books with a charming smile. There was only one person she knew that looked like that, although she only ever saw him in passing with Jim a handful of times.
Douxie.
"Mrs. Nuñez?" Mr. Strickler's voice sounded, snapping her out of her trance. "Are you alright?" he asked, worried for his student. He knew Toby was injured and was in Trollmarket while Jim was there too, unable to come to the surface due to the sunlight, both boys already dealing with their own problems, he didn't want to see another of his students hurt by the hidden world of trolls.
"I- uh…" Claire started, looking up to the history teacher that now stood in front of her, only now realising that the whole class was watching her. Suddenly feeling warmth flow from her blurry eyes, she realised that she was in fact crying, even though she didn't really feel like crying.
Wiping away her tears she watched as they stained her sleeve, before looking up to Strickler again. "Sorry… I didn't have the best sleep last night…" she whispered, hoping no one caught it. "I'm fine, Mr. Strickler." she said louder and more confidently to reassure everyone in the class.
Strickler sighed, his eyes holding a deep emotion she couldn't place, but still handed her a handkerchief to help her dry her eyes which she took happily with a small "thank you" before going back to teach about the Islamic Golden age.
Claire lowered her head down on her desk, doing her best to pay attention to the lecture, except her mind continued to wander back to Douxie. She clearly remembers meeting the teen the day he had run up and tackled Jim, yet her mind refused to leave the memory of first meeting him at school after bumping into him. She couldn't make sense of it, maybe they met before and she just forgot?
She sighed and tried to remember the scene again, this time managing to remember just a little bit more. There was someone else next to her, someone familiar. But she couldn't remember their face, yet she knew that whoever it was, was glaring daggers into the older teen. Shaking away the thought, she forced herself to focus on her class as she took notes. She needed to talk to someone. Maybe Jim?
The rest of the day continued this way, only ever draining her more and more. And this started to worry her best friends. Unfortunately for Claire, Jim didn't attend that day, apparently called in sick by his mom. This only made her mood worse, which didn't go unnoticed by her besties.
After rehearsals, Claire started to leave when all of a sudden Darci came up to her and hooked her arm with one of Claire's, causing her to raise an eyebrow at the sudden action. Before she could ask, Mary came over and hooked her arm with Claire's other arm, confusing the poor girl even more. "What are you two doing?"
"Oh come on! You're feeling down, Girl!" Mary said, walking Claire to the gates with Darci.
"Don't think we didn't notice you sighing every ten minutes or so!" Darci piped in as they practically dragged Claire out of the school.
"But- But my dad is-" she started only to get cut off by Mary.
"Don't worry, C-Bomb! Already got that covered!" the Asian girl said, pulling out her phone to show Claire the texts she had sent to Claire's dad about them going on a girls day out and the reply she got from him, allowing Claire to go with Mary and Darci. With a defeated sigh, Claire allowed them to drag her away, even though she really wanted to get to trollmarket as soon as possible to check in on Toby.
"Come on, Claire." Darci started after a while, taking note of Claire's sighing. "Whatever it is that's bothering you, me and Mary want to cheer you up, okay?"
Claire was really glad to have friends like Mary and Darci, really she was, but the fact that she was now involved with magical trolls made it really hard to keep close ties with them. Truthfully, she wanted to sever their close ties and just be friends until she was sure it was safe to tell them. But that would be up to the trollhunter, right?
With a weak smile on her face, Claire took to walking right besides her friends. Their feet taking them to their destination: Benoit's French Bistro.
Claire's gaze lingered on the cafe, finding the place somewhat comforting. Was it the scent of coffee and food? She couldn't tell. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the table that her friends sat at, picking up a menu to look at, deciding that she needed this to distract herself from everything happening.
"Hello, ladies. Name's Douxie!" a familiar voice came from besides Claire, causing her to look up, only to meet golden eyes that sparkled with mystery. "If it isn't Claire!" Douxie said cheerfully, his signature customer service smile plastered on his face.
"Douxie? What are you doing here?" she asked with mild surprise.
"Well I do work here. Sundays through Tuesdays." the wizard said, before lifting up a notebook. "And today, I'll be your waiter! So what will it be, ladies?" he asked, clicking his push pen open.
"Oh, could I get a pumpkin spice latte and a blueberry muffin?" Mary inquired, already knowing her order by heart from the many times she came here on dates.
"Hm.." Darci hummed. "I think I'll take a strawberry cheesecake and a latte macchiato."
Jotting down their orders, Douxie looked to Claire expectantly. "What about you, Fair Lady Claire?" he asked in a teasing tone, causing Claire to simply hum in response as she looked over the menu.
"I feel like having a serving of apple pie please."
"And what beverage would you like to go with your pie?"
"Hm… I don't know… surprise me!" she said, giving Douxie a challenging, yet playful glare, as if she had known him for a while now. Except she only met him a few days ago, her actions surprising herself.
A light chuckle escaped from Douxie before giving the girls a mock salute and walking off after taking note of their orders. The two girls with Claire watching their exchange, noticing how her entire demeanour changed the moment Douxie walked up to them.
Noticing their stares on her, Claire crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised an eyebrow in a silent question.
"Claire," Mary started, leaning forward to stage-whisper to her best friend. "Do you have a crush on Mr. Emo?" she asked with a light giggle, causing Claire to frown. For some reason finding that question somewhat insulting.
"No, he's just a friend. Met him a few days ago in passing when he was with Jim." Claire said, her tone not wavering one bit.
"Really? Nothing at all?" Mary asked, now disappointed that she wouldn't get any romantic details from Claire.
"You know, Mare," Darci started, pulling Mary back into her seat. "Douxie is cute, but I don't think he's Claire's type." that caused Mary to groan in annoyance.
"Okay, fine, but you two really need to go on a date soon!" Mary said, crossing her arms and slumping back into her seat. "Maybe I could set you two up on dates soon." she mumbled loud enough for the other two girls to hear.
"If you can find someone who is intelligent, heroic, brave, protective, responsible, kind, understanding, mature, polite, caring, selfless, quick-witted, loyal, determined, patient, adventurous, honorable…" Claire scoffed, leaning on her elbow as she trailed off, her mind once again wandering to the images that she saw whenever she closed her eyes the previous night.
Realising the conversation went quiet, Claire looked over to the other two girls after forcing herself out of her thoughts once again. "What?" was all she could manage at seeing their wide eyed expressions.
"Claire bear, honey, there's no guy like that! And if he does exist then he's probably already taken!" Mary exclaimed, throwing her hands up in defeat, causing Claire to giggle.
"I have a feeling that isn't quite true." Douxie said, walking over with their orders, carefully placing them in front of the girls. His remark earned him raised eyebrows from the girls he was serving.
When they realised that he wasn't going to elaborate, Darci asked. "And what makes you so sure?" This only made a smile cross the wizard's face.
"Let's just say, I have a feeling." he said, placing down Claire's pie and tea. "The tea's on the house by the way. Thought you might have wanted my special brew, it can work miracles for when someone's under the weather." He said with a smile before turning to leave.
"Douxie, wait!" Claire suddenly said, grabbing onto the older teen's wrist firmly, making him stop in his tracks to face her. "There's something I need to talk to you about…" her brown eyes met Douxie's yellow ones. And that's when he saw it, the tint of the shadows that danced within her eyes.
Turning to look at Claire, Douxie took a deep breath before giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I can't really talk much right now, but after my shift we can head to the bookstore, yeah?" He offered, giving her a small, comforting smile.
Claire's shoulders slackened, a breath of relief leaving her body. It was strange, really. Claire wasn't really the type of person to outwardly trust a stranger she's barely met, but here she was trusting Douxie! There was just something about the teen that made her comfortable. Like a soft melody on a stormy night.
Once Douxie was back to work, the girls all went back to talking, Mary and Darci teasing Claire on how she acted with Douxie while Claire continuously denied it. By the time they had finished their meals, Claire took a sip of the surprisingly still warm tea that Douxie gave her.
It was rather sweet, like honey but brought a numbing after taste, a tingling sensation creeping all throughout her body with every sip. It was delicious to say the least, and as advertised by Douxie, it managed to help her relax yet provide her with energy. Truly a miraculous feeling.
After some time, a black cat with a white pattern on its chest meowed, catching the attention of the three girls. A wave of guilt washed over Claire for a brief moment, feeling the need to hug the cat yet also finding there to be something wrong with the whole picture. Gently setting her emptied cup on the table, Claire started to beckon over the cat with soft cooing.
Archie watched for a few seconds before making his way, albeit a bit hesitant, over to the once shadowmancer. He was tasked by douxie to keep an eye on the girl but he hadn't realised that this girl held an all too familiar sense of magic within herself. A magic the cat dragon both revered and feared.
Carefully, Claire managed to wrap her arms around Archie and pick him up like she's done this before, granted she did have a kitten but even her kitten was too new for her to be picking up cats this easily. Placing the cat down on her lap, she gently started to stroke his fur, making sure that he had enough room to jump off if he ever needed to, earning her a soft purr from the cat.
"Wow, Claire," Darci whistled. "Never knew you were so good with strays."
"I don't think he's a stray, Darci." Claire mumbled, still petting Archie.
"You're right, Claire." Douxie said, walking over to the girls once again but this time not in uniform. "Archie is a free spirit though" He said, just as Archie leapt from Claire towards his wizard, managing to perch himself on Douxie's shoulder. "Shall we get going, ladies?"
Claire's heart leapt into her throat, the pounding ringing within her ears. Something told her that she was about to get some answers, if not have a few things clarified by this one teen.
The quartet soon left the café after they paid for their meals, Douxie leading them the entire way with Claire right beside him, making random small talk- Jim being mentioned a couple of times by the two teens. Mary and Darci watched how Claire and Douxie were talking so casually as if they've been friends for a while.
Soon enough, they were at the bookstore. Douxie pulled out a key from his pocket, opening the door for the girls to walk in.
"Wow…" Darci mused, looking at all the old books stacked up on shelves.
"This place smells like old people…" Mary groaned, waving her hand in front of her face in order to try and reduce the smell to no use.
"Welcome to the GDT Arcane Bookstore!" Douxie happily mused as he made a beeline for the back room, leaving Archie on the counter. "Make yourselves at home!"
"So, Claire, should we be here for this conversation you'll be having with Douxie?" Mary asked, a sly smirk on her face.
"I'd rather you two be here too… it's actually about that 'dream' I had… I think Douxie was there so I want to know if he knows anything." Claire clarified, earning her a quirked brow from Darci.
"So, do you think it's some kind of prophecy or something?" Darci asked, both amused and concerned.
"Maybe?"
"Come on Claire, it's not like magic is real." Mary said as she plopped down onto one of the couches in the library, the other two following her lead.
"If only you knew…" Claire mumbled under her breath with a sigh, a yawn soon following.
The bookstore soon fell into a comfortable chatter as Mary and Darci decided to play with Archie, who had walked over to the trio. Claire watched with a small, tired smile.
With a sigh, she looked out of the bookstore window, only to be met by the bright shadows of the dusk sky, its orange glow reminding her of the heartstone and the events of the previous night.
She knew Mary and Darci have the right to know what's happening to her because they're her best friends and would be the most likely people to believe in her and help her without a shadow of a doubt, but to confide in Douxie? Someone she barely knew? Would he even believe her?
Leaning back on her couch, she took in the senses of everything around her. The smell of old papers and leather bound books, the soft crackling of the fireplace that had already been lit up when they walked in, the chatter and cooing of her friends, the soft cushions that rested at her back. Everything about this place was relaxing, safe.
Closing her eyes she allowed the darkness to take hold of her for a second, the sounds around her the only indication that she was still awake.
"Ẅ̷̢̻̮͔͍͓̌̔̑̽̏͘͠ą̷̤̥̉͐͝͝k̸̢̨̛̞̗̱̜̙͕̟͌̚ê̸̡͓̠̭̣͈̈́͂̒̐̌͘̕ ̷̛͍͉͈̪̈́̀̈́͂͑̾ù̶̧̥̭̣̙̮͊̕ͅp̷̢̥̂͋!̴̧͍̹̙͙͎̆̆̇"
Her eyes shot open, the sense of safety completely leaving her as the hairs at the back of her neck rose in alarm.
Getting out of her seat, Claire looked around only to find her friends watching her in confusion.
"Claire?" Darci asked, concerned. Her mouth moved in a question yet Claire didn't hear it, as if Darci's voice was muffled under turbulent water. A ringing resounded within Claire's ears, her hands raised up to her head in an attempt to block out the noise to no use.
Soon the ringing was followed by a string of incomprehensible noises, like whispers in her head. It filled her with fear and dread, heart pounding and eyes screwed shut as she tried to will the noise to stop.
'Aw, how cute. She's resisting.' A soft but sinister voice called, causing Claire's eyes to snap open, only to find herself in complete darkness. The noises seeming to have stopped.
Turning around, Claire tried her best to see anything past the dark haze. Seeing nothing, she started to run, trying to find a way out of the darkness.
'There's no way out, child.' A haunting whisper followed her, a golden mist seeming to follow her every move.
Upon seeing it, Claire stopped in her tracks, her body shaking with tremors of fear as tears flowed down her cheeks. "W-who are you…?" She managed to ask.
A golden apparition manifested from the mist, a golden helm shielding the person's face. 'I am who will take your place' she said before lunging forward, a scream escaping Claire as she ran away.
"F̷̢̗̜̠̱̫͔̘̈́̀͜o̶͙̹͈̺͉͖͗̑̌̕͘ĺ̷̋͐̋͜͝ḽ̵̢̞̮͚̦͈̍͐̋̍̐o̵̢̬̮͇̤̲̳̟̓̅͋̾̍̇̋w̸͕̯͒́̈́͑͝͝ ̷̫͖͉̺͎͔̙͎̹̃̇̄̎̈́̐̇̐ṫ̵̛̜͓͉͔͒̚h̴͇̭̠̠̱̲͚͔͂̽̓́̌͗̏̂͝ḛ̷̿̾̎͊ ̶̥̳̗͓̄͗͒͑̽̂͊̀͐ś̶̢̼̦͍͉̹̝̜̄͂͝h̷̨̅̋̏̅̾̊̑͛͝a̸̙͓̗͇͖̠͈̻͑͊̄͗͐̀͝͝d̸̹̺̭̯̰̣̐̒̊̃̋̒̍̚͝ò̴̜͕̩̘̥̬̮̔̆̎w̵̢̫̮̠̲̰̣̮̄̂́̈͑͒̃͠s̵̛̝̍͌̿̏̏̒!̷̜̖̯̯̃̔̀̂̒"
'No one will come for you, little lamb!'
"T̸̙̲̝͙̝̽̓̋̇̾̀̽̋h̴͕̰̤̩̜̀́ẽ̸̡̡̼͈̰ ̴̮̩̮͕̮̩̠̜̓̑s̴̡͕͍̱̺͔͙̼̻͐̂̔̽̍̌̚͘ḣ̵̟͔̖͎a̴̞̞̞͉͚̟͒̈ḏ̷̛̛̯͕̽̋̊͂͋o̶͍̳͓̫̗͙̭͒͂́̌̌͗̂̚͝w̵͖͓͑̈́s̴͙̊͘ ̸̡̬̥̩̋́͆w̵̤͕̦͈͑̓͋͒̋̍i̵̛͓͒́̓͗̏͝l̸̪̫̳͑̈́̀̇̄͝͠l̴̨̡̢̜̗͎͇̈͌̾͒̕͜͝͝ͅ ̵͍͓͖̙͉̱͓͎͒̇l̸͍̤̼̻̟̬̀̔͆̈́͜e̵̙͌̆͆̒̂̊̑ṉ̴͉̲̽̂̿͜͝d̷̺͙̫̲̐͒̚͠͝ͅ ̴̱̈́̚͜y̵̛̞͉̔̃̂̀̈́̚͝o̷̰͈̲͓̰̙̞͊̈̐͒̊̓ù̴͚͍̗̖̝̟̋̀͑͗̍̌ ̶̨̮̖̮͈̰͎̂̂͊̄̈́͛̓̃͠ť̴̳͇͇̲͖̯͚͔͙ĥ̷̛͈̘͔̞̹̹͇̈̐̌̔̀ͅē̶͖͐̔͆i̵̱͚̫̞̊̿r̴͈̻̩̀̑̐ ̴̯͇͍͔̝̬̘͗̀́̄̉͗h̶͙̟͓͔̆̉̂̐͒̈́͂̎̚ͅe̴͍͉̙͋̆̿͛͛̿̾͝l̴̛͎͔̱̩͈̣̤͚̓̄͂̾́͜͝p̶̧͉͎̦̾́̌̋̎͆̓͝!̸̼̉̉͐͆̅̕"
'Eternal night will reign supreme! Balance will be restored!'
"C̸̨͈̱͚̺̬̝̠͂ą̴̝͍͈͈̪̓̆l̵̡̝̦̖̮͌̓̿l̶̰̼̅̌̂͂̋̐͗̕ ̸̹͕̣̓̑o̷̰͍̮͉͇͔̠͔̙̽̍̑̅̊̔̌̽ǔ̷̡̖̜͓͍̞͈̙̋̀̆͐̓̏ţ̵͎̈̑̌̉̒!̵̢͒̈́͐̇̂"
Claire didn't understand what was happening, but she knew she was in danger. There was something deep down that told her to reach out, to call for something. But what?
Cold wisps of energy chased right behind her, occasionally wrapping around her arms before she broke out of them.
'Enough games, child. It's time for me to take over' and all of a sudden, she was being dragged down, into the dark abyss beneath her feet.
Tears flowed from her eyes, fear gripping at her mind as she descended into unconsciousness. Was this really how it was going to end for her? Would she be able to ever get back to everyone else?
She was so scared, so tired. The lull of the darkness around her, soothing as they pulled her deeper into the inky blackness. What should she do? Could she even do anything? There wasn't anything she could do.
Į̶̛͍̖̈̚͘͘"f̷̜̻̥̞́̾̈́̈́̀͘͝ ̸̧̧̛̬͕̜̣̎̏̃́̐̏d̶̢͓͓̀̎̏͐̾a̷̧̻͗̍͑̃̓͜y̴̥̱͙̞̳͓̿͂̀ḽ̵̓̾̂̕̚i̷̧̩̱̻̞͚̋̂ͅg̸̳̜̥̺͖̬̪̀̓̄ḩ̴̙̜̝͔̩̺̭͛͝t̵̜̆ ̵̙̦̥̊̃i̴̼̍̂̈́̍̓̐͊̚͝ś̶̖̦͉͔͓̳̪̮̗̓́ ̷̡̧̨̃ḥ̸̫́̐̚i̶̺̟͎̼̤̍̽̊̈̚̕s̶̢͖̹̠͔͙͚͆͌͊́͜ ̷̢͎̦̟̺̰̯̳͌̆t̸̡͉͔͉̳̣͈̫͐ö̵̧̜͓̥̤̦̽̇̉̏͂ͅ ̸͙͎̬͎̹͇͕̝̽ć̵͈͇̘͕̏̀͋̚͜ǒ̸̲̟̖̦͉̪̋̏̍̾͆̂͌́m̸̧͔̞̥͈̩͓̌̎̑͜ͅm̴̢͗̅̌ą̶̪͇̤͛̈́̊̽̒̄̑͂n̵̯̹͚̈́̆͐̒̓̚͝d̷̼̘͚̖̜͈̥͕͑̍̍̔ͅ,̵̧̜͖̅̃̊͜ ̷̧̭̃̀͌̿̃͝ẗ̶̹̳͉́͂͝ͅh̸͍̫̣̉ͅȩ̴̧̘͍̮̝̪̹̿̀́̒̕ ̷͚̞̖͚͍͙͖̓͆̑̊͋͊̈́ḋ̵̜̀̀̾̏a̵͙̗̔̂̓͗̑ṟ̵̢̝̺̈́̂k̴̛̗̞͍̮̫̗̊̄͛̇̋̚͘ņ̸̗̪̟̄é̴̟̲̯͚͍͎͓̺̇̈́̾́́͜͝s̵̰̯̾̈͐̋̊s̵̰̠̪̏̋̈̀̔̀͂ ̸͖̖̥̚į̴̤͓̗͉̙̙̥͒͆̅̾͐̒́̚s̵̢̛̥̰̻̦̥̰̟͜ ̷̲̜̑̿͑̀y̸̨̠̫͍̮̹̤͒͛̕͠ȏ̴̙͊͒͋͑͐͝u̴̳̯͋̋r̸̨̛̟̼̮̤̗͌̅̈́̔̇̄ṣ̵̫̙̘̫͗̕ ̶͕̻͕̏̇͆̋͛̃̕ț̴͐̉̃̄̑͗̏̐͝o̵̡̡̠͔̩̊́̔̇̓͛͛̋ ̴̛̺̏́̐́͘r̷̢̪̰̟̜̹̳͌͋͌̊͂͠u̵̺̤̰̒́͒̈̔͌̐̆̕ͅl̸̗̖̥̃è̵̖͉͚̠̩̦̓̋̂̐́͋ͅ.̵̨͉͕̪͓͖̞͇̪̅͌̔̀̏́"
"T̶̺̥̪̹̗̫̪̰̔̄̓͋͒͒͊̕͜͝h̴̫̮͍͌͒͘̕͘ẻ̸̡́ ̸̢̡̣̲̊͌͋s̴̢̨̥̼͚̹̣̜̎̅͊̓̀̌̂̋͌ḫ̸̟͙͍̮͆̒ͅȁ̷͔̬̬d̴͇͇̗͚̔̏̋̆o̸̖̣͈͂̀̆ͅw̸͔͇͖̓̓̕s̷̛̘͓̬̩̳͕̱̦͂́̏̿̅͜͝ ̵̪̄̏͗͑̂̓̓̊̚͜b̵̟͍̀̅̿o̸͎̓̀͂ẅ̸̘͕͔̩́̿̔̀́̽̇͝ ̸̙̦͋͆̀̒̀̈d̷̪̯̲͓̜͚̔͊̈́̾͘͝ó̸̬̳̭̮̑ͅw̴̗̮̦̝͛͊͋̓n̶̟̠̈́̍ ̵̟̀̽͝t̷̙͉̠̯̆̅́̌̔̀̿̂̑ò̶̥̪̿͑̿̽̅̚͘͝ ̵̡̤͈͈̼̪̹̀̔̒̍̍̓y̵̢̖͓̤̠͎͎̏̒̿̎͗͝ỏ̸̡̯̜͈͔̊̽ṷ̴̞͇̟͉̰͉̭̗͗̈̅́,̷̨̨̛̠̘̭̜̱͎̈̐̽͌̚͝͝ ̷̡̬̳̭̮͈̙̔̈́̈́ĉ̷̨̨̛̥͖̦̘̈ơ̸̢̩̬̮͂́m̶̢̧̜̭͉͎̪̠͑͗̏̾͜͠m̵̨͖̯̉͒͊̇̔̈̈̈́͝ą̵̹̺̩̠̱̝̩̒͋̎̆̿n̶̨̮̯̦̞̙̈́̌͜͝d̷̼̿̐͗̾̆͊̒̃̕ ̸̹͇͎͍̫̲͛́͊t̸̛͚̀́͋̇̽͘͠h̴̹̒̇͛̋́̆͝ḛ̶̮͉̻͂̀̍̌̓̃͂̑̓m̵̧̨͚̣̙̜̙͔͑̈́̿̉̃̒ͅ ̴̪̙̟̚a̸̛͕͆͌ņ̴̭̮̈́͊͂͂̀̏d̷̛̹̭̹̞͚͕̣͛̐̊̏̕ͅͅ ̸̧̭̣̙͈͉̲̀͛̾͊̐̚ͅt̷̖̉͠ͅh̴͙̖͂e̴͖̺͊̀̚̚ỳ̷̡̬̘̹̻̪̪̙ͅ ̶͍̙͋̿́̈́͒̀́͠w̴̹͌̊i̶̢͇̱̲̗̮̽̓̀l̶̢̛̛̥̖̟̥͔̦̞̗̒͗̏͛̀̀́l̸̡̜̥͚̘̲̪̫̱̈̄͌͗ ̵̡̳̪̺̼͛͑͐͗͘ö̵̱͈͔͇́̋̽b̴̲̙̿̂́͑͑͆̚͝͠e̷̬͈̝͋̄̕y̷̻͔͎̞͕͔̭̐.̸̻̣̌͆̃̈̏́͠"
The shadows is Claire's. She would not allow it to consume her. She was stronger than this. That's right, she made it her own. It no longer belonged to that witch.
Hers?
Yes, they are hers. No one else's.
With a new found determination filling her, she reached out a heavy hand as she struggled to gather her energy. The weight of the abyss suffocating to her.
I need to get- I will get back.
And just like that, the suffocating feeling of the blackness was replaced with a similar sense of safety she had in the library. A sense of weightlessness spreading throughout her body.
Realising she could breath, she let out the breath she had been holding as she hesitantly opened her eyes, only to be met by her own living room back home, although much darker and grey.
"How did I…?" She said in a soft whisper, looking around and taking note of her strange see-through purple appearance.
"You got here through a portal, dear." The familiar voice of her pursuer said, causing Claire to whip around to come face to face with the golden glad witch. Only there was no gold. Only a lady in a beautiful, yet old, green and red dress, long ginger hair tied back in a long pony tail and a familiar face that offered a gentle smile as she sat on the couch, holding a book.
Realization struck as she recognised the lady's face from the heartsone. "You…" Claire breathed out. "You were the one that appeared in that crystal."
"Indeed I am," she confirmed, gently closing the book that she held before placing it onto the coffee table in front of her. "But I am also part of the one that is attempting to possess your body." She said as she got up and started to walk ever so closer to Claire, stopping a safe distance away so as not to scare away the poor girl.
"Possess…?" Claire asked, posture stiff and on guard just in case she needed to run.
"Yes, possess." The lady said with a tired sigh. "I have been doing my best to contact you before this happened but it seems as though I was too late."
"Too late?" Claire parroted, her guard dropping ever so slightly, realising that the woman in front of her wouldn't be attacking her.
"My other half, the corrupted half, has already managed to wriggle its way into your body, which is why you're here right now." That statement made the gears in the teen's head turn, attempting to piece together an explanation.
"Am… am I dead…?" She finally managed to voice out in a quiet whisper.
There was a beat of silence, a deafening silence as the lady looked at Claire with a raised eyebrow before a wide smile plastered itself onto her face, an echoing chuckle surrounding them.
"No, you're not dead." A new voice sounded, this one much more echoey than her own or the lady's voice, much like the chuckle.
The red head turned towards the stairs where a small glowing orb of purple light fluttered down. "Your soul is just in the shadow realm."
A/N:
HOO BOI
Okay just to clarify, I'm intentionally leaving holes to be filled in as the story progresses.
I really do like Morgana as a character, more than Merlin if I might add, actually Merlin is at the very bottom of the "I like you, have a cupcake" list where he gets no cupcakes but I am trying my best to stick to the original character interactions and personalities.
Also I really love glitch text.
Anyway! I do hope you enjoyed this chapter!