Chapter 4: The New Resident

Hilda and Twig were walking through the city and saying hello to random people. Alfur sat atop Hilda's head, eagerly waiting to reach their destination.

"Normally I am a very patient elf, but right now I really can not wait to get there." Alfur said.

"Don't worry, Alfur. Once we're out of sight, we'll be able to move a lot faster." Hilda replied.

After a few minutes, they left the streets and houses behind and were now surrounded by nature.

"Are you ready, Twig?" Hilda asked.

"You bet, Hilda." Twig replied to the only human who can hear him.

"You better hang on tight, Alfur."

"I've already secured myself." Alfur said as he finished tying himself with some of Hilda's hair.

Hilda then transformed into her half-deerfox form and without any further warning, she and Twig took off, running with joy and leaping over the rocks and bushes they came across. Eventually, they reached the village of the Lost Clan and stopped. All of the elves took notice of Hilda's new look.

"What is that!?"

"Is that a monster!?"

"We're under attack!"

The elves grabbed their weapons and prepared for battle. Some of them rode upon rabbits and birds. Even their toughest warrior Agnes spat and charged.

"Wait! It's me! Hilda!"

"STOP!" the clan's leader Bartel ordered, halting all of the elves. "It's only Hilda. You should all know that by her hair."

Everyone realized it was a false alarm and stood down.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare anyone." Hilda said as she changed back.

"It's quite alright. I see you and Alfur met our messenger last night."

"Indeed we have!" Alfur giddily stepped onto Hilda's hand after untying himself and hopped off when it was low enough. "So where is she?"

"Here I am!" called an elf who did not match the local area and was coming to the visitors.

"Adeline! It is so good to see you again." Alfur said. "But why did you come here first?"

"I didn't learn much about the Lost Clan the first time, so I thought I'd spend a little time with them before meeting up with you." Adeline explained. "For a village without paperwork, they are amazing."

"Speaking of amazing, what was that which you just did, Hilda?" Bartel asked.

"Oh yeah. I'm a shapeshifter now. So far I can only turn into a deerfox and a troll." Hilda explained everything she knew about her powers to the elves.

"I already heard of your troll form from a previous report, but this is still incredible." Adeline said.

"It is pretty cool." Hilda held out her hands. "Let's show you the rest of Trolberg and then go home."

Alfur and Adeline each hopped into one of Hilda's hands and were raised up.

"Thank you both again for having me." Adeline said.

"It is no trouble for any of us." Alfur replied.

"Besides, you two belong together." Hilda commented, causing both elves to blush a little.

Then just as Hilda and Twig turned to leave, something happened. There was now less room on Hilda's hands for the elves to stand on. All four of them noticed this odd change.

"Uh, Hilda. I think you just shrunk a little." Alfur said.

"I think you're right." Hilda nervously said.

It happened again. Now it was more obvious. Alfur and Adeline hopped from Hilda's hands to Twig's head. Twig started to worry.

"Are you alright, Hilda?" Twig asked.

"Don't worry, boy. I think I'm just turning into an elf." Hilda assured before shrinking again.

She was then the same height as Twig. Then she was even smaller. A couple of shrinks later, she was the same size as Alfur and Adeline who got on the ground to check if she was okay.

"Looks like I'm done shrinking." Hilda shrank one more time. "Hey!"

"You're still a child, remember?" Alfur reminded his now smaller friend.

"Oh, right." Hilda said before her appearance changed.

Other than her blue hair, she had completely become an elf. She examined herself, especially her arms. Twig sniffed her and accidentally made her tumble. Alfur and Adeline helped her back up.

"How do you feel?" both elves asked.

"I'm okay. The no hand part of this is very weird." Hilda said. "But at least I can now do something I couldn't before."

"What might that be?" Alfur asked.

"This." Hilda gave Alfur as big a hug as she could, surprising him in the process.

Alfur returned the hug naturally.

"How delightful!" Adeline said. "I actually got to witness a human turn into an elf!"

"I wonder how I earned this." Hilda said after ending the hug.

"Let's figure that out later." Alfur suggested. "For now, we have a promised tour to give."

"Hop on." Twig lowered his head for all three elves.

Once they were all on, Twig left the village and began the tour of Trolberg.

The first stop they made was Frida's house. When Frida stepped outside, she was a little surprised to see Twig with three elves on his head. She was even more surprised when she figured out who one of those elves was.

"Hilda!?"

"Yup. I'm an elf now." Hilda proudly said. "Adeline, meet my friend Frida. Frida, this is Adeline."

She then noticed something that she hadn't before, looking back and forth and added "Who apparently looks a lot like you."

"Oh my gosh. She does!" Frida laughed. "She's a little me!"

"And you're a big me!" Adeline joined in the amusement.

Hilda and Alfur started laughing too.

"As you already know, Adeline is going to help Alfur with his reports from now on, but first we're giving her a tour." Hilda said. "Want to join us?"

"Sorry. Magic lessons again." Frida said. "Have fun."

"See you later." Hilda, Alfur, and Adeline all waved goodbye.

Next, they went to David's house where they found him just in time, for he was taking out the trash. David just barely noticed them.

"Hi, Twig. Hi, Alfur. Hi, Hilda." Suddenly it dawned on him. "Hilda!? You're an elf now!?"

"Yes I am." Hilda said.

David then noticed Adeline and said "Frida can do it too?!"

The elves all laughed again.

"No, I'm Adeline. I came to write alongside Alfur."

"Oh, that's right. Hilda mentioned you once. Pleased to meet you. I'm David."

"Would you like to tag along while we give Adeline a tour of the city?" Hilda offered.

"I can't. It's chore day for my family." David said. "Thanks anyway."

"Okay. Bye." Hilda said.

"Bye." David waved to his friends and went back inside.

"Well I guess it's just the four of us." Alfur said. "Let us continue the tour."

"Oh this is already exciting!" Adeline cheered.

So they went all over the city of Trolberg, explaining the many places they've been to such as the Library, the Huldrawood, the park, the sparrow scout lodge, the windmill, and even the school. Adeline enjoyed every moment of it and sometimes brought up one of Alfur's reports. At the same time, Hilda was enjoying all of the differences that come with her new size. Eventually they ended up at the sight of the shattered wall where people were still fixing it.

"Is that where the attack happened?" Adeline asked.

"Yes it is." Hilda replied. "I take it Alfur wrote all about that too?"

Adeline nodded.

"Are there even any humans besides you who trust trolls at all?" she asked.

"Once we learned the truth, a lot more people started doing that, but not everyone." Hilda explained. "Until that night, there was only one other human who did."

"Who?"

"I never learned his name, but he's a bellkeeper. And a friend. If it wasn't for him, we'd have bells ringing every hour. At least until the attack happened. Would you like to see him?"

"Very much so please."

"Twig, let's go that way along the wall."

"I'm on it." Twig turned right and ran swiftly.

It took a while, but the wooden hut built into the wall finally came into sight.

"Stop." Hilda said.

Twig stopped almost exactly in front of the hut.

"Remember, Adeline, he hasn't signed any papers as far as we know, so we'll have to sneak in and remain quiet." Alfur warned.

"Or he could just come outside." Adeline pointed at the door as it started to open.

The bellkeeper then came out and closed the door behind him. Shortly after, he noticed Twig.

"Why hello there." he said before getting down on one knee. "If you're here, then Hilda must be nearby."

He suddenly moved his hand to pet Twig on the head which surprised Hilda.

"AHHH!" Hilda screamed as the hand came down.

The hand went through the elves with half the bodies of Alfur and Adeline sticking out and only half of Hilda's head doing the same. It was weird and disturbing, but also relieving for Hilda.

"Who just screamed?" the bellkeeper asked as he looked around.

Hilda covered her mouth as the hand lifted up.

"I think it's safe to tell him." Twig said to Hilda.

"You're right, Twig." Hilda said. "Excuse me! Mr. Bellkeeper!"

"Hilda? Is that you?"

"Yes. It's a long story, but basically I can now turn into an elf and a couple other creatures. Just pay attention to the top of Twig's head and you'll see."

Hilda concentrated and managed to change back with one exception. Her size. The bellkeeper was surprised all the same.

"Well I was warned by the book that some forms would have a problem like this the first time." Hilda said. "Don't worry. I'll grow back sooner or
later."

"Wait, does this mean there are other elves here?" the bellkeeper asked.

"Yes, actually. These are Alfur and Adeline."

"Hello." Alfur said.

"Nice to meet you." Adeline greeted.

"The only reason you can't see any elves is because you need to sign some paperwork. Luckily Alfur always has some with him if you want."

"That would make things easier." the bellkeeper said.

Inside the hut, Hilda and the elves stood on the table while Twig lied on the floor and the bellkeeper did his best to write his name on so many tiny papers.

"Wow. Being tiny indoors is just as cool as it is outside." Hilda said.

"I still can't believe you're tiny at all." the bellkeeper commented as he continued to sign. "Blasted little contracts."

Soon enough, he finished the last signature and the elves practically appeared before his very eyes. Hilda read one of the papers out of curiosity.

"So that's your name. Angus."

"Yes and it's nice to see your elf friends." Angus held out a finger and the elves shook it. "So what are you doing out here?"

"I just moved here and my friends were giving me a tour." Adeline explained. "I've heard about how you helped with the bell situation."

"Well I should be thanking Hilda." Angus said. "If I hadn't overheard her and her friends on my walkie-talkie, I would've done nothing."

Hilda couldn't help feeling good from the praise she was being given. Then she spotted something near the map on the wall that wasn't there before.

"Is that a picture of your children?" Hilda asked.

"I don't have any kids." Angus answered. "That's me and a friend of mine. We've known each other since we both joined the sparrow scouts. It felt like everyday with her was a good day. But a year after we grew up, we got in a fight over something stupid. I never saw her again, even after looking for her so I could apologize."

Hilda felt bad for Angus as she looked back and forth between him and the girl in the picture.

"You love her, don't you?"

"It doesn't matter." Angus took the picture out of sight. "It's been too long. She'll never forgive me. I couldn't even keep hold of the last thing she ever gave me. We're better off as we are."

There was silence.

"Didn't you write about a similar situation before, Alfur?" Adeline whispered.

"Indeed." Alfur replied. "Which is why I know what's going to happen in three...two...one."

"NO!" Hilda shouted loudly for her current size, surprising Angus and Adeline, but not Alfur. "If she really is your friend, then I know she'll forgive you! What if we helped you find your gift?"

"I appreciate the offer, but it's over."

"You shouldn't give up so easily."

"Why can't you just leave this be!?"

"Because I don't want anyone else I know to go through this!" Hilda almost cried between her sentences. "My neighbor missed his chance fifty years ago. I tried to help him, but I couldn't do anything without there being any consequences. He deserved to be happy, just like you do."

Angus was speechless by what he was told, but he did think about it. Then he sighed and said "Alright, we'll look for it together. Luckily I still know where I last had it. Here, you guys can ride in my pocket."

He put his hand out on the table and Hilda along with the elves walked onto it. He then placed them in his shirt pocket and left the hut with Twig close behind.

"So what are we looking for?" Hilda asked.

"A pocket watch. But it's probably not ticking anymore, so it'll be even harder to find now." Angus answered. "And to make things worse, there are too many places where it could be."

"I thought you said you knew where you last had it." Adeline stated.

"I do. You'll understand when we get there."

And so off they went to find the missing watch. Along the way to where-ever, Alfur noticed Hilda pondering something.

"What's on your mind, Hilda?" he asked.

"For some reason, I feel like I've seen the girl in that picture before." Hilda said.

"Why don't we save that for another time?" Alfur suggested.

"Okay."

"This is so exciting!" Adeline cheered. "I'm officially taking part in one of your many adventures for the first time! EEEEH!"

As Hilda and Alfur admired Adeline's excitement, something occured to the former.

"Wait a minute." Hilda stuck her head out of the pocket. "Angus, what have you been doing now that there's peace between humans and trolls?"

"Well as you might've guessed, I'm not as needed as I was before." Angus explained. "However, Gerda the new safety patrol leader has offered me a job that could improve the way all creatures have been handled. I haven't decided yet."

After that answer, everyone remained silent the rest of the way.

Eventually, Angus stopped walking.

"We're here."

Hilda and the elves peeked out of the pocket and right before all of them was an old looking three story building with broken windows and planks of wood nailed over them.

"What is this place?" Hilda asked.

"It used to be an apartment building." Angus answered as he took his passengers out of his pocket. "The place got bankrupt, so we all had to leave. I lost the watch around that time."

His eyes moved to the side in nostalgia, causing him to notice a sign that read "CONDEMNED FOR DESTRUCTION TOMORROW".

"And it looks like this is my last chance to find it."

"Then let's get started." Hilda became an elf again and leapt onto Twig's head.

Alfur and Adeline joined Hilda and in they all went. The lobby looked like what you'd see in a hotel but smaller, filthy, and with a big crack right through the floor. There were a couple of doors and a stairway leading to the actual apartments.

"What happened here?" Hilda and Adeline asked at the same time.

"It must've been damaged by the near destruction of Trolberg." Alfur guessed.

"So that's how that prison cell broke open." Hilda thought to herself. "I should've known."

"Well if we're going to search the place, we should be smart about this." Angus said. "Hilda, you and Twig can start in room seven. That's where I used to live. At least one of your elf friends and I will check down here including any tight spaces I might've overlooked. The other can join you if they wish."

"I'll do it." Alfur volunteered.

"As will I." Adeline said.

So Hilda and Twig went up the stairs to room seven where the door had fallen some time ago and went in. The room was mostly empty with more cracks on the walls and floor. Twig sniffed around for anything that might at least stand out. Hilda hopped off of Twig's head and onto a nearby radiator up which she started climbing.

"It's funny how all of my forms so far make me jump better." she said when she reached the top.

Hilda didn't find a watch or anything in the radiator, but she did spot another crack under it and it was big enough to see through to the lobby. She and Twig checked the entire room, but found nothing. After over an hour, all of the rooms were searched and nobody found anything. They all returned to the lobby and sat down.

"I told you, Hilda. The watch is just gone." Angus said. "I even had help checking places I hadn't thought of before, and nothing. I'm going home."

"I guess you're right." Hilda said. "All I could find was another crack above us."

As Angus got up, Adeline looked at the crack above, then the one in the floor. All of a sudden, she had an idea.

"Wait!" she said, getting everyone's attention. "If you overlooked places the first time, then maybe it used to be in one of them until the night of the attack and the cracks caused it to fall out of your room and into the big crack in this floor."

"It must've been stuck in the radiator before." Hilda guessed.

"I... never thought of any of that." Angus admitted.

"Then let's search underground." Hilda said.

"Uh, Hilda." Alfur said. "Not all of us can fit through the cracks."

Hilda realized that Alfur was right and didn't know what to do.

"Go ahead and look." Angus said. "I'll keep an eye on your pal Twig."

"Sorry, Twig. You'll have to sit this one out." Hilda said.

"I don't like it, but I understand." Twig said to Hilda who hugged his snout.

"Good luck." Angus said.

The elves approached the most likely part of the crack where the watch might've fallen through and jumped down into it, Hilda going "Woohoo!" in the process. After several seconds of falling, the three elves all landed in a dark cavern like terrain.

"Did anyone bring a light?" Hilda asked.

"I did." Adeline pulled out a lantern and lit it.

Now that they could all see, they noticed that where they were was practically a long tunnel. They looked around and found that they could only go in one direction. So that's what they did. Hilda couldn't help comparing this to exploring a cave. She almost forgot that she and her friends were down there for a reason. Soon it dawned on her that the ground was starting to feel downhill. Then she and the others heard something.

"Do you hear that?" Hilda asked.

"Yes I do." Alfur said.

"As do I." Adeline said.

They started moving faster and the sound grew louder and clearer as the path continued to slant downward. Then they came to exactly what they thought it was. Water. A cracked open pipe half-full of flowing water to be exact.

"The watch must've fallen down here and slid down into that pipe." Alfur deducted.

"Then how do we find it now?" Adeline asked.

"How else?" Hilda ran forward and leapt into the cracked pipe.

"Hilda!" Alfur reluctantly jumped in after her.

"Ooh, this is getting exciting!" Adeline followed suit.

The three elves were carried through the pipe like children in a waterslide with Hilda and Adeline having fun while Alfur was more scared than anything. Eventually they left the pipe and fell down what felt like a waterfall to them. After diving into more water and coming up for air, they looked around and realized that they were in the sewers. They swam to a floor and climbed out of the water.

"So this is what the sewers look like." Adeline said in awe. "It's disgusting and yet beautiful. I feel like we're in a large abandoned castle."

"I see what you mean, Adeline." Hilda said. "It does look that way at this size."

"My papers!" Alfur panicked as he checked the contracts in his satchel.

"Oh no! Mine too!" Adeline realized she had the same problem and checked her own stuff.

"Phew, false alarm. Miraculously, none of the signatures have been touched."

"My things aren't so bad either."

"Well while you two try to dry your papers, I'll start searching for the watch." Hilda said.

She looked in the water where the watch might've sunk near the flow of the pipe's exit, but it wasn't there. She continued along the artificial stream all the way to some steel bars that would've stopped it from going any further, but again she found nothing.

"This can't be right." Hilda thought out loud. "The watch has to be around here. Unless..."

"Unless what?" Alfur asked after he and Adeline caught up to Hilda with their close enough to dry papers.

"Unless the Rat King found it first."

"I don't recall much mention of him in your reports, Alfur." Adeline said.

"That's because I have yet to meet him myself." Alfur explained.

"Well it looks like we'll all have to see him." Hilda said.

So the elves began searching the sewers for the Rat King while running since walking would take a lot longer at their size. Unfortunately, Alfur and Adeline were not as used to running as Hilda, so they had to take a break once in a while. During their fourth break, Hilda waited by looking around their current location. They were in a big square area with more pipe entrances than they've ever seen before and a pile of random junk in one of the corners. Wait, a pile of junk?

"Guys, I think we found where the Rat King sleeps." Hilda said.

Alfur and Adeline saw where Hilda pointed and were relieved to not have to run anymore for now.

"You thought right, tiny invisible voice." said multiple creepy voices.

The elves turned and saw a gigantic pile of rats exit one of the pipes and approach them.

"Hello. It's me, Hilda. I'm just in elf form and with two real elves."

"Ah yes. The child who is now a shapeshifter."

"Amanda told you, didn't she?" Hilda asked with an annoyed look.

"Not at all. We actually saw you become your pet earlier today."

"Huh. Well anyway, we're looking for a pocket watch that might've fallen into the sewers. Did you happen to find any?"

"Only one. But if you want it, you'll have to trade a secret for it."

Hilda looked at her elf friends, certain that they felt the same way that Frida and David did when she and they first met the Rat King. So she chose to do it herself again. She approached the Rat King and cupped her not-hands together for a whisper.

"Wait." Adeline said, stopping Hilda. "I've been meaning to tell you two something anyway."

"Oooooh, this sounds extra juicy." the Rat King said.

Hilda stepped aside and let Adeline come forth.

*Sigh* "There was once a time when..." Adeline struggled to complete her sentence. "When... when... *Gulp* when I didn't like paperwork!"

"What!?" Hilda and Alfur were very surprised.

"Here me out." Adeline continued. "At first I was just fine with contracts and other paperwork as part of my life just like any elf in our homeland. But at some point, I actually started to get bored of it. Sometimes it felt like that was all there was to my life. I just couldn't be happy while writing anymore."

"I don't understand." Alfur said. "If this is all true, then what made you like paperwork again?"

Adeline then smiled and said "You did."

"Me?"

"I was thinking about quitting my duties one day when I overheard some elves praising your reports. For curiosity sake, I started reading them too and I loved what you wrote. You managed to make paperwork exciting for me again. I've read every report you sent at least twenty times. The Lost Clan one is still my favorite. That's the real reason I visited them first. They felt relatable. So thank you for making my life happy again, Alfur.

Alfur blushed and shed a couple tears of joy from the best praise he'd ever been given. Then he hugged Adeline out of pure instinct, causing her to blush as well and hug back.

"Your secret is unlike any we have heard before." the Rat King said. "Just for that, we will give you a ride out and the pocket watch."

"Really? Thanks." Hilda said.

The three elves climbed onto some lowered rats and were raised while also being carried off. Hilda has ridden several different creatures before, but this ride in particular felt very unique. The Rat King turned multiple corners and traversed several pipes until he stopped and rose up to a storm drain. The elves hopped out onto the edge of the road. Then the Rat King passed up a pocket watch and placed it on the ground face-down. Hilda examined it and spotted a name on the back.

"Yes! This does belong to Angus."

"Farewell, and thank you for the secret." the Rat King lowered back down and was quickly out of sight.

"Now that we have the watch..." Alfur said. "...how are we going to carry it?"

"Alfur's right." Adeline said. "We'd need at least four adult elves to lift this."

"Can we pull it by the chain?" Hilda asked.

"Perhaps we can." Alfur said.

So they tried that. It was slowly working. But then a shadow loomed over them. They looked up and before they could do anything, a bird grabbed the watch with it's foot and the elves could only hold on to the chain and scream.

"AAAHHH!"

The bird flew high over the houses and buildings fast enough to make the chain point away from where it was going. Hilda, Alfur, and Adeline tried to plan a way out, but there was nothing they could do without falling to their doom. The bird stopped at a tree branch a few yards from some buildings and placed the watch in an empty nest, then flew away.

"Well this is a predicament." Alfur said.

"How are we going to get this watch down now?" Adeline asked.

Hilda looked around, above, and below until she discovered a solution.

"I know. We can use the bush below us as a soft landing place for the watch. Then we'll get ourselves down faster if we jump with leaves as parachutes."

"I believe that could work." Alfur said.

The elves pushed the watch to the edge as hard as they could and after a while, got it out of the nest. They could hear several leaves below getting hit by the watch and then nothing. Next they grabbed three leaves from a nearby little branch and jumped out of the tree. Slowly they glided down, enjoying the time they spent in the air until they landed in the bush themselves. They climbed down the rest of the way and found the watch at the bottom without any damage.

"Now we just have to drag it without getting caught by a bird again." Hilda said.

"And I think I know how." Adeline suggested with a bunch of leaves. "The watch can't shine if it's covered."

Hilda and Alfur agreed and they all started covering the watch with leaves and twigs. Once they finished, they started pulling it by the chain again. Luckily Hilda recognized the area and knew they were close to the condemned building. At least in human distance. It took a while, but they reached a few feet into an empty alley way between two buildings and stopped to rest.

"We're almost there." Hilda said. ""Just a few blocks and we'll make it."

However, the wind came by and blew the watch's cover off.

"Oh no! We have to cover it again!" Hilda said.

"I hope that bird hasn't returned." Alfur prayed.

Adeline checked the tree they came from and disliked what she saw.

"It sees us and it's coming!"

Nobody knew what to do. They couldn't hide the watch again or pull it away fast enough.

"If only I could grow back to normal size again." Hilda said.

"Maybe you can now." Alfur suggested. "Try it."

Hilda tried with just her arm. First it had a hand again. Then it got a little bigger. Hilda smiled at her luck and gained a better idea. She ran to the middle of the alley just in case. The bird was only seconds away from snatching the watch once again. Then just in time, Hilda grew into a troll and roared.

"ROARRRRRRR!"

The bird squawked and flew away in fear.

"I was wondering what you looked like in troll form." Adeline said. "I like it."

"Thank you." Hilda walked over, picked up the watch without being touched by sunlight, and brought Alfur and Adeline onto her head. "Now we can easily return the watch to Angus. I just hope nobody else heard me."

"Hilda, is that you?" came the voice of Angus from right behind the blue haired troll.

Hilda turned around, surprised to see Angus and Twig coming to her and the elves instead of the other way around. While Twig ran up to Hilda and rubbed against her leg being used to it, Angus walked to her with a shocked expression.

"I know you said you have other forms, but I would not have guessed this to be one of them." he said. "And yet it suits you."

"Thanks, Angus." Hilda replied before becoming human again. "Oh, and we got your watch back."

"I don't believe it." Angus said, looking at his watch like it was first child being born. "Thank you so much."

"Let's see if it still works."

"No! Wait! Don't!" Angus wasn't fast enough.

Hilda opened the watch which miraculously still worked and she along with the elves were surprised to see what was inside.

"Is that who I think it is?" Alfur asked.

Next to the clock was a picture of the girl Angus used to know, except she was at least sixteen when it was taken. Now Hilda knew why she looked so familiar.

"Mum?"

Angus took his watch back and walked off. However, he was not prepared for what he was about to hear from Hilda.

"This is perfect! We can just bring you home and you can talk it out with Mum and even tell her you..."

"Hilda, stop." Angus said. "I'm still not so sure about this. That argument was very bad. I even called her an idiot for something she wanted to do."

"I once had an argument with one of my best friends." Hilda said. "Now we're closer than ever before. If we can reunite, why not you?"

Angus was impressed by the unique child who stood before him. Never has he met anyone this innocent yet mature. He sighed with a small smile and said "I guess we're going to see your mother."

Later back at the apartment, Johanna was working on a new art project somebody hired her for when she heard the door open. She turned to see none other than Hilda, Twig, and the elves.

"Welcome back." she said. "So where is our new resident?"

"She's right here." Hilda held Adeline out on the palm of her hand.

"Hello. I'm Adeline. You must be Mum."

"As I explained to Alfur, Mum is what I am to Hilda. My name is actually Johanna. It's nice to finally meet you. You must've had quite the tour today."

"Why yes, and I've enjoyed every moment of it."

"And while we were out, Mum, we found a surprise for you." Hilda said with a sing-song tone.

"Ooh, I just love your little surprises, Hilda." Johanna said. "What is it?"

"We left it just outside the door."

Johanna was puzzled. Usually Hilda surprised her with something she hid behind her back. This time she had to open a door for some reason. Johanna walked to the door and opened it. She was definitely surprised.

"Angus?"

"Hi, Johanna." Angus said as he held his watch tight. "I'm sorry for how I behaved all those years ago. I was just trying to help, but you had every right to make your own choice."

Johanna didn't say anything, so Angus continued.

"And now you have every right to hate me. I tried to control your life, I called you an idiot, I haven't seen you since that day, I even lost this watch you gave me and wouldn't have been able to find it if it weren't for your daughter and her little friends. You know what? I'll save you the trouble and just go."

But before he could turn around, Johanna quickly hugged him by surprise and said "I thought I'd never see you again."

A tear of joy ran down the side of Angus's face before he hugged back. Hilda and the others witnessed the whole thing, happy to see these two childhood friends back together.

"Where have you been?" Johanna asked.

"I've spent most of the time as a bellkeeper. At least everything turned out well for you."

"Well not everything. You were right about Boris. After just one date, I couldn't stand him. But now that I'm a better judge of character, would you like to have lunch sometime?"

"I'd love that."

Hilda, Twig, and the elves were satisfied and left the new couple alone. As they headed for Hilda's room, they overheard Angus say "Is that a nisse?" While Johanna explained where Tontu came from, Hilda chuckled a little and closed the door. She placed Alfur and Adeline on the shelf where the clock-house was and then shrunk down to join them while purposely being their exact height and staying human.

"Welcome to your new home, Adeline." Alfur said as he opened the clock face and showed Adeline in.

The girls stepped in after him and liked the interior.

"Wow. I see you already made some room for me and added some extra furniture." Adeline said. *Gasp!* "You have a nitten?"

"Why yes. This is Peppercorn. Go ahead and pet her."

Adeline gladly petted Peppercorn and smiled like a child on their birthday.

"I've never felt happier in my life than today." she said. "It is going to be an honor to watch you two do amazing things."

"Said the most helpful person today." Hilda happily commented.

"Huh?" Adeline was confused.

"You figured out what happened to the watch, revealed a hard secret that helped more than any other would've, and found a way to move the watch without it being seen, even if only temporarily. You basically already fit in our adventure team, Adeline."

Adeline just rubbed her arm and with a smile said "This must be how you earned your elf form. By being such a supportive friend."

"Hm, maybe it is." Hilda said.

"How about we start writing about your first day in Trolberg?" Alfur suggested.

"That sounds wonderful." Adeline agreed.

While they started writing at their desks next to each other and talking about Adeline's new life, Hilda stepped outside and sat on the edge of the shelf, kicking her legs back and forth. Today had been a great day for everyone. Hilda and some of her friends had an exciting adventure, Adeline now lived in her apartment, and Johanna and her childhood friend Angus were together again.

Author's Note: Allow me to start by acknowledging the elephant in the room. Yes I know about the fan theory involving the bellkeeper and I even love the idea of it. I just wanted to do something different, that's all. Also, sorry for not being creative with the name I chose for him. I couldn't think of anything better. And yes, I also know that I called the Rat King a he. That's how he was addressed in the show. As for Hilda's most recent form in this fic, an elf seemed like the right choice for her to become next since her bond with Alfur is similar to that with Twig, just not as strong. I really hope that in season 3, Hilda ends up getting shrunk in an episode, whether or not anyone else does too. It would fit perfectly in this kind of show. If it does happen, it'll most likely be caused by a spell gone wrong, courtesy of Frida. Speaking of whom, sorry for barely putting her and David in the chapter like that. I just like including them even if it's not by much. But let's not forget about Adeline. I knew I needed to bring her into this fanfic without making her pointless, so I did my best to make her useful and hopefully I also did this minor (for now) character justice. Like Hilda said in this chapter, Alfur and Adeline belong together.

P.S. Sorry I took so long. I've been having trouble with a couple of different fanfics, but I haven't given up on them.