The King, the Bride and the Magician
Morgan's jade eyes fluttered open to a dark room illuminated only by a globe of light that floated freely at the bedside. She sat up and looked around, with groggy eyes. It took her a moment to notice the boy seated in a chair by a small table. She squinted through the darkness to see him more clearly.
"Oh I wish the light were brighter." She whispered to herself. The small round light grew slightly and illuminated the room just enough for the boy's features to be clearly seen. Morgan shrieked at the sight of him. He wasn't human! He was some kind of monster!
At the sound of her scream, the boy's eyes shot open. The flickering light of the orb danced across their dark surface. Morgan leapt from her bed and huddled between the bedpost and a nightstand, still shrieking at the top of her lungs. The boy's skin was a strange blue color, his eyes black, the nails of his hands sharp and long pointed ears peeked out from his mane of silver hair. The boy scowled at her and waved his hand in front of him in a quick gesture. Morgan went silent. She could no longer move her lips, they felt like they were stuck together some how.
"Silence you stupid girl! You're hurting my ears!" He ordered. Morgan recognized his voice, it was the man in the green cloak who stole her away. YOU! She shouted inwardly, enraged both at him and her own stupidity.
The man sat back down and crossed his legs, folding his hands in his lap. "Now if you will stop screaming, I'll remove my little spell." Morgan nodded her head fiercely. He gave her a smirk and with the flick of his wrist, Morgan could move her lips again. "W-what are you?" stuttered the frightened girl. "I'm a goblin, madam. The most feared creature in all of Fairie. And you- are a human- the most pathetic being that God has ever created." He chuckled wickedly at the glare he was getting from the human girl.
"Where am I?" She asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "You are in the goblin kingdom far below the surface of the earth."
The goblin watched with amusement as her eyes began to shimmer with unshed tears, "I have heard stories, of goblins taking girls and…forcing them to…lie with them." Morgan's face went pink. The goblin stared at her for a moment, then smiled a pointy grin, "You mean mate with them?" he asked, translating. "Yes we do, do that." He answered. The pink-ness drained from her face, "Is that what I've been brought here for?" she muttered, her voice cracking, do to fear.
The goblin crossed his arms in front of his chest and slumped down in his seat, "well you certainly won't be mating with me." He snickered. Why did every word that came out of his mouth sound like an insult? "You are to be the king's new bride and mother him an heir." His grin broadened, "Won't that be nice, a little goblin baby of your very own to bounce on your knee and feed rabbit carcasses to." Morgan's stomach lurched she felt the need to vomit.
The goblin noticed her face, turn a shade of green and he quickly pointed a finger towards a pale and it lifted into the air and dropped down in front of Morgan. She relieved herself, then went back to asking questions.
"How did you do that?" she asked, wiping her lips with a dirty sleeve. "Magic…just like I shut your big mouth." He answered in a rude tone. Maria's eyes began to blaze unnaturally at him and he abruptly decided to stop teasing her.
There was a loud bonging sound and the goblin looked over at a clock hanging on the wall on his left. "Oh, my shift's over." He announced cheerfully and stood to go.
"Wait!" the girl, shouted, she was suddenly more afraid of being alone than this blue creature, teasing her. He turned back towards her, pulling his green hood over his head. "Don't be afraid, another guard is coming to take my place. You won't be left alone, I promise." Morgan bit her lip, absently, "No, I wasn't scared." She lied. "You didn't give me your name."
He bowed low to her, laughing under his breath, "Aldrick at your service, my lady." He motioned towards her, gazing at her with his dark eyes from under his hood. "And you are?"
"Mogan" she replied. In the warm glow of the magic light she could see his eyes brighten. "Like Morgan la Fait, the sorceress in the King Author legend?" "You know that story?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "Yes, it's one of my favorites."
A knocking at the door interrupted them. Without waiting for a reply the door opened and a hulking beast of a goblin shrugged through the door. It didn't seem to have a neck, his large and ugly head sat squarely on its shoulders. It had large thick lips and two fang-like teeth on the bottom jaw peeked out on either side. "Hi Biggin." Greeted Aldrick. Biggin nodded, "I'm here to take over." He grumbled in a deep voice. "Alright." Aldrick bowed to Morgan again, bidding her farewell. "I'll be back tomorrow morning to take you to meet the king. Sleep well." He gave her a playful look. "Biggin try not to eat her." He said, and exited briskly, laughing hysterically.
Morgan pulled her knees up to her chest, watching her knew guardian with fear. Biggin stomped over to the chair and sat down, the chair's legs creaked, threatening to give way beneath him. "Is he always like that?" she asked after few minutes. The big goblin snorted, "Yep. I personally think it's his fairy blood that makes him so annoying." Her eyes widened, "Fairy blood?" Biggin crossed his bulgy arms, "Yea, his mom was a fairy. Don't mention it around him though, he hates that. He tries to hide it but that's hard to do when the proofs written on your face." Morgan leaned forward in interest. "Do you mean that mark? I thought it was a tattoo. Biggin shook his head, "Nope, he was born with it. It's a fairy mark. When people see it they know he's got fairy in him and well they give him a hard time about it. They think it makes him weaker but I know they's wrong. He's one of the greatest magicians my eyes have ever seen. And I'm willing to bet his fairy blood is the cause of it."
"Is his mother still around?" she asked. "Nobody knows who his parents were. He was abandoned as a pup on Old Abby's doorstep." "Who's Old Abby?" Morgan asked, she never would have guessed Aldrick who seemed to thoroughly enjoy teasing her, had such a troubled past. "She's the palace cook, she was widowed young and she never did have any youngins of her own, so little Aldrick was probably the best thing to ever happen to her." The ugly goblin laughed, his chest heaving up and down as booming chuckles rang out through the room, "It's not her fault he likes to pester people."
The following morning, Aldrick waited patiently as his mother loaded down a silver tray with a mountain of food. He grabbed an apple when she wasn't looking and chomped down on it. Hearing his loud munching she whirled around on her stubby legs and swatted his hand with a wooden spoon. "Ow!" he yelped like a child. "This food for the King's Bride!" she yelled, harshly.
Aldrick took another defiant bite of the apple, "She's just a little human girl. She can't possibly eat this much in one sitting, mother." He argued, smacking his lips. "Oh just shut up and make yourself useful. Take her food to her." Old Abby handed the heavy tray of food to her adoptive son. Who grudgingly carried it to his new ward, stealing bites of food along the way.
He nudged the door open and set the tray on the small table, stepping nimbly around Biggin's outstretched legs. Aldrick took a slice of toast of the top of the mound and put it in his mouth. Turning around, his breath caught in his throat at the sight of the sleeping Morgan. The dwarf women had given her a bath and she was dressed in a loose white gown. Now that the dirt and soot had been washed away, he was taken aback by her beauty. He thought her pretty before but he never thought this is what lied beneath the filth.
He swallowed the rest of his toast and approached her, using his magic to float soundlessly to her bedside. With a sly smirk on his grayish-blue face, he tickled her bare feet. The girl stirred in her sleep, giggles escaping her lips. Then her foot smashed into his face, sending him crashing to the floor. Morgan jolted upright, pulling the covers around her, "What were you doing!" she shouted angrily. Aldrick groaned as he picked himself up from the floor. "I couldn't resist." He admitted with a sigh. Even with all the ruckus going on in the room around him, Biggin still slept, snoring loudly. Aldrick reached over and shook him awake. The goblin blinked groggily. "Shift's over, buddy." Said Aldrick pleasantly. Biggin got up from his chair and waved good bye to Morgan, yawning as he walked out the door.
"I brought you some breakfast." Said Aldrick, waving his hand towards the buffet set out on the table. Morgan squealed in excitement and skipped to the table. She observed the mountain of food, mouth watering, and quickly began shoving morsels in her mouth.
Aldrick sat Indian-style, hovering three feet in the air as he watched her eat. I can't believe she's actually eating all that stuff. She eats like…well…like a goblin. He watched, with his eyes enlarging each time she shoveled another spoonful into her mouth, until the tray was clean.
She sat back in the chair, patting her full stomach in satisfaction. "Ah, that was good. Give my compliments to your mom."
Aldrick lost his track of concentration and fell to the floor. "Ow!" he groaned, rubbing his backside. He glared up at her, blue lighting flashing across his black eyes. "Who told you about my mother?" he asked, between clinched teeth. "Uh…Biggin may have told me a few things about you last night."
A murderous look flashed across Aldrick's face and his silver hair lifted around him, as if he were under water. "Biggin!" he growled.
Just then several Dwarf women bustled through the door, and shoved the fuming Aldrick out the door so they could dress the king's human bride.
After about fifteen minutes, Morgan emerged from her room, dressed in a pink tunic styled dress with a violet sash about her waist, her wrists and ankles were adorned with golden and jeweled bands. Her long black hair was pulled behind her ears with a ribbon, and left to fall down her back. Aldrick gulped, reminding himself that the girl was for the king, not him.
"You look…good." He muttered, turning to walk down the hall so he wouldn't stare at her. As they walked in silence, he could hear her light steps' pitter patter on the marble tiles of the palace floor. He glanced over his shoulder at her troubled expression.
He wanted to tell her all the good things about living in the underground kingdom, but he couldn't really think of many.
"The king's really not that bad you know, once you get past the ugliness, the attitude, and the evil." He laughed trying to show her he was joking, but it only made the girl's lips curve into a deeper frown.
They reached the thrown room doors where two guards stood at attention. "Hey, Raego, look it's the fairy boy." Chuckled the big one with the poof of orange hair on his head. The lanky one with a lizard like face and bulgy yellow eyes snickered. Morgan shivered with distaste for these two.
Aldrick rolled his eyes and thrust his hand forward. A wave of blue light sent the two guards flying. Aldrick chuckled happily to himself and opened the doors for the stunned Morgan.
Morgan gawked at the elaborate decoration of the thrown room. The dimly lit room looked like it was carved from a single slab of marble. It glowed gold in the lighting of the dozen orbs that floated along the walls. The thrown itself, was crafted into a golden tree. The creature that sat on that thrown however didn't look like he belonged.
Like the other goblin's she'd seen so far, he was a gray-blue color with long pointed ears, sharp teeth and finger nails, but he had no hair at all, not even eyebrows and his eyes did not reflect the slightest bit of light.
Morgan froze with fear, her legs trembling too much to move. Aldrick caught her by the arm and dragged her the rest of the way.
At the base of the thrown, Aldrick dropped down to one knee and bowed his head. "My lord, I have captured a bride for you just as you ordered." The goblin king's eyes were already fixed on the young girl with the jade colored eyes.
"What is your name, my dear?" he asked, his voice rough as sandpaper. "Morgan" she squeaked. "Speak up." He ordered. "My name is Morgan, sir." Repeated the girl, louder with a shaking voice. The Goblin King motioned for Morgan to come closer with a clawed finger and the she rushed forward, her feet lifting above the ground. She stopped right in front of him. His eyes, black and seemingly soulless, studied her face and body with a critical gaze. "You've outdone yourself, Aldrick." He complimented, glancing over at his unknown son.
The king looked into Mogan's jade eyes and saw purity there. "She's perfect." Aldrick smiled and bowed, "Thank you sir." The king reached into a pocket in his cloak and tossed a small pouch of coins to him, "For your trouble." Aldrick chuckled, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Actually, she was no trouble at all. She followed me like a lamb to the slaughter." Morgan glared over at him. She was angry enough at herself for being so stupid without him making it worse.