Marak's POV

Marak Crowfeather was faced with a problem. A huge problem. He needed a King's Wife. It was only a few days after the death of his mother and father, and his advisers were already buzzing about where his bride could come from.

"One of the village girls would do," Doti, his former tutor from when he was only a child, told him one evening. "There are plenty of nice girls there, and any one of them would make an ideal King's Wife."

Doti was very elf-pretty in goblin terms, very similar to Marak himself. She was tall and skinny, and covered from head to toe in cat fur. Her eyes were large and amber, and she had a cat's ears and tail.

Marak looked almost human. He was tall, six feet five inches, with silver-gray skin. His eyes were dark blue. His ears were long and pointed. The only really odd things about him were the black feathers mixed in with his black hair. He frowned, displeased. He had already looked over all the village girls, and neither of them were the slightest bit of human-elf cross. He wanted a bride who was at least partly elf.

"If m'lord doesn't find any of the village girls satisfying, perhaps he would like to see the girl who just moved in with her father at the Hallow Hill Lodge," his military adviser, Scree, squawked. He was a bird goblin. He was only three feet tall, with a beak and feathers growing over his face, and a hawk's clawed feet. "She certainly looks like an elf."

Marak glanced at Scree appreciatively. His military adviser always knew what he wanted even before he spoke of it aloud. "What would this maiden's name be?" he inquired curiously. Scree always took stock of the humans living around Hollow Lake; surely he would know the name of this girl.

"Genesis Maree Clark," Scree squawked, pleased to have his lord's attention. "Her father has been living in the Lodge for some time, and Jaidyn is just now joining him. I had Clary follow her for a day and a night." Clary was a goblin who could transform into the shape of a sparrow, a bird who could easily follow someone without being conspicuous. "She sometimes likes going out to the tree circle at night." When he said this, Scree looked pointedly at the goblin King, who was watching Scree with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"I'll watch her tonight," he said slowly, running his fingers through his black hair. When he pulled it away, two feathers came away with it, twined around his fingers. He brushed them away thoughtlessly. "I might even reveal myself to her. Scree, you come along. I might need some help if she's part elf."

Scree nodded and pulled a cloak around himself, pulling the hood over his face just as Marak did. They quickly strode to the iron door, Scree sometimes having to sprint to catch up to the long-legged goblin King.

Genesis's POV

Genesis picked at the food on her plate, occasionally nibbling on some morsel or another, but never taking a complete bite. She carefully watched her father as he shoveled food into his mouth, feeling slightly sickened by the sight. She had never been able to finish a meal, not even when she was a baby. There was just something wrong with her. If she tried to eat even one whole piece of bread her stomach would start churning unhappily and she would be sick for the rest of the day or night. Of course, she never went completely without food. She would eat small snippets here and there, but never anything more than a few bites.

Genesis's father glanced up and noticed his daughter listlessly pushing the food around on her plate with her fork. "Is there something wrong with the food?" he asked, swallowing the mouthful of potatoes and gravy that he had just shoved into his mouth.

"I guess I'm just not very hungry," she mumbled, bowing her head so that her white-blonde hair covered her face. It made her uncomfortable to have people looking at her. Through her curtain of fine hair, she saw her father's silhouette shrug and continue eating. Mrs. Cox, her father's housemaid, gently reached over and patted Jaidyn's arm kindly.

"Just a bit of homesickness," the old woman said sympathetically. "It'll pass in a few days."

Genesis knew that it wasn't true, but she smiled gratefully at Mrs. Cox for the effort anyways. She was a sturdy old woman with a gently wrinkled face and dark gray hair that was twisted up into a simple bun high on her head. "I think I'll go for a walk," Genesis told her quietly, getting up from the table to escape outdoors.

"Make sure not to get lost, dear," Mrs. Cox gently instructed.

"I'm only going to the tree circle," the girl assured the woman. "I won't get lost."

She quietly opened the back door and slipped outside, shutting it just as quietly as she had opened it. She sighed as she began walking up the trail towards the magnificent circle of trees that Mrs. Cox had shown her on her first day at Hallow Hill. The tree circle was the only place where she really felt at home. England was great and everything, but it was nothing like America. The night air was cool on her face and arms, and the dirt felt nice against the soles of her bare feet. The stars were shining bright silver in a dark indigo sky, and Jaidyn looked up at them and smiled. The moon was a full, silver disk hanging in the sky alongside the stars. Jaidyn had always loved nature, especially the stars and the moon. She made sure to look at them every night, whether from the safety of her bedroom window, the peacefulness of the Lodge's front lawn, or the wild beauty of the forest on the Lodge's property. They were just so beautiful.

Marak's POV

The girl was beautiful. She was standing in the middle of the tree circle, staring up at the moon with a small smile on her heart-shaped face. Her hair was white-blonde. In the back it was cut close to her scalp, and it was chin length on either side. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were mismatched: the left eye was emerald green, while the right eye was sapphire blue. She was long-limbed and curvy.

Standing beside Scree in the shelter of the trees, Marak stared and stared at Genesis as she carefully sat down on the grass and began randomly plucking at blades of grass, putting them between her lips and using them as whistles. Her brow was furrowed in innocent concentration as a sharp sound arose from the grass. Marak watched in fascination as the concentration on her face melted into a timid smile.

"Didn't I tell you?" Scree squawked quietly, looking at his lord's stunned face.

Marak nodded soundlessly, watching as the girl layed down on her back and pulled a small, white contraption out of her pocket. She unwound two strings from around it and put one string in each ear before closing her eyes and tapping her foot.

"Are you going to reveal yourself to her?" Scree inquired, raising his feathered eyebrows.

Marak studied the girl's face. She looked shy, and he didn't want to scare the girl. He would save that for later. Shaking his head, he told Scree, "I think that watching is more than enough for tonight. I'll introduce myself later."

Scree didn't exactly agree with the goblin King's decision, but he nodded anyways, loathe to do anything that might upset his lord. So King and military adviser settled down for a long night of watching Jaidyn as she lay in the tree circle, unaware that anything else might be going on.

This is my first Hollow Kingdom fanfiction, so please don't flame me. Read and Review! Pretty please?

Sapphireheart22