The Girl Who Cried Goblin King
She wasn't supposed to call him after she had won. She was supposed to learn from her experience, and move on from the fairytale nonsense that had made her call for the goblins to take her brother away in the first place. She was supposed to do all of these things, but most importantly, she was meant to grow up.
But she didn't. It wasn't the first time she hadn't followed the rules. In fact, she broke practically every one of the unspoken laws that governed the Labyrinth and its challengers, so it should not have surprised him so when she refused to forget as well. It had pleased him at first that she clung to him so desperately. He had even gone so far as to take it as a sign she felt a sort of attachment to him, saw him as more than a villain to be defeated. But he had once again misjudged her.
"Goblin King?" she called. Her voice was timid. She wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing, calling him, didn't know if it would work the same way with him as it did the others. But she had to try.
He appeared, materialized in her room amidst as cloud of glitter, extravagantly attired in the garb she had expected, the same he had worn when he had first come to her.
"You called?" he replied, and was rewarded with a grin flashed from her perfect teeth.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Oh, umm…see, Karen yelled at me again today, and I needed someone to talk to."
"And you called me?" He allowed a small smirk to claw its way up to the surface. "What, your friends can't help you? Or won't?" Sarah bristled at his implication.
"For your information, I just wanted to talk to someone else for a change. Ludo is sweet, but not all that intelligent when it comes to life situations, Didymus can't understand why I won't charge into the room and demand a duel, and Hoggle…well, he's Hoggle."
"So I play second-best to a fox, a dwarf, and a yeti."
"No, no! That's not what I meant at all!"
"Yes, you seem to have an annoying habit of saying just what you don't mean. Tell me Sarah, are you ever going to say what you mean outright?"
"Only if you ask the right questions," She grinned.
He had left her that night, flying back to the Underground with a prickling, unsettled feeling nagging him in the back of his mind. Something about that exchange just didn't sit right with him. It was only a week before he once again felt the familiar summons Aboveground.
The next time it was school bullies. No, she didn't want to wish them away. Yes, she had thought he might help. No advice? Oh. Okay. Thanks anyway.
He allowed this to go on for a few months. At first, after it became apparent she simply wasn't forgetting, he had decided to let it continue, for his own amusement if for nothing else. Perhaps she would gather up the courage to challenge him by wishing someone else away. He would not deny that he was curious. Why had she begun summoning him, when her friends would no longer do? He had come to the conclusion, albeit belatedly, that it was not out of some deluded affection for him. So what drove her to continually tempt the tempter? For days, he combed his memories of her time in his Labyrinth, and what he had learned of her then and since. He watched her carefully, observing her both during their brief conversations and after she believed him to be gone. The utter inanity of the requests she made confirmed his suspicions: she was taking advantage of him. She disrespected his position as King.
The next time, he didn't bother changing.
"What is it now?"
"I've got a problem," Sarah said.
"Ah, so have I! There's this mortal girl, you see, and she just won't stop summoning me—"
"I'm serious!" Sarah interrupted. "I need your help."
The Goblin King considered her coolly, his odd eyes hooded as he stood half drenched in shadows. "All right. What's your problem?"
Sarah hesitated. "Well…I've been having dreams." She began reluctantly. He snorted.
"Contrary to…whatever your beliefs about me might be, I do have more important things to do than keep a little girl from having nightmares. Like ruling a kingdom, for instance." This last he drawled slowly, bitingly.
"Your kingdom can take perfectly good care of itself, from what I remember," Sarah snapped, nettled. "Besides, your subjects are goblins."
His eyes narrowed. He very slowly drew himself up to his full height and looked down upon her, this child, this—this Sarah, imperiously. The weather, which had clouded over with his arrival, began to storm. Rain railed against the windows and on the roof. Clouds roiled with fury and lightning flashed, too close. Shadows along the walls started to flicker and close in, creeping towards them until Sarah was surrounded.
"I would not underestimate them if I were you."
It was then Sarah realized that the shadows had eyes, eyes that glowed red, and then she began to scream….
The room was empty. The night was quiet once more. The Goblin King smiled.
Disclaimer: Neither the Goblin King nor Sarah belong to me. I don't think I can even lay proper claim to the storm or my shadow goblins. They are so charming. :)
Author's Note: I feel obliged to leave another one of these here, if only because I have in all of my other short stories. I don't particularly feel the need for a lengthy explanation, partly because I am too exhausted to be coherent about it, but also because I'm pretty sure we all understand what happened here. As if the title didn't give it away. Also, has anyone else noticed my reluctance to use the Goblin King's given name? If indeed it was given. Hmm...
Again, while I do fear sounding repetitive, I enjoy reviews! Thank you.