Laura stared up at the swirling mosaic of brightly colored tiles on the ceiling above her. It was the only source of entertainment that she had to occupy her time. She'd been trapped here in this room for what felt like an eternity, but in reality could have only been a couple of days at the most. She alternated her time between pacing around her small, gilded prison or sleeping so that the time would pass more quickly.
The only time that the oppressive silence and loneliness of the room was broken was when her meals were brought to her three times a day. The first time that the woman had entered her room, Laura had nearly screamed in fright. The woman's body was covered in bright blue feathers, and her hands were covered in pale yellow scales and tipped my three inch long talons. The women's clothing of a pale pink silky blouse and grey dress pants, something that Laura herself might have worn to work, only added to the surrealness of the sight. Frozen by fear, she had stayed stock still from her spot behind a striped chaise lounge until the woman had left, with a small, reassuring smile aimed towards Laura before she closed the door behind her.
A small part of her wondered whether or not Aganir had been bothered by her abduction by the goblins, or whether he had already started to look for a replacement. After all, the only thing that he had needed from her had been a child, and any woman could give him that. She wasn't stupid. She knew that he could not possibly give up one of his own people in exchange for her. At least, not if he was being smart about the whole situation. To give into the Goblin King's demands would make him look weak, especially when there were countless other women that he could chose as a bride instead.
Yes, that was the practical view of the situation, but it didn't make Laura any less terrified of what her future held. Was she going to be left down here in the goblin caves? The thought of marrying Aganir against her will had been horrifying and terrible enough, but the thought of marrying this new, Goblin King was enough to make her sick to her stomach. She shuddered, remembering his horrible appearance. He looked like some sort of demon-like creature from a horror movie. She could not imagine having to look at something so terrible every morning for the rest of her life.
How in less than a week had she gone from a normal twenty three year old to a bargaining chip between two mythical creatures? She was going to go crazy if she stayed cooped up in this room for any longer, she concluded, sitting up on the bed. The thought of not knowing her fate was driving her insane. She had to get out of here. She crept over to the door, pressing her ear against the polished wood. Silence. She put her hand on the cold metal of the doorknob, finding to her shock that it turned easily. The door clicked open softly, and she pushed it open enough so that she could peek around. Had the goblin king really left her in an unlocked room with no guard? Surely this couldn't be right…
Still, she wasn't going to not take advantage of this strange gift of luck, so she slipped out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. The dim hallway that she stood in now was made of almost entirely of gold, but she didn't allow herself to gaze in wonder at it for too long. When she reached the end of the hallway, she let out a little shriek of terror. Standing guard at the end of the hallway were two goblins dressed in black suits, looking much like a kind of twisted Secret Service. She backed away slowly, but they merely stared at her. One who had a head that looked like some sort of bird, clacked his beak as though it were speaking in some sort of gutteral language to the other. But they both stayed still.
Laura did not need anymore convincing. She turned and sprinted down the opposite corridor, running as fast as she could. She ignored the burning in her lungs and legs, focusing only on getting as far away as she could. She stopped short as she entered a corridor that was filled with goblins. Eyes wide, she felt her heart begin to beat wildly, she backed away slowly. She felt her back hit something solid, and she let out a yelp as she whirled around and saw that what, or who, she had run into.
The creature towered at least three more feet above her, and its skin was covered entirely in shiny, green scales. Narrow, yellow eyes regarded her with some surprise. She turned to run the other way but found that she was surrounded by the horrible, deformed creatures. She looked around frantically, trying to find some means of escape. Nothing. Feeling sick and terrified, she sank to the ground, covering her face with her hands.
This is it, she thought. This is how Laura Winters goes out.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
Laura could not help but look up in surprise. The voice sounded so unnatural from everything else. It was soft and caring, not like the other loud, harsh voices that filled the air. Instead of a horrifying creature, her eyes landed on a girl, not much younger than herself, with a heart shaped face with beautiful blonde, curly hair, and bright blue eyes. Laura recognized that face. Even though she had only seen it in a blurry, black and white photocopied picture, she would recognize it anywhere. Hanna Wright.
"You're-you're-you're- her!" Laura managed to stutter out.
Hanna smiled softly at her. "Why don't you come with me to my apartments? I know it can be so overwhelming here in the beginning."
Laura did not hear much of else of what she said until they had reached Hanna's apartments. The sound of the door clicking behind them seemed to jolt her out of her state of shock. At once, she was struck with just how normal the room before her was. While it was true that the living room before her looked like something out of magazine or home design show, it was distinctly normal.
Couches and chairs of varying shades of grey were scattered across the cream-colored carpeted floor, with various blankets and throw pillows of different shades of blue arranged artfully on them. Laura sank down onto one of those comfortable couches, glancing around and studying the room further. Coffee and end tables made from dark wood contrasted perfectly with the rest of the room, completing the 'homey' yet expensive feel of the entire room. Walking into a room that was so recognizable and normal, yet knowing that there were hundreds, if not thousands, of creatures out of her nightmares walking around beyond the closed door was an almost surreal experience.
Laura was further startled to see photographs hanging in expensive golden frames throughout the room. In one of them, Hanna had been caught in mid laugh, smiling up at a creature covered in short, brown hair, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Hanna caught her staring. "Goblins do not usually take pictures, but I insisted. I told him that since I hadn't gotten any wedding pictures that we had to." She laughed.
Laura stared at her, beyond confused. The girl was acting as though she had forgotten that she had been forced into marriage and something as silly as forgetting to book a photographer had prevented her from getting pictures of her wedding.
"Laura?"
Laura turned at her name, seeing that Hanna must have been talking to her. She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm still not feeling well…"
The blonde gave her an understanding look. "It was the same for me when I first got here. I hardly ever left these rooms, but you get used to it."
"Used to it?" Laura was beginning to regain her senses again.
Hanna fiddled with the gold and silver bangles that hung around her delicate wrist. "Well, I have been here for over a year now, so I have had some time to grow accustomed to their… appearances. It's funny, I don't think I even really notice how unusual they are anymore."
Laura studied the girl before her. She was dressed in a nice silk blouse the color of her eyes, a pair of dark skinny jeans, and wedges. Countless costly necklaces and bracelets hung around her throat and wrists, and a pair of diamond drop earrings glinted in the dim light. But more importantly, Hanna's face was not pale or even unhappy. She did not look nervous or frightened at all. In short, Hanna looked nothing like what Laura had expected a kidnapped bride to be.
"But don't you want to go back home?" Laura asked, confused.
Hanna gave her another small smile. "Well, at first that is all I wanted, and I suppose sometimes even now I am a little home sick. Mainly I miss my family and my pets, but I am happy here now."
Laura stared at her. "Happy?"
"It was hard for all of us at first-"
"Us?"
Hanna gave her a reassuring smile. "Well, there are other human brides here too. I am the youngest by far, but Marak's mother is still alive and there are a few others as well. I can't tell you how much they helped me when I first got here."
Laura wondered at all these women who had been forced into their own marriages, keeping each other company and providing comfort to each other. All these poor women that had been given this same, horrible fate, trying to normalize what was happening to them so that they could get through their everyday lives. She had never heard of something so sad and depressing in her life.
"You mean, you're happy here and you don't want to go home?" Laura still could not understand how calm Hanna was about everything.
"This is my home now." Hanna responded.
Laura stared at her, astounded. Would she be just like Hanna in a year, brainwashed and believing that she was okay, and even happy, with what was happening to her? She could not imagine that she would ever accept what was going to happen to her at all, but she was sure that just a year ago Hanna probably did not believe that she would be happy here either.
"Look," Hanna continued. "I know that I sound crazy, but this is really how I feel. As strange as it seems, I'm happy here and I'm happy with my husband."
Before Laura could even begin to think of a response, the door opened and Marak himself strode through the doorway. Laura stiffened once she caught sight of him. In contrast, Hanna smiled brightly at him and rose to greet him.
"Thank you for looking after, Laura, after she decided to take a run about the palace."
Laura simply glared at him with her arms crossed over her chest. Speechlessly, she started to follow him out of the room.
"It was nice to meet you, Laura." Hanna said.
Laura could not help but soften a bit at Hanna's voice. "It was nice to meet you too, Thank you."
Laura followed Marak down the hallway. She was relieved to find that the corridors that they walked down were all deserted. Marak's appearance was frightening enough in the dim light that she didn't know how she could possibly handle another group of goblins surrounding her. After a couple of minutes had passed, she couldn't help but break the silence.
"You can't expect me to stay holed up in that room forever."
"I never said that you had to stay there."
She stopped in her tracks to stare at him. He chuckled in response.
"Contrary to what you might believe, you are not a prisoner here."
"But I thought..." She hurried up to catch up with his long strides.
"You're either going to be my wife or the Elf King's wife. It is in my best interest to treat you well."
Laura could not help but be a bit shocked by the bluntness of his statement. "Well, in that case, I don't want to stay in that room all the time anymore."
"Would you rather stay in mine?"
Laura's face flushed scarlet. "That's not what I meant!"
He let out a great laugh. "I'm only teasing, for now at least." He said, raising his eyebrows at her. "Though, perhaps I can give you a tour of my kingdom so that you will stop trying to escape."
