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and Finn would be… Well, I didn’t know where he’d be, but it had to be better than whatever really did happen to him.
    With that thought burning in my mind, I pounded on the door, knocking as loudly as I could. My fist hurt from how hard I hit, but I didn’t care.
     
5. Hobgoblin
     
      “What?” A deep, craggy voice asked, and a slot slid open in the middle of the door.
    I bent over to peer through, and I saw the hobgoblin that had come in with Loki. His eyes were buried under bushy eyebrows, and I wasn’t sure if I had a good enough view to persuade him. Or even if it worked on actual trolls. They appeared to be an entirely different species from me.
    “Ludlow, is it?” I asked, remembering the name Loki had shouted when sending for help.
    “Don’t try to sweet talk me, Princess.” The hobgoblin coughed, retching up phlegm and spitting it on the ground. He wiped his face on the back of his sleeve before turning to me. “I’ve turned down far prettier girls than you before.”
    “I need to go to the bathroom.” I dropped any pretense of being friendly. I had a feeling that honesty and cynicism would go farther with him.
    “So go. You don’t have to ask me for permission,” Ludlow laughed, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound.
    “There’s no bathroom in here. I’m not gonna squat on the ground,” I said, genuinely disgusted by the idea.
    “Then hold it.” Ludlow started to shut the slot, but I put my hand out. He pushed hard, but I stopped it easily. If it came down to it, I could totally overpower the hobgoblin.
    “Can’t you get a guard or something to take me the bathroom?” I asked.
    “I am the guard,” Ludlow snapped, sounding huffy.
    “Oh really?” I smirked at him, realizing this might be far easier than I thought.
    “Don’t underestimate me, Princess,” Ludlow growled. “I eat girls like you for breakfast.”
    “So you’re a cannibal?” I wrinkled my nose.
    “Ludlow, are you harassing the poor girl?” A voice came from out of sight of the slot. Ludlow moved to the side, and I saw Loki swaggering towards us.
    “She’s harassing me ,” Ludlow complained.
    “Yes, talking to a beautiful Princess – what a rough lot you have in life,” Loki said dryly, and Matt snorted behind me.
    Ludlow muttered something, but Loki held up his hand, silencing him. He was too close to the door for me to see his face. The slot was at Ludlow’s eye level, which was about at Loki’s waist.
    “What seems to be the problem?” Loki asked.
    “I need to go to the bathroom.” I leaned in closer to the slot, peering up at him. I wanted to catch his eye, but they stayed out of my vision.
    “And I told her to go inside the cell,” Ludlow said with pride in his voice.
    “Oh come now. She’s not a common mänks. We can’t leave her in squalor!” Loki chastised the troll, sounding genuinely displeased. “Open the door. Let her out.”
    “But, sir, I’m not to let her out until the King calls for her.” Ludlow looked up at him nervously.
    “You think the King would want her treated this way?” Loki asked, and the hobgoblin wrung his hands. “You can explain to the Majesty that this is all my fault, if it comes to it.”
    Ludlow nodded his reluctant compliance. He slid the slot shut, and I let him this time. I stood up and listened to the sounds of the bolts and locks clicking and turning.
    “I don’t like this,” Matt said, throwing his disapproval into the ring.
    “We don’t have much of a choice,” I whispered. “I got us into this, and I’ll get us out.”
    The door opened a bit, and I stood back, expecting it to open farther. I thought Loki would step in, I would use persuasion, and we would be off. But he and Ludlow remained hidden outside.
    “Well?” Ludlow asked. “I’m not holding this door open all day.”
    Ludlow had left the door open a few inches, barely enough room for me to slide my body through. I squeezed my way out, and as soon as I had, Ludlow slammed the door