Author Note: I decided to skip the week to Friday because I couldn't come up with good enough situations, and think you want to get to interesting part. But Claire will check you up. I also decided to leave out the original 11th chapter to another part of the story and place the original 12th chapter to chapter 11. It takes a lot of mental strength to create these chapters and to make them good.
Today is Friday, the day of the Family Tree assignment in history class. I spent most of my time working on my project, excited to show my classmates my family history. Everything seems to go strangely normal. No notes, scary eye visits in my window, no wolf, no strange dreams or visions. My mental health has improved; Douxie and I have made massive progress in my magic, more when he was at my level. Everything is running smoothly: biking with friends, going to school, lessons with Douxie, and coming to a warm home afterward. Sometimes, I would invite Jim to my house or vice versa, and we work on our homework or spend quality time together. Since all the trolls live in New Jersey and the amulet is destroyed, Jim doesn't have trollhunter duties, which I don't remind him of. Since my new hair length and with the help of Mary, I wear a medium ponytail with my bangs framing my face. Everyone, especially Jim, says I look cute and receive compliments about my necklace. Mom, Dad, and I talked about cutting myself, and I convinced them not to worry and not send me to therapy, but we made a deal. If I cut myself again, I'm going to treatment. I told my friends about my birthday and my pleadings for them to come to my family's manor to celebrate at the manor in Huntington Beach. They all agree, but some can't stay for long because my birthday is on a weekday. I'm excited and happy to share my life with my family and friends. This is the best week I have had in a long time, but at the same time, something is strangely ominous. Every day, every night, every time I breathe, I feel someone or something watching me. Every time I turn my head, there's nothing but my surroundings. I sense something is wrong, but nothing is. Once again, I think I'm going insane. My alarm goes off, and I get out of bed. NotEnrique isn't in the room and is probably downstairs right now. I walk to my closet to get on my usual clothes.
"Good morning, little lamb."
I know that voice; I heard it before. I turn around as I adjust the waistband of my pants before a ghostly image of Morgana standing in front of my window. She wears her hair and clothes as I saw her in Camelot. I don't freak out, but there is an odd, calm, and warm atmosphere emanating from the witch when she appears, and her smile shows it. "H-Hello!" I stutter, freezing and trembling, glancing around the room, wondering how she got in.
"Oh, come now, child, I didn't sneak in your room like a monster," Morgana says sternly, placing her hands on her hips, and her lips grow thin.
I shake my head. "I'm sorry. It's just... it's been a weird week lately." I sigh, placing a hand on my temple.
"I know. I'm sorry, child." Morgana says softly.
I blink and stare at her. "Wait, how do you know?" I ask, worried.
"I've been watching you; I've seen everything you've been through this week." She answers.
The hair stands up on the back of my neck. "Were-were you the one I saw in the window on Sunday?" I ask hesitantly. I definitely know she didn't write the note on Monday.
"Of course not! My eyes don't glow in the dark even though yellow is my color!" Morgana snaps.
I glance down at what she said. "If you've been watching over me...then why didn't you stop or do something to whoever was watching me? Or am I losing my mind?" I say without confidence.
"No, Claire. You're not losing your mind, and I can't do anything to the creature stalking you. I'm a ghost; I can't touch or do any magic in this world." Morgana says more calmly.
I take a deep breath. "Who is the creature that's stalking me?" I ask, praying it's not a goblin.
Morgana bites her lip and turns her head away. It looks like she's worried rather than hiding something. "You don't want to know; expect it's a creature of darkness, not a troll or goblin." She answers hesitantly.
I started to get more scared, but not of her. "What do you mean 'you don't want to know'? What is it?" I say, raising my voice.
"Shhh! Keep your voice down." Morgana hisses, placing her index finger to her lips.
I take a deep breath and shut my mouth, letting her go on.
"Anyways, I'm here to tell you something bad is coming. I don't know what it is, but I'm warning you now." Morgana adds with concern.
I raise my eyebrow in confusion. "What? Does this have to do with the things happening lately?" I ask worryingly.
Morgana nods her head. "Not everything is bad, but not all is good. Some advice is to keep your guard up, but staying calm is important."
I shake my head and blink, shaking in my body. I'm speechless.
"I have to leave. You need to go to school, but I'll watch over you if you want me to." Morgana adds in a calmer tone.
I clear my throat. "Sure-yes; you have my consent." I agree without looking at Morgana. "I would like to have a nine-century-old witch watch over me," I add sarcastically, looking at her.
Morgana chuckles and smiles. "Thank you, child. If you ever need me, call me, and I'll be there." She says kindly.
"Thank you, Morgana!" I nod, but she gazes at my neck before Morgana fades away. Her eyes widen, and she looks startled. I freeze and glance down at my neck. "Umm... Morgana?"
She blinks and shakes her head. "Sorry, Claire. It-it's just- I noticed your necklace; it's lovely and looks beautiful on you." She says hesitantly but politely, smiling nervously.
I raise my eyebrow but shrug my shoulders. "Thank you!" I reply awkwardly, but Morgana looks slightly heartbroken. Why would a necklace sadden her?
"Also, I notice the Skathe-Hrün in the corner of your room," Morgana says more calmly, looking at the shadow staff leaning on my bookshelf.
"Yeah, I don't know where it came from. I know you didn't give it to me, and it came with a note." I replied, walking to the note on my nightstand to show the witch.
Morgana examines it in my hands and raises an eyebrow. "Did you tell the Trollhunter about this?"
"Jim? No way! He would freak out if he saw this, my staff, or telling him about any of this!" I say in defense
"Well, if this is from the same creature stalking you, I would," Morgana says softly.
I roll my eyes and turn away, expecting her to leave.
"Follow the wolf as black as night," Morgana says, making me shiver.
I turn around, but she disappears. I shake my head and read the words written on the note repeatedly. 'Hello, Shadowdancer! You forgot something. Can't wait to see you again. I'll be watching you.' Toby once called me Shadowdancer, but there's no way he gave me my staff and wrote the note. This isn't even in his handwriting. So, who did write this? I shake it off and finish getting ready for school. Before I exit my bedroom door, I grab my staff and place it with the note in my backpack. Maybe Morgana is right. I head downstairs and do my usual morning routine for school. Breakfast, making lunch, and walking into the garage. Mom is already gone, and Dad has already taken Enrique to daycare, so I had time to relax.
"Bye, Sis!" NotEnrique shouts as I walk past the living room.
I turn to him and smile. "Bye NotEnrique! See you after school!" I reply and walk into the garage. I get on my bike and cycle to Jim's house. I get there without a sweat, and a minute later, Toby shows up, exhausted.
"What happened to you?" I ask sarcastically, placing my hand on my hips, smirking, and raising an eyebrow.
"Hey... no fair..." Toby responded, pooped.
I laugh and roll my eyes. After a few minutes, Jim's garage door opens, and he emerges with his bike.
"Hey, Jimbo!" Toby says with excitement as he walks up to us.
"Hey, guys!" Jim replies, smiling. He hands Toby his lunch bag, making me roll my eyes.
If Toby wants to lose weight and stop complaining about it, why doesn't he eat less, diet, and exercise more? It's not my place to tell him. "Come on, guys; hurry up, or we'll be late." I tease and start cycling away.
"Like mother like daughter!" Toby shouts, and I roll my eyes.
Toby loves to tease me about acting like my mom. If it weren't for Jim, I would hit Toby on the head, but what Morgana said in my room hits me like a bullet. "Umm... guys. I need to tell you something after school." I say nervously to the boys as we cycle down the street.
This catches Jim's attention. "Alright."
"WOLF!" Toby screams, and we brake so fast we almost fall off our bikes.
I look up, and the same wolf from Monday appears before me. It stands in the middle of the alley to get to the canal. It stands in an Alpha position, with the front legs parallel to the chest and the back legs spread out. It stares at me, making me tremble in fear.
"Guys, what do we do? What do we do!" Toby whispers, panicked.
"Shhh, stay still, and it won't hurt you." Jim hisses.
I take a few deep breaths and feel a connection with the animal.
Let us pass.
The wolf's ears twitch and bows its head, and slowly walks away from us. I turn to my friends, and they stare straight, shocked and scared. "Guys?"
They blink and shake their heads. "What the hell was that wolf doing?" Jim replies, not looking at me.
"Whatever it was, it probably was going to eat us," Toby says with worry, shaking.
Jim and I roll our eyes. "Toby, wolves don't eat humans. And besides, we did the right thing. We stayed still and be quiet!" I groaned.
"My question is, why is a wolf here? Wolves don't hang around these places, even during the day." Jim says with curiosity.
"Well, I don't want to stick around and find out. Come on, let's go, or we'll be late." Toby says, panicky, and cycles to school.
Jim and I look at each one and shrug our shoulders before following Toby. The boys might not know why the wolf was there, but I might. We get to school without being late and put our bikes away.
"Something seems a bit off," Jim says, making me and Toby turn to him.
"What?" We ask in unison.
"I haven't seen a real wolf before, and grey wolves didn't seem to match with the one we saw in the alley," Jim says while looking at his phone. "The grey wolf is the only known wolf in Southern California, but the wolf we saw in the alley was black but the same size." He adds.
Toby and I shrug our shoulders. "Maybe it's a runt of the litter," Toby says sarcastically, making him and Jim laugh.
I shake my head. The wolf seems like a symbol of something. Maybe danger or change. Or perhaps it got lost and is trying to find its way home. One thing is for sure: I didn't make the animal up in my imagination.
"Hey, guys!"
We turn, and Darci and Mary walk toward us.
"Hey, girls!" I shout, smiling.
Mary walks us to me and places an arm around my shoulder. "Can't wait to see your Family Tree project, birthday girl." She whispers in my ear, smiling.
I roll my eyes. "Mary, my birthday isn't even until 11 days." I chuckle.
"But it's coming soon, and I can't wait to see your family," Mary replies, tapping my nose and laughing.
History class comes, and everyone is ready to present their projects. I show it on a computer, so I don't need a poster board, it's easier, and in my opinion, more creative.
"Alright, class! Time to present your Family History projects! I know this will be a pain, but we'll grade each other for extra points. If you don't, you won't get them." Mr. George says with excitement, making us groan in unison. He passes the students grading papers on our desks, and we get our pencils out. Mr. George walks to his desk and grabs a clipboard. "Alright, who would like to go first?"
There are 25 of us together, including me, but not everyone can go today, and we have to go on Monday. We have up to eight minutes to give our presentations. Eight people have gone, and their presentations were only up to five minutes long. Stuart, Mary, Toby, Steve, Theodore, Shannon, Jim, and Darci. Our presentations were all on the computer, and we used Slides.
Stuart's was dull and poorly made. It appears in brown and orange, talking about coming from Australia to California in the 1900s.
Mary was beautiful and creative. Red and pink. She told of how her family came from China to San Diego in 1852 and were sent to internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was sad to hear about the harsh life Mary's family endured, but look where she is now. Happy, clothes, cell phone, and living life to the fullest.
Toby was interesting but not as creative. Orange and blue. He told how his family came to America before the Declaration of Independence was signed from Scotland and came to California from Virginia during the Gold Rush. It was more fascinating and remarkable than the life he lived now.
Steve wasn't made very well but was explained with two thumbs up. Yellow and green. His family came from the Vikings in Iceland and shouted Columbus didn't discover America first. I roll my eyes, agreeing with him. Like, we didn't know that already.
Theodore was better, descending from Southern Asia and migrating to Japan in 1640 and to America in 1910. Green and yellow.
Shannon's family was from Italy and Germany and came to America during the Nazi Party to avoid persecution. After they arrived in New Jersey, her family slowly headed to California. Yellow and white.
Jim was the most interesting to me (mainly because he's my boyfriend). Blue and purple. The maternal side of his family came from England and Ireland, while his paternal side is from Russia and Germany. Military was a big part of his heritage; most male relatives fought in battle. Some people laughed because Jim is rather skinny than a warrior should be, but Toby, Steve, and I know what Jim is capable of. Before the Declaration of Independence was signed, his maternal family came to America. When the Czar of Russia and his family were executed, his paternal family came to Germany before fleeing during the Nazi Party.
Darci was also beautiful and creative, like Mary's. Red, orange, yellow, green, and black. Her family was from south-east Africa and came to America as enslaved people in 1740. Some of her family escaped with the help of the Underground Railroad and fled to Philadelphia. Her family was in D.C. on August 28, 1963, when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I Have A Dream speech. Afterward, they moved to California and have stayed here since 1975.
All the presentations had a calming effect on me. We all clap for the presenters, and there are ten minutes left. "Thank you all! Your stories are all amazing! We have time for one more presentation. So, who would like to go next?" Mr. George says, causing silence in the room. Usually, no one wants to go last, even when it's ten minutes, but I raise my hand high quickly. "Excellent, Claire! Come up, and I'll pop up your presentation on the board!" Mr. George says happily.
I get up and walk to the front of the room. My heart pounds harder and faster as I pass each desk, but I confidently hold my head high. I reach the front of the classroom and turn to the class, holding my breath and clutching my fists. My project appears on the projector screen and shows bright, vibrant colors, symbolizing my heritage and name under the significant title. From Spain to Southern California. All the colors of the rainbow. Each slide will have text, but I'll say the highlights.
"Alright, Claire, what is your family?" Mr. George asks politely.
I take a deep breath and look around the room. I spot Jim with both thumbs up and a smile. It reminds me of Douxie cheering me on at the Battle of the Bands and gives me self-confidence. I take another deep breath and smile. "Hello, everyone! I'm going to present my story of my family." I say with confidence. I tap on a button on a controller Mr. George gave me, changing the screen to a picture of a tree with one side being blue and one being red. "On one side is my maternal side in blue, and the other is my paternal side in red." The slide switches to an image of the northern part of South America. "On my paternal side, they started from Columbia as far as 11,000 years ago, but I will talk about my maternal side."
The slide switches again and shows the western and southern parts of Europe. "Even though my heritage is from most Latin America, my maternal side is from parts of Europe, specifically England and Spain, as far back as the 11th century."
All the kids in the room raised their eyebrows. Indeed, I don't look like a Latina; I am half Latina from my paternal side and half Hispanic from my maternal side.
The slide switches to a painting of a woman with ivory skin, dark eyes, beautiful dark brown hair in a bun, roses, and a beautiful 11th-century white dress. She is surrounded by beautiful pink, red, yellow, and green vegetation. All the boys 'awes' at the ethereal beauty of the women. She stands up, looking forward and holding a book, smiling sweetly. The woman also wears the same necklace on my neck. "This is the oldest painting we have of our family. This is what we believe Veronica of Galot looks like. The first person who started my maternal family line. Her life story is passed down from generation to generation by the head of the family."
The slide switches to five sections with words, one in a different color. Absolute primogeniture, red. Agnatic primogeniture, orange. Agnatic-cognatic primogeniture, green. Male-preference cognatic primogeniture, blue. And matrilineal primogeniture, purple. "In some families, they decide on the head of the family by blood, by gender, or by how the person proves themselves. My family decides by firstborns. It starts with their first child, Veronica, and their first child repeatedly. It works a lot like a monarchy does. It doesn't matter the gender, age, or skill of the person; all that matters is absolute primogeniture. Some say we have a spare in our family, but surprisingly, all firstborns are strong, healthy, have children, and grow old. On a specific birthday year of a firstborn, mostly on their sixteen or seventeen birthday, their parent and their family have a ceremony. It's steep in tradition but considered a high honor in our family. But before I go into that story, I want to return to Veronica's." I go to a picture of England with a part of it in green.
The slides switch to a picture of a grey, old brick castle near a coastline. It's not the same castle, but it's close enough. "Everyone in my family has been told this story since we were little. Back in the 11th century, a baby girl, Veronica, was born on the coast of Norfolk on October 18th, which is in 11 days to today and is my birthday." I say proudly, but as the story goes from a happy to a sad turn, I do the same thing, frowning. "Although, everything wasn't so happy after the birth. Veronica's mother gave her baby daughter up at only three days old to escape persecution. Veronica's mother was a noblewoman and gave Veronica to her most trusted friend and lady to keep her safe. That night, she was killed by three knights but died in peace for knowing her daughter was safe."
I sigh and glance down at my shoes. This part of the story reminded me of the destroyed heartstone and the previous tragic events. I take a deep breath and straighten up, giving off a smile, but some of my classmates have frowns and sad faces. The slide switches to a route map with red dots from Norfolk to Essex. "On a happier note, Veronica and the lady named Elaine got away on horseback and got on a boat to Spain."
An odd, calm, and warm sensation crawls up my spine, but I shake it off and continue. The slide switches to an ancient-looking map with a route in red dots from England to Spain. "They sailed and successfully got to Spain, where they met a priest, Padre Ferdinand, in Santiago and lived in a noble house near modern-day Santiago de Compostela."
While saying this, I changed the slides to a picture of Santiago de Compostela and a painting of an old medieval village. "Over the years, Elaine follows Veronica's mother's one wish, to raise Veronica as her daughter. After 18 years, Veronica becomes the beautiful young woman you guys saw in the painting of her; she marries a young man and has three children."
The slides switch to a picture I made myself of my necklace. "This necklace was given to Veronica by her mother before giving her up. When her first child, a daughter named Elenora, turned seventeen, Veronica gave her the necklace and told the story of what my family didn't know but the ones who heard and knew. After Elenora's first child turned seventeen, a son named Fernando, she gave him the necklace and told the same story. As I said before, the necklace and story become a ceremony in the family as it passes down from generation to generation."
I pause, pull the necklace around my neck, and take it off to show it to the crowd. "I am also a firstborn, and so is my mom and her mother, my grandmother. Mom gave me the necklace last Monday, even though she was supposed to give it to me on my birthday, and messed up the ceremony." I finish.
"Can you bring it around to show us?" Steve asks, smirking.
I shake my head and place the necklace back on my neck again. "No, you get an image of it," I say sternly. "This necklace is one of the most important relics of my family, symbolizing eternity. If my aunts and uncles saw what I did and what you said, they would most likely beat you." I sarcastically say, smirking, making most of the room laugh. The slides switch to a map of Spain, Mexico, and Southern California, all in a red-dotted line. "Even though my maternal family came to Mexico during the 17th century and Southern California in the mid-19th century, we kept our traditions and passed them down, hardly changing a thing."
The slides switch again to a bird's eye view of the manor. "This is where my family has been living for almost five generations. It's massive, about five acres, and the head of the house is my Abuela."
I changed the slides to an image of a painting of a family. A father standing, a mother sitting, and an infant in their mother's arms, wearing the family infant white gown. I take a few seconds to switch to another picture of the same family. I repeat this repeatedly, from painting to black and white to color only twice, once to my mother's infant picture and mine. "All these pictures are of my maternal family with the head of the family. Some are from Spain or Mexico, while the last five are from the manor, including mine, the one you're seeing right now." I say in embarrassment.
"Is that you in the white infant dress?" Shannon asks with curiosity.
I smile. "Since you asked so nicely, yes. The baby in the picture in the infant outfit is me, being held by my parents." I answer confidently. I turn to the picture but notice a little blue streak in my hair I'm sure wasn't there before. I shake it off and turn back to my classmates; some are gushing over me as a baby, including Jim, making me roll my eyes. I change slides to pictures of my family and their celebrations, bright and vibrant outfits, many people, and tons of food. "My family has been held together by tradition and family values. I'm excited to see them." I say proudly. I switched the slide for the last time, showing off the bright and vibrant colors again from the background and a large front of El Fin. "Thank you for watching!"
Everyone clapped, and some even cheered. I blush but smile with confidence at the crowd.
Mr. George stands up and smiles. "Thank you, Claire! That was a wonderful presentation, and I love your creativity and storytelling. You show your work here. Beautiful, and happy belated birthday!" He says with enthusiasm.
I smile, nod, hand him the controller, and walk to my seat. As I get to my chair, everyone starts to pack up their things and leave the room. I look at the clock: 3:43. The bell will ring in a couple of minutes.
"That was amazing, Claire! I didn't know about your family history before." Jim whispers behind me.
"Oh, this is just scratching the surface," I whisper back.
The bell rings, and Jim, Toby, and I leave class and split off to our locker. After collecting my things, I turn around and Jim behind me. "What is it?" I ask, seeing he rushed to get over here from his locker.
"Do you have any plans tonight?" He asks, trying to hide his nervousness, but I know when he does and what it means.
"No, why?"
"I'm going to take you someplace. You hungry?"
I blink and blush at the question. "Yes, but it's still early, and Mom is making spaghetti," I say sheepishly.
"That's not what I mean. I'll tell you when we get there. Come on." Jim replies.
I shrug my shoulders, and we walk to our bikes. Toby grabs his bike and says bye before cycling off without us. I turn to Jim with a raised eyebrow, but he shrugs his shoulders, seeming not to understand what his best friend said and did. We get on our bikes, and I follow Jim. As I glance at Jim, there's a huge grin on his face. I wonder what's going on inside my boyfriend's head.
Author Note: I'm sorry for the slow update. This took so long to research for good quality for this chapter; I had hard time writing and had to hang with my family. This is the longest chapter I've done. All the things that I wrote down from about where Claire's family is from to other details are all researched. I take pride doing my homework and don't want to make shit up like Stephanie Meyer and other authors do. I find it one of the key elements of being a good writer. Once again, pay attention to the details of each chapter. Claire, Morgana and this girl name Veronica. And also, I know Rise of TheTitans is coming out in three days. But this is my work and won't be based off of the movie. I will still keep working on this project until the end. Please review and share this story. It really helps me out.