Page 28

They could not afford to waste too much time sitting around; there was no telling what the king would do if they were not back by sunset.

Setting off again, they waded through the trees, her companion’s hand not leaving her waist. They passed through a thicket of mulberry bushes, and she could have sworn she was stung by a pixie that zoomed away when she flinched.

They were nearing the end of the forest now, more and more sunlight seeping through as the trees parted.

She heaved a sigh of relief and looked around.

The sun shone upon a green meadow, with lush grass and many-hued flower patches.

There was a ring of glowing toadstools nearby, with a tiny fairy perched on one, blowing bubbles through a ring of wood.

Her hair was a lavender cloud around her head, and she seemed to be no taller than Serena’s waist. A hare bounded by and the fairy gave it a merry little wave, and to Serena’s astonishment, the hare stood on its hind legs and waved back before continuing on .

The fairy looked at her and smiled when she saw she was watching.

“Come on over here,” she called in a voice like melted honey. “Let us dance for a while!”

She had taken half a step when she was pulled back.

“That’s a fairy ring,” said her companion, nodding at the ring of toadstools. “If you cross it, you won’t be able to leave until the fairies are done amusing themselves with you.”

The fairy stomped her foot in anger when she realized her fun had been snatched away. “No fair! I wanted to play.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Find someone else for your sick games.”

The fairy walked off in a huff, and Serena felt silly for not realizing it was a fairy circle earlier.

He shook his head and flashed her a small smile. “Don’t feel bad about not noticing sooner. They’re often created to deceive pretty maidens, and you qualify. I certainly don’t—didn’t even feel a pull toward it.”

A few minutes later, they stood at the foot of a small hill, and she could make out the outline of a cottage from where they stood.

The climb was uneventful enough, and then they were at the goblin’s home.

The cottage itself was unobtrusive from the outside; it had a thatched roof and creamy walls, and smoke drifted from the merry red chimney.

The windows were too dark to peer through, so they stepped up to the entrance.

There was a large door knocker on the door in the shape of a troll head.

The face had an unpleasant snout and a disgruntled expression. The eyes were closed.

“Do we knock?” she whispered.

The man at her side banged on the door with the knocker. The door shook, and the troll opened his eyes, glaring at them balefully.

“No need to be so rough,” he grumbled. “Just a gentle tap would do.”

“Is the goblin home?” she asked.

“The answer depends on what you need.”

The two of them exchanged a look.

“We need his help,” he said. “I’ve forgotten my name, and we need to get it back.”

“Forgotten name, eh?” mused the knocker. “That’ll be two drops of blood, then.”

Serena was about to protest, but he took out a sword and slashed a shallow cut on his palm. He stretched out his hand, and the knocker looked pleased. It opened its twisted mouth wide open, and the blood dripped inside. The knocker gave a satisfied sigh that made her stomach churn.

“That hit the spot,” he crooned. “Your blood tastes richer than you know. And quite unique in flavor.”

The door opened, and the two of them stepped inside.

She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting—perhaps something like Finnla’s cottage, which while messy and rundown, had a bustling sort of energy to it.

It made people like Mor want to fall asleep and people like her want to take a look at everything around them before they had to leave.

There was no evil presence, only the raw magic of the wisewoman.

This place however…this place felt evil.

The exterior of the cottage was clearly a lure, to lull you into thinking entering this place would be harmless.

The interior was dark and clammy, as if some spell was blocking the sunlight from entering.

The air hung heavy, making her feel like she was wading through oil.

Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, along with spiders the size of her palm.

The shelves housed an assortment of jars containing body parts of animals: eyeballs, tongues, tails.

She hoped they were only animal organs. A tapestry hung on the wall by the stairs—a tapestry that was made of something that looked very much like human hair, and she tried not to retch.

The table was set for dinner, with three sets of plates and cutlery.

Clearly the goblin had known they were coming.

The smoke from the chimney had been coming from the humongous pot in the fireplace.

A pot that was presumably holding dinner.

But the vials of blood placed on the ground in front of it made her not want to know what exactly the being who lived here planned to eat for his meal.

“Where do you think he is?” she whispered, but then paused when she heard an odd crooning coming from above stairs.

“Maybe we should go,” she said edgily, her heart now beating so hard that she could barely hear her own voice.

“Leaving so soon?” came a cracked, raspy voice from above.

They looked toward the stairs to find a black cat staring at them with eerie yellow eyes.

That cat bounded down the stairs, two at a time, and right before their eyes, it began to change, the tail disappearing, the body elongating and widening, the ears lengthening, until they faced a hunched creature, with a face that looked like it had escaped a child’s nightmare and the body of an old man.

“Interesting clothing,” said the goblin to the man at her side, coughing out a laugh.

With a jolt, Serena realized that the goblin was wearing garments that were almost identical to her companion’s.

“We need—”

“Yes, yes, I know what you want,” said the goblin impatiently, waving his hand. “You have no name, you would like one.”

The man at her side narrowed his eyes at the creature. “I do not want a name, I would like my name returned to me.”

The goblin sneered at him, clearly unhappy at being caught out in his attempt at trickery .

“Clever one, aren’t you? I cannot give you back your name.

The magic at play is too much even for me.

However”—and now his gaze fell on Serena, his lips stretching into a smile that somehow made his face look even more grotesque.

His eyes seemed to rake over her hair, and it made her want to run out of the cottage and never look back.

The only thing that kept her steady was the hand gripping hers in reassurance, bolstering her courage.

They needed to get his name back, and she could not afford to lose her nerve now that they had made it this far—“I can prod you in the right direction for a price.”

He turned, and walked toward the cabinet behind him, rummaging through the drawers. He came back with a pair of shears and a vial. Placing them on the table, he faced her.

“I will need a lock of the girl’s hair and a year of her life.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I’ll do it,” said Serena at the same time.

He turned to face her, his face a mask of anger and worry.

“Are you insane?” he hissed. “You have no idea what he’s going to use them for, and furthermore, a year of your life is not a payment you should offer, especially to someone like him.”

“I can hear you, you know.”

Serena looked at her friend steadily. “This is my choice. There’s not much you can do about it, barring knocking me out and carrying me out of this place.”

“I have a mind to do just that,” he muttered.

“It isn’t your call to make.”

“She’s right,” crowed the goblin. “She has agreed. The payment has already been decided, and there’s no way to back out now.”

The man’s jaw tightened, and he looked as if he wanted to argue further, but Serena knew he had realized it was too late.

The creature in front of her raised the rusty shears and clipped a lock of her pink hair, grasping it in his claw-like fingers.

He muttered something, a silver thread emerged from her chest, and he raised the shears again, clipping just a tiny bit off the end.

She gasped, and the man’s grip on her tightened.

There was a sudden sense of loss, and the thread disappeared back into her chest as though nothing had happened.

“Now,” she said, eyes narrowing, “give us what we want.”

“I can only give you a clue,” he said. “The secret to the name lies in the girl’s hair and the beginning.”

“The beginning?”

“All good stories have a beginning, even the story of how two people meet. Look into the past, and you’ll find the answer to the future.”

It sounded like a whole lot of nothing, but there was no other clue they had.

“We shall leave now,” said Serena, careful not to thank him, lest he claim that they were in his debt. “Goodbye.”

“Oh, don’t leave so soon,” said the goblin slyly. “I’ve already set your places at the table.”

“No, thank you,” she replied politely, laying a hand on her companion’s arm before he picked a fight for no reason. “We need to be back at the castle by sunset.”

“The castle.” The goblin’s eyes glazed with rage briefly.

“Tell the creature that has set up place there that I do not take kindly to being challenged in my own land. Any curse, any threat to rival my power will not be greeted so politely in the future. Wrap up your businesses and leave. My patience runs thin with foreign interference.”

So, he did know about the curse and was not pleased with Lore’s presence .

Just as quickly as the rage had come, it fled, and he took a step closer to them.

“Are you sure you won’t stay for dinner?” He cackled. “Today’s dinner is my favorite, although you might find it a little too familiar, what with you being human and all.”

The pot whistled just then, and the goblin looked at it with an almost tender expression.

“Pity,” he whispered. “Such a pretty face too.”

Serena felt herself being pulled toward the door, and gladly let herself be led out. Once they were a safe distance, she stumbled toward a nearby tree and retched. She felt a comforting hand on her back and looked up to see eyes darkened with worry.

“I’m okay,” she whispered. “Can we go now?”

He nodded tightly, and then swung her into his arms.

“I can walk!”

“You just gave up a year of your life,” he said grimly. “Let me do this much at least.”

She gave in and let him carry her. Snaking her arms around his neck, she lay her head on his shoulder.

Perhaps it should concern her how natural it felt to be in his arms like this, but right now she was too tired to be careful, too shaken to think about anything other than how comforting it was to be cared for like this.

They managed to make it back before it was too late.

He laid her in bed and ordered her to rest while he got to work on turning the straw into gold.

Was it her imagination, or was it taking more effort than yesterday for him to do this?

His face was a little pale, and he was breathing heavier than usual.

She suddenly remembered the fight with the ogre and the way it had thrown him into a tree.

And he had then also insisted on carrying her back.

She sat up worried, but it was too late. It was sundown, the straw was gold, and the magic had made him disappear.

The king made his rounds shortly after and he ooh’ed and aah’ed at the shining gold around him. She was incredibly tired of the greedy little man and mostly tuned out what he was saying until she heard him say the word marriage.

"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty?"

Mistaking her shock for gratitude, he laughed and clapped his hands together.

"We see that you are shocked, Miss Miller!

But no, We are indeed speaking the truth, for if you manage to turn the straw into gold one more time, We shall make you Our queen, for We do have a liking for your skill and you are easy on the eyes. "

He looked at her expectantly, and she curtsied low, giving him the grateful platitudes he required, but her head was ringing.

She had forgotten all about the part where the king married the miller’s daughter.

The stakes were even higher now, for she could not get stuck here and be forced to marry the bothersome man, king though he may be.

The king invited her to dinner again, but she refused prettily, pleading a headache.

He did not seem bothered overmuch and left soon after, surrounded by his usual retinue.

She retired to bed shortly after, anticipating the morning so she could see the only person she wanted to see in this godforsaken land.