Alethea has always been awkward - eccentric, even. On a typical day she spends her time cloistered inside a tiny apartment hiding from the world she doesn't really understand. When her therapist encourages her to push herself outside her comfort zon...
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Freezing water splashed across my face and I sat bolt upright, immediately awake and alert.
"Wakey, wakey," a raspy, high-pitched voice called from my left.
I whipped around, my heart plummeting with fear and dread when I realized I could no longer see. My breathing hitched as I felt the space around me in an attempt to make sense of things. Iron bars surrounded me on all sides and the floor was solid rock.
"Where's Roran?" I rasped, my throat still feeling a bit raw.
No answer.
"Who are you?" I called a bit louder.
I could hear movement against the bars in front of me and I squinted into the dark to try and see.
"Who am I? Who are YOU?" the man shouted, and I jumped in surprise.
"I-I'm Alethea," I replied. "How did I get here? And why am I here?"
"Alethea," he whispered. Before I could jerk away I felt a long-fingered hand stroke through my hair. I scuttled backward out of his reach before he could touch me again. "Aleeeetheeaa," he repeated, drawing out the syllables.
"What kind of monster are you?" I asked.
My captor chuckled and replied, "I am the Goblin King."
"But I thought Moroi was king down here," I stated, frowning in confusion.
"Moroi," he replied in an insulted tone. I cringed when he spat on the ground near my feet. "The vampire likes to think himself king. There are others who do not agree."
I figured that getting on his good side was probably my best way out, so in an attempt to win him over I said, "Well I certainly won't argue with you. I think he's horrible."
The goblin's voice sounded intrigued. "Oh, yes?"
I nodded. "Definitely. I wish someone would just get rid of him. In fact, Roran and I were just talking about that. You should ask him, he even has a plan on how to do it."
"The phoenix is dangerous. I would not ask him anything," he responded in a hostile tone. "But I will ask you something, yes," he continued. "How did you come to be here, Alethea?"
Shaking my head, I replied, "What are you talking about? You brought me here, didn't you?"
"I brought you here, yes," he said. "But how did you come to be in purgatory, human?"
"Human?" I asked, completely perplexed. "I'm not human. I'm a vampire."
The goblin threw back his head and laughed for a long time. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I had a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"You are a funny human. It will be nice to have a funny human pet, I think," he said, still giggling a bit under his breath.
