Such is the Life of a Familiar

by CoolMantis

Hilda was always happy for Frida since she started learning to be a witch, but she was also secretly jealous as her familiar. One day after several events, she finds a perk to her role usually meant for animals. As well as some new adventures. (I had to repost because the first version got smooshed and I can't get rid of it.)

12. Chapter 12: The Birth of the Enemy

Chapetr 12: The Birth of the Enemy

Hilda and Twig were spending the night playing with Trylla and Baba out in the wilderness. Sometimes Hilda would be in her troll form. Other times she would be in one of her other forms. Right now she was in her giant form, except she was only ten feet tall and she and Trylla were throwing Baba back and forth. Baba was laughing every time she got thrown. Eventually though, the fun had to stop. Once Baba was back on the ground, Hilda switched to her troll form. While Twig and Baba ran around playing some more, Hilda and Trylla sat down for a little chat.

"I see a lot has happened since we last saw you." Trylla said.

"Yeah, a lot." Hilda explained. "My friends and I have new abilities, we visited a new city and met some landvaettir, I found out that my Mum isn't
my original mum, and it turns out that I could've been a witch if things had been different."

"Oh my. It sounds like nothing simple ever happens with you, Hilda."

"Actually, it's been over a week since any of that happened. The closest thing to that kind of excitement was the other night, or yesternight if you
prefer. We had what we call a sleepover at David's house and his parents put a camera in his room because they wanted to record his first time having one at home. Frida was a little embarrassed, but David is already used to being recorded. Sorry if any of this doesn't make sense to you."

"I think I understand enough. So what of the witch you told me about?"

"Gondul? Well, I'm a little worried." Hilda wrapped her legs. "Sooner or later, she's going to come and try to destroy all of Trolberg and there's a
chance that even Tildy won't be able to stop her."

Trylla could tell by Hilda's face that she wasn't just worried, she was scared.

"Hilda, I think it's time you learned a new troll spell." she offered.

"Really? What kind?"

"Watch carefully." Trylla stood up and raised her arm.

Hilda did as she was told. A pink light appeared on each finger and shot upward a few feet before merging and after a few more feet, it made a small explosion like fireworks.

"That was beautiful." Hilda said. "What was it?"

"That is a distress spell." Trylla explained. "Many trolls see you as the reason we are at peace. If you use this, we will come to your aid. Just
imagine how high you want it and the rest will be easy by now."

Hilda then tried the spell and succeeded on the first try, sending it the same height.

"Thank you, Trylla." Hilda hugged the gentle troll. "I better get home now. Goodbye. Bye, Baba. Come on, Twig."

"Farewell, Hilda."

"Ba-baaah." Baba waved.

Hilda turned into a thunderbird, picked up Twig, and flew home. She soared over the wall, enjoying the scenery that passed below her. Along the way, she made a pitstop at Frida's house and dropped off a bag of stuff at the door. Soon after, she flew to the fire escape of her apartment and changed back to human form before she and Twig went into her room.

"Mum! We're back!" she called.

Johanna came into the room and asked "How was your night?"

And so Hilda told her everything before finally going to bed.

The next morning, Johanna was putting away the dishes that were used for breakfast when an arm went over her head and put away the last bowl for her. She turned around and smirked at Hilda who was currently almost big enough to bump her head on the ceiling.

"What? I'm a big girl now." Hilda innocently joked.

"That may be, but you're still... TICKLISH!" Johanna started tickling Hilda's sides and made her fall to the floor.

As Hilda laughed, she shrunk back to normal before Johanna stopped.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Mum." Hilda said. "Are you and Angus going out again?"

"Is it that obvious?" Johanna asked.

"Yes." Hilda, Tontu, and both elves said at the same time.

"Well I was going to tell you anyway. Tonight Angus and I are eating out again. I know you can take care of yourself and won't be alone, but if you
need me, the number for the restaurant is on the fridge."

"Okay, Mum."

Just then, the phone rang and Johanna answered it.

"Hello? Oh, David. Yes, Hilda's right here." she gave the phone to Hilda.

"Hi, David."

"Hilda! You need to come over right now! It's an emergency! I'll explain when you and Frida get here!"

"I'm on my way." Hilda hung up and said her goodbyes to her family before she and Twig headed out.

Hilda and Twig made it to David's house at the same time as Frida.

"Thanks for getting me those ingredients, Hilda." Frida said.

"That's what friends are for." Hilda replied.

Then the door was opened by David.

"Hurry inside." he said.

The girls and Twig entered and joined him in the living room.

"What happened?" Hilda asked.

"Well as you know, Mum and Dad put a camera in my room and recorded our sleepover. Like you asked me to, Frida, I checked if any of us did anything embarrassing before they or someone else saw any of it. Then I saw this!"

David played the video which was at the point when they were all asleep. It was so dark that only a little light through the window could be seen,
causing the girls to wonder what they were supposed to see. Then it happened. A figure floated up in front of the window with glowing green eyes. Hilda and Frida gasped at the TV before it was paused.

"Another marra!?" they said.

"Quick! Did anyone have a nightmare last night?" Hilda asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Here's the worst part." David said. "This marra is the same size as us! Trust me, I compared with a ruler."

"What are you saying?" Frida asked.

"I think... that this... particular marra... might be you, Frida."

"Me!?" Frida almost argued, but then she thought about it. "Now that I think about it, I am the only one out of us who consumed any fear. Maybe
you're right."

"But that doesn't make any sense." Hilda said. "I once heard from Amanda that it takes more than that to become a marra."

"Then let's find her and make sure."

"Not to mention get her number." David added.

The kids followed Twig who was sniffing for Amanda's scent. Once he eventually picked it up, they all took off to where ever the smell was leading
them. Soon enough they found Amanda at the entrance to the library with the book she checked out before.

"Amanda!" Hilda called out.

"Hm? Oh hey, guys." Amanda said with a wave.

"We have a problem and we need your help. Preferably somewhere private."

"Alright. Just let me return this book."

So they all entered the library. While Amanda returned the book, Frida quietly asked Kaisa if the first secret room could be borrowed which was a yes. After surprising Amanda with the entrance, the young group descended the stairs and started talking.

"So what's the problem?" Amanda asked.

"Well the other night, my parents recorded our sleepover. They like to record my accomplishments." David explained. "And when I checked it for
anything embarrassing, a marra the size of us appeared in the video."

"We couldn't tell who it was because the room was too dark, but we think the small... marra... might be... me." Frida said with worry.

Amanda was surprised to hear all of that. Then she started laughing.

"Hahahahaha! You? A marra? Sure it's normal for new marra to sleep-float, but it takes more than a little taste of fear to become one. And way less time than there's been between that night and now."

"This is serious!" Frida yelled. "What if you're wrong!? I really don't want to be a marra! Isn't there some way to prove if I am or not!?"

"You just did."

"Huh?" the kids were all confused.

"When a new marra gets mad, her eyes uncontrollably turn green. We're all told that beforehand so we can better control our tempers and not get found out by any adults."

"Then who was in the room with us?" Hilda asked.

"My guess is the other marra have a new recruit and sent her to mess with you."

"At least she failed." David said.

Before anything else could be said, the secret door opened and down came Kaisa.

"Follow me." she said. "The committee has news."

After traversing all of the secret rooms, the group arrived in the committee's room.

"Another non-witch!" the middle member ranted. "Why don't you just tell the world everything about us!?"

"Relax, Eleanor." Kaisa said. "Amanda here has proven herself trustworthy. So just tell me what you want to say."

"Very well." Eleanor continued. "The entire tower has been searched and it turns out that you and Hilda were right. We found a snake with the ability to look like any inanimate object."

"But then Gondul appeared and left with it before we could do anything else!" Abigail whined, bringing worry to the group.

"And to make things worse, some of the books on certain spells are gone." Olivia said. "Most likely stolen. Normally we'd blame you for that, but
it's obvious who did it and you wouldn't have stood a chance. Which means that Gondul could attack at any moment."

"Isn't there a way to magically protect Trolberg?" Frida asked.

"There is not." Eleanor said. "You're all dismissed."

Most of the group started to leave, but Hilda noticed that Kaisa stood still in shock for some reason.

"Kaisa? What's wrong?" she asked.

"I said you're dismissed."

There was still silence even when everyone in the room looked at Kaisa. Then she finally said two words.

"You're lying."

"I beg your pardon?!"

"I may have forgotten a lot, but as the keeper of knowledge, I know for a fact that there is a way to protect Trolberg."

"What?" none of the kids could believe their ears.

"In fact, the spell for it has always been protecting the witches tower even as we speak! The only reason Gondul could get in here was because that snake is one of her extra familiars!"

"Fine. It doesn't matter anyway." Olivia said. "A witch's main concern is gaining knowledge, not protecting a city full of prejudice people."

"Are you serious!?" Hilda yelled. "What was even the point of extra witch training!?"

"Witches only protect their own." Abigail said.

"And their familiars." Eleanor added.

"Your friend there is only an exception because he spends too much time with you." Olivia said.

Hilda then got so mad that she grew to twenty-five feet tall and stomped over to the committee, causing a lot of books to fall.

"You could've protected Trolberg on the night of the troll attack, but instead you only cared about yourselves! I expected better from you! Even after the way you treated me! Just because people are scared of you doesn't give you the right to be this way! You're no better than any of them or Gondul!"

"I most certainly agree." came the voice of Tildy who just now appeared. "Hello, Hilda. I see you've grown in more ways than one."

"Hi, Tildy." Hilda said before shrinking back, knowing that Tildy would take over the rightful rant.

As Tildy and the committee started arguing again, Hilda and the others all went back to the library. As they returned to the first secret room, Frida
could tell that Hilda was still mad.

"Hilda, are you alright?" she asked.

"How can I be?" Hilda replied. "Those three think they're so much better than everyone. Better people would've done something about the troll attack! Whoever decided to put them in charge of anything is an idiot! THEY DON'T EVEN DESERVE TO BE WITCHES!"

Once she stopped ranting and took a few breaths, Hilda saw everyone staring at her in shock.

"What?"

Amanda pulled out her compact mirror and showed it to Hilda. What Hilda saw in the reflection should've been impossible. Her eyes were somehow glowing green.

"The marra in the video... was me? No. That can't be right! I can't be a marra! It doesn't make any sense!"

"Hildy, calm down!" Kaisa said.

Hilda took a few breaths again and calmed down.

"Sorry. But I'm still confused." she said.

"Well the obvious part is you gained a new form for whatever you did for Amanda." Frida said. "But I didn't think marra counted."

"I think I can explain that." Amanda said. "Before I became one, the others told me that a marra is simply a spirit in human form. So when Hilda's
friendship finally freed me from my misery, she ended up shapeshifting on the inside. I bet she's only a marra when her eyes glow."

"That... makes a lot of sense." Kaisa said.

"It's still odd that I earned the form of something usually evil." Hilda said. "No offense."

"None taken." Amanda replied.

"One moment." Kaisa pulled out her wand and made a book appear.

"I'm still surprised every time you do that." Frida said.

The book which Kaisa started searching the pages of was titled "Ancient Spirit Stories".

"Aha. I knew I remembered something like this." she said. "Marra didn't always give people nightmares."

"What?" Amanda was the most surprised out of the group to hear this.

"See for yourselves." Kaisa placed the book on the desk for them all to read.

Originally the marra were spirits who healed the minds of the mentally stressed while they slept. Not only did they give happy dreams, but sometimes
they would look for needed information by observing their memories. The only time they would create nightmares was for those who deserved it. Such
good deeds did not last a century before some of them experimented with nightmares and developed a taste for fear. Slowly the marra were corrupted by
the addiction and had become associated only with nightmares ever since.

"Wow. I'm glad we don't have to worry about you doing any of that." David said.

"Now I just need to learn how to control these new powers." Hilda said as her eyes changed back.

"Good thing you have a marra for a friend." Amanda said. "But we're gonna need a volunteer, and not David. Just in case."

"I'll do it." Frida offered.

"As will I." Kaisa said. "You could use someone older for the memory part."

"Now there's only one thing left to do." Hilda said.

That night back at the apartment, Johanna had just finished getting ready for her date. She wore a red dress partly covered by her jacket along with a pair of one inch high heels and her hair was noticeably combed. However, that was when Hilda asked her and the others to sit on the couch for an important talk.

"Is this another adventure I don't know about." Johanna asked.

"Not this time." Hilda said. "First there's something I need you all to read."

She gave Johanna the same book from the library and had them all read the same page.

"Fascinating." Alfur said.

"Hilda, why are you showing us this?" Johanna asked.

"Because..." Hilda hesitated. "I... unknowingly gained a new form."

She then had her eyes turn green.

There was nothing but complete silence in the room, and yet the shocked looks on all their faces worried Hilda.

"Well I... did not think that was possible." Johanna said. "But this is no different from everything else you've become. Besides, I've already
forgiven Amanda."

*Phew*"Well now that you've said that, I was wondering if you'd let her help me with this tonight. Frida and Kaisa already agreed to let us enter
their dreams and I promise, no nightmares."

"Hilda, I trust you. As for you, Amanda, you can stop hiding now. You're not a nisse."

Amanda came out of Hilda's room and to the couch just as surprised as Hilda was.

"How did you know?" they both asked.

"It's already night time and your little request gave it away."

"Thanks, Mum." Hilda said.

That was when there was a knock at the door. Johanna got up, walked over, and answered it. As expected, it was Angus wearing the closest thing he had to a tux which included an everyday white buttoned shirt and one of his usual coats. Johanna couldn't be any happier to see him.

"Are you ready, Johanna?" Angus asked.

"Always for you." Johanna said. "I'll be back at ten, Hilda. Good night."

"Good night, Mum." Hilda said.

As Johanna and Angus left the apartment, the latter was a little confused by something.

"If you don't mind me asking, why were Hlda's eyes glowing green?"

"I'll explain when we're in the car."

Back in the apartment, Hilda and the others helped themselves to some leftovers for dinner, something Amanda didn't eat much of. Twenty minutes later, they returned to the couch. Hilda sat down with Twig next to her for support while Tontu and the elves joined her for the sake of curiosity.

"I never thought I'd teach anyone something." Amanda said. "Let's get started."

Hilda's hair started floating from the excitement.

"Now before I got my powers, I was already told how to control them, so it might be a little harder for you." Amanda explained. "We'll start with
flight since that should be the easiest for you. All you have to do is reach the spiritual energy within you and pull it up. When you do, it will lift you up."

She demonstrated by turning her eyes green and floating in midair. Then Hilda stood up to give it a try. She looked for the energy within herself for
a couple minutes before managing to find it. As soon as she pulled on the energy, she felt herself leaving the floor. She looked down and was just as happy as the very first time she was able to fly.

"Woah! I'm flying without wings or cloud parts." Hilda easily flew around the room with joy.

"Glad you're having fun." Amanda said. "But now it's time for the next lesson."

Hilda complied and returned to the seat of the couch from above.

"Next we're going to cover what we call 'flow-forming'." Amanda showed what she meant by going into her aura form for a few seconds. "This time you have to merge yourself with your energy. It's a little trickier, but not impossible for anyone."

Hilda got up and started trying, but had a little trouble. After a few more tries and a little more concentration, she finally turned one of her arms
into green aura. Then she changed it back.

"That felt weird." she said.

"I know the feeling. You'll get used to it after doing it enough times." Amanda assured. "Now let's have you stand just outside and come in through the keyhole."

Hilda walked out of the apartment and the door was locked behind her. She remembered how she partially succeeded and repeated what she did, only better. Her whole body then flow-formed into green aura and she went into the keyhole. She made her way back into the living room and returned to her human form.

"I did it!" Hilda cheered.

"Great. Now all that's left is the dream part." Amanda said. "We'll have to wait until bedtime. Until then, keep practicing."

Once it was half an hour past Hilda's bedtime, she and Amanda got ready to leave with normal eyes and hanging hair.

"Good luck, Hilda." Twig said.

"Thanks, boy." Hilda replied with an ear scratch.

"Let us know how it goes." Adeline said.

"I will."

Hilda and Amanda left the apartment the regular way and the elves went back to Hilda's room. Tontu then grabbed the remote, turned on the TV, and said "Finally. Back to my soap operas."

Hilda and Amanda left the building and walked down the street.

"Remember to walk casually." Amanda whispered. "It's less suspicious than sneaking around."

"Or I could just do this." Hilda became an elf without shrinking, making herself unseen to most.

"I like it."

Eventually they reached Frida's house, made sure that nobody would see them, and flow-formed through the keyhole. Amanda crawled along the walls while Hilda happily skipped on said walls. Once they were upstairs, they flow-formed again into Frida's room and floated a few feet from their sleeping friend.

"I know you saw me do it once, but there's more to it." Amanda whispered. "When your hands and feet are on someone, you have to still be floating. Then you send your energy into the person and you'll instantly follow it into their dream. Are you ready?"

Hilda nodded and floated to right above Frida.

"I'll be right behind you."

Even though she wasn't going to give her any nightmares, she still felt a little guilty. One by one, she placed her hands and feet onto Frida's torso
while staying in the air. Then she focused on sending her energy into her friend. Suddenly she was pulled in similar to her first time entering the
Nowhere Space.

"Aaaahhhh!"

Hilda fell on her butt and found herself in a campsite full of sparrow scouts. She was a little surprised, but knowing Frida, this made sense.

"Hilda? Why aren't you in uniform?" Frida asked from behind.

"Oh, uh... I knew I forgot something." Hilda said. "I'll be right back."

She ran into a random tent and thought about what to do.

"I wonder." Hilda tried imagining herself in her sparrow scout uniform.

Suddenly her clothes glowed green and successfully changed.

"Yes."

"Wow. You figured out how to control dreams." Amanda said from just outside the tent while disguised as a sparrow scout only recognized by her green eyes. "So how do you plan to change this one?"

"Hmmm." as Hilda stepped out, she pondered the question.

Then an idea came to her. She pointed to an empty spot and made a tall platform and microphone appear with Raven Leader ascending some stairs. Raven Leader took the microphone and got everyone's attention.

"Attention, all Sparrow Scouts! Before anything else happens, I have a surprise announcement." she said. "It turns out that we have a witch among us, and that witch is... Frida!"

Frida froze in fear and was about to run away when she was somehow pulled onto platform.

"Now that we all know the truth, there is only one thing to do." Raven Leader pulled something from behind her back, scaring Frida even more.

Then she opened her hand and gave her something unexpected.

"Award you with the witchcraft badge."

"What?" Frida asked as she stared at the badge now in her hand.

"We're friendly and helpful to all, remember?"

All of the sparrow scouts applauded Frida's accomplishment, turning her confusion into joy.

"Thank you." Frida said. "I have never been so happy to earn a badge as I am now."

Then something else unexpected happened. Several horses with knights on them rushed into the campsite and halted. Frida instantly recognized their leader.

*Gasp!*"King Condon!"

"Are you the witch known as Frida?" the king asked.

"I am."

"We need a witch to help defend our kingdom and you are the most recommended. Will you help us?"

"YES!"

"Uhh, what's going on here?" Amanda quietly asked.

"I thought I'd throw in Frida's favorite book." Hilda answered. "Good thing she let me borrow it once."

As Frida joined King Condon on his horse, they and the knights rode off to save the kingdom which is when Hilda and Amanda chose to leave the dream.

Once they were on the sidewalk again, Amanda told Hilda what she thought.

"That was actually amazing. You nailed the dream manipulation and I didn't even have to tell you how to leave a dream. How are you just a familiar?"

At first Hilda felt proud of herself. But that question made her pride turn into sorrow.

"Only very smart people get to be witches." she said. "I tried using a spell to help David and Mum once, but it turned out I was actually stealing
their souls. I undid my mistake with Frida's help, but not correctly. It eventually caused a new problem for a lot of people. Magic is just too
complicated and picky for me. I'm just a disgrace to my birth parents."

For the first time ever, Amanda felt sorry for someone. She could tell that Hilda was still upset over everything she learned about herself.

"Well at least you make a great troll." she said. "And thunderbird and deerfox and everything else you can turn into."

"Thanks, Amanda."

"No problem. Now let's go this way." Amanda pointed down an alley way.

"Huh?"

"Someone's following us." Amanda whispered quiet enough that even Hilda almost didn't hear her.

Hilda almost turned to look, but Amanda grabbed her head before she could. Hilda trusted her and followed her into the alleyway. They both went green eyed and flow-formed out of there.

After finding a safe place to change back, they did so and had a little talk.

"Who was it?" Hilda asked.

"I don't know." Amanda said. "But ever since I met you and Frida, I decided to be more careful in case an actual threat ever follows me. I'm glad
that paid off."

Hilda pulled out a piece of paper with an address on it and found that they were closer to their other destination than expected.

"We're just a couple blocks from Kaisa's house."

"Then it's time I explain the memory part of being a marra. It's a little different than just manipulating a dream. We don't usually do this since it
doesn't help much with learning people's fears." Amanda thought about what she just said. "Sorry. To learn about someone, you feel around the dream with your energy. You'll know when you've found a memory. It's going to remind you of when I was last in your dream. So again, are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

And so they reached the house and flow-formed inside. It didn't take long to find Kaisa's room where they repeated the process of entering one's
dream. This time they were in the library where Kaisa was simply putting books away.

"Kaisa must love books more than anybody." Hilda picked up a book and opened it to find a surprise. "Amanda! This book is full of gibberish!"

"They all have that." Amanda held another book and showed it's useless pages. "It's normal. Nobody can read and dream at the same time."

"But you did in my dream."

"I had those stupid notes memorized. Speaking of which, back to what you're here to do."

"Right." Hilda closed her eyes and let her energy search for anything.

Then she got something that felt indescribable and the scenery changed. Hilda opened her eyes and saw that they were now in Tildy's house where Tildy was a little taller and Kaisa was a kid the same age she is now.

"Is something wrong, Kaisa?" Tildy asked.

"Something's been bothering me for a while." Kaisa said. "Why do so many people hate witches?"

*Sigh*"The same reason any of us hate a lot of things I'm afraid." Tildy looked out the window with sorrow. "Fear. The first thing a lot of people
think of when they encounter something new is the harm it can do. That is the curse of being different."

Then she turned around and said more.

"However, I like to believe there is still hope for a day where those fears can be put aside and everyone can live the way we should be living."

"That sounds nice." Kaisa agreed.

Hilda and Amanda were a little surprised by this memory.

"Nice job." Amanda said.

"Thank you." Hilda replied.

"Oh look at the time." Tildy said. "Your spell lessons are over for today. Keep up the good work and you'll be one of the best witches I know."

"Bye, Tildy." Kaisa left the house.

"Sometimes following the dreamer helps." Amanda suggested.

"Got it." Hilda followed Kaisa with Amanda close behind.

Suddenly they were back in the library where child Kaisa seemed to be waiting for something.

"I'm starting to think Kaisa doesn't get out much." Amanda commented.

"Hi, Kaisa." came a new girl's voice.

"There you are." Kaisa replied.

It was clear by the hug they shared that this new girl was a friend of hers. However, Hilda and Amanda saw this particular memory as impossible for one reason and one reason only. Kaisa's friend had magenta hair.

"Gondul!?" they couldn't believe their eyes.

"Sorry I'm late. My parents were harder on my lessons this time." young Gondul said.

"That's alright." Kaisa replied. "So what kind of books are we reading today? Mystery? Adventure? Romance?"

"I was thinking horror today."

"But we're underage. We shouldn't be reading those."

"So? We shouldn't be learning magic either according to most of Trolberg. We'll just use the secret room."

"Well... alright."

Off they went to the horror section, leaving Hilda and Amanda completely baffled.

"How is this possible?" Hilda asked.

"Yeah. She's the one who called her the most evil witch." Amanda said.

"We've got to find out."

So they followed them and found themselves a few years later with teenage Kaisa and Gondul while remaining in the library. Now the somehow friends were studying something.

"I still can't believe we're almost finally you-know-whats." Kaisa said. "Only three weeks to go."

"Yeah. Too bad I have to visit my relatives before that." Gondul said.

"Are they really that bad?"

"My aunt and uncle can't be trusted with our secret, so yes. And then there's that cousin of mine. Why did I have to be related to such a pain in the butt?"

"Hmm. Well maybe it's good that you're visiting them first. It's very normal for people to want the bad before the good so things can end on a high
note. Besides, that's only for the weekend. What we're doing now is going to be forever."

"You're very good at acting wise, you know that? Thank you, Kaisa."

Shortly after that, a small bird flew onto the table.

"Hi, Clarice. Back from your flight already?"

"Wait, is this her first flight?"

"Yes, and I'm so proud of her. We better go home now. The visit starts tomorrow."

"Have fun."

Hilda and Amanda felt like they weren't getting anywhere.

"This is not as informative as what you showed me." Hilda said.

"That's because I was showing you my memories, not searching through yours." Amanda said. "We'll have to keep digging."

And so the scenery changed. Now they were at some random house where the still teenage Kaisa was standing just outside with an umbrella while it was raining.

"Come on, Gondul!" Kaisa called. "I know you're in there! Just talk to me! Please?"

But alas, there was no response. Hilda and Amanda had a bad feeling about the situation. What ever was going on, Kaisa didn't try any further. She turned around and slowly left. Then there was another memory, this time showing Kaisa at probably eighteen wearing her trademark cape. For some reason, she was in the witches tower running. Hilda and Amanda quickly followed her by flow-forming until she stopped and stared in horror at something. They saw it too. It was Gondul not only wearing her longer cape too, but destroying the place and fighting other witches. There were already some lying dead on the floor.

"Gondul! Why are you doing this!?" Kaisa cried out.

Gondul caught all of the witches she was fighting with a single spell and faced Kaisa with the angriest face imaginable.

"If a witch isn't with me, then they're against me." she said. "Just like all non-witch humans are against us. You know it's true."

"I have issues too, but at least I'm not trying to be their enemy! You're just giving them more reason to hate us by murdering them! And now you're doing the same to your own kind!"

"So you're against me too, Kaisa."

"I'm sorry, Gondul." Kaisa pulled out her wand and aimed it at her former friend. "But this isn't right."

Clarice flew in and landed on Gondul's shoulder, giving a confident look to her face and a worried one to Kaisa's. They both fired spell shots of
various types at each other and would either dodge or block with another spell. Unfortunately the fight was cut short by Gondul overpowering Kaisa and cornering her against a wall.

"Some friend you turned out to be." Gondul prepared to finish her off with one final spell.

Then she was caught in the same capture spell she used on the other witches. Everyone turned and saw that the catcher was Tildy who looked more serious than usual.

"That is enough!" Tildy said.

Clarice flew and tried to attack her only to get caught by surprise in the mouth of Tildy's familiar, Cornelius.

"No!" Gondul managed to free herself, but did nothing for she knew she was outmatched at the time.

"Don't make me do this." Tildy warned.

"Very well." Gondul cast a barrier around herself. "But I'm not finished with Trolberg."

Then she floated before glowing and translocating away. Kaisa slid down the wall onto her knees, almost silently mourning over the loss of her friend. Hilda and Amanda didn't know what to say.

"What should we do about the bird?" one of the freed witches asked.

"Gondul is already very powerful on her own. We'll have to get rid of her familiar." another suggested.

"Wait!" Kaisa said. "I have a better idea."

The scenery changed from inside the tower to just outside a place the girls knew well. The abandoned bell tower which Tildy, Kaisa, and a couple more witches were just exiting.

"Why did we imprison a bird of all things?" one of the latter asked.

"Clarice is the only thing Gondul cares about now." Kaisa coldly said. "Therefore, she's the only thing keeping Trolberg alive."

Tildy hugged her and said "If you need someone to talk to, just come to me."

After being released, Kaisa looked at the sky with one last tear. Then she and the others walked away. Hilda and Amanda could only watch her with sympathy.

But then for some reason, Kaisa turned around. She looked straight at the girls and said "Now you know."

"What?" Hilda was baffled again.

"No way!" Amanda said. "You've been lucid dreaming the whole time!"

"What's lucid dreaming?"

"It means she knows she's sleeping and can control at least some of her dream."

"That is correct." Kaisa said. "And I think it's time to wake up."

Hilda and Amanda understood and left the dream. Once in the bedroom again, Amanda shook Kaisa hard to wake her. It worked and Kaisa got up and out of bed. She was wearing a purple long-sleeved nightgown and had just put on a pair of slippers. It was obvious that Hilda and Amanda were silently demanding an explanation.

"Yes, everything you saw is true." Kaisa said. "Gondul was my best friend. I had never been more hurt than the day she betrayed us. Ever since then, I couldn't even use most of my magic without reopening that wound. We were supposed to be two of the best witches ever together, not turn against each other. So I settled for working in the one place I felt most comfortable. The library. It was the only thing that could make me at least a little happy for a long time. And then you and your friends came along."

Hilda ran up and hugged Kaisa almost immediately. But what surprised Kaisa was that Amanda shortly afterwards did the same thing.

"Is that why you let us enter your dream?" Hilda asked after letting go.

"I decided it was time you knew the truth." Kaisa answered. "At least some of it. I still don't know for sure what caused her to change in the first
place. I would've investigated, but I was too depressed."

"I think I have a pretty good idea." Amanda commented.

"Is there any way to find out?" Hilda asked.

"Well there is one person left who could possibly give us the answer." Kaisa said. "But you're not going to like who it is."

"Who?"

"Gondul's cousin... Erik Ahlberg."

"Oh no! Not him." Hilda facepalmed.

"The dumb chatterbox?" Amanda said. "I had to turn off the TV every time I heard him talking on it."

She then illusioned herself into Ahlberg and started mocking him with his exact voice.

"Oh look at me, I'm the mighty and famous Erik Ahlberg. I'm so macho and important. Listen to me go on and on about fighting trolls, how handsome I am, and a bunch of boring stuff."

Her perfect imitation was so ridiculous that Hilda and Kaisa couldn't help laughing.

"Do you-haha-do you happen to know where he lives?" Hilda asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Kaisa answered.

"I do." Amanda said, surprising Hilda and Kaisa. "During my time scaring people, I've followed them and memorized where they live. I once scared
Ahlberg because he was just driving me crazy."

"Perfect. Let's go."

"Good luck." Kaisa said.

Once again, Hilda and Amanda were out on the sidewalk heading to their new destination. However instead of being invisible, this time Hilda had her ears in deerfox form and hidden under her hair. Both of them kept walking and minding their own business for a while. Then she heard it. Amanda noticed it too. They were being followed again. But this time they had a plan. They turned a corner. Then another. And another. Whoever was following them stayed behind them. On the eighth corner turn, Hilda and Amanda were gone. The follower looked around for anything that could pass for a clue, but all they could find were walls and fences. Suddenly... they were tackled from above by Amanda and Hilda in her half deerfox form. Now that they had them pinned, they could tell who they were.

"Kelly?" they said.

"Why have you been following us!?" Amanda asked.

"Get off of me and I'll explain." Kelly said.

Hilda and Amanda hesitated, but got up and released her.

"My family and I were out of town again, so I was late to finding out that you left us for..." Kelly paused when she saw Hilda's current form. "What
the..."

"I'm a shapeshifter now. Please continue."

"Fine. I had to see for myself which I was going to do tomorrow when I recently saw you two walking around together. So you really left us for the
twerps."

"Sorry, but I finally have the friends I was looking for." Amanda confirmed. "Even if I wronged them a couple times."

"Oh. Alright, go ahead. Have fun with your best friend."

"Thank you." Amanda said.

"Wait a minute." Hilda said. "You said recently. You mean you weren't following us before?"

"This is the only time I did it." Kelly answered.

"Then who was that the first time?"

"We'll have to figure that out later." Amanda said.

So they went back to their mission. As they passed Kelly, Hilda had a strange feeling. She quickly realized it was her instinct telling her what was
about to happen.

"Oh no you don't!" Hilda grabbed her own tail before Kelly could and held it close like a teddy bear.

"Eh, it was worth a shot." Kelly flow-formed away.

Just in case, Hilda switched to her elf form and started walking with Amanda again.

"Here we are." Amanda said.

The house they now stood in front of wasn't much different than any other house except maybe that it was closer to the Safety Patrol Headquarters than the others. Hilda and Amanda flow-formed through the keyhole like before and quietly searched for Ahlberg's room. During the search, Hilda came across a lot of pictures of Safety Patrol members from different generations.

"I should've known this was why Gondul's parents didn't trust them." she said.

"Hilda, I found him." Amanda whispered.

Hilda followed her to the bedroom where Erik Ahlberg snored with his butt in the air.

"Let's do this." Hilda whispered.

This time they floated over Ahlberg and placed their hands and feet on his back. Then they entered his dream and landed in a big room. In that room was some kind of party and boy was everyone happy.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" came a loud announcer's voice. "The life of the party and the man of the hour-No, the century is here! Give it up for the one and only... ERIK AHLBERG!"

Applause quickly filled the room and in came Ahlberg wearing a tux with a cape and chief hat.

"Let's start searching his memories." Hilda said.

"Please!" Amanda agreed.

So before Ahlberg could start talking about himself, the girls changed the scenery. Now they were in a regular house with a married couple and their son who was clearly a teen Ahlberg. Out of nowhere, there was a honk from outside.

"They're here!" Erik said.

He and his parents went outside to greet the visitors who turned out to be Gondul and her parents.

"Welcome back, Pinky." Erik said while hugging Gondul too tight.

"How many*Gaaaasp*times have I asked you not to call me that." Gondul said while catching her breath. "My name is Gondul and my hair is magenta. There's a difference."

"It's good to see you again, brother." Mr. Ahlberg said.

"Same here." Gondul's father replied.

"How's it been on the other side of town?" Mrs. Ahlberg asked.

"Busy as usual." Gondul's mother answered. "It's really not easy collecting for a museum."

"In fact, we heard rumors of an artifact in the wilderness that might be perfect to confirm while we're here." Gondul's father added. "After we catch up of course."

"No problem." Mr. Ahlberg said. "Why don't we help you this time? It'll be a family hunt for relics."

"I don't think I can do that." Mrs. Ahlberg said. "I,ll be busy myself for the next couple days. But you can still go."

"This is going to be fun." Erik said. "And don't worry, Pinky. If any monsters show up while we're out there, I'll make sure they don't hurt anyone."

"Yaaay." Gondul sarcastically said. "If your head was any bigger, you'd lose your hair."

Erik simply laughed at his cousin.

"It looks like young Ahlberg is just like he is today, only friendly." Hilda said.

"It also sounds like something happened during the relic hunt." Amanda said.

With a silent agreement, they focused on finding the part where the family searches for relics. The scenery changed again and now they were in the woods at night. There was a campsite before them, but the only campers there were Erik and Gondul and they looked worried.

"They've been gone for too long." Gondul said.

"Yeah." Erik agreed. "Let's go find them."

"You just want to feel like a hero, don't you?"

"Come on." Erik was already leaving the camp.

*SIIIGH!* Gondul followed him as did Hilda and Amanda.

They searched the woods for several minutes after which Amanda noticed Hilda seeming to be doing the same.

"You know we don't have to do the searching at this point, right?" Amanda asked.

"I wasn't searching." Hilda said. "I-"

*BANG!* A gunshot echoed through the forest.

"That's my Dad's gun!" Erik said.

"I think it's this way!" Gondul took the lead and they both ran with Hilda and Amanda still close behind.

They went through several bushes and came to a clearing where a terrible sight was found, causing most of them to gasp. Mr. Ahlberg with a pistol in his hand stood next to Gondul's parents who lied dead on the ground with their wands by their side.

"Dad? What did you do?" Erik asked in horror.

"I'm sorry. I-" Mr. Ahlberg turned and stopped talking for a moment. "Gondul?"

Hilda, Amanda, and Erik looked at Gondul who was obviously the most horrified by the sight. She then began to glow as tears rolled down her eyes. The look on her face changed from horror to anger.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
!"
Gondul screamed louder than a banshee and her magic came out of her like out of control electricity.

Everyone backed away from her out of pure fear. Before Mr. Ahlberg could say or do anything, Gondul blasted his hand with a large spell shot injuring said hand and sending the gun away. She then trapped him in a capture spell and quickly floated over to him. Her heavy breaths of rage were the most frightening sound the girls had ever heard. Erik tried to stop her, but she already had a barrier conjured.

"Gondul! Stop!" he cried out to deaf ears.

Gondul readied an electric spellshot and touched Mr. Ahlberg's throat with her wand. Then she unleashed the spellshot at pointblank range.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mr. Ahlberg was electrified so badly that Hilda and even Amanda eventually had to look away.

Once the spellshot was over and the screaming stopped, neither girl dared to look at whatever was left. However, they did see Erik who was so scared of what he just witnessed that he turned and ran. The girl he saw was no longer his cousin. She was a monster.

"Quick. Follow him." Amanda said.

"What about Gondul?" Hilda asked.

"This is Ahlberg's dream and memory. We have to stay near him."

Hilda understood and they took off after Erik. They caught up and saw how terrified Erik truely was. He didn't even look back. He just kept on runningand suddenly...

*Wham!* He tripped on a root and hit his head on a rock on the ground.

"Uh-oh." Amanda said.

"What?" Hilda asked.

That was when everything went black.

"AAAAHHHH!" Ahlberg woke up with a scream, sending the girls out of his dream by force. "I *Gasp gasp* forgot that even happened."

Hilda and Amanda floated above him and remained silent. While he wasn't looking, they flow-formed out of the room and out of the house in general.

"I figured it was something like that." Amanda said.

"I think we all did." Hilda replied. "Now I'm wondering if Ahlberg would've been any different if he hadn't bumped his head."

"What's done is done. Now let's go tell Kaisa and get you home."

Then Amanda remembered something.

"What were you gonna say before the gunshot, Hilda?"

"Not much. I just felt like I had been there before."

*Sigh*"I was afraid that was what happened." Kaisa said after hearing the whole story at her front door. "Thank you anyway."

"You're welcome." Hilda replied. "I guess this ends our adventure for tonight."

As she and Amanda were about to leave, she looked up and saw something unexpected. A tiny glow appeared and began to grow. It spread all over the sky, revealing a rainbow of colors.

"What's happening!?" Hilda asked.

"I don't believe it." Kaisa said. "They actually used the protection spell over the whole city. Tildy must've finally talked them into it somehow."

Once the spell touched the ground on the outside of the wall, all of it's colors slowly disappeared, rendering it invisible.

"Now Gondul and her familiars can never harm us." Kaisa added.

"Well that's goo-" Amanda paused when she heard a slight sound. "Whoever followed us before is back."

Hilda used her deerfox ears again to listen for the sound. She could hear someone sneaking up to them with heavy footsteps that sounded unnatural and yet familiar. Then she remembered with a gasp.

"Everyone inside!"

They all rushed into the house without argument and Kaisa locked the door in time for something to hit it hard.

"What was that!?" Amanda asked.

"A golem beast." Hilda said. "Usually we can see them, but this one has been made invisible."

"It must've come from Gondul." Kaisa said with her wand out. "She's the only witch who would do this."

"Not to mention she threatened to kill us."

The door was hit again, leaving some large claw marks.

"Why don't we focus on dealing with this instead of talking!?" Amanda said.

Hilda changed to her weather spirit form and Amanda pulled out some fire balls. They all stood ready to defend themselves as soon as the entrance was destroyed. Then the entrance was destroyed. Hilda immediately blew as hard as she could, sending the invisible golem beast to the other side of the street.

"Hildy, let it inside!" Kaisa said. "We could all be exposed!"

Hilda understood and switched to her troll form. The golem beast got up and ran back to the torn apart doorway. Once it came inside, Amanda threw her fireballs at it, Hilda swung her fists around, and Kaisa cast her finding spell to see if she could make it at least partly visible. The spell
succeeded and Hilda was able to punch the golem beast in the jaw. The golem beast appeared to be based on a large dog reminding Hilda and Amanda of the black hound. Amanda then intended to summon another fireball, but somehow ignited herself.

"What? This is new." she said.

"I need to keep the golem beast visible and can't do anything else!" Kaisa said.

"Oh, right." Amanda flew up to the golem beast and sent all her fire on it.

Unfortunately, it was doing nothing except starting to burn the house.

"Oops!" Amanda swung her arms and made all the fire including on herself disappear.

Hilda then ran out of the house and swapped to her thunderbird form. She flew a few yards up and released some lightning.

"What are you doing!?" Kaisa yelled.

Hilda didn't answer and instead changed again into a lindworm. She then went back in and wrestled the golem beast. Furniture was crushed as she managed to tangle it's legs with her body. It didn't last long since a young lindworm isn't strong enough for something like this. The golem beast broke free, almost injuring Hilda in the process. It was starting to look like Hilda would have to use her giant form and risk getting seen. The golem beast prepared to attack again.

Then a bed sheet appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the golem beast's head.

"Huh?" Kaisa and Amanda were confused.

"Is everyone all right?" Frida unexpectedly came into the house.

"Frida!" Hilda was happy to see her.

However, the golem beast was able to tear the bed sheet off and glared at Frida.

"Uh-oh." Frida started another spell, but as with the first golem beast she encountered, she wasn't fast enough.

She dodged the monstrous construct's bite and bumped into Amanda. Then the golem beast tried to swipe a paw at them when suddenly...

...somebody flew in and tackled them out of the way. And it was a big surprise who it was.

"Kelly!?" Frida was baffled again.

"You know we could've avoided that, right?" Amanda commented.

"I..." Kelly tried to speak, but the golem beast aimed to strike again.

Hilda was quicker and leapt onto it's head in her half-deerfox form. The golem beast tried to shake her off, but her claws kept her on. She managed to move herself to under the jaw and spotted a problem.

"There's no crystal on this one!" she said.

"Crystal?" both marra asked.

"That's it's weakness." Frida said. "And I think I know where it is. Hilda! You need to keep it still and it's mouth open!"

"Got it!" Hilda took the shape of a forest giant and grew as big as the room would allow.

She then pinned the golem beast down and forced it's mouth open. Frida aimed her wand and chanted some kind of new spell. Then a crystal came out of the large mouth and soon after lost it's color. The golem beast released a flash of light and was reduced to a little clay statue. Kaisa then relaxed, free from holding that spell for a while and Hilda returned to her human form.

"Thanks, Frida." Hilda said. "Is that a new spell?"

"Actually I learned it during our week of training." Frida said. "I just wasn't allowed to use it when we regrouped."

"You're a witch now?" Kelly asked. "What else is new?"

"This is." Amanda snapped her fingers and the house looked as good as new.

Kelly was so surprised she touched the door only to fall forward through it.

"Now it's my turn to ask questions." Amanda said. "How did you two end up coming here?"

"Hilda woke me with a call for help." Frida said.

"It's a new familiar thing." Hilda added.

"I didn't know where to find you until I saw Hilda release that lightning."

"And you rode a bed sheet?" Amanda held the torn sheet with one hand.

"It was the best I had. And it worked."

"Alright. And you?"

"I saw the lightning too and wondered what it was." Kelly explained. "Now don't assume anything. I'm not quitting like you did. But when I got here and saw you two, all I could think of was what somebody once told me."

"And what is that?" Amanda was skeptical.

Kelly smiled a little and said "That it's never a good idea to throw away your real friends."

Hilda was a little surprised, Kaisa was impressed, Frida simply smiled, but Amanda was completely surprised. She felt so grateful for those words that she suddenly hugged Kelly, surprising her back.

"Wow. You really have changed." Kelly commented. "I like it."

Then she hugged back.

"Now that all of this is over, I think we should all get some sleep." Kaisa said.

"What about your house?" Hilda asked.

"I'll just ask Tildy. She won't mind. Good night." Kaisa then cast the translocation spell and vanished.

"Kaisa's right." Frida made what was left of her bed sheet float again and got on. "Let me know how the rest of tonight went tomorrow, Hilda. And thank you for the dream."

She then rode her way back home.

"The dream?" Kelly asked.

Hilda answered her by turning her eyes green. Kelly dropped her jaw at the baffling sight.

"I'll explain later." Amanda said. "Right now, Hilda and I really need to get back to her place."

After a couple of farewell bids, Hilda and Amanda decided to fly back this time. They soared through the sky with joy like the children that they are,
laughing giddily.

Hilda and Amanda landed on the fire escape and the former opened the window. They greeted Alfur and Adeline after getting in and Twig practically tackled Hilda, happy to see her again. For the next few minutes, they talked about what had happened. As soon as the girls and Twig left Hilda's room with the door wide open, Johanna and Angus had returned from their date.

"Mum!" Hilda flew over and hugged Johanna.

"Looks like you had a fun night too." Johanna said. "How was it?"

"A little tricky and full of surprises, but when you take away the scaring people part, being a marra can actually be enjoyable. How about you?"

"Oh it was our best date yet. First we went to the most beautiful restaurant I had ever seen. They had one of my favorite meals there. Then the
perfect music started and we danced for at least an hour. Finally, Angus took me to the art museum which I hadn't been to for a long time."

Angus chose not to say a word while he listened to the praise of their date together. Johanna then saw Amanda and walked over to her.

"Thank you for helping Hilda again, Amanda." she said with a hand on the teen's shoulder. "You've become someone any mum would be proud of."

Amanda was silent for a moment. Then she said "You're welcome. I better get home now."

"I understand. Good night, Amanda."

"Good night, Amanda." Angus said as he messed with the girl's hair a little.

"Good night, Amanda." Hilda said after changing her eyes back and leaving Johanna's arms.

Amanda went out the door like a normal person and paused after closing it behind herself. She didn't know why she stood there, but she did. Something then caused her to look sad and scared at the same time. After a moment, she shook her head and flow-formed the rest of the way out of the building.

Back in the apartment, Hilda, Johanna, and Angus continued to talk.

"So it was that good?" Johanna asked.

"Surprisingly, yes." Hilda answered. "I gave Frida the best dream I could think of. She was given a badge for witchcraft and got to help the hero of
her favorite book. I'll never understand how anyone can be satisfied with only scaring people. And then there's the flying part. Amazing as usual, but I honestly like using my wings better."

She then let her wings out just for the heck of it.

"Well, Angus, I guess you have to go home too." Johanna sorrowfully said.

"Not just yet." Angus said. "I have one more surprise. I just didn't know when to reveal it, but now is perfect."

He then pulled something out of his pocket.

"I know I've upset you before and we haven't seen each other for years, but you are the most wonderful person I've ever met and you keep getting better. So I would kick myself if I didn't at least try to do this."

He got down on one knee and revealed a tiny open box with a beautiful diamond ring inside.

"Johanna, will you marry me?"

Johanna was speechless. There her childhood friend turned boyfriend was, proposing to her while feeling unworthy. Tears of joy slid down her face
before she finally answered.

"YES!" she tackled him in a hug gave him the biggest kiss she had ever given anyone.

"EEEEEEH!" Hilda ran over and hugged the both of them.

She was almost as happy as Johanna was to have Angus be a part of the family. She was apparently also tired from the eventful night, yawning mid-hug.

"I know you're excited too, Hilda, but it's definitely past your bedtime." Johanna said.

"I guess I am a little tired." Hilda admitted with another yawn. "Good night, Angus. Good night, Mum. I'll tell you the rest tomorrow."

"Good night, Hilda." Johanna and Angus said.

Hilda and Twig went to her room and she closed the door.

"We heard the whole thing!" Alfur said from the clock house. "And we're so happy!"

"I've never been to a human marriage before!" Adeline said. "This will be a wonderful report!"

"That's good to hear." Hilda said as she sat on her bad. "But do you know what the best part of this for me is?"

"Hmmm, I'm not sure." Alfur said.

"Me neither. What is it?" Adeline said.

"This I gotta hear." Tontu popped out from the dresser.

"What is it, Hilda?" Twig asked.

Hilda answered them all with only six words.

"I'm going to have a dad."

Meanwhile outside of Trolberg, Clarice the hawk had just finished testing the force field and returned to Gondul who stood only yards away from the entrance.

"I didn't think they'd ever choose to protect all those undeserving monsters. And it looks like more of them than usual cast this." Gondul said. "Well no matter. If I can find a way to overpower any witch, then I can certainly find a way through this."

Then she turned and walked away, her determination the same as it was before.

Author's Note: Sorry if you think Hilda's marra form is a load of bull. Even I had second thoughts more than once. But I decided to stick to the plan and hope for the best. As for why, well one, the only other interesting enough creature in the whole show so far is a water spirit and there are already enough things some the chosen forms have in common as it is which means that the marra is the last form for Hilda to earn in this whole story. I was doing my best to combine quality, quantity, and variety. And two, it seemed like a fun idea to have Hilda use such powers to make someone happy instead of scared. I know it's possible because Hilda was enjoying the nightmare Amanda gave her at first. Also I saved this form for last because it was the most fitting regarding Amanda's character development. Speaking of whom, I hope I haven't been overusing her by mistake since this fanfic is primarily Hilda's story. Now for the story itself. I know this is the calm before the storm, but I feel like this will one of the weaker chapters, so sorry again. I knew I wanted to reveal Gondul's motivation, but I was having trouble deciding how. Eventually I settled for using the ability to see memories in a dream which marra seem to have at least partially. I had a lot of trouble with different parts of this chapter, but the trickiest part was giving Kelly a part in this. I had to make a few changes to make it work and after seeing Frida unexpectedly forgive her, I knew she had just as much possibility to change as Amanda did. I simply chose Amanda because she's the more likable of the two. While it's probably one of my weaker parts, I couldn't resist those words of advice being used again. Finally, since we all like the idea of the bell keeper being Hilda's dad, I decided early on that he would propose to Johanna in this exact chapter. It took quite some time, but I'm glad I got this far. Only one chapter remains and the final season is almost here. Good thing I chose to treat this as an AU because most likely everything I wrote will never happen in the show. I'm still looking forward to it despite being a little nervous.

P.S. Yes I'm getting back to my other fanfics.