Enchantment - Ch. 5 - 'Terror Amongst Valor'
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Summary:
A peculiar start to your morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. However, nightfall brings the most dangerous threat you have yet to face, a threat you are clearly not ready for yet.
Pairing: Draal x Reader
Warnings: Injury, Mentions of Blood
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7
Masterlist Post
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Jim’s wide eyes stared at you as you stood in the kitchen doorway.
And you stared back.
And so did Strickler, past the dirty sock dangling in front of his face being held by your brother.
Your fingers gently pinched the bridge of your nose as you tried to think of what could have possibly happened to have landed your brother in this situation.
"Jim..." You groaned quietly, more annoyed than upset. Maybe it was due to the copious amount of reading you had been doing frying your brain, but you weren't quite in the mood to deal with your little brother's complicated - not to mention evil - changeling teacher. You looked back up, hoping maybe this was a hallucination from focusing too hard for too long. Alas, there said teacher sat, tied to a chair in the middle of the dining room area, with Jim clad in his armor standing guard next to him. What on Earth was this hostage situation?
"(Y/n)!" Jim suddenly smiled - albeit in a guilty way - and dropped the sock he held, taking a couple steps toward you, "Well- ah, uhm- actually, you see..." He fumbled over his words, to which Strickler rolled his eyes. You shot the changeling a glare before looking back to Jim,
"C'mon, you promised you wouldn't keep secrets about trollhunting from me. Spit it out before I start shoving that dirty sock in your face." The teen seemed rightfully disgusted as his posture creased, seeming to crack under your elder sibling stare,
"Yeah, I did, I know..." He took a deep breath in, readying himself for what was to come,
"Strickler found a ring called the Inferna Copula which had the soul of a really strong, really angry troll called Angor Rot in it and sent him after me, but I accidentally destroyed the ring and his soul with it so now he's hunting Strickler for revenge, and he asked me to protect him because he's under a magic binding spell so if he gets hurt, so does Mom..."
…
Wow. Just wow.
You could only stare on as you took in the information that had just been spewed at you. Jim's sheepish smile widened, while Strickler looked more annoyed than anything, "Really, young Atlas, keeping secrets from your allies? Your sister, no less? For shame." Said the changeling with a smug grin. Jim turned and scowled at his ex-teacher, only validating him further.
"While I have your attention, could you so kindly untie me?" He asked with quite an unkind tone, "I asked you to protect me, not to torture me." With a heavy eyeroll, Jim walked behind the chair and used Daylight to cut the rope holding Strickler captive, freeing him and allowing him to stand as he rubbed his raw wrists.
"And I said I'd keep you safe, not comfortable." It was Strickler's turn to roll his eyes ever so slightly. His gaze shifted to the sunlight that filtered through the trees and in through the window,
"Well, the sun is up. You'll have until sundown to get me as far away as possible." Jim stretched as if he had been up all night - which you assumed was the case, and you’d probably berate him for later for it - and allowed his armor to disappear,
"Fine. Lemme call the team." Your brother walked over the kitchen counter, picking up the walkie talkie that sat on it, "Trollhunter to War Hammer, you copy?"
Strickler scoffed, "Oh goody, the Puberty Patrol is on the case. I feel sooo safe." Sarcasm practically dripped from his tone as he spoke. Your expression hardened as he took a step closer, angling your staff slightly towards him, a silent treat. The man paused in his tracks as the walkie talkie crackled to life,
"This is War Hammer, what's up Jimbo?" Toby's voice came across, fuzzy with a hint of static. Before Jim could speak, Strickler stepped forward and snatched the device from his hands. Your brother, looking incredibly offended by the action, turned in an attempt to grab it back. You jolted forward a step out of instinct, having to stop yourself from grabbing him and yanking him away from your brother. The last thing you wanted to do was escalate, but damn did you despise this man…
"Do you really think your friends will have any chance against that killer?? They'll be a liability!" Your brother grabbed the walkie talkie just as you pushed Strickler a few steps away, the most you could do without hurting him. His glare harshened at you before he returned his attention to Jim, "May I remind you, you destroyed Angor's soul. He'll be out for blood, be it yours, or theirs." Realization flashed in Jim’s eyes. He hated to admit to himself that Strickler was right; Angor’s grudge was with him and no one else.
While the changeling made a good point, you hesitated to agree with him. He could be trying to lure the lot of you into a trap, or deceiving you with reverse psychology and Jim's care for his friends. On one hand, you knew they were a great team. On the other, this Angor Rot fella sounded powerful, extremely so. The conversation surrounding him even seemed to have Strickler, who you had observed to be a decently powerful and quite intelligent changeling, on edge. You didn't have much time to mull it over before the walkie Jim held relayed Toby's voice again,
"Jim, hellooo?"
"Uh- Yeah, uh, Tobes. Get everyone together, see what you can dig up on finding that last Triumbric stone." Jim pivoted, completely nixing his initial intention of asking him and Claire for help getting Strickler away from Arcadia.
"The one the GumGum's stole?"
"Yeah, I need you guys down in Trollmarket. I'll catch up when I can. Over and out."
With that, Jim returned the device to its place on the counter. You could tell Strickler’s words had his thoughts scattered. Had he really just done that? While it wasn't necessarily a lie, it was certainly omitting the truth.
"Smart choice." Said Strickler, making his way over to the coffee pot and picking it up, "For once, you're learning."
"Hey." You interjected, grabbing both his and Jim's attention, "You better watch it. Jim might have said he'd keep you safe from this Angor Rot guy you let loose, but I'm not past throwing you out and letting you walk your way out of Arcadia-"
"(Y/n)! The binding spell..." Jim reminded you, gently placing a hand on your arm in an attempt to calm and ground you. You grumbled frustratedly under your breath. With all the information that had been thrown at you, you had totally forgotten about that. Damn him... Still steaming a little, you resorted to simply crossing your arms and glaring daggers through the changeling bastard in your kitchen. He seemed to get a splash of satisfaction from seeing you in such a state.
"And for the record," Jim began, grabbing a box of cereal and putting it in Strickler's free hand, as he had realized the coffee pot was empty, "Angor Rot destroyed his own soul." The two locked eyes for a moment, only a moment, until Strickler put the coffee pot down and began searching the cabinets and drawers in search of a bowl and spoon for the cereal he now held.
As he did, you couldn't take your eyes off of him. One of Jim's most dangerous enemies was in your kitchen, technically a guest - or maybe more of a hostage? - and also protected under Jim's word… Just the thought of it rubbed you the wrong way. Not to mention the spell he was under, which made you want to protect him as well, although just the thought of it nearly made you sick to your stomach.
Your intense glaring was interrupted when you felt the floors begin to shake slightly. Breaking out of your hostile thoughts, you gripped your staff tighter in anticipation, but relaxed slightly soon after recognizing the way the shaking came in a rhythmic pattern. Footsteps. Big, clunky, familiar footsteps. Your scowl lightened just slightly as you realized it must be Draal coming back from Trollmarket. He was late, remembering he said he would be back before sunrise, but that was the least of your worries.
You sped your way over to the basement door and opened it with a little more force than you had intended, walking down the first few steps before stopping and crouching down to see the one and only Draal the Deadly. He looked up as he entered the basement from the tunnel he had dug- wait, a tunnel? He had gouged the entire wall into a tunnel?? Well, you hoped he didn’t hit any electrical wiring or important pipes… Regardless of your initial shock, there were bigger fish to fry that distracted you. A grin played on the big blue troll’s features the moment he met your eyes,
"Good morning, fleshbag." You couldn't help but grin just a little, picking yourself up so you could walk the rest of the way down the steps, "Good morning to you too, Draal. You're late, though. And that tunnel?” You looked past him, “We will definitely be talking about later." You jested, not truly meaning anything by pointing the two things out. He waved a large hand dismissively,
"Bah, it only leads to the sewers. I alone know about it. And it’s only minutes after sunrise, negligible really. The Trollhunter can handle himself for one measly morning." Your relaxed expression tightened slightly, bringing you back to what exactly you had walked in on not long ago. Geez, how were you supposed to tell the greatest warrior in Trollmarket exactly what was going on?
"Yeahhh, sorta... So there's actually been a, uh... development this morning, you could say." Although you were fighting to look anywhere but at Draal, you still caught the way confusion took over his face, one brow arched as if asking what the hell had happened in his absence. Your hands wrung together anxiously, knowing his reaction wouldn’t be a pleasant one.
And so, you did your best to explain.
But didn’t end up getting too far, go figure.
Right after Draal heard that Strickler was in your home, his eyes went wide with what you could only assume was battle-ready rage. He went barging past you and barreled into the kitchen with violent intent, ready as ever for a good fight.
Thankfully, you were able to put a barrier up between him and the dining room, just before he could reach Jim and Strickler, who were both very unprepared for him to come barging in with a battle cry like he did. You came rushing up the basement stairs after him, "Draal, wait a second! You can't hurt Strickler-"
"Why not? And why is he in your home?? Why are you trusting this changeling when all he's ever done is betray you??" His intense gaze turned to Jim, awaiting an answer.
"Well, you see... We kinda have to. He's under a binding spell, so if he gets hurt..."
"So does our mom." You finished, coming to stand next to the warrior, "And Strickler’s got a huge target on his back; he's being hunted. So as much as I'd love to hand him over to this Angor Rot fella myself..." You paused, eyes narrowing sharply at the changeling that stood in your home so casually, "We can't. Not until the binding spell is broken, at least." You brought a hand up to rest on Draal’s arm, feeling just how tense he was and how ready he had been to absolutely eliminate the threat at hand. He turned to look down at you, seeing the fear and concern in your eyes. Such an expression on your face... He found himself hating it.
Draal took a deep breath in, huffing onto the barrier that still stood in his way, making his bullring sway and the surface of the barrier fog slightly. His eyes held a promise to make quick work of the changeling as soon as he was free to do so. Strickler - although protected by Jim's word - lost a little confidence at the intimidating promise, you could tell. Good. He was getting too cocky for his own good anyway. You lowered the barrier as Draal took a step back, a silent agreement to not harm Strickler. However, his beyond intense glower remained.
With that settled for the moment, Jim quickly regained his thoughts and crouched down to rummage through a cabinet. Meanwhile, Strickler smugly ate the cereal he had made for himself. You could feel your eye twitch at the mere sight. Draal huffed through his nose once more, clearly just as furious as you were. The fact that he seemed just as ready to be rid of the man was satisfying in a way. The very second the binding spell was undone, you'd be sure to be the first to punch him square in his stupid face before allowing Draal to have his way.
Jim's exasperated groan caught everyone's attention, interrupting the three-way stare-off you, Draal, and Strickler had been apparently participating in, "Is this really all the canned food we have?"
Draal was quick to grin, replying smugly while side-eyeing Strickler, "You need more? Mmm, we should chop him into little pieces and can him right now."
"Draal, please," You pat his arm, "Do you really think he'd be any good? I bet he'd be tough to chew and taste rotten." You grinned at your own malice-laced response, which also earned a quiet, yet unsettling chuckle from the troll next to you.
"Indeed, not even gnomes would partake in his flesh." You both quietly laughed together, both at the joke you shared and at Strickler's face as it contorted into disgust.
"Guys, please, I don't even wanna think about our Mom getting hurt..." Jim pleaded, standing and closing the cabinet he was just in before beginning to search through one of the top cabinets. Well shoot, now you felt bad. You didn't want your guys' Mom to get hurt either, but damn, did you want to let Strickler have it in any way you could manage while you were stuck protecting him...
"So," Draal addressed Jim, now more serious, "what exactly is the plan, Trollhunter? You can't keep this changeling here forever. Will Bar-ba-ra not be displeased to have a stranger - especially such an ugly one - in her home?" You nearly snorted at the worked-in jab.
"She's still at work, so the plan right now is to get him out of Arcadia before sunset. Then we'll have more time to uh... to figure things out." Jim replied, though his confidence seemed to waver as he went on. Even you knew you couldn't keep Strickler safe forever, especially if Angor Rot was so cunning and downright dangerous as to make him ask your brother for help. And where on earth would you guys take him? To a hotel during the nights, where you couldn't properly fight or defend yourselves? Surrounded by prying human eyes? As much as Jim was trying to keep it together, you could tell he was struggling.
"Say you do get him out of town, What's stopping Angor Rot from finding him?" Draal followed up, to which you silently thanked the stars you didn't have to ask these questions yourself.
"I dunno, we... disguise him." Jim replied. hurriedly. His tone seeming to become gradually more annoyed and rushed, shutting the cabinet door with slight force and turning to hastily open the fridge.
"Disguise? Angor is a cunning and ruthless assassin, you think he'll be fooled by a hat and mustache?"
"Then I guess we fight him. Far, far away from here." He seemed to be grasping for whatever came to mind at this point. It hurt your heart to see your little brother trying desperately to find a solution to everything. There were so many things to consider, especially with all this talk of Angor Rot being so powerful and smart witted. You were truly starting to become concerned as the weight of the situation dawned on you rather suddenly...
"I do not like this plan,” Draal leaned over Jim's much smaller form, "Angor could strike at any time and in any place. He would have the tactical advantage!" Suddenly, Jim forcefully shut the refrigerator door and whipped around, facing Draal once more,
"Then I don't know, okay?? I don't have all the answers..." Brows knitted, expression twisted with frustration... You pushed past Draal to hold your little brother in a hug, just enough to be comforting but not enough to be smothering. Enough for him to know you're there for him. To remind him he’s got people who will help him figure all this out. After a short moment, Jim sighed, separating himself from the embrace,
"Sorry, I know it's not a well thought out plan, but we have to leave." You squeezed your poor, overburdened brother's shoulder as your hand came to rest on it. You only wished you cold do more.
"Take a second, Jim. It's still early in the day; we've got daylight to spare." You spoke in a cool, even tone, "I know this is an impossible situation to judge, but let's not make any sure decisions just yet. Not while we're all so worked up over everything." At your words, Jim seemed to calm down, just enough to take a deep breath and nod in agreement. You looked up at Draal, "That means you, too." He looked taken aback as you spoke, eyes growing comedically wide with sudden surprise, "And you, Strickler." The former teacher only rolled his eyes.
"Me?" Draal caught your attention once more,
"But I-"
"No but's!"
"We need to-"
"The only thing we need to do right now is take a second and calm down. Good decisions are never made when everyone’s panicking and stressed. Are we on the same page?" Your stern gaze said all he needed to hear; the burly troll slouched slightly as he accepted your word as law. Your gentle smile returned, "Thank you."
The tension was split when Jim's phone began to ring, the phrase 'I Am Gun Robot' that you had always teased him about repeating as he reached into his bag and grabbed the device. You both read the caller ID; Mom. Quickly, you both held a finger to your lips, signaling the other two in the room to stay silent. As Jim answered the call, he handed his bag to Draal and brought the phone to his ear. He walked the short distance into the dining room and yawned performatively into the speaker,
"Uh... Hey mom, how are you? I just got up." You listened intently as he spoke, but were distracted when you heard a strangely crunchy chewing coming from beside you. Looking over, you caught Draal red handed as he picked one of Jim's things out of his bag, presumably to eat it as well. You quickly smacked his stony hand, to which he dropped the item back into the bag and put it down on the counter, like a puppy caught in the act. You shook your heat disapprovingly and silently shushed him once more.
"Sorry I didn't come home kiddo, it's been crazy over here at the hospital." You could hear your mom's voice come through the phone’s speaker, "Looks like my night shift is turning into a weekend shift."
Your focus was broken yet again when you noticed Strickler walk up behind yourself and Draal, separated by the windowed wall that separated the kitchen from the living room, "Nice arm. Did you get that at the toy store?" He questioned smugly, rasping his fist against Draal's prosthetic a couple of times. Before you could do anything to stop it, Draal shouted in Strickler's face at full volume as his prosthetic's fist clattered harshly onto the table. His shout turned into a deep growl afterward, only bringing a smirk to Strickler's stupid smug face. You tried to push Draal back, but he was far too heavy and strong - not to mention angry - for you to do so,
"Can it, both of you...!" You whisper-shouted in a fruitless attempt to shut them up. Jim rushed over soon after and hurriedly hushed the two, resulting in Draal's growls only slightly lessening in volume. You gained a slight bit of headway in pushing him away, but only because he voluntarily stepped back, just a smidge.
"So you're gonna be gone all weekend...?" Jim asked aloud, grabbing everyone's attention, "Oh, that sucks Mom..." Despite his words, his face betrayed him, a smile growing on his and Strickler's features.
"I know, but you and (y/n) can take care of yourselves. Just hunker down in the house, stay safe."
"Suuure, sure, we can hold down the fort."
"Ah, you're lifesavers."
"We'll add it to our resumes. Okay, bye mom... Yeah yeah, I love you too."
With that, Jim hung up. You could sense a newfound hope in him, much different to the doubt and overwhelm he had been feeling just minutes ago. You grinned as well at the thought.
"She'll be out of the house, all weekend?" Asked Strickler as soon as Jim was off the phone, to which your brother nodded eagerly,
"Yeah, which means the house will be empty." That was all they spoke between them before Jim grabbed his bag and began to unpack the cans and whatnot he had put in it. Did he decide not to take Strickler out of Arcadia? You glanced up to Draal, who seemed to be just as confused as you were. He crossed his arms, the fingers of one hand drumming on the other arm’s bicep impatiently,
"... Fine, I have rocks for brains. Will someone tell me what's so obvious?" Draal's question interrupted the silence, his arms crossing as he stood there awaiting an answer.
"Yeah, I'm a little lost too. Are you not leaving anymore?" You pitched in, brow quirked in a questioning way.
"We are gonna hold down the fort." You could hear the sheer intent behind each word Jim spoke. There's the confidence you knew he had.
"We survived one night. He's not going to survive the next." Strickler added. At this, Draal seemed to catch onto whatever the two were planning seemingly telepathically between each other,
"Right... We fight here. Take back the tactical advantage! An ambush! I like it."
Ahh, now it made sense! Though, you had some concerns for how your home would come out of an epic brawl with a 'ruthless assassin,' as Draal had called Angor Rot. But nevertheless, the advantage of fighting on your own grounds that you knew better than the enemy would definitely make your chances of success much higher. Although the house might become a sacrifice in the midst of it, that was worth the difference between what could possibly be life and death. Thank gods your mom had called and given Jim such an idea.
"But," Jim interjected, placing himself between Draal and Strickler, "we're gonna need supplies."
"We've got tons of old stuff in the attic and basement, maybe some of it could be useful." You suggested.
"Yes, and I know of a place where I could retrieve some helpful items." Draal chuckled as a grin spread across his face, clearly enthused at the mere thought of participating in a vigorous battle against a 'worthy opponent,' as you always heard him say.
With that, the lot of you split up to gather whatever you deemed useful to your cause.
You followed Draal to the basement while Jim and Strickler headed up to the attic in search of useful items. You were always surprised how the old wooden stairs creaked and groaned under his weight, but never broke or splintered. Shaking the thought away, you wet straight for the old gardening equipment your mom had bought when she was sure she'd be growing her own garden one summer. Sadly, the plants all withered away, regardless of how much research she did on how to properly take care of them. You began pulling the larger tools; shovels, pitchforks, manual tiller, and the like. Smaller tools were in a couple of buckets on the floor, which you also pulled out. Amongst the metal clanging of the tools, you noticed that Draal was oddly quiet.
Turning around, you saw him leaned back against the wall in the tunnel he had dug without your permission, arms crossed, looking blankly at nothing. The vigor that had been behind his expression just moments before seemed to have never existed. Huh. You hadn't seen him look so distant before, especially while preparing for a fight.
"Draal?" Your voice cut through the silence, grabbing his attention as he tilted his head to look at you, a semblance of an expression coming across his face. "Could you grab that tote up there for me? I don't wanna get squished trying to drag it down." You asked of him, though you would usually at least make an attempt to grab the thing yourself before asking. You were honestly just looking for an opening to start a conversation. With a grumble and a nod, Draal made his way slowly over and reached up, easily grabbing the tote and setting it down on the floor.
"Thanks! You uh... You look a little spacey, is everything okay?"
"Hm?" He huffed slightly, "'Spacey?' What do you mean by that."
"Y'know, you were kinda just looking at the wall. It looked like you were thinking about something, like you were in another world."
"Oh." He glanced away for a moment before looking back at you, "I suppose you could say I was... 'lost in thought,' I believe is how you've described it before." Oh. You had more so expected to get some sort of excuse or retaliation, not an admission. Not that you were complaining at all. It just struck you as a little different for his character.
"About what? You can tell me, if it'll make you feel better." You suggested with a friendly smile, bending down to take the lid off of the tote he had so kindly grabbed for you. Glancing up, you saw the troll looking off to the side for a few beats, seemingly in his thoughts once again. You dug through the contents of the tote in the meantime, allowing him to gather his thoughts.
"I... He eventually began, taking your attention from the task at hand in an instant. You paused your rummaging and looked up at Draal, silently urging him to continue. His eyes briefly met yours before flickering off to the side again, his chest heaving with a heavy sigh, "You're not gonna like this, but I'd much rather you not be here for the battle with Angor Rot." Well, he was right, you certainly didn't like that. Why on earth wouldn't he want more backup in a fight against such a formidable opponent? As a warrior, wouldn't he know how much of an asset allies could be?
"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Amongst the seriousness of the topic, you couldn't help but make light of it just a little, as you're an expert at doing so, "Don't tell me... The great warrior, Draal the Deadly, accomplished and decorated to the moon and back, is worried for me? Lil' ol' human me?" You grinned teasingly. Draal seemed to become a bit flustered by the sudden change in your tone, eyes wide as he whipped around to look at you once more. His mouth hung open as he stumbled to find the words to deny such a thing with, or so you assumed. You couldn't helped but chuckle lightly at his sudden change of attitude.
"I- Look, it's not- Fleshbag, I swear, if you do not cease your laughter..." He groaned, annoyance clearly taking over his mood. You nearly snorted as you stifled the last bit of your giggles, nodding in agreement,
"Sorry, sorry, I've just never heard you really be concerned for anyone before. At least not like that. Usually it comes out as battle tips, strategy plans, and maybe an inspiring story of one of your old battles here and there."
"Well... I have nothing to compare this to, and in truth, I'd strongly prefer you didn't fight this battle at all." Well, that was much more truthful and forward than you had expected, too. Who had your Draal been replaced with all of the sudden?? Your teasing attitude was washed down the drain by his sincerity.
"What? You really don't want my help in this fight?"
"You've not had enough training to fight a foe of this caliber, for starters." He blatantly pointed out. Ouch. Before you could retort, he spoke again, "Angor Rot is among the most ruthless and cunning of foes I have ever heard of. Though I have yet to battle him myself, the tales of entire communities and tribes of trolls being wiped out within days, hours... The way he systematically stalks his prey before striking and leaving no trace... He has been around for centuries, since the time of Merlin, and was gifted his powers by the Pale Lady." The troll paused, leaving you a chance to put in your two cents,
"But that's exactly why I should be there! You guys are gonna need all the help you can get. Even if I'm still learning magic, I still know enough to help you guys. Jim is heading the battle, he's human too, so why are you singling me out?"
"Master Jim is the Trollhunter, he has been training for quite some time and has the advantage of the enhanced strength and agility the amulet provides. You have no armor, no enhancements, and Angor Rot is extremely well versed in magic that it may as well be second nature to him. He will surely find a way to counter your spells-"
"But I can't just sit around while you and Jim are fighting someone so dangerous!" Your voice began to get a little strained, suddenly realizing you could very well be put in time out for this fight and left only to witness the sheer chaos this mysterious assassin could bring about, "I need to be there to protect Jim like I promised, I'd never forgive myself if something happened to him while I was doing nothing!"
"Both myself and the changeling will be there to fight alongside him. While I can understand doubting the changeling, do you doubt my ability to keep him safe?"
"No- no, of course not, but still! The way you've been describing this Angor Rot guy is terrifying!! I just- I can't... What if something happened to him? Or you??" Draal's serious expression shifted to one more fitting of surprise at your words. And the next moment, it turned a little more casual. More teasing, even,
"Oh? Me? I thought you just said you didn't doubt my abilities." The smug smirk that tugged at his mouth as he crossed his arms broke through your spiraling thoughts, your climbing heartrate pausing. Did he... really just turn the tables on you?
"What- I mean, I don't doubt you! I just... Y'know, I just care. Is that so wrong?" The smallest hint of a grin was starting to form on your expression, Draal's own smirk seemingly contagious, "I don't wanna see Jim hurt, or you... Strickler can honestly get stabbed and I probably wouldn't care too much." You began to joke slightly, earning a quiet chortle from the troll in front of you, "But... I know we used to really be at each other's throats. If I weren't so fragile compared to you, I'm sure you would have picked a fight with me pretty much every day. But I'd like to think we've gotten past that, and maybe even become friends? Or at least amicable acquaintances?" You pushed down the want to be more than just that as you spoke...
Your sincerity seemed to catch Draal off guard, his preciously composed and teasing attitude fading slightly. He honestly looked surprised to hear you say such a thing. He hadn't thought of it, not ever since the two of you stopped quarreling on sight. The warrior cleared his throat,
"Well, I suppose we've grown more tolerant of one another in the past months... I hadn't noticed."
"Me neither, it happened so out of the blue... But I'm really glad we could get past that and be how we are now." You smiled sheepishly, avoiding his eyes, "Now we work together to protect Jim, you've really helped me get the hang of battle basics, and it's just... nice to get to know you as more than a utensil munching, stony brick wall living in the basement." A laugh escaped you at your own wording. Man, you had forgotten how bad things used to be between yourself and the troll you had previously had such an aversion to. You used to dread seeing the troll out of the basement, but now, you found yourself actively looking for him in the house whenever you returned. All this change in the span of months. Who would have guessed?
"And it's been uh... nice getting to know you as more than a nagging fleshbag." Draal joked back, "But... Ah, trolls don't really have 'friends.' It is a human concept, and those in Trollmarket only know of the concept at all because of Mater Jim's use of the word." Draal admitted, tone awkward as if he was trying not to outright deny you calling the two of you friends. However, the way your expression seemed to fall at the seeming rejection made him switch gears immediately, "I mean- I'm not saying it's impossible! I suppose one could call us... friends, if that's what you want..." Although saying so seemed to be tough for the troll, it seemingly made you happy, as your smile returned in full force.
"I think I'd like it if we were friends. For a hunk of rock, you're not half bad company." You jested, bumping his arm with your elbow in a friendly manner. Recovering from the previous awkwardness, Draal smiled back with a chuckle.
"So... Maybe we can fight together? As friends? I promise I'll be careful; I'll stick to just support, I won't get anywhere near Angor Rot or jump into the middle of the fight! I just... I really feel like I need to be there, to do what I can... Otherwise, what have I been working so hard for?" Welp, if you were going to be transparent, you may as well let it all out, regardless of how uncomfortably vulnerable you felt doing so, "I'm... so scared for you and Jim, and in general too... But I'd be even more scared if I wasn't there to back you guys up!" Draal's expression hardened slightly, his bullring swaying lightly as a puff of air escaped him.
"Well... You do make a good argument, now don't you?" Draal considered, "Hmm... Fine. If you can stay out of the fray, it could be useful to have a sorcerer on our side, especially against another magic user."
Your eyes lit up in an instant, smile widening as the weight that had been looming on your shoulders lifted, "Yes! I'll be careful, I promise, you won't regret it-!"
"And you have to promise to run if things get too dangerous. You are undoubtedly brave for wanting to fight this battle, but don't let bravery become stupidity. You're not protected like Jim is by his amulet, or I am by my skin and horns. You're still much more vulnerable than us. We can hold our own should things take a turn for the worst, and you must trust that as I am trusting you to keep your word." D'aw, he was looking out for you. Honestly, you felt touched by the concern... Eagerly, you nodded in agreement.
A newfound energy suddenly overtook you, as if you couldn't sit still. As such, you turned on your heel, grabbed armfuls of the garden tools you had dragged out, and sprinted upstairs. Draal shook his head as he watched you come back, grab more, go back up, and repeat til you were out of breath. You seemed fine, so the warrior quietly took his leave, making his way through the tunnels he had dug.
After some time, the sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon, shades of yellows, reds, oranges, and pinks painting the sky in brighter and brighter hues as dusk quickly came. Traps, tripwires, and all the like had all been set throughout the living room and upstairs hallway, curtains on every window had been drawn, and furniture had been moved up against any and every entry point in the house. In Jim's room, multiple UV lamps lined the higher shelves, all aimed squarely at the center of the room. Laid on the floor was a circle of glowing yellow crystals, though you didn't know their use and didn't intend to ask in the moment. When you and Jim went down to the basement to retrieve a few things, he nearly panicked over the gaping hole in the wall. Yeah, couldn’t have hidden that forever… Draal brushed it off as he returned from Trollmarket with supplies in tow, reassuring Jim that nobody else knew about it and that it was completely safe. However, you were more worried about what your mom would think should she meander down to the basement one day and discover it. Regardless, you were all forced to move on and continue work on preparing for Angor Rot's arrival.
As Jim and Strickler set up a rope trap by the front door, Draal sharpened his axe on his prosthetic arm, sat at the bottom of the staircase. You stood next to him in the hallway, leaning against the railing as you skimmed through your spell-notebook. Though you were good at the few spells you knew, you had been practicing more, and thus knew you'd probably forget some part of a spell or jumble incantations together by accident sometime or another. So, not wanting to risk mixing them up in the heat of battle, you resigned to your fate of endless studying yet again.
As you read and reread, you vaguely took notice of Jim and Strickler having a back and forth. As much as Strickler enraged you, you held your tongue and continued reading through your spells, mumbling each line you read under your breath in hopes that would help the information stick.
As Draal stood, he looked closely at the edge of his axe, figuring whether it needed to be sharper or not. However, an oddity caught his eye; in the reflection, he noticed something on the stairs that didn't belong. He turned, eyes locking onto a small black and white orb,
"What..." He began slowly, catching everyone's attention, "... is that??"
As your eyes met the now moving orb on the stairs, you yelped and jumped a ways away, to which Draal brought his arm defensively in front of you. What looked like a disembodied crystalline eye stared right back at you. With its black sclera and faintly glowing silver iris staring you down, shivers wracked your body. Was this something of Angor Rot’s?
"It's his eye!!" Strickler shouted, also taking a step back. Jim looked from the eye to Strickler,
"Gunmar's eye?"
"No, Angor's! He's been watching us, get it!!"
Shoot, he had been spying on you all this whole time?? With his own detached eye?! Well, so much for all the special traps you had set.
Draal was the first to reach out for the damned thing, however, it rolled between the railings and onto the floor with a crystal sounding 'thunk!' It all became chaos from there; the four of you running around, bending down at awkward angles while sprinting as you tried to grab the slippery thing, not to mention the way it jumped onto chairs and tables. Draal's fists came down in powerful blows, but were just too slow for the speedy eyeball. Anyone who tried to step on it or block its path with their feet were either tripped or somehow managed to trip themselves up. You tried to use your staff to trap it in a barrier, but you couldn't predict its movements. The thing was just way too fast and moved too unpredictably!
Eventually, the eye made a break for the kitchen sink, launching itself into the air to avoid being grabbed as Strickler and Draal had lunged for it. Just before the little bastard could make it down the drain, surely never to be seen again, Jim grabbed a glass and managed to catch the eye only seconds before it could disappear forever. He quickly topped the glass with a plate so the eye had nowhere else to go, successfully ending the Looney Tunes scene you had all just played out.
Jim brought the glass up to look at the eye as it rattled around angrily within its confinement, "How long has he been watching us?" It seemed as if your brother's question was answered when the front door's knob began to jiggle, making all of you flinch.
"It's him! Everyone get into position!" Jim whispered, prompting everyone to take up their designated spot.
Not too long after the initial jiggle of the knob, the door opened. Although, it opened far too typically…
"Hey kiddo!" A feminine voice you could always recognize chimed.
Oh no. No, please, anything but this-
"Wanda messed up my schedule again, guess I have the day off after all." Barbara announced as she closed the door behind her, moving to the coatrack to hang up her purse. How she didn't notice the boards nailed to the front door's window or the thick length of rope tied to the coatrack, you will never know, but you did know that your mom was about to be in the middle of a very deadly trap.
"Mom, watch out!" Your brother shouted, lunging forward from his concealed place near the door and haphazardly tackling your mother to the floor. She fell with a gasp and a yelp as the rope released from the coatrack and hurtled an axe straight into the front door. You could feel your heart skip multiple beats, all the muscles in your body tensing at once, and you were sure your face had gone ghostly white from the sheer terror you had felt. A heavy, unbelievably intense feeling of dread shocked your system as you realized your mom could have very well just died.
"Woah! Holy-" She began, only to be shocked into silence as she turned around to see a giant battle axe wedged into the door, right where she had been standing. Barbara gasped before shouting, "Why is there an axe in the door??" Jim sat up as you rushed to his side, both of you making sure she was okay. Strickler poked his head out from the barricade lined with spears, crossbow in hand, and he seemed just as astonished to see none other than Barbara on the floor rather than Angor Rot,
"Barbara! Are you alright??" He asked with concern, though you were sure his presence would only confuse her more.
"I-I'm fine... Woah!" She exclaimed as you and Jim helped her to her feet, her eyes scanning over your brother's glowing armor, "Woah, holy, how- What is...??" When she proved to be rather speechless, Jim just chuckled and smiled meekly, not particularly knowing how to go about the situation at hand. Then your mother's eyes wandered over to the giant wooden barricade, spiked with spears and with none other than the changeling you so loathed behind it, "Wa- Walt? Why are you here-? Why are you holding a crossbow??" As she pointed to the glowing weapon, Strickler promptly hid it behind his back, pretending as if no such thing existed,
Amongst the confusion and minimal chaos, and as Strickler began telling a horrible lie, chaos incarnate barged through the basement door and ran straight at the lot of you. You and Jim put yourselves in the way of Draal as he charged forward, shouting for him to stop, and although he did come to a halt, he still opened his big blue maw and roared with all his chest into Barbara's face. In return, as is natural, she screamed back. Draal was rather quick to come out of his battle-hungry rage, thankfully - though the damage had already been done - and realized what he had just done.
"Oh. Uh... Hello. Sorry." He said uncharacteristically kindly and quaintly. If it had been any other situation, you definitely would have had a good laugh about it, but as of now, Draal was now being pepper sprayed in the face. As he roared once more - this time in pain - yourself and Jim soon followed suit, the spray wafting through the air and into your guys' eyes as well, seeing as you had put yourselves directly between the two. As Draal clambered back in pain, clutching his eyes as a searing hot pain he had never experienced before overtook his eyes and nose, he knocked over furniture and sprang traps. All the while, you were chasing after him and trying to get him to stop moving around so damn much. It wasn't until he hit the floor with force that the chaos finally ceased, though your mom was still screaming in the background.
Lovely. Just lovely. And you hadn’t even asked ‘what could go wrong?’
After some time of Jim getting your mom to calm down - and you washing out Draal's eyes in the sink until they no longer 'seared with the pain of a thousand red hot suns,' as he put it - you, Jim, and your Mom sat across from each other in the hallway. Her hands shook as she held the glass of water she sipped on. You waited until she was ready to talk, which was apparently after she chugged an entire pitcher of water when offered a refill.
"So let me get this straight..." Barbara began, "There are good trolls... and bad trolls... and somehow you?" She looked between you and Jim as he spoke. You could tell her mind was frantically searching for answers, even as she remained rather calm with all things considered.
Strickler took the pitcher from her hands, "If I may-"
"You may shut it, Strickler." You cut him off unapologetically. With a disdainful look, the changeling disappeared into the other room,
"I suppose I shall give you three some privacy, then." Not that it was very private, as he sat in the living room not too far away, not to mention Draal sitting in the kitchen as he recovered from the pepper spray.
"This is all so... I can't believe this is what you two have been doing!" Your mother began in disbelief, "All those late nights? Getting arrested? You in the hospital, Jim... Why are you this... Troll Fighter?"
"Trollhunter." Jim corrected, though it didn't really help as your mom continued to stutter, clearly lost,
"You two should be worried about... dating and school, not this-…" She took a few breaths, "Can't you just… ask someone else to do it?"
"I'm afraid it's a... permanent position...?" Jim explained, questioning his own wording. You decided it was about time you got a word in, embracing your big sister roll and taking the lead of the conversation,
"Mom, I know it's a lot, but Jim was chosen. It's like some sorta... destiny stuff, y'know? And not just anyone can be chosen." You glanced down at Jim, seeing the relief in his eyes as you spoke exactly what he was thinking. You put your arm around his shoulders and brought him into a side hug, "The trolls need him, he's the only one that can protect them from what's coming."
"From what's- There's something coming??" You realized your lapse in judgement too late; maybe that hadn't been the best wording you could have used...
"Well- That's a conversation for another time... But Jim is special, and he can do this. I've seen him in action, and it's... Honestly it's amazing what he can do, you wouldn't believe it unless you saw it for yourself." You wiggled your brother around just slightly in a playful manner, "But you have to trust him. Lots of people- er, lots of trolls, are relying on him to protect them."
A moment of silence, before Barbara looked to Jim and spoke once more,
"But who will protect you...?"
"Well," Jim spoke up, "Y'know, (y/n)'s been doing a pretty great job. She's working really hard to learn all kinds of stuff, and she's always been there, whether I was the Trollhunter or not."
You nearly teared up then and there... Your little brother was the sweetest...! Regardless of the stinging in your eyes as tears threatened you at knifepoint, you nodded in agreement, "I mean, look at that staff. You think that's for show? Plus, despite all the things we think about trolls from movies and books and all, they can be surprisingly kind." You didn't dare look over your shoulder as you spoke such a line. Yeah, you may be sugarcoating it juuust a little, but she didn't need to know the brutish, grotesque side of trolls. Not just yet, at least.
Your mother smiled, holding a hand to her heart, "Oh, you two have always been such a great team. I just... I still don't..."
Suddenly, Strickler barged his way into the conversation, laying his hand on Barbara's shoulder, "Barbara, I do hate to interrupt, but you must leave. It's-"
The sound of clanging cans cut him off, all eyes turning to the collection of cans that sat on strings above the basement door. Shit, you had completely let your guard down. If this wasn't another false alarm, you could really be screwed, especially with your mom of all people here. As the lot of you moved away from the cans, they suddenly burst into a cloud of pink smoke, sending shrapnel across the house. Strickler had thankfully shielded your mother, and you had shielded Jim, no harm coming to anyone. Not just yet, anyway. The force of the blast sent all of you tumbling to the ground in a heap. Draal immediately shot up and stood at the ready, his warrior instincts kicking in as he stood readily with his axe in hand, eyes still squinty from the pepper spray. A low growl came from deep within his chest.
"Shoot, the basement!" Jim exclaimed, eyes glued to the still shut basement door.
"What's in the basement...?" Barbara hesitantly asked, as if she didn't really want to know what sort of troll or creature or thing could have caused such a strange explosion. And honestly, you thought it was best she didn’t know, but alas, it looked like she was about to meet one of Jim’s most powerful enemies to date.
"Draal was supposed to guard it." Strickler grumbled, glaring at the blue troll, though it did little to nothing to get under his skin. No, the decorated warrior was dead focused on beating some assassin head in as soon as he showed his face and stopped hiding like a coward.
"We were all distracted, whatever! Just get ready!" You shouted with a slight growl in your voice, grabbing your staff and sitting up on your knees, ready to fire off an attack or conjure whatever you may need in the moment. When the door creaked open just slightly, out rolled a singular, pitch black ball surrounded in a blue aura. It stopped in the middle of the floor, but was only still for a moment; electricity surrounded the ball for just a second before the lights went out, followed by the energy from the ball fizzling into nothing.
Everyone yelped, surprised and confused. "What happened to the lights??" Barbara shouted fearfully, only for the next moments to be lit up with strange bursts of cloudy pink lights all around the room. A deep, raspy voice could be heard echoing from every which way, speaking some sort of incantation. Jim was quick to grab a flashlight, while Strickler led your mom behind the spiked barricade he had hunkered down in earlier. You backed up close to Draal, both of you straining to see in the darkness of the kitchen even with the small amount of light the Heartstone in your staff gave off. The figure you could hear bouncing off the walls and whose footsteps thrummed across the floors was near invisible in the blackout.
You could feel Draal's hand press against your side, moving you to stand behind him, where you positioned yourself to be back-to-back with the troll. You weren't entirely sure this sort of configuration actually worked well in combat, but hey, it's the best you could come up with on the fly. You’d be surprised if he couldn’t feel your heavy breathing and rapid heartbeat; this flashy show of power had you more scared than you thought you’d be. If this troll assassin could spare so much magic and had the sheer confidence to do all this, who knew how powerful he could possibly be…
Once Jim spoke his incantation and summoned his armor and Daylight, things became ever so slightly easier to see. "Jim, you're glowing! How are you glowing??" Your mom whispered in shock.
"It's armor, Mom. It's part of the job." He casually responded as he got into a battle ready stance. Not much time was left for him to react when a pink ball of flames was thrown at him, followed up by a handful of others, all of which he was quick to deflect. One nearly missed the barricade Barbara was behind with Strickler, causing both you and Jim to yell out for her. Geez, why did things have to go so wrong?
"Stick to the plan! You know what to do." Strickler instructed. You could just barely make out his and your mom's silhouettes as they hunkered down behind the barricade. Draal nearly charged into the living room with his axe at the ready, but you conjured a barrier to stop him. He turned angrily towards you,
"What are you doing??"
"You can't go barging in there yet, you could hurt our mom! You need to wait."
"But-"
"I said wait!" You demanded with more conviction, peeking out from behind the window that separated the kitchen and living room to take aim with your staff. Though you couldn't see very much of the enemy, you aimed as best you could and fired, shot after shot of bright orange light brightening the room until it hit a wall and fizzled out. However, even this combination of you and Jim fighting didn’t seemed to phase your aggressor.
"Strickler, get her out of here! We can hold Angor off, just keep our mom safe!!" You yelled, continuing to shoot so they had an open and safe path to the basement.
"What?? No- Jim! (Y/N)!" You heard her yell desperately as Strickler basically had to drag her to the door and down the stairs. You had to force yourself to pay it no mind as you continued to focus on protecting your brother. However, this strategy wasn't working; every single shot missed! He was just too fast and agile, and it was far too dark to get a good look at where he was or where he was going. It was as if he was a shadow rather than a troll.
Just as you paused your fire and began to think of a new strategy, Draal let out a raging roar and charged into the fray, banging his battle axe against his fist with a series of deep metallic 'clangs!' With both him and Jim now fighting against Angor Rot, you took the moment to attempt to think of a new way to approach the fight.
However, as you watched the two begin to slowly but surely overpower the assassin, you noticed his eerie glowing eye constantly flashing towards you. Oh shoot, you didn't have much time now-
And you sure didn't; almost as quickly as you had realized what he planned to do, the troll was suddenly in front of you. In a reaction of pure instinct, you threw yourself backwards, your back painfully slamming into the counter behind you as you conjured a haphazard barrier between yourself and the enemy. As it had been made in a panic, the barrier shattered the moment he impacted it, and you could feel the sheer amount of force he put into throwing himself into the spell run through you.
The only reason he wasn't able to slash you clean open at that moment was because Draal had grabbed his leg at the last moment, able to pull him back and swing him into the furthest wall. As Jim readied himself to launch his next attack - or to defend against Angor's attack - he looked between you and Angor, and seemed to connect the dots, eyes going wide.
"(Y/n), get out of here! He's targeting you!!"
Before he could react, Angor threw Jim to the ground with a series of fireballs and kicked Draal clear across the house with terrifying ease, past the kitchen where you were hiding and against the back door. Wood splintered as the wall caved around his large figure. You had expected him to get back up in moments, but it seemed the attack had been powerful enough to have him down for the count. You wanted so desperately to rush over and make sure he was alright, but all things considered, you had far bigger concerns at hand. You had time to create a proper barrier spell that completely surrounded you this time, which Angor was on top of quicker than you could register. One foot pressed against the side, one hand's claws digging into the magic as the other held the sun poison dagger, twisting it so the tip slowly made its way through the conjuring you had created. This close, you could clearly see every detail of the sadistic smile that spread across his face. His singular piercing eye stared into yours as you fought your instincts to look away. You now truly began to understand why he was revered as the most dangerous, ruthless, cunning assassin...
Your thoughts were shattered as he let out a deep, throaty, predatory chuckle, "Ahh, a little mage I see... A human one, no less." His awful voice rasped, like sandpaper in your ears, "I'm impressed this amateur spell is holding up against me as well as it is." You managed to rip your eyes from his to glance to his claws, which had now begun to pierce the barrier, and then to his dagger, which was gradually slipping further and further through.
"The human spirit sure is a neat thing, huh? It's the only reason this barrier is still intact, keeping you from death at my hands." With each punctuation of his words, he dug his claws and the dagger deeper,
"I could easily break this anytime I wanted..." A pause. The fear you felt in the moment was so real, so intense. You could swear you already felt his claws digging into your flesh, his dagger slicing through skin and bone with ease. This... was terrifying...
"And I think..." He spoke again, face getting closer to the barrier, causing you to shrink back involuntarily as your knuckles turned white from clutching your staff with such force.
"... I. Will."
Just as your adrenaline peaked, the barrier shattered into fragmented pieces, dissipating into the air. All you could do was watch helplessly tears in your eyes as the assassin came down upon you...
But death, as he had promised, didn't come.
Rather, you were saved from death incarnate by a blast of teal light your staff emitted without you even thinking of it. Though it wasn't the most powerful thing, it was enough to throw Angor Rot a small ways away, just enough to make you feel somewhat safe again. The assassin landed on his feet with ease, but seemed distracted for a precious moment by the sudden and unexpected spell. Could you even call it a spell? You hadn't been the one to cast it, and it hadn't even been the same orange hue as all your previously practiced spells...
The moment of reprieve didn't last for too long, sadly, as Angor snarled with rage and lunged for you at an incredible speed. Just as you thought death was embracing you for real, yet another miracle appeared, this time in the form of Strickler.
Now in changeling form, he threw himself at Angor Rot, tackling him away from you and back into the living room. As both recovered, Jim was able to get back up and summon Daylight once more, which was quickly taken by the assassin. Your brother summoned his daggers instead, effectively flipping the script. You watched, vision slightly blurred as your ears were overtaken by ringing, as the three fought for a moment more before leading the troll upstairs.
The pounding footsteps and sounds of vicious back and forth battling barely registered as you stared at the staircase, wondering if he'd come back to finish you off in your vulnerable state. But thankfully, he didn't, at least for long enough to let you come down from the gallons of adrenaline that had been dumped into your system in just moments. Hell, you didn't even notice when your mom snuck out of the basement with a shovel in hand and followed them upstairs.
The only thing that somewhat brought you out of your catatonic state was a deep, pained groan from nearby. You jumped, nearly shouting, and whipped your head around to face Draal. He lay in the now dented wall, seemingly coming back from a brief unconsciousness. Finally finding the will to move, you rediscovered your arms and legs and began to scoot your way over to the troll. You were pretty sure your legs would collapse beneath you if you dared to stand. Once by his side, you took in his condition; ragged, tattered, definitely out of it, and probably feeling the effects of a painfully splitting headache. Gods, how could you have let this happen... You were supposed to be their backup, to help them, but here Draal sat with the wall basically collapsed on him...
You hesitantly reach out, hand hovering above his stony skin before coming to rest on his arm. The touch seemed to wake him further, watching as he stirred and groaned painfully. You were too distracted by your own thoughts to realize the soft, almost nonexistent teal glow that emitted from your palm that rested on his cool skin. As you continued to blame yourself, you felt his muscles twitch. Attention suddenly all on Draal, you watched as he seemed to regain some vigor. The warrior brought a hand to his head before slowly opening his eyes,
"Augh... Damn that assassin..." He mumbled in his bleary state, large horns swaying as he shook the fuzziness from his head. You leaned on his arm to get a better look at him; nothing chipped, nothing missing, just hit really hard, it seemed. When Draal seemed to regain more of his consciousness, his eyes met yours. You could tell they were still irritated from the pepper spray Barbara had unleashed on him earlier with the additional redness they held.
"(Y/n)?" He asked, but got no response. You urged your mouth to open, your voice to speak, but nothing came of it. It was like your body had been stunned into near total stillness. Your face didn't even make an expression as you looked back at the troll. His brows furrowed in confusion as your reactions failed you, leaving you staring at him with utter fear still lingering in your eyes.
"You seem unusually still, and quiet…" It took a moment for the troll to process everything, but once he did, he jolted up with a sudden wave of animated energy, "What happened?? Are the others still in battle? Are you okay??" Draal moved to sit up, grunting with the painful effort it took to release his spiked back from the splintered wood of the wall. Once he had situated himself in front of you, his large hands hovered around you. It was as if he wanted to help but didn't know how, or was scared to touch you should your fragile human form be damaged by his rough, stony touch.
Anything you may have wanted to say was lost amongst your disorganized thoughts before your attention was ripped to the ceiling; your mom’s voice let out what sounded like a mix between a battle cry and a scream, followed by a 'thwack!,' then chatter, then chaos. Your mom... Oh no, you hadn't even thought to stop her...
You whipped back around to face Draal once more,
"Go!!"
Your voice, strained and shrill, came out more as a bark than a shout. Draal was taken completely off guard for only a moment, recovering from his shock quickly and doing as you said. The troll swiftly rose to his feet and was trampling up the stairs in moments, which was followed by even heavier sounding chaos above.
A new wave of adrenaline perked you back up for the most part, allowing you to follow Draal with decent speed. However, as you reached halfway up the stairs, you were met with the sight of Jim helping your mother downstairs, followed closely by Stricker. Both adults held their necks tightly as if they had been wounded. Shit, what happened??
You could tell they were speaking as they passed you, and you saw Jim attempt to say something directly to you, but it was as if your brain refused to let you hear anything clearly. Voices, sure, but not individual words or complete sentences. You vaguely made out 'Trollmarket,' but not long after, they were gone.
You could only stand there, thoughts racing with worst case scenarios about what had happened to your mother. Grief struck you prematurely, but you didn’t have any time at all to even begin to think about it as crashing upstairs kicked your body back into fight mode. You stumbled up the stairs and into Jim's bedroom, where the commotion was coming from, only to see Draal frozen in the ring of yellow crystals Jim had set as a trap for Angor. Clearly something hadn't gone quite right.
Angor stood at the edge of the ring, grinning down at his 'catch' in that same way that made your stomach turn itself into knots not long ago. You couldn't take your eyes off of the gray troll, frozen in place yet again. Damn, had he really scared you so much? It's as if you were a deer in headlights, aware there was a deadly car barreling towards you yet unable to move out of the way, forced to face it head on as your insides twisted in preemptive horror. As you stared, limbs beginning to tremble, his eye met yours.
Not again, no, please no...
Terror rushed through your body all over again as he approached you, a confident swagger in his walk. The sound of Draal grunting, shouting, fruitlessly fighting against the spell which entrapped him registered to you. Alas, it all faded into the background as your ears rang painfully loud. You could hear your own blood rushing, your heart thumping against your ribcage, your thoughts screaming at you to do something, anything...
His hand reached out slowly, deliberately, and stroked from your temple down to your jawline. His touch wasn’t light, but it was definitely gentler than you'd expect someone as ruthless and violent as Angor Rot to be. It sent terrible shivers up and down your spine. Before you could process it, his hand was around your throat, lifting you onto your toes as he leaned in sickeningly close to you,
"Ahh, the little mage girl returns. Though, mage is too good of a thing to call such a pathetic thing." He laughed to himself, moving to Jim's desk to drop you harshly onto your back. You felt your wrists being grabbed and pulled behind you and around one leg of the desk as you were forced to sit up, then something cold and stiff being twisted around them far too tightly for comfort. You swore you could feel a pop of some sort, followed by searing discomfort and strain. Despite your fear, you found you still couldn't take your eyes away from his.
The troll grinned as he leaned down and brought his face right up to yours, unsheathing his dagger and holding its pointed tip to your shoulder. He pressed it to your delicate skin, applying pressure slowly until he was satisfied with the depth of the wound. Even as you were actively being stabbed, your voice could only produce a pathetic whining sound. It made him grin all the wider. All the more sadistically,
"So sorry I cannot fulfill my promise just yet, there are other matters which require my full attention. But... Consider this something to remember me by in the meantime..." His awful voice burned your ears. With a slight twist, he pulled the dagger back out, blood following in a steady stream that soaked into your shirt. Though you should have screamed, you could barely feel the wound in your sorry state.
"I'll finish the job next time we meet. I promise."
With that, he stood upright once more, turned, and was gone out the window in moments.
With the cause of your terror now gone, your body slowly began to come down from autopilot; your back ached, so did your wrists, and you could feel the way your throat would certainly bruise in time. Most of all, the sharp pain you finally noticed was coming from your shoulder began to sting unbearably. You craned your neck to look down at the wound, watching as your shirt stained deep red from soaking the liquid up. You chanced moving your shoulder, only to flinch harshly and bite your tongue to stop yourself from shouting. You tried moving your wrists, but they didn't move at all against the metal that had been bent against them, basically crushing them together.
Draal grunted something, grabbing your attention. You looked up, seeing him frozen exactly where Angor Rot had left him. You couldn't make out what he said, or what he tried to say after, but you knew you needed to get him out of there. You could tell you were fading fast, but if you could free Draal, he could go help Jim and your mom. This was the least you could do. You had to do something, to try as hard as you could before giving up…
You braced your legs out in front of you, the heels of your shoes digging into the rug as you pulled yourself forward with your remaining strength. The strain on your wrists as they dragged the desk behind you was nearly unbearable. But you did it again, and again, one more time, until you were within reach of the crystals that held Draal captive. You stretched your leg as far as it could go, kicking with your foot. The very tip of your shoe touched one of the crystals. You reached again, a little closer, just a little bit closer, come on... Until you succeeded in kicking one crystal away, freeing Draal from the trap.
He fell to the ground with a hefty thud, immediately scrambling to free you. He reached around and unbent your makeshift metal shackles as delicately as his un-dexterous fingers could. It still hurt like hell despite his attempts to be careful, but you couldn't complain about being freed. Your eyes screwed shut and you stifled a pained noise in your throat as feeling returned to your now free hands. You took a breath at the sudden relief, bringing them around to your front and cradling them in your lap as you hunched over. Your chest heaved for breath, body and mind alike exhausted from everything you had been through in such a short time. A blue knee entered your vision as you recouped, followed by two large hands on either side of your own. You felt your body relax, knowing that hue anywhere, realizing you were now safe in his company.
"Are you alright? What has he done to you?" A gruff, very much welcomed voice reached you. Finally, words you were able to understand. You looked up to meet Draal’s gaze as your vision finally came together to make out his familiar, very welcome features. It looked like he was concerned... Worried, even...
His eyes scanned over you; they first landed on your wrists, which he took ever so carefully in one of his large hands. Darkening purple marks already decorated your skin, surrounded by yellowing discoloration and indentations from where your restraints had dug into your flesh. When you attempted to flex your wrists slightly, you hissed in pain, coddling your left hand. That pop you felt must have been something more... Draal flinched at the sound of your pain, his hands moving away from you as if he had been the one to cause you harm. You watched as his wide-eyed gaze moved to your neck, finding somewhat lighter bruising there as well. You could feel the soreness of the still-developing bruises and the pinpricks the assassin troll’s nails had left without even having to see it. You had no doubt each of Angor's fingers would be visible tomorrow. He seemed deeply troubled by these markings Angor Rot had left on you. You supposed wounds like yours were entirely new to Draal, a troll whose skin didn’t bruise and didn’t break very easily. It was understandable he was freaked out by such discoloration and whatnot, never having experienced such things as a troll.
As the troll’s hand came to rest on your shoulder, you crumpled in on yourself to get away from the pain, choking a squeal as it rose in your throat. Draal flinched away, but quickly recovered and gently urged you to sit up again. His expression contorted as he observed the still bleeding wound that had been left in your shoulder. 'Something to remember him by,' as he had put it. The bastard... Though he didn’t bleed, you were sure that he’d been educated at least somewhat on how humans worked, and that bleeding wasn’t optimal for a human's health.
"That bastard is as good as dead when he shows his face next..." Draal mumbled, mostly to himself, "Quickly, we need to get you to Trollmarket." His large arms carefully positioned around you to hold you against his chest, and you found yourself being rushed through the sewers soon after. You held your hand to the wound Angor had left you with, bringing your fist up and grasping the cloth around the wound to bunch up your shirt. You used what strength you had left to press as hard as you could bear against the injury. Though the bleeding slowed, you still felt incredibly faint. It seems that was all you could manage to do, as you found yourself unable to even think of what else to do. Weak, helpless, and beaten, being carried along as your legs couldn’t carry you, what could you even manage if you tried? Adrenaline, blood loss, shock, fear... It all culminated, zapping any energy you may have had left and leaving you with barely enough will to keep your eyes open.
Your head lulled back against Draal’s arm, your head simply too heavy to hold up anymore. You came to focus on his face as he ran, taking in his expression. You hadn’t seen him make such a face before. Nothing came even close. It was determined, which you had of course seen in the past, but also looked troubled, anxious... Do you dare say the warrior looked almost scared?
It seemed like only moments passed before you were surrounded by beautiful crystals. They whizzed past your vision in bright blurs as Draal ran, but you'd still recognize those anywhere; you had reached Trollmarket. Sine when had it been so close to your home? Or had your exhaustion just made you lose track of time?
Jim said he was coming here, didn't he? Is your mom here too? Are they okay...?
The blue-purple light of the crystals suddenly turned golden, your sluggish mind coming to realize you must be at the Heartstone. Familiar voices came to surround you, and your bleary mind could vaguely make out faces as your head lolled to the side to scan the area around you. Jim, Blinky, Toby, Claire, and Aaarrrgghh, all there looking down at you. Everyone seemed to be a bit panicked - well, that may be a tiny understatement - but what panicked you was how you didn't see your mom amongst your friends and brother. You reached out, grabbing Jim's sleeve and tugging him closer. He leaned in,
"(Y/n)? What's wrong??" The concern in his tone was almost palpable. You couldn’t blame him; you’d be an absolute mess if your little brother had been injured in any way.
"Mom..." You managed to mutter out, "Where is... is she okay?" You asked with what strength you could muster to speak, chest heaving for a breath after each sentence. Jim smiled, but his brow remained furrowed,
"Yeah, she's okay, she's with Vendel now. You should probably come see him too…" His smile dropped as soon as he looked up to Draal, who nodded in agreement before following Jim further into the Heartstone to where the older, much wiser troll resided with your mother. You tried to stay awake, you really did, but your body felt so heavy... Your mind was so fuzzy... Fingers tingled, eyes unfocused, ears ringing...
You were safe. In good hands. Someone would know what to do. You trusted them.
And so, you let yourself fall into the waiting, welcoming arms of sleep…
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