Leena’s head throbbed when her consciousness started to awaken. She wanted to vomit again. She tried to move her arms, but they weren’t working. Her legs were locked in place. Panic crawled up her spine, and she flipped open her eyes and saw nothing.

“Is she one of them, Braff?” cackled a rough voice. She froze.

“I don’t know. But she is pretty, ain’t she, sir?” said a hoarse voice. Leena shut her eyes. Who were these people? What had happened? Bo! What did you do? He flicked her in the forehead! That little…

Leena wanted to scream, struggle, and hit him, but instead terror caused her to stiffen, her limbs frozen against her body. Ropes! She was tied up!

“Well, I don’t know if I want to buy her,” said the voice roughly.

“This is a bargain, Sman. Give her to your uncle as a present for losing his special secret,” Braff begged.

“I told you someone stole it from me! What was I to do? He was bigger!” argued Sman.

“Stolen? You stole it from your uncle! You are the thief!” spoke Braff accusingly.

“I…well, I…Oh forget it. But if you find that…that boy. You better bring him here!”

“Well…won’t you buy her now? It should please your uncle.”

“Listen, I’ll buy her if you give her to me at half price,” the rough voice mumbled.

“No! No! Not half price. Meat is expensive!”

“All right. All right, ten moonstones. Let me take the wheelbarrow,” replied Sman, sounding a bit exasperated.

Leena was sold.

Ugh. What was happening? Where was Bo? What did Bo do to her? Did he…

Oh no.

Did he sell her? To…this person? Did Bo sell her?

Leena felt herself being jounced about. Wheels squeaked, rubbing against the cart and navigating over bumps. It smelled of blood and dust; metal and smoke. The ropes cut into her wrists. Her arms were also bound close to her, and she felt a sharp jab in her side like something was poking her. Her feet were bound at the ankle.

The headache got worse, like a knife piercing both her eyes. She kept her eyes shut, the pain causing a wave of nausea to shiver through her body. All she could really do was to lay still and wait, trying to be as comfortable as possible.

At last, Leena stopped bouncing so suddenly. She felt herself being lifted roughly by gripping hands and dropped on the ground. Pain tore through her arm as she landed on her shoulder. Struggling to hold back a shout of pain, it came out as more of a loud mumble.

“We going to have some fun?” asked someone.

“She alive, Sman?” asked another coarse voice excitedly.

“I reckon. She’s for Uncle, only for Uncle,” the familiar voice said. Then someone sniggered, and Leena listened to the shifting of multiple people.

“Okay, okay, let’s take her to the king,” the second voice snickered. Someone cut off the ropes on her feet, and she gathered whatever she energy she could and started to kick out, struggling to get to her feet. A couple of hits landed before someone fell heavily on her feet, locking them into place. The nausea got worse, expanding through her whole body, and she started dry heaving on her side, spitting up the water she had drank earlier.

She forced her eyes open to look at her captors.

Wait.

What?

She saw that these were not men but ugly creatures. They had greenish brown skin and their noses were long and pointy. Their clothes were made of leaves and skins, worn out like loose paper. They were a bit shorter than she was, but they towered over her with menacing teeth and sneering lips, drool glistening like rabid animals. And their eyes were black, like abyssal holes in their faces.

They must be goblins.

Oh no.

This was the goblin village, she realized as she focused on the small huts and wooden lean-tos before her. Bo was supposed to be here to get food. Where was he?

“Wake up, meat?” sneered one of them. Leena recognized it was Sman, the one who bought her.

“Come along now,” Sman snickered. The other few goblins just stood there, grinning; the one grabbing her legs let go and kicked at her with a bare foot. Sman seized her hurt arm, his fingers digging into her skin, and she yelped. The pain was next to intolerable with her migraine, and Leena held back whimpers as Sman boorishly dragged her to the door of a straw hut.

The door was merely a dirty covering of fabric, tattered and decayed, much like the rest of the hut. Twigs were poking out at odd angles and part of the roof was caved in. A smell like iron wafted into her nostrils and caused her to gag.

The dimness was welcome to her eyes compared to the brightness of the outside that exacerbated her headache. Small candles lined the hut, glowing faintly, and illuminated a wooden throne upon which was the ugliest creature Leena had ever laid eyes on.

It was a far, bulbous creature with a long, pointy nose. The tattered skins and fabric barely covered the rolls of fat, and his greenish skin was covered in boils and sores. An evil stench filled her nostrils and brought flashes of disease and death through her mind’s eye. His teeth were black and rotted, like mushrooms in the woods, like fungus on a tree, in his cavernous mouth.

The great creature leaned forward, shaking, creaking, and he laughed raucously. Leena felt the goblin beside her cower, pushing her forward.

“So, you come and brought me thief?” the king slurred, his rancid breath wafting towards them.

“N-no,” Sman stammered, “Found girl. Found meat. A gift, Uncle, for you.”

His uncle pointed out his finger at her, his whole arm shaking, “No! I wanted thief! I want thief!” Leena winced at the sound.

“Yes, yes, look for thief. We look for thief. We look now and still. We will find treasure. Please take gift, Uncle, please,” Sman simpered, pushing her closer towards the goblin king.

Leena realized then that his throne was littered with something in a circle. White things.

White and brown things. No.

She focused a bit harder.

Bones.

Bloody bones.

She really was meat.