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CHAPTER TWO OF ??

❝ the wish ❞

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3RD PERSON POV. 1986, ROCKLAND COUNTY, NEW YORK.

(NAME) FRASER'S BEDROOM WAS VERY SELF-EXPRESSIVE. Her late mother had helped design the bedroom and things had been added to it over the years. She kept ahold of her stuffed toys from childhood, including a shelf of toys named after characters from the King Arthur myths.

There was a handmade toy that her mother called a Fiery with white buttons for eyes on a large side table in (Name)'s room. A gazebo-themed music box with a woman in an ornate dress as the dancer was also on the side table. A one-eyed fox-like stuffed animal was also present, standing with its side against a labyrinth board game.

A collection of fairytale and fantasy books, including an illustrated copy of the Wizard of Oz, Hans Christian Anderson's fairytales, Grimms' Fairytales, and Walt Disney's illustrated Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, backed against a wooden, carved Dwarf. 

"Through dangers untold..." (Name) murmured, sitting at her vanity set, a cardboard crown on her head and a tube of red lipstick in her hand, looking at her reflection dead in the eyes, "And hardships unnumbered...".

There was also a scrapbook with various newspaper cuttings and pictures, some from Disney films. But the main focus was (Name)'s late mother, to who she bore an uncanny resemblance too. Deirdre Fraser, the noted actress and Broadway star died when (Name) was 14. Her father remarried when she was 16. And Toby was born sometime last year, he was almost one. 

"I have fought my way here to the castle..." (Name) uttered, brandishing the lipstick tube softly, as if it was a small knife, or a pocketknife, "Beyond the Goblin City...to take back the child you have stolen,". 

Her imagination and ramblings were interrupted by two sharp knocks at the door. Her father. "(Name)? Can I talk to you?" Robert called. (Name) huffed, closing the lipstick and throwing it lightly onto the desk before removing the cardboard crown from atop her head.

"There's nothing to talk about, Dad!" (Name) huffed, "You better hurry or else you're both gonna be late your the reservation or whatever you're doing...".

From outside the door, Robert Fraser's voice echoed a response. "Listen, we've fed Toby and put him to bed," Robert explained, "We do have to leave now, but we'll be back around midnight, (Name) slowly turned around, jaw slacked in disbelief before she sighed. 

"You really wanted to talk to me, didn't you?" (Name) sarcastically asked, using a make-up wipe to remove the red lipstick from her mouth, before walking over to her bed and flopping herself down on it, "Practically broke down the door!".

There was no response and she assumed that her father had left. She heard the sound of the door shutting and locking from downstairs and she sighed. The music from the music box had fallen silent and (Name) was left in the silence of her room, glancing up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that had been stuck to her ceiling with blu-tack. 

The telephone that resided on her bedside table began to ring and (Name) sat up, answering the phone and holding it to her ear. "Hello, who's calling?" (Name) asked, twirling the pale yellow phone cord on her index finger.

"(Name)," Sarah's voice came through the receiver, "Have you got the book? I thought I could come over to your place tomorrow and we could finish on those costumes we've been working on,".

(Name) smiled at the sound of Sarah's voice. "Yeah, sounds good," the eighteen-year-old answered, her legs crossed behind her head, rolling onto her chest, "I think we also need to go over the final scene of the book, so you can remember the final line. Also, the Dungeons and Dragons campaign is on Sunday, everyone's coming. About you coming over tomorrow, let's say eleven o'clock?".

She heard the sound of Sarah humming in agreement. "Eleven o'clock is good," Sarah responded, "God, is that your brother crying? He sounds horrible! Are Irene and your Dad making you babysit again?".

(Name) smirked at the comment. "Yeah, he does sound like a dying goat," (Name) chuckled, as the sounds of rolling thunder in the skies and the downpour outside crashed against Toby's shrieks, "He's teething or something. But he's got a teething ring in his cradle with him. And yeah, they are,".

(Name) rolled onto her back, hearing Sarah's laugh. Her eyes widened at the empty space on her shelf. One of her stuffed animals was gone. "Lancelot!" (Name) gasped, "I gotta go, Sarah, someone's been in my damn room again. I'll call you back, I promise," They exchanged a goodbye each before (Name) hung up, slamming the receiver down onto the phone again, standing up and storming into her father and stepmother's bedroom. 

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THE SOUND OF THE STORM OUTSIDE DIDN'T HELP WITH TOBY'S CRYING UP CLOSE. (Name) stormed into her father and stepmother's room, finding Toby in the cradle that was placed in their room, standing up and gripping the bars of the crib, sobbing and wailing. She turned the lights on, finding her beloved teddy bear, Lancelot, on the floor with his signature red ribbon tied around his neck in a bowtie.

"God, I hate this," (Name) shouted, glaring at the baby, "I hate you!". (Name) rushed over to the crib and snatched the bear from the floor, holding it close to her chest as Toby continued to sob and cry. She couldn't help but resent Toby. Her father had cheated on her mother with Irene, and she couldn't help but feel like Toby was responsible for her problems, deep down anyway.

Toby continued to wail and shriek, tears streaming down his cheek as he gummed at the teething ring. "Someone save me! someone take me away from this awful place!" (Name) yelled at no one in particular. The thunder boomed and crackled outside, catching (Name)'s attention briefly.

(Name) turned around to glare at the infant. "What do you want?" she hatefully spoke, "Do you want a story? Is that it?! Okay,". (Name) walked over to her father and stepmother's bed, sitting on it, "Once upon a time there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby!".

The story didn't calm Toby's onslaught of tears and loud cries. "And the baby was a spoiled child," (Name) bitterly spoke, smirking, "And he wanted everything for himself and the young girl was practically a slave,". 

(Name) stood up, approaching the mirror that hung on the wall. "But what no one knew..." the girl spoke, "Was that the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with the girl and he had given her...certain powers,".

Toby continued sobbing and crying, whilst (Name) slipped the orange and white striped hat that came with Toby's baby grow onto her head. "So one night, when the baby had been particularly cruel to her she called on the goblins for help...".

Somewhere, a goblin that was jam-packed amongst a myriad of other goblins awoke. "Listen..." the Goblin's nasally voice spoke to its fellow Goblins. Back in the bedroom, (Name) tugged the hat slowly down her head, "Say your right words, the Goblins said, and we'll take the baby to the Goblin City," (Name) spoke, using a different voice for the Goblin impression, "And you will be free,".

By now, all the Goblins had awoken, softly gasping. (Name) fully removed the hat and continued with the story. "But the girl knew, that the King of the Goblins would keep the baby in his castle forever and ever," (Name) continued, turning to look at Toby, walking closer and closer to the crib, "And turn it into a goblin...".

(Name) approached Toby's crib slowly, resting her hands on the top of the bars. "And so the girl suffered in silence until one night," (Name) continued, "When she was tired from a day of housework and she was hurt by the harsh words of her stepmother and she could no longer stand it...".

She slowly leaned down as Toby continued to cry, with less wailing this time. (Name) huffed, "Alright, alright!". She plucked Toby out of the crib, trying her best to calm him by rocking him as he sat at her hip, still screaming and crying, he had a set of lungs on him for sure, "Knock it off...come on...Stop it! Stop it! I'll say the words...no, I mustn't. I mustn't say...".

The goblins loomed closer in their horde, gasping. (Name) held Toby out in front of her, beginning to say the words that would guarantee her some freedom. "I wish...I wish..." she began slowly. 

The goblins were abuzz with what was going to happen and each of them scolded the other into silence, trying not to miss the words that (Name) would say. "Listen!" one hushed, "She's going to say the words. 

"I can bear it no longer!" (Name) yelled, holding Toby up in the air, ignoring the crash of thunder and the rumbles in the sky and the flashes of lightning, "GOBLIN KING, GOBLIN KING! WHEREVER YOU MAY BE, TAKE THIS CHILD OF MINE FAR AWAY FROM ME!".

When nothing happened, Toby resumed his crying and (Name) huffed. "What a load of shit," she murmured, as the Goblins began to complain about she didn't say the right words from their hiding place, (Name) lowered Toby back to her hip, "Oh Toby, stop it! Oh, I wish I did know what to say to make the Goblins take you away!".

In their hiding spot, one of the Goblins recited the words. "I wish the Goblins would come and take you away right now," one said, "That's not hard, is it?!". The other Goblins made noises of agreement, as a spark lit up in (Name)'s mind at the exact same moment.

"I wish..." she spoke, "I wish...". (Name) paused, hauling Toby back into his crib, tucking him in and walking over to the bed to collect Lancelot. She walked over to the door, ready to turn the light off. "I wish the Goblins would come and take you away...right now,".

(Name) turned the light off and left the bedroom. The very second she did, Toby's crying ceased. She froze as a horrid sense of dread pooled in the depths of her stomach. Her mind raced at a million miles an hour and her heart began to pound in her chest. 

She turned back around, slowly walking back into the bedroom. There was a sense of eerieness that filled the room, like an unpleasant odour. "Toby?" (Name) called. Nothing, "Toby? Are you alright?".

The room was unnervingly quiet and still, nothing moved. (Name) tried to turn on the lights but the power wasn't working. It was fine in the outside hall, but not in the bedroom. She furrowed her eyebrows at that. "Why aren't you crying?" she questioned.

She tried to flip the light switch on but nothing happened and she decided to walk closer to the crib. The blankets in Toby's crib moved and a spine-chilling, nasally laughter filled the air. It was nothing like Toby's, more creepy if anything. She flinched back and the laughter silenced and the blankets stilled.

Hesitantly, she pulled back the blankets in one swift move and gasped. Toby was gone. He'd vanished like he was never there. Outside the windows, a pale white barn owl fluttered outside the windows. (Name) recognised it as the same owl she'd seen in the park earlier that had been watching her. Unbeknownst to her, dozens of goblins were in the background, darting from hiding spot to hiding spot, all laughing with that horrible laugh.

Yet, when she turned and tried to see them, they vanished. It was all so overwhelming as the laughter and the sound of thunder pierced her eardrums. Then the windows burst open and the owl fluttered in, flying around her head. She whimpered as the owl disappeared, only for the imposing silhouette of a man to appear in the window. 

She turned around, lowering her arms, as she was greeted with the sight of him. The Goblin King.