Chapter Text
The flu was consuming Claire; she knew it wasn't that serious, but she had fainted during band practice, although she tried to downplay it since doctor Lake had told her it was nothing to worry about.
Anyway, she hadn't gone to class, but being cooped up in her room didn't make her feel any better.
"Maybe I should go for a walk for a while" she thought, getting out of bed.
She decided to go to the pharmacy for some syrup to help with the flu, took her bag, putting money, her phone, and the shadow wand inside, just in case.She put on her coat and looked at herself in the mirror while applying lipstick, her face still pale and her dark circles deeper, she let out a frustrated sigh and went down the stairs, the house was empty, her parents had traveled for a conference and took Enrique with them.
She left the house and felt the autumn breeze on her face; it was a rather cloudy day. She made her purchase at the pharmacy, but when she was walking through Arcadia Square, she saw a bookstore with a sign that completely caught her attention: "New Collection of Shakespeare's Works" That would definitely cheer her up.
She entered the place feeling a comfortable aura in the air, in addition to the smell of tea and books. There were a few people browsing the many shelves, and she headed towards where the books were supposed to be, but there wasn't a single one.
―Can I help you with something?― she heard behind her.
―Yes, I came for the new collection― she replied as she turned around, surprised to see the guy from the battle of the bands flyers in front of her with a box of the books she was looking for.
―Oh, Claire― he recognized her and smiled setting the box down to arrange the books on the shelf ―The books are running out faster than expected. By the way, I'm Douxie.
―A pleasure― she smiled at him ―So, besides being a guitarist, you're also a librarian?
―And a waiter― he smiled back at her, handing her one of the books.―Any special interest in William?
―A bit of a fanaticism, actually― she explained, looking at the book cover
―That's not something you see every day― he admitted, heading to the cash register.
―I've been told that before― she nodded, handing over the money for the book, feeling a sharp pain in her head that made her lean on the counter.
―Are you okay?― the boy asked with some concern.
―Yes, it's just this flu― the girl downplayed. «The servant of Merlin, kill him» she heard a voice in her head that made her jump—Eh...thanks for the book, Douxie, see you— she said goodbye, quickly leaving the store
She started walking quickly, a sense of alertness chasing her. She didn't realize it was raining until a thunderclap resonated in the sky. She ducked into an alley to take out her shadow rod and transport herself home, but once she crossed over, she found herself in a kind of cave with engravings on the ceiling and walls.
―Welcome, my child― she heard a voice resonating in the place, the same voice from the rehearsal, the same one from just moments ago.
―Who are you?― she shouted, taking the staff in a defensive position, but it was of no use when a golden light made her levitate while it permeated her.
―You will know soon― this time resonated inside her head before everything went dark.
...
It was already late at night when Douxie was hunting goblins in the city streets. It had been a good sales day, and he had the rest of the night free, but there was something that didn't quite add up, the feeling that something was happening and that he wasn't aware of it.
The image of Claire had remained in his mind, did he know her from before?, somewhere in his memories was that brown gaze, he couldn't help but worry about how, before she left the store, she had emitted that malevolent aura, she didn't seem like someone who did evil, and that energy that surrounded her was ancient and he was almost sure it wasn't any relic from the library that had awakened it.
A noise pulled him out of his thoughts, Archie had transformed into a dragon and was in an attack position, the temperature had dropped completely and in front of him was...Claire levitating? What kind of magical cold had the poor girl caught?
Before she could say anything, she noticed the golden glint in his eyes.
It wasn't possible.
Archie was already growling when he stopped him with a gesture, the girl seemed not to notice them, she continued moving slowly in the shadows.
―That girl seems to be possessed― murmured the dragon ―I don't like anything about what's inside her
Douxie began to approach cautiously. If his suspicions were correct, she wasn't possessed by any entity. He began to move the rings of her bracelet, casting a protection spell. It was when she was less than a meter away that she turned to look at him. Before letting her do anything else, he quickly grabbed her wrist, setting the spell he'd cast, hoping it would work to ward off the other presence. To his relief, the girl seemed to come back to herself when the golden halo vanished and she stopped levitating and fell into his arms.
―What- where? Douxie?― the disoriented girl muttered, trying to maintain her balance.
―Uh, I don't know how to explain this, but have you had contact with any ancient artifacts that have made you act differently these days?
―I... I don't know― she answered, although deep down she knew she couldn't talk about the troll world, much less with a stranger in the middle of the night, she tried to throw him off with something in her surroundings until she saw the black dragon? It didn't seem friendly, she had only seen the illustrations of that creature in Blinky's books, that was enough to put her instincts on alert, magical creature and a mortal, that couldn't happen, she took out her staff and stood in front of the boy while her mind thought of a believable excuse to give after that. The dragon seemed quite scared of the shadow staff, perhaps not difficult to defeat. However, the situation took a turn when the boy he was supposed to be protecting stepped between them.
―Hey, wait, wait― Douxie stopped her, his hands now surrounded by blue light.
―She has Morgana's weapon; she must be some disciple― Archie said as he sneaked up to stand side by side with his mage.
―Morgana?― Claire was surprised; that name sounded familiar. ―Who are you?― she questioned the boy, pointing the staff at him.
―No, who are you?― Douxie demanded.
―I don't have to answer that― the girl snapped
―You work for Morgana? Angor Rot, maybe?― he continued.
―What? No, I would never work for Angor Rot. How do you know about him?― Claire looked at the situation carefully. That boy was scared, the dragon too. If they thought Angor was a danger, it was a fact that they weren't on that side. With some distrust, she lowered her staff and placed it at her side― answer me
―I... am a wizard― the boy with blue highlights revealed, putting away his magic― Now answer. Who are you?
―Uh, it's complicated. I work with the Trollhunter, you know about him right? Is a hero in your world― she replied, shrugging her shoulders.
―You work with trolls? How do you know about that world?― Archie now questioned, sitting at Douxie's feet, transforming into a cat.
―My friend Jim is the Trollhunter. He found the amulet on the way to school, and well, it's actually a long story― she tried to explain, putting the staff back in her bag.
―A human Trollhunter?― Archie muttered―That's new, wait until Merlin finds out
―I thought there were still a few more centuries before the amulet could do that― Douxie nodded.
―Wait, Merlin?― The girl's eyes widened― Do you know about Merlin and the amulet?
The question took Douxie by surprise. The last few minutes had been revealing, but talking about Merlin?― Something like that, it's also a long story― he downplayed it.
―It's actually great― the girl smiled before grimacing― Back to the original topic, what am I doing here?
―You tell us that― Archie said― You were levitating around here. Have you had any traumatic experiences with that staff you're using?
Claire looked at him and began to reminisce. The signs under her bed, the tiredness. Could this be some of it? «You've been like this since you opened that big portal» Jim had said. Did that count as the breaking point?― Maybe― she murmured as she tried to remember more. Blurry images came to her mind quickly and without meaning. Her forehead was starting to throb
―Look, I could help you― Douxie offered― I know you don't know me, but you can trust me
Claire looked at him carefully. It was true that she didn't know him, but the boy's hazel gaze emanated a warmth that made her feel safe. He hadn't attacked her when he'd had the chance. Besides, it wasn't every day you came across a wizard. She could clear up a few doubts― Okay, how are you going to help me?
―I think we should start from the beginning of your problem before jumping to conclusions― the feline intervened, starting to walk― and definitely not in this place
―Archie's right, come with us, we'll see what we can do for you― the wizard invited with a faint smile, earning a nod from his companion, starting to walk toward the bookstore