Chapter 1 – Broken Dreams (Patreon)

Rosa stumbled into her studio apartment, dragging sand onto the pristine parquet floor. She haphazardly threw the bag with painting supplies in the corner while propping the failed painting against the wall. As if to spite her, it slid down to the floor with a loud thud, covering the floor with even more sand.

"Oh, come on!" She picked up the fallen canvas, and this time put a pair of sneakers in front of it to prevent it from falling again. She paused for a moment, observing her work. What she had hoped to turn into a serene scene of a sun setting over the sea, somehow had turned into a gruesome blood red sky with murky, dark waters.

"So much for creating a strong contrast," Rosa exhaled and kicked off her sandals. 

The apartment was hot and stuffy, so Rosa rushed to the kitchen to open the window and then back to the living room to open the two windows there. A warm breeze began flowing from one side of the apartment to the other, lazily moving the stale air around.

"I should have opened the windows in the morning," Rosa muttered to herself, sweat already pooling on her forehead and back. With a sigh, she went up to the laptop that sat on her small table, and opened her email to check the messages. 

There was one new email addressed from 'Studio Goblin'. Rosa's hand trembled in anticipation, her stomach churned from nervousness and her mouth suddenly felt very dry. She tried to click on the email, but accidentally opened an advert sitting right above the message, forcing a few curses out of her. When she finally managed to close it, she went straight back to her email.

"It's okay, it's okay," Rosa chanted to herself, looking over the late evening cityscape hoping to find courage in its serenity. She took a deep breath, and then after a few seconds, slowly exhaled. With a shaky hand, she guided the mouse to the email icon and clicked on it. 

"Hello, Rosa. After carefully reviewing your portfolio and taking into account the answers you gave during the interview…" Rosa quietly read the e-mail, skipping through most of the introduction, until she finally reached the most important sentence, "... it is with great pleasure that we inform you that you've been accepted as an intern at Studio Goblin."

Rosa squealed in delight and jumped up, forcing her chair to fall to the ground with a loud 'thud'. 

"I did it! I actually did it!"

A wide grin spread on her face, and she wanted to shout to the whole world of her big achievement. Then her face hardened and she looked at her phone which sat on the table next to her laptop.

"But first things first…" she muttered, and picked up her phone. She went straight to her 'Contacts' page and scrolled through the short list to find the name 'Mother'. She hesitated a bit, her heart pounding, but then shook her head and resolutely pressed the 'Call' button. 

Her hands trembled a little as she waited through the dial beeps. One. Two. Three. Four. At fifth her hand faltered and lowered a bit, but the call finally connected.

"Yes?" replied a cold, familiar voice.

"H-hello, Mother," Rosa said a bit nervously, shifting from one foot to the other, some rogue grains of sand falling off her feet.

"What do you want?" the cold voice spat out, and Rosa could imagine her mother's face scrunched up in disgust and disappointment. In fact, that is the only expression she could imagine on her face.

"I-I'm just calling to tell you that I got a job at Studio Goblin," Rosa said resolutely, straightening her back and puffing out her chest proudly. There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"So?"

The word felt like a slap across her face. 

"I-I… It proves that I can make a living by doing art. That you were wrong about me not being able to achieve anything," she said as calmly as she could, but her voice cracked multiple times. A loud scoff resounded from the phone.

"You've just proved that we made the right decision by throwing you out as soon as you turned eighteen. Studio Goblin? What kind of company even is that? No respectable person would ever call a business that!" Rosa's mother mocked, then continued before she could object. "If you had begged and apologized for your horrible behavior, I might have thought of accepting you back into the family. If you could have achieved even one fourth of what your younger sister has done, then I wouldn't have minded meeting with you again. I hoped that time on your own would have taught you a valuable lesson, but you're still the same ungrateful, lazy brat leeching off the hard-work of others. If only…"

Mother continued ranting but Rosa couldn't hear her anymore as the hand she held her phone with slumped to her side. Tears streamed down her face.

"I only wanted you to be proud of me just once…" Rosa whispered and lifted the phone to end the call. But before she pushed the red 'End Call' button, she heard her mother snarl.

"Never call us again. You're no daughter of mine."

And the call disconnected. 

For a while Rosa didn't move at all, she just stared at the dark screen. Then she threw her phone into the bed, and after hastily pulling on her sandals, rushed out of the stuffy apartment.

***

Rosa stumbled through the pier, watching the waves crash against the large rocks with dull eyes.

This was supposed to be a day of celebration…

But she couldn't feel even a hint of joy in her heart. 

Dark clouds were quickly gathering above the vast sea. Wind picked up in speed, pulling her long hair one way, only to change its mind and pull it in a completely different direction the next second. The air was heavy, hot and thick, making it difficult to breathe.

"What was even the point?" Rosa complained to the sea which threw its waves increasing intensity, as if trying to reach her and pull her into its depths. She sat down on the wet edge that separated the pier from the raging sea and looked down. Wetness began seeping through the fabric of her summer dress, but she didn't care.

"All that work, and I couldn't get even a single word of acknowledgement…"

The sea roiled, and heavy raindrops began falling down from the sky. Hot tears streamed down her face, but they remained unseen under the heavy raindrops that soaked Rosa through in a matter of minutes.

"I wish… I wish I had been born to parents who loved me no matter what I chose to do," she spoke to the sea quietly, her words drowned out by the loud crashes of deluge.

"Even being a demon's daughter would have been better!" she yelled into the sea, letting her frustration out. The anger inside her began to boil and she stood up on the ledge and screamed.

"Even a demon would care more!"

Wind pulled on her clothes and hair, but she stood tall and strong. She will not be taken down by this storm. She'll get through it just as she had gotten through all the other difficulties in life.

Feeling a bit better after screaming her feelings out, Rosa was about to descend from the ledge when a strong gust of wind threatened to throw her into the sea. She wobbled unsteadily but managed to keep to her footing. A strong blast of water suddenly swept her under the feet, and her knees buckled under the force.

Dumbstruck, she fell backwards into the sea, crashing into the dark waters. Rosa flailed, trying to swim for the surface but the sea tossed her mercilessly left and right, not giving her a chance to reach the water's edge. She began to panic as the oxygen in the lungs was slowly running out.

I can't just die like this!

She moved her limbs desperately, but the more she flailed, the deeper the sea seemed to pull her into its embrace. Her vision began to blur as her body was desperately crying out for oxygen. Darkness overcame her senses and cold filled her limbs, weighing them down like lead.

Rosa woke up with a jolt as if she was struck by a strong electric current. Her breath rasped, she was unable to breathe. Another strung jolt and her eyes opened for just a moment – not long enough to actually register her surroundings. She still couldn't breathe. Why couldn't she breathe? Before she could properly begin to panic, there was another jolt and she was finally able to take a lungful of air. She coughed violently, tears rolling down her cheeks.

A soothing male voice spoke in a language Rosa could not understand. As her coughing fit slowly subsided, she finally opened her eyes. 

I'm completely naked. Why am I naked? 

As Rosa's eyes adjusted to light, she saw a giant man towering over her. His skin was darkish gray, not a color that could be attributed to a living person, he had long, blood red hair and eyes as dark as the night. But what stood out the most were two, black horns attached to his head.

Rosa froze completely, unable to fathom what exactly she was seeing. She was in a small room with dark wallpaper and no windows, completely butt naked in what appeared to be a crib.

The man froze as well, staring at her with unblinking eyes. She screamed. But the scream did not come out quite like she imagined it should. It sounded like a cry of a… baby. She stopped, and the man looked at her intensely, waiting for her reaction. But for a moment she shelved her worries about the giant man, and instead tried to lift her arm.

It was incredibly difficult to do so – it felt like she had no strength in her arms whatsoever. But once she managed to do so, she saw a tiny hand with stubby, little fingers. 

That can't be right. 

She mustered her strength and lifted her other hand. It was just as small and with the same kind of stubby fingers. She tried to lift her head to look down on her body, but it was so heavy – Rosa couldn't even do it. 

She began squirming, trying to move her body upright, but it was completely futile. Rosa didn't have enough strength. As she squirmed, she felt something wriggle between her legs. 

No, that couldn't… could it? Please tell me it's not what I think it is!

Rosa lost it completely and started screeching on top of her little lungs. She had without a doubt been turned into a baby. And into a boy no less. 

No, this can't be happening! It must be a nightmare.

The man looked worried, and bent down to pick Rosa up, not bothering to cover her. His hands were huge and strong, and it felt like they could squish her like a blueberry. Rosa screeched hysterically. 

This has to be a nightmare. This can't be real! I have to wake up.

But the man rocked her in his arm in a soothing motion, and she inadvertently began to calm down – her hysteric cries turning to mild sobs. He said something to her, but she couldn't understand a word. The giant horns on his head scared her as did his rough features which made his attempts at calm expression look forced and awkward. 

Who is this man? Did he do this to me somehow? What even is he? A demon of some sort?

As Rosa pondered these questions, she felt that weird squirming in between her legs again. 

Wait… male parts aren't supposed to be moving around on their own, are they?

She tried to wiggle it, and felt how the appendage moved from underneath her as well. After a bit wriggling and squirming, she understood that it was actually a tail. Although she didn't know whether that was better or worse.

Oh God!

Rosa squirmed and with the last bit of the baby strength that she had, she reached to touch the top of her head. It was so difficult – her arms felt so utterly tiny and useless while her head felt so bulbous and large. But she did manage to find what she was looking for – or rather what she had hoped not to find. Two tiny little stumps right on top of her head. 

The man said something to her again, his expression more confident now. She looked at the large hands holding her and saw how his skin tone nearly matched her own. The man took her curiosity as a good sign and began speaking to her. She couldn't understand a word – the language sounded like nothing she had ever heard before. But from his intonation she could tell that he was excited.

He walked up to a large body sized mirror in the corner of the dark room and pointed towards it with his chin while talking in the meanwhile. With some effort, she turned her head and saw that the baby in the reflection of the mirror had the same blood red tuft of hair as the man. Now she was sure without a doubt – this man was the father of the baby. Rosa began wailing at the top of her lungs.

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