The Goblin King's Bride

Later that evening after putting Henry and Eloise to bed, Lilly decided to call her mom and tell her about her visit with Sarah. It was definitely an interesting experience. Her mom would like to know how her niece was doing. She lived in Florida with her rich husband and was too far away to visit the young girl. Lilly grabbed a cigarette from her half-empty pack and moved the phone closer to the backdoor where she got cozy in a lawn chair. She lit the cigarette after a few tries, it was pretty windy tonight. She dialed the number she knew by heart after taking a long drag.

“Honey?” Her mom answered cheerfully.

“Yeah, it’s me. Hey mom.”

“Oh goody,” her mom said before getting right to the point, “So how did your visit with Sarah go?”

“It went well for a total of ten minutes.” Lilly stated, sadness for her cousin tingeing her voice.

Lilly’s mom gasped, “Oh no, what happened?”

Lilly sighed.

“Just the usual. I gave her the Teddy Bear I got her and she was very happy… She named it Adelaide,” She didn’t know why, but she felt the need to throw that in there, “Then she asked about the kids. I messed up and mentioned that Eloise was crying a lot. That sent her into an episode then I left.”

“My God,” Lilly’s mom said, sounding concerned, “She’s worse than I thought.”

“Yeah, she was going on about how Toby was crying when she wished him away, then the Goblin King took him.” Lilly took a long drag before laughing, “Hell, the way she describes this Goblin King, I wouldn’t mind being kidnapped by him myself.”

“What do you mean?” Her mom asked curiously.

“She says he looks like David Bowie. I wish a Goblin King that looked like David Bowie would take me away from here. That sounds amazing.” Suddenly the sky lit up with lightening, accompanied by booming thunder then a snow-white owl flew over Lilly’s head causing her to jump and let out a little scream.

“Lilly? Are you okay?” Her mom asked, “why did you scream?”

“I’m fine, mom, some bird just frightened me,” She assured the older woman, “I should be going though, it’s beginning to storm and I’m sitting outside.”

“Yes, we wouldn’t want you getting struck by lightening. I will talk to you later, honey. Get inside and be safe.”

“I will, mom. Love you.” Lilly stomped out the cigarette and stared at the owl that was staring at her. She was incredibly creeped out by this bird, there was no way she was staying out here.

“Love you too. Bye.” They hung up the phone and Lilly practically ran into the house, locking the doors behind her.

It was completely dark in the small two bedroom flat. Both of the kids were sleeping, but Lilly couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. She stopped mid-step when she heard a creaking coming from the kitchen. Her heart-rate shot up as she stood there in the dark, afraid to turn the lights on. Suddenly there was a thump at the back door and she swung around, terrified to see the same white owl flying into the window.

All of a sudden the doors burst open and the owl flew in, flying in circles around the living room. The raging storm still going on outside, lightening was the only thing lighting up the house.

She tried not to scream and wake up the kids. It was just a bird that probably got lost in the storm, no big deal. Now, how was she to get it out of here? She opened the broom closet slowly, trying to keep her sights on the owl flying around her flat, and nearly jumped out of her skin when something small and furry ran out. She could’ve sworn it was giggling, but she told herself to calm down, that it was just a rat. She grabbed the broom that she was looking for. She was going to use it to chase the owl out through the back door. She turned around, sneakily looking around for the owl, now yielding a broom, ready to go after it. She turned her head left, nothing, then right, still nothing. She crept around the corner of the wall that separated the living room and the kitchen. She shrieked when she found a man standing there and not an owl.

“Hello,” The figure said in what was obviously an English accent, “Lillian.”

He knew her name. He was surely here to kill her. She started hyperventilating, her whole body became tingly, and the next thing she knew she was falling to the floor.