The Goblin Princess

Chapter 8

She didn't understand; why hadn't he come to see her? What had she done? The last thing she could remember was waking up with her head hurting and her father frowning.

The cottage just seemed really empty for some reason. She didn't know why it felt so empty. It wasn't very big, but it felt empty with just her and the two women her father had left her with.

Nothing had felt right since she had woken up in her bed. Veena stood near the edge of the clearing in the forest looking at the small thatched cottage. This didn't feel like home. Yes, it was homey, but it wasn't home. She would find home one day.

Chapter 8

"I'm so sorry, Veena. Are you okay?"

Veena held her hand to head. Pain radiated from where Teela's staff had hit her. Veena hadn't seen it coming till the very last moment, and now she was paying for it. As she closed her eyes, Veena could hear Duncan and Adam walking over to her and Teela.

"Veena, open your eyes and look at me."

Slowly, Veena opened her eyes and looked at Duncan, "I'm okay."

He grabbed her and forced her to face him, "I'll be the judge of that." He gently moved her more into the sunlight, never taking his eyes off her face. After a moment, he frowned. "Well, you seem fine, but we'll have to watch you to be sure nothing's wrong." He then glanced over at Teela, "why don't you go get something for the pain, Teela? We won't go anywhere."

Teela gave him a quick nod, "I'll be right back." She ran off towards a door leading into the Palace.

Veena looked over at Adam and smiled, "I'm fine, really."

Adam shook his head, "we can't take any chances." Sighing, he gently wrapped an arm around her waist, "why don't we go sit under the tree to wait for Teela?"

Veena would have glared at him, but the pain was almost too much. Reluctantly, she allowed Adam to lead her over to the single tree in the Courtyard. Slowly, she sat down with her back against its trunk. Leaning her head back slightly, she closed her eyes. Suddenly, memories came rushing forward. Memories that seemed so familiar and yet foreign. They were coming so quickly that Veena couldn't truly understand them.

"Veena, are you all right?"

Slowly, she opened her eyes to find Adam's worried face not far from hers. "I'm not entirely sure any more." She frowned slightly. The memories weren't going away. It was like they were inserting themselves where they should be, the large dark areas of her memory.

Adam glanced over at Duncan, “is there anything we can do?"

Duncan sighed as Teela came back into view, "the only one who could help truly is the Sorceress."

Adam placed a hand on Veena's shoulder, "do you want to head back now?"

She would had shaken her head, but it just hurt too damn much, "it might be the best, but I think we'll have to take it slow."