Curse of the Goblin King

By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter Four

Erutis spent that night back under the covers of the feather-soft bed that she had awoken in, no closer to destroying the Goblin King than when she had first walked into his forest. She had even allowed him to pass a few moves on her in the process!

Her cheeks burned at the memory of his kiss, but brushed them off in the heat of her anger. Cursing to herself under her breath, she decided that she would kill the Goblin King at the first opportune moment, though she would need her sword for that.

Yes, her sword! She had completely forgotten about it during the day. Gritting her teeth, she looked out at the rising moon from the large window. Her eyebrows came together in frustration. It would be hours until daylight. . .

But whoever said she needed to search for it by daylight? Krayon would be up and watching for her at those hours, would he not? So it would be more dangerous, plus, it was easier to be stealthy at night than by day. Erutis brightened at this idea, snickering to herself. Wouldn't the Goblin King be surprised when he found her pointing the menacing blade at his throat?

Gathering the thin night-dress around her, Erutis clambered swiftly and silently off the bed and headed for the door. It opened with a soft 'click' and she peered out, looking either way carefully before stepping out. She closed it behind her again just as softly and set off down the hall, her footsteps going unheard in the vast hall.

She opened every door she could find that she didn't already know what lied within, but after two hours of searching, had yet to find out where the Goblin King kept the weapons and armaments.

'Maybe he keeps them with him.' She thought and felt her fluttering hope suddenly dissipate from her. If that were true, then she had no hope of getting it from him without risking more than she wanted to at the moment. Still, she wouldn't give up until that was proven.

She stopped as she realized that she had walked right out on a large balcony, situated on the back of the castle, overlooking what remained of the forest. It stretched for miles still; on the horizon loomed tall, majestic purple mountains. No escape route there, she would be caught before she ever made it to those mountains.

Above, the velvet sky danced. The light of the moon lit up the balcony eerily, and the many stars that dotted the expanse winked at her from their heavenly home. She smiled at them as she remembered a day when she had been back home, training secretly late at night and had collapsed in the grass, looking up at these same stars. 'Everyone back home must think I'm dead.' She thought, and her eyes turned back downward, suddenly lost.

To her right she heard the sudden clack of boots on stone and froze, anxiety pumping into her. Instinct told her to run and hide and she obeyed it after a moment of simply staring at the place where the noise was coming from. Dodging behind the large stone lion that sat frozen in a predatory growl beside her, she watched as Krayon stepped from another entrance onto the spacious balcony. Obviously, he had not seen her, and she felt relieved by that.

Erutis watched as he closed the distance between the edge of the balcony and himself in long, powerful strides, the heel of his boots clicking loudly. He seemed distracted, his eyes unusually hard and foreboding as he stopped at the balcony rail. His palms came down and grasp it as he leaned forward, bowing his head.

Looking out at the expanse of land before him, forehead wrinkling in concentration. Licking her bottom lip in curiosity, Erutis stayed poised behind the large stone lion statue. She was too intrigued by his change in demeanor to back away now.

Krayon grumbled something to himself, and sighed, running a hand through his curly hair in apparent frustration. His eyes lifted to the stars and he seemed to calm, a small smile twitching at his lips as the stars sparkling reflection flashed in his eyes. Erutis made a face as his entire form seemed to glow brilliantly with the stars and moon shining on him. 'What a show off.'

Breaking from the trance that had somehow overcome her at the sight, she silently stepped away from the lion, always keeping the Goblin King in one corner of her eye. Darting swiftly away, she decided that it was best to make her way back to her room for the night. It wouldn't be good if he caught her snooping around in the middle of the night, and she was getting tired, putting her in no good position to fight him off if something happened. And she wouldn't put it past him if something did.

Forcing down a yawn, she quickly turned down the hallway to her room, trying to walk as fast and stealthily as she could without being heard.

The next morning found her hugging her pillow with an odd smile on her lips. Her eyelids still felt heavy, but as she stretched, they soon lost their load and complied with staying open.

This was the second day she had been here at the castle, and still no sign of a way to escape, or her sword for that matter.

Erutis understood that it would probably take days to examine the entire castle, maybe even months, but she was impatient with things like this, and didn't look forward to searching months and months for her weapon. She needed it now if she wanted to kill her nemesis.

She didn't trust him anyway. What reason did he have for keeping her here like this? She went over the few reasons, but none of them seemed sensible at all. It just didn't make sense at all. A sigh escaped her, and she looked around, wondering where she might be able to acquire clothing for herself.

The nightgown had been nice to trudge around in the first day, but she didn't like the airy feel underneath her, and she longed for a pair of pants. A good, sturdy pair of pants, that's what she wanted.

Going to the tall wardrobe that stood in her room, she looked inside questioningly. A blast of moldy, thick air hit her as she swung the doors open, and she coughed as two moths fluttered out. They fluttered around her head for a moment before escaping out the slightly opened wooden door.

It smelled disgusting inside of the wardrobe, and Erutis took a quick glance inside, hoping to find something. Snatching at the only two things she saw inside, she pulled them out roughly and closed the doors shut tightly, her eyes still burning from the dust.

Erutis found to her dismay that the clothes were moth-eaten and smelled just as horribly as the inside of the wardrobe had.

"Great." She said, exasperated. "Of course the idiot can't keep anything in good condition."

Tossing the clothes aside, she brooded to herself as she sat on the floor, legs crossed.

Soon, a knock came at the door, and upon instinct, Erutis said sharply: "Go away."

A familiar, smooth voice drifted through to her consciousness, making her snap back to attention.

Krayon's head poked through the door, his curly hair tumbling around him. "That's very rude of you to say." He informed her, his lips seeming to twitch into a smirk, even though she knew he was not.

She turned her head sharply to face him and glared daggers. If looks could kill, this one would have struck him dead on the spot. "And it's very rude of you to come in when I told you to 'go away.' Don't you ever listen to anyone?" She snapped.

He came completely through the doorway. "I do, but I think you forget something." He said, taking a seat next to her, crossing his long legs as well.

"What?" She asked warily.

He cupped her chin and smirked at her. "This is my castle, I can do what I want without permission from anyone." Krayon informed her, bringing his face far too close to hers.

Erutis blushed madly, and, placing a hand on his chest pushed him away roughly. He fell backward, she was sure purposefully. Glaring down at him, she knew her face was red as a beat. "You are so- ugh, I hate you!!" She yelled at him.

Getting up, she stomped to the door and was about to leave when she stopped on her heel and spun around, glaring back at him again. "Oh, and I'm gonna need some clothes too." She ordered, aware of how ridiculously strange she sounded saying those words.

"Do these not suit you?" Krayon asked, picking at one of the edges of the frilly nightgown thoughtfully.

Erutis tore it away from his grasp. Why did he always have to speak so seductively to her? "No." She informed him. "A nightgown is ok when you're sleeping, but not for regular day-time use."

Krayon stood, hovering far too close to her for a moment before tearing away and going to the wardrobe. Erutis started to protest, saying that there was nothing there when he flung the doors open, revealing the inside. A collection of dresses and such hung inside. Erutis made a face at them, and came closer cautiously. She didn't trust the Goblin King enough to let him lure her so lose with such a trick.

It was magic, she knew it had to be. There was no other explanation to it, and she refused to act starry-eyed over such a feat that was so simple for him to perform.

As she drew right up in front of the doors, she saw that there were actually a few pairs of pants inside. She looked over at him and gave him a faint smirk of thanks. He grinned back. "Does this mean you adore me now?" He asked brightly.

Erutis' eye twitched for a moment before she placed both hands on his chest and pushed him forcefully out of the door. Krayon drug his feet, trying to stop her, but she had toppled him in a heap outside and slammed the door behind her without another word.

Krayon stood, feeling miffed, and went for the handle. Erutis' voice came through the wood loudly. "Don't you come in here." She warned threateningly. So, she was changing, was she. . . ?

He smirked to himself at the prospect on spying on her, but that would be dirty and back-handed. She had not deliberately told him not to look because she was dressing, but she had warned him not to come in. And using magic to peer in would be the same as actually coming in. Krayon sighed as he realized that there was no way around it. He would just have to wait until she was done.

After a moment she swung the door wide open and stepped out to find him waiting patiently for her. "What?" She snapped defensively when he looked her over with a careful eye.

Erutis blushed despite herself, though she kept her eyes narrowed.

Krayon smirked at her. "You look dazzling." He replied.

"You're a good liar." Erutis growled, scratching her head idly. She was wearing one of the pairs of pants with a loose-fitting jacket hanging around her shoulders. A shirt that tucked into the pants was worn underneath; the collar fell just a little passed her neck.

"You always look dazzling, of course." He ignored her comment.

Erutis looked to him sharply. "What is the point of this, do you care to tell me?" She snapped irritably at him.

The King looked at her in mild surprise, though nothing could break that unshakable calm that he always seemed to emanate. "The point? My dear, I'm afraid I don't understand."

Erutis glared at him. "Don't play dumb with me! What's the point of keeping me locked up here, huh?! Oh, and don't you dare call me 'my dear' ever again!" She yelled at him, raging at the fact that he had not answered any of her questions yet.

He remained calm though. "I do not believe that I owe you any kind of explanation." He informed her.

Her anger boiled and frothed, almost bubbling over. She wanted nothing more than to strike him at the moment, but a person's greatest enemy in a fight was their blind anger, so she tried desperately to contain herself.

"Fine. Don't tell me." She growled through clenched teeth, not making eye contact with him.

Krayon checked himself as a bristling, fiery aura flared up around her suddenly. She was quite unhappy.

"But remember this," She suddenly brought her head back up and jabbed a finger at him angrily. "You ever let your guard down and I'll be right there with a knife in your back! You hear me?! We are not friends! I am your enemy and I'm going to take your head!"

With that, Erutis turned and stomped out of the room.

Krayon stared after her for a moment, sweatdropping and quite bewildered. "Why do I feel like I've just had a lover's spat?"

Still fuming, Erutis walked down the hallway with long, evenly spaced strides. It was a fast pace that she was used to using when she got angry. It helped to exert what energy was still bubbling inside of her from the day.

She found herself in the library again, and sighed deeply, sinking into one of the dusty chairs. A great cloud of dust shot up and enveloped her, but she didn't even notice it, she was too engulfed in the depression that always followed her enormous rages.

Usually they were tiny and lasted but a moment, but at this time, it only deepened. The people back home were probably worried about her by now. Though she had no parents or loved ones to speak of, she had promised the villagers that she would return, and she had been one of their last hopes. Sullenly, she brooded on her situation.

So, she was stuck here, her sword gone, her honor as a warrior shattered as well. By the code of knights, she no longer deserved her sword since her enemy had so easily captured her. And now she was living luxuriously within his castle, with him constantly hovering near her. It was enough to drive not only a girl, but a knight mad as well.

She was determined to persevere besides these obvious facts, though it was proving challenging. A knight's life was nothing without challenge, though.

Her honor newly restored, Erutis decided on her next plan of action:

"To find my sword!"

Sorry for the wait everyone. I've kinda been depressed lately since it's gotten to raining almost every day here now. sigh

Does anyone think that the character's feel OOC a little bit? I'm sorry if they do. It's been kinda hard to draw love or feelings of any kind between them since Krayon rarely shows up in the manwha. And when he does, there are not many interactions between him and Erutis for me to actually get a hold of what I need to make all their reactions like to different things. If you ever notice anything, even something small, please inform me and I'll keep it in mind for the future.

Thanks for the reviews, minna-san. I appreciate it!