Chapter 19/Week Forty/Four Months Left
Soaring through the snow-covered forest, Marianne barrel-rolls through empty branches in a moment of joy at being back in the Dark Forest before being forced to land abruptly because of the bile threatening to rise. Her sickness of three weeks ago still clung to her with a tenacity that rivaled the curse she was under. Nothing as severe as that morning when Bog woke her after she slept through her usual time of leaving the castle to take court at the Judgment Hall, but it still had its moments that forced her to slow down.
Sighing once her stomach calms, she decides to continue her journey on foot, the cold barely penetrating the tough skin of her feet as she walks along the path created by Chipper's giant paws. The slower pace allows her to reflect on the recent changes within the castle and she smiles in fondness. Who would've guessed that the seemingly lowly and humble peasant who became her prisoner forty weeks ago could become such a forceful storm that even her stubborn aged courtiers would bow under without a fight?
Not that they were without complaint. She had been rudely disturbed by several members of the royal court pounding on her door shortly after she had returned to sleep to complain about the orders given by Bog. At least her handmaidens had returned to performing their duties and she didn't have to leave her bed to allow them in, but it hadn't helped her growing headache as they whined about being forced to appear in full view to her subjects in their cursed forms. It was only when Sir Tigler came running into her chambers as fast as his form permitted him to get her confirmation to the orders Bog had given to those in the gatehouse that she finally managed to get a word in.
Come to think of it, neither Bog nor Sir Tigler have yet told her what exactly it was he said in the gatehouse that day. She had been able to faintly hear Bog yelling once more but with the noise her supposedly-adult courtiers were making, she hadn't been able to make out the words as she had been able to when he was in the Great Hall. Whatever it was had caused a panicked Sir Tigler to immediately clear her chambers of the unwanted guests when Bog walked through the door carrying a tray with broth for her, and before her furious husband had done anything more than take a deep breath at noticing their presence.
It had been distressing to be unable to leave her bed because of the weakness that had taken hold of her that morning but well worth the misery for what resulted. Not only did she enjoy one full day with absolutely no responsibilities demanding her attention while she enjoyed her time with Bog, but the other residents of the castle experienced an overnight transformation.
Waking the next morning had revealed the first change when immediately her handmaidens happily greeted her before tending to duties they hadn't performed since the morning before the curse was cast. It had been startling when they began to comb through her hair and she nearly wept at the feeling, having had no one touch her for so long except Imp, and then Griselda and Bog, Dawn's touch being restricted to using her hand as a platform to stand on. She nearly laughed at their tutting over the short length and hadn't been able to hide her amusement at their scandalized gasps when she admitted that she planned on keeping it short after the curse was broken.
The next change that greeted her was upon leaving her chambers. It was almost as if the past twenty months hadn't happened as she walked through the halls to be met with various subjects openly traveling through the passageways once more, though the cursed forms made it easier to avoid nearly running into each other, as had been a fairly common happenstance before. She hadn't quite known how to respond when the first servant had greeted her amiably as she passed them and had been too shocked to return the greeting as they continued their journey.
Even more astounding had been her arrival at the Great Hall. Not only had the banqueting tables been set up for the morning meal, but most of her cursed nobles and some of their non-cursed kin were already there to greet her with the respect due to her, an incident repeated at the evening meal. The meal had been pleasant despite her unease at the now-unfamiliar act of eating with others that weren't Imp and Bog.
What was not surprising, however, was the increased mentioning of how suited Bog is to be her king consort, though most were surprisingly not said in connection to breaking the curse. The praising had turned the raging goblin of the day before back into the bashful peasant as he quietly ate his meals seated at her right side.
The changes had not faded since and each day seems to bring back more of what was once prevalent during the days before Plum arrived in the kingdom. She had even taken to not hiding herself during the day of court, which was now once again held within the Great Hall and in the presence of her royal court.
Several, cursed and non-cursed alike, had even approached her privately throughout the three weeks to apologize for their disrespect, her gift confirming their sincerity. Not that there weren't a few who made a spectacle of themselves in a grandiose style of apologizing with an audience that had them experiencing a further damaged pride when she called them out for their falseness.
Marianne shakes her head at the reminder of Roland's attempt to win back her favor during the most recent day of court nearly a week ago. His folly had only managed to drive him out of favor with several former supporters of his kingship. Supporters who were now openly favoring Bog.
"Queen Marianne?" Thang mutters.
"Thang? What are you doing out here?" Marianne questions, looking back to where he's crouched behind a tree.
"Gathering some roots for stew," Thang answers, holding up the roots in question after refilling the hole he dug. "They're a very hearty meal when cooked properly but they taste better when they're freshly picked. Where's Bog?"
"With Chipper in hibernation, the trip would have been too long to guarantee that he would be back within the castle before dark, so we agreed that I would come alone and he stayed in the castle," Marianne explains. "I have need to talk to Stuff."
"She went with Griselda into Glenndale but they should be back by now since Griselda only needed to buy a new kettle. The old one had a mishap," Thang mentions.
"A mishap?" Marianne asks with suspicion, gesturing for him to walk with her at his reluctance to answer.
"It's nothing we can't handle," Thang tries before sighing at the silent demand from her raised eyebrow. "For most of the past week, we've been having cloaked figures riding recklessly through the fields at night. We know they're not fae because Stuff and I can sense that they're human, but another would mistake them as such in the darkness with the horns they've fastened to their cloaks and horses. Last night, Griselda had a fit of temper when they rode closer to the house with a lit torch, and she threw the kettle out the window. Good news, it made contact and knocked a rider off his horse. Bad news, we noticed the kettle received a crack after I retrieved it once the other riders helped their fallen companion back onto their horse and left."
"There is more that you are not telling me," Marianne comments. "Is Sir Roland involved?"
"We can't prove it to your subjects without exposing ourselves as being goblins but Stuff and I both smelled his blood on the kettle," Thang answers. "He seems to be getting more desperate on getting Griselda out of the way than his father and grandfather had been back when my master charged me with her protection. Just a few days ago, Roland attempted to force the grocer to not sell to us and would have succeeded had your official for Glenndale not been present."
"Huron reported to me about that, but he hadn't known any other details except Sir Roland's claim that Griselda would be unable to pay her bill and he worried for the man's growing family. He hadn't believed the sincerity of the knight's proclaimed gesture of goodwill and told me he gave the merchants of Glenndale a signed oath that the crown would pay the cost should Griselda be unable to," Marianne murmurs.
"That explains why we haven't had further trouble. At any rate, I fear Roland's next attempt may be bodily harm and I will not restrain myself from what I've been tasked to do, even if it means getting charged for murder in the human court," Thang warns.
"I appreciate the warning, but I must ask you to wait in line for Sir Roland's head. As the reigning monarch of this kingdom you dwell in, I have first rights," Marianne quips with a smirk.
"Then you better take it soon or I'll deliver the nuisance's head to the castle myself," Stuff mutters, leaning against an ivy-covered tree at the forest's edge.
"Tried again, did he?" Thang sighs.
"Not this time. But he's sure telling quite the tale in the tavern of how goblins attacked him during his patrol to explain his injured side. He's trying to convince anyone listening that the Dark Forest should be burned down since the ignorant and savage fae are too dangerous and will attack poor unsuspecting people for no reason," Stuff comments.
"And here I thought he couldn't become a greater fool than he already was," Marianne huffs, shaking her head. "If you have a moment, Stuff, I should like to talk to you. It's the main reason I've come to visit."
The glamoured gobliness seems to freeze at that before letting her arms drop from their crossed position over her tunic-covered chest and moving away from the tree she's leaned against. Her narrowed eyes glimmer in the mid-morning light before widening dramatically.
"I have nothing important to do," Stuff confirms slowly, turning her attention toward the house. "Thang, though, needs to catch a rabbit."
"I do?" Thang questions in confusion.
"Obviously. How else are we going to eat rabbit stew without the rabbit?" Stuff counters.
"I thought we were having root stew tonight," Thang mumbles before shrugging and handing the gathered roots to Stuff. "I'll be back with the rabbit."
Before Marianne is able to question Stuff's peculiar behavior, the gobliness raises a finger to her lips once Thang's back is turned and heads to the house. Even stranger is when Stuff bolts the back door once Marianne enters and knocks on the wood three times.
"Stuff, why are you sealing the house?" Griselda asks before turning around from the fireplace. "Oh, Your Majesty! I hadn't been expecting you to visit until spring! Is something wrong?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Marianne answers, raising her eyebrow to the now non-glamoured goblin. "What did you just do?"
"A simple enchantment that keeps anyone outside from entering the house or from hearing anything said in the house. We usually only employ it when Thang and I are not on the farm to give Bog and Griselda protection. Except that only works when Griselda stays in the house," Stuff explains, grumbling the last part with a glare.
"Ignore her. They're still miffed that I traveled to the castle alone nine months ago," Griselda comments.
"You went without telling us beforehand what you were planning, and then Bog followed you before we returned from Fowler's Camp!" Stuff growls. "If she had even been the slightest more like her predecessors, this matter would have turned out worse than it became!"
"We've already had this argument, Stuff. Even you weren't for certain that the fae with that band of travelers would give you enough gold for your wares to cover Roland's greed, which they didn't. I will not regret what I did...except picking that primrose, of course," Griselda amends, a dusting of pink adorning her cheeks. "Anyway. Would you care for some tea, Your Majesty? I just put some water to boil."
"I would enjoy a cup, but I shouldn't stay too long. Bog had suggested that I come talk to you, Stuff, since he said goblin magic could discover and sometimes heal certain ailments. I had fallen quite ill three weeks ago and required bed rest for that day. Though the sickness has not been as severe since, it has persisted despite no obvious cause for it," Marianne explains.
"Oh, there's an obvious cause," Stuff mutters in amusement.
"It surely can't be the winter cold since I fared last winter with no trouble," Marianne comments before tilting her head in confusion. "You already know what is causing the illness?"
"You're pregnant," Stuff states.
Blinking several times, Marianne barely hears Griselda asking how Stuff knew and Stuff's subsequent answer of the forest telling her over the sound of rushing wind seeming to fill her ears. It's not until Griselda gently pats her face does her mind clear enough for her to realize she's sitting on the floor with her legs beneath her.
Wait. When did she wind up on the floor?!
"...alright, dear. I know it's quite a shock," Griselda soothes.
"How am I pregnant?! I don't mean that part!" Marianne defends, blushing at the pair of amused looks. "What I mean is that since the day Plum cast this curse, no one that was within the kingdom's borders that day has been able to get pregnant. Not human and not animal."
"Truly? I thought that particular complaint was merely exaggerated gossip from discontent women," Griselda comments.
"It was my thought as well at first, but I had far too many complaints at court from owners of various animals for it to be an exaggeration. Plum's curse specified that my people would suffer and for many that meant that neither they nor their animals would become pregnant during the time of the curse. Even wild animals haven't borne young in the past year," Marianne mentions.
"That's not quite true. Yes, some haven't but they weren't native animals. All the animals that were here before humans ever came, they've all had new young," Stuff mutters, furrowing her brow and tapping her claws against her bare scaley hip. "In fact, those same animals can still move freely past that magic barrier around the castle grounds and the Dark Forest even if they were within when the curse was cast."
"Are you sure?" Marianne asks.
"Couldn't be more sure. I am a forest goblin," Stuff comments proudly. "But you're right. How can you be pregnant if no other human can be, not even the cursed ones? I wonder if..."
Three raps upon the back door interrupt Stuff and she huffs before moving to unbolt the door to allow Thang in. The human-glamoured goblin blinks at the scene before him and gestures to Marianne sitting on the floor.
"What happened?" Thang questions.
"Nothing for you to worry about. Where's the rabbit?" Stuff evades.
"Eh...I had a mishap," Thang mumbles sheepishly. "I didn't realize how close I had gotten to the village chasing after a rabbit and just managed to catch it right as it went past the trees. Just my misfortune that it happened at the same time a patrol passed by, though thankfully it wasn't Roland's troop. The knight let me off without charging me for poaching since the rabbit was uninjured, but he made me let the rabbit go and escorted me back here."
"You could have just spelled them to have forgotten they saw you," Stuff grumbles, wincing at Marianne's growl. "Or just told them that you had followed the rabbit starting from our field and it was not one from the forest."
"I tried telling him that. He said not to follow the next time it goes into the forest. I guess we're having root stew tonight after all," Thang sighs. "So, what is so important that you sealed the house?"
"I'll tell you later. Go get fresh roots," Stuff orders, pushing the glamoured goblin out the door.
"But I just...," Thang starts before the slammed door cuts off his words and Stuff bolts the door before knocking three times.
"Is there a specific reason Thang is not included in this conversation?" Marianne questions with amusement.
"He's a blabbermouth. He knows how to keep a secret if he's talking to someone not trustworthy but if he's talking to someone he knows is safe, he doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut," Griselda grumbles. "As you were saying, Stuff."
"I'm just wondering if it has something to do with how Plum managed to cast this powerful of a curse when she did not have enough power to do so," Stuff mentions.
"Maybe it just means the curse is weakening its hold," Marianne suggests with tentative hope. "You did say thirteen weeks ago after you and Thang confronted Plum for trespassing in the Dark Forest that she is stuck in her glamoured form and isn't able to perform any spells at all. So maybe because she didn't have enough power to keep this curse going for as long as it has, the magic supporting the curse is failing, undoing itself."
"Maybe," Stuff concedes skeptically. "I'll still force open the portal as soon as the snows melt. There's no telling for certain how far along you are other than knowing you're somewhere between at least three months and no more than six months. However far along you are, the forest can feel the little one's magic, so it's for certain that they're inheriting Bog's range of magic, and my master needs to be here as soon as possible so he can create a seal as he had done for Bog."
"Why would there need to be a seal?" Marianne asks.
"As my husband told me, Bog is tremendously powerful for being half-human, powerful enough to be mistaken for a full-blooded goblin. This made hiding him from other fae a bit challenging even before he was born. So, my husband had to create a seal on Bog that would hide his goblin half from other fae being able to sense it. This is why he must always be inside once the sun sets or else the seal will break," Griselda explains.
"I'd create the seal myself, but it has to be made by blood-kin. With whatever spell Plum cursed Bog with, he's unable to do it himself, so my master has to be the one to make it," Stuff adds. "At least with the curse on you, the extra magic isn't noticeable to anyone not looking. I wouldn't have even thought to check the magic surrounding you had the vines not sang to me about sensing the change."
Bog was correct about the forest being a snitch.
Shaking her head in amusement, Marianne lifts herself off the floor and absentmindedly places a clawed hand along the rigid plates covering her stomach. The news was almost hard to believe. Not that she doubted the female goblin's words.
But for how much joy that is filling her at the reality of a dream that she hadn't dared dream, her whole being fills with equal amounts of fear and dread.
This child, Bog's child, already has a sentence of death hanging over their head because of her. Should the goblin king be unable to remove the curse Plum cast, she'll have no choice but to fulfill her bargain to save her people from staying cursed for the rest of their lives, paying her unborn child's life along with hers. Even should the curse be removed without such a high cost or if the child is born before then, there was the royal curse, a guaranteed death waiting for her firstborn.
As if condemning his child to a fated death was too small a crime for her, there will be no way to hide her pregnancy from her subjects, and her lo...affection for Bog will be revealed, dooming her husband to her father's lonely fate if he stayed within the human domain.
"Don't let it trouble you, dear," Griselda murmurs motherly, taking hold of a clawed hand to pat in affection. "I know motherhood can seem daunting, but everything will be alright."
"Your son inherited your optimism," Marianne quips dryly, before losing her faint smile. "But I fear that it would take a miracle to change my fate."
"Goblins don't believe in miracles," Stuff huffs, playfully nudging Marianne's leg as she passes to take the steaming kettle off the hook. "And we don't believe fate is made for us. We make our own fate. Griselda changed the fate you humans made for her when she chose my master, and you already changed your supposed fate when you chose Bog. If my master can't make everything alright for you, then His Majesty will."
"I know you said that with the Dark Forest's approval of our union that not even the goblin king will protest against it, but that doesn't mean Bog will have his father's approval and help," Marianne mentions. "Don't you suppose Bog's father will be upset by everything that has happened and he not being told?
"He better not be or he'll be the biggest hypocrite in both domains," Griselda comments. "My husband hadn't even told his own father about me or Bog, and he had no reason he couldn't. The elder goblin found out himself when Bog was three years old after he followed his son out of curiosity about his frequent traveling here to the human domain."
"Bog had surprised us all that night. We hadn't known he could still sense other fae with his magic being contained, but upon the arrival of an unfamiliar fae in the house, Bog woke right up and wouldn't go back to sleep. The master was so annoyed at having his tryst cut short by his own son and father," Stuff chuckles.
"If he had told his father in the first place, Bog wouldn't have been woken up and he wouldn't have had to make such an uncomfortable journey back to the fae domain," Griselda quips before explaining at Marianne's confusion. "I know Bog told you that he hasn't met his father yet, but I doubt he told you the exact reason why, being such a humble man he is and all. You see, the goblin kingdom respects power and strength. The stronger an individual is, the higher ranking they have. Very few outrank my husband, hence why he's tasked with guarding the Dark Forest in the human domain, and since Bog inherited a lot of his magic, Bog would have such a high ranking himself should he enter the goblin king's court. This makes Bog very enticing to any lower-ranking fae who may want to boost their position in the goblin kingdom by securing a powerful mate. My husband felt it best that no one knows that Bog is his son, including Bog himself, until after Bog is old enough to not be vulnerable to the advances of such."
"So, Bog is not only well capable for a high-ranking position in my court but he's equally capable for a high-ranking position in the goblin king's court. My, my, what a fortunate catch of a husband I've happened upon," Marianne muses with amusement, smirking at the resulting laughter. "How powerful is Bog's magic?"
"We're not entirely sure since he can only perform spells within Thang and Stuff's range of magic without it being noticeable to other fae. My flower garden is actually Bog's handiwork. He just loved encouraging the flowers to grow as a child. One time he was too enthusiastic and accidentally covered the entire house with climbing roses," Griselda laughs fondly, starting to pour the tea into cups. "That's why I was so enchanted with that tempting primrose covering your castle. It reminded me of Bog's mishap."
"That's it!" Stuff shouts suddenly. "That's what that foolish fairy did!"
"Stuff, what are you going on about?" Griselda asks, using a rag to wipe the spill she made.
"The curse! Both curses! I know what Plum did!" Stuff answers frantically, gesturing toward the startled cursed queen. "It's why she looks so similar to the master! Plum didn't block Bog's magic, she stole it! This is goblin magic, not fairy!"