Two Worlds: Tales of Arcadia - (A Trollhunters story)

Chapter 3 | Douxie | An Unknown World

"Ah, Fuzz buckets!" Douxie exclaimed as he stared at the unending stairs in front of him.

Taika turned towards Douxie biting back a smile, "It's not that bad, I don't know what you're complaining about. Guests first."

Douixe gulped as Taika ushers him towards the nightmare that awaited him.

One by one, slowly he made his way up the stairs, his breath heavy and his legs aching, complaining under his breath the entire time.

"Damn what's taking you so long," Taika shouted, He looked up to the top of the tower to see Nari and Taika looking down at him. In a tired daze, he shouted "Haha very funny." 

Looking down at his feet he paused for a moment before looking back up n and yelling, "HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET UP THERE!" His face bright red.

"NARI!" Douxie bellowed as Nari looked on and giggled.

"It wasn't that hard," Taika explained, "We simply stood on the teleporter."

"The what?"

Looking down at the bottom of the tower, Douixe could just about make out a symbol that closely resembled a teleporter he had seen Merlin make before. "AND YOU DECIDED TO LET ME WALK UP THE STAIRS!?"

"Felt like you needed some you time," Taika chuckled with Nari giggling alongside her. 

"Sorry, sorry," Taika laughed, "Just jump."

"JUMP!? YOU WANT ME TO JUMP!?" Douixe blurted out.

"Yeah," Taika said with a dead-serious face.

"YOU REALLY EXPECT ME TO JUST JUMP!"

"Come on, just jump, trust her," Nari asked.

Be grudgingly Douxie closed his eyes and jumped. And next thing he knew he had face-planted into the floor. "OW!"

He slowly opened his eyes to be greeted by Nari nealed down staring into his eyes with Taika leaning over him. 

"You know you need to be able to see where you're going. Maybe not close your eyes next time."

Douxie shot up and brushed himself down muttering under his breath.

"Hey, Archie, can you believe this wom..." 

Panic.

Douixe looks up and down, all around but Archie is nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Archie, what did you do to him" Douxie yells point his finger up in Taika's face.

"If you're talking about your familiar he's not here, honestly I'm surprised you didn't notice."

"DIDN'T NOTICE WHAT!"

Taika sighed, and pointed towards a tall and looming fireplace at the back of the room.

Douxie turned and saw Archie lying on a pile of fabric not looking so good.

"ARCHIE!" Douxie ran over, frantic checking Archie all over while he groaned.

"You know he tried to keep them back earlier, had a nasty fall after skrael caught his wings, a friend of mine grabbed him and is currently gone to get some medicine."

Douxie stared Taika in the eyes, unsure of his own situation.

"Explain!"

"Your gonna have t be more specific than that," Taika replied.

"Everything. Where we are, what's going on. And who the hell you are and your relation to Merlin."

Taika sighed.

"Douxie," Nari butted in, "that's too much she helped us out."

"Why, why do you trust her so much, how do you know her, cause from what I've seen so far she doesn't seem so concerned about what's happening at all."

"Come on, there's no need to take your frustration out on Nari."

"Then explain!"

"I think you need to calm down and rest, we can talk later. I've got stuff I need to attend to."

A knock at a side door behind Taika vibrated through the place.

"That'll be Aria, she can help treat Archie's wounds. I'll be gone for a bit, make yourselves at home."

"WAIT!" Douxie yelled as Taika jumped down the centre of the tower only to disappear.

Nari made her way to the side door, opening it up and looking awfully confused, there was no one there. But then she felt something hit her foot.

"ow!" She looked down to see a gnome scuttling across the floor with a large glass bottle, heading towards Archie. The gnome looks up at Douxie and stretches its arms out hinting at the bottle. Douxie takes it from them and watches as they try to explain how to apply it. Douxie kind of understood as the gnome shook his hand up and down then side to side, finally using his hat as an example of covering the wound.

Douxie went on to treat Archie, scolding him for acting on his own. Archie fires back feeling slightly insulted it took Douxie this long to notice that he was missing. 

After a couple of minutes, Archie dozes off as the fire grows. Douxie makes his way over to the window where Nari is sitting, she too seems to have fallen asleep. He then picks up a piece of cloth and covers her with it.

Sitting beside her, he looks out of the window to see the beautiful cave filled with lights, crystals, tents, and other homes and buildings. It is lively, with monsters and creatures of all sorts interacting together helping one another out. And at the centre of it all, Douxie saw Taika. She was healing those who were injured, helping put in new shelters, and consoling those who had clearly experienced something traumatic. Maybe, just maybe Nari's faith in her was well placed. But he just couldn't get rid of this erie feeling, that she was hiding something, that it was something important. 

Nari pulled on Douxie's sleeve and snuggling up close. Douxie turned around and leant towards her, and readjusting the blanket. And he thought, how, how did she so easily defend against the order. What kind of power does she hold.

And as his mind raced, slowly his eyes got heavier, until the tower was silent apart from a little gnome organizing a book shelf while everyone else was asleep.