Within Magic [Douxie X OC]

Witch Hunt [Part One]

[Third Person POV]

It was a wonderfully restful night. No disturbances, no unsettling dreams and no irrational knights kicking down the door. Nimue and Douxie had gotten a great nights sleep. The sun was only just starting to break over the horizon and they were still sleeping peacefully. Nimue was huddled up under the comforter of the bed and Douxie was facing the back of the couch, hair mussed from rolling over.

Unfortunately, that peace wasn't going to last. Without any knock, the door swung open and slammed into the stone wall.

The loud noise startled both teens. Nimue threw the comforter off of herself, eyes wide and looking around frantically.

Douxie was so startled, he fell right off of the couch and hit the ground.
"What in Merlin's name?!"

"Nimue!" An all too familiar voice exclaimed, only pausing when they noticed Douxie in the same room.

Once she realized who it was, Nimue's shoulders relaxed.
"Claire? What's going on?" She asked while trying to stifle a yawn.

Shaking off her confusion after seeing the young man, she looked between the both of them, expression panicked.
"Arthur is gathering his knights. They're going to hunt down Jim and the other trolls!"

That statement was sobering enough. The two looked to each other, eyes wide.

Nimue leaped out of her borrowed bed and Douxie shot to his feet.

"We need to hurry. I'll grab Archie and the time map. You two meet me in the barracks and we'll try to think of a plan."

With that, the three went two separate ways. Douxie ran to get the time map where he'd last seen it, on the table in Merlin's study and Nimue with Claire went straight for the barracks.

"So, um... Douxie stayed with you, last night?" Claire asked as they made their way through the halls of the castle.

Nimue glanced over at Claire curiously, seeing her uncertain expression. It would have been an odd question considering their situation, but it dawned on her that the younger girl was trying to distract herself from the unease.
Her expression softened a little and she grinned.
"Yeah. Merlin found Douxie's old self passed out in the closet, so his room was occupied. I ran into him outside last night when I went to get some fresh air. I figured better to let him use my couch than some storage room."

Claire was about to say something when she stopped.
"Wait, Merlin knows...? Isn't that bad?"

"Well, yes and no. He's not telling anyone so far as I'm aware. It'll just make it harder to be incognito around him." Nimue sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"He's not fond of what we're doing. Changing history and all. He wants me to try and keep Douxie from doing anything rash..."

"Isn't that what he always does?" Claire smiled wryly.

Nimue stifled a laugh and nodded.
"Yeah, but he's smart. Smarter than Merlin's giving him credit for." She replied.

"I'm still surprised you guys aren't dating. You're like some dynamic duo. Trio, if you include Archie."

Nimue felt her face flush, but she grinned sheepishly.
"I mean, we're really good friends. I, um..." Her brows furrowed and she bit her bottom lip.
"When I first moved to Arcadia, I had a friend back home who said he wanted to try dating. He's a really cool guy and I was honestly thinking about it, but over the last few months, I decided against it. He's not a bad guy, but Douxie helped me figure out it wasn't what I wanted."

"Really...?" Claire blinked, looking up at Nimue with bright, curious brown eyes. She'd never admit it, but it was pretty easy to tell she was a romantic.
"So, Douxie knows about him? Did you stop talking to the guy or something?"