Hers to Command
EloraStory
Chapter One: Embracing
At the sound of her obnoxious alarm blaring at her bedside, Jamie Lake sprang out of bed at 5:00 AM on the dot, smiling into the darkness of her room. She hadn't felt so positive, so energized, in months; there was just something about the way the sun peeked curiously over the horizon, sending a flurry of colors cascading across the late-summer sky that made the girl feel as though things were finally starting to look up.
Jamie quickly dressed in her running gear—a sky-blue tee, black shorts, and white tennis shoes—and braided her nigh-unmanageable hair as neatly as she could. Casting her reflection a final confident smile, the girl practically skipped downstairs to prepare breakfast. The best part about living a healthy lifestyle, in Jamie's opinion, was the food-prep.
After preheating the oven to a toasty 350 degrees Fahrenheit, Jamie threw the ingredients for her latest healthy breakfast cookies into a bowl and stirred frantically, eager to get to her run with her best friend, Toby. Ever since her friend decided he wanted to lose weight, Jamie had done everything in her power to help him achieve his goal, including getting into healthy cooking and joining the school's track team. Though the boy had long since quit the team and reverted back to his old snacking ways, Jamie had discovered her love of running and remained committed. As long as she called it "parkour-ninja-training" instead of running, Toby would remain by her side.
She chuckled as she plopped dollops of cookie dough onto the baking sheet, considering her best friend's hilarious antics. At least he still went on their morning runs together, even if it was only for the free breakfast she provided in exchange.
Cookies in the oven, Jamie went to work on the second half of breakfast—smoothie time!
Once she'd loaded up the blender with enough micronutrients to sustain a small army, Jamie covered the ancient contraption with a throw-pillow to muffle the grating sound and pressed 'start.' She winced as, despite her efforts, the angry sound of grinding food still filled the house. Hopefully, her mother was deep enough in sleep that the noise would not rouse her.
Three smoothie-filled thermoses and four baggies of breakfast cookies later, Jamie made her way up the stairs to deliver her mother breakfast in bed. The note upon her mother's bedroom door ("Late night at work. Sleeping in. –Mom") did not deter her from her course. Upon entering, however, she seriously wished it had, for the sight that greeted her was one she would never be able to un-see.
There, topless, towering over her mother as he ravished her with heated kisses, was her high-school history teacher.
"Gah!" Jamie cried in stunned embarrassment, nearly losing her grip on the tray of cookies and smoothie. "Mr. Strickler!"
"Jamie!" Both the adults cried at the unexpected intrusion upon their intimate moment. Strickler had the sense to cover their bodies with the thin blanket, but the damage was already done.
Squeezing her eyes shut in an effort to preserve what little dignity remained between the three, Jamie lowered the tray to the floor and attempted to back out of the room, hitting the wall instead. "Sorry! So sorry!" She squeaked, feeling around blindly for the exit.
"Please, Jamie," Strickler drawled in his smooth, British accent, obviously trying to diffuse the tension. "It's been six months—certainly we know each other well enough for you to call me 'Walt' by now?"
From her place below her boyfriend, Barbara's nervous giggling devolved into snorts of unmanageable amusement. "If she didn't before," the doctor cackled, "she definitely does now!"
Finally, Jamie managed to locate the exit, slamming the door shut behind her and nicking the forgotten breakfast tray in her haste. Mortified by the experience, especially by the adults' flippant response to what had just occurred, the girl grabbed her backpack and scrambled out of the house to meet her friend across the street.
She spied Toby's head of coppery hair standing at the edge of the road before she even left her front porch. Trudging up to her friend, holding his smoothie out for him to take, Jamie barely had enough time to mourn the positive vibe with which she had awoken before the boy's expression morphed into one of concern. "Dude," he said, extracting the thermos from Jamie's hand. "Did someone die?"
"Yeah," Jamie grumbled, fastening the chest straps of her heavy book-bag so it would not interfere with their upcoming run. "My innocence."
Toby snorted, "Your dramatics have piqued my interest," he said, stowing the smoothie into his own bag. "Spill. What's got you so freaked?"
The girl flushed at the memory, suddenly reluctant to share with her best friend, but pressed forward anyway. "I just walked in on Strickler and my mom," she confessed. "Naked."
Toby's emerald eyes widened comically at this revelation. "Whaaaaaaat?" he squealed, stopping in his tracks. "Oh, man! I bet you'd be regretting playing matchmaker if the opportunity for blackmail wasn't so obvious!"
Jamie rolled her eyes, marveling at the fact Toby would believe her capable of blackmailing her mom's boyfriend. "No way!" she stated firmly, bringing their pace up to an easy jog. "He makes my mom so happy—she didn't even yell at me for not knocking!"
"Seriously? Dude, hooking them up was our best idea ever," Toby replied. "Not only are we definitely getting A's in history for the rest of our high school careers, but now you have someone to help pick up the slack around the house so you can just be a kid!"
"Yeah, but…" Jamie bemoaned jokingly, "Is it really worth walking in on them having sex?"
"Start knocking," Toby said with a smirk, "and it will be."
As the canals came into view, Jamie felt a swell of vindictive glee rise in her chest. "Okay, Tobes," she grinned in anticipation of the payback her friend would soon feel for teasing her so mercilessly. "Ready for the hill of doom?"
"I'm never ready for the hill of doom," the boy replied, already huffing from their run.
Jamie grinned and picked up the pace as the concrete slope fast approached. "Here it goes!"
Suddenly, she was racing, flying, consumed by the sensation of controlled falling as she descended the slope. The wind whipped her braid out in a flurry behind her as she ran, liberating a few strands of hair from the style's confines. It was in these moments, as she pushed her body to its limits, that she felt truly free.
Unfortunately, Toby approached the same challenge with slightly less finesse, stumbling over his own feet as gravity dragged his stout form to the ground. In a flash, Jamie was by her friend's side. "Tobes!" she cried in concern. "Are you okay?!"
"I think I broke my everything…" her friend groaned dramatically.
Chuckling and rolling her eyes, Jamie pulled the boy up to standing. "Well," she said optimistically. "At least you made it further than yesterday before you tripped!"
"Jamie Lake…"
The girl gasped as the whispered name pierced the air. Looking around for the source, Jamie felt a chill settle along her spine. "Who's there?" She called out.
"Who are you talking to?" Toby asked, rubbing his head with a confused look on his face.
"Jamie… Lake…"
"Gah!" the teens yelped in shock as the voice spoke again.
Jamie's eyes lit. "You heard it, too!" she exclaimed, relieved that she wasn't crazy. "Where do you think it's coming from?"
As the two teens looked around in confusion for the source of the mysterious whisper, a blue shimmer caught the girl's eye. There, amidst a pile of crumbled stone, was a glowing blue… thing.
"What is it?" Jamie murmured, retrieving the lovely item from the rubble.
Toby's eyes, rounded with awe, glimmered in the ethereal glow. "It looks like an amulet!" he exclaimed.
"Jamie Lake…"
Jamie's lips parted in surprise, hand suddenly trembling around the mysterious artifact. "It talks!" she exclaimed. "And it said my name!"
After a moment's pause, Toby scoffed, cautious disbelief lacing his tone. "Dude, amulets don't talk," he stated matter-of-factly. "It's gotta be a toy, like a walkie-talkie from some alien-movie franchise or something."
Staring in wonder at the lovely amulet in her hand, taking in all the little details from the glowing blue gem to the platinum steel to the exotic inscription framing the artifact, Jamie could only nod in absent-minded agreement. "Yeah," she said softly. "You're probably right…"
Suddenly, the ringing of a distant bell reached their ears, snapping the teens out of their thoughtful reverie.
"School!" Toby cried. "C'mon, JL; we're gonna be late!"
I should've made Strickler drive us after what he put me through today, Jamie thought resentfully as she and Toby raced up the side of the canal, praying they would make it to school on time.
The two teens reached the front steps of the school just in time to hear the ring of the final bell.
"Made it!" Toby exclaimed, reaching into his bag to retrieve his smoothie-thermos as they raced through the crowd to their first class (history with Strickler, of course). Jamie eyed her friend's facial expression as he chugged her latest concoction, gauging his level of enjoyment intently.
The boy downed the drink in one go, wiping his lips and smiling approvingly. "Blueberry…" he listed thoughtfully, "vanilla protein—pea?—, almond milk base, cacao, cinnamon…"
"And a pinch of cardamom!" Jamie finished smiling victoriously.
"Ooh," Toby hummed. "Taking a chance there, chef!"
"It boosts your metabolism and maximizes nutrient absorption!" the girl informed him happily, her inner food nerd on full display.
The two sat in their usual seats near the back of the classroom, carefully avoiding meeting Strickler's gaze. When curiosity finally got the better of her, Jamie chanced a glance at the reserved teacher only to find his face was the epitome of professionalism. Hers, however, still felt warm with a slowly-spreading flush.
"Good morning, class!" Strickler greeted the students warmly. I hope you managed to review last session's study of foreign relations between Athens and Sparta, because today we are moving on to the Peloponnesian War..." he smirked wickedly. "After a pop-quiz!"
Every teenager in the class groaned simultaneously, eliciting a chuckle from their teacher. "Should you all do reasonably well," he appeased the masses easily, "the next quiz will be open-book."
Jamie and Toby shared a grin as the tone of the room lightened. There was a reason Strickler was everyone's favorite teacher.
"Ms. Lake," Strickler continued, drawing Jamie's attention back to the front, "if you would be so kind as to assist me in distributing the quizzes?"
"Sure thing, Mr. S!" the girl stood and approached the front of the room. As she meandered through the isle of desks, a sharp pinch to her behind drew a yelp of affronted surprise from her lips. Turning to find the source of the assault, her eyes locked with a pair of startlingly blue orbs that were crinkled with smug satisfaction.
Steve, you buttsnack! Jamie flushed angrily as the room of teenagers erupted into barely-suppressed sniggers.
Before Jamie had the opportunity to smack her ex in the face for pinching her butt in front of the whole class, Strickler's smooth command cut through the tension like a knife. "Detention, Mr. Palchuck," the teacher's eyes narrowed threateningly. "And rest assured, Coach Lawrence will be hearing about this."
Steve's eyes flashed angrily at the teacher before turning to glower resentfully at Jamie. The girl was one of the few people who knew that, not only was Coach in almost complete control of Steve's future football career, he was also dating Steve's mother. Thus, Coach hearing of the boy's antics against Jamie was all the more satisfying.
The girl flashed her teacher a grateful look and accepted the stack of papers from his outstretched hand, eager to complete the task and get out of the class's line of sight. As she neared the end, the nasally voice of Mary Wang whispered just loudly enough for her to hear, "Teacher's pet."
Jamie rolled her eyes and passed her nemesis the quiz. Mary may have stolen her boyfriend, ruined her reputation, and bullied her on a near-daily basis for the last two years, but at least there wasn't much more she could do to her now.
Jamie barely managed to focus through the quiz, let alone the rest of the lesson. Her mind flipped rapidly between her mother's relationship with Strickler, her troubles with Mary and Steve, and the mysterious amulet she'd found earlier that day, leaving room for thoughts about little else. It was no wonder that she startled at the sound of the end-of-class bell.
"Ms. Lake," Strickler's voice stopped her from escaping with the rest of class, "a moment of your time, if you please."
Silently, Jamie locked eyes with Toby and gave him the 'go ahead without me' nod. He returned the gesture with a thumbs up and exited after the rest of the class, leaving Jamie alone with her teacher.
Without a roomful of eyes upon them, Strickler seemed to relax, leaning back against the desk and smirking easily at the teen. "I apologize for this morning, Little Athena," he said as informally as was possible for the usually-refined man. "We should have mentioned my presence on the note we left you."
Jamie shrugged, unsure of how to handle the situation. It had been over half a year since her mom and her teacher started dating and his presence was quite welcome outside of school; however, this was fresh territory for everyone involved. Deciding to play it cool, the girl tried to mirror his relaxed affect, "If I'd have known you were there, I'd probably have brought you a smoothie too."
The man gave an amused chortle and Jamie perked up. "That reminds me!" she exclaimed reaching for her backpack. "I brought you your share of breakfast cookies!"
Strickler hummed appreciatively and took the bag of goodies from her with a gracious smile. "Hmm," he observed the contents through the plastic. "Dark chocolate, cranberry, oats…"
"And flax seeds!" Jamie grinned and shrugged shyly. "Trying something new."
"Well, with a mind as keen as yours," the man said fondly, "I'm certain it will prove divine."
Jamie bent down to close her bag and accidentally sent the mysterious amulet she'd found that morning tumbling to the floor. Strickler's bag of breakfast cookies plopped to the ground beside the glowing artifact.
Grabbing both, Jamie made to return the cookies to her teacher only to find his face was a mask of utter shock. "Where did you find that?" he asked in a breathy, almost quivering, voice.
Taken aback by Strickler's reaction, the girl extended the amulet out for his observation. "Toby and I found it in the canals on our run this morning," she explained. "It said my name! Do you know what it is?"
"I do, indeed!" Strickler said, finally sounding more like himself as he accepted the artifact from his student. "It was in a shipment bound for the museum that went missing early this morning. I'll return this to Ms. Nomura and her latest display will finally be complete."
"Oh," Jamie said, shocked by the disappointment she felt as the surrendered the amulet to her mom's boyfriend. "I'm… glad it all worked out."
Strickler chuckled. "Yes," he drawled. "The new display is sure to be earth shattering. Which reminds me," all the playfulness left his tone, "I'll not be over for dinner tonight. I have some museum-work I have to complete this evening, but I should be available tomorrow, if your mother's schedule allows it."
"Cool," Jamie said, thoughts still occupied by the faintly-glowing amulet in the man's grasp, "See you then." She cast the man a final smile and made to exit before turning around suddenly. "Thanks for earlier," she said softly. "Ya know, how you handled Steve. He's such a butt."
"It was my pleasure, Little Athena," Strickler said with a wave. "Now, off you go, or you'll be late to your next class!"
With that, Jamie departed, barely missing the amulet as it disappeared from Strickler's gasp and the look of frustration he sent her quickly departing form.
The rest of the day passed in a blur.
As she drifted absently from class to class, Jamie couldn't help but feel as though something was missing. Did she forget to write a paper for Lit? Was her Algebra assignment due today or in two days? Crap! Was it Toby's birthday?
No, she hadn't forgotten anything. Still, something ate at her. She knew it had to do with the amulet, but she also knew there was nothing that could be done about the artifact that had suddenly consumed her every waking thought. It belonged to the museum, not her—even if it did call her name…
Stop it, Jamie commanded herself silently as she entered the girl's locker room to prep for track. You won't solve anything by obsessing. Just let it go…
Perhaps, she would have, if the amulet had not rolled out of her gym bag just as she finished the thought.
Jamie could not suppress her gasp of shock as she bent down to retrieve the faintly-pulsing artifact from the tile floor. What the heck was it doing back in her gym bag? Had Strickler changed his mind and realized it wasn't the artifact he thought it was? Was Mary trying to set her up and make it look like theft?
The girl shuddered and pocketed the amulet for later contemplation, secretly thrilled to have it back in her possession. If only Toby still came to her track meets, she could ask him if he knew anything about it now. Unfortunately, she had another hour and a half to push through before she could get any answers and by then, Strickler would already be at the museum.
Oh, darn, Jamie thought to herself dryly. Guess I get to hold on to my magical glowing trinket for a little while longer…
"Oh, no," Mary Wang's nasally drawl cut through her musings. "It's Lamie Lake. Where's Tubby? Did you finally give up on trying to make your new boyfriend look as good as your last one?"
Jamie rolled her eyes at the immature nickname and turned to face the Asian snob head-on only to find her flanked by two other girls. She had to force herself to ignore the soft mahogany eyes of the Latina standing behind Mary. It would not do to show these three any weakness at this moment. "Leave Toby out of this, Mary," she demanded, crossing her arms defensively. "Whatever you have against me is between you and me. You don't need to hurt anyone else."
"Anyone willing to associate with a loser like you is fair game," Mary snarked turning to the two girls behind her. "Isn't that right, Claire?"
Jamie couldn't contain the small gasp as her blue eyes instinctively locked with those of her ex-friend. A few colorful locks of hair fell into Claire's face, prompting her to fiddle nervously with the strands as she was placed on the spot by her bullying friend. "That's not why I stopped hanging out with her, Mare," Claire finally said, casting her eyes downward as a blush spread across her cheeks.
Mary scoffed, pulling out her phone as though she were suddenly bored with bullying Jamie. "Well, you could have fooled us," she said simply. "C'mon, girls. Tight-Jeans Hank said he's ready to meet up and I need to pick an outfit!"
Jamie rolled her eyes and took her leave, stubbornly avoiding Claire's searching gaze as she prepared herself for practice.
Jamie arrived home just before five to find her mother had already left for work. Therefore, she had plenty of time to take care of some of the more grueling household chores she knew her mother would never have time to complete.
After scrubbing the windows, changing that one flickering light-bulb, and starting a new load of laundry, Jamie finally had time to contemplate the intricate amulet in her hands.
Not only had it literally called to her, it had magically reappeared in her bag after she'd surrendered it to Strickler. At first, she couldn't believe it. Now, as she looked at the shimmering blue jewel contained within the loveliest silver she'd ever seen, she couldn't mistake it for being anything other than what it truly was…
Magic.
She felt it in her gut, the tugging at her soul. The amulet wanted her.
Before she could talk herself down from this crazy, insane realization, a loud banging resounded from downstairs.
"Raccoons," Jamie muttered to herself, both irritated by and oddly grateful for the interruption. The buggers had been getting into the trash for weeks now, leaving a terrible mess in their wake. Now that they were brave enough to venture into the basement, Jamie was more than happy to catch them in the act and deter any future attempts at vandalism.
Besides, she was so not ready to think about the amulet right now.
Grabbing a broom, the girl stalked toward the basement door and opened it cautiously. She flicked on a light and began her slow descent. Basements were creepy, only made creepier by unknown, possibly rabid creatures making a ruckus.
A flicker of movement from the shadows drew Jamie's attention. There was something—or someone—there, mostly concealed by the darkness of its chosen nook, but obviously much larger than an average pest.
Larger even, Jamie realized fearfully, than a human.
As if called out by her attention, the creature entered the light, revealing its true, terrifying form.
"Lady Jamie!" the sky-blue creature cried, leaping into Jamie's path from the shadows. Its six eyes blinked out of sync, four arms stretched out wide as it bared its massive teeth in a terrible grin.
"GAH!" Jamie cried in terror, scrambling back up the stairs but, in her haste, slipping and stumbling back down to land at the creature's feet.
Dazed from the fall, Jamie's natural response to the monster grabbing her arms and pulling up was to bring the broom swinging backward, whacking the monster in the head and splintering the wooden handle in half.
It let go immediately, plopping her solidly on her arse.
"Great gorgomons!" The creature exclaimed, stumbling back and rubbing between the two curling horns on its massive head. "Is that any way to repay someone's assistance?!"
As the blue being continued to mutter something about how Jamie's defense "couldn't possibly be a human greeting," an even bigger greenish monster quadrupedaled out of the dark corner of the basement. Though he possessed the familiar number of eyes and arms, Jamie drew no comfort from his gigantic presence.
"Looks scared," the new creature grumbled, eying the girl as she rose from the floor and regarded the terrifying trespassers.
Jamie brandished her splintered weapon as threateningly as she was able after witnessing its earlier failure to harm. The two mysterious beings blinked at her in shock before an enormous grin split the face of the blue one. "Just look at her, Aaarrrgh!" he exclaimed to the green giant by his side, waving his four arms animatedly. "Not even a day's training and already she is as fierce in spirit as her predecessor!"
That statement made absolutely zero sense to the confused and terrified teen. "Who—what—How did… What are you?" Jamie asked when they did not attack her, at a loss for what to do next.
"Why, Lady Jamie," the blue one said, "we are trolls!"
She would have thought she was dreaming if her bum didn't still hurt from her earlier tumble. I mean, is it really that much crazier than a magic amulet?
"You, Trollhunter," The big green one supplied.
That statement set Jamie's nerves on edge. Did they think she was going to try to hunt them? Were they there to stop her?
The blue troll quickly put her mind at ease, "A most honorable responsibility, indeed, and one which no human has ever had the privilege of bearing. Until you, that is."
"Uh," Jamie reached into her pocket the retrieve the amulet. "Does this have anything to do with this thing?"
"The Amulet of Daylight," the obviously more communicative troll said. "Created by Merlin himself to defeat the Gumm-Gumms and banish Gunmar into the Darklands! You are quite clever to have made the connection."
Jamie blinked stupidly. "So, what does that even mean? And what's a Gumm-Gumm?"
"Bad trolls!" The green behemoth behind her, Aaarrrgh, answered. "You fight them."
Jamie's jaw hit the floor. "What? No!" she held the now brightly-glowing amulet out to the stone beings. "I don't wanna fight monsters! Take it back!"
"We cannot!" the blue troll said with urgent solemnity. "You have been chosen by the amulet to ascend to the most sacred of offices—to protect the vast world of trolls lurking beneath your very feet!"
Jamie scoffed. "Okay, back up, big guy," her arms were up in the air as if to stop the barrage of information charging at her. "You're saying Merlin is A, real, and B, wants me to fight monsters named after kids' candy?"
She didn't allow the troll to respond, "You know what? Tell him I have to take a rain check. I have to make it through high school… and puberty. I can't fight monsters!" She firmly shoved the now faintly glowing amulet into one of his four hands and turned to leave…
Only to stop dead as she felt a familiar weight drop back into the pocket of her skort.
She reached in and pulled out the amulet. "What the…"
"Lady Jamie," the troll said softly, placing a heavy, stone hand gently upon her shoulder. "You have been chosen and, whether you like it or not, you have a destiny to fulfill. It is only in death that you may escape this sacred obligation-."
"DEATH?" Jamie cried, far from comforted. "I can't die, yet! I'm fifteen!"
Sighing, the troll continued, "A regrettably young age at which to wield the Amulet of Daylight. But, the fact remains that there is no one else who can defend our kind—and yours—against the forces of evil in this world."
"But…" Jamie sighed, "I'm just me. Just Jamie. I never learned how to fight. I've never had to fight for anything."
Finally, the troll smiled crookedly. "That is exactly why we are here: to guide you on your way to becoming a Trollhunter worthy of the title!"
"If I'm not worthy yet, then why did it choose me?" Jamie retorted, crossing her arms stubbornly. "Why couldn't it have chosen another troll?"
"We trolls are as much magic as we are stone," he said, waving all four of his hands for emphasis, "just as you are as much magic as you are flesh and bone. It matters not the race or experience of a Trollhunter. Only that, in spirit, they are willing to sacrifice everything for others."
Grasping her amulet-free hand in his upper two, the six-eyed troll leveled her with his intense stare, "We've been watching you, Trollhunter. We have seen your willingness to stand up for others, to care for your mother, to train hard, to do what is right. You do not need to become anything, Lady Jamie—simply embrace who you already are."
Jamie looked at the amulet in her hand and marveled at how little control she had over her life, despite all her attempts to deny the inevitable. Fathers bailed, mothers worked, friends changed and boyfriends cheated—that was just the way things were and Jamie had learned well to accept the inevitable. Now, apparently, magical worlds needed protectors, too. She thought of her mother, who relied so heavily, so unwittingly upon her daughter's support, and knew there was no way she could refuse this new fate. She had been magically commissioned to fight monsters until she died, lest she condemn an entire race of beings to whatever fate awaited them should she decline. She may as well start training now. "What do I have to do?"
"Perhaps," her new guide suggested, "we could show you the world you are sworn to protect?"
Nodding mutely, Jamie pocketed the amulet once again. "Sure, I guess."
An enormous smile overtook the troll's face, "Then, allow me to introduce myself: I am Blinkous Galadrigal, but you may call me 'Blinky.' And this is Aaarrrgh!"
"Three 'Rs'," the mossy-green behemoth added.
For the first time since meeting the trolls, a smile broke out across Jamie's face. "It's nice to meet you," she said, finally remembering her manners. "I'm Jamie, but uh… you already knew that."
"Indeed," the blue troll—Blinky—said resolutely. "Shall we commence your tour of Heartstone Trollmarket, the home of the trolls of Arcadia Oaks?"
He held out his hand to her. Jamie stared at it, wondering if she was crazy for wanting to take it before reaching, touching, and finally accepting his offering, knowing this was the last time she would ever identify as Jamie, small-town girl who dreamed of becoming a baker.
Now, she was Jamie Lake, the Trollhunter, protector of worlds.
Dearest reader,
Thank you for taking the time to read this story! I hope you can already tell that it is not just the Trollhunters script with [a female lead inserted here]. Expect extreme differences in story progression and dramatic tonal shifts as we dig deeper into the human experience. Warning: major trigger warnings to come in future chapters. Basically, if it's disturbing, it's here. Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated. I look forward to entertaining you further.
Yours,
Elora Story