Curse of the Goblin King

By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter Seven

"Everything I've done, I've done for you." – 'Within You,' Labyrinth

Chris made a face as he found that the Goblin king had run away again. "Coward." He mumbled under his breath and promptly went in search of his friend, Erutis.

He walked as softly and quietly as he could while still keeping a swift pace. He was curious about what had happened to his friend now and maybe a touch concerned. She seemed fine enough, but he wondered why she had not yet escaped from this place, if she had tried at all. He knew her to be bullheaded and stick to her guns once she set off to do something like this, but this situation just did not seem right to him.

Erutis acted as if this palace were her own and the way she had acted around the Goblin King had him wondering. Likewise, the terror of the forests around Erutis and his village, the Goblin King, seemed to acting quite out-of-the-norm as well. He wasn't quite sure what 'normal' was for the strange being, but he was sure that to keep a female swordsman around without even doing anything to her like this was not something that his kind did on a regular basis.

Just what had transpired in these few weeks that he had been separated from his friend?

It took him what seemed like a millennia to get anywhere in the castle. It was built like a maze, and he soon grew frustrated with it, thinking that he was passing the same places over and over again. The architecture was something to marvel at, and if he had not been so consumed by other thoughts he might have said so, but now he was simply disgusted and angered by the design of the building.

Forgetting himself, he charged down the hallways like a mad man until a door set slightly ajar caught his attention. Inside he could see a peek of wan light hitting the darker marble floors outside.

Stopping suddenly, he nearly toppled himself with the sheer force needed to bring himself to a halt.

He peered in carefully; not quite sure of what to do now that he was sure he had discovered the whereabouts of Erutis. He had at first thought that he would yell at her and demand answers, as was his usual attitude with her. But now he was nervous, for some unknown reason, about how to confront her. Erutis tended to be more violently-inclined when she was already angry, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to deal with the Goblin King too if his suspicions proved correct.

Erutis was indeed inside, peering out the window, her chin in her hand. Her eyebrows were knitted together in deep contemplation and frustration. Her mouth was pulled taught, the corners turning down in a frown.

She was apparently peering into nothingness, for there was nothing but bare trees set in mud with some patches of grass that extended out until they were swallowed by mist. The mist swallowed everything within a mile radius of the castle, and Erutis felt almost as if it might be some kind of barrier. A barrier that did not keep things out but kept them in. Her mind flitted back to the book she had taken from the library that had said something about curses. A rather powerful one had been placed on a famous Demon Lord once. . .

Her thoughts were distracted as she suddenly caught the sound of someone entering the room. She snapped back to reality and felt the kind of sleepy-dizziness she sometimes experienced when she thought too deeply for too long. It quickly faded as she whirled to face the person who dared disturb her.

She was expecting to find Krayon there, and had a particularly nasty comment ready to throw at him. She was in a testy mood and had no patience for him any longer.

Erutis was surprised to see Chris standing there instead, giving her a stern look to cover his mild anxiety about facing her. He could see on her face that she was angry, but was determined to get all the answers out of her anyway.

She stared at him blankly for a moment, wondering what he wanted. "What?" She asked simply, raising an eyebrow.

"What's going on here?" He returned angrily, his tone harsh. It grated on her nerves.

Instantly her anger was aroused, but she tried to remain civil for as long as possible. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about! Why are you here in this castle with that weirdo?"

Erutis gave him a scornful look, how would he react if she told him the truth? That she had fallen in battle to the Goblin King and was now his prisoner. Well, at least in a loose sense of the word. "It's none of your business. You should leave why he isn't looking. You can't defeat him anyway."

"Have you even tried escaping from this place? He keeps disappearing, so you have plenty of opportunities!" Chris grunted, folding his arms over his chest as he ignored her comment.

Erutis felt even sillier. She hadn't even really contemplated leaving. She knew he would capture her before she got too far off and so had given up on the thought immediately. The only thing that troubled her was that she was still alive after all these weeks in the castle alone with him. He had not even made his intentions toward her known yet.

"So what if I haven't?" She returned, getting to her feet.

"What are you staying here for, and why does he look at you like that?" He suddenly gasped and drew back, one arm up by his mouth in horror. "Are you-"

Erutis drew in a deep breath to calm herself. So the fool had finally figured out that the King was infatuated with her. She had no idea why, but the fool obviously was. She wondered why it had taken Chris so long to see it. But here he was about to scream it to the whole world-

"Are you two related!" Chris cried.

Erutis hung her head in defeat. She would stop giving Chris so much credit from now on.

"No, we are not!" She cried, bopping him over the head.

Chris gave her an outraged look as he grabbed at his wounded head. "Then what the hell are you hanging around here for!" He demanded, raising a fist as if to strike back at her.

Erutis tried to calm herself; she was getting nowhere like this. If she continued to yell and attack him, Chris would only grow more bullheaded and she'd never get him to leave.

"Look, you're only going to cause trouble if you stay here. And besides, you have an important job back in the village, don't you?" She wasn't quite sure if that statement was going to convince him any further of leaving, but she knew if she made some out-of-character statement he would definitely never leave. She was at a loss as of how to get him to see reason.

"Come with me then." he snorted, stomping down one foot to emphasize the fact that he would not leave unless she complied.

Erutis glanced at the room she was in, and thought back to the previous weeks. Not once had she ever thought of escaping. Not until she had killed the Goblin King at least. She hadn't had a chance to fight him again though, and maybe running off wouldn't be such a good idea. At least she could draw him out for a fight if she left and he gave chase. She supposed he would at least. It would be a shame to ruin his beautiful castle, at least.

Sighing again, Erutis wondered what she should do. Chris seemed determined to find out what was going on, or get her back to the village, whichever was most convenient. It really wasn't a hard decision to make, the obvious choice was to leave, but she had her pride as a fighter. Not only that, but it felt strange running away from this place.

"Fine, come on then." She grunted, walking out of the room before she changed her mind.

Chris looked surprised that she had already decided, but followed after her, quickly asking after whether there were any horses to be had around the place. Erutis shook her head; she had no idea about what lay outside the castle. She had not taken the time to explore outside yet, despite her rather long "visit."

"Then how are we supposed to make a swift get away?" Chris demanded sharply.

"We'll go out the way you came in." Erutis replied, not really paying attention to what he had asked. She was busy studying the castle, thinking it would be the last time she would see these halls.

Krayon watched them go from a tower high up in his castle. Mixed emotions settled in him as the two little black dots slowly entered the twisted forest.

There was a twinge of sadness as they disappeared from his sight. He had done everything to accommodate the girl; he had even left when he thought that his presence was a burden to her. Yet here she was, abandoning him to the loneliness of his empty castle. Without even a second glance backward she was gone, and from the sadness was born a cool rage.

He knew that she was the one that would break the curse placed on him and as such he should not allow her to even attempt to leave. Somehow though, he could not gather the strength to chase after them. The sadness was still there and it weighed him down.

"So be it."

With that he turned back into the darkened room he had been staying in, his cloak flapping loudly behind him.

Erutis turned back when they had not gone more than fifty feet into the forest. Her eyes took in the castle behind her, already shrouded in mists. It looked as if it might have come right out of her dreams, and who was to say it hadn't?

A sudden pang was sent flying through her heart, a great sorrow flooded her, but there were no tears for the sorrow was not hers. She thought she heard an eerie piercing noise echoing in her mind, but she was sure it was her imagination.

The forest seemed oddly still, though she knew that the silence had not once been shattered by any noise louder than their shallow breathing and hollow footsteps. Still it felt as if a new chill had fallen over the forest, if that could be believed. It was already so hostile and set-apart, Erutis herself had a hard time comprehending how it could get more distant than it already was.

Chris looked back at her curiously when he found that she had stopped to study the castle. "What is it?" He asked when he saw the strange look on Erutis' face.

Erutis didn't even look back at him as she spoke: " . . .I think he's crying."

Erutis OOC? Krayon OOC? Chris OOC? Does anyone at all seem OOC? is quite worried by this

Thanks to everyone that reviewed! I appreciate that there are so many EruKra fans out there that are willing to help and give me pointers when I fall behind. Hehe. Thank you all so much! I hope you ahve a great summer, minna-san!

Much love! Thanks again!

Review Please?