Every day, Nomura was eager for night to fall. Curious to see if the girl returned to the theater, Nomura sneaked in every night. The girl's appearances were inconsistent, her repertoire small, and her skills mediocre, but Nomura looked forward to it.

Even if the girl didn't realize it, her singing soothed Nomura, and she discovered she looked forward to it. Joan's voice took the troll's mind off Trollmarket, at least for a little while.

Nomura stood, head down, arms crossed, just outside her little cave. She remembered the time she came so close to successfully infiltrating the old Trollmarket, back in Arcadia. She thought the Janus Order would disapprove of her relationship with Draal, but instead, they praised her for seducing him and ordered her to use his favor to her advantage. Her instructions were clear: let Draal show her Trollmarket and then kill Kanjigar.

The opportunity to slay the former Trollhunter came, and with sword raised she prepared to follow orders. But Draal spotted her. The hurt in his eyes astounded Nomura and regret flashed through her as her blade descended. Draal blocked her.

Another troll heaved a gaggletag at her. The instant it touched Nomura, she morphed into her human form.

Draal gaped. "I see now – you impure beast!" he bellowed.

Nomura hissed at him and changed back into a troll.

"Get out of here!" he roared at her. "Get out! Impure! Leave, or I'll kill you myself!"

Now that she thought about it, Draal spared her life that day. Instead of killing her, he threw her out. But that cursed label still stung – especially when he uttered it.

Impure.

The word always echoed through the old Trollmarket.

Jim's voice carried to Nomura's ears from another part of New Trollmarket. "We don't use that word here!"

"Stay out of our business, Trollhunter," another voice replied

"No. I won't," Jim said. "That word is disgusting; I don't want to hear it said here – ever!"

Nomura crept toward a stone archway. She spied the group of trolls Jim confronted, Claire at his side. NotEnrique stood between the humans and trolls, glancing back and forth at the two groups with wide eyes.

"Apologize," Claire demanded.

"It's all right, guys. Don't put me on the spot," NotEnrique said, his voice quavering.

"It's not all right." Claire crossed her arms and glared at the other trolls. "You're my brother; nobody bullys my brother."

"Claire…" NotEnrique's wide eyes misted.

"Two changelings are part of this tribe now – NotEnrique, and Nomura." Jim said. "They both helped fight Gunmar; they risked their lives! That's more than most of you did, so I expect you to treat them with respect. You owe them that much."

The group of trolls backed away, embarrassed by the Trollhunter's scolding, but one troll, toward the back of the group, spoke. "They're traitors! They betrayed their own tribe. What makes you think they won't betray us too?"

"Give them a chance," Jim said. "I know things are difficult now. Gunmar's forces drove us from our homes. Almost half of Trollmarket died in the battle with him, but that's why we need to consider the future we want to build here. What kind of tribe do you want to be? The war is over, so stop acting like it isn't."

The group stared at Jim. "What did Blinky tell you?" he asked.

Every eye sank to the floor, and they mumbled in chorus, "Don't use the word…"

"Right." Jim gave the lot a stern look. "Blinky's your leader, so do what he tells you – and do what I tell you. How hard is it not to use one little word?" he asked, exasperated.

Nomura watched as the trolls avoided looking at Jim or Claire. But NotEnrique scuttled up onto Claire's back and rested his head on her shoulder. "It's hard to be upset when such swell guys are ready to stand up for ya." He gave Claire a toothy smile.

She patted his head with a smile. "Don't let these brick-heads bully you, all right?"

"Yeah, okay." Not Enrique nodded.

The group dispersed.

Nomura leaned against the wall for a few minutes, then settled to the ground.

She already knew things were changing, but this confirmed it. Nomura remembered the last time she saw Draal…. When he agreed to rescue her from the Darklands – against his own father's instructions. For the first time in over two hundred years, she'd stood face to face with him. She closed her eyes, remembering the conversation well.

"Nomura," Draal hesitated.

She looked away.

"Sorry about… Gunmar trying to kill you, and… things." Draal kept his eyes on the ground.

"That's all right. I failed my mission. Gunmar doesn't tolerate failure. I'm sorry about your father… I know Bular… got him," Nomura replied quietly.

Both swallowed hard before looking at each other.

"I – I'm sorry… for how I treated you… in the past," Draal said.

"No… I'm sorry for lying – for trying to kill you and your father." Nomura laid a hand on his strong, stony chest.

"You were just following orders," Draal replied.

"Yes." Nomura hung her head. "Following orders, as if that's an excuse." She took back her hand.

"I didn't give you much of a choice but to lie." Draal said. "Killing Gunmar and his servants was my goal. If you'd told me who you really were… I…" He sighed. "I'm sorry."

Nomura looked into his eyes. "You've changed." She realized. "A lot. Once, you were so blindly single-minded."

Draal nodded. "I had much to learn back then. Luckily, I found myself a good teacher." He looked at the human Trollhunter, standing hand-in-hand with his girlfriend.

"Him?" Nomura raised an eyebrow. "Jim taught you?"

With a nod, Draal said, "He taught me a way – better than the ancient way of the trolls. We must honor the past, but we must not let it enslave us."

Nomura laid a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "I… should leave."

"Where will you go?" Draal called after her.

"Far away," Nomura replied. "To a place the Janus Order will never find me."

"You–" Draal caught up to her. "You… could stay, you know. I mean–"

Nomura smirked. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Oh." Draal's shoulder's sagged. "I'll slay you a large beast," he offered.

Nomura grinned, her razored teeth glinting in the light of the rising sun. "Maybe next time." She hurried into the forest, long hair flowing behind her as she felt Draal's gaze linger on her.

Nomura sat against the wall, eyes still closed as she came out of the memory.

She sighed. With all these changes, was there still a place for her in New Trollmarket? Surely, if Draal, the most bull-headed troll in all Trollmarket could change…

She was glad of one thing – being able to share that moment with Draal – to see his eyes filled with forgiveness instead of burning with anger. It was her last memory of him. She kept it close.

Jim had that effect on people – teaching them how to forgive.

Nomura found it… intriguing.

Editted by dtill359