'Are you trying to kill me?' My mother shrieked.
'Do you want food or not, Miss?' The little chef rebuked.
'My name isn't "Miss." It's Helen. Jake, what is that thing?'
'Relax, mom; he's a Goblin chef.' The words were sounding more and more ridiculous every time someone said them.
Asher was howling with laughter. 'You should have seen your face, Helen!'
My mother was staring down her nose at him. I'd been on the receiving end of that stern look many times while growing up; he should be afraid.
'Asher, I'm still Mrs Goodwin to you.'
It was hard to believe that only a few days had passed since our arrival here. So much had happened since then, and listening to the others' kid around, I wouldn't have believed that they were any worse for it.
Violet decided to break the uncomfortable silence. 'Speaking of names, what do we call you, chef?'
The Goblin ignored her and instead went back to ferrying stacks of plates over to the dining table. 'Supper's ready.' He squealed a few seconds later.
My ears were ringing; the Goblin's voice was as loud as a foghorn. 'I guess that supper's ready then.'
My mother slapped the fork out of Asher's hand. 'Wait for everyone else!'
Violet snorted, and her drink began oozing out of her nose. 'You could have warned me, Mrs Goodwin; that was a perfect cup of tea.'
'Sorry.'
Once again, the food was magnificent, with appetisers and main courses spread across the finely tailored table cloth. Steaming teapots were sitting at one end, and there was a rare one-hundred-year-old bottle of red wine sitting at the other.
'Oh my,' Mrs Goodwin said, holding the bottle up to the light to admire it. Unscrewing the cork gently, she was taken aback by the intense aroma that started seeping out. 'I'll be testing some of this.'
I fumbled for another glass, but my mother slid it out of reach, laughing. 'I don't think so; let's give it a couple of years.'
I should have expected as much from her; still, it was worth the try.
'Where are your parents, Violet? Your mother and I have plans for visiting this tea room that you've created in your world,' Violet's smile faded quickly. 'You didn't build it, did you?'
She shook her head. 'I ran out of time.'
'I'm sure we'll manage without it, don't worry.'
Glancing around, I couldn't see the little Goblin anywhere; he would always disappear like that, through the use of magic, no doubt. It was getting late, though, so he might have already gone off to bed.
Asher yawned, and it started spreading like wildfire. Suddenly we were all doing it. There was nothing quite like the feeling of a full belly to send you into a food coma.
'That's me off to bed. Goodnight everyone,' Mrs Goodwin was waving her index finger around before levelling it at me as though I was the ring-leader here. 'We've got a lot to do tomorrow, so no staying awake into the early hours of the morning!'
Violet was grinning; it was a somewhat goofy smile as well, and Asher was trying his best to look away.
'Of course, mom, we won't be long.' How I managed to sell that lie with a straight face was a mystery, but as soon as she'd left, I helped myself to the leftover wine. She must have known that we'd end up doing this, yet, she didn't come running back.
Asher started laughing hysterically; if I hadn't already known what he was like, I might have thought that he'd gone mad. 'Did you see your mother's face when our Goblin friend appeared?'
I looked around twice to ensure that she was gone; my mother could be sneaky like that. She was all-seeing and all-knowing, and she could always sense when someone was talking about her.
I exhaled heavily, puffing out my cheeks. 'I should have warned my mom about that creepy little monster.'
Asher shook his head. 'No, no, it was the best prank ever.'
I frowned at him, not saying a word. Best prank ever; I highly doubt it.
'I wouldn't worry about it,' Violet consoled. 'What should we do with the rest of the night anyway?'
Asher's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. 'We could explore more of the castle?'
I took a moment to think about his suggestion. So far, nothing good had come from our desire to explore the place; I should have known it like the back of my hand, and yet I somehow didn't. I certainly wasn't as eager as Asher to set foot inside those halls again.
'I'll pass for once; I'm going to have an early night instead... well, I'll give it ten more minutes maybe.'
A few hours later, we'd barely had half a glass each, but the wine was gone, and we were waddling back to our bedrooms, holding each other up. The ground beneath our feet was spinning, and our shoes felt like they had wheels on them. We really couldn't handle our alcohol.
The wine had bested me, and random emotions were now flooding through my mind. To say that these thoughts were nonsensical would have been an understatement. 'I love you's guys, and you too, Asher. I'm glad you're both here.'
'This is your room.' Violet announced, kicking the door open.
I felt like I was floating through the air for the briefest of moments until I crashed onto the spongy mattress face-first. My friends had thrown me inside like I was a sack of rubbish, but I was too drunk to care. It didn't take long for my eyelids to start feeling heavy and for the blanket's warmth to become too cosy to resist. Before I knew it, I was steadily drifting off to sleep, and then; nothing.
The following day we awoke to the howling of werewolves, and as I darted outside, I noticed Anya first, pacing back and forth at the head of a great army. Her wolves were chomping at the bit to unleash hell upon us, thousands of gnashing teeth, just dying to taste bloody flesh.
'Why are they just standing there?' Violet asked, out of breath from running to the courtyard where we were all waiting. We'd chosen this place as it offered a perfect vantage point, overlooking the unique drawbridge that was the only way in or out of the castle.
'You look terrible.' Asher noted. He never was good at thinking before he spoke.
Violet looked ready to kill him. 'I have no spare clothes!'
'None of us do.' They both gave me a flat look.
Interrupting our little argument, we heard the sounding of horns as the enemy formation began to part. They were clearing a narrow path, quickly closing up behind Anya as she moved towards us. The self-styled Lady of Brockwing was fast approaching, and we would have no choice but to go and meet her.