Angel Monarch

"So... You aren't really a goblin lady. That's good, since I don't like your kind much. One of my good friends had suffered by their hands for quite a long time, and I love to help my friend get her revenge!"

The goblin woman stared and Kim with widened eyes, then burst into laughter. It had the undertone of the usual goblin cackle, but it was also like how humans laughed. It was a strange mix.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I hate goblins more than anybody on Earth. She suffered by their hands for years, imagined becoming one of them... Also, I'm not a lady, just so you know."

She... He felt a bit embarrassed saying that last line, which made Kim even more curious.

She looked the goblin up and down once more. Kim miss-gendered him, because all the other members in the Warlord's harem were female.

Also, he didn't look manly at all, but that can probably be attributed to his malnourished state. His voice also sounded higher pitched, like every goblin's.

"What's your name, anyway? I'm Kim." she said, then watched as the goblin carefully turned on the meat, so its other side would cook too.

"I don't remember my name before My Lord changed me... They named me Gnozz, so I guess that's my name."

His voice sounded depressed, but also hopeful. Kim stared at the goblin with narrowed eyebrows.

"Hmm... I don't like that name. It's weird... I rename you Sam!" she said with a giggle. The goblin's eyes went wide, then turned confused, and eventually he just nodded.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"What? You don't even try to argue?" The goblin shrugged with resignation, and while taking the rabbit off the flames, he said, "Since that's what my Lady decided, that's what it will be."

Kim had no idea what to say to that, so instead she watched in silence as the goblin took out a pair of wooden plates and placed parts of the still steaming rabbit on it.

He took out wooden utensils too and was about to hand Kim her plate when he realized she couldn't move.

His face started to get a reddish tint, and his eyes jumped around the room. He seemed to be embarrassed by something Kim didn't understand.

"You know, you will have to feed me. My hands are a bit inoperable at the moment, and I'm famished!"

Sam's face turned even redder. This was the first time Kim had ever seen a goblin blush, and she was hundred percent certain that he was the only one able to do it.

"That would be inappropriate, my Lady... It's considered an insult!"

Kim just sighed and shook her head. Finally, understand the issue... "I don't care about goblin traditions. I'm a human female, who is getting more and more annoyed... And why are you calling me 'Lady'?"

The goblin looked around the room uncomfortably, then stood up and walked to Kim's side with her plate. He cut a piece of meat off, then using a fork, he moved it towards Kim's mouth.

His hand trembled, and his expression was terrified, but Kim held back her laughter. Below the blanket her stomach basically roared for the nutrition, so she let the goblin feed her like a child.

She opened her mouth and Sam placed the meat inside with a reverent expression. He seemed to act like this was a holy ritual of sorts, which was strange.

After feeding her a few pieces of meat, he began answering her question...

"I saw you kill my previous Lord, which means by right you inherit everything he owned, including all the slaves, like myself... I also wanted to thank you for that... Warlord Oirim was a horrible owner. You will take much better care of me, hopefully!"

This wasn't an answer Kim had expected, and she felt her heart clench from Sam's voice. It was so full of sadness, resentment, and hope.

Kim spent a few seconds chewing and swallowing, then before taking the next bite, she said with a serious expression...

"I won't be your 'Lady'. I won't keep slaves..." she wanted to continue, but Sam's expression went pale, and he started crying.

"I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to offend you!.. Please, forgive me... It won't happen again!"

He said similar lines over and over, like he was begging for his life. For the hundredth time in the past over, Sam's strangeness bewildered Kim.

She didn't understand why Sam was apologizing so profusely, but she did hear one line in his insanity that caught her attention... 'Please, don't abandon me!'

Kim tried to produce her most comforting smile, and she used her kindest voice to interrupt his rambling.

"I'm not mad at you, Sam. And I will not abandon you... I can't even walk, so it's impossible for me to do so..."

"What I tried to tell you was that you won't be my slave. Because I free you!... You can stay with me, and we can be friends, but I won't order you to do anything!"

Sam's crying stopped abruptly, and he looked into Kim's eyes with a shocked and confused expression.

"Friend?... What is friend?" he said, then mouthed the word a few more times, like trying to remember its meaning.

It took him a few seconds to remember, and as the meaning appeared in his mind, he burst into tears again, but this time, she saw the bright smile on his face. It looked quite terrifying because of his pointed, rotting teeth, but she smiled back anyway.

With a sudden motion, he jumped on Kim, hugging her tightly. She was most surprised by the lack of putrid smell on him. He didn't smell like anything, which was unusual for a goblin.

He bawled his eyes out on her shoulder, then after a few minutes, moved away. Without a word, he lifted the plate back up and continued to feed Kim, but this time, a small smile rested on his face.

"Hey... Can I ask you a personal question?" said Kim after a few more bites.

"Sure thing... Friend!" as he said the word, he began to giggle uncontrollably. It was the sound that every goblin made, but on him it didn't sound scary or disgusting, but adorable.

"When did you get turned into a goblin?"

The question gave a stop to Sam and his smile retreated. His demeanor changed, and he turned much sadder.

Kim was about to retract her question when Sam lifted another piece of meat and began to tell his story.

"I don't know how long ago it was... I was a child when the Warlord took me into his harem and changed me... I don't remember much before changing. I remember a giant war that spread across Earth and I remember the Gates opening to different Realms..."

"When was that?" he asked after thinking back to those times, but Kim didn't answer. Her mouth hung open with surprise, and her eyes turned teary from sorrow.

"I'm so sorry Sam... That was 27 years ago... We call the time when the Gates opened, The Apocalypse, since it destroyed most of the world... You were taken when everything changed... You suffered for so much longer than I thought... I'm so sorry..."

She didn't know what else to say. During her 18 years, she heard countless accounts of people spending months in goblin camps. Those usually have a lifelong trauma, or more often, they simply kill themselves.

Astrid, her current best friend, only survived because she became obsessed with the idea of being indebted to Sera. She also had a lot of help, mostly from Lilith.

Kim didn't know anyone else who survived longer than Astrid... Until now...

Sam smiled with sadness and lifted another piece of meat.

"Don't be. It's over now. I won't ever go back there... I would rather die..."

He fed her in silence after that. It was awkward at first, but as time passed, they grew more comfortable in each other's presence.

Afterward, Sam washed the plate in a small pond, which Kim hadn't noticed. There was a small trickle of water filling it constantly.

He also brought a large cup full of water, which Kim drank without question. As an Ascended, she didn't have to worry about any mundane disease or contagion. She drank close to five cups before she was satisfied.

Sam then put the cup down and knelt next to Kim, his expression turning red again.

"I would like to check on your wound," he said, while looking away from Kim's wide eyes.

"Wound? I didn't even know I had a wound? How bad is it? Where is it?"

She bombarded him with a couple more questions, then waited for him to answer.

"It's your spine. Most of your vertebrae are dislocated. I am a Transcended and I have a healing ability, but it is difficult to heal your wound. This is why you can't move, by the way..."

"Your body was bruised all over, and most of your bones were broken when I found you. Since then I healed everything other than your spine, which is a very delicate procedure... So? Can I check on it?"

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Kim nodded.

Sam didn't waste time. He pulled the blanket from her naked body and laid it out next to the fire. Kim didn't even have time to be surprised, as Sam bent down and lifted her onto the blanket. He then turned her over, so she laid on her stomach.

Suddenly, it made sense why Sam blushed before asking her and she couldn't help but blush as well.

Kim didn't care who saw her naked, but even she wasn't comfortable with strangers touching her.

She felt Sam's hands touching all over her spine area, not missing any parts, even the ones that were dangerously close to her bottom.

She didn't even understand why she couldn't move, but she could feel. When she asked Sam about it, he knew neither, which was understandable. Just because he could heal, didn't make him a doctor.

He pressed his hands all over her back, which felt kind of like a massage.

After a few minutes, the Kim's well-fed and tired body couldn't take it anymore, and she fell asleep in comfort.