Something Peculiar

2.5

"What?" a deep, craggy voice asked, and a slot slid open in the middle of the door.

I bent over to peer through, and I saw the hobgoblin that had come in with Rosé. His eyes were buried under bushy eyebrows, and I wasn't sure if I had good enough view to persuade him. Or if even worked on actual trolls. They appeared to be an entirely different species.

"Ludlow isn't it?" I asked, remembering the name Rosé had shouted when sending for help.

"Don't try to sweet-talk me, Princess." The hobgoblin coughed, retching up phlegm and spitting it on the ground. He wiped his face on the back of his sleeve before turning back to me. "I've turned down far prettier girls than you before."

"I need to go to the bathroom." I dropped any pretense of being friendly. I had a feeling that honesty and cynicism would go further with him.

"So go. You don't have to ask me for permission." Ludlow laughed, but it wasn't a pleasant sound.

"There's no bathroom in here. I'm not gonna squat on the ground," I said, genuinely disgusted by the idea.

"Then hold it." Ludlow started to shut the slot, but I put my hand out, blocking it.

"Can't you get a guard or something to take me to the bathroom?" I asked.

"I am the guard," Ludlow snapped, sounding huffy.

"Oh, really?" I smirked at him, realizing this might be far easier than I thought.

"Don't underestimate me, Princess," Ludlow growled. "I eat girls like you for breakfast."

"So you're a cannibal?" I wrinkled my nose

"Ludlow, are you harassing the poor girl?" came a voice from behind Ludlow. He moved to the side, and through the slot I saw Rosé swaggering toward us.

"She's harassing me," Ludlow complained.

"Yes, talking to a beautiful Princess - what a rough lot you have in life," Rosé said dryly, and Taehyung snorted behind me.

Ludlow muttered something, but Rosé held up her hand, silencing him. Then she was too close to the door for me to see her face. The slot was at Ludlow's eye level, which came up to Rosé waist.

"What seems to be the problem?" Rosé asked.

"I need to go to the bathroom." I leaned in closer to the slot, peering up at her. I wanted to catch her eyes, but they remained out my vision.

"And I told her to go inside the cell," Ludlow said with pride.

"Oh, come, now. She's not a common mänks. We can't leave her in squalor!" Rosé chastised the troll. "Open the door. Let her out."

"But miss, I'm not to let her until the King calls for her." Ludlow looked up at her nervously.

"You think the King would want her treated this way?" Rosé asked, and the hobgoblin wrung his hands. "You can explain to the Majesty that this is all my fault, if it comes to it."

Ludlow nodded reluctantly. He slid the slot shut, and I let him this time. I stood up and listened to the sound of the bolts and locks clicking and turning.

"I don't like this," Taehyung said in a low voice.

"We don't have much of a choice," I whispered. "I got us into this, and I'll get us out."

The door opened a bit, and I stood back, expecting it to open farther. I thought Rosé would step in, I would use persuasion, and we would be off. But she and Ludlow remained hidden outside.