The Goblin's Crown

Chapter Thirty Six: Friends

Silence hung heavy in the sap and blood scented air. My own blood froze in my veins. My mouth clamped shut. I dared not utter another lie, not with the way Tova, the queen of the good-hearted elves was looking at me with her knife still in hand. My gaze froze on the doe's dead fawn, at the bit of tongue flopping out of its mouth.

"Matilda," Tova called, her tone soft and demanding at once. My eyes snapped towards her, met her icy cold stare. Setting the bowl on the ground, she rose silently and began a slow stalk towards me. Each step was carefully placed. She moved just as she had as she was tracking the doe. Silent. Every muscle tensed and ready to spring. I watched for her tell, expecting an attack at any moment. Tova stared right back with the same intensity. "We are friends, aren't we?" She asked, emphasizing the weighty word.

I forced speech out of my frozen vocal cords. "Why would you think I've lied to you?"

She stopped a breath before me. Her large eyes stared into mine as if she could see straight into my soul through them. Her mouth twisted, turning into a frown. It made her look bizarre...somehow monstrous. The expression was so unnatural, it seemed to heighten her more animal-like features. "We elves are a kindly, trusting people. We would open our home to anyone, even our greatest enemies, in the hopes of building bridges. However, you should be careful not to confuse that kindness with foolishness. Our good nature has its limits." My breathing hitched at the feeling of a sharp prick against my belly. She held her knife to it, readying to drive it into my bowels. "Your pendant protects against magical attacks, but not weapons." Her eyes narrowed, glaring at the hunk of metal hanging from my throat. "I know you didn't come for some stupid cradle. I felt the tremors. The whole Hollow shook from its very roots. Something terrible happened. Didn't it?" My jaw clenched. "You will tell me the truth. Lie again and you will never step foot out of my forest alive." Her knife pressed in harder but didn't pierce the skin. She was hesitating. But for how long? Oh well, my pretty face was bruised already.

Sucking in a breath, I reared my head back and lunged forward, smashing my brow against her face. A loud crack rang through my skull at the contact. She shrieked as she staggered back. Dropping the knife, she held her bleeding face, catching gushing blood into her palms. I was certain I'd broken her nose. "Damn, that hurt," I growled, holding my own throbbing head as I picked up her knife. I chuckled at the sight of her writhing on the ground. "I always knew my hard head would come in handy one of these days." I stood over her, twirling the knife between my fingers. "If you're going to threaten me, you'd better be ready to follow it through." I tossed the knife to her. It skidded across the ground and knocked against her knee. She stared at it in surprise then turned that same look towards me. "I didn't come here to fight you, Tova. I still very much want our alliance." I assured her.

"Then why lie to my face?" She hissed. With a jerk and a cry of pain, she reset her nose. Fingers dove into one of her invisible pockets and withdrew a tiny vial filled with liquid. She drank from it and the bleeding stopped. "Had it been the other way around, if I had come to the Underground under false pretenses, would you not have done the same?" She wiped the blood from her face with a wad of leaves from the forest floor.

"Certainly." I shrugged. "But I would not have hesitated." I gave her my hand and hoisted her back to her feet. "I do like you, Tova. Even more so now, actually. I had you pegged as a saint before, to be honest. I'm glad I was wrong."

Her brows furrowed. "What's a saint?"

"A person who is so good-natured that they annoy everyone around them. Anyway, I'm sorry for lying." I lied.

"If you want your alliance, you will tell me what is going on right now. If I cannot trust you, Titania certainly won't." She hung her head. Her voice became softer. "Please, you are in my home. My family is here. My children are here. I need to know without a doubt that you mean them no harm."