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"I will tell you. But first we must go to a more comfortable chamber." She knocked on the door.
It opened. Jenny led Che out, and Sammy came along, knowing that something was up. Without words
they filed into the suite. "Food will be delivered if you ask," Godiva said as she closed the door behind
them. "I will come when you ask for me, perhaps in the morning."
"Thank you," Jenny said.
Sammy promptly found a suitable cushion and settled down for the rest of his orange snooze. Che stood
for a moment and looked around, plainly awed. "I did not realize that goblins had such
accommodations."
"They do for princesses, or whatever," Jenny said. She saw that he was tired, so she decided to
abbreviate the discussion. "Let me tell you the essence now, and in the morning I'll tell you as much else
as I know, if you want."
"I appreciate that."
"Remember, you must not tell anyone else, regardless what you decide about the deal she offers."
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r r
"Of course. I did not want to be compromised by something extraneous, but since you have ascertained
that it is not, I accept the terms."
"She wants you to be the companion for her daughter, Gwenny, who will be the next chief if you help
her, and will die if you don't-because she's lame and mostly blind. A female chief would try to make this
a better tribe."
Che had evidently been braced for something of significance, but this surprised him. "But females aren't
goblin chiefs!" he protested.
"This one can be, with your help."
He pondered. "What kind of person is this goblin girl?"
"I saw her only briefly. She's sleeping in the next chamber. She seemed nice, but of course I don't really
know her."
"Perhaps I can see her."
"Oh, I don't think the door would be unlocked." Jenny said, trying it. It opened. She stared at it,
dumbfounded. How could Godiva be so trusting?
They entered. There by the dim light of the torch lay Gwenny Goblin, lovely in her sleep.
"She is very like you," Che said.
"Oh, no, she's-" But Jenny caught herself. "She is my age and size, but of course her ears are round and
she has five fingers."
"These hardly matter." He retreated, his hooves landing very lightly so as not to wake the girl.
They returned to their own chamber and closed the door. "This alters the complexion," he said. "I must
consider." Then he settled down on the carpeted floor, leaned against the carpeted wall, and went to
sleep.
Jenny gathered cushions and formed a bed beside him. She lay on it, and The light of morning woke her.
She had not even been aware of falling asleep. She had been so tired, but now felt much refreshed. She
blinked and stretched, and one hand encountered something furry and warm. Oh, yes, that was Che
Centaur. He-
She blinked again. Morning? How could that be, way down here in the anthill?
She sat up and saw that the light was coming from an alcove. It seemed to be a well, with the chamber at
the bottom, so that the light could come down. She saw that its sides were shiny, so that the light
reflected. How nice! She had not noticed it at all in the night, but of course then it had been dark and
would have looked like just a blank niche.
By daylight the room was brighter and nicer than it had seemed by torchlight, and it had seemed nice
enough then. This was evidently Gwenny's playroom that they were sharing.
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r r
Gwenny! Was she still there? Jenny walked to the door between chambers, but hesitated. It wasn't her
place to disturb the chief's daughter, after all. Besides which, she had something to do.
She explored the chamber, and found a curtained compartment with a shiny stone surface, a basin, a
crock of water, a sponge, two brushes, and a pot with a lid. She picked up the pot and sniffed it, then
wrinkled her nose in disgust. That was what she was looking for, all right. She used the pot, then put the
lid back on. Then she used the water and basin and sponge to clean herself again, getting rid of the faint
lines of grime that had escaped her before. She brushed her hair, working out the tangles that had
sneaked back in overnight. Not only did she feel better, she now felt quite good.
She stepped out of the curtained alcove. Sammy was up, and pacing the floor. Oh.
She went to the outer door and knocked. In a moment the bar lifted and it opened. A goblin face peeked
in.
"Oh, Moron!" Jenny said, recognizing him. At first all goblins had looked alike to her, but that was
passing. "Can you get us a box of dirt?"
He seemed surprised. "Not cookies?"
She laughed. "Not to eat, silly! For Sammy." Then she reconsidered. "But bring some cookies too, or
whatever is good for breakfast. For two." She re-reconsidered. "For three. And a dead rat, if you have
one." For she realized that Sammy might not have much luck hunting, down here. Actually she wasn't
sure what Sammy ate, because she never saw the results of his hunting.
Moron smiled. He turned to the goblin behind him. "Three piles of cookies, a dead rat, and a box of dirt.
They are hungry."
Jenny bit her lip. It seemed that goblin males were not entirely sour.
She turned back into the room. Che was awake now, and getting to his feet. He looked around. "There's [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]