Chapter 6: In which Camelot gains another resident
A/N: Discovered earlier today whlle thumbing through some random notes in a few of the storyboards for the show that Douxie's bracelet was referred to as both a 'cuff' and a 'bracer'. Even though the official art book specifically called it a "charm bracelet", when I looked up pictures of bracers they seemed a lot more accurate. So I went back and switched the name for it in all my chapters. Hopefully that doesn't cause too much confusion!
Douxie glanced around, not surprised to find more shadow mephits coming from every direction. Dozens of them! Alarm spread over Zoe's face, visible by the luminous highlights on the monsters skittering closer, but she pulled out her techno-wand and positioned herself to protect his rear.
"I'll do what I can to give you an opening," he said, intently watching them advance. Runes had already begun to shine along his charm bracer. "You get to the bookstore."
"Are you serious?!" she demanded. "You want me to leave you here alone facing off against forty mephits?"
"There's someone at the shop. Tell her I need help."
Zoe swallowed, readying herself. A blaze of light formed in his hand and he shot it at a cluster of the creatures, blowing a wide hole in their circle. The young witch hoofed it, techno-wand swinging as she used it to heave a leaping mephit away. He caught the faintest glint of pink light as she used magic to speed her flight.
Douxie spun around, both hands glowing as he sent out magical bursts. It drove them back rather than killing them, but at least they weren't following Zoe. All he needed to do was hold out long enough for her to run at least two blocks, explain the situation to Claire, then get back here before he was eaten alive.
Well… there were worse ways to go.
"Come on, you sods!" he shouted in challenge. "I'll send you straight to Limbo with the rest of your kind!"
"So you have been contributing," a deep, echoing voice said from the darkness.
Ice scaled his spine and Douxie twisted around to see the Green Knight there, sword drawn. His armor glowed with lines of golden light and the shadow mephits obediently shifted from his path as he marched forward.
"For every magic-born creature you lock away, the world comes that much closer to destruction. You destroy the balance on purpose."
Douxie shook his head, hands blazing even brighter with magic. "No! I'm helping people. Keeping them safe!"
"Have you truly not noticed the changes?" he intoned, pointing his weapon at the young wizard's heart. "How few magic-kind are left? Dragons, immortals, trolls, imps, faerie, naga… They have been killed or banished thanks to the efforts of you and your master."
Uncertainty touched Douxie's features, but then he set his jaw obstinately and poised to attack. "There's more to it than that!"
"You are a fool."
Sudden lightheadedness made him unsteady and he staggered to one side, unable to see straight. A pair of shadow mephits pounced. Carried down beneath their weight, the wizard strained to hold onto his magic only to have it slip away.
"It is my pleasure to be the one to end your life."
Douxie shook his head to clear it just as the sword sang, flying toward him. He braced himself, but there was the unexpected ring of metal on stone as Aaarrrgghh barrelled between them. He gave a beastly roar while Claire and Toby (only wearing his helmet and shoulderplates) appeared through a shadow portal along with Zoe.
The pink-haired witch hurled the mephits away from him with a jerk of her wand while Toby wielded his Warhammer, every swing resulting in a puff of greenish smoke that followed the creatures' deaths. Zoe reached to help Douxie up, but Claire got there first.
"Douxie, are you okay?" the shadow witch asked, concerned.
His legs seemed stronger now and he pulled out of her grip. "Yes, he just caught me unawares. Wait, Zoe?! What are you doing here? Your magic is air-based. You're no help to us in a fight against these buggers!"
"I can do my part!" she declared, twisting the base of her wand so that it glowed a slightly darker color. Then she was throwing out attacks at some mephits who were slinking too close for comfort.
At the same time, Aaarrrgghh had batted aside the dark sword and wrapped the Green Knight in a giant bear hug, but he was having difficulty keeping him there. It was all he could do to hold tight and keep him from the other members of the group, which was indeed grating on his enemy.
"I have no desire to waste my time on you, troll!" the Green Knight growled. "Causa Crepitus!"
Cracks ripped through the street in a series of deep tremors and made everyone lose their footing. Slipping free of Aaarrrgghh's grip, the Green Knight dove for his lost sword. Toby yelped as he fell into a widening hole, only for a broken water pipe to send up a geyser directly below him. Though the blast of spray did help him back up onto the street, he landed in rather a wet, undignified heap.
From her knees, Claire formed portals to send the attacking mephits to the Shadow Realm, but she cast Douxie a terrified look. "We've got to get out of here!"
Fissures were still forming beneath them but Douxie forced himself to his feet, bracer spinning. He ran forward, shouting a spell and throwing out a fist of light at the warrior, but the Green Knight bulled straight through it and aimed a lethal blow at him.
Douxie barely dodged the blade but still felt the crushing impact of an armored elbow on his chest. He flew back, surprised when his landing was cushioned by a pillow of air. Coughing from the hammerblow, he looked up at Zoe who gave a loud cry and manifested a barrier that extended in a pale rose dome around their group.
Aaarrrgghh smashed the last few mephits that had gotten trapped inside with them, but the Green Knight could be seen mere feet away. Water from the broken pipes in the street rained down on the fractured street and the glowing monsters tossed their heads, apparently enjoying it. Faceless features gazed at them through an onyx mask as the Green Knight reached out and scraped one gauntlet against the barrier, leaving glowing trails behind.
"Do you think I cannot break through this, feeble witch?" he almost laughed.
Zoe gritted her teeth, pouring all her strength into maintaining their only defense. "Do something! I can't hold this more than a minute!"
"I have enough energy left to shadow-jump us to the airship," Claire volunteered, the portal already beginning to form. "Everyone through!"
Seeing them escaping, their enemy went into a rage and smashed his sword into the barrier, which caused Zoe to scream. Still, she held her hands outstretched, keeping the magical dome in place. But a second collision shattered it into a million splinters of rosy light, sending her to the ground in a faint.
Now the only two left, Douxie grabbed Zoe and carried her through Claire's portal just as the eager mephits leaped. Their jaws closed on nothing and the Green Knight gave an outraged shout. One armored fist slammed into the cement.
"I will kill you if it's last thing I do, you stupid, spoiled boy!"
Blocks away, everyone clambered into the airship and were headed upward moments later. The whole group breathed a collective sigh of relief. Douxie divided his attention between flying and worrying about the pink-haired witch who lay collapsed on the deck.
"Is she alright?" he asked Claire.
She checked the unconscious girl's pulse. "Seems fine. Probably some blowback from the spell being broken, I think."
"Um, not to rain on the parade," Toby started as he removed his helmet, "but how are we going to explain all this to Merlin? I don't think he's gonna be happy. Just a hunch."
"How could a simple mission go wrong so badly?" Merlin demanded, pacing back and forth in front of the Trollhunters once he'd heard their explanation. "All you were supposed to do was retrieve a few books!"
"It was just a scrap, Master," Douxie started, but Merlin cut him off.
"There is no 'scrap' with that monster. We must change direction at once before—"
The alarm bell clanged, sending everyone running toward the nearest windows. The flickering glow of a niffin pack could be seen barely clearing the clouds below. Everyone felt the shift as Galahad steered Camelot toward a new course, but no one was foolish enough to think they could outmaneuver the creatures.
"Your mishap stirred them up again, no doubt," Merlin grunted with irritation. "Right when I was getting work done. You children take care of it. And I'm confiscating these. Call it due punishment for your stupidity."
He snatched the paper bag packed with cookies from Toby's hands then headed for the exit. The teenager stuck out his tongue and mimicked Merlin's words in a sarcastic tone, though only after the wizard was safely gone.
"I knew I should have gone with you," Archie said, settling on Douxie's shoulder. "You knew it was a bad idea to set foot outside that shop, yet you did it anyway."
"Give me a break, Arch!" he growled as he sent his bracer's runes whirling. "Let's just focus on the niffins for now."
He almost welcomed the gooey fight with the glow-harpies, along with the inevitable cleanup afterwards. It kept him from having to think about Zoe, whom Merlin had dismissed as weak and unimportant and ordered off the flying castle as soon as possible. In the meantime, Aaarrrgghh carried her to one of the small guest rooms in a side tower.
But though he tried not to, the wizard found himself drawn to that chamber. Too many memories crowded in on him as he stared down at her sleeping figure. Archie always asked if it was really worth the centuries he'd lost to ride everything on a chance, but every time it came up he'd dismiss all the doubts and insist it was. Now… he wondered.
He had no idea he had an audience. Wearing the pale purple dress once again, Claire had been watching him for at least a minute from the door that was open a crack. He didn't notice until she finally cleared her throat and entered.
"Looks like you didn't quite get around to your coffee after all."
Hazel eyes guiltily remained turned away from her.
"Douxie, I know it's your own business, but couldn't you at least have been honest with me? We're a team and I…" She stopped, tone growing kinder. "I can't help feeling we need to know what's really going on with one another right now. Please tell me why you would jeopardize everyone by putting yourself and us in a vulnerable situation."
There was an introspective feel to his silence as he stood there over the bed, eyes trained on Zoe's face.
"Foretellings are rare for those not connected to shadow magic, but I've had a few," he finally whispered. "One changed everything for me. When Killahead Bridge was sealed there was a surge of magic that struck everyone in the area. It gave me a vision… I saw that I would grow old, becoming the master wizard I always wanted to be, but then I would meet someone… only she looked at me as so ancient that she'd never even consider…"
Claire remembered the day he warned her about Foretellings and all at once she realized he really had been speaking from personal experience. The girl on the bed suddenly moved to hug a feather pillow in her sleep and looked so relaxed that a quivery smile tried to creep out onto Douxie's face. But he gave a forceful swallow and then continued.
"Once I woke up, I knew I had a choice: I could let my future be what I had seen or I could look for an opportunity to get a piece of the Heart of Avalon for myself."
"You were willing to suspend yourself in time for a girl you'd only seen in a dream even though you knew it would take centuries?" she asked, stunned.
"To be honest I had no idea how long it would take, but the day I finally found her… it all felt worth it." He reached out, one finger brushing the very tip of Zoe's bangs. "I thought being the right age would make it possible… but there are other things in the way. I see that now."
"I'm so sorry," Claire breathed, voice brimming with empathy.
Douxie stepped back from the bed as though ashamed. "It's okay, Claire. Not like it's your fault."
"I know." She touched his arm. "I still wish I could help."
"Thank you, but… there's nothing either of us can do about someone else's feelings, is there? Ever since the first day we met she's always been brassed off with me. I kept hoping if she'd only get to know me, she might change her mind."
He still hadn't broken his gaze from Zoe's face and Claire impulsively wrapped her arms around him. The unexpected gesture was enough to shock him out of his reverie. She looked up more cheerfully.
"Hey. Next lesson think you could show me how to make a shield? Have to say I was really impressed by what she did back there."
Douxie finally smiled, giving her a brief, one-armed hug back. "Absolutely."
"Look, why don't you go get some rest. I'll stay here until she wakes up so she won't find herself alone in a strange place. I have some studying to do anyway." She opened a miniature portal and pulled a book through it. "Blinky has been teaching me spellcaster script and I want to practice."
"Very well." He paused to give her an elaborate, playful bow. "I leave her in your capable hands, Lady Claire."
Zoe found herself in a bed most certainly not her own. She could feel powerful, unfamiliar magic all around, which was startling enough to jolt her wide awake. The girl with the shock of white hair she'd met at Douxie's bookstore sat beside a dressing table, reading by lamplight. She looked up from the book as Zoe rose into a sitting position.
"We had no choice but to bring you with us. It was too dangerous to leave you behind with that Green Knight and his monsters on the prowl."
"Where are we?" she asked, sliding her legs off a bed that was an antique style she'd only seen in books.
"Camelot. You've been asleep for over three hours, so I'd say we're anywhere from five hundred to five thousand miles from Arcadia by now." She snapped the book shut and offered her hand. "The name's Claire, by the way."
"I know who you are, shadow witch," Zoe said, deliberately ignoring the hand to check the techno-wand attached to her belt. "Didn't go through the usual awakening, did you? Just dove into magic and found an affinity to it."
"Something like that," Claire replied, the warmth she'd first shown gone now. "Is there a particular reason you and the other wizards in Arcadia decided not to contact me and maybe… oh, I don't know… make the life-altering transition a tad easier?"
There was some bite to Claire's words, but the other girl pretended not to notice. She surveyed the room, marking the stone walls, single arched window and the fact that it would take all of three strides to get from one end to the other. Which made two people and the hostility between them a trifle too much for such a small space.
"You were with the trolls and they seemed to be taking care of you just fine. We assumed they had taught you to use magic in the first place. Not really our business in that case since they took responsibility for you."
"So you were watching."
"Not like it's a crime to be observant." Zoe made a face and crossed her arms. "As if you even deserve magic. You became sorceress-level in a matter of weeks. I spent the last ten years scraping to learn and grow as a hedge witch while you fell into it headlong by accident and came out stronger than I could ever be."
"I guess life is unfair," the Mexican girl shrugged, keeping her voice stoic. "We'll discuss your stay—and hopefully your departure—as soon as you're up for it. Until then, know that Merlin's workroom is off-limits. Don't want you to be turned into a red-spotted chicken because you interrupted him. Though that might actually be an improvement."
The pink-haired witch clenched her fists as Claire casually waved a hand to open a shadow portal, then glided from the room.
Morning sunlight sparkled on the beads of sweat sliding down the side of Claire's face. A circular design of magic runes slowly took form in front of her, but its blurred lines wavered and disintegrated seconds later.
She went limp, hands on knees as she panted, "It–It's just too tough!"
Douxie patted his student's shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay. The first few tries are always difficult when it comes to new skills in magic. Shields require intense focus and you've only started to master that." He considered her a moment. "I think… the problem may partly be your hands."
Surprised, she looked at the appendages, flipping them around to see both sides. "What's wrong with them?"
"Every type of magic has its own specific rules and forms. My shields work best with this hand-shape." He demonstrated, calling up a small shield, and Claire noticed how he held his fingers. "Shadowmancy is different. According to this, your shields need a light, delicate motion."
Carefully studying the picture in the book that lay on the table beside them, Claire did her best to imitate the drawn figure's hands, sweeping in a deft rounded movement.
"Let me try again."
The ghostly design appeared once more in the air, brightening as she gestured. Claire held the position and tried to focus on defending Jim. For an instant the shield sharpened, all its lines and symbols exactly as they should be, then she groaned and seized the table for support. With the slightest shimmer, her shield vanished.
A cup of water floated over to her and she accepted it appreciatively, gulping it down. "Did you see that? I did it! Just for a moment, but I actually did it!"
Douxie offered her a smile and sent the empty cup back to its place with a flick. "Not bad. I honestly didn't expect you to fully conjure it during this session. Seems you have quite the gift. I'm surprised you wanted to work on defensive before offensive spells, though."
"How long did it take you?"
Her teacher raised both brows and folded his arms. "You really expect me to answer that?"
"Okay, okay!" she laughed, "But I don't think I can do much more this morning. That shield took a lot out of me."
"So you aren't as well-versed in magic as everyone thought."
There was the slightest sneer behind the words and they both turned to see Zoe leaning against the wall beside the door. Douxie knew she could use her magic to dampen all sound around her, so there was no telling how long she'd been standing there without them noticing. A reflexive dislike yanked Claire's mouth into a scowl.
"I hope you're ready to go home," the Mexican girl said. "I'll take you down to the surface and make sure you find a bus stop right now if you want."
"Ha! She–she's joking!" Douxie inserted himself between them with a far-too-sunny grin. "We're not dumping you thousands of miles from Arcadia. Claire, you admitted you're tired, so take all the time you want before the next lesson. I'll… uh… figure out what Zoe needs and meet up with you later. No worries!"
He hurried to open the door for her, but Zoe reached it first and gave haughty backward glance to the other witch. Claire didn't say anything that wasn't already implied in a half-lidded glare. He shut the chamber door carefully and hurried after her.
"Zoe, I want you to know how grateful I am that you—"
"Nothing has changed, Casperan," she said as they descended the sunlit steps outside. "I would have defended anyone from shadow mephits without a second thought."
"I still appreciate it."
She sniffed, continuing to exude nothing but a lukewarm attitude. "Well, I appreciated all the free lattes, but I'm still not interested in you. All I want is to get home with a minimum of contact between us. Tell me how I can do that and I'll leave you to your private tutoring in that girl's bedroom."
Feeling this talk was going downhill faster and faster, Douxie grew apprehensive. "Zoe, she's just a friend who needs help and there's no one else who can teach her. I spoke to Merlin about Arcadia earlier and he says it's too dangerous to go back right now. It might be a few days before we— Please don't glare at me like that! Look, I'm trying. I'm sorry for what happened, I really am! If I had known an ancient, dark creature was going to ambush us—"
"That part I didn't mind," she said surprisingly lightly. "What did bother me is that you thought I was so useless that you dismissed any help I could offer in the middle of a fight."
Douxie held out his hands helplessly. "I was trying to keep you safe."
Zoe came to a halt and her blue eyes bored into him almost murderously. "One more excuse and I will never speak to you again!"
He stared at her in bewilderment. Then all at once his jaw set and the hurt in his eyes changed. "I get it. I do."
Something truly bitter had begun to smolder inside Douxie's chest and for the first time since she'd met him Zoe didn't see an awkward, eager-to-please young man who always seemed desperate for her attention. The way he stared at her was anything but friendly now and she found herself instinctively shying away.
"I loved you centuries before you were born, Zoe. You may not believe that, but I've held myself back from any real relationship all that time because I always hoped my Foretelling meant you were the girl for me." He squared his shoulders. "I'm done wasting my life because I finally see you weren't worth waiting for."
The pink-haired witch stood there, frozen, as he stalked away.
A/N: Douxie and Zoe's relationship was so untouched in the show that I didn't want to throw it in as if it was natural and charmed. Some people are shippers even though there is practically zero proof, but me... I wanted to see what would happen if perhaps this rude, cynical girl really did have a guy throwing himself at her feet. Once her personality was outlined, it was obvious she wouldn't be impressed by him at all and I couldn't change that without ruining the realism of her character. I guess we'll see how it pans out.
I spent over thirty minutes going over every single shot of the Hex Tech scene to figure out what kind of little handheld objects the hedge wizards had. They're used primarily for technology, meaning those guys most likely created the macguffins themselves, but we only get three glimpses of the 'techno-wands' (which I call them for lack of a better term). That leaves a lot of room for speculation, so I went for general levitating powers, energy blasts and tech manipulation. The logo on their front door and on all the computer screens in the front room looks very much like the techno-wands as well. Coincidence? Yeah, probably.
As for shield hand-shapes, almost every time Douxie made a shield he held up two fingers together and pressed outward, but in "Rise of the Titans" when Claire made one during the train fight, her hands caressed the air in a circle. What's the best way to explain the contrast? Could very easily have been masculine versus feminine forms rather than elemental differences. I just winged it and hoped I was right.