NOVEL NEXT Book 3 Ch 8: Julian - She Had Very Cute Freckles
Julian saw the troll from earlier pick up something in the courtyard below his window.
She'd disappeared in the square so suddenly that it’d startled him into searching for her... but no matter where he’d looked, he couldn’t find her. She'd well and truly vanished.
He didn’t know why he'd cared; He shouldn’t have cared.
Julian had slowed down his strangely hurried walk through the market and reasoned with himself that he’d probably overreacted. People stared at him all the time and he didn't feel the need to talk to them about it.
Maybe his senses were warning him. Maybe she was a Blackfog spy. Maybe he was tired and should just go back to rest.
By that point, the festival had lost it's appeal and he'd turned homeward.
That was when he’d spotted her lone figure walking towards the palace gates.
And despite everything he’d just told himself, Julian had followed her. To right below his window. Alright, six floors below his window, but still.
She held something in her hands and pulled out a tiny hammer, simple and unassuming. He [Light Foot] closer for a better look.
She hit is pendant. Anger boiled in his heart as he saw a piece of the latch break off, and panic laced his voice as he called out. “Don’t!"
But it was too late, the woman hit his pendant with the hammer a second time.
"What do you think you're doing?” There was a dark pit in his chest as he was beside her, grabbing her wrist. He desperately looked over the damage… and found none.
Instead, the pendant was shining like new. Even the years of wear and tear were gone, and there was a newfound lustre to the gold casing and loop. He hesitantly released her wrist.
“Good, you’re here.” She said, dropping the pendant into Julian’s hand and then taking a step back. Despite her confident bearing, shoulders straight and head held high, her voice wavered slightly and she didn’t look him in the eye. “Now I can go to bed.”
“Wait!” He said, but she’d already turned to leave. He followed after her. “How did you know it was mine?”
She kept walking.
“How did you know I’d lost my pendant?” He repeated, chasing after her. He hadn’t even known he’d lost his pendant.
She paused half-up up the stairs that lead into the palace. Drawing in a deep breath, she turned to face him. She still didn’t meet his eyes though, staring at the pendant in Julian's hand instead. “What is in the locket?”
He wasn’t expecting her to ignore his question for her own.
“I’ll answer yours if you'll answer mine?”
She stared at the pendant a little longer before looking up. Honey brown eyes met his, so bright they were the first thing he’d noticed across a crowd of people. That, and her pale freckles that bridged her green nose. She had very cute freckles.
“I found it and was going to repair it and hand it over to the servants.” She said, as if that were all she needed to say.
“You just found it.” Julian stated, for some reason not believing a word.
“Yes.”
“On your way inside.”
“I’m staying in the West Wing.” She pointed up at the spiraling coral tower above them. The door ahead led to the connecting entry to the West Wing. His rooms were in the main building closest to the West Wing. Each of the towers in the coral palace were connected to the main palace somehow. A few of the spires even started on higher floors, but the four corner ones were connected by the main floor and then to each other in great bridges high overhead.
He frowned. Something about her eyes stared right through him. Of course, she could just have recognised him and he was overthinking this.
He didn’t actually believe that.
He didn’t trust in coincidence. Lady Luck was not his patron, her sister was… and Fate had a way of messing with him whenever she could.
“My family.” He answered.
She looked confused, her brows arching slightly. “What?”
Julian pressed the latch and the locket opened, revealing the portrait of his family on one side. “It’s a picture of my family.”
The troll stared, but she wasn’t looking at the portrait. Her eyes caught the gleam of the tiny crystal shard locked behind a panel of glass.
“Ah, that makes sense.” She mumbled, and then she looked at the portrait. She smiled, “You were so young.”
This entire conversation was strange, and Julian felt off balance. He snapped the pendant shut. The troll, no, he should stop calling her that. “What’s your name?”
It wasn’t the most polite way to ask a lady, but it would have to do.
“Gerda Jones, Your Grace, but you can call me Gerda.” She crossed her arms.
The name sounded familiar.
“Gerda.” He said it softly, trying to remember where he'd heard it somewhere before– “The Bridge Troll?”
She shot him a smile, flashing white teeth. The lower canines were the only teeth longer than the rest, but they were impressive. “The very same. Now, it’s late and we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. So if you’ll excuse me?”
Julian nodded, and she turned on her heel and marched up the last of the stairs. He bit back the urge to chase her again. Getting the better of himself he added, “Good night… and thank you.”
She’d reached the top, her hand on the doorknob. She looked at him over her shoulder and said, “You're welcome.”
Then she was gone.
Julian stood at the bottom of the stairs for a long time. He felt like he’d made a mistake somehow, but he didn’t know when. He replayed their conversation over and over in his head and found nothing particularly unusual.
The only thing usual was the encounter itself.
Eventually, he unlatched his necklace and slid it through the repaired golden ring. He had no idea how it broke. If he hadn’t watched Gerda bend down and pick it up, he would’ve thought that the only way it could leave his person was if it had been stolen by some master thief.
The item was epic grade. It didn’t just break.
He put it back on and headed into bed, the troll still on his mind.