Jabberwocky Boyfriend: Himgre Part 1 (special preview)

“What?” I scoff at him “You have something to say to me?” I sit up on his back and place my hand on the nape of his neck. “Speak now, monster. I know you are rolling your eyes at me.”

Himgre scoffs. “Tea Country is a dangerous bet. It’s all flat land, nowhere to hide, nowhere to perform your tricks,” he chuckles. “Sure, it is a rich land, filled with even richer people, but you are taking a risk attacking there.”

“You can go underground, can’t you?” I sneer. “Ruin a few fields? Eat a few rabbits?” I lean back again. “Make a hole, burrow, and create a labyrinth like in The Garden.”

“That was not too long ago. You want to risk it?” Himgre growls.

“Who holds the reigns here?” I bark at him. “I have your heart, you do as I tell you to do. You got that?” I shake my head, rolling my eyes in the process. “I make sure no one else lays a hand on you. I keep you safe so only I have a chance at fighting you. Whose idea was it to go underwater on this one? Huh?”

“You and I both know that didn’t take much genius to come up with that plan, Lady Ida,” Himgre chuckles.

“Hold your tongue, vile beast!” I snap at him. “Lest you want me to actually take one of your teeth as prize next time.”

“It will grow back. Your threats don’t scare me. I know you need me,” Himgre snarls under his breath. “The two of us are are chained together. Miserable with each other and yet helpless without.”

I clutch the black vial in my hand, looking down at it. “You killed my father, I’ll never let you go. You’re mine forever.”

“Your father died of his own ignorance,” Himgre rasps.

We land outside the stone tower that serves as my home. The basement of it serves as Himgre’s hiding place. I take my bag from his side as he settles down onto the floor. Inside, I have stuffed the wallets, jewelry, and finery that I stole from the people of Oyster Cove. I also take the bag of pearls that served as my reward for ‘slaying’ the Jabberwocky.

Himgre coils up into a spiral, wrapping his neck and tail around and around himself. In the center, a shape pushes forward and out of it comes a human shape. Himgre steps from the shell like a snail who has decided to become a slug. His blue hair cracks from a shell and flows down around his back and shoulders. His skin is the same smokey green as his scales and along his back, where his spine is, there are strange hook-like protuberances. He takes a coat down from the wall, covering himself. His long, strange fingers have multiple joints, and they scurry up along the buttons quickly. He then looks at me, two eyes in the center like any normal human, but then two on his forehead and three more along the temple. The coat hangs open on his chest where there is a ticket of blue fur, save for a small patch where there is a gnarled and ghastly scar.

Yes, Jabberwocky are very different from dragons, because Jabberwocky can often hide in plain sight. 

“I’m hungry,” I tell Himgre as I start to ascend the stairs. “Make some tea and see if there is any bread and jam left.”

“I doubt we have any reserves left, Lady Ida,” Himgre grumbles as he climbs the stairs behind me. “If you’re planning on staying here for a while, I suggest you give me some money and I will go shopping tomorrow.”

I scoff. “Fine, whatever.” I look over my shoulder at him. “Stop getting shit with blueberries in it! I hate blueberries!”

“I know,” he says with a sniff.

I open up the door and climb into the next level of the tower. My room is here with my bed, desk, weapons, and supplies to make my battles with Himgre look real. Himgre keeps going up the stairs to the next level where the kitchen is.