"Hey, what's something you don't understand at all in the series?"
"The Heartstone and all that powers it."
"Dopamine, you should write about it."
"Yeah, that sounds like it won't confuse anyone at all."
Why do I do this to myself?
Also, I've been having a bad reaction to some medication, and I haven't been writing as much as I want to. So chapters might be slow all around. Sorry in advance.
—
Claire was asleep. It wasn't very comfy sleeping in the back of the truck. But at least she had her pillow.
She was instantly awake when she heard Jim scream and a screech of tires.
Everything happened so fast. She slammed against the window, and then the ceiling, then the seat, over and over, feeling like a sock in a dryer. After a particularly nasty slam to the back window, she blacked out.
When she opened her eyes again, she was laying on the couch in her living room. That same dingy gray, dusty room she had seen before in her nightmares.
"Hello dear," spoke a soft voice. "Quite the pickle we're in this time, hmm?"
Claire sat up, looking at her. "Morgan? But…I was awake and then…"
"You're hurt," The woman said simply, "hit your pretty little head."
"I—what about everyone else? What about Jim?! The truck! It rolled and—"
"Calm down," Morgan said sagely, standing. "I can't know everything. I only know of your condition. But it's only a matter of time before we know of everyone else."
"Is everyone okay?" Jim's voice carried to her, sounding like a shout from outside.
"That was quite the rough ride…" Likewise, she heard Blinky out there too.
"Jim and Blinky are okay…" Claire breathed with a sigh.
"Claire! Merlin! Enrique!" Jim shouted again, sounding closer, louder.
"Ooof…" NotEnrique groaned, "I thought you said you could drive?"
Morgan smiled and waltzed over to the kitchen and put on the kettle. "Well, you're not dead. But we can only hope that Merlin is."
"I don't understand. I'm…unconscious?"
"For the time being," Morgan answered as she rifled through the cabinets.
"Claire!" Jim called again, "Claire! Talk to me honey!"
Claire smiled at the pet name, but she didn't like the worry in his voice.
Morgana came and sat on her chair again. "I never got to mention, but I very much like the design of your house. Of course, I have made a few adjustments of my own, but it's very nice. Much nicer then the cave that Merlin and I lived. Biscuit?"
Clair took the cookie hesitantly. "So…what? Am I supposed to just stay here for now?"
"Claire!" Human Jim burst into the room, a spectral form. His eyes wandered around.
"Do you mind not yelling? I'm very tired."
Morgan frowned. "And, he survived. Great."
Human Jim came to her, kneeling beside the couch. "Claire…" He whispered. "Oh god…"
Claire looked at Morgan. "Why am I seeing him as a human? He looked like that the last time I was here too."
"You're seeing his soul, Claire. Frankly, I'm amazed he's even here in the first place. Since you haven't been through a soul binding ceremony." She scratched her chin. "Then again, if you really love each other…This could mean that you're susceptible to a bind."
"She's alive, but unconscious." He said, looking away from her.
Morgan continued. "Meaning that if a soul binding was performed, the chances of it working one hundred percent is high. Which means, it would be impossible to undo."
Claire listened, but she was also fixated on Jim nearby. It had been so long since she saw him like this. This was the Jim she had fallen in love with. Not that she didn't love the Troll version, on the contrary, his transformation was what pushed her to confessing to him. But there was something nostalgic about seeing him here like this.
"Shut your goddamn mouth!" He suddenly shouted, his spirit burning red. "Why can't you just be helpful for once!?"
Morgan scoffed. "Merlin never changes. Just being a pain in the neck wherever he goes."
The voices of the others didn't seem to reach her any more. But Jim was still here, and every word he spoke was full of pain and worry.
"I don't know if I've seen him this vulnerable before." Claire commented, reaching out to touch him. "It's…heartbreaking."
"It's admirable." Said Morgan. "A man unafraid to show worry and concern over the woman he loves? A most honorable man, indeed. I'm surprised such a soul was chosen as a Trollhunter."
"What do you mean?"
"Every Trollhunter I've seen has forsaken their loved ones and pushed them away. Taking on their duties with a stoic demeanor. But Jim accepted help from those he cared about. That's the mark of a strong and brave soul."
"So…there's nothing we can do?" Jim spoke, his shoulders heaving.
"Ah, I see." Said Morgan with a nod.
"What?" Claire asked, worry in her voice.
"It seems like my connection on you is preventing Merlin from healing you."
"Healing me? Am I hurt? I'm unconscious but…"
"I can't tell how bad your condition is. But perhaps you will be unconscious for a while still. Heaven forbid you die."
Claire tensed up, staring at Morgan in horror.
"Of course, I'd rather not let it come to that. You have work do to for the trolls."
"Claire…please…please wake up. Don't leave me…" Jim was sobbing, as he rested his head against the couch cushion. His hand was making gentle movements, and she realized he was petting her hair.
"Alright," Morgan stated standing. "I suppose it's up to me then. I need to take possession of your body again."
"What?"
"I know what you're thinking, but trust me. I can't stay long, and I won't hurt anyone."
Claire looked down to the sobbing Jim. "Promise?"
"I swear to you, Claire Nuñez."
Claire swallowed, and then nodded firmly.
—
Jim was leaning against the truck, his arm draped carefully around Claire as he carefully pressed her pillowcase on her wound. "Claire…please…please wake up. Don't leave me…" He sobbed, feeling helpless. His human hand rested at the base of her neck on her chest, and he felt her pulse, her heart beating erratically.
"Master Jim…is there anything I can do?" Blinky asked, also feeling helpless. He had carefully cleaned the backseat of broken glass, so that Claire wouldn't get hurt anymore.
"Do you know any first aid?"
Blinky frowned, "For humans, I am…less than helpful. I meant…perhaps laying out some blankets on the ground or something?"
"No, we can't move her." Then he offered a sad smile. "But thanks for trying."
Suddenly, Claire's eyes shot open, her pupils blown wide.
"Claire?!" Jim shouted, startled.
The girl shooed his hands away. "I would have thought you'd know better," An ancient voice spoke, "little lamb."
"Morgana." Jim tried to keep the snarl back, but it came naturally.
"Please, compose yourself, Trollhunter. I mean you no harm." She sat up fully and let her feet dangle outside of the vehicle.
"Please be careful," Jim winced. "Claire's hurt…"
"I feel her pain as my own," said she. Then she bowed her head slightly, and spoke in a foreign tongue, "medeor..."
As she spoke, Claire's body began to glow a soft yellow. She lifted from the seat of the truck and floated down to stand in front of Jim. The wound in her head closed, as the cracked skull knit back together. Once the glow faded, Claire's knees buckled and she began to fall.
Jim caught her easily, wrapping an arm around her.
"My magic is weak," said Morgana, not pushing away this time. "I used most of it to heal the most grievous wounds. I have but a few moments left, and I wish to have a word with you, Jim Lake."
Jim looked over to Blinky, who shrugged.
Gently, Jim helped Claire back into the truck so that she could sit comfortably. Then he closed the door, for a slight amount of privacy. "Alright, um…what's up?"
Morgana turned in her seat, glancing this way and that. When she spotted Merlin outside the truck, her nostrils flared in anger.
"Something wrong?"
"Simply a knee jerk reaction." She exhaled, "Jim, you are special in many ways. The first human trollhunter, the first half-troll, the one to defeat Gunmar…but you are also the first trollhunter to absorb my essence. And by extension, I have stained you as well."
Jim's eyes widened as he cocked his eyebrow. "Um…?"
"This," she touch his chest where his wound was. "…was supposed to be the killing blow. A crackling of my magic against Merlin's should have destroyed you, right down to your very soul. But instead, you absorbed it, and took some of my magic for yourself."
Jim touched his chest lightly where the crater remained.
"You'll have to expel it, if you want the wound to heal."
"And I suppose you want it back, don't you?" Jim said with a little 'hmph'. "You might have healed Claire, but I still don't trust you."
"I don't expect you to," agreed Morgana. "Nor do I need your trust, or that magic. But, I have a feeling it will come in handy later." A sly smile came over her face. "There was another troll who absorbed my magic, you know."
"Angor?"
At the name, Morgana seemed to wilt, ever so slightly. "Angor was enchanted by me…but no, it was Gunmar, he took my magic that laid in reserves. The magic that laid dormant in the earth and gave life to the trolls."
"Wait wait wait!" Jim protested, "Are you saying that's your magic in the heartstone?"
She smiled patiently. "An ancient reserve of magic sat under the earth for a millennia before Merlin and I even existed. This was the first Heartstone, the one that birthed Gunmar. This magic became my own, just as Daylight became Merlin's. When I was imprisoned in that crystal in Trollmarket, that's all it was. A solid prison, strong as diamond. But over time, my essence and being seeped into the stone and into the earth. It ran off in shoots and took on a mind of it's own. Yes, Jim Lake, the heartstone and I are the same."
Jim leaned back against the truck, digesting this information.
Morgan also relaxed, her head drooping on the seat. "My time is running out. So hear me carefully. If you wish to restore the heartstone in troll market to what it once was, make sure you and Claire are there to nurture it. Someday, the magic you absorbed will return to the stone on it's own. But whatever you do…don't let Merlin mess with it. No protective spells, nothing." She closed her eyes. "He always killed my favorite roses."
"Okay, thank you for the advice, I guess…" Jim sighed, feeling exhausted. "Morgana?"
There was no reply.
But a few minutes later, Claire's chocolate eyes opened again. "Jim…?"
"Claire? Is it you this time?"
She smiled softly, "yeah, it's me…sorry for the scare."
She needn't say anything else, as she was swiftly swept up into his arms, nearly crushed against him. He wept, "gods I thought I lost you…"
Claire wrapped her arms around his neck, combing her fingers through his hair.
"I love you so much…I'm glad you're alright."
She winced, "I'm glad you're alright too."
Jim heard her, and pulled away quickly. "I'm sorry, are you still hurt?"
She managed a pained laugh. "Yeah, I'm just a little bruised is all."
Before anyone said anything, NotEnrique had leapt into the car and landed on Claire's lap. "Sis! Oh man, I was worried sick! That was so scary!"
"Likewise," Blinky spoke from the passenger door. "I am also glad to see you safe and awake."
Merlin was frowning, looking at the truck. "Well, I think we'll have to find a new form of transportation." He called from the windshield.
Claire fought to sit up and slid out of her seat. "Wait, just a moment."
Jim was quick to follow, making sure she was stable on her feet.
Claire walked up to the front of the truck, resting her hands on the hood.
"Claire?" NotEnrique asked.
Her eyes turned black as she focused on the mangled metal. "Ad initium redire…" The truck started to groan again, the metal twisting in the opposite direction, smoothing and flattening. The glass shards lifted from the ground, floating back to their proper place.
Then, with a rev, the engine roared to life, and the truck was sitting and ready to go, looking even better than when they got it.
Once again, Claire weakly collapsed to the ground, but Jim was quick to scoop her up. "I gotcha." He assured.
She smiled, "Thanks, honey."
"That was amazing Claire! Where did you learn that?"
She snuggled a little into his chest, blushing. "Um…it just came to me."
"Morgana has been teaching her," Merlin announced. "She's been talking with Claire when she's sleeping."
Claire tensed. "Merlin! I told you that in confidence!"
"Hey hey," Jim hushed, stroking her hair. "It's okay…we…we'll talk about it later. Okay?"
Claire swallowed, feeling small. "Okay."
Blinky didn't say anything about this new revelation, considering that only good had come from it so far. But he did look at Merlin in frustration. "All this time, you wanted to get your magic back, and you couldn't even do anything with it? Not even fix the truck?"
The wizard said nothing, only climbed into the front seat.
"Nuh uh," Jim protested, "You don't deserve this seat today."
Merlin scoffed and crawled to the back seat like a reprimanded dog.
Jim righted the truck in correct direction. Then he and Blinky pushed it up the hill and retrieved the Heartstone from where it had landed. A little more pushing and they were on the highway once more.
"You sure you're okay, Claire?" Jim asked, as they sped away.
"Yeah, just a little sore." She emphasized this by rubbing her arm. "And…a little hungry."
"I'm a bit hungry as well," stated Blinky. "I've been trying not to eat during the trip, but it's hard."
"Me too," Jim admitted. "We'll find a stop, and you and I can…scavenge through the garbage." Jim tugged his sleeves down so they protected his fingers from the sun, and adjusted his hood to cover the left side of his face. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to eating trash." He muttered to himself.
That day went much more normal. After breakfast, Claire attempted to sleep a little longer. Now that they had the radio back, the front seat couple turned up classical music as Blinky and Merlin continued to argue in the backseat.
The front seat was a bench, where the middle of the back seat could fold down into an armrest and drink holder. Unable to get comfortable resting against the window, Claire flipped up the middle and stretched out along the bench, using Jim's thigh as a pillow instead.
Now that things were cruising along smoothly, Jim relaxed a little more in his seat and absently ran a hand over Claire's hair.
They travelled the whole day. Landscapes and states zoomed by, days of travel passing in a a matter of hours. Every once in a while, Jim would hiss in pain and have to adjust his hoodie again, but only because he really didn't want to loose anymore travel time in stopping.
Around 1 am, Jim pulled off at an exit close to Amarillo, Texas.
"What're we doing?" Asked Claire, now wide awake.
"I saw a sign for a KOA up here. We're going to sneak in, and use the showers."
"Yes!" Claire shouted in excitement. "You're the best!"
They had done this a couple of times since embarking on their adventure a month and a half ago. Stealing away in the middle of the night to take showers in campgrounds of state parks. Well, Claire showered, and Jim accompanied her to make sure she returned safely. It wasn't very often, since they wanted to get to Jersey as soon as possible, but Jim made time.
They parked outside the gate, and Jim and Claire got out.
"Blinky gets to sit up front now," Said Jim with glare at Merlin.
The wizard was sitting in the back seat with his arms crossed like a moody teenager. "I should have just walked back with the others."
"You could always sit in the truck bed," Offered Blinky with a bit of sass.
Jim took Claire's hand and headed inside the campground to avoid the oncoming argument.
For a while, they just enjoyed walking hand in hand, basking in each other's presence. Then, Jim decided to broach the elephant in the room.
"So…Morgana, huh?" There was no bite to his tone, no anger or judgement. But he could feel Claire tense.
"Yeah…" She whispered. "I…I had a nightmare, the night we stayed at the hotel. At the scariest moment, I found myself in my house, the version in the shadow realm where you found me."
"Oh yeah," he nodded in understanding.
"And Morgana was there…but she was different somehow. Soft spoken, polite. It was weird. She said she lost all of her anger."
"That's hard to believe…"
"I know!" Agreed Claire. "That's what I said…but she never threatened me, never talked down to me, and never brought up feeling like she was trapped. She said she enjoyed being in the shadow realm, because she finally felt safe from Merlin."
"Wait, what?"
At this time, they had found a bathroom, and Claire promised they'd continue the conversation after freshening up. Now that she knew he was ready to talk about it, Claire spend her time practicing the conversation, while Jim just mulled over the fact that, in a way, Morgan was in fact back, but it might not be a bad thing.
One slightly gross shower later, the couple were on their way back to the car.
"Have you ever heard of a binding ceremony?" Claire asked.
Jim blushed slightly. "Yeah…Blinky told me about it. A soul binding spell, which is what Troll weddings are."
"Yeah," she agreed. "Morgana said she and Merlin did it once."
Jim came to a full stop, staring at his girlfriend. "Merlin and Morgana were…in love?"
"Yeah…so, full disclosure. Merlin sensed Morgana within me, so I didn't mean to tell him before you…"
Jim shrugged with a smile, "When it comes to this magic stuff, I'm not really upset or surprised that you and Merlin talked. He would have been the most helpful…considering how completely unhelpful he's been this entire trip so far."
"And besides our conversation we had the morning you were arrested, he's been a gaping asshole," then she continued. "But he confirmed it, too. They were married once, a long long time ago."
"What happened to make them hate each other so much?"
"It sounded like one night, Merlin had sex with her without her consent and it broke her trust enough that she asked Vendal to undo the soul bind."
"Oh my god…"
"Merlin said that soul binds aren't easily undone. They both had parts of their souls cut out, and it aged them and took away their happiness and compassion."
"That makes total sense!"
"And not long after that, Morgana's brother King Arthur, like King Arthur and Excalibur? He died, and while she was in mourning, Merlin cut off her hand and smelted down excalibur to make your amulet."
"Geez, no wonder she hates me." Jim sighed, "Man…now I don't really know who the villain is…"
"Morgan wants to tutor me in magic. I talked it over with Merlin, and he says it should be safe. She's already taught me three helpful spells. But I'm not sure…"
Jim took her hands, holding them securely. "Claire, you are smart and logical. Even though Merlin is a butt, if he says it's safe, then it should be fine. Just…do what you feel comfortable doing."
Claire smiled, and reached up to grab hold of his horn.
Jim smiled as he knew exactly what would follow. He leaned down and met her in a tender kiss, pushing all the love he felt for her into it.
When they pulled away, Claire was beaming. "One other thing…"
"Hmm?"
"When I was in the shadow realm with her, I could see and hear you. In your human form. Morgan said that I could see your soul…and that meant that we're susceptible to a soul bind."
"What does that mean?"
"It means our souls could be mixed perfectly, but there'd be no way to undo it."
"Okay, why would we want to undo it anyway?"
Claire simply beamed and stood on her tiptoes. "I was hoping you'd say that."
