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Gods, I am such a fool.
His laugh echoes through the trees sending another chill down my arms, along my spine and into my toes, right into the ground that held me hostage. His words that follow, force me to go still. My chest inflated with air, my lungs screaming for it.
“I have been watching you for a long while, did you think that your wishes went unanswered? That I did not hear them?” He folded his arms across his chest and adjusted his stance. “That I was not biding my time?”
My heart dropped.
Nona was right, and I had just made a grave mistake.
Panic overcame me as my breath came in quick bursts, my lungs gasping for air. I shouldn't be out here. I quickly turned to look behind me, measuring the distance back to the cottage. It was possible, maybe I could make it. But then again, I didn't know how quick he was or if he could catch me before I even made it to the garden wall and through the gate. After all, he was Fae, known for their quickness, intelligence, elegance, and most of all, cruelty.
As if he could read my thoughts and body language, his eyes tracked my movements as I felt a twitch in my hand, preparing to run and waiting for the challenge to chase.
A hunter upon his prey.
“There is nowhere you can run that I will not find you. I would think twice if I were you,” he warned
Another shudder ran down my spine, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that I needed to face him. I took a moment to observe every inch of him, calculating and scrutinizing, unsure if it was trepidation disguised as curiosity overtaking the panic I had felt. I knew I was taking a risk, but recognition and hostility urged me, forcing the words out before I could stop myself. The loathing was evident on my face as I spoke.
“I know who you are,” I said, and his eyes flashed brightly in response. I chose my next words carefully, from fear of his retaliation. “You’re him, aren’t you? The Goblin King.”
His reaction was subtle, a mere lifting of his chin, yet it conveyed satisfaction and delight at my affirmation, at my recognition. A smirk gradually spreads across his lips. A flood of emotions surged within me- terror, curiosity, uncertainty, and even hate. But for some reason, awe took over.
The being in front of me was a complete contrast to how he had been described. Instead of a grotesque and straw-haired creature, he appeared to be the most beautiful being I had ever seen. His fingers, although long, had a delicate fluidity to them and were not knobby as I had expected them to be. It was hard to believe that he was as normal-looking as any other living and breathing creature of our world.
My mouth gaped open in bewilderment as I blurted out, “But you appear entirely human.”
I noticed a shift in his eyes, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it meant. It was like a switch had been flipped and his entire body had stiffened for a moment. I had clearly hit a nerve. Not my brightest move, especially considering he was a good head taller than me and far more intimidating than any Rothnian soldier. I had just set myself up to fail, digging a hole that I wasn't sure I could climb out of.
The sound that escapes his lips was a mix of irritation and vexation. “Far more than just a human,” he spat, his voice dripping with contempt. A stray breeze sent a few strands of his hair across his face before hitting me, causing a cold chill to run through my bones.
As I pulled my shawl tighter around myself, the curiosity within me demanded more answers. “I don't understand, how is this possible? The Fae don't exist, they haven't for decades,” I questioned, unable to contain my disbelief.
Curiosity was a strong trait in me, one Nona noted time and time again. It was going to get me in trouble one day. He’s quiet for a moment, contemplating before he finally says, “The stories told to you, are false. The Fae live, just nothere.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
The Goblin King’s eyes narrow briefly before he sighs, a sound so unadulterated it makes my heart race. “You’ve heard of Inirea, yes?”
I nod, my mind flashing back to the many tales I've heard about the barren landscape in the northeast of Rothnia. The other side of the mountains was a forbidden territory where no one was allowed to venture. But curiosity had always gnawed at me, urging me to know more. I had heard the stories, each narrated with varying details, but they all had one thing in common - no one ever returned from that desolate land. The rumors said that it was dying, but all of it was only hearsay.
How we to know if it was true or not if no one had ever returned to tell the tale?
“It’s not as the tales have been told.” He says, I could just make out the despondency in his voice before it was masked over again by animosity. “It’s a very real place, Serra.”
“Inirea? Isn’t it the land of goblins and demons, of nymphs and fairies. It’s not a safe place.”
The sun was setting on the horizon and in the distance the wind whips the tops of the trees. I could hear the cackles in the low brush. The creatures hidden from sight; ones who did not want to be seen.
“It is not safe for many of my kind.” I whispered. The gleam in his eyes would have me think otherwise, that it was perfectly safe for us. But that was how he played his game. I knew the truth. Every story Nona would tell came with a warning.
‘Beware of Inirea, of the Goblin King. Wickedness is his game. The land is tricky. And trickery leads mortals astray.’
My heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it would burst out of my chest. The warnings about this Fae male echoed in my head, but I couldn't bring myself to move. He was dangerous, and I knew that, but I couldn't decide if I was truly afraid of him. It was a fear unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It reminded me of the time when I was eight and stumbled upon a boar.
I had spotted the boar from a distance, digging at the base of a tree just outside the forest's edge. Every fiber in my body was telling me to run, but my feet wouldn't budge. I was paralyzed with fear, unable to move or even scream. The terror I felt was indescribable. When the boar finally lifted its head, I saw its bright red eyes staring directly at me. I knew in that moment that I was in serious danger. It was like something out of a nightmare.
My nightmares.
