A Trollhunter turned King

Royal Trouble

Weapons clashed as Hilde stood his ground strong. In his prime, he could have easily taken out both krubera soldiers, but he was old now. Still he did his best to give the boys time to escape. He accidentally let one by him as it went to chase the whelps down and Hilde inwardly cursed.

"You would give your life for those whelps? A fool's death." Userna hissed from the sidelines as she watched.

"Those boys are going to be your downfall, wretch." Hilde panted as he lost his ax and had to resort to his fists, which didn't prove useful. "You and your dark lord will fall, by their hands." he shouted, pushing back the two soldiers and gaining a little breathing time. He watched the queen's face turn to that of slightly surprised. "You don't think it's obvious. I'm from a time far older than you or Gunmar, I have seen his influence on others. We know you work for him." the purple troll hissed.

"And you will perish with that knowledge." her face shifted back to determination as another one of her soldiers plunged a blade through his chest from behind. The metal stuck out the front but Hilde didn't even flinch.

"To die for a future," Hilde's skin started slowly turning to stone. "Where fear is yet again only an emotion, not a way of life." his body started to stiffen as the stone reached up his neck. "That is a future I will lay down my life for." a smile crept onto his lips as his mouth was sealed shut, the rest of him turning to stone as he passed his last breath.

"Dispose of him." Usurna growled as she turned away. Her soldiers obeyed her command and one took their mace to the body, smashing it to pieces. The queen searched the entirety of the market for those whelps but found nothing of them, and soon she returned to her quarters in anger.

"You vin some, you lose some." that annoying German accent filled her ears as she growled in warning.

"Watch your tone, impure." she hissed, finally having enough of the polymorphs attitude. He held his hands up in surrender but his face was unamused.

"Vhat, Ich just speaking the truth." Otto said, a cocky smirk pulling at his human lips. Usurna growled more at his tone and he finally backed off.

"We had them, we could have had everything fall into place. Our dark prince will be returning any day now and we have nothing to offer him." the queen cursed, more to herself than him but she still spoke out loud.

"That is not true. Ve have Trollmarket under our- your control." The changeling was quick to correct himself from the glare he got from the queen. "How is that nothing?" It was a rhetorical question but it did make the krubera think.

"I suppose you have a point." she sighed and looked around her small dwelling in imagining the whole of the market. "But we still need the amulet for the bridge." she hissed again.

"Ve vill also need the trollhunters hand to make it vork." Otto leaned forward in his chair. Usurna gave him a questioning look which made a smirk grow on his face. "Daylight is his to command."

~~~~~~

Claire, Toby, Barbara, and the three trolls that were sharing the boy's homes were all gathered in the lake's living room, Draal and ARRRGH!!! Standing a little further away to make space but they could still hear and see everything.

"He still hasn't come out of his room?" Claire asked, looking at the redhead woman of the group. It had been a few days since their last trip to trollmarket and they were all still saddened but Jim was really taking a toll on himself. He wouldn't even let Claire in to comfort him, he was just that freaked out.

"Master Jim blames himself deeply for Hilde's falling." Blinky answered, playing with his hands a little.

"I mean, I get it, he feels bad that he couldn't do anything about it. We all know he's always been like that but this. . . this is a little extreme." Toby admitted, concerned for his best friend and arguably brother.