When Theo woke up, he was still being held in Cynthia's arms. Feeling her comforting embrace, he nuzzled his cheek against her exposed skin. The little goblin wrapped his own arms around the human woman in an attempt to pull himself closer against her.

  This was a pleasant way to wake up. A much different way of waking up compared to getting kicked in the face or stomach as some goblins had woken him up before. Yes, this was much nicer.

  Once Theo had gotten his fill of cuddling with her, he wanted to get up. It would not do to lay in bed all day. That was a thing lazy goblins did. And Theo was not a lazy goblin. So at last, he regretfully withdrew from the warm embrace they shared, and he poked her in the stomach. “Cynthia. Up.”

  "Mmmm…” She slowly blinked her eyes open and smiled down at him. “Good morning little one.”

  He scowled at the mention of his height. “Not little.” Theo did not like being called little. Yes, it was true that he was considered little compared to most goblin adults. The average adult goblin was around two and a half feet in height. Theo was closer to two feet. Something that other goblins his age had noticed while growing up. His height and his scrawny body type led to… more than a few issues with his much larger peers while growing up. It was a sore spot for the goblin.

  She chuckled. “Right, not little.” She sat up and started to stretch. “Are you hungry?”

  “Hungry," he answered her plainly. “Eat here?”

  “You want to eat in bed?”

  Theo shook his head and got up. The little goblin stretched and let out a small yawn. “Where eat?” He wanted to see more of this place if this was going to be his new home.

  “Then let’s go over to the diner, shall we?” Cynthia suggested, picking him up.

  “Can walk!” He protested weakly. Theo felt as if the gesture of carrying him was demeaning because he was small. But he also liked the feeling of being held and carried in her arms.

  “You want to walk there?” Cynthia asked him.

  Theo sagged limply in her arms as if he had been deflated like a balloon. “No,” he huffed. “Cynthia warm.”

  “Alright," Cynthia smiled, "then just hold on tight to me until we get there.”

  He reached up and held onto her, feeling safe. “Cynthia. Thanks.”

  “There’s no need to thank me, dear.” They soon arrived at the diner where breakfast was already displayed, and she took a seat in one of the chairs, placing Theo on her lap. “Looks like food is already served.”

  He looked up at her and almost threw a fit. He wasn’t a baby that needed pampering. But at the same time, it felt nice. He was not a child. In human years he was an older teenager who never experienced spoiling as a kid. Goblins lived rough lives in the wilderness. All of these new things that Cynthia was letting him experience made him feel special. “Lots of food. Always lots food?”

  “Yes," Cynthia chuckled. "As much as you may want.”

  Theo smiled. This was the good life he had always dreamed about. “Good. hungry. Theo hungry.”

  She took her time cutting into a pancake before skewering some with her fork and bringing it over to his mouth. “Say ah.”

  Okay. The swimming from the night before had been fun. Sleeping on a bed and not on the hard ground was nice. Being carried and not kicked or shoved or tripped was nice. But being fed? As much as he was acting like it, he was not an infant. He was almost nine! “No” he shook his head.

  “Do you not want it?” Cynthia tilted her head.

  “Not a child,” he grunted and leaned back into her, turning his head away from the pancakes in a show of defiance.

  “…Hm in that case, would you like to feed me instead?”

  He turned his head back to look at her. He thought about saying no. But she was being so nice to him. It wouldn’t hurt to pay her back with a little kindness. “Okay. Feed Cynthia”

  She smiled and opened her mouth for him to feed her.

  He took the fork from her hand. Then he put the offering up to her parted lips and pushed the food gently inside of her waiting mouth.

  She happily closed her lips around the utensil and ate the pancakes. A pleased hum came from the lady as she appreciated the bite. “Mmm~ now you try.”

  “Feed me?” Theo asked, opening his mouth to give her access. It’s different if they feed each other. It was much more like they were trading with one another.

  An amused look came over the lady's face. “I thought you didn’t want me to feed you."

  Theo crossed his arms. “Different. It different. I feed Cynthia. Cynthia feed me?” He asked hopefully.

  “Alright then, let’s feed each other.”

  The goblin opened his mouth again. A row of razor-sharp teeth was on display for the lady as Theo waited on her. They looked dangerous and they were. Theo could remember all the things he'd ever bitten into and if he wanted to, he could tear the lady apart.

  Cynthia fed him, she wasn't bothered by his teeth in the slightest. She even smiled down at him. “See? Being fed isn’t that bad.”

  He closed his mouth and chewed up the pancakes with his fangs. He swallowed and gathered up some more pancakes. Then Theo held them up to Cynthia’s lips. "Here."

  “Do you like it?” She smiled and ate the offered pancakes.

  “Good. And is nice. Fed. Feeding.” He shrugged and opened his mouth again.

  Cynthia fed him another bite. “Just let yourself be spoiled sometimes dear.”

  “Not a baby,” he mumbled after he swallowed before feeding her again. The two began to fall into a rhythm of trading the fork back and forth to feed each other.

  “Babies aren’t the only ones that like being spoiled, you know.”

  “Maybe girls,” Theo huffed

  “That’s not true, guys enjoy it too. They’re just not as open about it.”

  “Maybe.” He decided to let her have this one. It does feel nice. But it feels too nice, Theo thought to himself. He was beginning to feel guilty. He didn't deserve all these nice things and being treated in such nice ways. At least before in the tribe he helped out and worked for the leftover scraps he had gotten.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  She smiled and petted him. “You’re my pet dear. Spoiling you is my job.”

  “What my job?” Well if she had a job then what was Theo's job? What was it he needed to be doing in order to be paying for all of this? He looked at her curiously.

  Cynthia chuckled. “To let me spoil you and give me plenty of cuddles.”

  He frowned. As much as he liked that. It’s not what he imagined a slave would be doing for the rest of their life. Life in a tribe wasn’t easy; everyone had their jobs to do. Now he was just to sit around and be spoiled. “Okay," he said, already wondering if he could trick her and get away. Or if he would have to kill her… but she was so nice. He didn't want to have to kill her. And… he'd never killed anyone before in his life. He wasn't sure he could start now. Not even on the nicest human he'd ever met. Plus, this lifestyle was amazing. But it felt too amazing. It didn't feel right. Something felt off… perhaps this was all a trick, or a trap meant for Theo. Or maybe an elaborate trap set for the tribe? Or maybe this was genuine… in that case, it would be a lot easier to take advantage of her kindness. But that wouldn't feel right either.

  Cynthia placed a finger in between his eyebrows. “You were frowning there for a minute. What’s wrong?”

  She noticed that? “Like nice things. Like nice Cynthia. Like nice food. But… too nice. It’s all nice. Not. Not used. Not used nice.”

  “Well that’s alright dear. You can start getting used to it slowly if it helps you adjust. How about you take care of me too in return?”

  “Help Cynthia?” Theo asked, tilting his head to the side.

  “Yes, you could help tend to me, such as washing me, assisting with my hair, getting dressed, and so on. I could have my personal maid teach you all there is to know and do about tending to me… although… those things may be a bit hard for you to do.”

  “Why? Me do.” The goblin puffed up his chest.

  Cynthia giggled. “You think you can manage?”

  “Yes!” Theo nodded enthusiastically.

  “Alright then, I'll have my maid teach you what you need to know. I do warn you, it’s harder than it may appear.”

  He thumped his chest with a little balled green fist. “Theo can do! Can do!”

  “Alright, alright. From now on you must watch closely how she attends to me. You’ll have morning classes on the basics. Hmm… I should probably put you in other regular classes too if you’re to attend to me.”

  “Classes?” He watched her, curious as to what these classes were.

  “Yes, such as language, math, cooking, social manners, and things of the sorts.”

  He scratched his head. He wasn’t sure what any of those meant besides cooking. “Learn cook?”

  "That’s right. Don’t worry, your teacher will teach you all there is you need to know.”

  He nodded. That sounds fun, Theo thought. “Still. Time. Cynthia?”

  “Do you want to know if you’ll still spend time with me?”

  “Yes," he responded. He wanted to know if she could still have time to hold him and care for him... He was already getting used to this arrangement.

  "Well of course you will, dear. Classes are only in the mornings; the rest of the time you’ll spend with me.”

  “Good.” he nodded. Theo did like to be spoiled some of the time. So long as he was putting in the work for it and not being a lazy and useless goblin. “Time with Cynthia. Time with classes. Learn cook. Learn help.” He waved around his hand. “All too nice. Want more.”

  “You want more? Dear, you’re already doing so much though. I don’t think you understand what it’s like to have a pet…" Cynthia trailed off as she began to think to herself. Then her red eyes lit up. "Oh! I know! What if I get you a cat?”

  He scowled. A cat? Those furry things that were hard to catch and only really tasted good if you cooked them just right? “No pet. Theo Cynthia’s pet.”

  “...You don’t like cats? But they’re so cute.”

  Cute? “Cute?” Theo asked, wanting to know what the word cute meant.

  “Yes, something really pretty and adorable you can’t help but just want to hug.”

  Had he ever felt that way towards anything? He didn’t think so. “Think Theo cute?”

  Cynthia smiled and petted him. “Of course you are.”

  He grunted. He didn’t have much to say about that. He liked her hugs. But pretty? Adorable? Him? Was it because he was smaller than her? “Not pretty.”

  “You’re not pretty? Why do you say so?”

  Because he was… whatever guys were. Not pretty. That’s for sure. “Not pretty. Am… strong?” He felt stupid saying that. He was just a little goblin. He would need to evolve to be truly strong.

  “...Do you want to be strong Theo?”

  Did he? Naturally? Yes. It felt right. He didn’t want to be soft. He wanted to be more. Like the hobgoblin that would throw goblins old enough to swim far out into the river. Redtear. He had been strong. “Yes,” Theo replied after some thought.

  “...Then would you like to take fighting lessons? They could be a bit rough on you, but if you’d like I could arrange for them as well.”

  “Want strong. Like hob.” He didn’t know how to explain to her. But he wanted to be strong, useful, and spoiled. If she would let him have all of those things.

  “Then train lots so one day you can protect your mistress.”

  Theo nodded. “Train. learn. Spoil.” Now this? This was a good life to have.

  “Is it too much?”

  “No, is enough. Is good.” He looked up to Cynthia and bared his fangs for her to see in the shape of a feral grin. “Cynthia good.”

  Cynthia petted him. “I’m glad you’re happy, you can start classes tomorrow”

  “Classes!” He cheered. Maybe running away could wait. He had to experience all that he could here first.

  “You must listen properly to your classes understood. You’re going to be really busy starting tomorrow.”

  “Theo listens.” The goblin rolled his big red eyes. He listened all the time. It was important to listen. Listening was a helpful way to avoid the bigger goblins that had liked to take his food or shove him around. “Busy? Good.” He was a goblin, a working part of a tribe, a wheel in the machine. Given the chance to become a bigger and more useful wheel than before. And he was still going to be getting fed and carried and hugged and enjoy swimming. This really was the good life.

  She chuckled. “You don’t know how to read do you Theo?”

  “What read?” Theo asked with a frown. Read? Like reading people’s moods? Theo could tell when the adults were upset with him just as well as he could tell they were about to go off and make babies. He could tell when he might get more food because the cook was happy.

  “Books Theo. Do you know what books are?”

  “What book?” Okay now this was a word he had never heard before. Book. Books?

  Cynthia smiled. “Come, follow me.”

  “Carry? Theo asked hopefully, lifting his arms up.

  She chuckled. “Alright, I’ll carry you.” She picked him up as he requested and carried him off towards the library.

  He grabbed onto her arms, enjoying the feeling.

  She walked inside and skimmed through the shelfs of the children’s books section, picking one she thought would be interesting enough. “You see this, Theo?” She held it up for him. “This is a book.”

  “What is it?” He looked it over. “What book do?” Could they eat it?

  “Books tell us stories and information passed down through the years”

  “Stories?” Like a shaman? The Creeping Water Tribe had one shaman, Echiel. Theo didn’t like listening to him. The shaman was boring, old, and grouchy. Though he could tell good stories every one in a while. Stories like The Great Goblin, The Dark One, The Pale Goblin, and many more. Sometimes even the shaman’s apprentice, Leafbite. She would tell stories that she knew. But she was young with very little experience compared to the aged Echiel.

  Cynthia smiled. “How about I read you this one and you let me know how you feel about books?”

  “Okay. Cynthia read?” He was curious just what this reading concept was all about.

  She smiled, sitting down with him on her lap, opening the book on his lap so he could see the pictures as she began to read. It was a story about fairies and pirates from a far away land and the adventures they had together.

  He sat there listening to the words that seemed to just flow from her lips like a stream. He watched her turn the pages; he wondered how this book is telling her the story. Was it magic like the shaman and his fire and smoke storytelling?

  After some time of reading the story is finally brought to its happy ending. “So what did you think?”

  “Fun. How read? Magic?” He asked, looking from the book to her, curious about the nature of reading.

  “You see these letters here?” Cynthia pointed at the words in one of the book’s pages. “They form words that you can read.”

  He squinted down at the little symbols. There were so many! This looked incredibly hard. “What say?” He pointed to a pair of words.

  She chuckled softly and read the words to him. “The end. Don’t worry, you’ll be learning how to read in your classes too.”

  “That’s good. This good. Good story.” Theo grabbed the book and looked at the words he didn't know. He leaned closer and examined them, almost pressing his eye against the page itself.

  She smiled. “You’ll eventually be able to read these on your own too.”

  “Read. read all?” Theo stared around the library. There were so many shelves and aisles filled with books and books and more books. There were so many stories. It felt like it was too much. And yet somehow not enough.

  “As many as you’d like.”

  “Really? Want read. Learn read. Tomorrow?” Theo asked, his crimson eyes were alight with wonder. There were so many books! Who even had the time to read them all?

  “Well, it’ll take a while for you to learn it all. But yes. You’ll start tomorrow.”

  He nodded and understood that he might never learn how to read all of these books. But he sure was going to try his best. “One more? Read, Cynthia?” he asked her.

  Cynthia smiled. “One more.” She grabbed another book from the shelves and went back to reading to him again, this time it was a story about a prince going off on an adventure to rescue a princess.

  When he heard the word princess, he had to stop her to ask. “What prince. What princess.”

  “Hmm… how should I put it… They’re the children of the King and Queen, the leaders of our kingdom.”

  “Cynthia, princess?” he asked, tracing the words on the page with his finger.

  She chuckled. “No, not really, I’m just a noble. Why? Do I look like a princess?””

  “Yes. Cynthia, princess!” Theo cried out, throwing his arms up. “Best princess! Cynthia!”

  “Aw, thank you dear, but I'm not a princess.” Cynthia smiled and shook her head.

  “Are too,” Theo argued with her, pouting and crossing his arms in protest.

  Cynthia chuckled. “Alright, alright. How about I be a princess for you then?”

  The goblin gaped up at her. “My princess?” Like in the story?

  “Sure, I'll be your princess. Only for you. What do you think?”

  “Yes!” Theo cheered. “Cynthia, my princess!”

  She chuckled. “Yes, I'll be your princess. So you must study hard to be able to take care of me properly alright.”

  Well that sounded like something he could do while he stayed here. She was so nice to him compared to what the mean man who kept him in a cage had said. So far, she hadn’t put a collar on him or branded with a hot metal stick. He did owe her a lot. Or maybe he owed luck? “Theo study. Theo work hard. Princess Cynthia, care!”

  She smiled and pulled him into a hug. “Aw isn’t our dear Theo the cutest~”

  Theo didn’t grumble and he didn't complain about being called cute this time. He returned the hug and he smiled warmly. “Princess nice.”