"Are you a boy or a girl?"
The question in common language hung in the air, filled with surprise and confusion. It was early afternoon, and Nita, who was passing through the stalls in the goblin village market, froze when she heard it. She turned around, her eyes meeting the gaze of a stranger — a human. He was standing tall among the surrounding goblins, whom she had only recently started to outgrow. The man was slender, with a beard and tanned skin that seemed unusual to her. He wore a tattered cloak over his shoulders, and his shirt, once white, was now gray and torn as if it had weathered many storms. His dark hair was damp and matted from saltwater. Nita stared at him silently, her heart beginning to beat faster. Thoughts raced through her mind — should she run? Should she stay? Was he really human? Why was he talking to the goblins? Why was he talking to HER?
The man took a few steps closer and bent down slightly to get a better look at her. He was clearly confused, maybe even a little shocked, to find a human child in such an unusual place among goblins.
"A girl!" he exclaimed, with a mix of surprise and amusement.
Nita didn’t wait for his next words. She cautiously stepped back, then quickly turned and ran. The man reached out, but she was too quick, darting away before his fingers could grasp her. She heard him call after her, but the words were lost in the blur as she sprinted up the narrow path leading home. The faster she ran, the more she feared someone was chasing her. Her short hair stuck to her forehead as her bare feet silently struck the stones and hard ground beneath them. Like the goblins, she had long since given up wearing shoes, and now her feet felt light and agile—she barely noticed the scrapes from the rough terrain. She was too scared to slow down or look back to see if he was following. It didn’t matter. She had to get home.
She barely paused when she threw open the gate and rushed into the garden. She would have kept running straight into the house if she hadn’t collided with Rem, who was carrying a basket of herbs. She felt a solid impact and then a flash of light as she fell backward to the ground.
"What’s gotten into you?!" he snapped angrily as he bent down to gather the scattered plants.
"Human!" she gasped, trying to catch her breath.
Rem stood up sharply, his eyes narrowing. "Where?"
"At the harbor!"
He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet. "Was he chasing you?"
"I don’t know!" she sobbed, distraught.
Rem muttered something unintelligible. She could see his eyes flashing with so much an anger and hatred she hadn’t seen in a long time.
"Go wash up and treat those—" he pointed to her scraped feet, "—then clean up this mess."
He turned away from her abruptly and ran out of the garden.
He needed to see for himself.
Maybe he would have reacted more calmly — he might have even laughed at the girl’s silly fear — if it hadn’t been for the letter that had been burning a hole in his shirt pocket for weeks. With every step towards the harbor, his worries grew—worries that had plagued his mind since the moment he read those lines and refused to leave him.
His hand touched the pocket where he kept the letter. Old acquaintances had described the situation on the other continent so darkly that even Rem himself hadn’t expected something like that could happen. The Elders, once powerful beings who were the foundation of all traditions and magic in this world, were now in danger themselves. The letter mentioned conflicts that had broken out between the Elders and humans. There had even been pogroms against the wolf riders’ nation, with elves and fairies siding with the humans. Fairies! Those small, kind souls had taken part in the killings and land grabs?
His old, wrinkled hand clenched the parchment through the fabric of his shirt as if he could stop all the ominous thoughts swirling in his head. Who was this man who appeared just now, here of all places? A messenger, a spy, or even a harbinger of a larger invasion? He had seen Nita, and Nita—
He stopped short and looked up at the sky, his thoughts interrupted.
The heavens were clear, a brilliant blue, far from the color of the girl’s eyes. Sometimes he felt a strange fondness and gratitude toward that small human chick, but...
Nita was human.
He sighed deeply and continued to the harbor. Even from a distance, he could see that an unfamiliar ship was docked at the pier. It was a sturdy, mid-sized sailing ship with a dark wooden hull that showed signs of many months at sea. It was undecorated, except for a faded flag flying from the mast. As he got closer, he could make out the emblem of a human kingdom on the flag — a shield with a crown. Unconsciously, his lips twisted into a grimace of disgust.
There was a lot of activity on the pier. Several goblins were carrying wooden crates and sacks to the ship, which human sailors were taking from them. A burly man on deck barked orders at them, directing where the goods should be stored.
"-bring wealth to all who are ready to trade."
Rem caught a snatch of conversation, and a shiver ran down his spine. In a daze, he approached one of the goblins who was leaning against the wall of a house, watching the commotion on the pier with narrowed eyes.
"Kerd, what do they want?"
The other goblin spat. "To establish a colony. They’re sailing along the coast to the north, looking for the best spot."
"And these?" Rem gestured toward the goblins on the dock, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Trading." Kerd glanced at Rem. "You can’t forbid them. We can’t avoid humans in this world, and you know it."
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Rem growled.
"They asked about your little one," Kerd continued mockingly.
"What did you tell them?"
"The truth. That you dragged her here from who knows where. They plan to come back for her."
Rem froze, staring at Kerd’s face.
"Don’t look at me like that. Did you think that teaching her a few words would make her accepted here? They’ve left her alone so far because they found her amusing."
Rem’s eyes narrowed. "She hasn’t done you any harm," he hissed angrily through clenched teeth.
"But she doesn’t belong here. She’ll never be a goblin."
That sentence struck Rem harder than he expected. She doesn’t belong here, but... but!
"Tomorrow, a ship heading to Harvena will arrive," Kerd placed a hand on Rem’s shoulder and added quietly, "Think about it."
It was well-meant advice, but with a sting of venom.
The ship was ready to depart. The sails were unfurled, and the crew was finishing the final preparations. Memories of seeing similar ships filled with people who came as traders but left as conquerors surfaced in his mind. Every ship that departed knowing about the goblin village was a danger. And worse—he realized that Nita could be the very reason humans might return. Not as friends, but as a threat.
"Gwaech."
Kerd chuckled at his curse.
The ship began to move away, the sails straining under the wind’s pressure. Rem suddenly felt very old. Without a word of farewell, he turned away from Kerd and began the slow walk back home. The sun was sinking toward the hills, and shadows accompanied him on the road, not just in his mind. That little foolish human girl. If only she hadn’t been so curious and stayed out of the village...
Nita was sitting at the table, looking like a bundle of misery when Rem opened the door heavily. She looked up at him, and in that single glance, she understood. She couldn’t stay here.
"Pack your things," he said simply. There was none of his usual sarcasm.
The girl just nodded silently, grabbed one of his travel bags, and disappeared into the storeroom. Rem followed her. She was packing her spare shirt into the bag.
"I’m giving you a choice. We can move higher into the mountains. Or head south, beyond the marshes."
She hesitated, then pulled a notebook from a hiding place beneath the straw and tucked it into the bag.
Rem smirked inwardly at her hesitation, which revealed that she didn’t want him to know about her hiding spot. But his voice was tired as he continued. "Or we can board the ship to Harvena tomorrow. It’s a neutral city, and someone there owes me a favor. They can get you to Rovisk."
She stopped packing and straightened up. "To the Kljatvoložecs?"
He nodded. "As I told you, the decision is yours. But we have to leave tomorrow."
He tapped his foot on the ground and frowned as if he wanted to say something more. Nita watched his hand as it briefly touched the pocket of his shirt. The goblin took a deep breath but then let his hand drop, shaking his head, and walked away.
Nita collapsed onto her straw bed, staring at the shelves lined with flasks and herbs. Why do I have to decide? she thought. If we leave together, he’ll have to abandon all of this. I’m a burden to him.
She covered her eyes with her hands and took a shaky breath.
If I went to the humans...
She was scared. After spending so much time with Rem, she had lost all ties to humans. The human lands were enemy lands to her. And yet, if she left, she could become someone... someone strong...
Her heart pounded with tension, and as night fell, she managed to sleep only in a restless, exhausting slumber, waking up repeatedly. Even in her dreams, she was constantly haunted by thoughts, weighing the pros and cons of both possible decisions. Dawn felt like a release.
She found Rem sitting by one of the bushes in the garden. His vacant gaze was fixed somewhere among the blooming herbs.
"Rovisk. I want to go to Rovisk."
Rem closed his eyes and nodded. "Do you have everything packed?"
She murmured in agreement.
With a sigh, he stood up and headed towards the house. "We’ll leave right away and wait at the harbor."
"How long will the journey take?"
"To Rovisk? A long time. To Harvena, a few days."
"Will you sail to Rovisk with me?"
"No."
She hesitated. She had expected this answer but hoped for a different one.
"Eat something-" he waved towards the table, where a few slices of bread lay. "—and let’s go."
She quickly ate, grabbed her things, and then left the house with Rem. He didn’t lock the door — there was no lock on it.
That morning was stifling. The sun’s rays reflected off the sea’s surface, making Nita squint whenever she looked out over the water. They walked in silence, the only sounds were the calls of waking world — the hum of insects, the rustle of leaves, and the distant cries of birds. She looked back several times. She felt sad about leaving. But in the village, her sadness faded — something was different. She could sense that the other goblins’ gazes had changed when they looked at her. She couldn’t describe it, but despite the heat, it made her shiver. It felt as if the scent of seawater, mixed with the stench of seaweed and fish, was suffocating her today.
Rem sat on a low stone ledge lining the edge of the pier, while Nita paced nervously, waiting for the ship.
"Sit down," Rem growled at her. Her nervousness annoyed him.
She obeyed but still fidgeted.
The sun was starting to burn. When the ship’s outline appeared on the horizon around noon, she jumped to her feet. As the ship drew closer, the activity around the pier also changed — the goblins began preparing barrels of salted fish and carried crates of handicrafts onto the pier.
The ship approached, and Nita found herself breathing shallowly and quickly. Rem remained seated calmly until the ship docked and the goblins exchanged goods. Only then did he get up from his spot.
"Stay here," he ordered Nita and headed towards the ship.
The wooden gangway leading to the deck looked unstable, but Rem moved across it with confidence. Nita watched as he spoke to someone on deck. It wasn’t a goblin or a human — it was a tall creature with large, pale eyes and an expressionless face. Sunlight occasionally reflected off scales on its arms. It accepted a few coins from Rem and began calling out melodic orders to the goblin crew.
Rem waved at her to join him. She cautiously walked up the wooden plank onto the ship. Rem grabbed her by the arm and led her to the stern, where the cabins were.
"They have space. If the weather holds, we’ll be in Harvena in six days."
"What is that?" she whispered, nodding towards the creature Rem had spoken to.
"Nokken. And the ship’s captain, who’ll drown you if you keep asking questions."
Rem looked serious, and Nita swallowed her other questions.
Their cabin was tiny, with only two narrow bunks made of wooden planks suspended on chains. The cramped space made her uneasy, and she asked Rem if they could stay outside on the deck instead. He agreed. When the ship finally set sail from the shore, Nita stood by the railing, watching as the goblin village slowly faded into the distance. Rem stood silently beside her, frowning. She could read worry and something she didn’t understand in his expression.
"You look sad."
He nodded. "I was thinking about my third name."
"Refugee? But you’ll come back, won’t you?"
"For a time, yes," he said quietly.
She wanted to ask more, but something in his expression made her hold her tongue. So they stood together in silence, watching the village until it disappeared from view.
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