Went a bit symbolic with this prompt. Basically, it's Trollhunter!Barbara AU with Strickler being her metaphorical dragon enemy. This chapter though takes place before Barbara finds the amulet - and yes, Barbara and Walter started dating in this AU before that.
Their dates tended to be quite sophisticated. Could it be otherwise with Walter, with his love for unusual references and ability to surprise her with his highly intellectual ideas to spend their time? Even if it was some coffee in a local cafe, it would easily turn into a discussion of arts or literature.
Barbara liked that part of him, but at times, she was scared to embarrass herself while showing an interest in something more trivial.
So, when a teen, barely older than Jim, handed her a garish flier, she felt torn. What should she have done? Throw it away without looking? At least check it out before judging? Wasn't that most likely some promotion of a not-that-intellectual event?
"Oh, an open-air performance?" as if reading her reluctance, Walter took a peek himself. "And a puppet theatre? Quite a rarity these days."
That wasn't the kind of event Barbara imagined, so she looked at the flier herself.
Tale of the Knight and the Dragon.
"Oh, I know this one - they used to perform it in the local park when I was a child," it escaped her lips unwittingly. And well, it probably couldn't be otherwise.
That one used to be her favorite play, the one she had learned by heart and played with her childhood friends. Actually, Barbara wouldn't mind watching it for the nostalgia sake alone, but…
Wouldn't Walter judge it for something like that? They'd only started dating a little more than a month ago - she still had no time to learn everything about him.
"Then what about going to watch it?" Walter smiled kindly, leaving her entirely dumbfounded.
"But it's for kids," Barbara protested weakly - just in case he had misunderstood.
"For kids never equals bad, my charming lady," his smile morphed into a teasing smirk. "Besides, I'm eager to know more about you, including your childhood years…"
At times, he read her like an open book. But, well, it was a part of his charm, after all…
The puppet play was slightly different from the one Barbara remembered - some changes to the script here and there, different props, and obviously different voices for the characters. But did it actually matter when it still captured the spirit that had enamored her all those years ago?
It was a story about an almighty dragon terrorizing surrounding kingdoms. Not a mindless beast, but rather an intelligent creature with a devious mind. The one terrifying not because of his sheer power alone, but because of cunning schemes often bringing disarray among those who dared to challenge him.
Countless knights and warriors tried to defeat the dragon, always perishing in the process, no matter how capable they were.
The finest craftsmen from all over the world united to forge a weapon against Dragon, picking up the mythical ores and drawing some runes of power.
Sunshine. They named the sword they had created after the most powerful thing they knew.
And as Sunshine was the magical artifact, it called for its chosen Knight.
The one who was neither a sung hero nor a legendary swordsman. No, the one summoned was just a healer who was more skilled in saving lives rather than taking those.
Barbara remembered how much this fact excited her as a child. Everyone could be a hero, not only those physically strong like some of her cousins claimed.
You just needed a brave and compassionate soul.
And, of course, some loyal companions you found on your way.
This was exactly what happened in this story - the newly appointed Knight embarked on a long journey, meeting various people with unique talents and uniting them in a team. They approached Dragon's lair and then…
Yes, this act was still the most impactful, even if Barbara knew the outcome already. It was painful, anguishing, and nearly impossible to watch. It was as if she turned into that hyperactive small girl she had been during her first play.
She prayed for it to stop, yet it unraveled before her eyes.
Knight discovering that his first and most loyal ally was Dragon, who changed his form to fool him.
That all the danger he had faced so far had been staged by the shapeshifter enemy.
That all the words of support had been fake.
Dragon cackling at Knight's naivety, jeering at his foolish tendency to trust strangers.
And Knight breaking down under such ruthless verbal attack, running away full of doubt.
Apparently, even the bravest heroes were just humans in the end. Of course, Barbara was well-aware that the villain didn't win in this story, that Knight returned when everything seemingly had been lost for good, but…
This small moment of fragility was, ironically, the part she both loved and hated.
But it wasn't the part that left her conflicted. No, that one was reserved for the ending.
The one where Knight slew Dragon and just went to celebrate with everyone else. It simply felt out of place, as if a part of another story was slapped over the original ending.
It hadn't sat well with Barbara even during her childhood - and now she fully understood why.
There were no answers to two vital questions.
Why had Dragon joined the enemy's party to start with?
What had Knight felt after slaying someone who had been his closest friend?
He could never imagine that his past would bite him when he didn't expect it. A play for kids? Really? Strickler just wanted to enjoy his time with Barbara.
No, of course, he had seen some cute expressions from her as she had been watching the performance, but…
Why couldn't it be something else?
"Walter, you ok? You're too pale!" Barbara's worried voice had broken his reverie.
Of course, she had noticed. She was a sharp woman. Hadn't Strickler fallen in love with her for that?
"Just tired. Too much marking lately," he shrugged indifferently, paying attention to never bring anything health-related. That would be a grave mistake in the doctor's presence.
"Were you bored of the play?" Barbara asked quietly. "Sorry for being that selfish and…"
"Not at all," Walter interrupted her abruptly. "I was just surprised to see an adaptation of that story, especially knowing that the original isn't for kids…"
"Wait, that's an adaptation?"
"Yes, the original is novel-length, besides, some parts are too violent for children."
Oh, he kept digging his own grave, that was for sure.
"Wow, I won't mind reading that one. Any ideas where to get a copy?" Barbara smiled, obviously excited about the information she had learned.
And that one, apparently, worked better than any torture to weaken his resolve.
"I have one at home. You can have that one."
Tale of the Knight and the Dragon.
Strickler knew that one by heart. How could it be otherwise when each word and plot twist there was a fruit of his creative labor?
His life as a troll under human guise had been full of all kinds of experiences as long as it fitted his cover. And one of those countless jobs involved writing books.
The regular stuff had been too sophisticated - to the point that publishers kept turning his work down. But one day Strickler got a proposal to write something along the lines of trendy topics.
Medieval knight tales had been all the rage back then, so he had tried his hand at it. No, he had been one hundred percent sure it would have turned out to be a soulless work - pretty words, perfectly geared to satisfy consumer's tastes, yet no passion behind it.
Yet…
Strickler had been clearly projecting too much. Knight had been clearly inspired by the whole deal with the Trollhunter's mantle. And Dragon - well, that one was Walter through and through, starting from mannerisms and speech patterns and ending with motivation and mind processes.
His publisher had been left speechless by the final draft.
Yet…
'Perfect. But change the ending. Let that treacherous beast die in a ditch - he doesn't deserve more.'
Those words still resounded inside Strickler's mind each time he remembered that time. He had been forced to cut out the chapter he considered his magnum opus, switching it with trivial 'everyone celebrating Dragon's death'. In the end, that one stayed the only soulless part of his novel.
His work had been popular - for a year or two - until falling into obscurity. Walter could say it was republished several times as it moved into the public domain but never managed to reignite the initial buzz.
And honestly, Strickler was happy.
That was a story about his self-insert failing in everything and dying a miserable and lonely death, never reaching his goals. If it had been that popular, he would have been forced to watch it in countless adaptations.
He never understood why he had written something like that. Couldn't he just have based the villain on Bular? Or at least omitted that twist with Knight's friend being Dragon? Yes, that one was his favorite scene, but…
As the one behind the script, Walter still had no idea what kind of motives led his character to that.
Did it mean anything in the end?
He checked the time. Alas, his time of playing a nice human part had come to its end. Now he had to return to his real responsibilities, raking his brains in an attempt to find the way to snatch the amulet from Kanjigar…
Next chapter:
Ode to Fair Lady Knight