Mister Wink unwittingly led me out of the Troll Market and into the Manhattan sewer system. It was a disgusting place, truly, but at least it'd been out of commission long enough that there wasn't any lingering waste still clinging to the concrete tunnel walls.
As the troll walked on, I used yet another one of my helpful demonic abilities to cling to the ceiling of the winding tunnel to avoid being seen on those rare occasions Wink glanced back over his shoulder. I don't even know how long I followed him for before, finally, he stopped just before the entrance of a larger chamber. I could smell something like train, and realized that somehow we must've gotten into the subway system from the sewer.
I peered out of the darkness of the tunnel we'd come from and gazed about at the chamber beyond. My eyes widened as I saw the fiery mouth of the forge and the assortment of blacksmith's tools hanging in neat rows from the walls. This was Wink's den! I'd followed him home!?
I was just about to sigh disappointedly when none other than the once-prince Nuada himself entered from another tunnel across the chamber and removed his leather tunic and red sash. I winced to see the few but ugly scars that marred his otherwise flawless pale skin, but soon enough I was entranced by his muscular physique. The rain draining down into the middle of the chamber from a faint hole of light up above dripped down to trace damp lines over his strong arms and prominent abs. His white hair, barely becoming blond at the tips, was sleek and straight as it fell beyond his shoulders to splay across the rippling muscles of his back.
And then he pulled out that spear.
I recognized it as a retractable model, but never before had I seen one so sleek. The blade flashed sliver in the semi-darkness, humming as it sliced the air with its every faintest movement, and the black handle was shaped perfectly to the once-prince's hand.
Stepping out beneath the beam of dying light, he rested the spear over his shoulder, his back to both Wink and myself. The troll seemed content to wait until his houseguest had finished with his practice—though personally I think that's not quite the word for it.
A…a savage dance of some kind, that's what it was.
It started with a basic one-handed rotating of his perfect weapon, but soon enough the blade was singing through the air, twirling above his head with impossible swiftness. The once-prince sent his spearhead up through the bottom of an invisible opponent's skull, then twirled out of the way to avoid a blow from the dying thing. He landed, spun, stabbed, and then paused as he allowed his enemies to possibly regroup, or perhaps just to stare at him with a mixture of fear and awe.
The pause lasted barely a moment, though, before he sliced his way through their ranks, leapt over the fallen and rebounded off of a wall, shoving the spear into the gut of some creature that'd strayed too close. He landed on both feet and flipped into the air, over the weapons of his opponents, closing in, and then rolled, ducking beneath them as they met only air.
Nuada landed on one knee, the handle of his retracted spear hitting the floor with an impressive sound that made me start. The opponents closed in, thinking the once-prince tired after slaying so many of their number, but they were wrong. With the faint sound of stone grating on stone, the spear elongated upward to its full height, cutting the light into shards with its brilliant blade.
As soon as the weapon was finished growing, Nuada swept it about himself, first beheading and then cutting out the knees of the ring of invisible beasts around him. He leapt far into the air and brought the head of the spear down, hard, into a stagnant puddle of water, sending diamond drops toward the ceiling.
Several droplets struck my face, smelling of both earth and pollution.
The spear was swung over and around, twice, cutting through the sheet of falling water, the blade singing as it slices rows of droplets in two.
I strained forward, barely keeping my face out of the scarce light generated by the forge, curious as to what the once-prince would do next.
But, it seemed, the once-prince was finished for the moment. He held the spear level in his two pale hands, his hard stomach rippling with his heavy breath.
I gasped as a train suddenly passed by, the lit windows flashing by in a dizzying display. I could feel the tunnel shaking beneath my hands and bare feet, and was glad that the noise of the monstrous thing covered the sound of my surprise.
Nuada quickly flipped the spear behind his back, holding it with the back of his hand facing forward as he turned his back on the train roaring by beyond the shattered stone wall of the chamber. Padding forward a few steps, he kept his eyes on the settling water at his feet as he asked in the human tongue, "How long have you been there, my friend?"
For an agonizing minute I thought he was speaking to me, but then I remembered the cave troll standing just beneath me, and indeed, Mister Wink stumped into the chamber a few feet and answered in his own language, "Long enough, friend. What about the faeries?"
I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes, excitement building within me. So Mister Wink was a part of whatever the once-prince was up to!
Nuada finally turned to face Wink, and I ducked further into the tunnel, not wanting to risk being seen. He suspended his spear at throat height by a single hand, and smiled slightly as it retracted smoothly, reducing itself to its original size once again. He spun it swiftly before pointing with it to the two dark crates he'd brought to me earlier, still rattling slightly. Just the sight of those seals had dread worrying my excitement like needle teeth.
"They're over there," he answered, coal-dusted lips still upturned. "I bought them today. I haven't fed them—at all."
Now the faintest bit of anger pooled in my gut. My merchandise was of the highest quality, and now here the once-prince was trying to starve it all to death! I nearly hoped he'd get himself bitten when he decided to open those two crates, but I knew he would not. Tooth faeries may be ravenous little pests, but they did possess a certain amount of intelligence that allowed them to distinguish between prince and prey.
Speaking of the once-prince, he stepped below the faint ring of light in the center of the chamber, his long wet hair falling back away from the bare scars on his face and the swirling glyphs at his temples as he looked upward. The look in his eyes was almost a glare—hard and clever—as he gazed at the light.
"I will go up first," he told Wink. "You will follow." He looked away from the hole into the human world just long enough to add, "And remember, Mister Wink: Don't be shy."
Had I not been hanging upside-down my jaw would've dropped open. Nuada and Wink were going upstairs!? With two crates full of starving tooth faeries!? Something told me they weren't planning on engaging in a bit of friendly trade with the humans up top. Something bad was going to happen.
"The sight of me will turn their guts to mush!" Wink was snarling. "I'll rip them to pieces if they dare stop us, and soon we shall restore the kingdom of Bethmora to its previous glory! Those disgusting little parasites up above will stand no chance! None!"
His voice shook the cavern with its might, echoing all about in a way that hurt my sensitive ears. The troll's back-spikes were bristling as he heaved with violent breath, both his mechanical fist and his flesh one clenching and unclenching as if anxious to crush some human skulls.
He lifted his head to give a final wordless bellow, and every other emotion I possessed was suddenly replaced by adrenaline-fueled dread as we locked eyes with one another.
"You!" He rumbled, his mouth dropping open to reveal dirty teeth that resembled miniature bricks.
"Me!" I squeaked, clenching my eyes shut to prepare myself for the impact the giant cave troll fist swinging at me would bring.
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A/N
Well, Jinx's day just went from pretty freakin' awesome to bad. Do you like the description I put in for Nuada's training? Hope so. Took me a while to figure it all out, seeing as I don't actually own the movie on DVD.
Thank the gods for youtube!
Please review, because having no reviews makes me sad. If you hate this story, tell me, just so I know that you've read it. And when you're not telling me, tell me how to FIX the story to make it better.
And, as always, tell me if I'm Mary-Sue-ing this character. I've taken a solemn vow to shoot all Mary-Sues, and…I want Jinx to live!!
Review please!