'Ehhh…' Elenia's throat trembled at the thought. 'S-she's asleep right now. Asking at this moment would only make her grumpy–'
'Don't worry, I understand.'
Elenia relaxed a bit upon hearing that. 'Thank you, Rizz. I'm glad–'
'I'm just a weak little fiend. I'm sure your mother's beauty sleep is more important than my freedom.'
Those words felt like a ball and chain latched around Elenia's heart. She rolled in her bed but couldn't bring herself to wake the sleeping lady of the house, held back by the burden on her heart.
Rizz continued to spit at the lock of the opposite cell. And his telepathic tone was more blunt than ever, 'But don't worry about me, Elenia. I can take care of myself if needed. I won't let your old man turn me into a test subject. I'll make sure to not let him torture me for knowledge until he can dispose of me and keep everything for himself.
'I'll make sure none of that happens. So don't worry about me, just focus on yourself and your family.'
'But! …' Elenia mentally cried, 'But I want you as my familiar, Rizz. I do! I'll tell father and mother!'
'And what will you tell them?' Rizz laughed at the naive noblewoman, 'Mama, Papa, my fiend familiar taught me how to do stuff. Please let me keep him, and please don't experiment on him. I'll get really sad if you hurt him...'
Flinching, Elenia bit her lip to keep quiet. But she couldn't muster a reply.
Yet Rizz continued, 'Elenia, you said it yourself. I gave you knowledge that's hard to come by. So, if you know your old man so well, tell me what he'll want to do given this scenario.
'Option one: will he coddle you and hug you with tears in his eyes, glad that his daughter is happy with her fiend familiar?
'Or option two: will he declare my knowledge as the devil's in order to torture and experiment on me until I'm stripped of everything I know, only for him to mercifully dispose of me after I've served my purpose?
'... Which will it be, Elenia?
'... You do realize that silence is always the worst answer, right?'
The noblewoman stopped biting her lip after almost drawing blood. She rolled away from her mom. A vial of sparkling blue ink was retrieved… It mesmerized Elenia, pulling her into a trance.
'... I really will talk with my mother and father. I won't let them experiment on you, not at all!'
'Says the girl too afraid to wake her mother from a nap.'
That time, Elenia accidentally bit down on her tongue instead of her lip. '... But I mean it. I'll make sure you're taken care of, and that you have everything you could ever want–'
'I want freedom. That's what I want,' Rizz firmly stated, dropping his warmth and sarcasm. 'I'm finally free to live, move, and feel these worlds for myself. And you think I'll be satisfied as a glorified pet?
'You don't seem like a bad girl, Elenia. But you don't understand anything outside of your pampered, privileged life.'
'I do understand things!' Elenia telepathically roared. 'I live in the nation's capital and I'm graduating from the Wassek Adventuring Academy. I know how the world works–'
'Sure thing, My Lady. I'm glad you're happy in your little bubble. But I can't be happy with it. So I won't be staying for long.'
'B-but… what do you mean, Rizz?'
Chuckling again, the goblin remarked, 'Thanks for remembering the name. And don't forget our little promise. Keep the process to yourself, or you'll regret it.'
Elenia cut past those comments, asking, 'Rizz… what do you mean when you say you're not staying for long?'
'I've been telling you this whole time. I told you exactly what I planned to do and you never stopped me then. And since you're obviously more worried for your mother's beauty sleep, I'll just figure out my own escape before your doting old man returns.'
Her eyelids shot backward. Elenia's head erupted out of her mess of pillows. 'Rizz, don't–'
'It's too late to stop me, Elenia. Just stay in your room, curled up on your bed while your mother naps. I'd rather you not get caught up in the mess I'm about to make,' Rizz snickered with boundless confidence.
'... So… You're really gonna… leave?'
'Thanks for the help, and don't forget the ink and seal I paid you with,' Rizz reasoned. 'I'm a grateful goblin that always pays my debts. And I'm sure you'll have a nice life thanks to my magnificent teachings.'
'Please don't go–'
'Bye, bye, Elenia.'
Worrystriken, Elenia called out with her thoughts. But nothing happened. The mental connection was gone.
Her unblinking eyes were pasted to the back of her right hand, where the familiar crest should've been. Only… it was fading out of existence under the fall of a few tears.
Underground, Rizz was all smiles. He was holding an enchanting brush, using the needle to gently stab into the back of his left hand. A tiny drip of blue ink was squished between the goblin's skin and the piercing needle.
*I'm glad they can only make shitty curses, or that would've taken way too long,* Rizz mentally cackled, pulling the enchanting needle out of his hand.
His left hand held an open vial of blue ink, as well as a second, corked vial and one more enchanting brush.
Rizz re-corked the first vial before licking the edible sludge stuck to the bristles of both brushes. *Let's make sure you're nice and clean. I've only got two shots at this…*
Once both brushes were deemed usable, Rizz scooped up the last of the sludge from the floor. *You weren't much, but I'll never forget you. You were my first meal in this world. And you were my best aid in escaping. Also, I have no clue when I'll get to eat next… So bottoms up!*
Rizz gobbled up the gooey slop with a strange sense of satisfaction. And the next second, Rizz dropped his shackles and walked to his cell door. With a shove, the lock cracked apart.
But Rizz didn't open it fully. He didn't let it swing wide or slam against the bars. Rizz took a second to breathe… Then the goblin swiftly opened and shut his door, dashing across the destroyed corridor floor to open and close the door to the opposite cell.
Grrrrr…
With the softest of whispers, Rizz smirked at the restrained Frostcat, "Hey, kitty, kitty. You want to get out of here?"