Dan was surprised when he realized he knew right where Mitzi was. As he drove to work he realized he could point a finger to where she was on top of knowing how she was feeling. He had a smile on his face the entire time. Then he got to work.

  His morning there had started off with annoyance. Someone had blocked the entrance to his cubicle with box tape. Stuck to the sticky side was a print out of the words, “Hey! Goblin Fucker!” No one should have known. It had just happened the previous night. He had a suspicion about Candy, but that wasn’t enough to go throwing blame. Dan told his supervisor, who had him report it directly to HR. They said they were going to security to review footage and that they would handle it from there.

  Dan just returned to his cubicle, pulled the tape and sign down, and got to work on all the revisions that had piled up after he’d left. Maybe an hour later, someone knocked on his cubicle and he turned. Rob and Shelly were there.

  “Hey!” He said cheerfully. “Heard any rumors lately?”

  “Nothing that didn’t confirm you weren't a filthy boy.” Shelly said. “Are you alright? There ARE rumors.”

  “It was a stupid, mean spirited prank.” He said.

  “Well,” Rob said, “it’s a little more than that. Someone started whispering that you were into beast races.”

  “And how’s that going down?” Dan asked. He tried to keep his face neutral.

  Rob slipped into his cubicle and sat down in the extra chair. Shelly leaned against the entrance.

  "I don't think anyone actually paid any attention except to wonder why everyone was getting told about it. There were some guys in sports making jokes, but those guys laugh at everything." Rob said, and Dan nodded. He didn't mention Rob laughed at everything.

  “You know me.” Rob said. “I wouldn’t dog you for something like this. Mitzi’s a sweetheart and the goblins seemed cool as hell. And there’s no way I’d use terms like I’m hearing.”

  Dan sighed.

  “Look. I don’t suspect any of you guys are trying to ruin my life.” He said. “Except Shelly.”

  He got a laugh out of that, thank God.

  “Well, you know who I suspect.” Rob said quietly.

  “Yeah.” Dan said. “Same. I don’t have any proof of course.

  “Did they catch the Wendigo of Adams County on camera, then?” Shelly asked.

  Rob and Dan both winced at that, but Dan chuckled afterward.

  “They’re reviewing footage now.” Rob said. “They told us all to be ready if security came to our departments. I know they legally don’t have to give a crap about mob races, but this “prank” can be considered harassment. Whoever it was is probably out of a job. Susanna has no patience for this kind of thing.”

  Dan looked at the two of them. They’d heard and both had come to check on him. He had friends again. He wanted to hug them, suddenly.

  “Look,” Dan said, “I’m heading out to gaming night with Rob tonight, but tomorrow night, can I meet with you guys? Henry and Danielle too? I have some things I want to talk to you about. Is that cool? Is that a thing we can do?”

  “Sure man.” Rob said, looking to Shelly.

  “If you’re foolish enough to buy me drinks then I’d be stupid not to come.” She said.

  “So you ARE still gonna be at the gaming shop tonight?” Rob asked.

  “Yep!” Dan replied.

  “AND you’re bringing Mitzi?”

  “The only way you could get her more excited is if you had peanut butter there.” Rob laughed. Dan had shown him the fudge.

  “Awesome. I’ll see you then.” Rob said and stood to leave. Shelly made no move to go and Rob looked at her.

  “I’ll be along.” She said, and Rob nodded and left. Shelly met Dan’s eyes.

  “Dan, this thing you’re doing? This “Mitzi” you’re seeing?”

  “Yeah?” he said.

  “This will not be easy on you. I know Rob will probably have a talk with you himself, but I want you to be ready for this. People will not like it.” She said. It was one of the longest thing she’d ever said without insulting him, or someone else. “I care about you, Dan. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  Dan smiled up at her.

  “Wow. That was almost heartfelt.” He said, and Shelly smirked at him. “Seriously though, Shelly, I appreciate it. I’m lucky to know you two. This might be tough, but I promise it is not the worst thing I’ll have had to deal with. I’ll handle it.”

  Shelly smiled, messed up his hair, then walked back to her own department. He’d had friends in Memphis. He’d gone to high school and college with most of them. When the unpleasantness had happened though, and he’d vanished for ages, none of them went looking for him. There were no questions when he came back. No one had accepted his apologies. He felt like these people were different. He was lucky.

  Dan took a moment to straighten his hair out, then started designing something for a mattress store.

  Ah. The glamor of graphic design. . .

  It was some time around lunch when he heard a small commotion out in the office space. He did his best to concentrate on CMYK values, but it reached a point that he couldn’t. Suddenly the sounds of an argument rose higher and then stopped.

  Dan stood and looked. He saw what the hub-bub was about. There were three police officers. Two on either side of Candy, escorting her out of the office. She looked sullen. A third officer had her personal effects in a cardboard box. Behind them Susanna, the Editor-in-Chief, trailed behind with her cane and continued to animatedly explain something to her. They left through the exit.

  “Holy shit.” Dan said. It really had been her. He hadn’t really wanted to believe it. She’d been fired for it. Dan swallowed hard and sat back down. The magazine had a zero tolerance policy on anything that could be considered harassment. Candy knew that. Honestly, Dan wasn’t sure how Candy had gotten a job at the most liberal publication in the city, possibly the state, with the way she thought. Or why, for that matter.

  A few minutes later, there was another knock on his cubicle wall and this time it was Susanna. He smiled. Susanna was a large woman, she walked with a cane, and was probably one of the friendliest bosses he’d ever had. She’d been the one to offer him the job and then waited far longer than he’d expected for him to say yes. She’d gone above and beyond to make him feel welcome here.

  “Hey! Anything I can do for you?” He asked, keeping his worries down.

  She came in, sat down, and stretched her bad leg out. The chair was getting a lot of use lately.

  “Hi, Dan! I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

  “Yeah, I’m ok. I saw Candy. . .” He suddenly didn’t know how to follow that up.

  “She had been warned about making people uncomfortable.” Susanna said.

  “Had she?”

  “Yeah.” Susanna spun her cane between her hands as she spoke. “She’s been talking to people in private. Most of them came to me and I started a file.”

  She watched Dan.

  “Did you know she tried to tell me it was a friendly prank?” Susanna said.

  Dan arched an eyebrow.

  “No.”

  “Well, she did. Rob happened to be nearby and happened to explain that you weren’t actually friends, which precludes the concept of a friendly prank.” She said.

  “Would it have helped if it HAD been a prank?” He asked, genuinely curious.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “No.” She said. “It’s a zero tolerance policy for a reason. I’ve worked in office environments where pranks are common. They get meaner and more frequent. Eventually everything is “just a prank, bro” and everyone accepts it as normal.”

  She sat silent for a minute and Dan let her.

  “Susanna? I just wanted to thank you.” Dan finally said. “I know dealing with this kind of stuff isn’t easy, but it’s appreciated.”

  The woman brightened.

  “Thank you, Dan! I want this place to feel welcoming to everyone. Except Candy. GOD she is such a liar.”

  “Oh?” Dan said.

  Susanna looked around as if someone was going to suddenly show up in the dark corner of the office.

  “No details, but she came highly recommended. After HR and security reviewed the footage I looked into her credentials. Complete fabrications.”

  “Shit.” Was all Dan could say.

  “I had suspicions, but I thought she needed help. I guess I saw her as a project.” Susanna said.

  “I gathered that’s how everyone saw her.” Dan remembered several people trying to help her. He was starting to wonder about that.

  “Dan, I need to go, but I do have a question.”

  “Shoot.” Dan said.

  “ARE you in a relationship with a goblin?”

  Dan looked at her and kept his face neutral.

  “Yes. Is it a problem?”

  Susanna smiled warmly.

  “Not even remotely, Dan. If it is a problem for anyone else, you let me know. Goblins are people too.”

  As she hobbled away, Dan realized he was home. Natchez was home. Just a few months and he’d already met the people he wanted in his life. He smiled. He had an idea, but that was for later. He got back to work on mattress graphics. Besides, he already had one idea to think on.

  On Dan’s way out at five, it seemed like everyone at the magazine wanted to check on him and make sure he was ok. Even the sports guys. It slowed him down, it was repetitive, and probably the most moving thing he’d ever experienced at a job. He thanked every single one of them for their concern and he darned well meant it.

  He realized that he could sense Mitzi still. She was no where near work so not at his house. He drove to Goblin House, and he felt her inside. He considered honking for her and thought better of it. He grinned. He was going to do something he hadn’t done since high school. He was going to wait for his date and meet the folks.

  Dan walked up to the house and knocked on the door. He straightened his shirt and smiled. He didn’t know who he expected to answer the door. It was an aged old goblin woman who stood in the doorway looking up at him.

  “I’ve spoken to Runt and he’s agreed that I should be the one to talk to you.” The woman said with no introduction. It put Dan off balance, but he recovered quickly. He WAS a different species after all. He knelt in front of the old goblinette and held out a hand.

  “You must be Geraldine. Mitzi told me about you. I’m Dan. It’s very nice to meet you.”

  The woman looked suitably surprised at this, but finally shook his hand.

  “Mitzi is getting her make-up done. Again. And she’s trying to read that tablet thing you gave her at the same time. She’ll be a few. Come inside. We need to talk.”

  As the old woman turned and walked in, Dan stood and followed. There were goblins cooking, cleaning, running around, just living life. There were even four kids running around. Well, three. One girl was just following. It felt strangely comfortable.

  He sat on the couch and the old woman took a large recliner for a seat. He scooted to her end of the couch so he could hear better.

  “Dan,” the woman said once he was settled, “I’m sure Mitzibah will tell you something of what she’s learned about this thing you share now. But I want to talk to you about it myself.”

  Dan nodded.

  “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

  “I can brew something. It will negate this. You won’t be able to stand Mitzibah’s scent afterward. Or her for that matter, but it will release you from this. You’re a human. You should probably be WITH humans.” She held her hand out as she spoke and a goblin ran in, placed a beer can in it, then ran back out.

  “No, ma’am.” Dan said in shock. He hadn’t considered there was a way to stop this. He couldn’t imagine wanting it. Especially if he wouldn’t like Mitzi afterward.

  “No offense,” he continued, “but that sounds more like mind control than this thing we have. And I know mind control.” Hell, he thought it might not actually work when it came down to it. There were things he still didn’t know about what had happened to him. Like its limits.

  “Well,” She sighed, “I had to make the offer, didn’t I?” She looked at him, considering. “It’s a point in your favor, I suppose.”

  “Ma’am,” Dan said carefully, “what can you tell me about it?”

  She took a long pull on her beer before answering.

  “Son, this thing? You shouldn’t even be able to take part in it. There’s very specific circumstances for it. Mitzibah told me just a little about you. She said you were a thrall. She said you broke free. That would certainly be a sign you can bond, but I still don’t know how you could have freed yourself.” The old woman stared him down without blinking.

  “Well, I don’t know either. I just know that something inside me broke.” He said. It didn’t sound impressive, but he wasn’t sure breaking was supposed to be impressive.

  “That isn’t how that works in the least, boy. Stop acting like it’s some little fluke that happened. I don’t know what happened to you, but you didn’t “break”. How deeply could you have been enthralled, though, if you DID break free?”

  Dan felt cold.

  “I was a prisoner in my own mind. I was aware, but not in control” He said quietly.

  “That bad?” She asked, wincing.

  “I was. . . Used. I have scars, both mental and physical.”

  “Enough physical pain COULD free a thrall. Maybe.” She said quietly.

  “I broke before. . . Before she had me. . . Satisfy her. Again. There was no pain involved”

  “May I see these scars? I have experience with thralls. I can be the judge of that.”

  Dan wasn’t sure if she believed him, but he turned his back to her on the couch. He knew what his back looked like. It was a nightmare. He grabbed his shirt by the hem.

  “Ma’am, I’d rather never take my shirt off again. But I’m showing you this because Mitzi means the world to me, and I get the impression that you are extremely important to her. This isn’t going to be pretty, but maybe this will help you understand something about me. About how this happened. I don’t know. At any rate, I’m sorry for what you’re about to see.”

  Dan pulled up the back of his shirt. He closed his eyes. He heard something that sounded like the old woman’s throat seizing, followed by her downing some beer. He felt a claw lightly trace one of a few burned brands on his back. It followed several jagged scars. He didn’t have much feeling back there any more. Just enough to follow her study. She finally stopped and then she was silent for a time.

  “You can. . . You can pull your shirt down, son.” She spoke in a quiet, much softer tone. He obliged, and turned.

  When he did, Geraldine slid off of the chair and came over to the couch and sat down beside him. She looked up into his eyes and the pity in them made him want to look away. He didn’t dare look away from this woman though.

  “Dan,” she began and had to clear her throat, “I won’t lie. This is. . .” She gestured at his torso, but was at a loss for words.

  “I figure it does that to people.” He said.

  Surprisingly, she placed a hand on his.

  “What Mitzibah has given you is unique to our people. She didn’t know she was giving it, but she offered it, and somehow you accepted.” Dan nodded as the old woman continued. “Goblins can typically only do this once. Usually.”

  Dan was stunned. He felt like maybe he’d cheated somehow by receiving this.

  “I hope that you’ll remember that. This is not something shared lightly. It is not something she can take back and give again. I know what it’s like for her.”

  “Runt?” He asked.

  “What?! FUCK no! Runt is a fantastic choice for brooding, but I personally can’t stand the shit-hook. I wouldn’t wipe my ass with his face.”

  Dan burst out laughing. The old woman grinned.

  “No. My Tragarth has been dead for forty years and every morning it feels like the first morning all over again. Runt is a choice of necessity. I just want you to understand,” she continued, “that this is a bonding. It is a known thing to my people, but not to Mitzibah until now. Now that it’s been given, I want you to understand what a blessing it can be.”

  She looked at his torso.

  “But I feel like you’re a man who knows a blessing when he sees one.”

  “I do, ma’am.” He said. “I lost everything before I came here. Including hope. Mitzi has given that back to me.”

  Geraldine nodded. She sighed, seeming relieved to be past this part.

  “So you’re an artist. People pay you to do that?”

  Dan grinned. Now he was in familiar “meet the family” territory.

  “Yes ma’am. I do enough side work that I can live relatively comfortably, on top of what the magazine pays me.”

  “Deeper South Magazine?” She asked.

  “You read it?”

  “I do. I like the editorials. You all do good work. I liked the article on orks last month.” She said.

  “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll let Rob and Shelly know you liked it.” Dan smiled.

  “Ever considered a family?”

  “Eventually.” He said cautiously.

  The old woman nodded again.

  “Gonna have to keep makin’ pills then.” She grumbled.

  Dan smiled at Geraldine and a thought struck him.

  “How many kids would a goblin and a human have, anyway? If you don’t mind my asking.” It was a bit embarrassing, but the old woman had answers according to Mitzi.

  “Oh, not as many as just goblins. Five? Ten? Definitely less than twenty. Fifteen at most.”

  Dan thought he would shit right there on the couch, and it showed on his face because the old woman cackled like a witch.

  “I’m joking, boy! Between two and five usually. Closer to two. Jack-in-the-LEAVES, the look on your face!” This woman reminded him of Shelly, suddenly. He took a gamble.

  “You are a fucking MENACE, old woman!” He said, then laughed.

  For a single moment, every goblin in the house seemed to freeze with their eyes on him. One of them started sharpening a knife. Dan felt sweat run down his back. Suddenly, Geraldine burst out laughing again and kicked her feet. The whole house seemed to start breathing again. He laughed right along with her. She finally got herself under control and looked at him thoughtfully.

  “I see it now.” She said with a smile. “Mitzi’s lucky to have found you, boy. Not many could go through what you’ve been through and stay human.”

  Dan shrugged. She and Mitzi both made such a big deal out of this.

  “I can’t let it win. You know?”

  The smile she gave him was surprisingly warm.

  “I like you, boy.”

  The old woman patted his knee and hopped up, returning to her chair.

  “I think I can tell Runt you’ll be fine.” She said.

  “Thanks.” He said. Then the bedroom door opened and Mitzi pranced out.

  She was beautiful, as usual. She had her sun dress on, along with her hat. She’d managed to find some sunglasses somewhere. He was kneeling in front of her before he’d even realized he’d gotten up and had his arms wide. She leaped forward and put her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

  “I missed you.” She said softly.

  Nine hours. He hadn’t seen her for nine hours and he just wanted to hold her.

  “I missed you too.” He said just as quietly. She made a cute little sound at that. His grin widened. He heard a sigh from the door. He peeked. It was Mitzi’s sister. He remembered she’d winked at him when she’d left that photo of the two of them.

  “I never stood a chance.” Bandy mumbled, smiling at the two of them. She walked past them to the kitchen. “Don’t do anything crazy, Mitz. You’ve got work tomorrow night!”

  Mitzi finally stepped back from him.

  “It’s games, Bandy! What’s the worst that could happen?”

  “No one’s talking about the games, Mitzibah.” Geraldine said.

  Dan saw Mitzi raise her fingers in a threatening pinch, but let her hand drop when she remembered this was Geraldine. Dan smiled.

  “We should probably be going.” He told Mitzi. Then to the Geraldine, “I’ll take good care of her. I promise.”

  “Never doubted it.” Geraldine said, hopping up to go get another beer. “Now get. Show our girl a good time.” She looked at Mitzi. “Take those pills with you.”