Half-Sister // Trollhunters

/21/

Author's Note: I've been struggling to write in first-person point of view so I'm going to switch to third person limited for the rest of the story. Also, there may be a few changes, so I apologize if it gets confusing. I'll be updating the previous chapters to fit these changes at a later time.

When Annabelle was younger, before her world turned upside down, she had a friend who stole from a gas station. (I say friend, but they only hung out about a handful of times.) It was just a candy bar, not a big deal. At the time though, Anna freaked out because she was scared they'd get caught. "You worry too much, Bells. Nobody's gonna know. It'll be our little secret." That was what she said.

Back then, keeping secrets was fairly simple. About a week after it happened, Anna forgot all about it. But trying to keep the existence of trolls a secret? That was far more complicated. There's no telling how much chaos would ensue if that secret got out. Not to mention how upset their mother would be if she found out how much danger her son puts himself in on a daily basis.

There is one secret though that Anna isn't sure she should be keeping. What if she's unintentionally putting Argh in even more danger by not telling the others? The guilt ate away at her. Which is why she decided to ditch her friends to go to Trollmarket. Jim, Toby, and Claire went to the Nuñez residence after school in order to brainstorm ways to get Strickler's ring.

Anna couldn't stand keeping secrets. She'd rather distance herself from everyone, so she doesn't slip up. The last thing she wanted to do was accidentally expose her friends and ruin everything. But she also didn't want to be alone with her thoughts, which was why she didn't go home. However, when she arrived at Trollmarket she found that everyone she knew was busy.

"I have a few things I need to complete. Until I have finished, you can wait in my library." Blinky had suggested.

Anna's eyes widened. "You have a library?"

"Indeed, I do. It is a treasure trove of troll knowledge."

What he didn't mention however was the fact that everything in his library was in Trollish. So, Anna was stuck looking at the pictures in the books and having to try and guess what it was about. She considered going to RotGut's to ask if they had some sort of magical translator but realized that she wasn't exactly sure which way the market was. The only place she knows how to get to by heart is the training room due to how often she went there with her brother.

She really didn't want to get lost. There were still plenty of Trolls who weren't so keen about having humans around. If something were to happen it wasn't as if she had a way to defend herself. Not like Jim with his magic armor and sword. Even Claire and Toby had weapons now.

Anna sighed as she closed the book in her hand. "Maybe I should take self-defense classes. I think those cost money though." She had thought about asking Blinky to train her so she could at least be a little helpful, but she shot that idea down when she remembered how much time Blinky spends training Jim. No way he'd have time for another student, especially as she'd have to start from the beginning due to her not having any fighting experience.

Placing the book down, she turned to look for another one. As she turned, she saw something in the corner of her eye. Something glowing red. Furrowing her brow, she made her way toward the pile of books in the corner. The glow was coming from within the pile. She began moving books aside till she found the source.

It was a leatherbound book. There was a metal clasp keeping it shut and on the clasp was a red jewel. The light from the ruby pulsed like a heartbeat. Reaching her hand toward the book, she was about to pick it up when she heard footsteps behind her.

Her attention was drawn away from the book as she looked behind her to see who had entered the library. Anna's lips curled up into a smile when she saw who it was. But her smile quickly vanished when she saw the way he limped. Argh hadn't noticed her yet. He seemed to be looking for something.

Annabelle cleared her throat, letting him know she was there. She assumed he wasn't expecting anyone to be there because he jumped at the noise and looked over in alarm. He quickly relaxed when he realized it was her. "Hey big guy," She made her way over, not hiding the fact that she was looking toward his wound. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

Her frown deepened. Anytime someone asked him that question he always responded with the same answer. And she knew it wasn't because of his limited vocabulary. "You know you can talk to me, right? Maybe I can help?" Though she didn't sound very confident. What could she possibly do? She knows almost nothing about troll healthcare.

Argh looked to be considering it before he shook his head. "Am fine."

"Alright." Anna didn't want to let it go but she wasn't about to force Argh to talk. She watched as he turned his attention back to what he was doing. Deciding not to bother him, she began looking through the shelves once more. None of the books were helping her get her mind off the subject and she continuously glanced over at Argh in concern.

It was so obvious he was in pain. She was surprised nobody else noticed. Though maybe she only thought it was obvious because she knew about it. Just how upset would he be if she told the others?

She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a familiar voice outside the room. Not a moment later, Jim, Toby and Blinky entered. "My brother spent centuries curating our kind's most exotic collection of scrolls, tomes and texts." Blinky was saying as they walked in. "If the answer is anywhere, it's here."

"I didn't know you have a brother." Toby said as he went to pick up a book.

"Had a brother. Dictatious Maximus Galadrigal. These books are all I have left of him. If he were here to see me now..."

Jim frowned. "Blink, I didn't know that--"

But his sentence was cut short when Blinky noticed that Annabelle wasn't the only one present in the library. "Uh, Argh?"

Argh, who had been intently looking at a book, finally noticed their presence as well. He seemed startled as all eyes landed on him. "Uh... Just leaving." He closed the book and set it back on the pile. "Had things I was doing. Uh... gotta go. Just leaving."

Annabelle silently watched as he left. The others all sharing looks of confusion. "Strange. I don't believe I've ever seen him in my library."

Toby frowned. "You guys notice Argh's been acting kinda weird lately?"

None of them noticed the way Annabelle tensed at the question.

"Argh is a complex and yet endearing troll, Tobias." Blinky shrugged. "Sometimes it's best to just let him be."

The three of them began their search, oblivious to Anna's internal struggle. Then here gaze drifted over to the book Argh had been looking at. She glanced at the others to find that they were all focused on the books in their hands. Slowly she made her way over to the pile before grabbing the book. She sent one last glance over her shoulder before skimming through the pages.

This felt like an invasion of privacy, but by the time she realized she should probably stop, her eyes landed on a familiar image. It was a drawing of Angor Rot's blade. But it was the illustration on the next page that caused her heart to plummet.

It was of a troll turning to stone.