It had been less than a week since Viktor had met the Demon Queen. Her claim of the Goblins' eradication had sent him, and Lily, scouring the lands in search of their people. And after two long days of searching he found what remained of the Goblins taking shelter in a hidden cave.
Devastation. That is what Viktor felt at that moment. Three. Other than Lily and himself there were only three Goblins left in the world. One was a fatally injured old man who coud neither see nor hear, a pregnant woman, and the last a young woman.
The women cowered in the depths of the cave when they realized Viktor was standing near the entrance. The old man was completely unaware but coud also quite possibly dead from his injuries.
Viktor felt his back slide down the cave wall as the reality of this new world hit him. 'This is it? This is all that's left of a once great people. A dying old man and two terrified women sitting in a corner? ' His eyes closed as he lightly rapped the back of his head against the wall.
He stopped as two small hands held his head still. Opening his eyes he saw Lily standing infront of him with tears in her eyes and a quivering bottom lip. He gave a mall sigh as she sat down in his lap and buried her head in his chest. She never liked to see Viktor hurting himself and he took care not to. At least never in front of her as the result would be this. 'Such a sweet child. Marianne would have loved her....'
Outside of the cave a thunderstorm began to give way to a torrential downpour that Viktor couldn't see letting up anytime soon. After a crash of lightning and the deafening 'BOOM' that follwed, accompanied by Lily giving out a tiny 'eep', Viktor decided to ride out the storm.
----------------------------------------
In the month they had known each other Lily had quickly grown to like having Viktor around. He played games with her and taught her about the cool things that she could do with the glowy stuff that came from her hands. She never felt alone when he was there and he never hurt her.
When she got hungry he would feed her and teach her how he made the food so that she could try the next time. When she was cold they would sleep together next to the fire he made and tell her stories of 'the old days'. Although Lily didn't understand what 'the old days' were, she thought that the things in the stories sounded like fun. Her favorite story was the one about the magic lamp and the boy who freed the genie trapped inside.
The only problem she had was when she would wake up in the middle of the night and see Viktor staring sadly into the fire. She couldn't understand why he was so sad when she couldn't be having a better time learning and playing with him.
When it happened the first time she didn't know what to do. Lily was upset that Viktor was sad but she'd never really been cared for herself so she didn't know how to handle it when someone close to you was sad. So she did the only thing she could. Whenever Viktor would get sad or hurt himself, whether it be accidental or not, she would get sad as well.
Lily thought it to be a great solution because when she would get sad for Viktor, he would put on a warm smile give her a tight hug until she wasn't sad anymore. Of course she only thought it was working because on the outside he made it seem like it was. He didn't have the heart to burst her bubble with the fact that he could read her like a book. But on the inside he would wallow in the remains of what once was. His old life was gone. Friends, family, achievements. All of which meant nothing facing the progression of time and the passing of those who would remember such things.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Such a sad fate for one who led his life the Goblin way. A life of compassion and brotherhood. Of forgiveness and understanding.
'No more.' As he sat there comforting Lily from the 'scary sounds' outside of the cave, he came to a decision. On his mission to secure what little remained of his people he saw what the world of the future had to offer him and those of his kind: Survivors. Not just of the world but of the creatures and danger that lie within.
'This world has become corrupted and I will not stand for it. I look around and what I see is sickening. An old man beaten within an inch of his life, a pregnant woman with no mate to help raise their children or protect their family from the harsh world that awaits them, a young woman left to face a world that has no tolerance for her or her kind, and a sweet little girl who has much life left to live yet is completely unaware of what living is.'
As he begins to make plans and decide the next move he slowly get up being careful not to wake the sleeping form of Lily. He conjures a soft bed and tucks her in while also covering the entrnace of the cave with thick vines that keep the cold night's rain and wind outside and away from them.
He moves towards the old man and runs a diagnostic spell on him. The results are saddening but expected and Viktor does what he can to relieve the old man of his pain so he can at least die comfortably. Afterwards he looks towards the back of the cave and realizes thereisn't much light to see.
From the ground sprouts severla dozen faintly glowing crystals to luminate the cave. He sees the tow women still huddled together in the corner slightly shivering. 'Poor younglings' Viktor thinks as he walks towards them.
Seeing the strange Goblin walking towards them they prepare for the worst. Ever since maturing they were both subjected to the men of their tribe taking advantage of them. As they knew no better they thought that nothing would be different with his apparant interest in them.
Both closed their eyes and waited for one of the two to be grabbed and taken forcefully. After a few moments of waiting they opened their eyes only to see him standing there with a scowl on his face. At first they thought he was waiting for them to make the first move, as they had been trained to do in the past, the non pregnany one made a move to get up but suddenly found herself covered by a large cloth.
"Even though the back of the cave is warmer than the front it's still a little too cold for you ladies to have no covering."
This mystified the two women for several reasons. This strange Goblin front of them spoke so well for a...well, a Goblin. The other male Goblins from their tribe spoke poorly and butchered their sentences horribly. The women in this tribe were semi-articulate because they were taken from other tribes as tribute and those tribes were more focused on surviving through knowledge and wits rather than the conquering other tribes. (A/N Think of the conquering tribe like the Roman Empire. It grew too large to manage itself and when the subjugation started they fell quickly and violently.)
The other reason was that they didn't know that a Goblin could show such compassion. Goblins for the most part were violent, angry, and lustful creatures running solely on desire. Rather than speaking and risk upsetting this strange man, they merely nodded their heads and covered themselves with the blanket.
Silently the bed near the vines at the mouth of the cave levitated, as well as the old man, and were brought near Viktor and the two women. Both were placed on the ground gently while Viktor pointed a finger at the stack of wood he conjured and started a blue fire that radiated warmth to those surrounding it. The flame itself was not hot but the magic it shed gave a comforting feeling that put everybody to sleep.
Viktor sighed as he watched the two girls huddled in the corner start to doze off and then the old man lying next to the fire breathing his last few even breaths. He walked over to the old man and whispered in his ear "May the afterlife bring you the comfort you never knew in the waking world. Mors Pacificae."
Tears flowed freely down his face as the old man left this world and rose to the next. He thanked the Higher Powers that Lily was asleep so she couldn't see him cry. But if he was totally honest with himself.... " A hug wouldn't be too bad right about now."
And sure enough, like an answer to his prayers, he felt two tiny arms wrap around him from the side. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, conjured a blanket and two large pillows, and drifted off into a pleasant slumber. Blissfully unaware of the encroaching danger the rising sun will bring.