Hey guys! Long-time no see! I'm happy to say that I have been finally able to finish this chapter which is weird since it's Christmas Eve. O_o Anyway! I hope you guys enjoy it!
"That bastard child!" I looked behind me as the voice boomed through the forest that was in no comparison to how loud my own heart was within its cage. "Spill his blood! Gunmar wants him under before the war is due!" I watched in horror as a horde of goblins were starting their speedy gain onto where I was. Instantly, my feet started to act on their own and forced themselves toward the sanctuary of the Forest of Arthur where my mother's old cabin resided. I knew that the magical barrier made around the cabin made it unable to be seen unless you have a connection to the creation. Since I have the blood of the Lake, only I would be able to see it without my mother's guiding hand.
I rubbed my hands together as I felt the presence of the barrier coming closer.
"Obice confractus!" I forced an open hand outwards. A small door appeared between the real world and the hidden as I ducked my head into my shoulder as I brought my elbow up to barge into the door while keeping my speed. Before I knew it, I busted through the door and landed almost on my arse. I forced an open hand out toward the open door once more.
"Renovo!" The door closed instantly and disappeared from existence. I got off my ass instantly before dashing toward the abandoned-looking log cabin not too far behind me. Once I fell to the floor of the cabin, I listened intently to the sounds outside of the barrier.
"You useless beings! How did you lose a child?" One of the goblins spoke to him in a jumbled language but all I heard was a loud smack followed by a thud. "Remember, you slim filled ghoul, who you are working for. Mind your tongue." The changeling's anger was replaced with a heavy sigh. "I guess we must go back to Gunmar with empty hands, once again. I wonder who will be accepting the punishment of failure?"
"Young man?" I shook my head lightly and gave the man a smile.
"Sorry, sir. I have yet come accustomed to the subtleties of language here. It took me a moment to understand what you were saying." He took my lie rather willingly as he crossed his arms across his chest with an amused smile.
"Really? Where are you from, if you're willing to answer."
"Edinburgh, Scotland. My father worked for the medieval exhibit in the Old Town's National Museum of Scotland." A seemingly natural smile spread across the man's face that almost reminded me of the hideous memories that haunted me.
"Is that so? You'll enjoy this class then Mr..." He waved an open hand in my direction. I was confused for a moment what the jester meant before jumping to answering the older man.
"James Lake Junior, sir. I like to be called Jim though." I watched as his eyes gave away to a seemingly horrified look before instantly replacing it with yet another calculated smile.
Should have picked a more nonchalant name. One that wasn't so close to my actual given name. But were we expecting to meet people from back in the days of the war? Merlin, no. I hope he thinks that it's just a coincidence since there is a Doctor Lake within the town as well.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, young man. I'm your history teacher, Mr. Strickler. I hope we get along." I almost vomited at the sickeningly sweet smile he had given to me as he turned his back from my place within my desk's chair to the front of the class once more.
I pray on Merlin's place of rest may he give me the power to be strong within this mental battle between normalcy and traumatic remembrances.
"Hey, Jim. Are you alright?" I looked over to Claire as if I was a deer in headlights. She had been rather silent to me the rest of the day after she realized that I was stricken with memories after attending history together. Her, Darci, and Mary were rather kind to me and gave me space as I was swimming through the flashes of memories that are still fresh to me although the rest of the world would never have known.
There is pain within being the last to withhold the memories of a dead race. Especially when the past was my yesterday and what was supposed to be the future is now my today.
"You know what a changeling is, right Claire?" She gave me a hesitant but gave me a nod.
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with how you were acting today? Did you see someone change at the school or something? Did someone's face remind you of one you used to know?" I grabbed out an old leather book that my mother kept from my belongings long ago that I had enough time to get between school and coming here to Troll Market. I untied the top of the book and unfolded the two-layered leather covers to showcase the bounded pages within it. I flipped to one of the very last pages I made an entry into which had a hand-drawn image in coal of the monstrous face that is Strickler's true form. I passed it over to Claire and instantly almost closed into myself.
I hesitantly watched as she read over the rushed writings that I made within my mother's cabin after one of my last encounters with the changeling. Her face had a mix of emotions as she read through the page. She looked back at me with a saddened look that was mixed with a hint of something I could not entertain within my mind for the life of me. She closed the journal softly and almost instantly wrapped her arms around my neck as well as placed her head into the crook of my neck. I froze instantly at the sudden movements.
I would like to say that I'm not one that is starved for touch, but I do not believe that I had such reactions without something being a reason behind it that I understood. For instance, when my mother hugged me before letting me train with my father for a year. It was obvious it was due to her connection to me and that she, for latent terms, my mother.
So why did I get this reaction from Claire? I've only known her for what seemed to be only a few moons. Can one get attachments to others so easily?
And if so, why can't I?
I hesitantly hugged her back as I was afraid that if I moved just the slightest that I would ruin the moment for the both of us. Instead of getting her to let me go, it actually made her hug me tighter. I couldn't help but smile lightly as she nuzzled into my shoulder just the slightest. When I felt her unwrap her arms from my neck I pulled back slightly to see a small smile on her face as she placed both her hands, even though her right hand was still filled with my old journal, on my shoulders.
Maybe I already have.
"I'm sorry." She looked as if she wanted to say something more than just those two little words, yet that was all I needed to understand how she felt about the entry.
"There is nothing that you could have done, Claire." She pulled herself the rest of the way out of my arms and I instantly missed the warmth that was under my fingertips. Yet that is something that I will keep to myself for a while longer.
Probably till Merlin crawls out of whatever place he had buried himself.
"Strickler is a changeling. This makes sense yet also doesn't in the same breath." She gave me back the small leather journal before placing her chin into the palm of her hand after crossing her arm across her chest. I put the journal back into my pocket before I decided to speak.
"His real name is Stricklander. He took the name of the child that was placed within Darklands before his creation. All I know about his ranking is that Gunmar has a great level of trust within him to get even the most devious of tasks completed. From what I remember, a lot of his missions were based on information gathering or infiltrations. Only when he is the last to try to do his hands get soaked with blood." She looked up to me and gave me a saddened look. She seemed to have been harboring a question or statement but kept it to herself before rubbing her temples.
"Wait," She lifted her head to meet my eyes once more. "If you noticed him even though he wasn't in his real form, do you think he noticed you?" I felt my eyes widened at the statement.
What kind of a fool I was to believe that a different name could have kept him from the realization that awaited him! My features have yet to change since I was placed under my mother's spell.
I looked into Claire's eyes and it was as if she instantly knew of my fears. "Damn it." She sighed the words as if she couldn't get herself to say anything heavier or with more power. As if in a way that her voice had left her and her ability to speak was muted from within. I reached out to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, realizing that her weakness within the moment was worst and more heartbreaking than my fear.
"Claire, everything is going to be fine. If he recognized me, then that just means that he knows that I recognized him as well. He won't do anything unless I'm alone. Especially now since he's in the public eye almost daily. He'll have to watch himself. Also," I looked her in the eyes with a soft smile upon my lips. "I'm not alone in the fight anymore."
She gave me a soft look before placing her hand on top of the one I placed on her shoulder. "You never will be." I felt my heart flutter in its cage at the moment. The promise felt as if she was sincere in every word.
"I'll keep you to your words, Claire."
"I would even if you didn't, Jim."
"HEY! Hope you guys didn't start without-" Mary cut herself off as she noticed how close Claire and I were to each other. I felt my face rise to make the heat of the blazing sun as I felt Claire's skin felt like I was touching charcoal. We jumped away from each other as Darci had on a knowing smirk as she stood behind Mary.
"Looks like you two were getting comfy." I raised an eyebrow at the expression.
"Getting comfy? What does that have to do with the situation?" I didn't see it myself, but the smack of Claire's hand instantly told me that she covered her face a little too quickly for comfort. "We were actually talking about Mr. Strickler. I have something to tell you two." Darci and Mary look at each other for a moment before walking into the Blinky's library fully.
"You might want to sit."
"SO YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT YOU FAILED IN YOUR MISSION FROM THREE HUNDRED YEARS AGO!?"
I fixed my jacket as I stood next to the simmering portal that was only big enough for me to see Gunmar's face. "Technically, he vanished before I could even complete my mission, Lord Gunmar." He gave me a cold stare as he puffed out a heavy breath through his nose. "I promise you, my Lord, that I will have him out of our hair as soon as I possibly can."
"You best not wait too long then. Once word gets out that the Knight of Merlin is alive, it will cause hell on our behalf. Let alone strength the Trollhunter's team. Which that also leads me to my next question, had you found out yet who has been gifted with the amulet?"
"Yes, I have my Lord, and you will not expect who it has been gifted to."
"Spill it, Stricklander."
I smiled as I placed my hands together before me. "It's a young freshling. A human, Lord Gunmar."
"Give me their name, halfbreed!"
"Her name is Claire Nuñez, and better yet, she's one of my students." I felt pride as I watched Gunmar's sickeningly smile spread across the scarred face of the hardened troll. "Most of all, sir, I know her weaknesses. I know where to hurt her most."
"Let me guess? Her family?"
I felt myself smile deviously. "Oh better yet! We can hit two birds with one stone."
"What do you mean, Stricklander?"
"I mean that to get to the Trollhunter, we need Merlin's knight."
Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed that update! I know I sure as hell enjoyed finally finishing it. XD I truly wish I can get onto a constant updating process, but to be honest, I lost my flame for this ship a little bit and tried writing other stuff to get myself back on track but everything I wrote on the side seemed a little too out of character than what I'm used to. After all that though, here I am alive and kicking it! I hope you guys have a merry Christmas or whatever you celebrate and a wonderful New Year if I don't update by then.
Also, just so you guys know, I don't have a beta reader or whatever so if there are small mistakes here and there I am terribly sorry. I try my best to proofread but it's difficult since my eyes usually skim the readings since I already know what has been written. So again, terribly sorry and happy holidays!