Pov, William
The next day, I'm still lying on my bed in my pajamas, staring at the ceiling. I couldn't sleep while thinking about everything that happened yesterday.
And then my dad showed up, which made things even more complicated.
I'm all by myself in the room. Evander's probably in the kitchen, either eating or messing with my stuff. I sigh deeply and sit on my bed. I've decided to take a break from work to reorganize my life, and I think it's going to take a while.
I go into the bathroom and turn on the faucet to wet my face and wake up. Maybe it'll refresh my weary soul, but nothing changes.
I'm standing in front of the mirror, staring at my pale reflection, drawing imaginary circles on its surface, when I notice something strange. For the second time, I see weird writing that suddenly appears on its surface.
(Evander needs you)
I pause for a second, and I'm honestly pretty scared right now.
"Rose, is that you?" I ask in a low voice, and then I'm surprised when the phrase disappears and is replaced by a phrase that makes my heart beat faster.
(Yes)
I swallow, stay in front of the mirror, and then my eyes widen as I let out a terrified scream. A strange hand penetrates from the mirror, grabs me by the arm, and pulls me inside.
...
I open my eyes and blink a few times, not realizing what had just happened.
"Where am I?"
I'm in the middle of the weirdest place I've ever seen.
I start panicking and turn my head all around.
How did I end up here?
I look up and see the sky above me is red, and I'm looking at a huge expanse that looks a lot like the Black Forest in Germany.
I'm thinking I'm in a dream.
I just squat down and put my arms above my head with my eyes closed. I want to wake up from this nightmare.
But nothing changes.
"William!" a soft voice calls out to me.
My body starts to shake as I keep refusing to open my eyes, but it won't stop calling out to me. I slowly open my eyes. "Eva?"
"Evander's about to make a huge mistake! Stop him, William! You're the only one who can!"
She grabs my jacket, trying to pull me up, but I grab her to make her stand on my hand. Then I address her in a tone that's got anxiety and panic in it, as she mentions my son. "Explain to me what's going on?"
She slaps her cheeks and says, pacing back and forth on my hand.
"He decided to give himself to Cynthia in exchange for her to leave everyone alone. She agreed to it, she's in love with him and will do anything to get him. He's not supposed to do that. If he does. He'll be seen as a traitor. It doesn't make sense! She'll destroy him!"
I'm staring at her with wide eyes, still trying to understand why I had to break into this world where I didn't belong as a human.
"What can a human like me do?"
I see her angry expression and hear her yell, "If you were useless, Luciana wouldn't have asked for your help, you idiot!"
...
Pov, Cynthia.
"Promise me you'll do what I want, and I'll do the same for you."
The cute goblin asks me, and I can hear a hint of hesitation in his voice.
To be honest, I don't trust you either.
I turn around, and there he is, just sitting like a good kid on the end of the bed in my secret house in the heart of the forest, where no one can hear or see anything coming from it.
Or, rather, he's like a prisoner of mine.
Even his mother, I, has ordered the goblins to hold her somewhere else that only I know of.
I feel like I've won when I see him as a toy that I can move around however I want.
I smile a little and pour drinks into two glasses to celebrate. I secretly take out a small bottle from my belt pocket and open it. I put a few drops of the potion into the goblin's glass.
When he drinks it, he will fall in love with me. Then, I get him, and I keep the palace too, and I kill his mother.
I will be the winner.
That's what a magician told me after she made the potion for me. It better take effect, or I'll torture her until she dies.
"At least join me Evander. I'm giving up the throne just for you." I say as I turn to face him and offer him his glass, and he just stares at it silently.
I sit next to him, sipping my drink and looking at him from the corner of my eye, waiting for him to take a sip of his drink.
And he does.
I take the glass out of his hand and put it on a nearby table, waiting to see what will happen.
But nothing happens.
He just stares into space with a blank face. I wave my hand in front of his face.
"Evander, are you all right?" I ask, blinking a few times as he gently touches my hair. I feel my heart beating fast, and I smile slightly when he smiles at me.
You're finally mine, Evander.
"What beauty do you have? It's all my fault for being blind with you by my side." He whispers in a voice that pulls me down to the bottom every time I hear it.
I slowly close my eyes. I'm living the best moment of my life.
I laugh a little and gently run my hand along his face, slowly moving it up his neck. I like the feeling of having him so close to me for the first time.
It feels really nice.
"I like your romance." I say.
But I stop what I'm doing when I hear a strange sound from outside the house. I turn my head towards the open window.
I look back at the goblin, and he's smiling at me in a weird way that makes me confused.
Something strange is happening.
I quickly move away from him and go to the window to check the situation. I widen my eyes in shock when I see magicians surrounding the house.
"You fool! You've been teasing me the whole time!" I scream as I turn towards him, but I am surprised to find him standing in front of me, his fingers wrapped around my neck, squeezing it tightly.
With only a small distance separating our faces, he says. "Do you think I'm stupid to believe what you say?"
I try to break free from his grasp, but I can't. I say to him in a sharp tone of voice, with a smile, "Every time you come close to your sad end, Evander, I don't advise you to rush."
"And I don't advise you to get too close to your enemies," he says coldly, trying to provoke me with his wide grin.
...