Chapter 9/Week Thirteen/Ten Months Left

The full moon's light guides Marianne's way as she soars through the trees. A snap to her right causes her to stop suddenly and she flexes her clawed hand to the ready as she scans through the darkened foliage. She silently berates herself as a rabbit dashes through the bushes.

It was foolish being this jumpy when she is the scariest thing in the forest at the moment. It was hard to stop her anxiety, though. She had never before left the safety of the castle walls after it became dark, after all, even during all her adventures as a child.

But she couldn't wait. It was best to get this done now while there were no possibilities of eavesdroppers.

Marianne quickly resumes her journey, weaving through the forest before flying past the tree's edge toward the nearby house. Despite the late hour, the back door opens slightly as she approaches, and she is shocked when a non-glamoured goblin peers up at her through the crack. The green-scaled stocky creature glares at her with narrowed yellow eyes before sighing roughly when a webbed hand pushes against their back.

"Who is it?" Thang whispers from inside.

"It's the human queen," Stuff grumbles, keeping the door partially shut.

"Well, let her in! It's probably important," Thang comments.

"Is it? Or do you just enjoy disturbing people's sleep for no reason?" Stuff questions dryly.

"Stuff!" Thang admonishes. "That's it, I'm waking Griselda!"

"If you please would, Thang. I have come to talk to her. To talk to all of you, in fact," Marianne states.

Stuff groans when Thang pushes against her back once more, but she dutifully opens the door to allow Marianne to enter as Thang scurries back through the darkened house. The gobliness pokes her head out the door once Marianne passes and quickly looks around before shutting the door and bolting it.

"Where's Bog?" Stuff asks briskly.

"Back at the castle, asleep in his bed," Marianne answers.

"At least one of you has enough sense to not go out at night," Stuff mutters. "Don't you know the dangers that walk in the darkness? Surely, even human parents have enough brains to teach their young to be wary."

"What could possibly be any more terrifying than the curse I'm already under?" Marianne counters.

Marianne barely manages to keep from smirking as the goblin tilts her head and grunts in reluctant agreement. She's gotten too used to dropping her mask, thanks to Bog, that she has to work hard not to outwardly show her feelings on a matter.

"Just don't persuade Bog to join you in your folly. There are many who would greatly delight in discovering that my master has a half-human son while he's still young and would kill him upon the knowing. Bog must never be outside after the sun has fully set," Stuff warns.

"Wouldn't the portal to the fae domain being closed lessen the risk?" Marianne asks.

"It makes the risk all the greater," Stuff grumbles. "With the portal open, any attack on Bog could easily have all my master's servants rallied to defend him within moments. But with it closed, Thang and I would fight alone. Humans are no match for either of us, but there is plenty of fae that roam this domain that His Majesty does not hold sway over and would be a difficult opponent even for me."

"Then I will make sure Bog always returns inside before sundown," Marianne vows.

Stuff gives a nod before moving to sit on the bench against the wall. It's not long before faint candlelight intrudes into the darkened kitchen, followed by a nightgown-clad Griselda with Thang.

"Your Majesty? What brings you here at this late hour?" Griselda questions, setting her candle on the table.

"I apologize for intruding at such a late hour, but it seemed the best time to do so without fearing being overheard," Marianne explains. "I've come to speak to you about Bog."

"Has something happened? He hasn't done anything untoward, has he?" Griselda frets.

"No, of course not. Your son is the perfect nobleman," Marianne assures. "You were correct that first day, he truly is capable for a high-ranking position in my court. He's even managed to impress my chancellor with his wisdom and Boris is not easily impressed. You've raised and taught him well."

"Oh, thank you, Your Majesty!" Griselda murmurs.

"What I want to speak with you about, is that earlier today, I happened upon him trying to use his magic on the closed portal at the ancient tree," Marianne starts, nodding at the gasps. "Yes, he told me that doing so was not allowed. I fear that it's for my own welfare that he was attempting to do so, and I fear that I've unwittingly given him more motivation to keep doing so."

"Explain!" Stuff demands harshly.

"Stuff," Thang growls in warning.

"I will not!" Stuff growls back. "She better have good reason for putting Bog's life in danger or not even being under a bargain will save her from me!"

"Cease your arguing!" Marianne orders, snapping her wings open as both goblins cringe at her authoritative tone. "I will explain, as that was the reason I've come. I do not know how much talk that happens within the castle grounds extends outside the gate or how much of that talk reaches Glenndale, but I do know that you've no doubt heard whispers of discontent from my subjects."

"We all have," Griselda confirms. "But it's only idle talk, Your Majesty. Not many who speak those words truly mean them but are merely speaking from a hurting heart. Plum's curse has made life difficult for a lot of people."

"Indeed it has. That was part of the curse, after all, for me to watch my people suffer," Marianne mentions. "But talk at the castle is more than just speaking from a hurting heart. Traitorous words not fit for reutterance have filled many conversations and they've been growing as time inches closer to the curse's deadline. Bog had been overhearing such talk. He thought that if he could just send a distress signal through to the fae domain then maybe the goblin I made my bargain with can force Plum to remove her curse.

"It was not my intention to put Bog's life in danger, but I had realized such a thing was possible when he told me that he would be punished by the goblin king for using his magic thus. Even worse, while he was attempting to use his magic, my former horse, the present imp, touched him and showed him the bargain I made. Bog grew more determined after discovering that Sugar Plum's curse will result in my death, and I fear he will keep attempting to force the portal open."

"Is it Plum's curse that will kill you or the bargain you made?" Stuff questions.

"I can only tell you that to save my people from Sugar Plum's curse, I must fulfill my end of the bargain much sooner than I planned when I accepted the terms," Marianne answers. "My death is the only way to break the curse."

Griselda opens her mouth to respond but closes it immediately when Stuff suddenly snarls before moving toward the back door. Marianne blinks in astonishment when in one breath she sees the goblin and the next, the brawny human man she had first known as one of Griselda's husband's servants. Thang also changes to his human glamour before quickly following the gobliness out the back door and into the night air with no explanation given for their behavior.

"What is...," Marianne starts before being interrupted by heavy pounding on the front door.

"Open up, you old hag!" Roland yells.

"Sir Roland?! What is he doing here?" Marianne growls.

"Making more of a nuisance of himself than usual, apparently," Griselda mutters, sighing when said nuisance keeps yelling. "Best stay out of sight, Your Majesty."

Marianne can't stop her growl as she watches the other woman leave the kitchen with the candle but complies with the suggestion. Dealing with her former suitor was always an unpleasant affair. Not only because of their former relationship but more because of the man's odious mannerisms that she was no longer willfully blind to. It doesn't help that she saw him once today already while she was taking court in the Judgment Hall, as was his usual haunt in an effort to win back her favor since he feared entering the castle grounds, and then dealing with the memory of his betrayal with her conversation with Bog.

"...Quit ignoring me, old woman!" Roland continues. "I'll have..."

"As if anyone could ignore the racket you're making, so it's a good thing I don't have any close neighbors," Griselda grouses after opening the front door. "And who are you calling old? I'm only four years older than you, Roland."

"That's Sir Roland to you," Roland sneers.

"Your knighthood can always be removed if Her Majesty finds adequate reason to," Griselda reminds tartly.

"You think you're so clever. Just because that bastard-born son of yours is entertaining my Marianne at the moment, doesn't make you and him any better than the common filth you are," Roland growls.

"That's Queen Marianne to you!" Griselda growls back. "Now why are you disturbing my sleep? Make it quick, some of us have things to do besides carousal in taverns all day."

"An official from Marianne will be coming in the morning and you will reject the offer he gives, or I will make your life even more miserable than it already is. Do I make myself clear?" Roland threatens, looming over the shorter woman.

Marianne peeks past the kitchen door and has to hold a hand to her mouth to keep from laughing aloud at Griselda's unconcerned look at the nobleman's threat. No doubt it rankled Roland to be brushed off so.

"You already make my life miserable just by existing," Griselda comments, using the fingers of one hand to push the man away from being so close and smirking at his shocked look when he stumbles back. "Any offer Her Majesty extends, I have no intention of rejecting on your say so. In fact, with it bothering you so much, I'd accept the offer even if it is an offer of marriage to Bog."

"As if my Marianne would choose that wastrel for a husband," Roland scoffs. "Just because she's enjoying playing with him, doesn't mean she won't come crawling back to me once her little show of rebellion is done with. Same as you will. If you dare disobey me and accept that ridiculous offer tomorrow, then I will have you, your son, and that tramp that sired him, hanged the moment I become king."

"The day you become king is the day that swine fly," Griselda quips.

"Why you...!" Roland starts to yell.

The sight of the larger man moving threateningly toward Griselda snaps Marianne's restrain, a growl escaping her throat as the rage ignited by Roland's talk boils over, and she moves to intercept him. But before she reveals her presence, Roland's approaching figure is yanked back and thrown into the air to land a distance away.

"Oh, dear," Griselda sighs sadly. "It looks like swine can fly, after all."

"Don't worry, Griselda. He's only the king of fools," Thang reassures, wiping his hands on a scrap of cloth. "A drunk king that's been swimming in ale. I'm going to need to wash before going back to sleep. Don't touch him, Stuff, or he'll get it on you too."

"I already need a wash thanks to dealing with his servant," Stuff comments, pushing her booted foot onto the groaning man's chest. "Now, Roland, didn't we already have a discussion about you bothering my master's bride? And not only are you doing that, but you also have the audacity to insult my master?! Tsk, tsk, such poor manners. What's to stop me from breaking your ribs or maybe a leg?"

"You can't do that!" Roland cries, his green eyes wide with terror. "Besides, I own this land!"

"No, you don't. You see, your servant and I just got done talking and he told me what got you so upset that you'd come out here this late at night," Stuff mentions. "I'm sure Queen Marianne would be delighted to know about you trespassing on her property to harass her subject about a matter that was supposed to have been kept in confidence until it was dealt with. I doubt even the members of the royal court that you still enjoy favor from would be pleased of your conduct to influence matters of the kingdom for your own benefit."

The glamoured gobliness' sharp grin looks savage in the light from the moon and the torch being carried by one of Roland's servants and the nobleman whimpers with fear when she bends down to pull him up by a fistful of tunic. Stuff carelessly shoves the slightly larger man toward his servant and horse, only for him to fall into the mud.

"Now, get out of here while I'm feeling lenient and don't step foot on this land again or I'll make certain to fulfill my previous promise," Stuff threatens.

Marianne watches in amazement as Roland mounts his horse within seconds, not even wasting time to wipe off the mud, before whipping the horse into a gallop to disappear into the night with three mounted riders quickly following. Questioning what made him so terrified when the goblin pair return to their true forms in the kitchen makes her laugh at the response.

"Would you really sell him at the goblin market?" Marianne questions.

"No, but only because he wouldn't even fetch a price to be worth wasting the time," Stuff answers. "He's got no redeeming qualities for any fae to find worth even for the trade of dry moldy bread. I just figured that the threat of selling him to a goblin to sell at the market would keep him from being too much of a nuisance and it worked...well, until five months ago when he managed to get Corbin to sell him this land just so he could kick us off."

"A fairy might buy him," Thang mentions.

"Not likely. Didn't you notice how Plum only bedded him the once? He's not a lover worth even a fairy's attention, and that's saying something since they'd bed anything," Stuff comments, smirking at the cursed queen's blush.

"Okay, that's enough of that!" Griselda calls. "Now, what's this about his servant you dealt with?"

"Stuff heard him sneaking up to the back door. That's why she rushed out so quickly. He didn't manage to hear anything, though," Thang answers. "We caught him before he made it back around the house and he told us about Roland finding out about the official coming here in the morning."

"How did that wretch find out about that?!" Marianne growls. "It wasn't even supposed to be known by anyone but Boris and Huron."

"You might want a new official for the village of Glenndale," Stuff suggests. "Huron frequently inhabits the tavern whenever he's here on business and he's prone to loose lips when he's drunk enough."

"That explains a lot. Boris will not be happy to know about this," Marianne sighs.

"Just to clarify, even if Griselda doesn't accept the offer Huron is bringing, you'd still own this land, correct?" Stuff asks.

"Correct. This land is now the property of the royal family," Marianne confirms.

"I had thought you were jesting when you mentioned buying the land and fulfilling the lease's terms yourself," Griselda murmurs, raising a hand to her mouth in shock.

"Part jest and part earnest," Marianne admits. "Sir Roland was glad to be rid of the property when he was forced to abide by your husband's contract with no way to contest it or demand more money and he hadn't thought to check who was offering to buy it until after the sale was finalized this morning. I fear his steward won't have his position much longer, but it would only be a fortunate thing for the man, it clearly wasn't his fault his master hadn't listened."

"What's this offer that you're making then? I fear I won't sleep well for excitement if I don't know now," Griselda chuckles.

"I see no reason not to tell you since Stuff already knows thanks to Huron's loose tongue. Four monarchs ago, Sir Roland's family was given stewardship over several parcels of land that belong to the royal family with the intention that they would work the land, and the produce from it would supply the needs of the castle throughout the year. This year, the head cook and every resident within the castle has found more delight in the produce that you have gifted the castle than any other. It was Joshua himself who requested this proposal and I can't say I'm anything but for it," Marianne explains, grabbing a nearby apple and turning it in the candlelight. "If you were to accept, you, Griselda of Glenndale, would become the new steward over the royal fields, to work the land as you see fit as overseer to the servants tending it. You will receive the yearly income that is allotted to the steward of such lands and all the...benefits that go with it."

"So that's what's got Roland so upset! I hope you don't take this as an offense, Your Majesty, but I'd gladly take the offer if only to make that boy piss himself as he watches his fortunes crumble!" Griselda cackles.

"I don't get it. Why would that make Roland so distraught that he'd risk coming out here at this time of night?" Thang questions.

Marianne opens her mouth to explain but closes it when Griselda launches into the explanation instead and she raises an eyebrow in suspicion. She's clearly missing something.

"Roland's great-great-grandfather was not a nobleman but became one after being granted the stewardship of the royal fields and was bestowed knighthood for tending and protecting them well. Every source of wealth his family has was because of that position. Without those lands, Roland no longer has any holdings of his own except the small land his family's manor sits upon, especially now that he sold this land in a fit of childish temper," Griselda explains.

"That is not common knowledge," Marianne mentions, her suspicion clear in her voice. "How is it that you know all this?"

"Roland's grandfather was my other uncle, my father's elder brother," Griselda admits, wincing at the queen's visible shock. "It's not a connection any of us are proud of. My father grew out of favor with his relations because of his love for my mother and they disowned him when he married her despite their protests. Since the day I made my bargain and thwarted both my uncles' attempts at keeping me unassuming before the royal family, they've been looking for ways to...well, let's just say to keep me quiet about certain things. It's why my husband sent Thang to live here with me shortly after the bargain was made, to make sure nothing happened to me."

"What is it that you know that requires you to be kept silent? Fear not, I'll do nothing that puts yours or Bog's life in danger, this I swear," Marianne assures when Griselda hesitates.

The other woman struggles for several moments more, twisting her light green nightgown between anxious hands. Even the goblins seem perplexed about the reason as they stop washing their hands in the basin to stare at their master's bride. Finally, with a heavy sigh, Griselda turns fearful amber eyes toward her queen.

"My family, Roland's family, are direct descendants of Prince Griswald," Griselda reveals.