Key To A Goblin's Heart

I couldn't watch any longer, but I was unable to close my eyes. It was as if time itself has frozen in front of my eyes, and I was forced to witness the agony of my mother as a punishment for some unknown sin. I strained myself hard, trying to turn away from the scene but my muscles wouldn't budge. I could feel hot tears rolling down my cheeks, and I couldn't even wipe them away. 

I cried and watched my mother cry, bearing through the pain of her childbirth as she knew that the child that she'll be bearing won't even breath. I couldn't imagine what kind of agony that must have caused her, and somehow I felt really guilty for judging her so cruelly. I had thought that she was a monster, not once did the thought cross my mind that she might have been the victim of circumstances. 

Donald's gleeful look further antagonised me, and I watched with disgust as he scooped the tiny baby that had just emerged from my mother's womb. The Queen lay unconscious, her face was deadly pale and even her sleep tormented her. The child that Donald held in his hand didn't breathe, she didn't cry and in a triumphant gesture, Donald lay her aside and started tending to the Queen. 

The scene shifted quickely before my eyes, and I still couldn't bat an eyelid. I still stood infront of the hut, but now I witnessed the Queen leaving. Her face was unreadable, but her eyes bore a sign of unfathomable grief. She looked at Donald scornfully and said, "Wh..what did you do with the b-body of Adrianna? I need to take her with me, to be buried alongside her forefathers in the Palace grounds."

She said each of those words painfully, as if even uttering the sentences caused her some sort of bodily harm. 

Donald only chuckled as he said, "I am afraid that will not be possible. You see, you have sacrificed your child, and now she belongs to us. I cannot give her back to you."

"What is God's name can you do with the body of a dead child?" The Queen looked mortified.

"You better not think about that, Your Highness. Moreover, do you really think it'll be any good if you were seen carrying a dead baby through your Kingdom?" Donald suggested. 

My mother's face bore an agonising expression, but finally she gave in. It seemed that her spirits were almost lost, and she didn't have it in her to argue further. 

The scene again shifted before my eyes, and this time, the Dark Figure stood infront me again. But, something was definitely wrong. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was definitely something palpably wrong with the entire surrounding. Then, I watched with horror, as Donald started rolling on the floor and crying. 

"Why? My Lord… what did I do?" He sobbed, "I have followed your instructions to the letter! I have brought you a dead child. So, please fulfill your promise."

The Dark Figure stared at him scornfully. 

"Are you mad? What have you done? Don't you have any idea about the severity of this? This child that you have brought me, she has the marks of pure power! I cannot take her, she will be of no use to me. She's too powerful to be manipulated by magic!"

"But, she's dead, My Lord!" Donald cried. 

"Is she?" The Dark Figure retorted in an enraged voice and pointed at the tiny bundle lying by their side. 

To my horror, the child screamed! It was alive and breathing. But, how can this be possible? I had seen the child was born alive and now, how is she breathing? How did I survive? 

My horror was mirrored on Donald's face, who was really having a hard time digesting all these. 

"Bu-ut… she was dead!" He exclaimed. 

"She is the one with Pure Magic! Their sorts are very difficult to kill, and it appears that your Dark Magic didn't have much effect on her. It only suspended her life for a while, so she didn't breath when she was born. But, she is very much alive."

With this, the Dark Figure vanished in a puff.

Donald gave a unearthly scream, and fixed his gaze on the tiny child who was playing on her own. His eyes were pure rage and he clattered his teeth as he said, "YOU are the cause of all ny misfortunes! Why couldn't you br dead, huh? I would have gained my immortality then, rather than being scorned by the Dark Lord! He must be thinking that I am a fool, and he will never trust me again!"

With this, Donald raised his hands and a mesh of dark waves came out of his fingers and started strangling the little child. 

"You deserve this, you filthy excrement! I will make sure that you die!"

I saw the child whimpering in pain, gasping for breath as the darkness entangled her. Her pain resonated with mine, as I could feel the noose tightening around my throat too and I was defenceless to fight against a force that's too advanced than me.

The scenes rapidly shifted in front of my eyes, as if someone was flipping through the pages of a book rapidly. But in all the scenes, I witnessed torture and malevolence, I saw the little child beaten up, strangled, set on fire and I saw her survive every attempt at death. It was as if her life-force was too stubborn to give up yet, and even though by the end of it all, she bore blue scars running through her body, her force to live still persisted. 

Donald's frustration with her increased with each step, and ultimately something snapped. 

"I have tried every possible Dark Magic on you, but you won't budge!" He said in a frustrated tone, "but I won't let you off so easily. Your life has already been cursed by my spells, and this darkness will haunt you your entire life. Now, you will be forced to live as an outcast, an orphan, as a mere human without any Magic!"

With this, he cast his last spell, snatching her magic away from her, and condemning her life among the mortal humans! For a Goblin, there could be no harsher punishment!

Even as I watched him put my tiny body near the stable, on a stormy night, I wondered what he would get by this. I had done him no harm, my only fault was that I was born with pure magic and that's why I wasn't accepted by the Dark Forces. His frustration, his greed and his malice had nearly destroyed my life even before I had began living. 

My body was still paralysed, but this few hours' experience had rendered my senses numb too. A stream of thoughts ran through my mind but I felt too tired to register any of them. My head was clouded with what-ifs? I wondered what if Donald had not been so malevolent, and returned me to my Mother? What kind of life would I have had then?

I would have grown up in a magnificent palace, surrounded by luxury and love, instead of as a neglected orphan. I would have a mother, a father and a sister! The dreams ran through my mind, of a toddler me running through the palace grounds, pursued by a smiling Rathaerys, me performing magic and impressing my Mother, who would plant a gentle kiss on my forehead. 

I could hardly imagine such a life growing up. An unfathomable rage consumed me, and all I wanted to do at that moment was strangle Donald. He was solely responsible for my struggles, he had condemned an unsuspecting little infant to a life that no one deserved. What more, he made her bear the scars of a haunted past that would cripple her existence throughout her life!

I still remembered those horrific nightmares of my childhood. I had been in counselling, various psychiatric programs but nothing could cure those deadly nightmares. I couldn't sleep for days on end, my childhood was overrun with a series of deadly dreams that I was powerless to stop. 

I now knew the cause of them. It was Donald's curse, his black magic that had crippled my life. 

I saw my small infant body being discovered by a nun, who cursed loudly at the sight of me. 

"Who could have deserted a baby like this?" She exclaimed in horror, "And look at her, so pale and undernourished! This is a clear case of abuse." She mused. 

Then, scooping the baby in her arms, she came inside. Somehow my vision enabled me to visualise everything, without being able to take any part in it. I saw a humdrum of activities that usually followed the arrival of a new baby. Since, this one was nameless, the registration process seemed to take forever. 

Finally, the nuns deemed it fit to introduce me to the head-nun, who would name me. I saw the indomitable figure arrive and scrutinize me properly. I still felt myself crouch under her watch, even as an obliviated infant. 

She took me in her arms, and ran her fingers across the blue scars that ran across my body. Her face was unreadable, but something hardened in the features. 

"She has faced way worse than her age justifies. Who could have tortured a baby such? The world is really filled with evil men, I suppose. Anyway, it's a miracle that she survived all these, she has emerged victorious over her tormentors! For that reason alone, I name her Victoria".