I feel sick and numb before seeing the wolf's eyes. I wake up, whimpering and groaning in pain, but it doesn't sound like my voice. It sounds...animalistic. I try to breathe, but it sounds more like a sniff. A stabbing pain shoots all through my body. It's like venom flowing through my veins. My magic tries to help, but it makes it worse. I use my strength to get up, clumsily get off Jim and my bed, and walk out of our room. I walk around the castle halls dizzily, trying to shake off what seems like a fever. I search for a window or something to breathe out of. I stumble against a door, making it open when my chest brushes against it. I walk out of it before I collapse to the ground, hitting my head, shaking, and crying in pain. I cover my mouth, hoping my friends don't hear me, but my palm gets pinched by something sharp. My mouth is so sore. My teeth hurt, shifting into something sharp. My legs and arms feel weird and itchy. I shut my eyes, too scared to open them. I try to push down the unbearable pain.
"Time to see more of your powers, child."
I open my eyes to various shades of blue, yellow, and grey. I try to get up, but my legs and arms are tense and weak, and my body feels contorted differently.
"Claire! Claire!" Jim shouts.
I look up and see him running toward me, but my vision becomes blurry, and Jim disappears as I blink. I try to get up again but fall. I scream at the top of my lungs, but there's a wolf's howl instead of a human voice. My body goes limp, and I pass out, sick and disoriented.
Darkness and silence. No fire. No cold. No creepy Half-Troll. Just the feeling of loneliness, but I suspect a great terror awaits me if I wake up. Even if what I feel and hear is harmless, it triggers all my fears. I can't move, feeling paralyzed. No pain but preparing for something that might not come. It brings dread and despair traveling through my body. The silence triggers my worries about something sneaking behind me. I finally open my eyes, wake up, and see blue and grey. So many parts of me hurt and feel so weird. Slowly, I get up and stand up, but I'm on all fours. I don't feel 5' 2". It's more like 2-3 feet tall. I take a step forward but almost lose my balance. I only feel four fingers and not my thumb. My whole body aches, making me groan, but it sounds like a haunting howl. I look around, and the rocks around me are grey—no other color than that. My head starts pounding, my senses heighten, and my stomach hurts. It's cold, but warmth is all around me. I painfully begin walking. I have to find my friends. They're probably worried about where I am. Maybe I'm just sick, and that's why I'm feeling and seeing weird things.
"Claire! Claire!" All of my friends' voices shout.
I sigh in relief. I walk more smoothly, but it feels like I'm crawling without using my thumbs. My hand splashes in a puddle of water, and I look down and almost jump in shock. There, I see a wolf's reflection in the small pool of water. Is that me? I look closer and notice my brown eyes in the reflection. Oh my god! I'm a wolf. How?! Wizards don't turn into animals. Do they? Douxie, Archie, and Zoe haven't told me that, but why a wolf? Mom did say a wolf is my spirit animal, and my familiar is, too. Hearing my friends' voices, I knew they were awake and looking for me. I have to get back to them, but I'm scared of what they'll think of me. They won't recognize me. They'll freak out. Maybe even Nymeria will chase me off. I try to think of a way to return to what I was before, but I don't know how or why I transformed into a wolf. It must be a challenge of my powers, but what? Neither Douxie nor Zoe transforms into animals.
Archie was born a dragon, but he had the choice of his first form, a cat, but he didn't explain how he transformed or how it works. I remember reading this in books and watching it in movies and TV shows when I was younger. The person, witch, wizard, etc., had to control and focus on what form they wanted to transform into. Same with the changelings. I think of my original form, wanting it back. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, thinking of looking at myself. I start shaking, and my head spins. So much pain hits me like a bullet. I open my eyes and fall to the ground. I groan in pain. I can't get there.
"Claire! Claire! Where are you?"
Oh no! My friends are getting closer. I can hear and smell them. Fear sweeps over me. I can't confront them. I quickly get up and run away to hide in a pile of rocks. There is a crack that is easy for me to fit into and look out for, but it hides me. Soon, my friends walk into my view. I tremble, a mix of worry, fear, and anxiety running through me. I can't control and handle my emotions as a wolf. This reminds me of what happened with Jim when he turned into a Half-Troll, hiding from Toby and me, but now I'm in his situation; hopefully, this isn't permanent.
"Claire was here," Nymeria says hopefully, peaking up to my friends. "Her scent is powerful here; she must be around here somewhere and couldn't have gotten far."
Oh shit! Please don't find me. Nari freezes and stares in my direction. I duck as she says she senses something scary in the area. Oh great! I look out, making Toby freeze in fear; the color drains from his face.
"Guys, I think something is in there." He says in horror, pointing to where I'm hiding.
Everyone gets their weapons out, making me scared. My friends would never hurt me, but would they in this form?
"Whoever you are, come out!" Jim shouts, pulling out his sword.
I'm afraid he might hurt me, but Jim would never. I can show I'm not going to attack him. He will never attack something if it freezes, doesn't move or back away, and has its head down. I have to confront him, even if his sword is near him. I take a deep breath and slowly walk out of the crack. Everyone freaks out, and as expected, Jim looks ready to attack me. He seems so angry, yet I sense worry in him. Worried about where I am, but I'm right here, where, sadly, he doesn't know. If I weren't in this form, I would run up and hug him, but for me, appearing as a threat to him, he looks so dangerous. I try to back up, but I can't move. I lower my head, trembling in fear.
"Wait! Jim, don't scare her!" Nymeria shouts, getting in between us. "Lower your weapon." She growls. Jim obeys and backs up. Nymeria turns to me and smiles.
Does Nymeria recognize me? I calm down as I feel our bond, and I suddenly relax. Nymeria and I bump our heads together and circle each other, becoming excited. We jump and start playing. Nari walks towards us, and I lower my head, letting her pet me.
"Uhhhh... What's going on here?" Krel asks in confusion.
"Guys! This wolf shouldn't be feard. She's Claire!" Nari replies happily, hugging me.
But everyone stares at us in confusion. "What are you talking about? That wolf looks nothing like Claire." Aja says, shaking her head.
There's no way for Nari and Nymeria to convince them. I take a deep breath and walk to Jim. He backed up and was about to pull out his weapon, but Nymeria growled at him. I sit, and we stare at each other. I can't speak or tell Jim it's me, but I don't have to. Soon, Jim drops his weapon and stares at me in shock; his eyes widen, studying me.
"Claire?" He says softly.
I stand up, wagging my tail, and smile. Jim smiles with joy and gets down to my level. A huge weight lifts off my shoulders as Jim touches my head, and I lean into his hand, calming me down. He sighs and looks like he'll cry.
"I'm so sorry." He whispers.
Why should he be sorry? He may have held a sword to me, but he didn't hurt me and know I was in this body.
"How is this possible?" Zoe says. "I've never heard of a witch or wizard transforming into an animal. I've only read about it in books."
"Morgana could turn into one," Douxie corrects, walking next to me, getting down to my level, and petting my head.
"How should we help turn Claire back to normal?" Jim asks with concern.
"You can't help her. Only she can," Archie says calmly, flying to us.
"How?" Douixe asks.
"She has to focus and concentrate on her powers."
But I whine and shake my head, trembling.
"Shhh! Claire, I know you don't like it and are already in pain, but you must face it, or it won't get better." Nari whispers, pressing her hand on my back.
"You can do this, Claire," Douxie says softly. Jim moves to my side, and Douxie takes his place to face me. "Remember what I taught you. Stay true to yourself. That will protect you from fear and shadows. Close your eyes and take a deep breath."
I'm safe with my friends around. Some might still be shocked and scared, as I expect, but at least the one I love is beside me, and my mentor is in front of me, along with Nymeria and Nari, who understand me. I think of my original form, but it makes my head spin.
"I'm right here for you. I believe in you." Jim says sweetly.
I turn to his smile. He believes in me. He's always believed in me. If it weren't for him, I would've not made my biggest portal to save our friends and most of the trolls of Trollmarket. I wouldn't have supported being underground for three months if it weren't for him. He gave me the strength to fight and is next to me. I see my reflection change into human form. With all my willpower, I pull myself together. White comes to my eyes, and I faint.
"Claire, you did it," Douxie says happily.
I open my eyes, and he's in front of me, smiling. Blood rushes to my head, and I'm so weak and in pain, but my healing magic isn't working.
"Rest, Claire. You need your strength."
I calm down and feel someone's gentle touch and stroke my hair. I close my eyes and drift off to rest.
I feel comfortable in my own body, and my strength comes back. I feel something warm snuggling beside me. I open my eyes, and Nymeria is next to me, sleeping. It's not my boyfriend, but I enjoy being around my familiar. She gave me some safety as she saved me from getting hurt by my friends. I reach out my hand and gently place it on Nymeria's head. She seems to be a light sleeper as she quickly turns to me. I recoil my hand, but she smiles.
"Hi, Claire!"
"Hi, Nymeria!" I yawn, stretching as she sits up. "Did I wake you up?"
"No! I was just resting, and Jim wanted me to watch you." She replies.
Suddenly, all the horrible things I felt came back to me. "How long have I been asleep?" I ask nervously.
"Not that long. About two hours. While you were sleeping, Jim was training Mary and Darci. They're getting much better with their weapons of choice. Don't worry. Douxie wants you to rest as much as possible because of your powers." Nymeria explains. "If you're up to it, we can walk over to them. They might still be training."
"I'm fine." I groan, stretching and slowly sitting up. I look down, and all my clothes are on me, with my necklace around my neck. It's painful and makes me lightheaded, but Nymeria helps me up. I get on my feet. Amber greeted us when I opened the door and led us to another door. It opens by itself, and my friends are training in the center of the room.
"Claire!"
I look at the sound, and NotEnrique and Nari are running up to me. I bend down, and NotEnrique hugs me. "I'm so glad you're ok," He sighs, snuggling up against my chest.
"Thanks, brother!" I mumble, hugging him back.
"Are you ok, Claire?" Nari asks me sweetly.
"I'm a bit lightheaded, but I'll be alright."
"How did you transform into a wolf?" NotEnrique asks curiously.
"I don't know. All I know is that when I did, it was painful, and I felt physically sick."
"Don't worry, Claire. You'll get used to it. Extending your powers is difficult the first time, but we will help you." Nari reassures me.
I smile. "Thank you, guys!"
"Come on!" NotEnrique says, jumping out of my arms. "Everyone is wondering about you."
I nod, and NotEnrique walks back with Nari to our friends.
"Claire!" Mary shouts, drawing everyone's attention. She drops her weapon and rushes up to hug me. The wind gets knocked out of me, gasping for air from her tight grip. "We were so worried about you."
"Mary, it wasn't like she was dying," Darci says, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.
"Claire is my bestie, and I don't want her to be in pain." Mary snaps in defense as she lets me go, crossing her arms, too.
"I'm fine, Mary." I sigh. "How did you guys know I was outside?"
"I told them," Veronica speaks, drawing my attention to her. "The fairies saw you walking around the halls early this morning, looking sick. They got me, and I told your friends where you went."
"Thanks."
"How did you transform?"
"Did it hurt?"
"What did it feel like?"
Everyone flows me with questions about what happened to me. It's odd for everyone, but I have questions too. I don't know what, why, or how I can become a wolf. Krel thinks it's fascinating, but I consider it painful and scary. Jim changes the topic to continue training while I sit back to watch with Nymeria next to me, still exhausted from my transformation. Before I become bored, Douxie, Zoe, and Archie come up to keep me company.
"Hey Douxie, what did you say about Morgana could transform into an animal?" I ask him, remembering what he said.
"Oh, it's a funny story." Archie snickers, making Douxie blush.
"What? What animal was she?"
"An owl. She was able to do that before I came to Camelot. Merlin told me she often hid from him in that form." Douxie admits.
"And that's how we first met her," Archie whispers, almost making me giggle.
"How?"
"When I came to the royal court with Merlin, he was annoyed Morgana didn't show up to greet me. In his lab, Archie spotted a golden-brown owl sleeping on a perch. As I was wandering the room, I heard a woman's voice behind me asking what I was doing there. I turned around and tripped when I saw Morgana standing in front of me. Archie hissed at her, and she asked who I was. Merlin entered and introduced me to Morgana. She helped me up and apologized for scaring me."
"She sounded kind to you," I reply.
"She was, but she was a private person, rarely interacting with others besides Merlin and her sister-in-law, Queen Guinevere. She was even more secluded on the day of October 18th to the 21st, where she stayed in her room most of the time and didn't talk for hours. Merlin told me this was due to her best friend being killed in front of her many years before I came to Camelot."
I sigh as I hear the tragedy of Morgana losing a best friend, but something seems strange about the dates. Is that why I couldn't speak to her during my birthday and the Day of Mourning for my family? And my dreams of her 'having a child' the night before my birthday and sending her away the night before the ceremony couldn't be a coincidence. Did Morgana have a daughter? And if so, why did she send her child away? "Archie, when you first became a cat, how did you learn to control it?" I ask the black cat sitting next to Zoe.
"Well, when I first transformed, I had a dream of walking to a village and not having anyone cower away in fear. Then, when I woke up, I saw I didn't have any wings. I always dreamed of traveling and not having any attention come to me, so I transformed into a cat. It was scary like yours was, but I figured out that using my fire breath helped me transform from a dragon into a cat. For how you can control your transformation is more tricky, but when I want to change from a dragon to a cat or vice versa, I would think of shaping into it." He explains.
"We'll figure it out," Douxie reassures me and leans near my ear. "Archie and I are almost done. It should be ready by tomorrow."
I know what he means and nod, excited to re-create something for Jim to use.
"Jim, I'm done for the day!"
I turn my head, and Mary crosses her arms with the rope dart on the ground. I see the exhaustion in her and Darci's face. Jim sighs, and with the convincing of Toby, he agrees to call it a day. Darci and Mary put their weapons away and walked up to me as Douxie, Archie, Zoe, and Nari left us to talk.
"What is with Jim?" Mary groans.
"What do you mean?" I ask, confused.
"He is so obsessed with training with medieval weapons," Darci adds.
"Jim has been drilled in this from Blinky since he became the Trollhunter a year ago," I reply, shrugging my shoulders.
Mary rolls her eyes and shakes her head, crossing her arms. "I believe Jim is paranoid about your safety after Abuela was killed."
I shiver and hiss, making the two girls tense up. "Jim is just trying to prepare us for what's to come."
Mary groans before she and Darci walk away, not believing my excuse. I shrug it off and look at Jim, but when our eyes lock, he looks away, ashamed. "What's wrong, Jim?" I ask as I approach him.
Jim turns to me and wraps his arms around my waist. "I'm sorry. I almost hurt you. I feel so horrible I held a sword to you." He replies, slightly trembling.
"Shhh! It's OK, Jim. You didn't know, and I don't blame your reaction. I'm not hurt, and that's all that matters. I don't want you to beat yourself up because of what you didn't do." I say softly. Jim sighs and pulls me into a hug. I snuggle in his chest, feeling warm, gaining back some of my strength.
Author Note: How did you like this chapter? Please review.