I'm... I'm not sorry for this
Being ruler over a kingdom of idiots was just as fulfilling as not being a ruler at all was. But when your family (by divine punishment for an ancestor several generations ahead of you) had a duty to rule over the kingdom of simpletons, that was what you did. In all honesty it wasn't that bad. A kingdom of idiots meant far less political upheaval and less of a chance of being assassinated. But it also meant dealing with inanities that started to grate after a while, especially when you were as long lived as him. The only thing that broke up the monotony was his son. But the golden-haired child had recently taken to wandering off, beyond the reaches of his kingdom, beyond the reaches of their realm. Adrien had grown fascinated by the humans, and Gabriel could only imagine what kind of heartbreak the boy would be set up for.
At this time belief in magic had dwindled down to practically nothing. The bonds between their worlds, once so strong, the veil once so thin, and now it was nearly impossible. Only the denizens of the Goblin Kingdom were able to cross the borders now. And Adrien made full use of the family curse in being stationed there, always popping away into the mortal realm. To what end Gabriel didn't understand. No one was ever wished away. Why torture oneself with something they could never be a part of?
A small part of him, regardless of what he might say otherwise, was perhaps jealous of his son. His son who had so few responsibilities as a prince since he was still more than capable of ruling, and therefore could gallivant off at the drop of a hat. Meanwhile, Gabriel had to stay here in the midst of inanity and idiocy. If it weren't so unbecoming of a king he's be holding court drunk of his gourd more days than not.
Of course, for whatever reason today was different. Gabriel could feel it. His horde was restless, clustering together and intermittently napping or waking up with wide eyes, only to hunker back down into slumber with nothing more than a disappointed sigh. Verge, edge, precipice. Someone was on the precipice of making a wish. No, no that was foolish. Magic's connection with the mortal world was so tenuous. Not even a wish by the most ardent believer could make its way here anymore, right?
And then he felt it too. A split second before. That tug, that inexorable pull to the mortal realm. Before he knew it that tug had taken his horde and he was soon to follow. When he got there the child had already been taken. And he was left to deal with the aftermath, as usual. There was a teenage girl who looked stricken at the idea that her wish had come true. Mortals these days really had no idea why the phrase words have power existed, did they? Gabriel could recall when goblins and by extension their king had been feared, revered, something not to speak of lightly. Now, however, they were nothing but whimsical creatures of legend. Tiny little tricksters who were grotesquely cute and mischievous.
Gabriel went through his usual spiel, conjuring a crystal in his hands and offering it to her. Her mouth dropped open and he took a good look at her. She was certainly childish, her bluish-black hair pulled into low pigtails, and her white and powder pink pajamas. Her eyes were wide and scared, and yet somehow intrigued. Gabriel could already picture what had happened. She'd been forced to babysit and the child had been irritating and in typical teenage fashion the girl had gotten irritated to the point where she'd made a stupid, selfish wish. The only difference was that she had really believed in her wish, enough to bring his goblins and himself here. She still hadn't answered and with a huffy sigh he shook the crystal in his outstretched hand a little and repeated himself.
"Do you want it?" he asked.
"I-" she squeaked, "What is it?"
"It's a crystal," he informed her, beginning to juggle the bauble over his arms, a skill that had been passed down from generation to generation in his family, "Nothing more, but if you turn it this way, and look into it, it will show you your dreams," he reiterated a third time, "Do you want it?"
"I-" she stammered, "I-"
"Then forget the child," Gabriel replied.
She stared at him, tears in her eyes, "I can't," she sounded like she wanted to cry, "It's isn't that I don't want it, or I don't appreciate it… but I want Nathalie back."
Nathalie? So that was the child's name? A little too grown up in his opinion, but whatever. Still, rejection of a gift, no matter how polite was a sleight to his ego. And it couldn't go ignored. Immediately the girl's name came to his mind.
"Marinette," he paused her rambling. The crystal in his hands became a snake which he passed between his hands. He looked at her, and shook his head, "Don't defy me," and without warning he tossed it at her neck. But there was no damage done, as soon as it touched her it turned into a rope of silk scarves which dropped to the floor and vanished. He smirked, it was so rare he got to intimidate, he'd almost forgotten how much fun it was to strike fear and awe into the hearts of mortals, "You're no match for me Marinette," he taunted, "You're no match for anyone."
He saw her stance shift instantly. It was subtle, and she was still very much afraid, but there was a spark of defiance that lit in her eyes. Her stance, her whole bearing shifted. Turned firm, turned unyielding, ready for a fight.
"You don't understand," her voice was somewhere between pleading and warning, "I need to get Nathalie back. She's-" and just like that the spark of defiance was replaced by a well of sorrow, "Nevermind."
Gabriel, taking an unaffected air as he tugged fastidiously at one of his gloves, stared at her for a moment and shrugged, "If you wish then…" he strode over to an open window and pointed behind him, "She's there, in my castle." Marinette had followed him and took steps of her own volition into his domain, "Do you still want to go looking for her?" he asked as she took in the sight of his kingdom, more notably the massive maze that surrounded the castle as it rose from a cliff in the furthest distance.
"Is that," she breathed, "Is that the castle beyond the Goblin City?"
He shook his head, bemused by her false bravado, "Turn back," he advised, "Turn back before it's too late. Take my offer, return home else you may never see it again."
Marinette bit her lip and looked at the ground. Resolved she turned her gaze back to him, more determined than ever. Well, this would be fun wouldn't it? As if to punctuate his thought she responded with, "I can't, don't you get that I can't?
"More's the pity," he remarked without emotion.
Marinette glanced back at the challenge that lay before her, "It's not that far," she tried to convince herself.
Gabriel raised a brow, already ready to dash her hopes. He crept closer, looming over her as he informed her, "It's further than you think, and time is short."
"Time?" she looked at him.
"Did you think you would have eternity to win back your sibling?" Gabriel asked her. With a snap of his fingers, emphasized by the sharp leather of his gloves, a clock appeared on the branch of a nearby tree, "You have thirteen hours in which to solve the Labyrinth before your sister becomes one of us forever," he faded into nothingness, leaving only his parting remark to float after the little challenger on the wind, "Such a pity."
Marinette looked around, trying to see if he was still here. But this Goblin King, her perceived antagonist, was nowhere to be found. She looked back at the behemoth of a maze, thirteen hours and counting.
"The Labyrinth," she nearly hissed, eyeing it contemplatively. At last she reached a decision, "It doesn't look that hard. Come on feet," she told the appendages as she started half-walking, half-sliding down the small hill and approached the outer walls of the adventure that lay in wait for her.
Gabriel returned to his castle, ready to wait out the thirteen hours bouncing a baby on his knee. He didn't particularly like infants, but his job was his job after all. Hmm, perhaps he could fob the child off on Adrien. His son liked children far more than Gabriel ever had, that was for certain.
"Adrien!" Gabriel called to a crowded yet silent throne room as he lackadasically draped himself over the titular piece of furniture. The menacing armor he'd donned for his journey above was gone in an instant, replace by his far more comfortable Godfrey shirt and breeches with matching vest.
In the next instant his golden-haired spawn was before him, "Yes Father?" Adrien asked as he bowed his head to his sovereign.
"You're in luck today," Gabriel replied, "We have one,"
"One?"
"Someone has finally wished away a child." Gabriel explained, "Which I am trusting you to-"
He was interrupted when the rabble started to clamor. With a sharp glare he turned to them and harsly demanded, "What!"
Heads turned and eyes shifted to one another. Each of them waiting for someone to tell their king but none of them wanting to be the one to do it. Eventually one was separated, pushed before the monarch by the group. They prostrated at his dangling feet, Gabriel watched on, bored yet impatient and irritated at the interruption.
As soon as their bow was completed the nervous creature wrung its hands as it tried to explain, "There's… We's… the girl your majesty."
"What of her?"
"She's too old majesty," the Goblin squeaked.
"Too old for?"
"Too old to turn, too old to turn!" the goblins chorused.
"Of course she is, did you think I didn't notice that?" Gabriel asked them, "I have eyes you know."
The speaker shook his head, "Not that one, not that one. The other one!"
"Which one?"
Before he could get his answer she came storming in. well, actually, first a goblin came flying through the air to land at his feet. And then she came storming in, careless as to who was in her way or how injured they might be if they did not change that fast enough. Dressed just as thinly as Marinette had been in silken pajamas made for the summer heat that it had been above. All black hair and furious blue eyes.
"What. Is. The meaning of this!" she bellowed. The goblins cowered in the face of her ire.
Unimpressed Gabriel cast his gaze on her. Where Marinette had truly been a child though, this female was all woman. A fact made more than evident by her choice of garments. Her hands were fisted at her hips, one of them cocked and emphasizing the curve of her figure. Her eyes were hard and she stood, regal as any royal as she stared him down.
"Who are you?" she asked, "And where am I?"
Gabriel ignored her and looked to his goblins, "This was the one you took?" the goblins weren't supposed to take adults. Only children, only the unwanted.
"If by taken you mean kidnapped, then yes," the woman replied, "I demand you take me home at once. I have a teenager to take care of."
Coolly Gabriel regarded her, "A teenager? You mean the same teenager that is the very reason for your being here? The same teenager now trapped within a dangerous and deadly maze?"
"What?" the woman gasped, "Take her out and send us home. Now!"
Gabriel chuckled, it had been so long he'd forgotten how amusing mortals were, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're not really in the position to be demanding anything. Now are you?"
'What do you mean?" her eyes narrowed.
"Your teenager, Marinette was her name, yes? Yes well, your Marinette is the one who wished you away. Therefore, as of this moment, you belong to me. Now, should you want to go home, you'll have to hope that little Marinette can make it here to the castle within the next," he glanced over at the clock in one corner of the room, "Twelve hours and thirty-seven minutes. Or else, both of you will belong to me."
He could usually see the emotions run across a mortal's face as the inevitable set in and they realized there was no escaping this fate. But her, for some reason her emotions weren't showing on her face. Odd, considering how visibly angry she'd been just moments before. But he didn't have time to ponder this as in what felt like the blink of an eye she'd strode over, hauled off and slapped him. The side of his face burned from the sudden impact, and he was certain there was a red hand-shaped welt forming on his face. His outward expression remained impassive. She wanted to play rough? Fine, he could play rough.
"Restrain her."
A snap of his fingers and the horde charged at her. A cry of surprise and anger escaped her before she was buried under an ever growing pile of puppet-like creatures. But just when he thought the matter done with she began rising as they swarmed around her, prying them off of her and tossing them across the room. She was panting and grunting from exertion, sweat beginning to slick her brow as insults of undocumentable filth and venom escaped her lips.
Her hair was loose, unbound as Goblins pounced over and over on her. She shook them off even as they restrained her arms and pulled her back, keeping her from attacking the king. Her strength was demonstrable, the fire in her eyes wild and her fury palpable. And gods above didn't she look a vision like that? Gabriel paused, where had that thought come from? Her mouth was still spewing obscenities as his horde dragged her out of the room.
Gabriel pinched the space between his brows, "Change of plans," he instructed Adrien, "You will deal with the other girl."
"Other girl?" Adrien cocked his head.
"The one in the Labyrinth," Gabriel clarified, "She's running for that one's freedom. You are not, under any circumstances, to allow her victory. I want her as good as lost, not anywhere near the castle. Throw everything you can think of at her, but be mindful not to kill her. No mortal is to come under true danger within those walls, damn those treaties grandfather signed."
Adrien nodded, "I understand Father. Where is she?"
Gabriel, "Last I checked outside the outer wall." he conjured a crystal and within it the girl's visage appeared, "Have a look for yourself,"
Adrien caught the sphere as it was tossed at him. One glance to see the girl had him saying (with pink cheeks no less), "She's quite pretty, isn't she?"
"As far as mortals go, I suppose," Gabriel allowed, "She's much too young for whatever foolish romantic notions you might be thinking up. Remember, until she gives up or the thirteen hours are, she is your enemy. You are not to underestimate her, you are not to befriend her, and by the stars above you are not to moon over her. Is. That. Clear?" he raised an imperious brow at his rebellious boy.
Adrien paused but bowed his head submissively, "Yes Father," he acquiesced, "But then… what will you do?"
Gabriel scowled as he stood, cape instantly leaping to his shoulders and swirling as he began to stalk out of the room, "There is an incredibly defiant wench who needs to be dealt with. And apparently I am going to have to be the one that reigns her in."
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