The Cure, or

What a Difference a Troll Makes

Molly opened the door and lifted the other suitcase of Allison’s. "All right, here we are," she said as she entered the room and put the suitcase down. "Not much, but it should do."

Allison surveyed the room. Small and dark were the first words that came to mind. Molly had been very generous in giving Allison a place to stay, but it was obvious that the room was normally used to store stuff. She shuffled into the room and dropped her other bags. She saw the bed and sat down on it. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed.

Molly looked at Allison. She’d always looked waifish, her long red hair and pale skin accentuating her large green eyes and small frame. Having been dumped by her fiancée James a month after her grandmother died, and then losing her apartment just made her seem all the more winsome. "Hey, Allie," she said coming over and putting her hand on Allison’s shoulder. "It’ll be all right."

Allison tried to smile. She put her hand over Molly’s. "Thanks. Its just, God….everything happening at once. Kind of hard to take." She idly scratched her thigh.

Molly’s mouth twisted. "Allie, I hate to say this, but I’ve got to go. I can’t miss my shift at the hospital." She knelt down and looked Allison in the eyes. "Are you gonna be all right?"

Allison nodded. "Yeah. I’ll be fine."

Molly got up. "OK, then. If you need to, just give me a ring at the hospital. I’ll let you make yourself at home." She got up and left.

Allison busied herself for a little bit, putting away things she had put in her suitcases. She got to the box her grandmother had left her. She shook her head. She had been meaning to look through her grandmother’s possessions, but everything had gone bad so fast, and she been so preoccupied, she let it gather dust. Sighing, she opened the box.

What she saw surprised her. The box held a number of very unusual things. A large book, several candlesticks, packets of herbs, and other assorted things. What had she stumbled on to?

She pulled the book out of the box, and thumbed through it. What she read shocked her. The book was full of spells! There were spells for curing warts, for finding lost things, for removing things dissolved in liquid, all sorts of things. She paged through the book, but could find no spell for raising the dead, getting a lost love back, or conjuring money. She sighed again. Even if the book’s spells actually worked, there was nothing to "cure" what she suffered from.

Then she saw a particular spell. That one had possibilities. She checked what she needed to perform the spell, and the box’s other content held most of the things needed. Molly’s kitchen would have the rest. She suddenly felt elated. Maybe she could change her life for the better with this.

* * * * *

Allison sat in a circle drawn on the floor of the garage. Around her circle burned five candles in the holders. Just outside the circle, a copper bowl held burning herbs, which gave off a thick, pungent smoke.

Allison carefully read the spell. She had gone over the spell, making sure she knew how to pronounce the words, but she was nervous. Around her, she could feel the heat and power flowing.

She carefully read the last line. "Walthrois delentia par virscinium nar!" With that, she tossed a final herb into the bowl.

The smoke exploded from the bowl. The spell was supposed to conjure forth a Sidhe, the noblest of the faerie folk. Through the smoke, she could see a figure forming. As the smoke thinned, she could see it clearer. It was very tall, and looked to be wide, she could begin to see details – a large hand holding something, a mane of long hair, thick legs.

The smoke dissipated enough to see it clearly – she knew something was wrong. The creature before her was six and a half feet tall, and dressed in ancient-looking clothing. It had long red hair, blue skin, horns coming from its forehead, and carried a large iron mallet. The thing roared in anger. It charged forward, raising its mallet to strike. Allison curled up in a ball, putting her arms over her head as the thing’s mallet came at her. She expected to die then.

There was a loud CLANG! As the thing’s mallet stopped before hitting Allison. When she felt nothing but air, she raised her head. The thing was thrown back a little by its attack being stopped. That seemed to calm it a little, though. It put the mallet down and looked at her. "Well, human, what do you want?" it asked, with a thick Irish accent.

"You’re – you’re not a Sidhe, are you?" She asked fearfully.

The thing raised its head, looking at the ceiling. "Sweet Danu, save me from fools!" It lowered its head. "No, I be a troll."

Allison’s jaw dropped. She grabbed up the book and read through the spell again, not knowing what she had done wrong. "I….I don’t understand. What happened?"

The troll gave off a chuckle. "You mean you summoned me by accident?"

"It’s my first time!" She said indignantly.

The troll laughed out loud.

Allison ignored him and paged through the book. "OK, here we go. A spell to send something away." She began to read through it, and then stopped. "Dammit!"

"Problem?" The troll asked.

Allison’s shoulders slumped. "The spell requires henbane. I don’t have any more of it." She thought for a bit. "But, I think the magic shop is still open. I can get some there."

The troll smiled. "Well, then, let’s go."

Allison’s eyebrows raised and she swallowed. "Ah, you can’t come with me!"

"Why not?"

She gestured randomly. "You’re a troll – you’re blue, you have horns – people will think you’re a monster."

He grinned. "Good. I am a monster."

"But…but, the police, the people, you’ll be killed!"

The troll grinned and crossed his arms. "Puny humans. They can’t stop me. They’ll be killed."

Allison’s eyes went round. "That’s even worse. And besides you can be stopped. I stopped you."

The troll looked confused. "What?"

"You can’t penetrate my circle."

His arms came down. "Damn! I forgot about that." He muttered. "Look, I’ll disguise meself. No one will take me for a troll."

"You can do that?"

He chuckled again. "You don’t know that much about trolls, do you?" He brought his palms together in front of him, and concentrated. There was a ripple in the air around him. Suddenly, a tall man with somewhat long black hair and a shaggy beard stood there. He was fairly good-looking, quite muscular, very hairy, and completely naked.

Allison’s jaw dropped. This was unexpected.

He put his hands on his hips, seemingly at ease with his nudity. "Like what ya see?" He grinned.

Allison swallowed and blushed. "Let me get you some clothes." She left the garage and went into the house, and he followed. "What’s your name, by the way?" She asked once they were inside.

"Call me Connor. Me full name is hard for humans to pronounce."

"Oh really?"

He smiled. "Connor mac Dorgan Sadiellac Gwythyr Llaw Erreint ap Grianainech."

"OK, Connor. I’m Allison, by the way."

He chuckled again.

She returned with a pair of jeans, some sneakers, and a shirt from Molly’s husband’s closet. "Here."

He slipped them on, and she had to admit, he looked like any normal person you might run into on the street. "OK, let’s go."

* * * * *

While at first taken aback by the sights of twenty-first century earth, Allison had to admit that Connor had a spirit which was refreshing. He plunged headlong into everything around him. He looked at everything with wonder and awe. "Quite a place you’ve got here.

She looked around as she walked and shrugged. "This is Boston. It’s nothing special – now, New York or Chicago or even Los Angeles – they are real places."

"Not for one who has never seen it before."

Allison’s eyebrows went up. "Yes, I guess that would be the case."

They turned a corner, and suddenly were confronted by two men. One brandished a switchblade. "Yo there, give it up." He said, waving the knife at both of them.

"And this would be another thing you’ve never experienced. We’re being mugged." She said, swallowing nervously.

"Hey, you’re a smart lady." Said the other man. "What say you and you’re boyfriend stay smart and just give us your money?"

Connor walked between Allison and the knife-wielder. He began to laugh. "You ain’t takin’ her money, laddie."

The knife-wielder looked surprised. "What you gonna do about it, big boy?"

Allison reached out. "Connor, he’s got a knife."

"Put the pointy thing away and go home. This is yer only warning."

That made the man with the knife mad. "And you don’t get one." With that, he lunged at Connor.

Easily, Connor caught the man’s wrist, forcing it up. "Son, you’ve got the stones all right, but ya don’t know what your doin’, do ya?" The man gasped in pain, dropping his knife. Connor punched him hard in the stomach. "Ya don’t lunge forward like that, ya bring the knife across, and use your strength to inflict damage." He punched him again. Ya keep yerself a tight little ball, make ya harder to hit." He let go then, the man standing there, swaying. "And lastly, ya don’t attack a troll unless ya know what yer doing." He backhanded him. "Puny human." He said contemptuously, as the man fell.

While the one man had rushed Connor, the other had gone after Allison. He grabbed her at the shoulders, forced her to the wall, and began digging through her purse. Rage boiled up inside Allison. She yanked her purse away, and then used it to hit the man. He let go, but she kept going. "You slime! How dare you!" She screamed again and again, using her purse to hit the man over and over. Finally, he gave up and ran. She half-ran after him, then stopped, breathing hard.

Connor reached out to take her arm. She flinched and raised her purse. He raised his hands. "It’s all right, girl. I’m on your side."

Allison lowered her purse, and put a hand on her chest. "God, I didn’t think I had that in me."

"Working off some anger, were ya?"

She nodded. "Come on, let’s go." She quickly resumed walking.

The Lair of the Magician had opened about five years ago. While Allison was not a patron if the place, some of her friends were into the new-age thing, and regularly went there.

The shop was a quaint, cozy little place on the corner of East and Broadway. Allison and Connor entered the shop. While Connor explored the aisles, Allison went to the counter.

A tall woman with long brown hair wearing a renaissance faire costume stood behind the cash register. She saw Allison and smiled. "Can I help you?"

"Yes. I need some henbane."

She thought for a minute. "Ah, yes. How much?"

Allison was at a loss. The spell book said to include a handful of the herb. "Um, I’m not sure. The spell calls for a handful of it."

The woman’s face scrunched up. "That’s probably about 2 ounces. Let me measure it out for you." She then grabbed a small paper bag and went to a series of bins. She opened the bag and grabbed a plastic scoop.

Allison looked around for Connor. He pulled out several books but shook his head and put each back. Sighing, he went up to the counter where Allison was.

"I don’t understand any of this."

An idea dawned on Allison. "Oh, that’s right, you don’t know how to read."

"Well, not this stuff, no."

"Well, it’s a good idea to learn to read English, if you’re going to stay in America." Said the woman, who had returned to the counter with a bag. She gave the bag to Allison. "That’ll be five dollars."

Allison paid the woman, took Connor’s arm and began to leave before he could answer. "Yes, maybe we should look into that." She said in a decidedly merry voice, trying to hold back laughter. "Thanks." She said over her shoulder as they left.

"What was that about?" he asked after they were back on the street.

"I really don’t think you should have told her you’re actually a troll I summoned by accident."

"And why on earth not? It be the truth, right?"

She grinned. "Well, most people don’t believe in magic. At least not the kind I used."

"You believe it."

"Well, actually, I didn’t know what to think. Also, I didn’t care if it worked or not, really."

Connor shook his head, puzzled. After a bit, he asked her, "Do you mind if we stop for a bite? I’m hungry."

Allison shrugged. "I suppose so."

Rocky’s Pizza House was nearby. The place was a small pizza parlor that also had pool tables and served beer. When they entered they saw it was about half-full. Allison started up to the counter, but three men were arguing. She tried to edge around them. Connor looked at three, a little amused.

"You are such a liar!" Said one of the men. "Sally would never say that!"

The comment made another of the men mad. He raised his pool cue. "You callin’ me a liar, creep?"

The other saw the pool cue, and put his mug down. "What are you gonna do about?" He asked.

Suddenly, the mood changed. Allison tried to back farther away.

Exasperated, Connor reached out and grabbed the pool cue right out of the man’s hand. He placed it between them. "Whatever you’re gonna do, its gonna be outside." He looked at them both with quite a bit a menace in his gaze. "I came here for some food and drink, not to deal with tosspots like you."

One was cowed. The other two looked at him, as if sizing him up. Allison stepped in. "I wouldn’t. He beat up a mugger a half-hour ago, and he’s still not drunk enough not to care."

The other two looked at her, then at Connor again. "Hey, no problem." Said one of them. "We just have to work this out." He grabbed his mug, finished it, and walked out. The other one just sort of backed away. Conner looked at Allison. "Come on, let’s get some food."

Joe, a longtime acquaintance, was behind the counter. When Allison and Connor approached, he smiled. "Hey there, kiddo. How’s life?" he said.

She sighed. "Hey Joe. Could be better. We’ll have two large pizzas – pepperoni and mushrooms, and a pitcher of beer." She thought about it. "Make that two pitchers."

He smiled and wrote it down. "Who’s your friend?"

"Oh, this is Connor." She answered.

"Good work there, Connor, I’m Joe, and I run this place. You need a job as a bouncer?"

Connor smiled. "Nah but thanks. I won’t be stayin’ around much longer."

"OK. Well, the food’s on the house. Those three have been trouble all week."

Allison smiled. "Thank you." She handed a pitcher to Connor and took the other and the two mugs. She led him to a booth. "Boy, I thought trolls liked to fight." She asked as she sat down.

"I was itchin’ to take those two out, but ya don’t do that in a tavern, now."

"OK."

She poured beer in the two mugs. She lifted one and drank. Connor grabbed the other pitcher and drank half before putting it down. "That’s kind of weak, there." He remarked, wiping his mouth.

Allison was a little shocked. "Um, that probably ‘cause its Budweiser. They make a lot of beer at once, and skimp a little."

Connor shook his head.

"So why did ya try and summon a Sidhe to begin with?" he asked.

Allison put her head in her hands. "Oh, I don’t know, I hate my life."

"And what’s wrong with it?"

"I just lost my grandmother. On top of that, Jimmy, my fiancée dumped me, and since he was paying the rent on the apartment, I couldn’t stay there. Molly, she owns the house, well, she let me have a spare room, but this is just not what I wanted in my life. I figured that if the spell worked, the Sidhe could take me to Underhill, or wherever it is that the faeries bring mortals, and I could just forget."

He shrugged. "That’s a new one on me. Most of a troll’s life is pillaging, looting, eatin’ babies, wreaking havoc, and the like, but I’ve never seen any of my victims not cling to their lives, and what they had."

Se looked at him, puzzled. "I don’t have anything, though. Just some clothes and stuff."

"You’ve got friends. This Molly sounds like a good person, and the tavernkeeper Joe there."

She half-laughed.

Joe delivered the pizzas. Connor looked at them with surprise. "What are these?"

She grinned. "Just pick up a slice and eat." She proceeded to pick one up and show him.

Connor picked up a slice and bit into it. His face became transfixed with joy. He quickly gobbled the rest of the slice and started in on another.

"Slow down there!" She cautioned.

"Sweet Danu, this is incredible!" He quickly polished off the slice and reached for another.

After finishing off his own pie, he helped himself to the remainder of Allison’s. "I’ll get us some more beer." She said and got up. As she turned to the counter, she met Jimmy, who was with a woman.

She stopped cold. Her features hardened. "Hello, James."

He attempted to smile. "Rita, this is Allison. Allison, this is Rita."

She smiled sourly. "Hello, Rita. I’m his ex-fiancée."

He put up his hands. "Look, we can be adult about this. It’s in the past Allison."

From behind everyone, there was a loud belch. They looked as Connor got up from the booth and turned to them. "Say, where’s that beer?" He said. He looked at the three of them. "Ah, you must be Jimmy, her ex, right?" He said.

"That’s right. And you are?"

He grinned. "Connor. You broke up with her, because she wasn’t much of a freak in the sack, right?"

Allison’s mouth went open, and she hit him. She then covered her face with her other hand.

"That’s not true. It’s just that.."

Connor interrupted him. "Well, thank ya for doin’ so. Believe me, I just met her a couple of days ago, and let me tell you…you were dead wrong." Connor grabbed Allison around the waist. "I could tell you stories."

For some reason, seeing Jimmy’s face as Connor bragged about her was funny. "Let’s just go." She said.

"Right." After they had turned, he craned his neck and looked at Rita. "Let’s hope he can inspire you like he didn’t inspire her."

Rita and Jimmy both looked embarrassed, but Allison and Connor just glided out. When she was out of the pizza place, she exploded in laughter. "Thank you," she said between fits of laughing. "I needed that."

He grinned. "No problem. Seeing you laugh was good."

Together, they walked back to Molly’s.

Carefully, Allison followed the directions laid out in the spell. She anointed Connor with some oil, and started the herbs burning the in copper bowl. Connor stood some distance away, once again holding his mallet. Before doing the final part of the spell, she looked up at him. "Connor, thank you. I needed this. If only to get my mind off my troubles for a while. I think I’ll be able to handle it from now on."

He smiled and came forward. He hugged and kissed her. "Your welcome lass. It’s nice to meet a human who’s not afraid of us once in a while." With that, he stepped back.

Allison grabbed a pinch of sage and tossed it in the bowl. "Let that which was brought, be sent back!"

The sage caused the burning herbs to erupt in power. Light streamed outward from the bowl, enveloping Connor. When the light faded, he was still there. He looked around. "It didn’t work."

Allison was puzzled. "Um, go back to your troll form. Maybe that’ll do it."

Connor concentrated, but there was no ripple and no change. He remained human.

Allison was concerned now. "Um, Connor that didn’t work, either."

Connor was afraid. "What happened?"

Suddenly, there was a musical voice to their left. "Allow me to explain."

Both turned to see an achingly beautiful light fill the corner of the garage. The light faded and they both saw a tall, rail-thin figure emerge. He had long blond hair, and sublimely serene countenance, and wore elaborate clothing.

Connor blanched and kneeled. "Lord Oberon?"

The figure smiled. "My dear, you have done something I thought not possible." He gestured at Connor. "The troll is no more. Connor is a human now. He belongs in your world. That is why the spell did not work."

Allison’s eyes went wide. "What? How?"

"You made him feel human emotions – concern, joy, love. He is a human. Let the two of you find your destiny together." With that, the light swelled up again, and then he was gone.

Connor got up. He let the mallet drop. "I’m human?" His face was a mixture of confusion and fear.

She sighed. "I guess so. Looks like your stuck here." She half-grinned.

"But, what am I supposed to do?"

She walked over and put her arms on his shoulders. "We’ll figure that out tomorrow." She guided him back into the house. "Right now, let’s just get some sleep."

When Molly came home, she was concerned about Allison. She saw her sitting in an easy chair, reading a book. "Hey hon," She said as she bent down and kissed her. "How are you doing?"

She smiled. "Better. Something happened. I met someone."