The original Princess and the Goblin story is owned by George MacDonald, and the movie by Entertainment Film Distributions and Budapest Film. Any unrecognized characters are mine.

Only ten minutes after Irene and Froglip began walking again after eating lunch, the goblin spoke up, "We have to stop for a few minutes."

"Why?" she asked. When he looked at her pointedly, she sighed heavily, "Why didn't you go before we began walking?"

"I didn't have to go then," he shrugged, scratching the inside of one of his ears. "Will you be all right all by your lonesome?"

She rolled her eyes at his heavy sarcasm. "Yes, of course. I do have a knife, after all."

"That doesn't mean much if you don't know how to use it."

"It can't be that hard to use."

Shaking his head solemnly, Froglip replied in a low voice, "You know nothing, Sun-Princess. Anyway, I'm off to take a piss."

"Oh, such lovely language."

"Just stay here," he said with little humor, pointing to the ground. He turned around and walked through the woods until he and his footsteps disappeared.

Once she was alone, Irene slowly spun around in place, taking in the sights of the forest around her. She could smell the trees, brush, animals, and even the dirt. She could feel the grass and dirt if she crouched down and stretched her hands down towards the ground. She could hear the breeze rustling though the plant-life, and the chirping of birds and bugs. It all took her back to when she was younger and more innocent, playing in the woods with Turnip, and avoiding the watchful hawk eyes of Lootie.

But now, though the woods brought back good memories, her matured mind also saw them as eerie and lonely. They were expansive—she couldn't see any break in the trees anywhere. They felt both wide-open and closely-confined at the same time, as well as mysterious and dangerous.

Perhaps it was because she was now an adult and had realized more dangers of the world? That her sheltered, easy childhood gave her the wrong impression that the forest was something to be explored and played in rather than feared and respected? Or perhaps it was something far more simple as her being left alone, even for a few minutes? Without Curdie, or even Froglip, she felt vulnerable and exposed. Even though she had said she had the knife, Froglip was right, she didn't know how to use it.

Or perhaps it was everything all at once? It was moments like this that made her wonder if traveling far from her home with her enemy to kill a mutual enemy was worth it.

But then she remembered that this was a missions she set out to do, so it was only right that she saw it through. Especially since she promised Froglip she would pardon him once the mission was finished and she was married and crowned. And Dirtclaw was a dangerous animal regardless, who could very well hurt others, whether a single other person or multiple people. He needed to die.

She gasped sharply when she heard rustling in the brush and muffled voices in the distance. And they were steadily coming closer. Glancing around with wide eyes, she ducked behind a tree away from the direction the sounds were coming from. After a few seconds, the rustling and unfamiliar voices stopped, and the air was silent. She slowly stepped around the tree to try and peek around it.

Suddenly, an arrow embedded itself in another nearby tree in front of Irene. She screamed in fright and jumped away from the arrow, exposing herself to the newcomers.

Turning, she saw that the ones making the sounds were two men. They were both dressed in clothing that was similar to Curdie's, except their sleeves and pant legs had holes and tears in them, they were in various browns and greens, and they had gloves. One of them had long blonde hair, a bit of fuzz on his chin and jaws, a mustache, and kind-looking blue eyes. The other had short, stringy brown hair, a beard on the tip of his chin, and small brown eyes. They both had holstered knives at their hips, a large bag over their shoulders, and the brunette had a bow and quiver of arrows.

"Sorry to frighten you," the blonde man smiled, bowing his head briefly.

For a minute, Irene had a pang of panic, wondering if these two men had recognized her as the princess. But they weren't bowing, or calling her "Your Majesty", or even talking about how she had been missing for the past four days. "It's all right," she eventually answered, smiling weakly as she felt her heart calm down.

"My name is Gerald, though you can call me Gerry," he continued. He gestured at his friend, "and this is Thaddeus."

"We weren't expecting someone like you to be walking in the woods," Thaddeus added, glancing her up and down. "May we know your name?"

"My name is... Reenee," she answered, praying they didn't notice her brief pause. If she were to give out her real name, it wouldn't take long for them to realize she was the missing princess. She counted her lucky stars that she was also smart enough to cut her hair and not be dressed in her pink clothes. Not to mention she was probably covered in dirt.

"A pleasure to meet you, Reenee," Gerry nodded. "What are you doing out here, alone in the forest?"

"I'm not alone," she answered. "I'm traveling with my friend. He's off taking a piss."

Both men chuckled. "Are you both walking?"

"Our horses ran away, so yes, we are walking."

"You seem hungry," Gerry remarked. "Would you like to join Thaddeus and I for a meal?"

"Oh, I couldn't," she answered modestly. "I'm simply waiting for my friend to return-"

"-nonsense!" the blonde grinned. "We have plenty of good food. If I'm right, you haven't had much in the way of food lately. You must be starving."

In truth, Irene was indeed feeling hungry. When she felt at her cheeks, she could have sworn she could feel her cheekbones easier than before. And ever since they had eaten all of the food she had packed, she and Froglip had been eating what he could catch and cook, berries, and insects. The idea of eating more familiar, better food was very tempting. And perhaps she could sneak some food to take along for her and Froglip once she and these gentlemen parted ways.

Eventually, she nodded, "All right, you've won me over."

"Wonderful," Gerry smiled. He held out a hand, which she took, and they led her through the trees and further away from where Froglip had left.

Soon, they came upon a campsite with a smoldering fire. Gerry let her hand go to stir up the flames again, and Thaddeus gestured for her to sit nearby. He opened his bag to reveal various meats, fruit, and bread. In Gerry's bag were similar items, but there were also full waterskins.

She could already feel her mouth watering and her stomach growling at the thought of eating it. She only hoped that Froglip would be grateful should she manage to steal it.

All three began eating and drinking. Irene was sure she was making all sorts of obscene, unladylike noises as she ate, but she hardly cared. And the gentlemen either didn't notice, or they simply didn't comment on it. "So, what are you and your friend doing out in these woods?" Thaddeus asked, taking a swig of his waterskin.

"We're looking for Skewer Summit," she answered.

"Skewer Summit?" Gerry asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes, do you know where that is?"

"We've heard of it, yes," the blonde nodded. "But why are you going there?"

"We came from one of the villages, my friend and I, you see," she lied, deciding to speak as if Froglip were human. She had a feeling that if she said he were a goblin, either they wouldn't believe her, or she could get in trouble. "And this... thing murdered our parents. We believe it's gone to Skewer Summit, and we're going there to kill it."

"Ah, a revenge mission, eh?" Thaddeus remarked, scratching his tiny beard. "What sort of 'thing'?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she smiled in what she hoped was a mysterious manner. "But at any rate, we're trying to get there."

"Well, we could take you there," Gerry said.

"My friend knows the way," she answered. "But it's very kind of you-"

"-it's no trouble at all. We would be delighted to escort you there."

"Especially seeing as you're such a lovely young lady," Gerry added, exchanging a grin with his companion.

"Aye," he nodded in agreement, mirroring his friend's expression. "We haven't seen those in a while."

Irene began to get a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach at their smiles and remarks. She began to get the impression that these men weren't to be trusted, and that she had just made a big mistake in speaking too much. And their smiles were no longer friendly. They looked as though they were internally planning something to do to her. And she had a very bad feeling that it was not good at all.

"Well, it's been lovely speaking to and eating with you two," she smiled uneasily, standing to her feet and brushing the crumbs off of her front. "But I think I should go find my friend. He's probably wondering where I am."

"Please, stay a little longer," Gerry requested.

"Your friend's probably long gone by now, since you've disappeared," Thaddeus remarked, reaching for her hand. "Why not travel with us to Skewer Summit to slay this beast?"

"Y-you don't know anything a-about him," she stammered, backing away a step and holding her fist to her chest.

"It will be two against one," Gerry said, approaching Irene and laying a firm hand on her shoulder. "We'll keep you safe."

"Don't touch me!" she snapped, shoving his hand off of her. She grabbed her knife out of her bag, pulled it out of its sheath, and pointed it at each of them in turn. "Stay away from me, and leave me alone!"

This didn't seem to deter the two men. "All right, calm down, Reenee," Thaddeus said, sounding more amused than frightened. "No need for all of this." He began to walk towards her, reaching out for the knife.

She quickly slashed out at him, catching him by the arm. His exposed flesh was sliced, and blood dripped out of it and onto the forest floor. He cried out in pain and grasped at the wound. "You bitch!" he snarled.

Before Gerry could grab her, Irene turned around and ran back the way she came. Somehow, it didn't occur to her that she should scream and call out for Froglip. Perhaps she wanted to make sure the two men didn't hear her? But it didn't matter; all she was focused on was getting away from them. She kept a tight grip on her knife and urged her legs to carry her faster.

Soon, she found the tree that she had met them at. The arrow was still embedded in its bark. She grabbed it, pulled it out, and held both it and her knife out at the Thaddeus. He was the only once chasing her now; she didn't see Gerry anywhere. "I'm warning you!" she growled, trying to appear brave despite her legs beginning to shake. "Stay away from me, or I will cut both your throats!"

However, Thaddeus began laughing as though it were the funniest thing he had ever heard and seen. "You're a fiery young lady, aren't you?" he grinned. This simple sentence and expression made her want to sick back up the food she had just eaten. Now she was even more scared. "Your friend's not around, I'm afraid. So, you're coming with us, whether you like it or not."

From behind, Gerry grabbed her arms, causing her to drop both her weapons. She screamed as loud as she could. It wasn't even words, just a throaty, desperate scream.

"Shut your mouth!" Thaddeus growled, covering her mouth with his hand. She shuddered at the sweaty, smelly palm pressed against her face. She could feel tears of fright begin to flood her eyes. "Now you've made us both angry! And you don't want us angry!" He reached his other arm back, his hand fisted as if he were going to hit her.

Suddenly, a green hand grabbed his wrist, sinking its claws into his flesh. As he cried out in pain, another green hand grabbed the front of his shirt and spun him around.

Irene's eyes widened as Froglip roared in Thaddeus's face, still grasping him by the arm and shirt.

He threw the now pale man to the ground, and glared darkly at Gerry, who was still gripping Irene tightly by the arms. He threw her at the goblin, as if to distract him to get away. Froglip easily caught her and thrust her behind him in one motion. He slashed and punched at him. When Thaddeus tried to crawl away, he stepped on his back and dug in with his claw. His other foot shoved his head into the dirt.

The now-bleeding Gerry stepped forward and punched Froglip across the jaw. Barely-phased, he returned the punch in the stomach and kicked him in the chest. He sliced his throat with his claws. It wasn't enough to kill him, but enough to draw blood. He grabbed Thaddeus up with both hands and threw him against his friend, knocking them both to the ground.

When they both looked up, they saw an angry, green, human-like creature, with large ears, wild pink hair, and a black cape. It was standing in front of Reenee, legs spread apart and claws up, as if it were protecting her. She was cowering behind it, rubbing her arms. They saw a spear sticking out from behind its shoulder, and it was drooling and growling. They had never seen a creature like this, and they were both frightened and disgusted.

After a few seconds, the creature—whom they now realized had been the "friend" Reenee said she was with—smirked and, to their utter shock, uttered out a word, "Boo."

Screaming in terror, both men scrambled to their feet and ran away as fast as their legs could carry them. They didn't care that they were leaving behind their scattered weapons or remaining food. All they wanted to do was to get away from this creature.

Snorting after them, Froglip spun around and asked slowly, yet firmly, "What happened?"

"I-th-they invited me to eat, a-and they wanted t-t-to take me to Sk-Skewer Summ-m-mit," she answered, still shaking.

"Are you completely thick in the head?!" he snapped. He grabbed her by the shoulders—though not as tightly as Gerry had gripped her arms—and shook her, looking very frustrated. "Do you have any idea what tho'the Th'un-Men wanted to do to you?! What they could have done?! What would have happened if I hadn't gotten here?!"

Irene did know what they wanted to do. But it never occurred that Froglip easily could have been too late. And that realization, as well as the fact that she had basically walked into their arms like a fly to a honey trap, scared her. The tears in her eyes began to fall, and before she knew it, she had her arms wrapped around him, and her face buried into his chest. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she sobbed.

Froglip stiffened as soon as the princess began hugging and apologizing to him. He hadn't been hugged for the past ten years—even then, only his mother hugged him—and so the unfamiliar contact made him a bit uncomfortable. Especially since it was a Sun-Person hugging him. Her squishy form felt strange against his harder body.

After a few seconds, he slowly and awkwardly patted her on the back. Then he gently pushed her away. "From now on, don't speak to any Sun-People. None at all. They cannot be trusted."

"All right," she nodded, sniffling.

"Did they know you were a-"

"-no."

"At least you were smart enough to not do that," he muttered. "Did they do any-"

"-no!"

He ignored her snap, recognizing that she was still traumatized by the event. He simply sighed, handed her her knife from where she had dropped it, and said quietly, "Let's go. We're losing daylight."

Nodding Irene followed him close behind, glancing around as if the two men were going to jump out again. She stayed close to Froglip, even contemplating grasping his cape in her hand like a child holding onto her father's pant leg. But she decided not to. Instead, she clutched at her knife as if it would protect her from all of the demons and monsters of the world.

Though the forest still frightened her, especially more so now because of what had happened, Froglip made her feel much safer.