WARNING: I REPEAT. FUTURE JLAIRXIE(JIM X CLAIRE X DOUXIE POLY) IMPLIED.
It's going to be very, very far away in this work though, since Slow Burn is my second name lol
TRACK 1
You are a stranger here, why have you come?Why have you come?
Lift me higher, let me look at the sun. Look at the sun.
And once I hear them clearly, say
Who, who are you really? And where are you going?
(Who are you really - Mikky Ekko)
***********
When Merlin returned from his trip to the GDT Store and the research of his Apprentice, Claire and Jim, having gotten over the joy of seeing Toby after far too long, were absolutely shocked.
Benoit's waiter. Excluding Steve, who certainly could not have been the wizard in question, there was only him. There could be no misunderstanding.
His black, raven-wing-like hair was always tinged with that dark blue shade on the tips. They were always short and messy, but perhaps longer than before, if only slightly. Or, again, maybe it was just an impression. It had been a while since they had seen him. And honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal. They didn't know him that well enough to be sure of it-Jim didn't even like him as a person. Maybe it was jealousy due to the instant effect he had had on Claire from the first moment she saw him. Maybe it was something else. But that wasn't important either. Not with the Arcane Order and the Green Knight on their tail.
He had a half smile stretched across his face and... a black winged cat with glasses just over his shoulder? That seemed like a hallucination. A heavy hallucination to say the least. Not that they hadn't seen worse, of course, but still the feeling of the bizarre was not to be underestimated.
Much of the boy's attention-none of them remembered his name-was focused on his Master. He had seen them, but unlike Steve, who had instantly demanded attention like a Golden Retriever puppy, he had remained silent. He had stood behind the other Sorcerer as if waiting for him to say something, his arms resting at his sides, his back stiff, and his head vaguely tilted
It was strange to know that he was the Amulet maker's Apprentice. Of the strongest Sorcerer of them all. Jim did not know exactly what he would expect. Perhaps someone more adult, more rigid... more like Merlin himself. Not a young emo punk with a choker, a skull necklace, a set of earrings decorating his ears, black gloves cut off at the tip of his fingers, and black nail polish. He did not look like the kind of person the old man would appreciate. Quite the opposite.
Claire, on the other hand, however, surprised by the discovery, remembered the Battle of the Bands very well. She remembered how he had given her thumbs up when she had been on stage wearing her armor, trying to warn the city of the oncoming danger. She had seen it as a gesture of moral support for the performance back in the day, but now she could not help but ask herself questions.
Had he been aware of the situation? Of all of it or only part of it? And if only a part, how much? Had he also known about it at their first meeting? Was that why he had approached her? But if it was because of that, why had he neither done nor said anything about it? He hadn't done anything against Morgana Le Fay either; she in turn was Merlin's apprentice. So why?
Everything was driven out of her mind rather quickly, somewhat like the shock in that of the Trollhunter. What they had to do erased them little by little. They both knew that there were more important things going on. They had been dancing to that bizarre rhythm long enough to know when it was best to avoid distraction. They could not afford to think about futile things.
When Merlin explained the situation and his plan to go back in time to find out who the Green Knight with the mark of Camelot was-in his studio-his Apprentice was only a background figure and all the thoughts attached to him disappeared like footprints in the sand, hidden by the tide.
********
Douxie frowned. Silent frustration had started to churn under his skin, gushing in bursts and making him feel as if Zoe had struck him with an angry, unjustified thunderbolt. Archie's feelings, in response, tried to soothe him. Sadly in vain.
The idea of returning to the past did not particularly excite him, but it was even worse that they were not succeeding. He was ready, the temporal map was ready... There was not even a trace of danger on the horizon, for now, a fact that was more than positive, but surely only momentary... Yet, the small energy blast that would open the temporal gateway from The Heart of Avalon wasn't starting. And not for lack of power. The magic was humming, powerful, inside his ears.
Hisirdoux would have liked to put his hands in his hair and start yanking at it to relieve stress. But if he had done that, Archie would have realized it. And his familiar would end up in a foul mood for more than half the day, and he honestly wanted to avoid it.
"What's going on, Master?" He ended up asking, moving from his place just a little, seeing him appear with a wrinkled expression.
Merlin looked up in his direction but remained initially silent. Douxie instantly tightened his lips, though many more questions had taken to navigating his brain, giving him no respite. He merely followed along, hoping for answers. He saw Nari of the Eternal Forest out of the corner of his eye, as he had once before he arrived-with the difference that, when he had reached the flying castle, seeing her had given him a heart attack-she, too, had an unhappy expression, but she did not venture out of the almost safe rooms of Camelot.
"Some gears have broken down. Their internal energy has worn out. Trying to fix them with magic could compromise others connected to them." Said his Master, pausing very briefly. "Time travel is already a perilous operation. To foolishly tamper with the tool that would lead us to accomplish one is highly inappropriate."
Douxie found himself agreeing, nodding. Going to another Era was already a big deal in every part of it: avoiding disrupting events seemed easy said but done? Not so much. If the same trip then threw them elsewhere with no way out... It would be suicide. So much for protecting the Earth. For the Arcane Order, it would have been a lucky and unlucky result at the same time.
"So what should we do? Do we abandon the time travel plan and formulate another one?" Asked Archie, perching himself on his shoulder as if nothing had happened, wagging his tail in vague nervousness. A mild emotion, which the raven boy tried in turn to ease.
His Master did not respond. Again. Not before they reached the new room where the Trollhunter and the others were-not too far away from the first they had been in, but still enough to lose themselves if they roamed around-There, in fact, he briefly summarized the situation, then finally got to the point he and Archibald wanted to know.
"The plan does not change, it is only postponed. We need to visit an old friend of mine. He should have the necessary materials so that I can recreate them."
Douxie arched his eyebrow before he realized it, intrigued. The "old friends" Merlin meant were never easy to predict. He had had too long a life to make them so. They were almost always super-powerful magical entities or legendary creatures that made anyone tremble at the mere mention of their names. Sir. Galahad was perhaps one of the only exceptions: the only thing legendary about the man was his resistance to alcohol. And to queasiness.
From time to time, foolishly perhaps, before Camelot took flight-leading him to lose the only more or less stable home he had managed to find in his early years-he had wondered if the knight's proximity to Archie would cause him to catch fire from how much alcohol he had in his system. He seemed to have it instead of blood.
"Who is it?" Asked Toby, stealing the words out of his mouth.
"No one you would know," Merlin said simply, then resting his gaze on him-whose curiosity had only increased-sighing slightly. "His name is Dalai Sun... But most wizards know him by another name," he paused briefly and placed his hand on the table. "The Keeper of Balance."
'The Keeper of Balance...?' Douxie had heard it as a name before. Perhaps in passing. It was telling him something, and he felt it on the tip of his tongue.
He ended up wrinkling his nose, tightening his lips again. Part of him wished he could start marching around the entire perimeter of the room. It was generally a perfect way to bring clarity to his mind and to allow him to understand everything properly, but he did not need it this time.
A sudden image flashed through his head, with pieces of books and historical events sticking together until they fit perfectly tight in a weird puzzle. The result left him speechless.
" Him ?!" he choked out with a voice painted with surprise, looking at his own Master with wide eyes as elation began to skyrocket along with general confusion through his head and chest. "But wasn't he gone and therefore believed dead after Lhasa's past Reign's last events?"
Merlin merely shook his head, not particularly elaborating on the question. "With the castle's moving speed and the Jumps , we should get to him in about three days. The important thing is to stay as far away from the Arcane Order as possible."
This, too, seemed an easier thing to say than to do. Douxie, however, was more than positive in the fact that his Master must have performed all the concealment and divination protection spells possible. They would keep Skrael and Bellroc busy at least for a while. Or at least, Douxie hoped so. He did not doubt his Master's abilities in the slightest. But neither did he doubt those of two half demigods. If they had discovered them right away, well, that would have been a big trouble.
Douxie ended up looking at the four boys and the two trolls, seeing their confused expressions, but soon after he noticed, Merlin had already started leaving the room.
He tried to follow, but Merlin raised his hand to stop him on the spot, frustrating him. More than mildly, this time.
"Stay here, Hisirdoux..."
"But Master..."
"And don't ' but master ' me,'" he retorted as Douxie tried to initiate the rebuttal, anticipating the protests. As usual. "Keep an eye on the situation."
Hisirdoux would have liked to tell him that he would have paid attention to his surroundings even if he followed him. He would've liked to insist, to fight to prevail his point of view, but he knew that right now... Well, it was not the time to get into an argument. That, however, did not mean he did not grumble, pointing out his disappointment. Annoyance painted in his gaze.
"...All right," he said as the man turned away for good, walking out.
After nine hundred years of waiting, he wanted to prove himself useful. He wanted to make him realize that he was ready for whatever he would throw at him. He wanted to make him realize that he had grown, despite appearing identical to his past self. That he was more responsible and capable. But it didn't seem to be working.
' Patience ,' he said to himself, in a voice that almost sounded like Archie's, so much so that he couldn't help but wonder if the dragon was mentally talking to him, deciding to believe the latter ' You've waited almost a millennium. You can wait a little longer, right? You'll be able to convince him .'
' You'll be able to make him understand that he didn't waste his time catching you and taking you off the street. That his teachings were not in vain .' This, unlike the previous ones, was his thoughts... and it reminded him too much of some of his childhood reasoning.
He ended up dipping his hands into his familiar's fur, hoping to distract himself somehow. Archibald did not protest, appreciating with loud purrs the caresses under his chin. Just seeing him like this led him to smile again, barely sighing.
"And who exactly would this Keeper of Balance be, College dude ?" Intervened Steve, immediately catching him off guard by the nickname.
"Ah, uhm." He did not know where to start explaining in such a way that everything would be understandable. The looks of expectation from the audience did not help. "Let's say that in Lhasa, a city very connected with magic, there was a witch named Xia Shàngdū who started practicing necromancy...."
"Necro-what? And what does this have to do with anything?" Asked the blond, interrupting him and receiving a slap on his head from Claire, who wrenched a groan of pain from him.
"Let him finish," she said. He mentally thanked her.
"Necromancy. Magic to bring the dead to life." He hastened to say. "It's a forbidden and harmful practice. And a real nut crack for universal balance because it disturbs the laws of life and death." Part of him would have liked to go into the technical details, but he forced himself to silence it, knowing that he would most likely get lost in the topic and they would not understand it anyway. "The main problem was that Xia, back in the day, had not completed the spells, so much so that the resurrected dead were bloodthirsty monsters."
"Like vampires?" Asked Jim, looking tense. Panic stiffened him from head to toe.
"Worse. Vampires are creatures with a conscience, with the ability to choose and feel human emotions."
"Do those exist, too?" Steve appeared paler than before and started to look around as if a vampire was seriously about to appear and attack. He was trembling slightly.
"Yes. But they look different than those from Dracula , Twilight, or The Vampire Diaries . Still, they aren't that bad. And yes, I met a few," he chuckled, only to have a sudden realization. "I don't know if you've seen The Walking Dead TV Show..."
"Oh... oh! Jimbo and I have! On Halloween, we tried to watch the first few episodes." Toby went from delighted to terrified within a couple of seconds, realizing. "Horrifying."
"That's it. The creatures in there are zombies. The ones from Lhasa were very similar, but they weren't decomposing, and the more they fed, the more powerful they became. They had attacked eight cities in Asia's Reigns, killing almost all the population inside them in less than a month," a pause. The group around him had appalled expressions on their faces.
"The Keeper of Balance was able to eliminate most of the threat because of his intelligence and Golem-building skills..." Before Steve could ask, which was shown by the blatant question written on his face, he replied. "...They are giants, mostly made of clay, who possess no intelligence or other intellectual faculties but have inhuman strength. In a sense they were like Xia's creatures, lacking the killer instinct and much bigger than them."
"Oh. They are like Trolls."
"I feel I strongly have to disagree. Us Trolls are pretty smart." Mister Galadrigal sounded somewhat offended.
"...I meant about the material."
"...No, not even in the material." Retorted Douxie, trying not to laugh. Archie seemed on the verge of doing the same, so much so that he let out a choked sound. Claire, Toby, and Jim had big smiles on their faces.
"No such thing," Aaarrrgh said.
"Okay, okay. I take it all back. They aren't alike at all. Sorry." Steve paused, trying to escape all eight of the two Trolls' inquisitive eyes "And... So we're supposed to meet this guy ?"
Douxie nodded, while Toby exclaimed "So cool!", almost sparkling with excitement.
"And he'd be an old friend of Merlin's?" Quipped Jim, his wide eyes looking like they were about to pop out of their sockets.
Hisirdoux tightened his shoulders a little, a smile widening his face and a peal of faint laughter escaping him. "Master Merlin knows a lot of weird people."
"This Keeper of Balance has certainly earned his name," added Blinkous Galadrigal, bringing all his arms to cross in front of his chest. "We will be more than honored to meet him."
Aaarrrgh agreed with a half-voiced. "Keeper, good."
"What about the witch? What happened to her?" Asked Claire suddenly, staring at him with a furrowed brow. It was not easy to understand what exactly she was thinking.
Douxie barely hesitated, willy-nilly. He bit his lower lip before answering. "It seems that one of its creatures rebelled against Xia's control over it, seeing it no longer as its Creator, but as a source of sustenance." He still preferred not to go into the grisly details of the found corpse described in the legends. It had been cut open in two and it bled out, with all the internal organs mangled and scattered around her.
The four boys and the two Trolls showed mild shock as they looked at each other.
"You said then that the Keeper was believed to be dead?" Asked the Trollhunter, puzzled.
"Yes." Douxie's gaze returned briefly to Archie. "After Xia's death and the return of peace to the magical community of the Asian Continent, there were..." he grimaced. "Various problems. And for unclear reasons he disappeared. He was presumed dead because no one could locate him, and he was not seen again for centuries," a pause. "But apparently, Master Merlin knows where to find him."
"Mister Magic Man didn't say where , though," Steve said, confused. "I didn't miss the info, did I? I mean, of course, I didn't miss it, he just didn't say it, did he?... Right, guys?"
"He just said we'll get there in three days or so," agreed Claire, thoughtfully, then appearing somewhat annoyed. "Him and his tendency to hide things," she muttered.
"Always the same for well over nine hundred years," Douxie replied cheerfully, albeit with a hint of acid in his tone, masking it rather well.
********
The first Jump, which made them move from California to Wrangell, an Alaskan town, was particularly heavy. It occurred moments after the Arcane Order had arrived, but before they could begin an attack.
The warning bell had rung for only two chimes, with Galahad all agitated staring at the horizon whose color changed from dark blue to burgundy red. Then, suddenly, everything that had surrounded them was gone.
Camelot had moved from a night, cloudy sky to one that was always night, always cloudy -the clouds of which had all blown away at the impact of the air caused by the sudden arrival-but traversed by snowflakes that descended swiftly and decisively.
As the clouds in the sky cleared, albeit gradually, snow began to fall on the castle walls. The flakes touched the rock for a few seconds before melting, soon replaced by others that either met the same end or managed to hold enough to join the following ones, causing a white layer to form on the ground.
After the initial moment of total nausea-in which some of them had even vomited their souls out, sowing the contents of their stomachs into the void-the surprise had taken over.
Steve had made a shrill cry of unrestrained glee, immediately starting to run left and right only to belatedly realize the very low temperature and to enter, still running, shouting "Cold, cold, cold! Bummer, that's so cold !" that had Toby, Jim, Claire, and Blinky burst out laughing-some already indoors, others about to enter.
An amused sound had escaped Aaarrrgh, similar to the noise of a car engine failing to start. Archie had simply sighed, while Douxie had covered a half-laughter with a cough. Then he went to pull the cord of his sweatshirt, tightening the hood around his neck. It was indeed cold.
"You're in short sleeves, Steve," said Claire, flanking the blond and rolling her eyes with a smirk painted on her face. "You should have seen it coming."
"Yes, but the snow!" He complained, swinging his arms in front of him, the expression of a beaten puppy.
"There are heavier clothes in the castle. And fur coats." Hisirdoux found himself saying, shrugging and rubbing his hands on his arms, again attracting the attention of those present. He felt all their stares weighing on him. It was weird but at the same time not that much. "They're mostly in the nobles' wardrobe, I think, but I don't think anyone in this castle would say anything about us taking them."
He could have even made them himself, theoretically, but he didn't want to risk using too much magic and running out of it later, perhaps at a desperate moment when he would need them for real. You never knew, especially with the charging times for Jumps.
Besides, it would have been interesting enough to steal some robes from some past nobleman who had always looked down on him and treated him with scorn, if not worse, not even to the level of a mouse in the kitchen.
"Imagine taking them from Arthur Pendragon," Archie quipped, almost reading-and he probably had. No, he definitely did.- inside his mind. Douxie could not help but smirk at such a comment. He saw some of the Guardians-the ones who hadn't heard Archie speak yet-- open their eyes wide, but he didn't mind. Archie was a talking dragon, yes. They would get used to it.
Partially, the idea of wearing the embellished, regal robes of the legendary king would have been ridiculous, especially counting the difference in stature between Arthur and anyone in that room. On the other hand, it seemed like a wonderful dose of indirect karma. Douxie saw it as quite necessary, especially for the man's actions and prejudices. And also because of the impact he had had on his people, damaging their view of the magical world. Not that it had not already been bad on its own, but with his support it had been even worse.
"Oh! Oh! Awesome sauce!" Toby jumped up, excited to say the least, before giving himself a serious tone, almost as if he were suddenly acting, appearing rather funny. "It would be perfect for Count Domzalski."
"I think it would be best for everyone to put some clothes on, or we risk freezing to death," asserted Jim simply. Douxie agreed.
"But you're a Troll, you shouldn't feel cold," Steve intervened.
"Wrong. I'm half Troll at the moment. I do." He shivered. "I totally do."
"Ah. Right. Well, I want the clothes of the coolest knight ever... Can I also have armor? The coolest one there is. Oh! Better than Lake's!"
"I don't think that's possible, Steve." By now Claire sounded like an exasperated mother, the kind who was trying to appease her rambunctious child who was embarrassing her in a mall. Her tone made the Trollhunter chuckle.
"I'm sorry, but she's right," Hisirdoux said. And then smiled, quite amused by the blond boy's expression, especially due to his confirmation.
"There is no other armor like that around. Not without someone already possessing them... not inside Camelot, at least. And the Trollhunter's armor is a creation in itself. Hard to find a better one." Archibald added, adjusting his glasses, still perched on his Wizard's shoulder. Douxie agreed with him by nodding.
After taking yet another look to be sure that everything was all right outside the castle, leaning out just enough to search whatever he could find in the snowy landscape, the raven-haired mage set off.
He was immediately followed by the others, who were quick and quite chilly. Steve was at the back of the group grumbling muttered words under his breath, still offended. Hisirdoux barely caught a "...It's not fair" but ended up ignoring him soon enough.
It felt so strange to the wizard to see Camelot again. It had been so long, but it still seemed like it had been yesterday. The castle was always the same-except for the flying part-and it sent him constant flashbacks.
He only had to let his gaze wander a little and immediately the feeling of déjà-vu took over both his mind and one side of his chest, traced by a mixture of nostalgia, affection, and... tension. A suffocating tension that made him feel his insides twist and the weight of the world increase, making even moving a muscle difficult. Even just breathing at a normal pace without ending up making strange faces was hard.
Not a new emotion, that one. It had been a constant even after that. It had been especially so after that. Having the appearance of an eternal 19-year-old did not help to protect oneself from the wrongdoers. Having to hide more than just a secret, in addition to his magical powers... well, made it even more complicated.
Douxie brought his hand to the skull necklace without even thinking about it, almost by instinct, as a sour taste seemed to have taken root in his throat.
He wrinkled his nose, forcing himself to focus on anything else possible, eventually falling back into the dialogue Toby was having, accompanied by Steve's almost exaggerated comments. They were talking about what had happened with the Aliens in town. They had even mentioned the appearance of Colonel Kubritz from Area 49-B.
Douxie had not met her, fortunately. He had not even seen her in passing. He had done everything to avoid being noticed. He had even decreased his nightly rounds, forcing himself to suppress his Vigilante instincts.
It had been difficult, almost as difficult as when he had forced himself to quit smoking in 1992... and hadn't that been torture. It said a lot about his past mental state. But just the idea of becoming a lab rat had restrained him from doing stupid and all too instinctive actions.
Once it was all over, he, Zoe, and the other undercover mages had been quite elated at the idea that the woman was gone. One of the reasons he and Ashildr had decided to go hunting Niffins. Or they should have, at least. But then Merlin had come back and... he was ditching her. To make matters worse, he still had not warned her about the fact that he was going to miss the meeting. He had forgotten about it. Like he forgot to tell his work boss that he wasn't going to be there for a few days.
' Fuzzbuckets. '
If he could have done it without being noticed, he would have facepalmed.
Zoe was going to be angry. Of course, she would. Especially considering that she was already an easy girl to upset. Perhaps, however, he could find a way to apologize, whatever it was. First, however, he had to send her a message so that she would not commit murder when he returned, not allowing him to explain.
That is if he had not died first.
' Melodramatic ,' whispered a traitorous little voice in his head. Half of him agreed with her; the other half, the more negative one, did not think it was such an exaggerated possibility. They were always against the Arcane Order, after all. One could never know.
Archie, following this thought, whacked his tail in his face. Douxie let out a choked noise, just before exclaiming a "Really?" quite loudly, in a tone somewhere between scandalized and shocked. That behind his back led the others to wince and stare at him, taken aback, though he didn't realize it.
"Stop thinking," said the dragon, without adding anything. He did not need to admonish him more in words; his gaze already said it all. And parts of his thoughts were already pinching his mind, mixed with waves of emotions trying to make him relax.
He sighed, shaking his head slightly and rolling his eyes. "Yes, Mother Dragon. Hakuna Matata to you too."
He received another tail right in the face. This time, however, Douxie took almost no notice, expecting a second hit from his familiar and then burst out laughing.
"Anyway," Archie quipped. "Is it just me or wasn't that room there last time? The one by the statue."
Douxie sobered up and slid his gaze to its destination, past the marble carving of Arthur Pendragon. He almost stopped in place upon seeing the door, forcing himself to move forward in the process. It was made out of wood, very plain and devoid of decoration, almost basic, but... He didn't remember it there either, just as he didn't remember what might be behind it.
' Huh. So there is something new other than the flying part... '
"No. It's not just you," he said, puzzled. "They must have added it. We'll check it later... and we're going to see if there's anything in the kitchens for you to eat. I can feel your hunger starting to lodge in my head."
Archie sniffed, "I'm not taking any responsibility."
"Mmmh-mmmh."
*******
They had all covered themselves with new clothes above the old ones and below the armor and heavy fur coats. Despite the hundreds of years that had passed, these did not smell as old as perhaps they would have expected and were not covered with dust. They were long and warm.
Claire did not like that they had been taken from real animals, but she could understand that back in the day, there certainly had not been the materials that could be found in the present. And that a pelt could make a difference in who survived and who did not.
The cape surrounded her shoulders in a silent and very pleasant embrace. All the chills she had previously had were gradually fading. She would have felt in an earthly paradise if she had had the opportunity to drink a Santafereño chocolate, the kind her father had always made her, telling her different stories about her Abuela every single time he had the chance.
The girl could not help but smile at seeing Jim surrounded by his fur coat. It looked good on him. It gave him a strangely regal air, partly fueled by the Armor and his Troll form, which allowed him to have a rather imposing stature. It was strange to compare him to his human appearance.
Toby had been the one to take the longest to choose, both in the area of clothes and coats. Some had been too long-so much so that he had been overwhelmed by them and made him risk falling instantly-or a little too tight, but in the end, he had managed to find ones that suited him.
Steve had taken almost as long as Toby, but for the simple reason that he had too many demands. He had chosen several pieces in that space of time, always grabbing them convinced that they were the best choice of all, only to see new ones and change his mind instantly, having an attitude so exalted as to remind her of a four-year-old.
Douxie, on the other hand, had disappeared briefly, only to return with the spare clothes already on him. In contrast to the blond, he had picked up and put on the first black fur coat that came his way and then lurched to the window. He had stood staring at the falling snow with an unreadable look on his face, his left hand resting on the glass. His familiar camouflaged himself in all the black fur that was already there, so much so that it would have disappeared in it if it were not for the bright color of his eyes and the glasses that were on his nose.
He seemed to have taken Merlin's order very, very seriously. Claire had noticed, all the way to one of the castle's many checkrooms, he had been almost constantly on the alert, his gaze always traveling in search of the outside. Just seeing him had put tension on her, so much so that she had been unable to follow Toby's entire speech. It reminded her of how helpless she was at the moment, and the feeling was planted in the center of her chest.
Even at that moment, Blinky, Jim, Toby, Aaarrrgh, and Steve were talking about something, but the girl hardly heard them, being too distracted.
' If only I had my Staff again... ' she thought to herself, not for the first time in those last months. It would have given her more security to have it and made her feel safer just with its reassuring weight in her hands. But she no longer had it and would have to look for another way to defend herself from fear and insecurity.
She had not been able to find the courage to ask Merlin if there was a way to recover her shadow magic without the Staff. Not after his disapproval in the regard of that same magic because of Morgana. She felt that even trying to ask him would feel like a washout. A way to receive an uncalled admonition and nothing more.
Asking it to his Apprentice, however, seemed a more valid question already. Of course, she didn't know if Douxie could give her an answer, though... It didn't cost anything to try, right? And she already liked him much more than Merlin. He seemed more down to earth as a person, at least on the surface. She didn't know him well enough to be sure of it, but her guts told her that she could trust him.
Merlin, on the other hand, constantly put himself on a pedestal and looked down on anyone, a fact that had irritated her far too many times. The feeling had added to the resentment due to him having turned Jim into a half-Troll. Not so much because he was one, for God's sake, he was still himself after all, not another person...but because Merlin had made him feel as if he had no other choice. He had forced him to become half a Troll as if Jim was not a person with feelings, but a tool for an end. Just the idea bent her stomach in annoyance.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, but..." she began softly, moving closer and making him look her straight in the eye with an arched eyebrow and a silent question on his face. The entire chatter of the group fell silent almost instantly. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure. No problem. Ask away." He replied, casting a glance at Archie, who immediately set his gaze on the window. The boy even nodded to invite her to talk. She smiled at him, then, after a couple of seconds, explained the situation.
"Do you think there is another way? Another Staff or... any other tool that would allow me to use magic?" was thus her final, somewhat hopeful question, as her own hands went to clutch the fur coat with quite a bit of agitation. If she ended up receiving a no as an answer, she was going to be disappointed, but she would have to take it. That didn't change that the idea made her feel a little nervous. She wasn't like Toby or Jim. Real weapons were not her thing.
Hisirdoux arched an eyebrow and the answer was not long in coming. "Sure. There are plenty of magical artifacts, both in Camelot and outside Camelot..." Claire rejoiced internally, the reassurance causing her to sigh. She felt so relieved! "...Though, honestly, I think you'd be able to use it even without one of them."
"Huh?" The girl, for a moment, thought she had misunderstood what he had said.
"You used Morgana Le Fay's Staff and with it, you were able to create portals easily," asserted the wizard, tilting his head. "And yes, many people might be able to use amulets or magical channelers to cast spells. But the magical aura is not present in those who take advantage of the ability of enchanted objects. Not for a long time, at least. A week at most and it would disappear into thin air if they stopped using it," he moved away from the window, taking a few steps forward, his arms tucked behind his back. "I can hear yours loud and clear."
Claire gasped. "What..." a billion questions ran through her head, but only one escaped her lips, the easiest to express, but also the one that confused her the most "...Hearing?"
Douxie brought a hand behind his neck, wrinkling his nose. "Yes, hearing. The magic perceptions in other bodies can be received through one or more of the five senses... Hearing and sight are mine, but the second one gives me a little bit of trouble." He stopped short in his speech as if noticing something. "Not important. Anyway, the thing is... that if you compulsorily needed a magic item, I wouldn't hear anything around you counting how long it's been since you last used the Shadow Staff. But your melody is there, so..." the boy left the sentence incomplete, shrugging and putting his hands inside his pockets.
The missing conclusion was easily understood, however, and made Claire feel a warm chill run down her entire spine.
"So what should I do?" She asked after a long moment of silence, determined to get to work as soon as possible. The chance to recover her magic ignited a new dose of determination inside her. The small flame she had previously had grew larger as if fueled by stumps of wood or branches.
"Look for the Shadowmancy book, for starters. It should be either in Merlin's study or in Morgana's rooms. Either one. The second option is the most likely... assuming Galahad or some other knight hasn't moved it, but I doubt it."
"If they did, Merlin would end up giving them a huge scolding. Can you imagine?" Archibald blurted out. "That would be fun to watch."
"Sadistic little imp." Douxie grinned anyway.