Key To A Goblin's Heart

Narrator's POV

As Jake stood in the meadow searching for the source of the scream he found a dejected Knight in the ground, along with a sword lying next to him. Upon taking a careful look at the sword and at the person, he realised that it was none other than Maland. However, something struck him differently. Maland appeared younger, and his right hand… it was devoid of any scar or any degeneration.

Jake walked slowly, unsure of whether or not he should say anything. Seeing him there, recalling his experience up until this time Jake realised that they were still stuck in the Enchanted Forest. "Hey" Jake finally called out to him. Maland who was lost in his own thoughts came back to reality. Turning around he realised that he was in a completely different environment.

"Who are you"? The young Maland asked. Somehow Maland felt as if he recognised the young boy in front of him, and yet somehow he felt like a stranger.

"I am Jake" Jake frowned. How could it be that Maland completely forgot who he is. Was he under some kind of memory spell?

"Who now?" he frowned. His dejected expression was slowly morphing into anger.

"Jake. Jacob Brooks. Mike's friend" Jake tried again.

"Mike"? He frowned. So he didn't recognize Mike either. Guessing from his appearance and his apparent age, Jake decided to think of someone whom Maland might recognize.

"Cassie"? Maland's frown deepened further. "Cassendrei, the princess of Maefhaelore"? Jake explained. 

"Yes, the one who betrayed us". Maland mumbled. 

"She didn't betray you! She was tricked" Jake defended immediately. 

"Yes, so I have heard" Maland mumbled, unsure.

"Well, I am her boyfriend's friend," Jake explained.

Maland assumed an alert position, ready to attack him any minute, "You're Magnus' henchmen"

"What" Jake blinked and then he realised that Maland presumed that the boyfriend Jake was talking about is Magnus, which makes sense since Maland is unaware of who Mike is. "Noooo"! He screamed. "Mike! Mike is Cassie's boyfriend. Not Magnus. Well, from your perspective, a future boyfriend, but…" He halted mid-rant and sighed. It all seemed so pointless.

"Oh god. I don't even know what's real anymore" Jake groaned. He knew he was seeing stuff, but how much of it was real, and how much of it he was seeing was beyond him. "Are you even real"? He asked Maland directly. 

Maland looked at him skeptically, wondering if Jake was mentally challenged or not. Perhaps he was completely insane. Never has he seen anyone in his entire life who was this ridiculous, asking him whether he was real or not, questioning his existence like that. The only explanation to his behaviour was that Jake either was hit on the head or was hallucinating because of some shock in the ongoing war.

"I don't have time for this nonsense. I need to leave" Maland declared.

"And go where"? Jake challenged.

"Out of here, where I can stop being a liability" He declared, showing his darkened right hand. Jake was stunned as a few moments ago his hand was completely normal. Did he miss something in these few seconds? Soon, it was Maland's turn to be surprised as his hand healed spontaneously and then again darkened. 

"Is that… supposed to happen"? A confused Jake asked.

"Not according to my knowledge. What are you doing? You vile sorcerer."! Maland spat at Jake.

"Me"? Jake blinked before he burst into manic laughter. "Man, I wish. Unfortunately, I am the only one out here who is normal."

"Insane people often feel that way" Maland countered before walking away.

"Wait"! Jake ran after him, and stopped him once more. "Just… hear me out. What do you remember last"?

"Why should I share my personal details with a stranger like you"? Maland scoffed.

"I know you think I am a stranger, but I am not." Jake sighed desperately. "You are Maland, the brave knight who lost his hand in the war, who would do anything to protect the people of his kingdom. You are the knight who always puts other people first"! Jake declared, trying to convince Maland that they in fact knew each other.

"A lot of people know that. I happen to be a known figure" Maland declared.

"Ughh" Jake groaned. He took a breath and looked Maland into the eyes, those stern unapologetic eyes. "Look, I know you don't recognise me, but deep down… really really deep down, don't I seem familiar? Like… you might have met me somewhere, even a brief glance perhaps."? Jake asked.

Maland blinked. He was going to deny it right away… but he couldn't. Jake was right. Through this awful nonsense, Jake did seem familiar to him. But then again, why would he know someone like Jake? How can he ever be acquainted with such a ridiculous person at all. 

Before he could process his thoughts further, before their conversation could escalate, a sudden rustling noise diverted Maland's attention. Like an instinct he shielded Jake with his own body and looked around for any signs of danger. "You'll protect someone insane like me," Jake snorted.

"Shut up"! Maland snarled once he spotted a few Hobgoblins on their way. Jake's eyes widened recalling his near death experience. If this was all fake, could he die here? Even if he did, will he die out there as well? All the sci-fi movies he had witnessed seemed to be indicating that his death here would be permanent.

Maland drew his sword in his left hand and sliced the hobgoblin in half once it was nearby. "We need to move, it'll be alive again" Jake swatted Maland's arm, urging him to run.

"How do you possibly know that"? Maland asked.

"This is not my first time with Hobgoblins. I almost died the last time. Let's go"! Jake urged. Seeing the two pieces of severed Hobgoblins, Maland presumed that Jake was not wrong about this one. He nodded and made a run for it. Jake seemed quite fast but he was also the first one to run out of breath.

"You are tired already, what a weak Goblin you are" Maland commented, waiting for him to catch his breath.

"I am not a Goblin, you Goblin."! Jake huffed. "I am just a regular human being," Jake informed him.

"A human" Maland froze. "What are you doing in our land"

"Is it really your land"? Jake scoffed. What he meant was that they were stuck in some sort of shared hallucination of the enchanted forest. What Maland found upon looking around was completely different. There was a huge tower, and a land full of greenery and grass. The land was desolate, but surrounded by a water body.

"Where are we"? Maland mumbled. 

Finally when Jake noticed his surroundings, he murmured. "The Helminge tower? We are on the island" Jake sighed.

"The island where the discarded Goblins go" Maland mumbled.

"So you do know about that" Jake's face beamed with excitement. This was the first time he showed any sign of recognition. 

"I, I do" Maland struggled. He had no idea how he did, but he knew. It was just… there in his head. What was weird is that it didn't feel weird at all. Maland thought harder as he realized that not just Jake, but things around him started to feel crazy as well.

The months he spent in the camp, the years he spent in the military… It felt like just a matter of a few days. We often remember the key details from our everyday lives, and yet it felt like he only lived the key details of his past few days. 

"Things are moving at a much faster pace aren't they"? Jake commented. Maland was not sure if he guessed what Maland was thinking or he just happened to think the same thing at that time. "One minute I was a boy, and next thing I know I was sitting in a park eating grapes with Linda" with a pain in his heart, he mumbled.

Maland was about to ask who Linda was, but somehow he knew. She was someone Jake felt for the way Maland felt for General Dorin. But how did he know that? Maland had no idea. "What's happening"? Maland asked Jake. "Why is this happening to us"?

"You believe me now"? Jake asked with a tint of smile.

"I am willing to believe you," Maland mumbled.

"Kay, so we were a group of few people who were trying to discover this magical entity called enchanted forest, with hopes of obtaining one thing we didn't know we had," Jake explained. "And I think in doing so we entered some sort of.. Illusion, I guess, where we have to confront our past or something" Jake shrugged. "I am not sure about that part, but I do know that I faced my unresolved issues"

"That sounds ridiculous," Maland commented. 

"I knew you wouldn't believe me," Jake scoffed. "Fine, explain to me how you fought the goblin with your left hand when you have never trained with it?" Jake asked.

Maland opened his mouth, but nothing came out. The harder he thought, tried to come up with an explanation, the harder it got for him to figure out. Soon he started to get a terrible headache that caused him to pass out.