I never knew I lived on the edge of two worlds, until now. I stare across my bed at the goblin standing on my bedroom floor. It’s two in the morning, one minute ago I was peacefully sleeping then I heard a loud bang which I then discovered to be this thing.  

            I push myself up and I rub my eyes the creature still across me. When my brain finally registers that I am not in fact dreaming, I scream. I let out a blood-curdling shriek for about two seconds before a dark green, wart covered hand covers my mouth.  

            “Watch it!” He hisses. 

            The goblin glares at me, as if it is my fault for fearing him.  

            “We have got to move, time is ticking. Do not make this more difficult by causing a scene.” 

            I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, and he slowly removes his hand as I prove that I will not scream again. 

            “We’ve got to move? Why? And who – or what—are you?” I whisper hastily. 

            “I will explain on the way just hurry. And my name is Verne.”  

            “I am not just going to follow some random goblin god knows where,” I scoff. 

            As my eyes start adjusting to the dark room, my light green walls becoming more visible along with the creature in front of me. Verne is around five feet tall and has graying hair. He stares at me for a brief moment before responding. 

            “I am here to help you. You just need to believe me. If you wake up here tomorrow, you will be in danger.” 

            My first thought goes to my family, who I asked him about. He reassures me that if I follow him nobody will be in danger. Something about the look in his eyes told me to believe him. If what he is saying is true, I do not want to put my family in danger by staying here. 

            “Okay. Where to?” 

            After leading me out my window and down the tree next to my house, which was very terrifying, Verne takes me through the woods. I expect a goblin could not drive the streets, even at this time of night. We walk for what must be around an hour, I took off my watch before I went to sleep so I am clueless. Not only that but I am trekking through the woods in my pajamas, bunny slippers and all. There better not be any princes wherever we are going.  

            Verne randomly stops and I almost stumble into his back.  

            “Okay we are a few steps away from the kingdom. Keep your head low and always keep your hood on, your ears are a dead giveaway that you are a mortal.”  

            “It does not look like we are a few steps away from a kingdom,” I say, face deadpan. 

            Verne rolls his eyes at this, turns away from me, and takes a step forward. He’s gone. It is as if his body evaporated into thin air, no evidence of his existence and no noise.  

            “Verne?” No response. 

            I look around me at the dark autumn forest, the leaves beneath my feet and the tree branches above my head. I take a deep breath and two steps forward. The world I knew disappears and suddenly I am in a new world, surrounded by village houses, ranging from extreme height to doghouse size. Nothing too out of the ordinary surrounds me besides the goblin at my side. A few lights illuminate the windows we pass as we walk through the village, me behind Verne again.  

            “Where are the villagers?” 

            “The fey?” He corrects me. 

            I correct myself and ask again.  

            “It’s a full moon. Which means it’s a revel,” he explains as we reach a town square type of area.  

            My eyes flicker up from looking at Verne whilst he is talking, to looking at the large earthy castle at the end of the street. The castle is illuminated with many lights and there is nature growing on the entirety of it. Vine curls around the window frames and moss grows above the shingles. Even from far away I can hear loud music and the laughter of the fey.  

            We arrived at the castle after a lengthy walk down a large stone path. We stop at the door and Verne explains the importance of being careful during the revel. We are here to find the King and not to party. He made that very clear, but as we entered the illuminated room filled with scents that satisfy every inch of my body and music that seems to pull me on the dance floor, I lose focus almost immediately.  

            Verne quickly starts trekking through the crowd and I lose him in my daze. I stare around the enormous ballroom and search across the faces for the green goblin, but I see many goblins. There are people with iridescent wings, scaly skin, a variety of colored skin and hair. Suddenly a tall thin woman with navy skin and white hair approaches me.  

            “You are quite mysterious,” she hums as she pushes my hood off my head. “Care to dance?”  

            I do not even answer as she pulls me on to the dance floor, letting the music engulf me. The music scratches an itch in my brain that I was unaware I had. It is like nothing I have ever done; I feel like I can never stop. The fey dance a multitude of different ways around me, gracefully and rowdily. I do not know how much time passes as I dance, song after song passes and I feel my legs ache and the arms I lift in the air become weaker. I feel as if I was drunk on the music and suddenly, I fall, and everything goes black.  

           I open my eyes to a bright room, a rhythmic beep going on beside me. I am in a small white bed, one that is not my own, and a few machines beside me. Once I am fully aware of my surroundings, I realize that I am in a hospital. A small lady who I assume to be a nurse walks into the room. She gives a surprised look noticing my awake state and walks over to my bedside.  

            “Lydia, I am Mia Jones, your nurse,” the lady explains. “You were found last night in the woods off Cornelia Road.” She gives me a sympathetic look. 

            I stared at her with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows. Last night? From what I can remember I was not in this world last night, I was in a beautiful castle dancing the night away.  

            “Do you remember how you got there?” She looks down at me with concern. 

            “…I followed a goblin into the forest,” I tell her. “His name was Verne. I saw a bunch of different Fey creatures.” 

            She looks down on me even more concerned than before, “You can hear what happened last night from the cops you should talk to them.” 

            “I am not lying…I remember it.” She gives me a sympathetic look, as if I am lying, like it is something I made up in my mind.  

            “Hunny, last night you were kidnapped.”