Shiny Scotland (Isla)

[Deleted]

William was called on an assignment to Scotland to some remote place in the Highlands. He had been called to this assignment a few weeks ago and his team had spent that time preparing. Gringotts had hired some security trolls to go guard the dangerous cursed object that Will was supposed to take care. He and two other curse breakers arrived in Scotland that morning and had taken the long trek to the location where they were supposed to meet with some security troll trainer and her trolls. They were already there, but the troll training department had told him not to engage the trolls without this trainer there.

Will scoffed a bit at that, thinking that he could handle the situation no problem, but he would respect the trainers wishes. When he and his teammate arrived at the meeting spot, that was when he spotted her.

She was the Troll Trainer? She was a tiny little thing with blonde hair and a big smile. This had to be a joke.

"Erh- are you Doyle?" he asked, approaching the woman.

@isla

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No one ever believed Isla when she said she was a Security Troll Trainer.

Well, sort of. She was still an apprentice herself, but she'd been doing so well that her mentor had trusted her to handle this job alone. It was her first time alone, and to be honest? She was beyond excited. She knew the two trolls present, a pair of brothers named Rahjin and Tanjin, better then any of the other trainers. When she'd started, her mentor had.... given wasn't the right word, more like assigned the pair to her. They were new to the program as well. Wild, angry, and undisciplined. She'd receive her full license as a Security Troll Trainer when she completed their training from start to finish. They had been doing really well so far, but this was their first job without a more senior security troll present.

For the past few weeks she and her pair had been guarding a rather nasty magical item, one that Gringotts had promised to send Curse breakers to handle. She thought they'd come faster. Since her pair was still new they couldn't be left completely alone, like other trolls. So she'd been staying out with them. IT was a good thing she liked the outdoors. Today was the day though, she'd received the news by owl. The curse breakers were finally coming.

She'd run Tanjin and Rahjin through several drills that morning, and now they were chattering away in troll to each other, lazily leaning against the the stone walls of the building they'd been guarding. Inside was the item, untouched since the poor fellow that happened upon it. And Isla? She was sitting on the grass, soaking in the warm afternoon sun. Until she heard footsteps and then a clear British voice ask if she was Doyle. Quickly she got to her feet, brushing grass from her jeans as she turned around, beaming brightly. "Glad you folks could finally make it! That's me, but just call me I-" She stopped, her eyes going wide.

Right in front of her was none other then William Windsor. You know, member of the royal family? Actually pretty dang close to the throne itself! She'd known he was a wizard, him and his siblings, news like that got around. Not only that, they'd been in the same year. But being muggleborn she'd known exactly who he was, and stayed far away. None of her wizarding friends had understood until she explained who he was. Apparently they weren't as well versed in British Royalty as muggles. "You're...." She started, her voice almost squeaking from her surprise, which caught her trolls' attentions. Both pair of eyes were now focused intently on the fellow that had shocked their trainer so thoroughly.

She cleared her throat, and sheepishly smiled. "Isla. My name's Isla."

@william

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Will was taken aback by how much smaller she looked when she stood, if that was possible. If he didn't have the stereotypical 'troll trainer' idea in his head already he probably would have thought that she was a completely normal sized, gorgeous, girl. But nope, he was assessing her next to the large creatures and his brain was not wrapping around it well. Not that he doubted her ability but... come on! It was hard for anyone to believe. She was bright, bubbly, and had a nice tone to her voice. Actually, she seemed really familiar to him.

She froze, and Will raised an eyebrow at her in confusion for a moment. Finally the word 'you're' came out, and he realized what was going on. She must have been a muggle born and recognized him. He sighed, dropping his head for a moment before she cleared her throat. He looked back up at her, his instincts alerting him to the sudden tension coming from the trolls.

"Erh, Isla. Hi. This is Patrick," he said, gesturing to his partner, "I'm William Windsor. Though, I think you may have already figured that out?" may as well bring the issue out in the open rather then let it fester awkwardly. "Isla... I think we may have met before. Did you attend Hogwarts, then?"

@isla

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He wasn't imagining it, Isla was tiny, barely five feet tall. Compared to the trolls', it was just pathetic. Tanjin was just over ten feet, and Rahjin was barely under eleven feet. That was usually what caught everyone by surprise when they learned her career choice. How did she keep these two under control when they were more then double her own height?

Isla tried to act calm and composed. But you see, it was a little unnerving being face to face with the possible future ruler of England. Her future ruler, since Ireland was under British rule. She felt extremely self conscious now. She'd made herself semi presentable since she'd known Cursebreakers were coming, but that didn't change the fact that her jeans were well worn from use, her plaid shirt untucked, her shoes back at her camp site... Definitely not presentable for a future monarch! One question did come to mind though... Being in line for the throne... Why was he a Cursebreaker? Wasn't it dangerous?

"It's.... um... Nice to meet both of you." She was obviously flustered, but tried to offer a warm smile. "Oh uh.... Yeah I did.... We were in the same year..." She almost stuttered, shocked that he recognized her. Suddenly one of her trolls grunted something loudly. It was in troll, obviously.

Isla's cheeks flushed a brighter red as she turned her hands planted on her hips. "No you may NOT eat them!" Realizing that, while the curse breakers couldn't have understood the trolls, they could understand her.She looked back, and offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry... You're the first people they've seen in a few weeks other then me..." Clearing her throat, she tried to put on a professional air, standing up a little straighter. "You're here for that magical item, right? It's just inside there. We've made sure no one came near it..."

@william

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She was flustered, that much was clear. He couldn't help but slowly smirk at that, especially since her small smile was so... cute, in a way. And then she was practically stumbling over her words to explain that they were in the same year. He snapped his finger, lifting a hand into the air, "oh! Hufflepuff, right? My little sister is in that house. You must have met her, Lucy? Lucy Winsdor? he did get rather excited when his sister came to mind, because she was and truly is his best friend.

Suddenly, her face flushed brighter red and she seemed to be translating the trolls words. Ah, the trolls wanted to eat them. That wasn't entirely surprising. It took a lot of willpower not to reach for his wand, but he knew that would just make things worse. "Aw, I see. Must be rough," he said, his voice stagnant and uncomfortable.

Then she started getting to business and his awkward manner faded, "yes, the item. Thank you for handling it until we could get here." He stepped forward slightly before stopping in his tracks, "could you-erh-ask your friends to step aside?" he was trying to sound casual rather than demanding, but it was kinda hard when you were fourth in line to the throne.

@isla

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Isla had no idea how she should treat him. He was in line for the throne, but he was also her own age..... But he was a curse breaker who she was currently working with.... Oh she was so confused! Her trolls had picked up on it, which was where the threat had come from. But now they just looked very on guard, both of them had a very firm grip on their clubs. Clubs that were bigger then her.

"Yeah, I remember her...." She quickly responded. Like William though, she'd tried to avoid Lucy. In face, Isla had avoided all of his siblings. It helped that they were a bit younger, and two had been in different houses. It made avoiding the a lot easier.

"Trolls are carnivores, and they particularly like humans." She stated matter of factly, not at all concerned that she had her back to two trolls currently, and her wand was no where in sight. "Don't worry though, you're too stringy for them. They prefer humans with more meat on them. But since they've only had mutton recently... They may make an exception this once." She had NOT meant to say that. The moment the words came out her hands shot up and covered her mouth. She was pretty sure you didn't say that to a curse break, someone your own age, and DEFINITELY NOT A ROYAL.

Instead of confronting the big goof she'd just made, her face turned bright red once more as she turned away, choosing to pretend it never happened. She quickly approached the pair who stood guard, not at all aware of the discomfort the trolls were causing until She heard William speak again. She stopped walking to look back at the curse breakers. Her face still beat red from embarrassment. "Why? They won't hurt you. They're Security trolls, they stop people that aren't supposed to be there. They won't hurt you if you don't provoke them."

@william

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Williams eyes widened as she started to go over the reasons why trolls wanted to or didn't want to eat him. Too Stringy? He felt his muscles tense up at that assessment and opened his mouth to speak.... just to close it again as she continued. She was talking of making an exception for his stringy self now and he craned his neck to one side as if to relieve the strange emotions boiling up inside of him. He was irritated, yet slightly challenged to prove that he was not stringy. Stringy! Unbelievable.

"I-" he got a bit of sound out that time but he forgot how to speak. Her face turned bright red as she turned away and he felt like his own face was heating up. His, apparently mute, friend beside him elbowed him in the side and Will shot him a little glare. He followed her for a moment before she spun around to claim that the trolls weren't going anywhere. Well, that was... nice?

"Oh, okay. Well, then..." he and his partner stepped forward, walking toward the opening which the dork were guarding. Will, being the tool he was, gave a little salute to one of the trolls, "thanks for the help, guys!" he tried to sound upbeat and brave and all that, but his voice maaay have cracked a tiny bit.

Soon, he and his partner were inside...

@isla

(ill just npc them getting the item and coming back out)

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Why did she say that?!

Isla was mentally kicking herself in the butt, scolding herself for saying such a rude thing to a member of the royal family. Heck, if she'd said that to anyone she'd feel terrible! Not to mention, she only knew William in passing. She didn't know how he'd react! And to make it even worse? After basically refusing to ask the Trolls to move, she realized that it hadn't been a question!

.... They didn't still hang people.... right?

Once the Curse breakers were inside, she let out an exhausted sigh, plopping down on the grass, her face still red as a beat. The Troll William had saluted, Tanjin, had flashed the young man a toothy and sinister grin, before relaxing once again. Rahjin let out a series of grunts, a questioning tone in his voice. Isla huffed at his words. "I'm not flustered!" She argued. "He's like..... Important, okay?" Another series of grunts. "Yes it would be bad if you ate him! I'd get in trouble for it, and you know it!" This time Rahjin spoke, more like laughed. "Oh ha ha. And if they pair you with another trainer as punishment, huh? You know I'm way nicer then them!" More grunts. "Fine. You two aren't coming to the farm this weekend." Both Rahjin and Tanjin let out a string of protests. You didn't need to understand troll to know the threat clearly struck a nerve.

All the while, the two Curse breakers were still inside, doing who knows what.

@william

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Will and his partner went into the cave and began retrieving the item. There were many obstacles, but nothing that he hadn't faced before. The item was the thing that was the real issue. It was a small item about the size of his hand. He didn't recognize it's shape, but could feel the power radiating off of it as they approached. Soon, he and his partner had apprehended it and placed it in a safe enchanted bag to protect themselves and it from being exposed.

On their way out of the cave he heard voices. Well, more like grunts and growls and the voice of the girl outside. He stopped at the entrance when he heard 'he's like... important,' and listening. So, she knew who he was, that was clear. She was also standing up for him not getting eaten, which was really nice of her. Will found a smile growing on his face and after the mention of some farm, he and his partner slipped out of the cave.

He held the bag up and looked to her with a big smile. "Done. Thanks for lot letting me get eaten," he said.

@isla

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The Curse breakers were gone for quite a while. She was actually starting to think they'd made the mistake of touching the item. No way was she going in there though! The poor muggle that had found it had gone completely mad, his mind reduced to absolute mush. Magic couldn't fix that sort of damage. His poor family...

Finally though they reappeared and Isla jumped back to her feet, to appear slightly more professional and productive, with a look that said 'no, I totally wasn't slacking off!'.

But then he thanked her for not letting them eat him. Her face turned bright red again. "It... It was nothing." She should have stopped talking then, she knew that. But her mouth kept moving and words kept coming out. "I mean, they could try, but that's why I'm here. But they probably wouldn't have even if I wasn't here, humans are bad for their digestive syste-." She shut up as the pair of trolls busted up laughing, the sounds echoing like thunder. Yes, they knew their trainer was awkward, and they were loving how she always made a fool of herself around people. "I'm just gunna shut up now before I make an even bigger fool of myself...." She quietly and sheepishly finished, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"So... uh.... Everything is good here?" What happened to her shutting up?

@william

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He kinda liked making her face turn bright red. That was, until she started to get all technical again and he frowned. He was just trying to make her laugh and she seemed to struggle with that notion. At least the trolls thought he was funny.

When she claimed she’d shut up now, Will almost said something before she asked if they were all done. He nodded and his partner held up the bag. ”Yeah. We’ve got it,” he said, a smile growing on his face.

He took one step closer to her, ”so, we took the muggle train here but if you all want to head back together, we can. How do you erh get them around without being seen?” he asked, gesturing to the large beings beside them.

@isla

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Why couldn’t she just act normal? For once in her life! But no. She had to ramble, and stammer, and say the most absurd things that just made normal conversation awkward and sometimes painful. Or, even worse, she somehow accidentally insulted the person without meaning to! See, this was why she liked Trolls. They didn’t think she was a disgrace to society… But to be fair, being classified as a ‘disfigured baby sister’ wasn’t much better. Tanjin and Rahjin liked the idea of adopting her though, and her father thought it was hilarious.

”That’s good. It’s too bad about the man that found it. But at least it won’t hurt anyone else.” She responded. Yes, topics away from the trolls. Definitely safer. But then they were back, just like that. Crap.

”Oh! We hiked in, actually. A little illusion spell so people can’t tell what Tanjin and Rahjin are does the trick. It only took….” She stopped to think. ”Eight… or nine hours?” She didn’t sound to sure until one of the trolls piped in. ”Oh, right. Sorry. Nine and a half.” She didn’t look at all concerned or phased by that number. In fact she made it sound like it was nothing. ”I mean, portkey would have been a lot more effective, but it was such a pretty day when we came out…”

Isla looked at the brothers, trying to decide how to get the pair home. When one of them snorted out a slew of trollish words. ”You sure?” She asked, and both nodded. She looked back at the Curse breakers. ”They said I should go with you, we just have to set up the Port key and… go get my stuff. If you want to wait? It won’t take long.”

@william

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Wil nodded as she exclaimed remorse for the man who had found the object. As a cursebreaker you kind of had to get used to hearing about the weird tragedies of the people who'd discovered the object before you could come take care of it. It almost didn't phase him anymore.

Then she went on to explain that they had hiked to the location and used an illusion spell. "Erh, little?" he muttered. That was some serious magic, as far as he was concerned. Illusions were something curesbreakers had to use often, though, so he knew it was possible. He nodded as she explained how long it took and smiled as the troll corrected her. "I-" he stopped as the trolls seemed to be addressing her. He was about to say that they probably could just hike, but then she said that she was going with them.

"Okay, we'll wait," he said, smiling. He glanced over at the trolls as she went to get her things and felt an incredible un-comfortableness sweep over him. He felt as if they were sizing him up. Though, they had already decided to trust them with the girl, hadn't they?

@isla

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Isla grinned brightly when the Curse breaker, the royal curse breaker, said they’d wait. ”Really?” Okay, her voice almost went squeaky there. She was obviously excited by the idea. Her face flushed as she realized, and she faked a cough. ”Um… I’m sorry. I… uh….” She glanced down at her feet, curling her toes in the grass from embarrassment. ”You’re sort of the only people I’ve actually spoken to in almost a month… Not that Tanjin and Rahjin aren’t awesome! But… It’s just different.” She hesitated, looking back up again as she tucked her hair behind her ears.

She opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped, forcing it closed as her face turned even redder. She’d almost rambled again. She really needed to stop. ”I’ll… be right back. It’ll only be a minute.” She turned to sprint off, but stopped when she remembered something. ”Oh. Right. Uh. Don’t turn your back on Tanjin and Rahjin, okay?” Was there a hint of worry in her voice there? She’d never left them alone with non Security Troll trainers before. They’d be fine though! As long as they didn’t do anything stupid. She turned and ran off them.

Isla returned ten minutes later, a large sack on her back, and dragging a decorative staff behind her. Thankfully she’d also found her shoes. Tossing the bag to the trolls, Tanjin caught it with ease. Another toss and the staff lay between the brothers. The port key. ”I set it up a minute ago.” She looked down at her watch. ”It’ll go in two minutes. You two ready?” Both nodded and she grinned, stepping forward to place a hand on both of their clubs. ”Be good until I catch up.” She got a pair of grins that time as she stepped away, counting down on her fingers.

Five… four… three… two… one.

They grabbed the staff just in time, and disappeared. Turning back to the curse breakers, she smiled brightly. ”Ready!”

@william

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Oh, so that was why she was acting... the way she was. He couldn't imagine not talking to actual human being for a whole month and was impressed that she had made it through without going completely bonkers. Well, she was a little bonkers. Then he was told not to turn his back on the two trolls and his eyes widened briefly before turning slightly toward the trolls in order to not have his back to them. He gave her a little salute as she turned away.

They waited in silence and when she returned she threw the portkey down and watched as the trolls disappeared. Then she was ready to move forward and William nodded. "Well, where'd you send them?" he asked as the trio started to move forward.

@isla (I was so confused. Did the trolls take the portkey and we're hiking? o.O)