#kaisa hilda fanfiction

[furashuban]

The Sparrow Scout, the Witch and the Wardrobe

My submission for @sketchbookweek Day 2: Past/Future or Hilda!

At last, the really, REALLY long overdue sequel fic in my Childhood AU series has finally been written! I highly encourage everyone to read the first story As High As The Moon Above before this new fic since it gets referenced quite a bit in this one (but it's okay if you want to immediately read this fic, too). I'm also very, very sorry for how long this story has been delayed for and kept everyone waiting it's literally been 3 years :')) But I'm just really happy that it's officially done and found the perfect opportunity to share it through this prompt of Sketchbook Ship Week <33 With that all said though, I seriously hope everyone enjoys reading this fic just as much as I did writing this!

Pairing: Sketchbook Ship (Kaisanna)

Words: 5.5k

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59958178/chapters/152966584

Summary: When Kaisa gets the biggest surprise she could possibly ask for, the young witch-in-training shares what was given to her with her grounded best friend.

Kaisa kept her hands over her eyes like she was told to do before trans-locating. Nothing to behold but darkness as she held back the urge to take even the littlest peek of where she was. “When can I open my eyes again, Tildy?” the little girl asked.

“In just a moment, dear,” a woman’s kind, gentle voice answered back, “aaaand, yes, everything’s in order. Open your eyes now, Kaisa.”

She lowered her arms and opened her eyes at last; the young witch-in-training could have sworn she had heard something heavy being dragged in front of her. Barely a moment ago, Kaisa was at her mentor’s house for afternoon lessons, and now she was greeted by a wooden bookcase towering in front of her, turning her head left and right to find that she had in fact been brought to the Trolberg Library. She peered towards the light shining through the windows above; she could tell it was nearing sundown, though it had been much brighter barely a minute before—time did tend to get wobbly with a trans-location spell. Her mentor was standing right beside her; Arch-Sorceress as she was regarded, “Tildy” she preferred to be called, who in turn was looking back at Kaisa with an enthusiastic grin.

“What are we doing in the library?” Kaisa asked, puzzled.

“Why, for the surprise I promised you, of course,” Tildy answered blithely, but the young witch felt even more confused. She looked around some more, trying her hardest to spot anything out of place—she of all people would know if there was something peculiar in the library with just how often she visits. But the only thing of note was the mere lone bookshelf in front of Kaisa.

“But I do not see any—” before she could finish, finally there was something odd she began to notice…Violins? Music?

She leaned closer to the bookcase, realizing the faint music was coming from behind it. That was impossible, she thought, for the bookcase stood against a corner. Before long, there was more strangeness coming to Kaisa’s attention, much to Tildy’s growing excitement. She realized the angle of the whole bookshelf was only slightly misaligned from how it was meant to stand on (once again, only Kaisa would know).

“Should I…push it aside?” Kaisa looked to her mentor, thinking she had suggested something completely silly until her mentor tipped her head towards the shelf as to tell her to go along. There was only one thing the girl could do now.

Kaisa clung onto the side of the shelf and heaved it with all her might, which to her surprise was not even as heavy as she’d thought. There was only pitch black and what appeared to be stairs descending into this unfamiliar, enigmatic darkness behind the shelf. The little girl felt hesitant; there was more build-up to her surprise than she had expected. But not long after, Kaisa noticed a light switch to her side, swiftly yet inquisitively reaching for it and flicked it upwards. The glow of several lamps sputtered amidst the dark before completely giving light to a hidden room.

In that moment, her eyebrows shot up. She was so heavily drawn and bewondered at what she was seeing that she took a couple more steps inside. It was a whole room where the entire corners were fixed with bookshelves, the only other furniture as Kaisa looked down from the railing being a large red chair, a wooden desk adequate for studying and decorated with all sorts of ornaments, among them a turntable that’s been playing the music which admittedly livened the space now that Kaisa was inside.

“It’s a library…” she gasped, her voice in disbelief, turning to her mentor with an enormous grin etched on her face, “…it’s a secret library inside the library!”

“Just like what you’d fantasize to me about,” Tildy winked, “why don’t you explore more of the room now?”

And Kaisa followed, her heart racing as she carefully rushed down the staircase. She stood at the center of the room and slowly spun herself around, taking in the coziness of being surrounded by so many books in a space so snug and homelike, somewhere that made the library feel even more like a home to her. It then dawned upon her as she walked towards the desk, that she was so enthused about being in the secret library for the first time that she hadn’t noticed how she had walked by yet another peculiarly aligned bookcase among the others. The surprise wasn’t over—somehow her mentor had more for her. The bookcase was further slanted than the one upstairs this time, it must have been left like that on purpose for her, Kaisa thought. She rushed to the shelf and heaved it effortlessly like the first one.

Another secret library. All the lights were left on by Tildy, who walked down the staircase to see more of Kaisa’s reaction.

“Helt otroligt!” Kaisa whispered loudly. “A-A secret room inside of a secret…Wait…” she turned back to Tildy. “Are there even more secret rooms?”

“It wouldn’t be fun if I spoiled it now, would it?” the curly-haired woman giggled, she could not help but regard the eyes of her usually bashful student growing wider and wider.

And so, Kaisa hurried down the new staircases and reveled in the room of nothing but walls of books once more, she rushed to spot the next secret entrance which had been left completely wide open this time, as though Tildy knew the little girl wouldn’t be able to contain her excitement much longer. She ran through it and down the next steps—another room of books, then through it and down yet another stairs leading to another secret library. And so forth to the next, and onto the next secret library. This was something out of a dream, it had to have been one, Kaisa thought, but she knew and was happy to know that this was real life she was seeing.

“This is amaziiing!!!” Kaisa yelled before running down the seventh staircase by this point, followed by the sprightliest giggle Tildy had ever heard from her.

She tripped upon reaching the floor, but Tildy was vigilant and swift enough to draw out her wand and catch the girl in a magic aura. “Careful now, Kaisa,” she said kindly as she levitated her student to sit on the room’s own red chair. The young witch did not notice how tired she was running down all the steps, a little rest on the chair was what she needed before she could burst completely.

“There is just so many,” Kaisa breathed.

“More than you could possibly imagine,” Tildy smiled back.

“And you made all this just for me?”

“Mhm,” Tildy nodded, “it took a lot of convincing. They all said I was mad for even thinking about suggesting this, but I persisted long enough to make them think otherwise.”

“But why?” Kaisa continued, “it’s all so grand, I do not think I deserve this.” The little girl was so certain she would have to become the next keeper of the books one day to make her fantasy of hidden libraries a reality.

“Why wouldn’t you, dear?” Tildy’s voice was soft with affection, “you’ve been doing so well in your training, and oh how far you’ve come so far since I first took you in as my student.” The arch-sorceress levitated a stack of books off the shelf, swirling them in the air until they landed neatly on the shelf next to them. “One moment you’re caught up in endless reading day and night, and now you’re doing fully-fledged spells and incantations as it’s all been leading up to. Levitation is no easy feat, and you’ve showed me how well you’ve mastered it in practically record time, which is just a sign of brighter things to come.”

Kaisa smiled, it was hard not to. But her mentor made her endeavors seem so effortless, which was far from truthful. The young witch-in-training HAD struggled with her magic sometimes; she could hardly do the levitation spell without someone else getting caught in her incantation at first. Her smile quickly turned into more of a half-smile; Tildy was sweet with her words, but Kaisa could not bear the pressure of living up to whatever expectation or image she was likely holding of her compared to who she really was academically.

“Besides, I couldn’t help it, these used to be just boring old stairs to the Tower, but the moment you told me about secret libraries, it was too clever of an idea not to place them here,” Tildy jested, which fascinated Kaisa at the same time—did the rooms actually lead down to the Witch’s Tower? It was hard to know until she ventured into the other rooms, and she had never known about any secret stairs in the library to the Tower, for she always relied on magic doorways conjured (and accompanied) by Tildy if she had to go there.

“I know this surprise seems like a lot, but believe me, Kaisa, you’ve earned it,” Tildy gratified, “many students have come and gone, and all these years of mentoring them have made me wonder if I was even cut out for this,” she then patted her student’s shoulder “but you’ve made me believe otherwise, dear, and all your accomplishments as a witch-in-training have made me proud to call you my student.”

There were no more doubts in Kaisa’s mind, she was the luckiest witch-in-training to have a teacher as caring and sentimental as Tildy. She leaned forwards to wrap her arms around the arch-sorceress and felt her arms wrap back around the girl.

“Thank you, Tildy, this really is the best gift in the world,” Kaisa said before withdrawing her embrace. “If only Johanna was here to see this, too.”

Tildy noticed Kaisa’s expression had turned somber, sharing the same look upon observing. That name was familiar to arch-sorceress; Johanna was the only other person Kaisa would bring up and gush to her about. But just as importantly, she knew that Kaisa’s witch training was no longer a secret to Johanna—revealing herself on accident. And choosing to break protocol or any orthodox reaction as an arch-sorceress and as a witch in general, she was accepting of her student’s best friend knowing who she really was now, no need to send her down the Void of No Return or erase her memory and such. Tildy knew just how special Johanna was to Kaisa; not only did she not have the heart to break away their bond, but from all the things she’s heard about the Sparrow Scout, Johanna could be trusted, even a positive influence to Kaisa’s magic as she was already to her whole life.

“How is she now, love?” Tildy asked.

“Still grounded,” Kaisa lamented, “it’s all my fault she got in trouble, too.”

Tildy laid her palm on Kaisa’s shoulder. “You kept her safe, dear. It was a noble thing you did venturing out there and looking after her.” she reassured.

Kaisa carried on. “But now it has been two days now since her parents stopped us from meeting each other, and she is not supposed to leave for another week,” she brought her legs to her chest and wrapped herself in an embrace, feelings of guilt bogging her mind. “I don’t know what she must be thinking after our camping trip, and we’re not even allowed to talk over the phone.” She tightened her hug on herself. “I really miss her, Tildy.”

The arch-sorceress could not help but sigh despairingly with her apprentice. “I’ll tell you what, Kaisa,” with soft reassurance in her voice, she brought out one of the books on the shelves to Kaisa’s lap, “we still have room to learn one more incantation before the day ends. I promise it’s a very easy one for you, and all you need is somewhere you think would make a great doorway to somewhere.”

Kaisa was not sure what this was leading to, but her heart was cautiously optimistic after talking about Johanna. She looked up at the arch-sorceress who gave her a wink; it really was a trick to help her see Johanna. She eyed the room for a moment, noticing that strangely, among the many furniture Tildy adorned this layer of the secret libraries was a wardrobe next to the desk.

“Det duger…”

... ... ... ... ...

Johanna laid flat on her bed and stared blankly at the ceiling fan spinning on and on. Random drawings scribbled out of boredom were scattered around her bed, her floor and her desk. There were many reasons to hate being grounded (on a summer no less) but for Johanna, it meant missing out on badge activities she was dying to do for the week but now had to rush them to earn the badges she wanted. It meant not being allowed to leave her bedroom unless it was time for dinner where she had to endure uncomfortable silences from her foster parents before being sent back to room in unmerited shame. The coldness in their words before grounding her still stung in Johanna’s mind: This will show you for disobeying, one said. Something awful could have happened to you! What would your Aunt Astrid say to us?! She knew she had done wrong, that she would be in trouble for camping outside the city walls longer than she had promised. It didn’t mean she was not allowed to keep feeling upset for the way she was punished.

The most important thing of all for her, however, was that being grounded meant not seeing Kaisa, whom she yearned to talk to after their camping trip that got her grounded to begin with. Her best friend was a witch-in-training—she could not have been any luckier than that. She had only known about Kaisa’s secret for less than a handful of days, but that extra day she spent in the wilderness helping her get better at levitation made her feel like she had known for a lifetime, and thinking about all the ways they could spend time together with magic now involved was the only thing to make her smile while she was grounded, to make her smile right now.

Suddenly, she heard knocking.

Thud, Thud, Thud…

Johanna gasped and sat up; it sounded like it was coming from her wardrobe. She stared at it just in time to see a folded piece of paper slide out from the tiny gap between the covering, but the girl felt too frightened to walk closer. She grabbed her Woff plushie and held it stiffly in front of her to give her some feeling of security, slowly scooting out of bed as she inched towards the wardrobe.

She picked up the paper on the floor, unfolding it and reading what was written…

“Hi Johanna! Come into the wardrobe. It’s safe, I promise. Please be quick, the doorway only lasts a few minutes. -Kaisa”

Johanna’s heart soared upon seeing a familiar name. “Kaisa…?” she looked up towards the wardrobe. There were loads of questions now circling around her mind, but if her best friend had anything to do with this, knowing now that she was magic, there was surely nothing to fear. She took a deep breath and reached for the doors of the wardrobe, gently pulling them open to find her usual row of clothes hanging about, but just behind it was a bright purple glow that made her squint.

“Hellooo?!” she called out to the light, wondering if someone or something was there to answer back, but indeed there was nothing but the glow—it had to be the doorway as Kaisa’s note alluded to. A tug-of-war of uneasiness and eagerness brewed in Johanna’s mind, but in the end, she was drawn towards the mysterious light, slowly stepping into her wardrobe with her eyes closed as she ventured into its depths.

When she felt like she had passed through the light, she reopened her eyes to find herself still in a wardrobe, but she knew she was no longer in hers for all the clothes were gone. She pushed the doors open before cautiously stepping out, and the little girl was greeted to a room with walls of loaded bookshelves from top to bottom. Before she had time to fully comprehend where she was, there was another girl by the corner with a hopeful look on her face as she watched her step out, who looked like she had been waiting for her for ages.

“There you are!” Johanna beamed at Kaisa.

And soon her best friend came running towards her with open arms. “Johanna!” the young witch-in-training pulled her in for a tight embrace, and she felt Johanna’s own arms enveloped around her just as tightly. “Vad glad jag är att du är här nu. Jag vill inte släppa taget.”

Johanna chuckled warmly. “I’m really glad to see you, too…” even if she didn’t always understand her mother tongue, she always knew how to answer back. As they let their embrace linger, gently leaning the sides of their faces against the other, the brunette glanced around once more. “Wait, Kaisa,” she withdrew from their hug to face her, still holding each other’s arms, “where are we exactly?”

“Possibly the best place anyone could ever dream of being in,” Kaisa’s face lit up more than it already had, “we’re in one of the secret libraries inside of the library, and Tildy helped me bring you here so you can see it, too!”

Johanna’s jaw dropped, and Kaisa struggled to hold in her giggle as she watched the other girl getting as visibly excited as she was. “They’re actually real?!” the young Sparrow Scout gasped, the witch-in-training nodding briskly, “how did you find them?!”

“Well, I did not really find them per se, it’s kind of a long story.”

“You can tell me everything about it then,” Johanna’s own grin softened, “it’s just nice having my best friend to talk to finally.”

Feelings of regret came rushing back to Kaisa, reminded of just how long it had been since they spent time together. “Look, Johanna, I am so sorry I got you in trouble,” she lamented facing the other way, “I can’t stop feeling guilty about it, I feel like a bad friend for making you stay outside the walls for too long just to help me be good at levitation. Now you can’t even leave your house all because of me…”

Johanna then gave Kaisa yet another warm embrace. “We went over this, silly. During our camping trip, remember?” she calmed, “You’re worth getting in trouble for. Magic reason or non-magic, you’ll always deserve to have help.”

Naturally, Kaisa enfolded her own arms back around the Sparrow Scout. “Thanks, Johanna,” she whispered.

The brunette child looked back at the wardrobe she came out of. “If you don’t mind me asking, you don’t have to be anywhere else any time soon, do you?”

“Well, Tildy said we have all the time we want to be here,” Kaisa explained, “and I��m not in a rush to go home since my parents will be out all night again.”

“That’s good, ‘cause I just don’t think I can stay in my room much longer.” Johanna rubbed the back of her crossed arms gently. “I just want stay here, in this comfy place with you for as long as humanly possible…If you’re okay with me staying here, of course.”

“But won’t you get into even more trouble for disappearing?”

Johanna snorted. “My parents are gonna think I’ll still be there all night, they hardly check up on me at all,” she explained. “Don’t worry, they’re not gonna know I ran off.”

As much as Kaisa wanted to slam Johanna’s parents for being so negligent to her, she instead grasped both of Johanna’s hands, feeling her cheeks warm ‘til they were glowing a bright pink, “In that case…I’d like if you stayed here, too,”

... ... ... ... ...

Kaisa told Johanna everything now that they were settling in the secret library, about how the secret rooms were her gift for mastering levitation. The Sparrow Scout was stunned, speechless even; she could only listen and make awestricken noises the more Kaisa apprised. Discovering that she was a witch-in-training was its own chest of surprises, but how else were commonfolk like her supposed to react to witches getting whole libraires as gifts for passing magic? But one feeling was certain for Johanna; she couldn’t be any more proud of Kaisa. She was excelling in her magic and could technically call herself a librarian like she had always dreamed of, and she gave her best friend what felt like the hundredth embrace since she arrived.

Johanna had an idea: what if she and Kaisa built a tent in the corner of the secret library. Her urges as a Sparrow Scout were probably getting to her after being grounded for so long, but when she asked if it was a good or even sensible idea, even promising to take it down when it was time to go, and Kaisa said she’d love to make one just as much as she did (after all, the secret library was hers to decree fun decisions with), the pair went to work building their tent.

Johanna asked if another doorway to her bedroom could be opened, and luckily, Kaisa still remembered the spell to conjure one inside the wardrobe. The brunette’s eyes were aglow with thrill watching her best friend motion her wand against the inside of the wardrobe as she whispered an ominous chant, and with a burst of purple light illuminating inside, Johanna spent the next few minutes going back and forth between her house and the secret library, gathering sheets and rope and pillows and a coat rack needed for the tent. Kaisa watched as heaps of other materials like sleeping bags and art kits stacked by the corner; it was as if Johanna had moved her entire bedroom into the library.

Soon, after tying a rope between the coat rack and a floor lamp in the library, hanging an enormous yellow blanket over it and keeping it angled with stacks of books as weight on each side, they wasted no time decorating the inside of their tent with a lantern and even more beddings to nest themselves on. “It looks incredible, Johanna,” Kaisa clapped jubilantly. “It’s just like the one you made when we made camping.”

“Only ten times as cozy,” Johanna remarked, the two shared a giggle. “Come on, why don’t we try it out and rest inside.”

“Actually, Johanna…” Kaisa said, “I was hoping we can do one other thing, too.”

“Hm?”

“You see, I haven’t had the chance yet to browse through any of the books in this secret room yet, and I thought you and I could check them together?”

As Kaisa now thought to herself how boring and ridiculous of an idea it must have sounded to propose, Johanna replied, “Oh yeah, we should!” she then turned her head towards all the bookcases surrounding them. “Magic libraries must mean magic books after all.”

Kaisa chuckled softly. “Exactly! And I can do some spells for you too if we find any.”

The young Sparrow Scout placed both her palms on Kaisa’s shoulder and smiled brightly in excitement, the witch-in-training feeling her cheeks warm yet again. “You know absolutely well that I would love to see you do more magic, Kaisa, more than anything.”

And so, the pair stood side-by-side in front of a row of books, gently dragging their fingers against the spines of each and every copy as they read their titles.

“Do any of these books look like spell books to you, Kaisa?” asked Johanna.

“Actually, all of them seem to be judging from their titles.” Kaisa turned to her best friend.

“Well, that means one thing then,” Johanna faced the witch-in-training with another thrilled grin as though her expression had never changed throughout. “You get to perform magic with one of these!”

“Not quite, some of these books might have spells that are too advanced for me,” Kaisa took an extra moment to skim through the row of books. “Hmm, maybe this one. This author’s name is familiar since I remember Tildy making me borrow a spell book written by her before, so maybe the spells in this might be more doable?” she then pulled out the book in question; it was thin but had a decorated hardcover larger than her own face, almost akin to a picture book. “Let’s check this one out.” Kaisa took her turn to let out an excited grin whilst Johanna squealed and quite literally jumped for joy.

The girls retreated to their tent with spell book on hand, Kaisa opening it up and flipping through the pages while Johanna brought her lantern closer so her best friend could read better.

“This one sounds cool,” Johanna pointed out as she and Kaisa took a look at their first entry in the book. “How to transform objects into different artifacts at will.” She read aloud.

“Oh no, not that one,” Kaisa shook her head, “I tried practicing a transformation spell on Tildy’s tea cup one time, and rather than a tulip like I wanted, I turned it into a Woff that knocked over everything in her living room,” the two giggled before Kaisa could turn to the next page; there was something about how casually the witch-in-training recounted her spell mishap that mesmerized Johanna, she wished she could hear more about what training with magic was like for her.

“Oh, this one is perfect now that we have a tent,” Johanna pressed her finger against the title of the next page, “Incantations for manipulating the weather around you, and one of them is for making snow. We should definitely do that one, I feel.”

“I have actually done one of these before with no problem,” Kaisa said with a feeling of relief in her voice finding a spell she could perform, “but I’m still not sure about it, I don’t want to accidentally make a mess and ruin the books.”

“Maybe there’s a footnote somewhere that says it won’t be all that bad if you casted it?”

“Let’s see…” Kaisa then noticed the little asterisk on the title before looking below the page. “Oh yeah, let’s see…” she said. “Each incantation will only last for about an hour. Afterwards, it and all effects from the spell will completely disappear unless an additional spell is casted on top of this one for permanence…”

“Huh, it’s perfect then!” Kaisa exclaimed, “Ge mig en stund, tack,” she quickly got out of the tent and pulled out her wand from her cardigan, the same amethyst-pommeled stick from she and Johanna’s camping trip. At that point, Johanna could feel the fireworks in her heart setting off knowing she was about to witness her best friend perform yet another new spell.

“Wait, agh, how did that incantation go again…?”

“Right here, Kaisa,” Johanna raised up the book with the spell entry closer to Kaisa and held it in the air. It’s like I’m actually her familiar, Johanna thought to herself as she turned away slightly to hide her grin.

“Thanks, Johanna,” Kaisa said softly, she held her wand up to her face and kept her eyes on the book as she read the incantation aloud.

“Kallog Voksen Sne…Kallog Voksen Sne…KALLOG VOKSEN SNE!”

As the final chant was recited with vigor, Kaisa heaved her wand upwards as the tip suddenly lit up in a bright purple tinge. Johanna fully expected there to be a beam of light shooting towards the ceiling, but instead, the girls watched as a flurry of grey clouds swirled above them with snow already cascading to the floor of the secret library. The girls beamed brightly at each other.

“It worked, Johanna!” Kaisa giggled.

“I know!” Johanna squealed back.

The witch-in-training rushed back to the tent before her entire body from head-to-toe could be littered in sleets. It was snowing faster than she had thought, as patches of snow were already piled up around the floors and furniture of the secret library only a minute into returning to the tent with Johanna. The air had also gotten colder, compelling Kaisa to shiver and wrap herself in a purple blanket lying around among the sheets.

“You know, random thought, I think you’d look amazing with a cloak,” Johanna remarked seeing her friend concealed in one of her blankets, “

“I have thought about wearing one before,” Kaisa said, “but I’m kind of afraid I would look silly if I did.”

“Nonsense. You’re a witch, and a witch deserves a nice cloak,” Johanna asserted affectionately. “Now I’ve got to make you one soon, I did earn my sewing badge last year after all, and it’ll my own gift to you like how Tildy gave you the secret library!” little did the girl know how much it warmed Kaisa’s heart to hear, so much so that she could possibly melt the snow outside just by standing close.

The wintry air was getting to Johanna, too, causing her to bur and wrap her arms around herself. “Actually, would it be okay if you wrapped me in with you, Kaisa?” she asked, “I’m starting to feel cold, too,”

Kaisa grinned shyly and gave a little nod, opening up some space for Johanna to be encased with her, and sat so close that their shoulders brushed against the other’s. Johanna could have chosen any of the other sheets surrounding them, but would rather snuggle close to her friend for warmth. The pair then watched the magically conjured snow falling before them, piles of snow mounting ever more.

“You don’t think we are going to be snowed in, do you?” Kaisa asked.

“We’ll be fine” the Sparrow Scout promised, “it’s like the book said, the spell only lasts an hour.”

Johanna then leaned her head on her best friend’s shoulder. “Besides, I’d love being snowed in if it meant spending time with you this way, Kaisa.” Johanna then felt her cheeks flush. “Thanks for bringing me here, genuinely…”

The two sat in comfortable silence as they watched the snowfall in the library. All the while Kaisa was thinking to herself all throughout—I wish things can to stay like this forever…

... ... ... ... ...

There was no end to the secret doors and secret rooms Hilda and Frida were discovering minute after minute, going down what must have felt like a dozen, give or take. They pulled aside the next secret door disguised as a bookcase, turned on the lights, and were greeted with the most unusual door by far.

“Huh, this is…different…” Hilda remarked. At the corner of the room was a makeshift tent put together with rope and sheets. Fairy lights adorned a corner of bookcase, and all sorts of coloring pens and papers were scattered from the study desk trailing down to the tent. Frida took notice of the railings and a nearby row of books as she went down, realizing the cobwebs. It was as if no one had entered this room in decades, yet seemingly looked as if it had been occupied not too long ago at the same time.

“Why would the librarian leave this room unkempt?” Frida asked, “all the other secret rooms weren’t like this.”

Hilda walked over to the tent. She noticed the lantern at the center and turned it on to reveal the tent had even more drawings littered inside. The blue-haired girl picked on up, finding a child’s sketch of the secret library itself with two girls in middle. One girl looked very much like the librarian, donning a cloak and short black hair and a wand at hand, but there was another girl next to her, smiling as brightly as she was. She wore what looked like a Sparrow Scout’s uniform and had brown hair that spilled down her shoulders; it swerved in a shape that reminded Hilda of her mother’s. Adding to the coincidence further, just below the drawing was a dash and one initial: “-J”. The young adventurer smiled warmly, she knew there was so much about the librarian she had never known before, notwithstanding that she and Frida were in the middle of uncovering her secret rooms, but to see this side of her compelled her to imagine with great warmth what her past must have been like, who this brunette girl was and how special she must have been to her, wherever she was now.

“Found the next exit, Hilda, shall we get going?” Frida announced. Hilda gently placed down the drawing she was appreciating.

“Yeah, we should definitely go,” Hilda said, “something tells me the librarian really wanted to leave this place like this.” The girls ran through the new exit and down the next steps—another room of books, then through it and down yet another stairs leading to another secret library. And so forth to the next, and onto the next secret library.

[redeyesgeatsdragon24]

Hello to all the Hilda Artists, I want to know if any of you make drawing and art requests, I need some images for my Hilda AU so I can have more or less an idea of ​​which drawing I like the most along with how it looks. along with more ideas. And that would be all, give it a heart if you make requests or comment if you feel like it, okay, bye.

[autumnalfallingleaves]

The Witch's Brew Café: A Hilda Coffee Shop AU

AO3

reblogs are highly appreciated, and please do not repost my art

Summary:

Frida, a young witch fresh out of college, moves to Trolberg to work at the library with her apprentice-sister Kaisa. However, when she checks out a magic-friendly café, she might get more than she bargained for with moving to a new city. Enter Hilda, the very cute butch working the till. Frida is going to kill Kaisa.

Hello! I haven't written in a while but I actually got this all out this afternoon over tea and I managed to polish it up enough to post :) I may write more at some point, but here's this.

Excerpt:

The late-autumn sun is only just starting to kiss the tops of the trees when Frida parks her car on the side of the street. She hasn’t been in Trolberg long, having moved into the small-ish city only a few weeks ago, but she’s already appreciating the reduced traffic, and with it, the available parking spots in convenient places. 

She’d only finished up at the Witches Tower a few hours ago, finally done with all the paperwork needed in order to register as a practicing witch within the city limits. Bureaucracy with the Trolls, or something else equally ridiculous. Frida’s just here because there was an open job opportunity at the library with Kaisa and there’s good resources for college graduate witches at the Tower. 

Anyway. She’s tired and all she wants is to enjoy a cup of coffee (preferably dark. And strong enough to hold itself up outside the mug.) and chat with her apprentice-sister, whom— despite working in the building above the same Tower Frida’s had to inhabit for days— she hasn’t seen in forever. Mother of magic, she’s exhausted. 

Locking the car door behind her, Frida crosses the street and pushes open the café’s door to the swirl of fallen leaves around her feet and the cheery tinkle of wind chimes. It’s a warm little place, inside, with golden lighting falling over the plush couches and chairs in the seating area, worn books stacked on low tables, and a healthy buzz of conversation from the assembled patrons. The website, when Frida had looked at it (it doesn’t hurt to be prepared, and she’d wanted to know if they served croissants) had advertised that they welcomed all, including the more magical of Trolberg’s citizens. She can see that now, glimpsing a few elves chatting over on one of the low-set tables, and even a nisse in an orange jumper quietly sipping at a steaming mug and reading a book over in the corner. Amazingly, for all the prejudice against magical beings Frida’s seen and experienced, there seems to be none of that here. 

It’s nice. It’s really nice. This must be why Kaisa had insisted they come here. She’d also had a bit of a suspicious look on her face, but Frida hadn’t called her out on it. Kaisa kinda of always looked suspicious. This was nothing new. 

Probably. 

Hopefully. 

Read the rest on AO3

[blaithnne]

Plenism may be on hiatus but my magnum opus would NEVER. Anyways for those of you after Lauren and Kaisa content you are finally being fed <3

[jetcat-14]

Fic bassed on a post by

@the-hilda-librarians-wife

(had the link to the post and lost it lmao 🤣)

FanFiction...........

AO3

Meeting My Aunt Astrid

Kaisa and Aunt Astrid meet for the first time and Kaisa is very nervous afraid Aunt Astrid wont like her. Johanna insure her everything will be fine but will it.

(Sketchbook Ship)

[kranagok0]

Now I'm looking at what character I create to make a romance with Aunt Astrid.

I mean, I already have a plot made and everything.

He has already seen and met the trio of strange friends that are mainly Hilda, David and Frida. However, I have seen one or another publication putting Kaisa, the bell ringer, and Johana as another trio of friends who did their crazy things in Trollberg.

So I think the ideal would be to put Astrid with two other people just as crazy as her. I know I was with Phinium and Layra, but I would like to experiment a little using other characters, like Tildy.

Just imagine the chaos they would have made when they were young. Although I still don't know who to put as the third friend, if I don't find anyone I'll have to make an OC for that. What I care about is making a plot about Astrid's life when she was young, more or less at the age of 15-19.

I still think that Astrid and Pilkvist were very chaotic when they were young. They went wherever they wanted and left a mess like a force of nature.

How is the basic idea of each trio of friends would be divided into a way of how they were when they were young.

Johana and Hilda: *the friend who does dangerous things without thinking twice.

*At some point they had a weapon and will not hesitate to use it for self-defense

*Their friends are very important to them, you literally have to expect anything from them if you threaten their loved ones (even immolating at any moment)

*They are part magical creatures and they don't know it.

*Adventure is his daily bread

Frida and Kaisa: *they are witches, and very good at what they do

*If you have doubts about something, look it up and read it until you memorize each paragraph (even the footnote)

*They have their unbridled side when the situation warrants it (or when the influence of the group's adventurer manages to reach them)

*Normally they don't use magic unless it's an emergency…. But sometimes there are fun exceptions and others for pleasure.

*Before they followed the rules But now they break them.

*They would both kill for a book when they have gone at least 8 hours without seeing one.

David and the Bellcamper: *they are the most normal of the group, although they also have certain characteristics that make them stand out.

*[Insert Billy and Mandy song against the bogeyman here. You know which one].

*After several traumas with their new friends, they now enjoy life better and are more relaxed…. At least when they are not on an 'adventure' as their friends like to call their many crazy trips.

*They may not have powers, but do not doubt them when jumping into action to help their friends

An extra point is that, at some point in their lives, they have committed a terrorist act for the greater good.

And don't deny it to me. We all know that the destruction of the bell mechanism was not as subtle as they expected.

Astrid fits the criteria of being the chaotic adventurer who wants to explore this vast new unknown world. However, he does not know anything about it and that gives him problems when arriving at small towns or cities like Trollberg or Tofoten the first time he arrives.

Matilda Pilkvist, a young woman with a promising future but with a great hunger for knowledge and wanting to live unique experiences while experimenting with creating spells or finding some that have been lost over time. To do this, I would travel the world in search of many places whose culture has almost completely disappeared.

The third friend should be someone normal. Or at least less powerful than the other two girls. Someone to be the rational mind in all this chaos. I mean, we have to admit that Tildy and Astrid possibly lived life to the fullest when they were young, so much so that they ended up banned from some towns.

If I don't find someone elderly who meets those characteristics, then I will have to create an OC for this story. I'm even talking to a friend about this to find out how to proceed.

When I have my session on AO3 I will upload several one-shots and some original fanfic. It's gonna take long. Obviously I don't know how to use AO3 But over time that gets fixed.

[thisbelongsto-nohbodys]

Honestly Just Finished Hilda Season 3: DAMN I’m gonna miss this show.

On the bright side at least I can read as much Frieda x Hilda fanfiction as much as I can.

Along with some Johanna X Kaisa yuri. Honestly I hope you consider making some Johanna and Kaisa comics in the future cause I would LOVE to see these two interact more than the show couldn’t give us.

The only thing I can say is that the fandom is small and so there’ll b a sizable drought of content but that just means more reason to make more.

As for Johanna x Kaisa, I’m sure I’ll do some comics with them, I just figure out what to do (I could do them first meeting as per my headcanon) but in the meantime I’ve seen a cute multi-part comic about them “fake dating” because Anders asked Hilda if her mom was seeing anyone and Johanna lied and said she was. I’d give that a read through.

[sketchbookweek]

Sketchbook Ship Week 2023 - Introduction

Hello there, Hilda fandom! 

As some of you might know (or not, depending on how deep in this you are. We are very), on the 22nd of October we will be arriving at the Sketchbook (Johanna/Kaisa) ship’s fifth birthday. That’s right, folks. Five years ago the infamous ask that kickstarted all of this was sent. 

To celebrate this occasion, we will be organizing the first Sketchbook Week! It will be hosted between the days 19 and 25 of November. Let us explain - 

(By the way, the “we”s in these posts refer to @waddles-ex-machina and @the-hilda-librarians-wife. Just thought you should know who to blame.) 

✏️ What is a ‘Sketchbook Week’?

In case this is your first interaction with this type of fandom event, let’s start with the basics! This week will be an opportunity for fans to produce content for this ship, inspired by the prompts that will be released. There will be prompts for each day, and the resulting pieces are posted on tumblr for shippers to enjoy, and reblogged onto this blog - which will be tracking the #sketchbookweek tag

📖 What kind of content can be submitted?

Anything made by you! Visual art, fanfiction, edits, poetry/songwriting… heck, try out sculpting, if you’d like! It just has to be sketchbook and at least vaguely inspired by the prompts.

✏️Do I need to participate every day?

Not at all! This isn’t an event that requires any sort of commitment, it’s all for fun! You can go and post on the days you are able to or the ones with the prompts you like the most, and that’s a-okay.

📖 Can I only post on tumblr?

Well, the event is being hosted on tumblr, so we advise you to post it here so we can all see and share it. However, you can absolutely post on any other websites at the same time.

✏️ When will we know the prompts?

If all goes according to plan, the full planning for the week with all the prompts will be released on the 22nd of October, on time for our ship’s anniversary :)

📖 Who decides the prompts? 

Well, you do! Soon we will open submissions so you can all send us the prompts you’d like to see. On a later date, we will all vote on them, but that’s for another post! 

✏️ I like this idea, but I don’t want to/won’t be able to post. Can I still participate somehow?

Absolutely! All are welcome to enjoy what will be created for this week. Remember that interacting with artists is what keeps fandoms alive, and do your best to show your appreciation for the content creators taking part in it

📖 I’ve got another question that isn’t covered here. What do I do?

No problem! Our ask box is already open for comments or questions. Shoot, and we’ll get to you as soon as possible! 

That’s pretty much it for now! Feel free to follow this blog for updates and mark your calendars for the 19th - 25th November! 🔮✏️

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

A Familiar Soul - Chapter Six

Summary: Hilda decides to be completely honest with her mother, surprised when she seems to be a lot more in on magic than Hilda had expected her to be.

With her daughter’s association with witches, Johanna is forced to face some secrets of her own, bringing her back to feelings and people she’d rather have left behind

Dealing with insecurities and inner demons of her own, Kaisa finds herself face to face with the very issues that brought her to be so displeased with her own abilities

Or: the one where Johanna is Kaisa’s familiar

Notes: Once again, sorry for not posting last week! Hope you enjoy this though

Read it on ao3: (chpt1) (chpt2) (chpt3) (chpt4) (chpt5) (chpt6)

“Come on, Kaisa, it’ll be fun!”

Kaisa put down a book on her card a little more forcefully than she needed to, and right away shot Hilda an apologetic look, as if saying she hadn’t meant it.

“I know, Hildie… I’m just not sure that I should.”

“Come on!” The girl groaned as she moved from the librarian’s side to being in front of her, with her cart between them. “It’s just tea! You haven’t been acting like yourself, Kaisa. Is everything alright? For some days now you have been very distant, you know?”

The librarian sighed. She’d been hoping Hilda wouldn’t notice the change in her demeanor, but apparently the girl was too smart for that. “I’m sorry about that. I’ve just been considering that maybe I shouldn’t spend so much time with you three. After all, you’re children and I’m… not.”

“That doesn’t matter at all!” Hilda argued with her arms crossed on her chest. “You’re our friend, Kaisa. You’re my friend. And I really miss you.”

Something about the way she said it made Kaisa bend. How long had it been since anyone had considered her their friend? Since the girl’s mother, Kaisa noticed with sadness.

“Just tea, you say?” Hilda smiled brightly and nodded at her. “And you’ll be alone at your house?”

“Yeah, I will! Alfur said he’ll be busy with report writing all afternoon, and Tontu will be out to… honestly, I don’t know what he’ll be doing, but he’ll be out.”

“Fine, then. I accept the invitation.”

“Yes!” Hilda shouted as she fist pumped the air, before noticing the disapproving stares she got from everyone around her, including Kaisa.

“Yes!” she repeated, whispering this time, and Kaisa had to bite back a chuckle. “Thank you so much. See you tomorrow, Kai.”

_#_#_#_

Kaisa had decided to take over the tea duty simply because she knew the drink would turn out better if she did it. It had nothing to do with being worried about Hilda, who seemed too short to be using the stove and got on the brink of spilling hot water on herself at one point. Not at all.

“Thanks for that!” The girl said when Kaisa stopped the kettle from falling on her and put it back in its place to boil, telling her to put the other things on the table while she took care of the tea. “Mum’s usually the one to make tea so I’m not really used to it.”

The breath was caught in Kaisa’s throat at the mention of Johanna, and Hilda tilted her head at her when she noticed something off about the librarian.

“Kaisa?”

“It’s fine.” Kaisa said then, hastily. “I’m very used to it. Tildy is basically an addict.”

This made Hilda chuckle as she picked cookies from the cabinet to put on the table. Kaisa was grateful to see a few store bought options; even though the home baked ones definitely looked more delicious, she didn’t think she’d feel well eating something she knew Johanna must have baked. It felt like trespassing.

“Yeah, I saw her house. Don’t take me the wrong way, but does she ever clean?”

Kaisa snorted. “Why clean when you can just let your familiar eat your messes?”

Pulling herself a chair, Hilda laughed gleefully. It made Kaisa very grateful to have someone who seemed to appreciate her presence, and she appreciated Hilda’s presence as well. When the kettle whistled, Kaisa readily poured the boiling water into the cups, both already with the herb mixture she’d prepared, and took them over to the table.

Eating with Hilda was easy. Being the bright and energetic person that she was, Kaisa didn’t have to make too much effort to fill in any gaps in the conversation, and she dealt with Kaisa’s sarcasm and dry sense of humor remarkably well. Even when Kaisa politely refused a bowl with pastries she’d made with her mother, Hilda didn’t press her to eat them.

It was her fault, really. Kaisa knew she wasn’t supposed to be there, and still the company and the warm tea were so pleasant she lingered more than she had to, so it was her fault that there had been no time to escape before the front door was unlocked and a person walked in.

“Hilda, I’m back!” She announced. Johanna had a smile on her face as she saw Hilda sitting at the table and looking behind herself at her mother, but it quickly faded when her gaze traveled from her daughter to her usual seat.

Dropping her purse to the ground in surprise, Johanna gasped audibly, shock and anger making her lips curl back.

“What are you doing here?!”

“Mum, I can explain!” Hilda got up from the chair as quick as she could, while some part of her mind registered that her mother seemed to not only know the librarian very well, but also not like her at all. “I invited-“

“I came to ask Hilda about a book she had borrowed.” Kaisa spoke over Hilda, knowing that the girl would probably get in trouble if Johanna knew she had been invited for tea by Hilda herself. The lie flew from her instinctively. “It was about to be overdue, so I thought it was better to come and talk to her.”

Far from being appeased, Johanna only seemed to get more furious. 

“Really?!” She spat. “Out of all the things you could make up, you’re using the same excuse you’d tell my parents and expecting me to fall for it? Do you really think I’m that stupid?”

Oh. Now that Johanna had said it, Kaisa recognized why that lie had seemed so natural to her. On two separate occasions when she was a teenager, she’d used it to justify to Johanna’s parents why she was in their house so early. Of course she hadn’t stayed the night, she’d said, knowing they didn’t like it when Johanna had ‘friends’ over, Mr. Linus had just told her Johanna had an overdue book and she’d come to warn her friend before the deadline came. Her father had fallen easily, but Johanna’s mother had been slightly harder to convince.

“Your parents?” Hilda whispered, now looking between the two women in curiosity. They both seemed to have taken fighting stances, Johanna with her feet set apart as if to give her a strong base and her chest leaning forward, looking ready to attack while Kaisa stood rock still, every bone in her body stiff as she clenched her jaw and fists.

“Go to your room, Hilda.” Johanna hissed. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“Johanna, really.” Though Hilda wasn’t looking at her, she could <em>hear</em> the eyeroll in Kaisa’s eyes, and she flinched. Her mum didn’t like it at all when people rolled their eyes at her. “I wasn’t here to- corrupt your child or anything else you might imagine. We were just having tea and talking.”

“She doesn’t need you here!” Johanna snapped, and for some reason this hit the librarian harder than she could have predicted. “She has her friends and she has me, there’s no reason for you to be here and… do anything!”

In the library, Kaisa had been in her element, had felt confident enough to spit back at Johanna. But now they were in Johanna’s zone, and she didn’t feel like buying a fight, especially not in front of Hilda. She really didn’t have to know about this mess the two of them had made of their lives.

“Now, let’s not be rash-“

“Don’t you dare talk to me about being rash!” Johanna stepped aside and opened up the front door wide. “Get out of my house!”

Kaisa grunted in anger and did as she was told, even if in heavy, loud steps. Hilda reached out her hand and called for her, but the librarian had already broken into a run upon reaching the staircase.

“What has come upon you?!” She asked to her mother, whose breath was finally beginning to slow down.

“Hilda…” Running a hand through her curls, Johanna sighed. “Try to understand-“

“I don’t want to hear it!”

Ignoring her mother’s protests, Hilda ran past her to try to catch up with Kaisa.

So much for having an honest relationship.

_#_#_#_

It was an unquestionable truth in Johanna’s life that everything that was good, became better when she shared it with Kaisa. This meant, of course, that as soon as the Raven Leader took them to that tower in order to watch the woff migration routes, Johanna knew she had to take her favorite witch there.

The former bell tower sat right at the wall that separated Trolberg from the wilderness, but since having its bell broken in the earthquake of ‘82, it no longer served its original purpose. With its view overlooking the green fields which woffs favoured as their mid-migration resting spots, it was the perfect place for such activity.

Right after the Raven Leader had declared their duties done for the afternoon, Johanna had begun to think about inviting Kaisa over to the tower. Since her mother picked her up from the Sparrow Scouts activities, she couldn’t just deliver a message at that moment. It wasn’t that her mother didn’t like her seeing Kaisa, though she’d already voiced her wishes for her daughter to have a wider group of friends, but since Johanna’s feelings for her best friend had begun… shifting into something a little different, and she could no longer deny that they were, she had constantly been afraid of her parents seeing right through her and figuring it out. That left her with only one option, to ask Kaisa about it at school.

Seeing as they walked to their local high school together every day, it wasn’t hard to find a good moment. In fact, Johanna made the proposition right after she’d met Kaisa on the front door of Tildy’s house, and they arranged to go to the tower right after class. Johanna’s parents had just begun to allow her to go outside without adult supervision and they didn’t want to test their boundaries by having Johanna arrive home late.

She’d spent the whole school day anxious for the moment when she’d be allowed to leave. This was unusual for her, having always been a hard working student, but she couldn't stop her mind from going back to their appointment every couple minutes. There was nothing romantic in its nature, but since admitting to herself that she had a crush on Kaisa, she seemed to get more and more eager for any amount of time they could spend together.

“Are you sure this is open for visitors?” Kaisa asked while Johanna struggled with the tower’s entrance door, which gave in at that exact moment as if it were proving Johanna’s point.

“Either that or the Raven Leader illegally barged in with a bunch of kids.” She lifted an eyebrow at the witch, daring her to say that the Sparrow Scout’s leader had broken into City Hall property, and in return received a playful shove when Kaisa walked past her and into the curling staircase inside.

They were both out of breath once they had finished climbing, even though Johanna did her best to hide it (she was the familiar in that relationship, after all, and if Kaisa saw she was tired after some stairs how would she be able to trust her with protecting her?). Their footsteps echoed in the tall stone room, and Kaisa excitedly pointed out the bats sleeping upside down on the roof. After she’d admired them, Johanna beckoned her over to the window, the light that came from it dimming with every second that passed. Dusk was coming quickly.

“You should be able to see a couple of woffs sleeping or grazing in the meadow below.” Johanna said, placing Kaisa in front of her so she had a better view. Instead of looking down as well, she got momentaneously distracted by the whiff she caught of Kaisa’s scent, like black tea and lavender.

“I don’t see any down there.” The witch breathed with clear excitement in her voice, snapping Johanna back to reality. “But those look interesting enough.”

As Johanna followed Kaisa’s gaze, she too got overcome with excitement when a pack of migrating woffs cut through the sky above them, looking peaceful and completely confident about their destination, even though no human had ever quite been able to figure out where exactly it was that they went.

Their mellow sighs were a relaxing sound, especially so with the gentle light of the setting sun behind them and the breeze messing with their hairs. Johanna became entrapped in them, her lips parted as she wondered how it would feel to fly on the back of one such creature, so much so that she didn’t notice Kaisa was looking at her out of the corner of her eyes.

“Look!” Johanna exclaimed. “There’s a white one! You don’t see those every day.”

Kaisa nodded. “It is said that white woffs are a sign of good luck for witches.”

“Really?” Johanna turned to her, and became a little flustered herself when she realized Kaisa was blushing due to how close their faces were. “Have you ever had a chance to experience this?”

“No.” Johanna noticed that Kaisa suddenly had fixed her gaze on the horizon, biting her lip in a nervous habit. “But I thought I might test this theory today.”

For a solid moment, Johanna was afraid Kaisa would do something crazy like jumping out of the tower. To her credit, her friend was known for doing unpredictable things. What Kaisa said next, however, was unpredictable in a whole other manner.

“May I kiss you?” She asked. Her rigid posture indicated that it had taken her a lot of strength to get that out, which only made Johanna appreciate it even more, and her stance relaxed when Johanna smiled widely and chuckled with happiness.

Instead of answering her, Johanna just leaned in as the woffs flew overhead. Who knew? Maybe white woffs were good luck for familiars too.

[thesealanterns]

I wanna mention an au I been working on for Hilda. (Ps, this is my first au ever)

So, throw out the show/fandom Hilda has had many different parental figures.

Original being Johanna, then fanfics where Johanna married to Kaisa or gerda, and that one fanfics by Nach0 on A03 were she’s raised by the bell keeper. You also have her troll family, trylla and baba.

So I’m gonna make an au where Erik adopts a baby hilda.

It’s called:

Father ahlberg (AU)

(Random drawing from the au)

[hyperpsychomaniac]

The Curse of the Black Hound

Summary: Sequel to 'Lost in the Wilderness'. Erik Ahlberg has a problem. And he’ll solve it like a man - by himself, and dragging no one he cares for needlessly into the whole confounded mess. Gerda is having none of it. She’s determined to figure out why he’s being so secretive and protect him, whether he likes it or not. But when Erik finally asks for help, he finds himself alone, with those he’d always thought would stand by him, his biggest threat.

Authors note: Ao3 is being a butt. So I'm starting posting this here, and will chuck it up there once it looks like it's cooperating again. Please feel free to leave comments :)

***

“Hilda, wait! We need to start on our project right away!”

Hilda winced and drew to a halt outside the Edmund Ahlberg School gates. She’d hoped to escape. Get away before her friends questioned her and simply apologise after the fact. And not because of the project; Frida would end up doing most of it, anyhow. It was because her friends would have something to say about her plans for the afternoon.

Frida caught up and skidded to a stop. She panted, hands on her knees, then straightened. “It’s due in just under two weeks.”

“It’ll take us two hours,” said Hilda. “Especially as you’re on our team. We don’t have to worry about it yet.”

Frida grasped Hilda’s shoulders and dragged her in so they stood nose to nose. “We always have to worry about it.”

David caught up with them. Clearly not worried about the short essay, he had not been running. “You don’t need to stress out, Frida. Hilda’s right, it’ll be easy. Although, I don’t think that’s why she doesn’t want to start on it today… is it?”

Hilda’s shoulders slumped. “I promised I’d hang out with Erik, okay?”

“Again?” said Frida.

“I don’t do it that often! Besides, he’s my friend now. I know you guys don’t get that, but…” Hilda cut herself off with a huff, folding her arms, scrunching up her face and looking away.

“No,” said David, “I suppose you don’t hang out that often. Or rather, he doesn’t hang out with you that often. Didn’t you say he’d left early last time?”

“Well…” It had been a couple of months since she and Erik got lost in the Wilderness. Since he’d apologised for the way he’d treated her, and they had become friends. The first month had been fine. They had seen each other sometimes twice a week, which was all her mother seemed happy to allow. But, one night, he’d become flustered and taken off in a rush. After that, his visits had been less frequent, and he’d seemed distracted.

Not that Erik had ditched her, although that was what both Frida and David made it sound like. “Last time he had to leave, he said his shoulder was hurting him,” Hilda explained. “He leaped in front of a Barghest to save me, you know.”

Frida sighed. “We know. But you don’t have to explain it to us. We’re your friends. If it’s something you want to do, we’ll support you.”

“Even if it doesn’t make much sense,” said David with a huff.

“David!”

“I know! I’m sorry.” He sighed. “At least can we walk you to where you’re meeting him?”

Hilda smiled faintly. “Sure.”

The coffee shop where she and Erik usually met was only a few blocks away, halfway between the school and the car yard where he worked. Hilda had no desire to spend much time there. It was simply a convenient place to meet. She’d usually find Erik waiting out the front, sipping an enormous paper cup of coffee. He said it helped perk him up. Especially since his new job was more boring than Safety Patrol paperwork.

Curious, one afternoon Hilda asked if she could try it. Erik wholeheartedly agreed. And, instead of letting her take a sip of his, he took her up to the counter and allowed her to choose whatever she wanted. Never having had coffee before, Hilda had been a little confused. Apparently, ‘shots’ didn’t refer to how much hazelnut flavoring you wanted. Meanwhile, Erik stood there, watching gleefully as she confused the poor barista, but never explained to her what she had asked for, nor what she ended up getting. It had tasted delicious, but Hilda hadn’t slept a wink. Johanna had not been pleased.

As they approached, Hilda felt her stomach sink. The table out the front, where Erik would wait for her, was empty.

“I thought you said he finished a half hour before school finishes?” said David, a growl creeping into his voice.

“Usually,” said Hilda. “Sometimes he’s a bit late if he has a customer. His boss won’t just let him leave…”

“Hilda,” said Frida. “I know he helped you and all, and I know you two worked out whatever bad blood was between you, but… that doesn’t mean you have to always hang out with him, especially because, well…”

“Especially because he’s Erik Ahlberg,” said David, cutting over Frida. “You know, the guy who nearly destroyed Trolberg, because he wouldn’t listen to you.”

“He said he was sorry about that!”

“Sometimes sorry is just words!” said David. “And I don’t know, maybe he meant them, and maybe he did mean to save you from that Hound, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to stop being a jerk overnight. Look at what he’s doing to you now - it’s like he’s only hanging out with you whenever it works in with whatever he’s up to.”

“Exactly,” said Frida. “And you can bet he’s up to something.”

“Neither of you were there. You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Hilda had tried to explain to her friends how she felt. Sure, he was still Erik Ahlberg. Frustrating as hell, and sometimes, if he got moody, a little mean. But when he was fun, he was fun, and he’d talk to her about adventures, both made up and real. He was always interested in her drawings or latest story idea, more so than Frida and David ever were.

Being around him, she just felt a safe. If a creature that was all teeth and claws attacked her, she knew he’d throw himself in the way. He already had. And got hurt. Every time she’d catch him wincing if he moved his shoulder a little too boisterously, which he often did when he got excited, Hilda felt a brief stab of guilt.

David sighed, and when he spoke again, some of the anger had left his voice. “We’re just worried about you, is all. We don’t want you to get hurt if he decides he’s bored with you.” He reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder.

Hilda snatched her arm back and threw herself into the chair at the table. She dug a book out of her satchel, wrenched it open, then plunked it down hard on the table and shoved her nose into it.

“Hilda,” said Frida, “please don’t be like that.”

Hilda scrunched down so her chin almost rested on the table, so she couldn’t see her friends over the horizon of the book.

“Fine,” said Frida. “Well, we have an essay to write, I guess. And I’m not waiting to rush at the last minute just because you’re pouting. Come on, David.”

“It isn’t due for two weeks!” David let out a long-suffering sigh. His shoes scuffed the concrete. “Well, um, Hilda? Look, I’m going to go with Frida. But if you need us for anything… we’ll always be there, okay? You know, in case Ahlberg isn’t.”

Hilda glared at her book until the words blurred. Finally, she couldn’t help but look up. All she saw was David’s retreating back as he caught up with Frida.

Her friends were gone. No longer challenging her. Hilda felt the tension in her shoulders seep out. The book was Erik’s. She shouldn’t have banged it on the table so hard. The pages were yellowing, and the spine had become a little brittle, but it wasn’t past reading as long as you weren’t too rough with it. Emil Eckhart’s, one Erik had taken a great deal of trouble to pick from his collection, after Hilda’s insistence that the female characters in the ones she had found at the library were boring and fainted far too often. Erik had been determined to prove her assessment wrong and had said he’d bring one which had a character who kind of reminded him of Gerda. Then he’d flushed and added, “Not like on page 307 though.”

Erik had been so excited to lend it to her. Even if he had, at the last minute, held onto it for a second longer than he needed to, like he was rethinking lending such a precious thing as a book to a child.

Hilda glanced up the footpath, towards the car yard, and gulped at the lump in her throat. She could see what was keeping him. Or rather, that he was still there. But she knew he wouldn’t be long. Maybe she’d draw Erik’s favorite character from this book. Just not what she was doing on page 307.

***

Erik Ahlberg was on a mission. He had a problem to solve. And he’d solve it like a man. By himself, and without dragging anyone he cared for needlessly into the whole confounded mess. All he needed, he’d decided, was the right reference material. But he still needed help to locate that material. That meant he had to talk to a librarian.

“Werewolves?” Kaisa raised an eyebrow.

Erik resisted the urge to tug at his collar. The woman was half his height, barely more than a girl. Besides, he was an adult now. If he lost a book all he need do was admit the error and pay a fine. No one would show up at his front door, dark as shadow, and ask his mother whatever had become of the book he’d borrowed nearly three months ago.

“Have you tried the fiction section?” said Kaisa.

“I’m not looking for fiction.”

“Well, I must not have heard you correctly, then. Because I’m certain you asked about- “

“I’m researching something!”

“Not much use researching something that doesn’t exist.”

“Well then,” Erik said tersely, “if you think it’s such a ridiculous notion, why don’t you recommend a—“

Kaisa whipped out a hard bound volume from under her trolley and slapped it into Erik’s hands.

Erik ran a hand over the cover. The spine was still strong despite the wear of the leather. “What’s this supposed to be?”

Kaisa shrugged. “I have absolutely no idea. You’re the one who needs it.” And with that, she grabbed her trolley, swiveled it expertly around him, and disappeared into the stacks.

“Wait…” Erik groaned. “Bloody useless librarians.” Despite his doubts, Erik’s hands worked with a mind of their own, opening the book and flicking over the pages.

It was a book of mythology. Erik supposed that’s what had brought on the ‘have you tried fiction’ quip, although he was sure mythology sat somewhere in between fiction and non-. His eyes caught the bold and gilded title of one section.

Erik slammed the book shut with a heavy thump, startling some college-aged students studying nearby. He checked the book out. And, within fifteen minutes, he was thumbing through the section as he headed down the footpath towards home.

It was a collection of stories. And the one which had caught his eye? The Monster King. Erik was unsure of what he was looking for, so going with his gut seemed as good a guess as any. And probably more useful than asking a librarian.

As with many older books, the story was wordy and took a while to get to the point. Erik skimmed the text as he walked. He’d always been able to read quickly. As a child, he’d felt the faster he read, the more he absorbed. That maybe he’d absorb a hero who always got things right and nobody laughed at, and even should the surrounding characters pressure him into preforming the tasks a hero should, he always pulled those tasks off with the greatest of ease.

It would’ve been a brilliant talent for reading Safety Patrol Procedures. If only his brain didn’t switch it off as soon as he lost interest in a topic. But this was worded as a story, and his interest in the subject matter he hoped to find was desperately high.

The Monster King told the story, funnily enough, of a king. He, like the heroes Erik used to love, was strong and mighty, and he pulled off many great feats - fighting and killing the monsters that plagued his kingdom. This the book went on about in great detail and Erik flicked through those pages quickly. But not so quickly that he missed the main point, which was that the king had not been mighty all on his own. The spirits of his people had bestowed on him his strength to protect them.

But the King became conceited. He forgot the spirits. He drank up his peoples’ praise and gave no credit to the supernatural powers that worked through him.

The spirits, as powerful spirits often seemed to do in these stories, became angry with the King. And so, they transformed him into one of the Monsters he had once fought. He wandered the land until he thanked those spirits, begged for their forgiveness, and only then did they restore him to his former glory.

Erik stared at the pages and swallowed hard. The king had been punished for his arrogance. He’d been turned into a beast.

But it was just a story. Fiction was right. In reality, arrogance could do far worse. Now, if the King’s actions had destroyed his people, that would have been realistic. The image of his mother rising beneath Trolberg stabbed into his mind.

Erik repressed a shudder and slammed the book shut. “Bah. Divine judgment? That’s no kind of explanation. I need facts! Not…” He looked around him. At the trees and rocks. And Trolberg and its encircling wall. Behind him.

“Damn it. Not again.” The sun was setting. He’d set out intending to head towards home. He would have thought that, even with his nose in a book, he’d find his way.

But not since the Barghest had ripped into his back. Tearing into him, putting him in hospital. He’d thought, once he’d got out, the worst of it was over.

But no. It was not just annoying exercises he couldn’t see the point of, that hurt, and wondering if he’d ever get full strength back in his arm, that he had to contend with. Not even the nightmares. Of the Hound. That brought back the nightmares of destroying Trolberg, and the two had blended into terrors that ended in waking in cold sweats. That had not been the worst of it.

Now, increasingly, he found himself drawn to the outskirts of Trolberg, out towards the Wilderness. Not so bad when he was working, or focused on something. But as soon as he became distracted, he’d find himself heading to the wall.

And then there was the night everything had gone crazy. Crazy enough, he felt he’d been turned inside out. And, once it was over, had sent him searching through books of mythology in the library, daring to speak with librarians.

“Alright, you’re fine, Erik. The book just distracted you. That’s all.” He backed towards the wall. “It’s not like last time. Before things went south, you started…”

He winced as a stab went through his shoulder, and the healed wound across his back began to tingle. He shifted his book under his other arm and rolled his shoulder. That usually helped loosen his muscles.

“It’s just carrying this big, heavy book. Your doctor said, don’t lift too much weight, and…” He looked at the book, and sighed. It was big for a book, but hardly a dead weight.

His shoulders slumped. “Who are you lying to, Erik? You’re the only one out here.” He glanced back at Trolberg. Lights were winking on, now that the sun had set. Despite the faint, wild tug on something inside of him, the thing that drew him to the Wilderness, he wanted to return to Trolberg’s safety.

But would it be safe for Trolberg if he returned? If what happened last time happened again… No. He couldn’t do that. His actions had already nearly destroyed his home. Nearly killed hundreds of people.

Yeah, the Monster King had got off light. Perhaps, Erik thought, as he turned to head back out into the Wilderness, this time by choice, the Monster King had taken himself away from his kingdom for the same reason. Erik smiled to himself. Here he was, doing the right thing. The unfortunate thing was no one was around to see him do it.

“So, here you are again, little human.”

Erik stiffened as a Troll stepped out of the trees and broke into a massive grin. Erik definitely recognised him this time. Both from the front lines that night outside Trolberg, and, as one of the three who had chased him and Hilda, and set the Barghest upon them.

Bastel slammed a fist into his open palm. “Hurn’s spell worked. And here you are. Oh, I am going to enjoy tearing you apart.”

***

Johanna sat at her desk in her apartment’s living area, drawing. She’d already prepared dinner. A pie sat in the warm oven, ready to go. She shouldn’t be worried. Tontu had yet to poke his head out of Nowhere Space, despite the smell of the pie wafting through the house. Hilda wasn’t late.

But her daughter meant to see Erik Ahlberg this afternoon. And, though Johanna had given the man permission, after laying down some well thought out terms and conditions, and letting him know this was against her better judgment, but she’d allow it so long as he behaved, it still felt uncomfortable. I mean, she’d been lost with Hilda too. Underground! It hadn’t made Hilda want to hang out with her mother, which seemed rather unfair.

The sound of footsteps running up the stairs reached Johanna’s ears, and then the front door slammed open. Hilda’s satchel thumped as she dropped it into a corner. Twig let out a startled yelp.

The slight knot in Johanna’s stomach worked itself loose. Good. Not too late home. Not too early either. She put on a smile and swiveled around to face her daughter. “Ready for dinner, Hilda? How was your time with Mr Ahlberg—“

Hilda rushed across the living area, bolted into her bedroom and slammed her door, far louder than the front one.

Twig turned to Johanna and tilted his head with a quizzical whine. What was that all about?

“Erik Ahlberg.” Johanna's fists tightened, and her pencil let out a faint crack of protest.

He’d been on his absolute best behavior at first. But, recently, Ahlberg had been late, distracted, and had left early. Hilda had made light of it, but she had told her mother about it. And now? He’d definitely upset her. Johanna shouldn’t have been surprised. But she would still make him regret it.

Johanna drew in a breath, steadied herself, then knocked softly on Hilda’s door. “Hilda? Do you want to talk?”

***

Chapter 2

[furashuban]

Not-So-Afar

Wrote a ficlet/quintuple drabble for @sketchbookweek Day 5: Teenagers or Secret Admirer. Hope you enjoy!

Words: 500

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60038863

Summary: After finding a new book from the library and returning each day just to read it, Johanna gets an unexpected surprise in her book.

Johanna had thought about reading more for some time now; her job as a graphic designer meant she could stay at home to work and thereby having plenty of time for at least one book chapter in between her self-determined breaks. The Trolberg Library came to mind immediately for somewhere to acquire a new book she hoped would catch her liking, and sure enough, she found a collection of mythology stories, one of her favorites to read as a child and, as she felt, even up to now.

She then realized just how little she visited the library at all, reveling at how grand and comfortable all at once the inside was in person. Not wanting to wait to get home to read her new book, she picked a desk by the window, deciding to spend a few minutes before checking out the book. A warm grin etched her face throughout as she delighted in stories of gods and shapeshifters, feeling so immersed that the only thing to snap her out of her preoccupation was the clocktower by the city square, reminding her of the commission at home in need of finishing.

Johanna put her book back in its shelf deliberately. She wanted a reason to come back, feeling an unexplainable sensation of calm and safety where she was that afternoon. And so, she did in fact returned the second day in a row to enjoy her book at the library, then a third day, never having checked it out the library nor read anything else but the mythology book; she tended to be a slow reader when it came to stories, she thought. But on the fourth day, picking the book out from its shelf, she noticed a folded letter slightly sticking out from the cover.

“Hang on, what’s this now…?” she spoke to herself before pulling it out and unfolding it. She began reading:

To bobble hat lady,

I could not help but notice how much you’re enjoying this book. It’s a great read—if you could not already tell, haha. With that said, you must have wonderful taste in literature, and I’ve never seen anyone smile and appreciate something with so much heart. I adore these things about you, and I fail to bring myself to tell you up close in fear that I might be off-putting, but I can no longer resist this need to tell you anyway. I really hope we can have proper conversation together one day, I promise I will work my way up to that.

-Your admirer from not-so-afar

Johanna’s cheeks flushed, turning her head left and right to see if the writer of the letter was around. She smiled tenderly before holding the letter close to her heart, refolding it and keeping it in the pockets of her yellow jacket. Little did she know, however, that the librarian was upstairs quietly but anxiously watching her from above, whispering the softest YESS imaginable as she watched her read her letter to Johanna.

[penny-in-trolberg]

Still My Daughter - complete

Johanna knew that something was off the second she stepped one foot into the flat. Alone at the table sat her daughter, Hilda, whose gaze seemed to pierce Johanna’s very soul.

“Mum” she began, “we need to talk.”

Johanna swallowed nervously, “Hilda, sweetheart, what’s wrong? you know I’m always here to-“ her words cut themselves off as her eyes drifted towards the stack of paper in front of her daughter.

Oh.

Oh.

Johanna didn’t have to look at the papers for long to know exactly what information they had written on them.

“Hilda, please-“ she started, but was soon interrupted by the younger girl.

“Mum, I just want to know why you didn’t tell me.”

Johanna took a seat, “Hilda, I didn’t tell you sooner because I wanted to wait until you got older, then, when you got older,” Johanna explained, “I was planning on telling you soon, but then that giant stepped on our house, and we had to move and, I knew that would be a big change for you. So I wanted to give you a bit of time to adjust to life in Trolberg as to not overwhelm you.” She finished, now looking down at her hands resting on the tabletop.

“I never meant to keep this from you, but it never seemed to be the right time, and I’m sorry for lying and I know that makes me a hypocrite and I’m so, so sorry-“

“Mum.” Hilda cut her rambling mother off.

Johanna looked up and met Hilda’s eyes for the first time this conversation.

“I’m not mad, you had a reason to keep this from me.” She explained, “besides, you doing it once,” Hilda paused to give a soft smile, “doesn’t compare to me doing it dozens of times.”

Johanna nervously looked at her daughter. “You’re... not upset by this?”

“Well, I was at first, but then I thought about it, and I realized it doesn’t really matter.” Hilda stated, “I mean, Twig, Alfur, And Tontu are all family, right?”

Johanna smiled fondly, “yes, I suppose they are.” Johanna then looked down again.

“Still, i should’ve told you sooner, but every time I was going to, something happened, or I couldn’t find the papers anymore or-“ Johanna stopped herself, seemingly confused.

“Wait, I thought I lost these, where on earth did you find them?”

“Tontu found them in the Nowhere Space, it seems our old Nisse thought they were an offering.”

Johanna had to pause and process that information.

“How do you mistake adoption papers for an offering...?” she started, before shaking her head and adding “wait, that doesn’t matter right now, what matters is this.”

Johanna got up from her seat and knelt in front of Hilda, “I know that I may not be your real mum, but you are still my daughter.”

Hilda smiled and hugged her Mum. “You are my real Mum, blood or not, what matters is that I love you.”

Johanna sniffed slightly, before hugging her daughter back. “I love you too, Hilda.”

The two hugged in silence, before the Flats door was abruptly opened.

“I hope you didn’t forget about Movie Night-“

Kaisa stood awkwardly in the doorway, holding bags of what seemed to be take-out.

“...I’m interrupting something aren’t I?”

Hilda and Johanna both looked at each other for a second, before bursting out into laughter.

A meal was shared, (after Kaisa almost passed out from apologizing so much) and a movie was watched.

Tonight, the truth laid bare, but that only strengthened the bond between Mother, and Daughter.

[autumnalfallingleaves]

📓

I've really been hooked on the idea recently of a Hilda/Star Wars crossover/fusion during the Clone Wars where Hilda is a Force-sensitive Mandalorian, Frida's a padawan, and David and Louise are civilians (all living on Coruscant) and they all get up to shenanigans not unlike canon Hilda that somehow eventually lead up to the discovery and ousting of Palpatine. I haven't figured that out yet but that's A Thing That Happens. One thing I've been thinking about a lot as of recent is how Hilda's family works; Phinium and Lydia are still around-- Lydia's a former Jedi who left the order to be with Phinium and is Mando now, and they run a restaurant in Little Keldabe (that happens to be clone-friendly). Johanna is a freelance artist working in the district with her daughter, Hilda, and Astrid is an armorer in the same district. Phin is still a fairy, so Jo and Hilda retain their fairy magic, like in canon (weaker on Hilda's part, but still there). This is especially relevant because it means Phin, Astrid, and Jo don't need jetpacks. Lydia and Hilda still need them, though, even though Hilda can float but not fly.

I've also been thinking about the Jedi part of this; Frida is Tildy's newest padawan and Kaisa is an archivist. I think it'd be really, really funny is Tildy inserts herself as the Coruscant Guard's unofficial Jedi (though I do love me a good "the Guard's trash Jedi Quinlan" fic). The Guards' dynamic with Tildy and Frida would be fun as fuck. I have a funny mental image of Frida and Fox becoming friends and hissing at Tildy when she tries to take their caf away.

I do not have the time or spoons to write this right now but I'd love to at some point because it's funny as hell.

Put "📓" or some other version of a book emoji into my inbox and I'll explain the plot of a fanfiction that I haven't written but daydream about.

[blaithnne]

Let’s not sit here and act like Kaisa isn’t an avid fanfiction reader and writer

[jetcat-14]

Separate Ways (1113 words) by JetCat14

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Hilda (Cartoon), Hilda Series - Luke Pearson & Stephen Davies

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Hilda & Johanna | Hilda's Mum (Hilda), Johanna | Hilda's Mum/Kaisa | The Librarian (Hilda), Johanna | Hilda's Mum & Kaisa | The Librarian (Hilda)

Characters: Johanna | Hilda's Mum (Hilda), Kaisa | The Librarian (Hilda), Hilda (Hilda)

Additional Tags: Kaisa x Johanna, kaisanna, Sketchbook ship, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Young Hilda

Summary:

Years have passed Snice Johanna and Kaisa have seen one another.

Kaisa can't stand any longer not being unable to go One more Valentine's Day without Johanna she Goes to see Johanna and Hilda.

(This is a short one shot i really wanted to do something for Valentines Day for the Two)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE!!!!!

Wrote a Sketchbook Fic because VALENTINES DAY!!!!

The other Fics are on the way i got back my Writing Abilities.

Song used in this fic