Curse of the Goblin King

By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter Six

It had been a whole week since she had come to stay in the empty castle that housed the Goblin King, and several days since her sword had been returned to her.

The morning after she had danced with him, she found it wrapped in silk at the foot of the spacious bed, awaiting her hands. Gleefully and slightly in awe of the silk that was encasing it, she had lifted it up and held it as if it was precious glass.

Now she had it at her waist, within the reach of her hand, and she felt much more secure with it near her. In truth, there had not been much to be frightened of though. The goblin King might have made a few advances toward her, but nothing she couldn't handle without a sword.

Since that night, though, Erutis had not seen hide nor hair of the King. Not a peep from him, not even a shudder running up her spine and informing her that she was being watched.

Before she had thought it unnerving to have him watching her every single moment, now she found it even more so without any sign of him around. She was annoyed and frustrated beyond her boiling point and wanted to scream. The silence was horrible now and she was feeling very dull and bored.

To keep herself sharp and awake she often practiced her swordsman's moves in the hallway. She didn't dare hurt the pillars though, not for the fact that they were part of his castle, but because they were so painstakingly and beautifully crafted. She could not bring herself to scratch them even by accident.

Clunking through the halls, Erutis kicked at the floor nonchalantly. For someone who had just had her beloved sword returned and her worst enemy disappear into thin air should have been ecstatic. But she wasn't. Instead she felt almost as if she missed him. Almost, being the key word there. She would never admit to actually missing that schizophrenic, quirky, deranged, crazy, floppy-haired, wily. . .Her mind ran out of insults to add to the list.

Erutis stopped as she pressed her head against the marble wall. "Ah, who am I kidding?" She grumbled to herself under her breath. "I do miss that idiot." A lonely feeling grew in her and added to her frustration, making her growl, fingering the tip of her sword angrily.

"Ah, what was that I heard? Did a sweet voice just say that I was missed?"

Erutis looked up at the familiar voice, the look of happiness too plain on her face. When she realized what she had just let slip though, her frustration took over and she struck out with a fist, sensing his presence close to her.

Her arm met the air and she placed a hand on the hilt of her sword. The coward! "Come out!" She ordered the empty air.

She would have sworn he was right there next to her, teasing her, but maybe she had imagined it. Despite that though, her features were still set angrily, fiercely she glared around, hand still on her sheathed sword, ready to loose it on him if he appeared.

"Coward!" She called into the empty halls, hearing her voice reverberate and echo back at her several million times over before it fell silent again. The night pressed in and she was aware of fatigue clawing at her.

She wanted to stay and find him, but sleep was a priority and their fight could wait. Making a small 'hmph' she dropped her fighting posture and stomped off, wary of any further sign of him. What was the dirty bastard scheming?

Still angry, Erutis plopped down on her bed, glaring at the ceiling. She had changed out of her swordsmens clothes and now lay in a long white night dress that she frequently used to sleep in at night.

She felt angry still and overwhelming anxious to see him again. She told herself that the reason she desired to see him so much was so that she could finally strike him down, but something else kept nagging at her, that that was not truth. That since the first day living in the castle her mind had changed. She hoped that was not true and forced herself to believe otherwise. It would not do for her to become friends with her enemy, let alone fall for him.

She wrinkled her nose at the thought. No, she would die before that happened. She would be eaten alive by the lowest-ranking monster before she let herself fall that far.

Still in a turmoil-filled stupor, she fell asleep, one arm bent behind her head as she lay on one side. Her breath eased soon and her brow stopped wrinkling. She looked calm and peaceful, and for once like she was vulnerable rather than the hard sword fighter that she maintained the appearance of.

As she slept a figure appeared near the window, shrouded in moonlight and pulling off the 'mysterious watcher' effect very well.

He came closer and looked down on her, reaching out with one hand, he stroked aside the little bangs that obscured her face somewhat. Upon contact her sleeping face changed and she turned, fidgeting, as if she were struggling to try and hit him. She calmed after a moment of this and he smirked to himself.

"What a strange girl you are." He commented before bending and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

Again Erutis made a face, but this time she did not struggle and lay still. Smirking he shook his head before walking back toward the window and disappearing into thin air.

"So she misses me, does she?"

Erutis woke to the sound of an irritably loud voice shouting, the annoying sounds echoing in the halls. It wasn't even first sunlight yet when she glanced up at the window, and her head felt heavy with the lack of sleep. Glaring through bleary eyes, Erutis got up and stumbled to the door, not yet registering the voice that continued to shout something she didn't quite understand.

Thrusting the door open, she stomped out and let out a loud scream that cut through the other voice like a knife and startling the speaker into silence. "Shut up! Some people like to sleep at regular hours!"

Immediately the clunk of boots hurried toward her voice. "Goblin King!" Bellowed a familiar voice. Erutis' head started to hurt as she recalled who the owner was.

As he rounded the corner, she spotted him, decked out in his heavy clerical robes and his black hair a mop on his head. She knew he probably never combed his hair, seeing as it always appeared unruly.

In one hand was a large staff, one that showed his rank as a low-level cleric, though he still was destined to be the one to takeover the highest order some day. She inwardly scoffed as she recalled this fact about him. The boy called Chris was highly immature and was obsessed with fighting and killing off Demon Lord's so as to swell his own prowess. He had a mighty ego, and she briefly wondered if it was as big as the Goblin King's was.

He stopped mid-step; his foot coming down with a heavy 'bang' that echoed through the silence between them. Erutis watched him with casual sleepiness, rubbing at one eye lazily as Chris continued to just stare at her with wide eyes.

"E-Erutis?" He finally choked out, pointing at her with one shaky finger in disbelief.

"What?" Erutis grumped, not at all surprised to see him. She had known in some recess of her mind that he would appear at one time or another - it was inevitable - the only question had been 'when'.

His mouth opened a strange sound came out, as if he were attempting to imitate a parrot's squawk, his finger was starting to shake more erratically, moving his arm and shoulder with it. "What are you doing here?"

"I was sleeping." Erutis stressed the past tense very heavily.

"No, I mean, what are you doing here, sleeping, and. . .and. . ." He looked as if he might hyperventilate.

Erutis sighed, rubbing her forehead with one hand, she had hoped he wouldn't be such an idiot. "Hold on, let me get dressed before you go off on idiot mode much longer."

He didn't even seem to hear or notice her as he continued to blather to himself. Erutis returned only a few moments later in her swordsmen's clothes to find him in much the same position. One eyebrow twitched as she watched him.

"Calm down." She ordered, giving him a karate-chop to the head.

Chris's head snapped back and immediately he seemed fine again, though now he was angry. "Everybody back at the village has been worried about you and here you are living it up in the castle with him!" He accused as soon as he got his ground back.

Erutis looked at him through dull, half-open eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"You!" He pointed the clerical staff at her sharply. She took no notice of it as a threat and continued to stare at him as if she could really care less.

"Yeah, but what are you telling me about those villagers? They might wonder where I am, but they certainly wouldn't have worried. I think they'd actually enjoy the idea of me being dead." She half-joked.

The villagers liked her well enough, but she had been the cause for a lot of ruckus around the town lately, seeing as she was a female swordsman and that trade was all but forbidden to women. The fact that she was a woman daring to be a swordsman - and a sword master at that – had been the reason that several bandit leaders came to pay her an unneeded visit. She doubted that they had even sent out a search party for her for more than a day or two when she had not returned on schedule.

"Wait," Chris suddenly stopped his accusations, and brought his staff back to his side, looking around suspiciously. "Is he still alive?" He asked, leaning close to Erutis who gave him a curious look.

"Of course. You can still feel his aura, can't you?" As a cleric and she a high-ranking sword master, they could both sense the aura of the Goblin King in the castle. Though it would take forever to pinpoint exactly where he was on the castle grounds with how little training they had both had in the art.

He rounded on her again. "Then what are you doing here just lying around!" He demanded, waving his staff at her again.

Erutis became vexed and shook her fist at him. "You think I'd just be lolly-gagging around if I knew where he is!"

"It looks like that's what you're doing to me!"

"What was that?" Erutis shouted before jumping him, waving her sword above her head. Chris met at, bringing his staff up to protect him. The little spat continued the two of them just wearing the other down without causing any real harm.

When the pair finally broke apart from the violent disagreement, they were panting and watching each other with narrowed eyes.

Chris dragged the back of one arm across his forehead as he gasped for air. "I think you've gotten rusty just lying around, Erutis." He smirked.

"You're one to talk, you're as worn as me." She returned, knowing that it was true. She would have to start training herself harder from now on; she couldn't afford to fall behind now.

"Where is he?" Chris asked, coming out of his crouched fighting position to look about him slowly. He obviously had lost interest in feuding with Erutis.

Erutis stood as well and rubbed a hand through her hair, ruffling it sleepily. "How should I know? Ever since I got my sword back he hasn't shown his face."

Chris didn't ask what she meant by 'since I got my sword back' and Erutis was glad, she didn't feel like explaining that situation to someone like him. Instead he made a disappointed face and slouched down to the floor, arms and legs crossed and chin on his chest. "He's a coward. He ran away from Erutis, so he must be a coward."

"Shut up, nobody asked you!" Erutis yelled at him, but he took no notice, he just continued to pout.

"I am not a coward." Krayon's voice suddenly boomed through the hallways.

Chris looked up, shocked as he heard that and was soon on his feet, holding his clerical staff aloft. "The Goblin King?" He said more for his own benefit than anyone else.

Erutis rolled her eyes; the Goblin King was all about showing off on any occasion that presented itself and Chris was playing right into it. Still, this was the opportunity she had been waiting for, the chance to fight him at last!

There was a puff of showy smoke that sparkled and sparked, flares shooting out and dancing down extravagantly through the air. In the middle of the perfume cloud sat Krayon in mid air, smirking down at them. His cloak billowed with the help of magical spirits and the two little stars under his eye seemed to sparkle with their own magic. His eyes glistened and his earrings flashed as they caught the morning light.

Yes, he was milking it for all it was worth all right. Chris gawked, but Erutis just stared dully, arms crossed over her chest.

"If it's a fight you want, I'm right here."

Finally updated, sorry about the long wait everyone.I'm a bit of a slacker and very lazy, so I have been shirking my author's duties lately. repeated bowing Gomen nasai!

Anyway, I'm hoping to spend more time on the curse and Eru-chan and Kra-chan's relationship after this. Yes! Chris ahs finally come in! But will he fight the Goblin King or will he prove to just be in the way of Kra-chan's infatuation with Eru-chan? evil grin We shall hopefully find out in the next chapter. . .

Thanks for the reviews and your patience, minna-san. I appreciate all your support and help as I continue with this little fiction here.

See you all next chapter! Happy Easter!

Review Please.