The Goblin's Crown

Chapter Five: Return

The goblin ducked inside, taking a big step towards me. I took several steps back, unable to hide my fear. He was wide and muscled with a chest like a wine barrel. His face was broad, and his teeth were too long and numerous to be contained. Their pointy ends peaked out from his thin lips, interlocking like a bear trap.

"You." The goblin boomed, his voice deep and rumbling. His red eyes were trained on me, his pupils dilated to pinpoints.

"Kai, don't be a bully." Freya wove in between the hulking monster and I as if trying to shield me from him. Her presence did little to soften his glare. "She isn't here of her own free will. It's not like she can help that your brother's gone insane."

"Her very presence is a mockery of our traditions! He knows I wouldn't want her, it's Knut's way of ensuring that he'll win even if I kill him!" Kai said.

Freya scowled at him, crossing her too-long arms. "Do you really have that little faith in me?"

This was Knut's brother? This was who he was supposed to duel? The one he referred to as "that child"? I couldn't contain it. The absurdity of it all proved too much. I started laughing.

Kai and Freya looked at me like I was the one who had gone mad. "What's so funny, human?" Asked Kai, his nostrils flaring.

"Knut is right. You are a child." I snickered at him, jabbing him where it hurt. I had only just laid eyes on him, yet I knew his weaknesses just by a look and the tiny fragments of information I'd learned about him. Jealousy. Pride. Knut had called him "child." He was the youngest brother. He was preparing for the coronation where Knut saw no need to. He didn't feel that this hulking man was worth the effort. Like any other second son, Kai was eager to prove himself and fearful that he may not cut it. "Look at you, throwing a tantrum and turning red in the ears." What was I doing? I could feel those beady eyes stabbing into me with venomous glares. Was I that eager to be murdered? I wondered, not for the first time, if goblins ate human flesh. Despite the atrocities filling my imagination, my mouth kept going. "Is your heathenish culture that threatened by little old me?" I feigned innocence, batting my long, blond eyelashes.

Just as I thought he would, his rage sent him barreling towards me. He reached for my throat, but his body stalled before those meaty paws could touch me. He looked down with wide eyes, shocked to see a silver knife I'd swiped from the dinner table stuck in his belly. A crimson rose bloomed from the wound. It wasn't too deep. His muscles had stopped the blade from piercing anything vital. He'd live. "I'd hate to kill you before Knut has his chance." I said, smirking at him. "He seems to be looking forward to it. He'd be terribly disappointed if I had all the fun." I twisted the knife, wanting to make him squirm.

Kai gave me a hard look, his small eyes turning to slits. Then just as suddenly as I had, he threw his head back in laughter. His deep voice shook the hairbrush right off of the vanity. It hit the stone floor with a clatter. He leered at me as he smiled, showing every needle like tooth in his head. He and his elder brother looked nothing alike, but their lecherous smiles were similar. It twisted my stomach in the same manner. "At least you aren't some wallflower he plucked from a human lord's garden. It seems Big Brother does still have some sense. Your soul is positively vile." He stroked his chin, letting his beady eyes appraise me. "It's full of greed and malice. You're a woman after Knut's own heart. Are you truly here against your will? A soul like yours should feel right at home here."

I yanked the knife out of his gut, making him holler in pain. Even while fresh, dark blood, still oozed off the knife's blade, the wound healed right before my eyes, until only the stain on his shirt remained as evidence to my crime. "I have no interest in sharing a bed with one of you monsters." I wiped the knife clean with the bottom of my gown's skirt. Once it gleamed once more, I slipped it back into my sleeve. It had taken a great deal of squirming to keep the knife out of the servant's sight as he dressed me, but I'd thankfully managed it. Even a little silver knife like this could feed me and my family for weeks. I was intent on taking it home. "In fact, I'd like to leave now. Where is Knut?"