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Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
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Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 12: The Best Defense
The battle took a lot out of the girls, both physically and emotionally. Then came the cleanup and repairs. That really exhausted them. They went right to work just as soon as they revived Simone and took care of their new house guest, starting with outside.
The fence and trampled flower beds in the front garden soon looked good as new. The trench was gone and the half-eaten greenery in the back garden grew out to look as it did earlier that day. Over forty frozen nude goblins were shrunk and thawed, releasing them to fend for themselves — though Dani did create miniature clothes for them. Goblins were very hardy when it came to cold but like the trolls, they couldn't survive having their brains frozen. A few of the goblins couldn't be revived. That upset the girls. They held an informal funeral and buried the tiny dead goblins in their back garden. But the worst part was disposing of the dead troll that had tried to eat Pat. She fed Dani enough electro magic to disintegrate the troll and ran inside, crying.
With the outside taken care of and Pat consoled, they turned their attention to the cottage. The bathroom and hallway were fixed up and they mopped up all the water. The proud front door had its hinges oiled, its dents removed and its dead bolt straightened. Of course they used magic in addition to hard physical labor but they had it all done with nearly an hour to spare before their parents got home. That left them some time to deal with the house guest, who was being guarded by Ash in Dani's bedroom while the sisters worked.
Their guest stood about three feet tall with beautiful long blonde hair and light blue eyes. She wore Dani's white tunic top — looking ever so much like a dress on her — and kept a scowl on her face that might have scared away even the bravest young man had she still been a troll. As it was, she looked like nothing other than a cute little girl in spite of her dark mood.
The little girl sat on edge of the bed, wildly swinging her legs and snarling as Dani approached.
Dani laughed. "What's your name?" she asked.
The girl tried to speak but the sound of her voice put her off so she continued snarling.
"If you don't tell me your name, I'll give you one and you'll have to keep it. You might not like that."
"Fine!" the little girl said. "Me Frag."
"Frag? Is that your first name? Do you have any other names? A nickname perhaps?"
"Me sometimes called... Fang." She only whispered the name and blushed, realizing how ridiculous it sounded given her current appearance.
"Oh, my. Those names won't do. Won't do at all. Pat! Simone! Someone here needs a name."
The twins nervously entered the bedroom. Pat and Simone still had flashbacks from their close encounters with the trolls. They saw a little girl when they looked at Frag but they couldn't help remembering her as the troll leader.
"It's okay," said Dani. "Come on in. She won't bite. Ash won't let her."
Ash lounged between the bed and where the three sisters stood. He looked half asleep but he turned and grinned when he heard his name. "Me already nipped girl twice. She behave now."
Frag winced as she remembered the stinging hot bites of the salamander. She rubbed her backside with the memory.
Dani noticed and giggled before continuing. "Girls, this is Frag, also known as Fang. Of course that just won't do. We need to give her a new name."
Frag started to object and the oldest sister interrupted her.
"It's okay. We won't give you a name you don't like. But you need a human name. You're a human girl now."
The former troll slumped and sniffled a little as she fought a sudden urge to cry.
"We'll list off some names and you stop us when you hear something you like. Okay?"
Frag slowly nodded and the girls started the naming. They ran through the alphabet and came close to running out of names before finding something that Frag could live with. She ended up being called Wanda. To her, it sounded like something her mother would've name her if she'd been born a female troll.
The three sisters approved and all was mostly good. They just needed to figure out a story to tell their parents. The new girl, Wanda, had a question or two that she needed answered first however. She looked at the three sisters with a pair of the saddest eyes they'd ever seen and asked, "Why you not kill me?"
Dani gave her a sad little smile. "It wouldn't have been right to kill you. It's not our way. I couldn't leave you as you were but I also couldn't kill you. I did the only thing that my conscience would let me do."
"But why you not turn me into a young troll?"
"I couldn't visualize a young troll and I didn't have the time to try. I had to act quickly to keep you from eating my sister. Remember?"
"Yeah, Frag... I mean Wanda remember. What about now? Can you make me young troll now?" She gave the oldest girl a hopeful look.
Dani sadly shook her head. "I'd need a sample to work with... one of your fellow trolls. But they're long gone. I don't think they'd cooperate in any event. I'm afraid you're stuck as a little girl."
"I think they try to eat me now. That what I would do." She shook her small head and shivered a little at the thought. She might not like being a little girl but she liked the idea of being eaten a lot less. It made her feel something she'd never felt before. It made her feel afraid.
Pat spoke up next. "Mum and Dad will be home soon, Dani. What are we going to tell them about Wanda?"
"Right," the older girl said. "We need to come up with a story and stick to it. That includes you, Wanda."
"Me be good. Me like stories."
"That's good, Wanda, because you'll likely be having a lot of stories read to you."
"Why?"
"It's a human thing. But don't worry. I think you'll like it."
The girls came up with a story they could all agree on, that Wanda had no parents and had been abandoned by her guardian. Not knowing what else to do, the little girl came up and knocked on their door, asking for something to eat. They'd say she couldn't remember any last name — the truth since she'd never had one as a troll — and wouldn't tell them anything about her guardian. They'd imply that she'd been abused and leave it at that.
Social services would have to be contacted to see about finding her a place to live, assuming she couldn't stay with the Green family. The three sisters actually thought it better to keep her to help her adjust given her former self. Dani wanted to keep her, but she wasn't optimistic about doing so.
When Sue and George got home, Sue went crazy for little Wanda. She thought the girl was just the cutest little thing and wouldn't listen to her husband when he tried to be a voice of reason.
"We can't afford another girl!" he said.
"Nonsense," Sue told him.
"We don't know anything about her. What if she's some sort of psychotic serial killer?" George got nervous when he saw Wanda handling the cutlery during a quick, late meal. She seemed to have an especially fond regard for sharp knives.
Sue laughed. "Listen to yourself, George. She's a lost little girl and she needs a good home."
"I don't think I like the idea of keeping her here. Where would she stay? We don't have enough bedrooms."
"She can stay with me in mine," Dani said.
With every argument countered, George bowed his head in defeat. He'd phone social services as soon as possible to start the process of trying to adopt Wanda.
"What's one more female in the house?" he said to himself, shaking his head. "We've already got a house full of them."
Later that same night, Dani sat on her bed, amusing herself by watching Wanda trying to stay awake. The little girl was lying on an air mattress that the family used when they had guests stay overnight. She huddled under several blankets to keep warm and it made her very drowsy.
"It's okay to sleep, Wanda. Ash and I won't hurt you."
Wanda stuck her lower lip out in a full pout and Dani tried hard not to laugh.
"Me no want to sleep yet. Still dark outside."
"Human children normally sleep when it's dark outside. They play together during the day."
"That stupid. Night make might."
"Spoken like a true troll."
"Thanks."
"That wasn't a complement, Wanda."
The two girls remained silent for another few minutes, with Wanda starting to nod off again.
Dani hated to keep the little girl awake but she wanted to discuss something while it was fresh in her mind. She thought back to when she cast the shapeshifting spell. It was the first time she cast it so she wasn't even sure it would work. The only reason she cast it was because she was desperate to save her sister without killing the troll leader. It was only the troll's bad luck that she used her own DNA as a template to change the troll, meaning his gender changed along with his species.
"You might not believe this," Dani said, startling Wanda fully awake. "But I used to be a boy."
"That explain much," the little girl said. "I smell boy and girl in cottage… when I be troll."
"I'm actually still both, but I'm slowly becoming all girl. I just thought you might like to know that we have something in common. I wasn't happy about changing into a girl. I'd much rather be a boy but I got caught up in this war and the Goddess decided I had to be a girl to win it."
"Goddess scare me."
"Yeah."
More silence filled the room until Dani added, "I can't change you into a troll but I might be able to change you into a boy if you want. It would complicate things but I think I can do it if I can find a boy to cooperate. You probably wouldn't be able to stay with us. I don't think I could explain it. My parents don't know I'm a witch."
Wanda cocked her head in confusion. "No worry. Boy or girl both same to me. Both much weaker than troll. Me much rather be troll but girl okay if human."
"Really? You really think that? I thought maybe I'd change back to a boy after this crazy war. I'm not sure I want to grow up to be a woman. I thought I could handle it at first. I've been trying, but it's starting to bother me. It just doesn't feel natural."
Wanda held out both her arms. "Me have two arms. Two legs. Head. Body. Same as boy. Me can do all boy do."
"But you'll grow up to be a woman! You could get pregnant! You'll be weaker than men and they won't respect you."
"Pregnant! Hah!" The little girl pointed to her head. "It be all in here. You work hard, you be anything you want. Me weak troll when young but have strong will. Played hard. Fought hard. Became leader."
Dani had to stop at that point. She'd just been taught an important lesson by a four year old girl who used to be a troll and it'd take her some time to accept it and actually take the lesson to heart. She'd tried to go with the flow and had seemed to succeed. She'd gotten used to her new body easily enough. If was only her mental state that had needed help.
She noticed that Pat had the same problem and wondered if they should have a nice long discussion with Simone about it. The younger twin was the only one of the three that seemed to fully embrace her change. In terms of gender identity, they definitely weren't in sync — with their bodies and each other — and Dani somehow felt it was extremely important that they be in sync in all ways before they did what she was seriously thinking about. She decided that they'd been passive long enough. It was time to go on the offensive.
Dani and Pat looked nervous as they stood before their sister outside near their favorite stand of oak trees. They asked for a private meeting so the golem girls stayed inside with Ash and tried to entertain Wanda in Dani's bedroom.
Wanda loved playing with the golem girls, though she often had to be restrained. She got a little rough when she played war with them, kicking and throwing them across the room if she got the chance. Ash had to play referee and ended up scorching the little girl's clothes several times as he nipped at her to pull her away from one of her overly violent battle maneuvers. That included her triumphant victory celebrations. The little girl loved to celebrate her victories.
Dani shivered when the imagined the carnage in her bedroom. It would take her a good hour to clean up after Wanda's playtime. But she had more important matters to think about. She needed to synchronize her trio for another upcoming battle.
"Simone, how do you do it?" Dani asked.
"Do what?"
"How can you accept being a girl so easily?"
The younger girl cocked her head in thought for a moment before smiling. "Is it that obvious?"
"That you like being a girl? Yes. Care to share your secret? Pat and I are at wits end."
Pat nodded. "We're supposed to be twins. Why are you so different?"
Simone sighed. "I'm not exactly sure. It's kinda hard to explain."
Pat looked desperate. "Try! Please."
"I'm not really trying to be a girl. I'm just doing things that I enjoy. It doesn't matter if I'm a girl or boy. I still enjoy the same things."
Dani frowned. "Like reading?"
Simone nodded.
"What about boys?" Pat asked, raising her voice a little.
"What about them? Are you asking if I like them? Like do I want to snog them silly or something?"
Pat wrinkled her nose. "Ew! That's disgusting!"
Simone laughed. "There! See? That reaction is so… girly. The less you think about it, the easier it is to be yourself… a girl."
Pat shook her head. "Are you saying that we're just supposed to somehow forget we're girls? It's a little difficult to do that in the bath."
"Or when I'm putting on my bra," Dani added.
"Right. I'm still getting used to my reflection. I miss being able to stand and pee. But there are good and bad sides to everything. When it comes to boys, I never really thought about having a girlfriend before I changed so I won't really miss not having a girlfriend if I find myself attracted to boys. We like who we like. I'm not going to fight it."
Pat screamed in frustration. "I don't get it!"
Dani came and hugged her distraught sister while Simone watched, smiling.
"There you go again," the younger twin told them. "You're acting naturally, without thought." She paused a short while to think. "I don't know what else to tell you. I like that I can wear boy style or girls clothing. I can cry whenever I want to and no one would think twice. It's kind of refreshing."
"I still don't get it," Pat said, pulling away from her older sister.
"Neither do I," added Dani.
Simone sighed. "Sometimes, when I get dressed, I stand in front of the mirror and pretend I'm watching someone else get dressed. I wonder what will look good on this girl I see in the mirror and I try things on… different combinations of clothes and accessories. I'm young. We're young. We might get used to our bodies eventually, but even if we don't, I'm going to try focusing on the positive things."
Pat pouted and Dani had a faint, sad smile on her face.
"You two can always be tomboys. Just don't be surprised if I experiment with more feminine things."
Simone's two sisters both perked up at the idea of being a tomboy. It never occurred to them. They'd try to take their sister's advice and see what happened.
Dani sat on her bed and watched Wanda sitting on the floor, battling some crude toy soldiers that were molded out of modeling clay. The soft clay could be shaped over and over so Wanda could be as rough as she wanted. The little girl needed an outlet.
"Wanda?" she said, trying to get the girl's attention. "Wanda!"
"What?! Me busy here."
"You're playing. I think you can take a break."
"Art of war serious business."
"You read Sun Tzu?" Dani asked with one raised eyebrow.
"Sun what?"
"Never mind. Please. I'd like to discuss military tactics with you. You like war, don't you?"
"No. Me don't like war. War bad. But winning good. If me must battle, me like winning."
"Oh. Right. I'm sorry."
"No! Don't say sorry. You beat me. Me respect you."
"Oh! Well... thank you. And I agree about winning. I plan on winning this war and to do that, I need to know more about who I'm fighting."
"Good plan! Me help you. Tell you all about Supreme Commander."
"Supreme Commander? Is that what he calls himself?"
"His name really Richard Smythe. He like you. Think big."
"He's nothing like me, really, except that he wants to win. But enough of that. What can you tell me about him?"
Wanda went on to explain more about the Supreme Commander and his office on the thirty seventh floor of 30 Saint Mary Axe, known informally as The Gherkin. He went through several fonts and flows, killing them when they wouldn't follow orders. His current font and flow were afraid of him so they did pretty much everything he wanted. They weren't as effective though. They definitely weren't Richard's first choices.
"He smart in many ways," Wanda added. "But stupid with magic."
Dani smiled. "So he has a weak spot then. Two weak spots. His font and flow aren't top notch. That's good to know."
"Still won't help you. He have big army. Big! Lots of soldiers and creatures."
"I think you're wrong but we'll see. My feminine intuition tells me that's exactly what I needed to know to win and my intuition is never wrong."
Wanda cocked her head. "Me girl. Me have intuition now too?"
Dani shook her head. "Probably not yet, but when you're older, I'd say yes."
Wanda flashed a wicked smile with perfect teeth, making Dani shiver just a little.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
