A/N: So this little one-shot is in response to the Troll who is plaguing our little community. Hope you enjoy.
One of my fondest titles is Scribe to The Goblin King. I enjoy writing stories of his adventures with his love, Sarah, and things that happen in the Labyrinth, I assume he is pleased, he has never told me any different. Usually when I find myself in his gardens, looking for inspiration or peace, he leaves me to it. He is very fond of his scribes and mostly leaves us be to get on with it. I believe that he appreciates our dedication to keeping his legend alive, therefore, keeping his kingdom alive. Without belief, the magic fades. There are plenty of us working diligently to keep the magic alive.
I had been particularly upset by recent reviews on not only my work, but many others' also. It seems we have a troll in our midst that hides behind a computer and spreads discontent like peanut butter on bread. She, I assume she, has made many of us question our purpose and our fitness as Scribe. So, I came to the Kings' gardens, the silver glow of moonlight on the fountains was deeply relaxing. So relaxing that I lingered longer than normal, this must have caught the attention of the King. The thing no one tells you about owls in flight is that they are almost completely silent and lost as I was in my thoughts and sadness, I didn't hear or notice the owl settle on the fountain next to me, I didn't notice the displaced air when he changed his shape. I'm sure he forgave me my shriek of alarm when he reached out a gloved finger to catch the tears rolling down my cheek.
"Starrmommy," he said in his lovely baritone, "What has upset you so?"
Wide eyed I watched as he turned the tear he had wiped from my cheek in to a star shaped suncatcher and hung it on a nearby tree.
"Y-y-your Majesty," I stammered out, "I am terribly sorry to have disturbed your evening. I was just looking for some peace and reflection tonight, my mind simply wandered to your garden." Standing, I moved closer to the portal, anticipating leaving quickly.
"And why shouldn't it?" He asked, smiling gently, "I pride myself on having the most beautiful gardens in the land." Turning, he regarded me intently for a moment. "But I do not believe it was the beauty of my garden that brought that tear to your cheek."
Bowing my head, I let out a deep sigh and with a tremor in my heart, I dared to lie to The Goblin King. "It's nothing of consequence, Your Majesty, just a moment of silly emotional indulgence."
He narrowed his beautiful eyes at me, but before he could speak, another voice came from behind me. "Now you've done it, scribe."
I turned and bowed deeply as Sarah walked in to the garden and took her place beside the king. "My Lady." I murmured softly.
"He'll never let it go, you know." She said, smiling sweetly. "He'll dog you until the end of eternity until he finds out what he wants to know."
"Wench." He growled playfully at her. Grinning back at him, she replied, "Spoiled brat."
Turning back to me, they both fixed intent eyes on me, "We're waiting." He said.
"It's silly, really," I began.
"There has been a troll lurking about the stories of myself and some of the other scribes. Just generally being nasty and a nuisance." I looked up at this beautiful couple that I loved writing about and found the courage to continue. "This person has just done their level best to be belittling and it just all became too much. They made me doubt myself as one of your scribes, a title that I cherish very much. They made another consider giving up after they had only just begun. It's frustrating." I said quickly, cowering slightly at the dark look upon the face of The Goblin King.
"A troll you say?" he asked, anger etched on his beautiful face. "I banished trolls centuries ago."
"Not that kind of troll, love." Sarah said, "I believe she is talking about an internet troll. They plague the internet above where many of our scribes publish our stories."
"Hmmm," he murmured, tapping a finger to his lips, "Sarah, love, please make our scribe feel at ease. I must attend to some important business." With that he disappeared in a shower of glitter.
"Ugh!" Sarah said, "I hate it when he does that, it takes forever to get glitter out of my clothes."
I chuckled lightly, as she brushed at her gown, currently shimmering in the moonlight.
"You're Starrmommy, right?" She asked. At my nod, she grinned and said, "He finds that name very amusing."
Somewhere aboveground:
The Goblin King appeared silently in a dimly lit room where a woman sat hunched over a laptop. As he watched her gleefully rip a fanfic to shreds, the anger in him mounted. He would not stand by and allow her to cause his scribes such heartache and sadness. If he could not persuade her to stop, he had the perfect place in mind, a place where she could no longer harm anybody with her vicious words.
"Madame." He said firmly, "I must insist you stop this behavior at once."
The woman stopped and slowly turned around and faced the angry glare of the Goblin King.
"Who are you?" She shouted. "How did you get in here?"
"You know very well who I am and why I am here." He replied. "I must insist that you cease with your shallow and spiteful messages. You are causing great distress in my kingdom."
"Ha! I'm causing the distress? These people, they don't know what they're doing, they're only making fools of themselves." She snorted dismissively and turned back to the screen.
"It does not matter if they are novices, they will get better. All that I require in a scribe is belief in myself and my kingdom, the desire to write about it and the courage to publish it."
"Well then, you're as daft as they are." She grumbled.
Fury raced through the Goblin King, he had never been so dismissed, so disrespected! There was only one thing to do with this despicable woman, and he believed all of his scribes would be the better for it.
Creating a crystal, he whispered in to it, then tossed it at the woman saying, "Here, catch."
Turning quickly, she caught the orb tossed at her, with a sneer on her face she attempted to put it down, but was unable.
"What's this?" She asked, the first hint of fear in her voice.
"It's a crystal, nothing more," the Goblin King drawled, "But if you turn it this way, it will show you the bog." With a wave of his hand the woman disappeared.
The Goblin Kings Garden:
I sat on a bench next to a fountain, listening to Sarah tell hilarious stories of her adventures with her goblin subject, when I heard a long, high pitched scream, then an ominous plop. Looking at Sarah in confusion, I began to get up to go investigate. Suddenly, the king appeared before us.
"No need to worry about that." He said, drawing Sarah up in to his arms. "Also, no need to worry about your troll any longer."
"Jareth," Sarah said, "What did you do?"
"I simply gave her a new title." He replied, a gleam in his eyes.
"And what would that title be, Your Majesty?" I asked.
"Why, Countess, of course!" He said and threw back his head and laughed. "Countess of the Land of Stench!"
Sarah rolled her eyes and shook her head, looking at me she said, "Rest easy now, this disturbance has been dealt with. You and our other scribes are always welcome here and may stay as long as you like, however, I think you have something to write now, don't you?"
With a gesture of her hand, I drifted off, listening to the sound of their laughter and the screeches coming from the direction of the bog. If I'm not mistaken, I heard the excited yip of Sir Didymus and the agitated bark of Ambrosius.