I do not own Avalon: Web of Magic. It is owned by Rachel Roberts and Seven Seas Entertainment. Original characters are mine. WARNING there shall be femslash eventually.


It was dark. Very dark. He knew that. It was always dark. One would think that as a creature used to the night, he would have been able to find his way through. One would think that as a minion of the Sorceress, he would have had no problem seeing through the silk curtain of black. That he would have wanted to wrap himself in its sweet, pure, haze.

But no.

The darkness rubbed against his skin like burning ice and the walls of the narrow hall he walked through brushed against his skin like grease-covered rats and dry bones. Perhaps they were. Either way, he was uncomfortable. He was as uncomfortable as any goblin could be. He didn't really know where he was; he just knew that he was here, in this maze of incomprehensible darkness with fantastically terrible masters and mistresses.

The Council's room was the only lit real room in the entire place, filled with parchment, tapestry, putrid smell, and magical objects. It resembled the dining hall of a king of old, but it's sinister atmosphere made it feel like a medieval torture chamber. As the goblin stumbled over something cold and wet and moving, he realized he had finally found the large, heavy door of the Council. He struggled to open it, one of the mugs of ale he balanced on the tray in his long, bony fingers threatening to fall. As he stepped into the dim candlelight of the room, he was seized by his neck and held fast by a huge, meaty fist. He was faced with gleaming red eyes and a fury that could only be matched by the brightest flame in the underworld.

"You imbecilic creature!" his master seethed, tightening his grip. "Do you know how long we waited for your disgusting hide to get here with our drinks!?" The creature in his grip squirmed and clawed at his master's hand and made squeaking noises that sounded vaguely like pleads for forgiveness. The great form shook the poor creature in his grip harder, his raw fury leaking in out in his perspiration and reeking like dead bodies. From the shadows came a lilting, deep, and sultry voice.

"Let the poor thing go," it said softly, soothingly. A handsome young man with electric blue eyes, dark hair, and a dark complexion stepped out from the shadows, pausing to place a well-sculpted hand against the rough leather of the meaty giant strangling the goblin. The giant's grip loosened as he turned to glare at the young man, and the goblin slipped to the floor, quivering. Apologies spilled from his thin lips as he scurried away, out the door and into the maze's darkness.

He skittered away like a cockroach, rubbing his neck and thanking every one of the numerous gods he could remember. He didn't have long to savor the good feeling of freedom, however, because he soon came into collision with a well-toned lady-leg. The owner glared down at him with feral purple eyes, and he cowered once more. She brushed her long, midnight hair away from her shoulder before she advanced closer to him, then past him, movements as liquid and predatory as a cat's. She pushed him aside with her foot and passed him by.

"You're underfoot, creature," she said, her voice arrogant, haughty, and cold. It was as smooth as the steel of a well-tempered blade and just as cutting. She strolled past him to open a door that he hadn't noticed before. Chaotic noise erupted from the hall behind the door before an eerie hush fell upon it.

The goblin only stayed long enough to hear the woman's cold voice criticize the room's inhabitants, some of which he hadn't noticed but had been painfully aware of, before scampering away into the depths of the castle-maze. His palms were sweating and his head pounded from fear and pain, but he was obedient and dutiful just the same.

For the first time in his life, he wished he had died with the Sorceress.


A/N: Hey there, Avalon fanfiction archive! You look deprived of fan works! Howdy, and welcome to Avalon: Quest for Pandora's Box! This is a take on one of the many quests that may have happened after the end of the first series. This is a Prologue, or that one really short chapter before the actual story to give it some weird mysterious feeling. This is rated PG, so don't expect cussing around here. Femslash is going to happen. That's about it. This story is to be kept mostly PG, PG-13 at best/worst. PG can be dark without being over the top. Remember Digimon Tamers? Stuff was dark, man. Dark.