Chapter 9: The Two Secrets
Hilda and Twig were simply walking down the street on a beautiful day. They would've visited Frida who's house they just passed, but they knew she was busy with her homework from both school and witch training. Then they stopped as soon as they saw a little nisse with orange hair.
"I haven't seen you around here before." Hilda said.
"That's because I only got banished yesterday." the nisse looked at Frida's house.
Hilda noticed where he was looking and realized something that angered her.
"So you're the one who took Frida's book!" she said. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have had that fight!"
"Well it's not like anyone ever gives me anything." the nisse replied.
Hilda took a moment to think about that.
"I guess you're not entirely wrong, even if you do steal." she then had an idea. "I think I know a place you might like."
Later, Hilda, Twig, and the nisse were walking in an open field surrounded by trees and stopped at a windmill.
"What do you think?" Hilda asked. "You'll have to make your own food, but no humans live here, which means you can't get banished. It even has some visiting animals if you like them."
The nisse looked around both outside and inside and then went into the Nowhere Space. After a few minutes, he came back out.
"I love it." he said. "The Nowhere Space is comfy, the house is nice, and even the outside is great. Thank you. It's not often nisse get treated this way by humans."
Hilda felt proud of her good deed. That is until she thought about another nisse and how she occasionally treated him. Now she was feeling ashamed.
"You're welcome." she said. "Enjoy your new home."
The nisse went back inside and Hilda and Twig walked away.
"Where are we going now?" Twig asked.
"Home, Twig." Hilda answered. "There's something I need to do."
Back at the apartment, Johanna, Angus, Alfur, and Adeline were all about to watch a movie together when Hilda and Twig came in.
"Back so soon?" Johanna asked.
"Yeah, but where's Tontu?" Hilda said. "I need to talk to him."
"Here I am." Tontu popped out from the nearest drawer and approached Hilda. "What's up?"
Hilda rubbed her arm as she felt both nervous and ashamed.
"All this time, I thought I was being a good friend to you, Tontu." she said. "But I was wrong. I was a selfish brat. I complained about your need for privacy. I compared you to a fake nisse. I even blackmailed you once. I should've treated you better than that. I'm really sorry, Tontu."
The adults who were watching were surprised by Hilda's guilt. Tontu could tell by Hilda's sad expression that she meant every word of it.
"I'll be right back." he said.
Tontu went back into the Nowhere Space and Hilda waited, wondering what he was doing. Half a minute later, he came back out, holding a piece of paper.
"Isn't that the contract you had me sign?" Hilda asked.
"Not anymore." Tontu ripped the contract to pieces. "I forgive you."
Hilda hugged Tontu by surprise, feeling the weight of her guilt leave her. When she let go, Johanna and Angus laughed for some reason.
"What's so funny?" Hilda asked.
"Maybe this." Tontu honked Hilda's big nose twice.
Wait. Big nose? Hilda felt her nose and crossed her eyes, confirming that it had grown big and round.
"Am I... turning into a nisse?"
Her question was instantly answered by something she felt behind her before. She reached behind and brought her new tail with blue fur on the end into view.
"Wow! I am!"
Then she slowly shrunk down to half of Tontu's height.
"Could someone please bring me a mirror." Hilda asked. "I want to see how I look with nisse hair."
"The toaster should work." Johanna got up and went to the counter.
She grabbed the toaster and went over to hand it to her daughter. Hilda received the toaster just in time to see the rest of herself change. Her hair now covered not only most of her head, but her whole torso too. Her eyes and nose were still visible and her clothes were still there. She then started laughing at herself.
"I look kind of funny." she said.
"You look normal to me." Tontu said. "So now that you're a nisse, you'll need to learn how to use the Nowhere Space."
Hilda gasped in awe.
"May I, Mum?" she asked.
"As long as you stay near Tontu and return before it gets dark." Johanna said.
"Yes." Hilda happily ran into her bedroom with Twig and Tontu behind her.
"You know we could've just used an entrance in the living room, right?" Tontu asked.
"I do, but I really want to try one in my room first." Hilda said. "Twig, are you coming?"
"No thank you." Twig said as he leapt onto the bed. "The ground is too strange to me."
"Okay. So how do I get in, Tontu?"
"It's not really that hard." Tontu said. "You feel for the entrance you want to use, then you grab it in your mind before going in."
Hilda held her hands out near her bed, but felt nothing. Then she closed her eyes and tried to feel anything. A minute later, she felt something new, but also familiar.
"I think I feel it." she said.
"Good. Now follow me." Tontu went under the bed and was gone in a pink flash.
Hilda mentally grabbed the feeling and followed Tontu successfully. Doing it on her own was just as surprising as the first time Tontu pulled her in. She landed on her back and got up with excitement.
"I did it! I can enter the Nowhere Space!" Hilda cheered.
"Now you need to know how to travel like us." Tontu said. "Come on. I'll start you off with places you regularly go to."
Hilda knew this part was going to be tricky, but she was more than willing to learn.
"I wonder if I could've learned to do this without becoming a nisse." she thought.
Frida was finishing up her homework and drinking some milk when she heard a strange sound from behind.
"Hi, Frida."
Frida turned around and saw human Hilda and Tontu's heads sticking out of her bottom dresser drawer.
"Hilda? I thought Tontu practically forbade you from doing that." she said.
"We made up. And look what I can turn into now." Hilda climbed out of the drawer and showed off her nisse form.
"That's amazing." Frida said.
"Would you like to join us?" Hilda offered. "Tontu's teaching me how to get around."
"Why not?" Frida said. "I've only been in there during emergencies. It'll be nice to go there and look around for a change."
"Then let's go." Hilda grabbed Frida's hand and leapt into the Nowhere Space with her.
The girls then explored more of the strange rooms with Tontu in the lead.
David had just finished making some new herb treats in the kitchen when he heard a knock from a cabinet of all places. He opened the cabinet and was surprised to see nisse Hilda, Frida, and Tontu coming out of it.
"Hilda, is that you?" David asked.
"Yup." Hilda said. "I can turn into a nisse now. Do you want to explore the Nowhere Space with us?"
"Welllll..." David thought about it. "Sure. Why not? Just let me tell my parents."
David left the kitchen and the others waited.
"Why didn't you do that, Frida?" Tontu asked.
"My parents went out today." Frida said. "It happens once in a while."
David then came back and said "They're okay with it."
"Here. Take my hand." Hilda said.
David as well as Frida did just that and Hilda pulled them into the Nowhere Space with Tontu close behind. They passed David's nisse and went on to the next space.
"It's a good thing your nisse is friendlier than most others, David." Hilda said.
Eventually the group stopped in a new space that didn't have a nisse. There was still a bunch of stuff all over which they sat next to so they could relax after so much running and exploring.
"Thanks for letting me in again, Tontu." Hilda said. "Even though I don't really deserve it."
"I thought turning into a nisse meant you do deserve it." Tontu replied in confusion.
"That's right. I forgot."
She then stood up and started looking around again until she stepped on something. It was a book. Hilda picked it up and read the cover.
"Grim Occurrences: A Haunted Anthology."
"Who would read a book like that?" David asked with a shiver.
"I probably would." Hilda said. "But since it's not my book, I'm going to put it back in the house."
"Wait a minute. You might get caught?" Frida asked.
Hilda became an elf without shrinking.
"I should've remembered that." Frida facepalmed.
"I'll be in and out." Hilda checked one of the openings and went through.
She landed in a bedroom and was about to place the book on a shelf when she noticed something peculiar. Not only were there other horror books, but there was also a toy bat, a fake skull, and other decorations in the room with a similar theme.
"Woah. Whoever lives here has some cool stuff." Hilda said.
Suddenly the door opened. Hilda turned around and was surprised to see Amanda.
"Is that my book?" Amanda was confused since she could only see a floating book before remembering a previous adventure. "Hilda?"
"Hi, Amanda." Hilda returned to her human form and waved. "I'm really sorry. I didn't know this was your room. I was just trying to return this book."
"Thanks. I've been looking for this." Amanda said as she held her book again. "But how did you find this? Or get into my room?"
Hilda decided to show Amanda by turning into a nisse.
"Now I have a nisse form."
"Pvvv-Hahahaha! You look like a furry piece of candy." Amanda laughed.
"Very funny." Hilda said. "Watch this."
She went under Amanda's bed and vanished in a pink flash. Amanda dropped her jaw and looked under her bed, but nobody was there. After a few more seconds of confusion, Hilda came back out from the closet.
"Are nisses just like marra?" Amanda asked.
"Actually, nisses can enter an extra room made up of the unused space in a house." Hilda said. "Want to explore it with me and my friends?"
"Wait, you're inviting me?" Amanda asked. "No favors? No magical trap? No creatures to look for?"
"Yup. I already asked my friends and they're okay with it. So what do you say?"
Amanda was baffled. Three kids who previously saw her as an enemy were inviting her to just spend time with them.
"I... guess so." she finally said.
"Then hold on." Hilda grabbed Amanda's hand and leapt into the Nowhere Space again.
"AHHH!" Amanda screamed in surprise before landing on the soft floor.
She stood up, looked around, at the strange misshapen room and couldn't believe her eyes.
"Welcome to the Nowhere Space." Hilda said.
"This is the craziest thing I've ever seen." Amanda said. "It looks like the inside of someone's body."
"Ewe! Amanda!" David said.
"We should probably travel back to your house, Hilda." Frida suggested. "I think it's almost dinner time."
"Good idea." Hilda agreed.
As they all traveled back to where Hilda and Tontu started, the latter made a comment.
"In and out, huh?"
Twig was resting on top of Hilda's bed when a surprise came from underneath. Hilda and Tontu had returned, but not alone.
"That was a good try, but you don't just master the Nowhere Space in one day." Tontu said.
"It was worth a shot." Hilda replied as she returned to her human form except for her new tail.
Then the door opened and in came Johanna who almost said something before seeing three more people than there should be.
"Let me guess. You visited your friends through the Nowhere Space and brought them back here for dinner." she said.
"That's pretty much it." Tontu said.
"So can they, Mum?" Hilda asked.
"I don't see why not." Johanna said.
So the whole group sat at the table along with Alfur and Adeline. Amanda felt awkward sitting with several people who either shouldn't like her or don't know the real her, but she liked what she was eating.
"Did Angus leave?" Hilda asked.
"Yes. He has a busy day tomorrow." Johanna answered.
"So, how was your first day as a nisse?" Alfur asked.
"Was that an elf?" Amanda said.
"Yes, Amanda. These are Alfur and Adeline." Hilda said. "It was a lot of fun, Alfur."
"Hello." Adeline said.
"Uhh, hello." Amanda replied, trying to look at the female elf.
"They're both at this corner." Hilda pointed next to herself.
"So, Hilda, how did you and your friends meet Amanda?" Johanna asked. "Usually kids and teens hang around their own age group."
"Well to be honest, we didn't get along with her at first." Hilda said. "Amanda was more of a bully than anything. But then we slowly got to know her better. Turns out we have a few things in common."
Johanna had a feeling that Hilda was hiding something again, so she then questioned Amanda.
"Amanda, how's it been as their new friend?"
"A little odd, actually." Amanda said. "I'm not used to this."
Johanna wondered what Amanda meant by that. But before anything else could be said, the door opened. For some reason, Angus was back.
"I forgot my coat." he said.
Shortly after he picked it up off the couch, he stopped and noticed one of the guests at the table.
"Huh? Johanna, I thought you said you didn't like marra."
"Marra!?" Johanna was confused until she looked at Amanda.
Hilda and the others froze and mentally hit themselves for forgetting that Angus was there during that evil witch emergency.
"Oops." Angus realized that he made a big mistake.
"Hilda, please tell me this is not the same marra you told me about." Johanna said, her patience starting to wear.
"Uh... well..." Hilda was completely indecisive.
*Sigh* "I knew this wasn't going to work out." Amanda said. "Yes, I'm the same one. I'll show myself out."
"You better." Johanna spat.
Amanda stood up and walked to the door, but was stopped by Hilda pulling on her arm.
"Don't go." she said.
Amanda gave her the cold shoulder and left in her green aura form. Hilda then angrily glared at Johanna. Everyone else stood still to watch what would happen except for Tontu who went back into the Nowhere Space.
"Mum! You didn't need to do that!" Hilda said.
"Yes I did, Hilda!" Johanna said. "It's like you said! Marra are evil spirits who can't be trusted!"
"I was wrong! At least about her! Besides, you used to think the same thing about nisses!"
"Nisses don't do the things she does!"
"I know I wasn't completely honest, but I meant everything I said, especially the fact that she's a friend!"
"That girl tortured you in your sleep! And I had to watch it happen! I felt like I was back at the hill of stones-*GAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSP!*" despite covering her mouth, Johanna let out the loudest and most frightened gasp heard by human ears.
"What hill of stones?" Hilda asked. "Mum?"
The others all looked at Johanna with much confusion. Even Tontu came out after overhearing that last part. Whatever Johanna was hiding, she clearly never wanted to say anything about it, but now she had no choice. She sat down on the couch with Hilda and Twig on one side, Angus on the other, and the rest gathered around the front. Johanna then explained.
"Several years ago..."
Flashback
I left Trolberg to live in my Grandfather's house for only a month so I could get some drawings done without any disturbances. Once in a while, I heard some strange sounds which I now know were just elves. Other than that, it was peaceful... and lonely. Sometimes I would wonder around the wilderness if I was bored or needed new ideas. One of those times, I headed north in search of a new inspiration. Then while I was finishing up a drawing based on some wild flowers... I heard someone crying. I ran as fast as I could to where the crying came from. Then I arrived on a hill with a ring of tall rocks that could've been used for pillars on top. In the middle of that ring was exactly as I thought. A baby all alone. You were that baby, Hilda. I tried to find the family you came from, but there was nobody else out there. So I brought you home and stayed out there in case your parents were looking for you. They never came.
End Flasback
"I'm sorry, Hilda, but I'm not your real mum."
Hilda remained silent with wide eyes. Everybody looked at her with concern, wondering what her response to this truth would be. Then she got off the couch and spoke.
"You... HYPOCRITE!" she shouted, surprising them all. "So many times, you got mad at me for telling lies! But that's exactly what my whole life has been! ONE - BIG - LIE! You even told me that my dad stood you up on your wedding day a few months before I was born!"
"Now hold on, Hilda!" Johanna said. "One lie is not the same as a whole lot of them."
"Well this one is even worse! I'm done with you, Johanna!" Hilda ran to her room with tears falling off her face.
"Hilda, wait!" Johanna and the others followed her, but then she turned into a nisse and went under her bed.
"HILDAAAAAAaaaaaa..."
Hilda went from one Nowhere Space to another, not caring who she came across. Tontu tried to chase after her, but she then ended up outside and flew off through the night sky in her thunderbird form. She went all the way out of Trolberg and landed in a forest where it would be hard to find her. She returned to her human form and came across a hollow tree with an easy entrance. She sat inside the tree and hugged her legs as she cried.
Back at the apartment, Johanna sat on the couch again, broken with tears as Angus held her with sympathy.
"I should've told her sooner." she said. "But this is exactly what I was afraid would happen."
"It's okay, Johanna. We'll find her." Angus assured.
"How? She could be anywhere."
"We can help." Frida offered. "I can ask some of the other witches while David spreads the word."
"And we can get the Braga Clan." Alfur said as he and Adeline hopped onto Twig's head.
"Not to mention I can get some help from the Safety Patrol." Angus said.
"Thank you." Johanna said, feeling a little better. "Let's find Hilda."
And so everyone split up and did what they could to find the poor runaway. David ran around asking people if they'd seen Hilda and telling them she was missing. Every person said no. Eventually he turned a random corner and bumped into someone. It was Amanda.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" she said. "David? What are you running from?"
"I'm not." David said. "It's Hilda. She ran away."
"What? Why would she do that?"
"I'd tell you, but I'm not sure if I should."
"The Rat King will find out anyway, so spill it." Amanda crossed her arms and waited.
*Sigh* "Because she's adopted."
"She's what?"
David explained all that happened right after Amanda left the apartment. Amanda had learned plenty of secrets, but this one was the most surprising of them all. She didn't say anything. She just walked away.
Hours had passed and Hilda was still alone in the woods,sitting in the hollow tree and wondering where she should go and what she should do.
"I could live with the trolls on purpose this time." she said to herself. "Or maybe go where I've never been before. If I do that, maybe I'll find my real family."
She lied down and faced away from the outside. A few minutes later, Hilda felt a strange light from behind. She sat up and looked out of the tree. A few feet away from her was a white oval floating just above the ground.
"What is that?" Hilda stood up and got out of the tree.
Then she remembered the time she, Frida, and Kaisa had to traverse a labyrinth of puzzling rooms to find Tildy.
"This must be a portal. But where does it go?"
She thought about going in to find out. Then she considered that it might be a trap. Then she decided that it would most likely take her to somewhere very far away which she wanted right now more than anything else. She made up her mind, took a deep breath, and stepped in to wherever the portal was made to take her.
The moment she stepped in, there was a big flash. Then Hilda was somewhere she never would've guessed.
"I'm in my school?"
All around her there were students the same age as her and in the same uniform she has to wear and a teacher, but she didn't recognize anybody. She did however notice that nobody was paying any attention to her. She waved her hand in front of a boy's face and got no reaction. She clapped her hands as loud as possible too and got the same result.
"I can't be seen or heard? What's going on?"
"Alright class, does everyone have their biology project?" the teacher asked. "Please raise your hand if you do."
Every single student raised their hands.
"Very good. Now who'd like to go first?"
"I would!" a girl Hilda didn't notice before raised her hand.
"Go ahead."
The girl carried what looked like a box covered by a sheet up to the front of the class and placed it on a table meant for that purpose. She didn't seem familiar at first, but Hilda then noticed two things. The girl's pigtails and her freckles.
"Amanda!?"
She may be younger and in uniform, but it was definitely her.
"I must have gone back in time again." Hilda guessed. "But why can't I interact with anything this time? Well at least I don't have to worry about changing the past."
"My biology project is about..." Amanda pulled off the sheet with a smile. "SPIDERS!"
In the glass box were dozens of spiders on each of it's six sides. All of the other students were scared and/or grossed out by what they saw.
"Put those disgusting things away!" one of the kids whined.
"Why don't you just tell and not show?" the teacher said before shuddering at the sight himself.
"Okay." Amanda glumly obeyed.
"There's nothing wrong with those spiders." Hilda said.
Suddenly everything around her changed. Now she was in the cafeteria.
"How did that happen?"
She looked around and spotted Amanda who had just gotten her lunch. Amanda walked around to find a seat among her fellow students, but every single one of them denied her. They weren't even nice to her when they refused.
"Seat's taken, Creepy Freak."
"Sit somewhere else, Creepy Freak."
"We don't want you, Creepy Freak."
Hilda couldn't believe how everyone was treating Amanda. She hasn't even done anything wrong yet. Eventually, Amanda sat next to a trash can and ate alone while reading a book about monsters. Some of the other kids were still insulting her and laughing at her. Hilda sat next to her and patted her shoulder.
"I wish you could hear me right now." she said.
Then everything changed again and Hilda was now just outside of the school where all of the kids were playing. All that is, except for Amanda who was in one of the corners of the playground under a tree. Hilda walked over to see what she was doing. Turns out she was drawing pictures that looked like something out of a horror movie.
"Those are very traumatic looking, but I definitely wish I could draw like that." Hilda said.
"Hey, Creepy Freak!" came a mean voice.
Amanda froze in fear and slowly turned to face the one who spoke to her. Hilda looked in the same direction and there stood a boy bigger and probably older than the other kids. Whoever he was, he really made Amanda quiver.
"H-h-hello, Ivar." Amanda said with her arms wrapped tight around her notepad. "W-w-what do you want? I paid you yesterday."
"You still owe me for last week." Ivar said. "Now where's the rest?"
"I forgot."
"Well don't forget again or else."
"Amanda doesn't have to pay you anything!" Hilda shouted.
Then she remembered that talking to anyone here was pointless.
"Yes, Ivar." Amanda said with her eyes looking down at the ground.
"Good, and don't bother hiding that stupid book." Ivar said as he walked away. "Nobody wants to see your ugly drawings anyway."
Something then occurred to Hilda.
"Didn't anyone see this?" she asked.
She looked around and saw that the nearest kids were either too scared or they just didn't care.
"Better the Creepy Freak than us." one of the kids said.
"How could anyone be like this!?" Hilda cried out.
Then the whole scenery changed again and Hilda was now in a house.
"Is this Amanda's house?"
The front door opened and Amanda walked in completely unhappy.
"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" she said as she closed the door. "Mom? Dad?"
Amanda went into the kitchen with Hilda behind her and found a note on the fridge. She grabbed the note and read it out loud.
"Agatha,
we had to work late again.
Leftovers are in the fridge.
Signed Mom and Dad."
"Agatha?" Hilda was confused.
*Sigh* "They got my name wrong again." Amanda said. "Why do they always have to work? If I can't ask them for some extra money, then I'll have to get it from someone else."
"Someone else?"
Everything around Hilda changed yet again, putting her on a random street.
"How does that keep happening?" Hilda wondered.
Then she saw a girl with a ski mask run past her and an angry man chasing her.
"Get back here, you little thief!" the man shouted.
Hilda realized that the girl was Amanda and followed them both. The chase led all the way to the docks where the angry man couldn't find her.
"Next time you try to rob me, I'll drag you to the police!" the man threatened before storming off.
Hilda looked around until she spotted something in one of the big sewer pipes and went in. It was Amanda quietly hiding in the dark.
"Well that didn't work." Amanda took off her mask. "Maybe someone lost some money in the sewers."
She and Hilda walked further in, the former scouring the bottom for anything that looked like money. Then they heard a noise. Hilda immediately recognized it and tried to run. She wasn't fast enough and along with Amanda, she was carried away by a large flow of water. They ended up in the same place as when Hilda first entered the sewers. They got up and looked around.
"Oh phew. There's a way out of here." Amanda said after seeing some stairs.
"Why hello, little girl." came hundreds of creepy voices.
The girls turned around and out from the nearest tunnel came the Rat King.
"Are you the Rat King?" Amanda asked with hope in her voice.
"Yes we are. Have you any secrets to trade?"
"You like trading secrets?"
"Yes. We love to hear and tell all manner of secrets and we always want more. So have you any secrets to trade?"
Amanda looked around and said "Well I once read a scary book I'm not allowed to read yet from the library. Does that count?"
"Indeed it does! How juicy of a secret! And now it's our turn." the Rat King got close to Amanda's ear and told her "The boy who torments you is afraid of frogs."
"Frogs?" Hilda said.
Amanda was silent for a moment. Then she burst out laughing.
"Hahahahahahahaha! Frogs? Really? That's rich! I'm definitely coming back here! You're fun!"
"Will you have new secrets to trade?" the Rat King asked.
"I'll get as many secrets as I can find."
This time, only Amanda and the Rat King disappeared instead of everything changing. Hilda looked around and spotted Amanda coming down the stairs. Now she was closer to her current age and wearing her trademark hoodie.
"Hey, Rat King! I've come with a new secret!" she called.
"Ooh, do tell!" the Rat King came forth the same way as before.
Hilda couldn't help noticing how happy Amanda seemed to be. Whatever secret Amanda had was whispered this time and followed by laughter. But then her joy stopped and she sat down on a ledge. Hilda curiously sat next to her.
"Hmm. Why so suddenly upset?" the Rat King asked.
"Oh it's just school again." Amanda said. "No matter what grade or class I'm in, everybody hates me. Some of them even make fun of me behind my back. It's not my fault they don't have any good taste. And then there's Ivar. He just loves to make things even worse for me while always getting away with murder! I bet if I could scare him like he constantly scares me, maybe he'd finally leave me alone."
"We think we have just the secret for you then." the Rat King offered.
"Really? What?" Amanda moved closer before the Rat King whispered to her.
"If you go to the street with the little stores, you will find a girl there who can help you."
"I know that street. Thanks. I'll give it a try." Amanda got up and started leaving the sewers.
As Hilda expected, the scenery changed again. Now she was on the mentioned street and looking for Amanda again. She spotted her walking by some of the little stores. Amanda was looking around for any girl who might be able to help her. She seemed to have found her because she then went into one of the stores. Hilda went in too to find out who Amanda saw. The store was full of random things from food to clothes to knick-knacks. Browsing through the stuff up front was a black haired girl the same age as Amanda and wearing a jacket with some fur on it.
"Hey, there." Amanda said. "Do you know where I can find something to scare people with?"
"What do I look like? A map?" the girl replied.
As the girl walked out of the store, Hilda thought out loud "She looks familiar."
"Oh this is going to take forever to find who the Rat King meant." Amanda said. "Why can't he always be specific with his secrets? I'll just have to improvise."
She looked around for anything that might be useful and stopped when she came across some scarves.
"This pink one gives me an idea." she said with a mischievous grin. "It's going to cost all I have, but I'm sure I can find something elsewhere."
She paid for the scarf and tried it on. She then saw her reflection and liked what she saw.
"Hmmm. Black and pink really go well together."
The area changed again and now Hilda was at the city dump. She easily found Amanda grabbing random pieces of garbage and then leaving. She followed her to a private place in the woods where Amanda painted the pieces she gathered.
"This will do just fine. Heh-heh-heh."
The woods then turned into a city street where Hilda saw Ivar walking somewhere during the evening. Knowing Amanda's plan, she followed him to an alley where it was much darker than usual. His reason for going there was unknown, but it didn't matter because everything seemed too quiet. Suddenly, a black frog monster leapt out from around the corner.
"AHHHHH!" Ivar screamed and fell on his butt.
Hilda stood to the side and watched. The frog monster hopped closer to Ivar, making him crawl backwards until he felt a wooden fence behind him. He was even more scared as he stared at the tongue that somehow hung from the frog monster's mouth.
"Stay back! Don't hurt me!" Ivar begged.
The frog monster only hopped even closer. Unfortunately, that hop caused some hair to hang out of it's mouth which Ivar noticed.
"Uh-oh." Hilda said.
Ivar got a better look and saw that the feet were diving flippers, the eyes were deflated balls with dots painted on them, and the tongue was a scarf. He stood up full of anger and walked to the so-called monster. Amanda realized that she was found out and ran. Sadly, Ivar grabbed her and pulled her hood off. Now Amanda was terrified.
"I don't know where you got the idea for that, but you're gonna pay." Ivar said as he clenched his fist.
"NO!" Hilda was about to stop what was going to happen when she remembered that she couldn't.
All she could do was watch.
"Let me go! Let me..."
BAM! Ivar punched Amanda hard in the face and let go. Amanda fell to the ground, covered her left eye, and cowered before the hateful bully.
"Try anything like that again and I'll come for the rest of you." Ivar threatened. "Now get out of my sight, you Creepy Freak."
Amanda got up and ran off without a second thought. Hilda tried to follow her, but then she ended up back in Amanda's house. It was now completely night time as Amanda barged in with a black eye and her extra stuff gone, desperately looking around.
"Mom!? Dad!? Please tell me you're home for once! I really need you!" she cried out.
All she and Hilda heard was silence. Amanda rushed into the kitchen and found another note on the fridge. She read it out loud like last time, except with a cold tone.
"We're busy again. You know where the food is."
Amanda was silent. Hilda looked at her and waited to see anything happen.
"Amanda?"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Amanda shrieked in anger and tore the note to shreds.
"Stupid Mom!" she kicked a chair onto it's side.
"Stupid Dad!" she grabbed the toaster and threw it at a wall.
"Stupid work!" she grabbed some dishes and smashed them against the ground.
"Stupid school!" she flipped the easily movable table.
"Stupid Ivar!" she grabbed the broom and hit whatever she felt like with it.
"Stupid everything!"
Hilda was beyond shocked to see the pain her friend was suffering. By the time Amanda was finished throwing her tantrum, the whole entire kitchen was a filthy mess. She didn't care how the kitchen looked or what might happen to her for the mess she made. She just dropped to her knees and cried with her hands covering her face. Hilda walked over to her side and hugged her the best she could.
"So, you want to be scary, huh?" came a spooky girl's voice.
Hilda and Amanda looked to where it came from and there at the kitchen's entrance stood the girl from the store.
"You?" Amanda said. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh no. I should've known." Hilda remembered.
"You seemed interesting, so I pretended to not care and followed you to see what you were up to." the girl explained. "You obviously love all that is terrifying. I may not have been able to prevent that black eye, but I can give you an opportunity like no other."
She demonstrated by turning her eyes green and floating in mid-air. It was clear to both Hilda and past Amanda that this was the girl the Rat King meant.
*Gasp* "You're a real live marra." Amanda said with rising excitement.
"Oh, you know about us?"
"Yeah! I once read a whole book about you."
"Then how would you like to be a marra too?"
Hilda wanted to stop what was about to happen, but she knew she couldn't in more ways than one.
"Yes!" Amanda said as she quickly rose. "My name's Amanda by the way. What's yours?"
"It's Nadine." the girl replied.
The scenery changed as usual and Hilda knew that she was now in the Huldrawood. She followed Amanda and Nadine to an open area with an unused firepit in the middle. Then five more girls showed up, one of them being Kelly. To top it all off, Nadine held her hand out and magically lit the fire wood with green fire.
"Who's the pig-tailed girl?" the tall one asked.
"Girls, allow me to introduce a new friend who would be a perfect addition to our group." Nadine announced. "This is Amanda."
"Hello." Amanda said. "So what do we do here?"
"After giving someone nightmares, we come here to tell each other all about it." the one with glasses said.
*Gasp!* "I've always wanted to tell ghost stories, but this is even better."
"Hahaha! I like this one already." Kelly said. "So who wants to go first?"
"I do." the seemingly eyeless one said.
Amanda listened to every word, watched the flames change shape, and laughed at some of the nightmare stories. Suddenly, everyone but Hilda vanished along with the fire. She looked around and saw them all coming together again and lighting the firepit once more. She also noticed that Amanda no longer had a black eye, wore everything she usually wears, and acted more like the way she was when they first met.
"So who are we going to laugh at tonight?" Amanda asked.
"Nobody." Nadine answered. "Yet."
"You mean...?"
"That's right. You're finally ready to become a marra. Just do like we said and then you're one of us."
Amanda closed her eyes and started chanting something Hilda didn't understand. It sounded similar to a witch's spell, but different enough to be it's own thing. She then stepped closer and closer to the fire which grew as she chanted. Just when Hilda wondered what would happen next, Amanda stepped into the fire. Hilda was horrified and baffled at the same time. Amanda screamed from the burn as the fire took the same shape as her. Then the screaming stopped and the fire went into her body. Amanda stood there without any burns or scars. Her eyes were green just like the other marra. Then she began to float.
"Cool. I can fly like all of you." Amanda flew around in circles.
"Glad you like it." the marra with a hair bun said. "And now it's time to haunt your first victim."
Amanda stood still in mid-air and with a smug grin said "I know just the one."
"I thought you might say that." Nadine said with a piece of paper in her hand. "Which is why I got his address for you."
For the umpteenth time, everything around Hilda changed and now she was in a bedroom she had never seen before. In the bed was Ivar fast asleep. Then a green aura came into the room and revealed to be Amanda.
"These marra powers are already so much fun." she whispered. "Time for my revenge."
Amanda floated right above Ivar with a sinister face and slowly placed her hands and feet on him one by one. Then she went into his head and the scenery changed before Hilda's eyes. Obviously she was now inside of Ivar's mind watching him walk down the school hallway. Ivar stopped as soon as he saw Amanda near a locker.
"Well hello, Creepy..." Ivar was interrupted by the quick turn of Amanda's head with a loud crack.
Her eyes glowed green with an angry glare and her head was flawlessly turned like that of an owl. Ivar was already freaked out.
"I am done being called that." Amanda said with a demonic voice.
"You... aren't human." Ivar said as he stepped back.
"You're right." Amanda's body turned to match her head again. "As of right now, I'm your worst nightmare."
She snapped her fingers and all the lockers began to shake. For a few seconds, it felt like an earthquake. Then the lockers burst open and millions of frogs spilled out.
"AHHHH!" Ivar screamed and ran down the hallway, hoping to escape his fears.
"I don't think so." Amanda's pig tails transformed into six long monstrous arms and carried her after him.
Hilda followed them now as a force of habit. Ivar kept running, but more and more frogs kept appearing at bigger sizes. The frogs started chasing him and trying to grab him with their tongues. Eventually he reached a dead end. The frogs stopped and moved to the sides as Amanda slowly approached him. Hilda caught up and waited to see what Amanda would do next. Amanda grabbed Ivar with two of her monster arms and brought him close.
"Please let me go!" Ivar begged.
"Why should I?" Amanda asked with venomous snark. "You never let me go. At least now I see why you like tormenting people. It's actually a lot of fun."
She then raised her regular arms and out of her sleeves came dozens of thin limbs with multiple joints and a different weapon, outdoor tool, and medical tool on each of them. There were a sword, a dagger, an axe, a scalpel, a pair of shears, a buzzsaw, a chainsaw, a drill, and a whole lot more. But the scariest part was the look on Amanda's face showing nothing but pure madness.
"You've picked on me for the last time." Amanda unleashed her entire arsenal onto Ivar's body.
Hilda looked away, but could still hear Ivar screaming. Then Ivar woke up and he and Hilda were back in his room.
"Oh thank goodness it was just a dream." Ivar said.
"Are you sure about that?"
Ivar turned his head and floating over the floor was the smug Amanda with her eyes glowing green and her hair flowing up.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ivar ran out of the room as if his life depended on it.
Hilda didn't know what to say about the horror she witnessed. Then the scenery changed back to the Huldrawood where Amanda was telling the other marra what she had done.
"Then just when he knew it was only a dream, I showed myself and sent him running out of his room screaming!"
All of the marra laughed at the terrifying tale.
"I knew you would fit in with us, but I never thought you could do that good on your first try." Nadine said. "You're a natural."
"Thanks. I can't wait to find my next victim. Hahahahahaha!" Amanda looked like the most evil being ever as she floated over the ground.
Hilda was completely horrified. Not only did the teenager she now calls a friend suffer a lot, but she became the monster Ivar once was.
"I can't take it anymore!" Hilda shouted. "Whoever sent me here, please... GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
Then, just when things couldn't get any worse...
...Hilda woke up.
"What? I was asleep?" she said.
Hilda got out of the tree and saw that it was still night time. She looked around and found Amanda leaning against the hollow tree with her arms crossed and her eyes looking down at the ground. It was obvious that she made her see all of that.
"Amanda?! What was that?!" Hilda asked.
"That is my excuse." Amanda said.
"What are you even doing out here?"
"David told me what happened."
"Oh. How did you find me?"
"Knowing you, I figured you'd fly out here somewhere. Other than that, I got lucky."
"But why did you show me what happened to you?"
Amanda lowered her arms, stood up straight, turned to completely face her, and got as serious as a heart attack.
"Because I would rather have a fake mother who at least talks to me than real parents who are always too busy!" Amanda sounded close to bursting into tears despite the angry look she gave. "Do you really think everything that happened to you was a lie!? You get to have a happy life full of friends and family while I have to spend most of mine all alone! I'd immediately trade with you if I could! You're one of the luckiest people I know and you get all miserable just because somebody didn't give birth to you!? You live with two elves, a nisse, and a deerfox for crying out loud! I dare you to tell me to my face that your whole life was one big lie!"
The only thing that could be heard after all that was Amanda breathing heavily.
Hilda thought about everything Amanda just said. Then she remembered all of the important moments she had with Johanna and the others. All of the picnics she had with her, the night they watched the bird parade together, the times Twig, Alfur, Tontu, and Adeline all joined her family, the few adventures she shared with Johanna, the time she almost lost Twig, the day she time traveled and saw Johanna fall apart, the sacrifices Johanna made for her, the night they reunited after she was taken and turned into a troll, and so much more. A tear ran down each of her cheeks.
"How could I have been so stupid." Hilda said.
"Very professionally." Amanda teased.
"Very funny." Hilda chuckled. "Thanks, Amanda."
She then surprised Amanda with a hug. Amanda with no other idea rubbed Hilda's head before getting serious again.
"David also mentioned what your mom said about me." she said, causing Hilda to let go. "And she's right. I can't be trusted. Once you're a marra, there's no going back. Therefore, I can't change."
"Mum once said that it's the way of the world for things to change." Hilda said. "You've already helped me, Frida, and David more than once including now. I think you changed a lot more than you know."
Amanda just barely fought back a tear and said "Sounds like you're ready to go home."
"Yes I am. But will you be okay with the family you have?"
"Eh, I lasted this long. Just don't tell anyone about my life. I don't need anymore sympathy."
"Alright. Let's go home." Hilda let out her wings.
Amanda turned her eyes green and floated in mid-air. Together they went high into the sky and flew back to Trolberg. Neither of them could resist doing a few aerial tricks just for the heck of it. They flew back over the wall and made their way back to Hilda's home.
Johanna and Angus had just gotten out of the former's car after searching everywhere they could think of. Frida, David, Twig, and the elves also returned from their contributes to the search.
"The witches are looking as we speak." Frida said.
"Nobody's seen Hilda, but most of them are keeping an eye out." David said.
"The Bragas are searching from the sky, but no luck so far." Alfur said from Twig's head..
"We didn't have any luck either." Angus said. "We searched as much of the wilderness as we could and even asked one of the trolls. We still don't know for sure what she said."
"This is all my fault." Johanna said. "I just didn't want to lose her. And now she's gone again."
Just when she was about to cry again, she heard a single word.
"Mum!"
Johanna and the others looked to the sky and saw Hilda flying to her. Johanna held out her arms as Hilda flew into her embrace and her tears of sorrow became tears of joy. Hilda hugged back with both her arms and her wings. The others were almost just as happy as they were.
"I'm so sorry, Mum." she said.
Amanda landed a few yards away from the group and watched with a sad smile.
"There's nothing for you to be sorry about." Johanna said. "I'm just glad you came back."
"What changed your mind?" David asked.
"Believe it or not, Amanda knocked some sense into me." Hilda pointed to the marra down the sidewalk.
Everybody was surprised to learn it was her of all people who helped Hilda.
"Don't worry. I'll get out of your hair." Amanda said before walking away.
"Amanda, wait!"
Amanda looked back full of confusion, for it was not Hilda, but Johanna who said that.
"Despite what you've done, I should've trusted Hilda." Johanna said. "She is a much better judge of character than I am. Thank you for bringing her home."
"Uhhh... You're welcome?" Amanda said.
"Hilda! A word with you please." Alfur said.
As soon as Hilda was let down from Johanna's arms, she put away her wings and went over to Alfur who was still on Twig's head. Then he whispered something to her.
"Are you sure?" Hilda asked.
"Yes." both elves said.
"Amanda." Hilda said. "Alfur and Adeline say that you can now fill out the paperwork to see elves if you want."
"I can?" Amanda asked.
"You can. Do you want to?"
"I never really thought about it... Ah what the heck."
"Then let's head inside." Johanna suggested. "It'll take a while to sign them all."
"Not me. I've still got to get home and rest for tomorrow." Angus said.
"That's quite alright." Johanna said.
So everyone except Angus went back into the apartment.
While Amanda was signing the tiny papers at the table, something occurred to Hilda.
"Alfur, did you and the other elves know the truth all along?" Hilda asked.
"Well I wasn't entirely sure at first, but I asked Johanna after we moved and she confirmed it before making me promise not to mention it again unless she tells you." Alfur said.
"I wasn't in the right part of our hometown to notice." Adeline said.
"One left to go." Amanda wrote down her name on the last paper. "Aaannnd done!"
She looked around the table and could've sworn the two elves appeared out of thin air.
"So this is what you look like." Amanda said. "You're both kind of cute."
"Why thank you." Alfur picked up the paper. "And might I say your handwriting is quite adaptable."
"Hey wait a minute." Amanda stared at Adeline. "You look a lot like Frida."
"So we've all noticed." Adeline replied with a chuckle.
"We had quite the laugh when we reali-" Alfur was interrupted by a sneeze. "Ah-ah-ACHOO!"
"Are you alright?" Hilda asked.
"It must've been colder out there tonight than I thought." Alfur said with a sniff.
"You better get to bed just in case." Johanna said.
"And we should probably head home now." Frida said.
"Yeah. Our parents are probably wondering where we are by now." David said.
"Hey, before anyone says goodbye, can I ask one thing?" Amanda said.
"Sure." Hilda said.
"This is going to sound weird coming from me, but... would it be alright if I tagged along on some of your other adventures?" Amanda asked with a nervous smile.
The kids were surprised by her request, in Hilda's case for a different reason.
"I was kind of going to ask you the same thing." Hilda said.
Amanda was moments away from getting emotional again, so she turned into aura and left the apartment before it was too late.
"That was oddly rude." Johanna commented.
"Maybe, but I'm okay with that." Hilda knowingly said.
Author's note: I've been hoping to get at least this far before season 3 came. Luckily, I had more time than I thought. Anyway, let's start with Hilda's newest form yet. As you know, Hilda's friendship with Tontu is not as strong as that with Twig and Alfur for obvious reasons. It only made sense for a nisse form to come later instead of sooner. I tried to get a little creative with what Hilda might look like as a nisse and I hope you like it. I also hope Hilda actually learns how to enter the Nowhere Space in the show like Jellybean did. And now to explain the two secrets.
Secret 1: I know I mentioned loving the bellkeeper theory before, but the adoption theory is my favorite one for this show. And yes I heard something about otherwise, but nothing has been made canon yet and for all we know, they could've changed their minds(No spoilers if you know anything please). As for how I executed this idea, I thought it would be interesting if Hilda was upset by it. Not to mention I feel like this would make Johanna an even better mother than she already is. Of course there is a good chance that Hilda would know or figure out the true meaning of family on her own, but at least this makes a perfect time for Amanda to reveal her past. Speaking of which...
Secret 2: You knew this was going to be revealed sooner or later. If I had to pick only one major part of the tragedy I wrote for the marra, it would be the outcast part because that one makes the most sense especially if you consider what Hilda once said to make her angry. (I bet your friends are secretly laughing at you for not stepping up your nightmare game). The bully part, I figured that would make a good motivation for her very first nightmare. I added the busy parents too because I wanted her to feel as alone as possible on account of what we know about marra. And what better reason to show Hilda all of that than to remind her how lucky she is?
I really wanted to write this chapter as soon as possible and I'm glad I finally succeeded.