Chapter 2:
In less than 20 minutes, we are being escorted inside the palace by a goblin wearing the royal crest of the Labyrinth. Another goblin awaits at the top of the stairs where we are to wait to be presented.
"King Merlin and his son Prince Mordred of the Sorceror Kingdom. King Phontam and his son Prince Lyre of the Elf Kingdom. Queen Serena and her son Prince Robin of the Faerie Kingdom. Queen Evelyn and her son Prince Dadrid of the Vampire Kingdom. King Soverain and his son Prince Nicholas of the Werewolf Kingdom. King Uriel and his son Prince Gabriel of the Fallen Angel Kingdom."
Father and I step up and descend the stairs while the goblin scurries off. We make it down into the center of the goblin and chicken filled ballroom, when the goblin who introduced us appears again.
"Presenting his Majesty, Jareth the Goblin King." The goblin scoots to the side as double doors open to reveal a rather handsome (and human) looking man with wild blond hair and mismatched blue and brown eyes. The doors behind him close and he takes it as his cue to look at us. He smiles and opens his arms towards us in a warm and welcoming gesture."Welcome, gentleman and ladies, to my kingdom. As you all know, I have opened up my kingdom to you all in hopes of finding a husband for my daughter. Tomorrow you will all compete in an event against each other, picked by my daughter herself, in hopes of winning her hand and her love. But tonight, I shall let you fine young gentleman get acquainted with your possible future wife. So, without further ado, may I present, Princess Laurel, the Goblin Princess."
The doors open again and I can't keep my jaw from hitting the floor. Standing in the doorway is possibly the most beautiful woman in the entire world. Princess Laurel is about 5'7", with pale skin, ebony hair with blue highlights that goes to her waist, falling in ringlets, blood red and full lips that frame dazzling white teeth, and mismatched blue and brown eyes like her father's that are surrounded by thick, black eyelashes. She has a slim build with the right amount of curves in the right places. A silver crown adorned with sliver leaves and gold flowers sits upon her dainty head and compliments the long, ivory dress that floats around her.
While in my daze, I notice something off about the princess. Although she is stunning in every way possible, one couldn't help but notice the fake smile she sported. I'm not left to think about this long when she opens her mouth and the most gorgeous sound that is her voice comes out.
"Thank you all for coming. It will be a pleasure getting to know you all tonight. I will have the goblins escort you to your rooms later on, but please enjoy the festivities first. And I would advise you to get to know everyone else while you can. After all, it's wise to know the weaknesses of your competition, no?" And with that, she twirls off in a flurry of ivory silk and ebony hair and leaves. A goblin hobbles out and tugs on who I think is Prince Mordred's pant leg and motions towards a door in the corner. Prince Mordred is a short young fellow, with blonde hair, warm amber eyes and tanned skin. The gold and brown clad prince follows the goblin towards the door and enters inside. We never see him for the rest of the evening.
We all proceed with the festivities, getting to know our competition during the process, like the princess advised us to. Prince Lyre and Prince Robin turned out to be cousins since the faeries and elves are so alike. But you wouldn't think at all that they were even related distantly. Prince Robin, or Puck as he asked us to call him, was tall with pale and freckled skin, a lean build and bright scarlet hair and flashing green eyes. Prince Lyre, on the other hand, was squatter, but still thin, and had blonde hair and blue both were equally friendly and humorous. Prince Dadrid on the other hand, had an ego as large as my wings, and acted hostile to all of us, especially to Prince Nicholas. Prince Dadrid was tall, muscular, had deathly pale skin, dark eyes, jet black hair and dark red lips. Occasionally his fangs would show up, displaying how dangerous he was. Prince Nicholas was equally hostile towards Prince Dadrid, but was friendlier to us. Prince Nicholas was shorter than the rest of us, but was still tall, had snow white hair and bright blue eyes. Personally, I thought he looked like Jack Frost.
One by one they are all escorted by a goblin to the room where Prince Mordred had disappeared. This keeps happening until I am the only one left. A goblin tugs on my leg and leads me to the corner room. I thank the goblin, take a deep breath and push open the door.
The room appears to be the king's study, with books lining every wall and a fireplace and desk in the corner. Princess Laurel is sitting in an arm chair and motions for me to sit down in the one across from her. Once I get my self seated her smile disappears and is replaced with a cold and calculating expression.
"Gabriel, correct?"
"Yes, Princess Laurel."
"Laurel."
"Excuse me?"
"Call me Laurel. We are both royalty, and there is a possibility that we could be wed, so call me Laurel."
"Alright. Well Laurel, what did you want to talk about."
She thinks for a moment, then looks at me."Tell me, Gabriel, what did you expect tonight? A little goblin in a dress and tiara?" I laugh a little. "Well, actually, yes . I was. Now I see that I'm very much mistaken. My apologies, Laurel."
"There will be no need for them. But, what do you know about my kingdom?"
"Well, first, your kingdom is the largest one of the Seven Kingdoms. All of your subjects are goblins and the Labyrinth is apart of your city. Other than that, I don't know that much." She purses her lips and nods, clearly bemused by answer.
"Gabriel, I'm going to make you a deal." A round crystal appears in her hand and she starts playing with it. "Obviously, I'm not so thrilled with the idea of marrying someone who knows absolutely nothing about me or my kingdom-"
"Well what do you know about my kingdom?" She looked taken aback for a moment, but then her expression of shock turned into a smirk and the crystal disappears. "I know that the fallen angels were forced to live in the Underground hundreds of years ago, cast out of heaven because they chose neither side of the heavenly war. The angels then established themselves here, earning the status of 'fallen'. Their ultimate goal now is to gain entrance back into Heaven. Is there anything I missed?" She asks in a sweet voice.
There is nothing to say, except for the fact that I'm completely shocked.
"Well, now that that's out of the way, can we please return to what I was trying to offer you." The crystal re-appears at her fingertips, and she continues to play with it the same way she had before. "I'm offering you a gift. To be that king that gets the fallen angels back into heaven. Your every wish and desire, and all of your dreams. All you have to do, is take the crystal." I am dumbstruck by her offer, but as I reach to take the crystal, she pulls it back from me.
"But, if you take it, you have to drop out of the running for my hand. You'll leave the Goblin City and forget it entirely. But you still will have your dreams. So, what's it going to be. A competition you'll probably lose, or all of your dreams come true?"
I think for a while, then make my decision. "Well?" She asks impatiently. "No."
"Excuse me?" She almost sounds shocked. "I said no. My people need a queen more than they need to get back into heaven. I'll find a way back, but if my uncle rules the kingdom, I'll never have the chance. So, I won't take your offer. I'm still in the competition for your hand."
For a minute, I expect her to slap me by the look of her face, but then it turns eerily calm. She starts chuckling and says, "Diana!" A small, female goblin comes in. "Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Take Prince Gabriel to his bedchambers. Make sure he has a good sleep tonight and a good meal tomorrow morning. And also, make sure he has some of the best armor we have to offer."
"Yes, ma'am." The goblin curties, then proceeds to pull on my pant leg. I follow the goblin out the door and into my bed chamber. All I can think about as I lay myself to bed was Princess Laurel, and that look she had on her pretty face. Finally, I let sleep take my in it's dark embrace, and all goes dark.