Author Note: I debated whether I should have a multi-POV chapter as the story follows Claire and her perspective, and an important part of the story will happen without her in the scene. I at first tried to place Claire in it, but it didn't seem natural, and I don't want to rob you guys of an exciting moment, even if it's without Claire present, but the single POV won, and the event will be shown in a different way. Since writing about this couple, I wanted to let Jim give a pet name to Claire. Since childhood, there wasn't a person who I knew that gave me a pet name. It wasn't sexual or romantic, but sometimes it was annoying, depending on the situation, person, or my mood. I looked over many couple pet names and didn't want it to be weird for Jim to say, then, it hit me. Since Claire is of Latino and Hispanic descent and Spanish is her second language, why doesn't Jim give her a pet name in Spanish?
"Wake up, Claire."
I feel a kiss on my forehead and slowly open my eyes to see his gentle smile.
"Good morning Mi Amor!" Jim says softly.
The event of last night comes back to my mind. A terrible nightmare woke me, leading me up to Jim and me having sex for the first time. "You too!" I reply sleepily, smiling.
"How was last night?" Jim asks, growing on a smirk, and pulls me closer.
I blush as I feel his half-naked body touch mime, fully exposed under the blanket. "Amazing. The best night of my life." I sigh, leaning my head on Jim's shoulder.
"Me too." He chuckles, and we kiss. Then Jim frowns a bit and caresses my face. "Did you have any nightmares?"
I smile and shake my head. "No, thanks to you," I reply.
"Good. I don't want my girlfriend to have any more." He sighs, and we kiss before getting out of bed. We get dressed with our backs to each other.
"Do you think anyone heard my moans and cries?" I ask nervously as I turn around, done getting my clothes on.
"I don't know, but I want everyone to know you are mine," Jim says seductively, placing his arms on my waist. He snickers, looking down. "And I think I already made my mark."
"What do you mean?" I ask. Jim smirks and guides me to a mirror. I gasp as I see hickeys on my neck and chest. "Great! Now Darci and Mary will really interrogate me." I sigh, covering the marks with my hand.
"I'm sorry."
"It's ok, Jim," I reassure him and peck him on the cheek. "Come on, our friends might be waiting for us, and I'm hungry," I say, changing the subject and getting out of Jim's hug.
He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Alright." He agrees. We fix our hair, and I get on a shirt that I hope will cover my hickeys before walking out the door. We walk over to the dining room and find all our friends, grabbing food and talking.
"Hey, there are the two love birds." Zoe teases us. As we walk to the group, I try to hide the hickeys with my shirt and hair. "How was last night?"
"Drop it, Zoe," Douxie says, placing a hand on her shoulder, making Zoe tense up. "Don't bug my Sis and her boyfriend."
"Hey, she's my sister!" NotEnrique says in defense, causing a bit of an argument.
"I can be both." I groan and roll my eyes before walking towards some food next to Mary and Darci. "How was your night?"
"Good. A bit sore and exhausted from training." Darci replies.
Zoe walks over to us and joins in the food. She notices something on me and looks closer. I try to hide my neck, but it's too late.
"Are those hickeys?" She whispers, smirking and trying to hold in a giggle.
Shit! I blush but nod my head. She gasps, drawing Mary and Darci's attention.
"Oh my god! Are you two sleeping together?" Mary asks. "Wait? Did you two-"
"Shut up, guys!" I hiss at them. "It's none of your business."
"But did you?" Darci asks.
"Shhh!" I look behind me and don't see anyone paying attention to us. "Yes!" I whisper. "We had sex."
"Was it good?"
"I'm not answering that right now."
"Ok, but we want to know the details later." Mary giggles.
I roll my eyes and meet up with the others. The doors open, and Blinky, AAARRRGGHH!, and Veronica walk in. "Good morning, everyone!" She says warmly.
We all eat and talk to each other, enjoying our time. I feel I'm hot as a fried egg, trying to hide the hickeys on my neck, thinking many eyes spot them. After eating, Douxie asks Nari and Archie to come with him. I want to join him, but Zoe stops me, and Douxie reassures me to stay with the rest of the group for the day. While everyone is training, Veronica and Zoe approach me and pull me aside.
"Claire, ready to practice in the library?" Veronica whispers.
"But I thought Douxie told me to stay with the rest of the group?" I ask, concerned.
Zoe glances around and whispers. "He told us you wanted to learn occlumency."
"Ohhhh!" I reply, understanding and getting excited. "Yes, I do!"
Jim notices us leaving, and Zoe tells him what is going on. When we left the room, I felt someone wasn't telling the truth, and the hall didn't look familiar from going to the library. "Ummm, Zoe, Veronica, what's going on?" I ask.
They stop, and Zoe glances around before recognizing my question. "Douxie is going to give Jim the Amulet. He thought it would be better to give Jim this today than yesterday." She whispers. "He told us to tell you about it without being suspicious."
I get excited and forget about learning occlumency. "Really? Can I see it?"
"No. We're going to the library to avoid suspicion." Zoe replies firmly, making me whine. "Do you want to draw attention to yourself?"
I think about it for a moment. "No, you're right." I sigh and follow Zoe and Veronica to the library.
"I'll let you two know when it's safe to come out," Veronica tells us as we prepare for me to learn.
"Thanks!" I reply.
"Now, let's start this lesson," Zoe says, stretching like she was bored all day. "Occlumency is a magical-mental defense of the mind, or mind-blocking to humans. This skill is very difficult to learn, but once you master it, it's a highly useful method to protect the mind." She explains.
"Douxie told me you are a master of occlumency and legilimency, and I remember you said he sucked at it," I comment.
"Yes, his methods suck so much that he couldn't use that skill to survive out of a wet paper bag." Zoe chuckles.
"Why do you always insult Douxie like that? I thought you liked him?" I ask, confused she said that.
"I'm making fun of him, but that's neither here nor there." Zoe hissed, but I caught a second of her blushing from my question. "Now, I'm actually born with these skills called Pathokinesis. It's the ability to manipulate emotions psychically. It's not a skill you can learn, but you have similar abilities; algiakinesis and evocation. I assume Veronica explained to you the basics of them, right?"
I nod my head.
"Good, so at least you understand it, and I don't need to explain." Zoe sighs. "Douxie came to me, saying Jim wants you to stop having nightmares about the Arcane Order and be at peace, but it won't be easy."
"I'm ready!" I say enthusiastically, making Zoe look at me suspiciously before rolling her eyes.
"Occlumency isn't an easy skill to learn and master. That's why Douxie asked me to teach you this. It takes strong mental strength to use this effectively. An emotional wizard makes it more difficult to master occlumency, but it takes an analytical mind to master legilimency. Once you learn to use occlumency, then we'll move on to legilimency, and that way, you can use algiakinesis and evocation more effectively-"
"Why can't I learn legilimency and occlumency at the same time? We're kind of in a time limit here." I interrupt.
"I know," Zoe hisses. "But occlumency and legilimency are not as simple as you think, and you will see that in a second." And takes her wand out.
Douxie told me Zoe is a hedge witch and uses a wand instead of us, which is the palms of our hands. Archie often jokes that hedge wizards are weaker than me and Douxie's kind, but I see Zoe as much of a strong witch as Douxie is a wizard. Zoe tells me to sit down, and I sit on a chair near us.
"Brace yourself." She says before pointing her wand at me. "Legilimens!"
Suddenly, I feel a bullet hit my head, making me groan in pain and close my eyes. I try my best to fight the pain, but it's too much. I see flashes of my memories and hear voices. Zoe stops, and I open my eyes. "What... was... that?" I gasp for air, panting.
"I just used Legilimency on you. For a moment, I could see visions in your head. Memories and things others aren't able to see."
"But why couldn't I fight back?"
"Emotional people have difficulty shielding their minds," Zoe says stoically.
"I'm not emotional!" I say defensively.
"Oh really? Then why are we doing this in the first place?" Zoe asks, crossing her arms.
I huff in annoyance. "How many times will this take?"
"Until you successfully block my spells. Unless you fight back, the Arcane Order will continuously hit you with everything they have until you break. Brace yourself again... Legilimens."
Zoe points her wand at me again, and another bullet hits my head, making me cry and close my eyes. I feel something slither in my mind and struggle to block it from moving forward. There are many things in my mind I don't want anyone, especially Zoe, to see and hear. I push them back and put up a fight, but Zoe pulls out, making me gasp for air and open my eyes again.
"You're tough," Zoe says. "But not tough enough... Legilimens!"
Zoe tries to invade my mind for what seems like forever, but I don't let her see what I want to hide. For it to stop, I beg to see Jim, Douxie, and the others, but Zoe pushes the lesson. She tells me she knows what I'm thinking, making my skin crawl. To help, Veronica asked me the reason why I want to learn occlumency. I explain I want not to let Bellroc, Skrael, or the Half-Troll infiltrate my mind and maybe beat them back. With that, Zoe encourages me to think she's Bellroc and use my hatred for the Demigod to block my mind. Zoe continuously kicks my butt, making me angry, feeling helpless, and wanting to fight back. Before Zoe hits me again, I get up and out of the chair and lift my hand to her. "Legilimens!" I shout, and blood rushes to my head. I blink and see visions of darkness, color, music, and one of Douxie and Zoe, walking with each other, hand in hand, looking at each other lovingly. I gasp and let go, making Zoe and I collapse. I fainted for a minute and woke up to see Zoe on the ground, asleep. Horror sweeps over me, and I crawl to her. "Zoe, wake up!" I shout, shaking her shoulders. I touch her head and feel its heat and tense up. I take a deep breath and use my powers to heal and soothe her pain. Blood rushes to my head, but a moment later, Zoe opens her eyes, making me sigh with relief. "Oh my god, Zoe, I am so sorry," I say, panicked, helping her sit upright.
"For what? For beating me and using the Legilimency spell? You did it!" She replies, excited.
"I made you pass out and had to wake you up using my magic," I say, worried.
"Oh no. It's ok, Claire. You did great. A little more practice, and you will be a master at Legilimency and Occlumency." She says proudly before her face becomes ghost white. "Claire, you're bleeding."
I feel a drip down my nose and touch it to see its blood. I groan in annoyance and stop the bleeding Barbara showed me. Then, I spot Amber flying towards us and smiling. "Hey there!"
"Looks like class is dismissed, and time to check on our friends," Zoe says, and we help each other to our feet. Veronica checks us, and we walk to the library exist.
"Please don't tell Douxie," I beg as we walk down the hall following Veronica and Amber.
"Of what?" Zoe asks, confused. "Of our lesson? He knows."
"No. Of what I say in your head." I reply, but I immediately regret my words as Zoe looks at me with surprise.
"What did you see?" She asked, panicked.
I bite my lip, blushing. "I say you and Douxie together, walking with each other, hand in hand, looking at each other lovingly," I admit.
Zoe turns pale again. "What?... Was...was that it?"
I nod my head. "It looked like you two were going to kiss," I add, making Zoe look away.
"Don't tell anyone about this." She mumbles, covering her mouth.
"I won't," I promise, and we walk in silence until I make up the courage to ask her a question she might not like. "Do you really love Douxie?"
Zoe looks away, biting her lip, and thinks to herself before sighing. "Yes... I... I love him." She admits.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" I ask, curious.
"Because..." Zoe pauses and sighs. "For centuries, I've been alone for most of my life. Hiding, faking your death, and finding a new home to stay in was the norm for me, and no one understood that until I met Douxie." She explains.
"When did you guys meet?"
"Right after Camelot fell and Merlin went to sleep. He was wandering with Archie around Europe, trying to find a new home. I was in the wilderness picking flowers for my work when I heard him scream. I ran in that direction and saw Douxie and Archie being attacked by a bear. As a Pathokinesis, I was able to calm the bear and tell them to leave Douxie and Archie alone. They thanked me for saving their lives, and I asked where they came from, sensing them to be magical creatures. To make Douxie trust me, I showed him my wand and asked him again. He said he and Archie were trying to find a new home, and I offered them to come with me, knowing they traveled a long way from England to Italy. He agreed, and we walked to the village I was in then. For the next two centuries, all three of us stayed together. As time went on, me and Douxie fell in love, and we planned to be together, marry, and even maybe have kids."
"What happened that made you two split up?" I ask, sensing something happened during that time.
Zoe hesitates and sighs, shaking her head. "Archie was scared and thought Douxie was leaving him for me. It wasn't true, but I didn't know then. Me and Douxie had arguments about it, but we still wanted it to work. More time passed, and I was at the end of my rope, packing my things, and left our house when Douxie was asleep, not wanting to say goodbye face-to-face. After a few days, I regretted it and returned to say 'I'm sorry,' but the house was empty when I arrived. I was sad and thought Douxie left me."
"Oh, my god," I mumble. "Zoe, I'm so sorry."
"Centuries later, I got to America, and Douxie and I reunited another century later, but it was confusing for us. As time passed, we became friends again, but nothing else happened. We traveled to California during the early 1900s and have stayed there ever since."
Silence becomes between us again, but I want to ask her more. "So, that's why you always tease and insult him. You still love him but are scared to be with him."
Zoe nods her head and sighs again. "I didn't have anything stable before and after being with him. We could stay together, never worry about the other aging, and die in our arms, but I thought he betrayed me. I have trouble trusting others, and losing him was worse than anything that happened to me in the past. He might be immature sometimes, but I love him with all my heart."
"Do you trust me?" I ask worryingly.
She nods her head.
"I asked Douxie about this. He told me he thought you betrayed him, and he wants the same thing." I add. "Maybe you two can explain, and things will return to how you want them to be," I suggest, wanting my friends to be happy.
"Maybe." She mumbles.
"Are you guys sleeping in the same room as me and Jim?"
Zoe giggles and shakes her head. "No, but I want to."
"Then talk to him."
"Sure," Zoe replies, and we get to the courtroom door, making me freeze. "What's wrong, Claire? Don't you want to see your Trollhunter again?"
"Yes, but..." I pause, my fingers almost touching the handle. "I just hope Douxie didn't tell."
"Knowing Douxie, he would never snitch on someone," Zoe replies, crossing her arms. "I still don't understand why you don't want to tell Jim that you created the Amulet."
"Not yet!" I hiss. "The Arcane Order is after me, I revived Jim from death, and I did what Douxie thought only master wizards like him could do. What do you think everyone's reaction would be if we told them?"
"'Master wizard' is just a fancy title and staff to undermine the ones with real talent."
"But what about Douxie?" I ask with concern.
"Douxie was a great and talented wizard before he received his staff." She corrects me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I know you will be a great witch, with or without a staff or fancy title." She says seriously.
I smile and nod my head. "I will tell him eventually."
"Take your time," Zoe replies.
I look at the door and take a deep breath to push it open.
"Hey, there you guys are!" Toby calls out, turning to us.
"Sorry, bud. I was teaching Claire in the library." Zoe replies, causing everyone else to turn to us.
My breath catches in my chest when I see Jim in armor. When our eyes meet, emotions flood through me. Jim looks back to what he did before as the Trollhunter, making me proud of myself and happy for him. "Jim!" I call out and run to him. I launch myself on him, making us grunt. "You're the Trollhunter again!"
"Yeah!" Jim replies, gently wrapping his arms around my waist.
"How is this possible? I thought the Amulet was destroyed?" I ask, playing dumb.
"Douxie and Nari re-created it. They wanted me to become the Trollhunter again." He replies, making me smile as I pull away.
I look down and stare at the Amulet on his chest. I cover my hand over it and sigh, reading the incantation. For the glory of all, Daylight is mine to command. "How do you feel?" I ask, looking at him.
"Empowered," Jim replies. "More confident than I was before."
"The legacy of the Trollhunter is alive once again!" Blinky cheers.
"The slightest movement shows a bit of lilac to the silver and blue armor," I say, noticing the details in the armor.
"The gem we found was for the Amulet was blue and purple. We couldn't find any circular pure blue gems." Douxie clarifies.
"I couldn't care less," Jim reassures him and looks at me. "It reminds me of you." He whispers, making me tense up.
Does he know I re-created the Amulet?
"Thank you so much for bringing back the Trollhunter!" Blinky cheers, looking at Douxie and making him chuckle nervously.
"It was the least I could do." He replies, glancing at me. "I did it before; I believed I could do it again with the help of Nari."
"Claire, did you know this was going on?" Toby asks, making me tense up and turn my head to him.
"Huh?" I ask.
"You were with Douxie a lot. Did you know?" He clarifies.
I shake my head. "No. I thought Douxie was training alone while I hung out with Veronica." I half lie.
"No. We were re-creating a destroyed weapon." Archie replies, pretending I wasn't in the room as Douxie re-created the Amulet.
We all have a celebration for the Trollhunter coming back. Mary pulls me aside and forces me to tell the other girls about last night with Jim and me. They hang onto every word, especially Aja, curious about how humans make love to each other. I force them to be quiet about this conversation, and Zoe promises if anyone speaks out about this, she will curse them. Before we go to bed, I see Zoe stand alone, looking nervous. "Zoe?" I ask, stepping towards her. She looks at me and smiles. I look to where she did and see Douxie talking to Blinky.
"Should I talk to him?" She whispers, frozen in fear.
"Of course!" I reply.
"But what if Archie shoots me down, or he doesn't believe me?"
"Don't worry, Zoe; Douxie will understand and won't do that," I reassure her and lean in closer. "And I bet you will win a love night with him," I whisper, making her blush and tense up. I gesture her to walk to him, but Zoe refuses to move. Not wanting to wait any longer, I create a portal, making Zoe fall in and open it to make her bump into Douxie. He turns around and steadies Zoe on both feet. She looks white as a ghost and turns her head to me. Douxie does the same, but I turn around, pretending I didn't do anything. I slowly walk away toward Jim and hear them talk.
"Ummm... Douxie, can I talk to you in private?" I hear Zoe ask nervously.
"Of course!" He replies in a kind voice, making me get excited.
I turn around and watch them walk with each other. Then, I spot Zoe grabbing Douxie's hand, and he holds it, making me feel giddy inside. Before they notice, I grab Jim's hand and force him to follow me and Amber, confusing him.
"Claire, what's going on?" He asks.
As we're far away enough, I admit what's going on. "I think I got Zoe and Douxie back together again," I whisper to him, then I begin to giggle uncontrollably.
"You think that did the trick?" Jim asks with hope, knowing Douxie wants to be with Zoe too.
"Yes!" I reply.
"Good for you, matchmaker." He teases me, making me laugh.
We get into our room and get ready for bed. I sit on the bed in my nightgown. Jim gets down to his boxers and walks toward me, holding the Amulet in his hand. "Are you going to sleep with that in your hand tonight?" I joke as Jim sits on his side of the bed.
"No!" Jim chuckles and places the Amulet on the nightstand beside the box of condoms next to him before lying down on the bed.
"My Trollhunter is back again." I sigh, laying beside my boyfriend and resting my head on his shoulder.
"And here to protect you." He adds, making me chuckle.
"You always make me feel safe, Amulet or not." I correct him, caressing his chest with the tips of my fingers, getting him excited, his heartbeat racing. We stare into each other's eyes before I lean in and lay my lips on his, and after a few seconds, Jim gets on top of me. He places a hand on one of my breasts and slowly guides down my body to between my legs, making me gasp and breaking our kiss.
"Do you want to continue what we did last night?" Jim asks seductively, making me blush.
"Yes," I mumble, biting my lip. Then, Jim goes down and sucks on my neck, making me moan in pleasure. We take off each other's clothes, Jim pulls out and puts on a condom, and we have sex, enjoying the night together in each other's arms.
Author Note: I hope you enjoy the chapter, and please review.