Chapter 8: The Living Tar And The Fae Realm Prince
The Bloody Bambi managed to jump through the doorway. After going through the weird motion again, Audrey was dissatisfied to see more glitter on her. Just as they had landed on the familiar grass of the Fae Moorways, the doorway leading to the Underground agitated viciously.
"Hurry to your left!" Crystal hooted. "Go until you see a fancy door with two guards!"
The Bloody Bambi made a run for it. They didn't bother to turn their heads back; judging by the sounds of breaking crystal and some passerby screaming, Jareth was forcing his way out.
"Keep running!" Crystal flew around and started scratching Gothy.
"Hey, what gives?" Gothy yelled as the princess managed to cut through her sleeves and give her some bleeding cuts. Crystal then morphed back into a human, and despite running as fast as she could to be at the stag's side, she managed to summon a crystal ball and toss it at Gothy. Audrey held on to her as the latter got transformed into some brunette in her late forties. Crystal proceeded to change herself as well, only as some blonde male in his early thirties and bothering to change her regal clothes into that of a middle-class man. Just ahead, the doorway that Crystal had mentioned was coming to view. It was probably the biggest doorway they had seen yet: ten feet tall with golden vines intertwined in masses to create thick columns, each decorated with purple flowers. Two guards, both covered in silver armor and showing off large butterfly wings on their backs, guarded the doorway.
"Guards! Guards, help us!" Crystal shouted. Even her voice had changed to fit that of an adult male. "The Goblin King is after us?"
"Why would the Goblin King be after you?" One of the guards, the thinnest one, approached them.
"It's terrible! He's tried to kidnap my big sister Sarah again!"
"Oh no, not again," the other guard grumbled. "This guy just can't take no for an answer!"
"Are you Tobias and Sarah Williams?" The first guard asked Crystal. He even went on to pat her back in comfort.
"Yes! We were just helping our friend here travel to Victoriannapolis, and just like that, he kidnapped us when we planned on leaving the Watchful Highlands! See what he tried to do with Sarah? If it weren't for our friend here, the Goblin King would have had his way with Sarah!"
"Victoriannapolis?" The guard shuddered. "The place is infested with iron! No wonder you wanted to go there!"
"Don't worry! If you go east, you'll find a river. There's an assortment of boats you can purchase to make your way there!" The other guard said. "Hurry off! We'll finally give him the arrest he needs!"
"Thank you ever so much!" Crystal ushered the Bloody Bambi to follow her. The moment they reached a massive boulder at a decent distance from the doorway, however, Crystal pulled them behind it.
"What are you doing?" Gothy demanded as Crystal gave them their initial appearances back.
"Waiting to watch my dad get temporarily arrested." Crystal snickered as she looked over the boulder. Jareth had caught up to the fancy doorway and the two guards were tackling him despite the many crystal balls he threw at them. Their armors emitted golden glows that immunized them from his spells.
"We really shouldn't be here." Audrey shook her head.
"Come on, Pink Fingers! Who knows when I'll get such entertainment?" Crystal clapped her hands when she saw Jareth ditch spells and resort to wrestling with no luck. The fat guard managed to pin him down while the thinnest guard handcuffed Jareth and did some rant about finally being trialed for 'not staying out of an uninterested woman's business'.
"It's not that! Crystal, there's something you need to know about…"
A flowing sound alerted them. All four stuck out from the boulder to see the Fae Realm doorway opening out and releasing the Living Tar. While Jareth squirmed in fear when it looked like the Living Tar was slowly flowing towards him and burning the grass under its dark ooziness, his expression became puzzled when the Living Tar suddenly changed directions and slithered rapidly towards the group. The Bloody Bambi wasted no time in forcing the three girls on its back and making a run for it. The Living Tar hissed furiously and the two guards, seeing that they've been duped, ditched Jareth to pursue the group.
"CARE TO ENTERTAIN ME AS TO WHY THE LIVING TAR IS CHASING US?" Crystal shouted.
"IT'S MY FAULT!" Audrey held on to the Bloody Bambi as it moved in circles around the doorways, dodging the Living Tar. It was impressive how the animal managed to move around so fast while carrying three times more than usual. "THE LAST TIME WE RAN INTO THAT THING, IT FOLLOWED US OUT OF CORONA! IT STOPPED CHASING US AND WE DIDN'T REALLY PAY ATTENTION!"
"WHY WOULD THE LIVING TAR BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIST? THE FAE REALM PRINCE ONLY USES IT ON PEOPLE WHO BUG HIM ON THESE PARTS!" Crystal then glared furiously at Audrey. "PINK FINGERS, WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR MAGIC FROM?"
Out of nowhere, a pair of golden bolas swung and tied up the front legs of the Bloody Bambi, causing it to tumble. The girls fell off its back; Gothy landed on Crystal and the Bloody Bambi had to bite on Audrey's backpack to keep her from falling over the edge and landing in the watery bottom of a gorge. At the same time, the Living Tar went on to move and create a semi-circular moat of dangerous fluids. At this rate, the girls were running out of options.
"Well, well, well." A figure swooped down from the sky and landed on the Living Tar, which moved to create a solid staircase for him to walk down. The fellow, in Audrey's perspective, was probably around the same as Ben or maybe somewhere around seventeen. If Crystal managed to tower over Gothy and Audrey with her heeled boots, the fellow managed to tower over them in natural height. He was both alluring and terrifying. His facial features were charming but his dry-skin exoskeleton and lack of hair for horns forming a twisted crown were nightmarish. His dragonfly wings had rainbow-like membranes that shone under the few sunrays, creating a beautiful rainbow effect while his sharp nails made a scathing sound on a nearby rock that he touched. He wore a dark green leaf tunic, a golden sash, dark blue pants and fingerless gloves, and cyan blue snakeskin, open-toed gladiator boots. "If it isn't the fake Goblin princess herself."
Crystal straightened herself and gave a small curtsy. "Marius Bogfae. Your Majesty…"
"If this is one of your immature ideas of a prank, consider me not humored." Prince Marius sank his fist onto the rock he had scratched, scattering it into marble-sized chunks. Gothy looked unfazed, Crystal worked on keeping her ground, and Audrey hid behind the Bloody Bambi while she worked on removing the bolas from its legs.
"I hate both you and your father. You know that, right?" Prince Marius coldly asked Crystal.
"And here I thought you'd finally like to have him behind bars for child kidnapping, sexual harassment, and domestic abuse." Unlike the way she had been talking to or about Gothy, Crystal was obviously not trying to flirt her way out of this.
"Not because of your own trickery. And if I had it any other way, I'd have convinced my beloved to have your entire kingdom buried within the stench of your Bog."
Audrey managed to remove the bolas from the Bloody Bambi's legs.
"We admit in taking part of the Royal Laziness' idiotic prank, but we needed Jareth out of our hair. Crystal Maze is currently undergoing a contract with us that might last… an uncertain amount of time," Gothy explained as calmly as she could. Prince Marius merely looked at her in indifference. His nostrils, however, agitated as if to pick up some kind of scent. In less than two seconds, he had flown over to where Audrey and the Bloody Bambi stood. The animal bared its unusual sharp teeth at him, but the prince remained as stoic as stone. He stared back at the Living Tar, which agitated and hissed in its own abstract way of nodding.
"For a high form of sentient magical security, you waste my time with a useless Auradonian princess and her pathetic excuse of a therapy pet," Prince Maris snarled at the Living Tar before giving Audrey another one of his cold glares. "I should just have you shoved down the gorge. It will spare everyone the desire of mauling you."
Audrey stared at him. The prince was definetly nothing like those she had been surrounded with in Auradon. He was cynical, indifferent, and clearly had the tight fists of someone who'd rule with an iron fists. His words even reminded Audrey of the words her demon had spoken during their encounter last night in her sleep. The older residents won't be so kind to the offspring of an Auradonian monarch. They'd be seeking vengeance.
"And you have every right," Audrey said quietly. "There's nothing that can convince you that I might be any different from my family. There's nothing that I can say that can beg you to spare me. The magic in me won't leave even though it was never mine to begin with. The only thing I can hope is that you can imagine why I left Auradon… and after what I went through and what I just saw, it's unlikely that I'll ever go back."
The Living Tar moved as if to await its master's decision. Gothy and Crystal looked overtaken with anxiety and the Bloody Bambi further barricaded Audrey from the prince. The latter still didn't budge, but his indifferent frown had partially changed.
"Your family doesn't know you're here?"
"They probably do. One of their fellow monarchs didn't make a big deal of it when one of her bloodhounds bit my ankle before I crossed the mist."
"So you have no moral guilt in abandoning your old life, your status, and your general regal destiny?"
"I never had a destiny. I'm creating one."
He merely shrugged and started walking away from them. Crystal and Gothy rushed to Audrey. "You three had better get the Hell out of the Fae Moorways." He pointed back at Audrey. Try to make a U-turn back to Auradon and I will kill you."
"It wouldn't be the first time I almost faced death," Audrey said.
He ignored her and glared at Crystal. "Knowing you, you'll be meeting up with that pesky friend of yours in Macabretown?"
"My friend isn't pesky," Crystal spoke in defense.
"I don't care. Have her dispose of that destitute princess' stench unless you want things to slide down… FOR GOOD!" Marius Bogfae flew up from the ground and snapped his fingers. The Living Tar agitated and sawed its way into the ground. The edge the group stood on shook violently and began to crumble. When the Living Tar erupted out and moved away, the majority of the edge fell in a landslide towards the bottom of the gorge. The girls screamed as they fell and it was pure luck if Crystal had enough time to throw out a crystal ball and create a small yacht. It was perfectly positioned to catch the four of them and sail through the rapids and avoid the shower of rocks, grass, and mud. The prince watched as the yacht sailed towards the northeast. Once he had sworn that their screams were out of his ears' reach, he snapped his fingers. The Living Tar moved to flow by his side.
"Not a word to my beloved and have the twins spy on the group. Especially the ex-Auradonian princess."
The Living Tar hissed.
"No. I can tell she means no ill will. But if she starts becoming a problem, we'll dispose of her."
Meanwhile, back in Auradon
To say that Audrey's family hadn't overdosed in caffeine and ice cream would be like lying about how one failed to pull an all-nighter. They hadn't put their feet back in their own kingdom and mostly stuck around with Ben's family.
Celia and Queen Leah didn't get the chance to privately talk with Dr. Facilier about the 'friend from the other side' who had broken into Audrey's dorm room. The first reason was because Dr. Facilier had been invited to New Orleans to patch things up with his old foes, and the second reason was because of a massive news report that had caught Ben's attention and forced him to summon anyone (his friends, his fiancée, his parents, his ex-girlfriend's family, Fairy Godmother, and his future father-in-law). They were currently in a room in the castle, watching the TV as the screen depicted images of vandalism: castle stained glass windows, the True Love window, tapestries, posters, and pictures, anything that had an association with Audrey's family or similar association had been vandalized. The family portraits and stained glass windows all looked as if something massive had punched or clawed them out and leaving only Audrey's face untouched. Pictures hanging around Auradon Prep had disfigured the faces of Audrey's former cheerleading team, and whatever pictures she once had of her time with Ben had been ruined so that she was intact while his picture was practically slashed.
"All these events of vandalism have occurred days after another typical disappearance of Princess Audrey. Where she went and why, nobody really cares," the female reporter said on the screen. "The only thing we care about is if the Queen of Mean is on another one of her rampages…"
Mal was the first to react and turn off the TV. "We all know that there's no way Audrey did this," she said. Everyone stared at her like it was obvious. "But if it's not her, who is it?" Then came the part where Celia explained to everyone what she and Audrey's grandmother had seen a few nights back. After she was done, the only thing they got was Hades' dry laughter.
"Error in judgment…" Hades laughed. "You should have never asked me to revive her!"
Mal looked at her father in shock. "Why would you say that? You know we had to save her!"
"Maybe…" Hades checked his blue-polished nails. "But who I should pity the most, I don't have the foggiest clue. Then again, the spoiled thing probably doesn't know that her demon is seeking to satisfy her behind her back."
"You can't be serious!" The Fairy Godmother shook her head.
"Our daughter would never summon something out of Hell!" Phillip protested.
"Well not right in her right mind…" Hades groaned in exasperation. "Really? Am I the only one who gets it? The circular portal that dragged the tar away from her, whatever force sent that deranged stag to act as her guard dog, the thing that stole her dress, and the vandalism acts that obviously kept her pretty face intact? And Celia mentioning that the thing referred to the spoiled thing as 'my queen'? It's obvious that against her senses, probably because everyone made her feel useless and pushed her towards villainy, she called out for a demon to serve her."
"But she was brainwashed by Mom's scepter. Even if what you say is true, Audrey wasn't herself…"
"Brainwashed or not, she still summoned a demon," Hades told Mal flatly. "Demons don't care if their clients were intoxicated or not. The clients summoned them with the specific methods to summon them specifically, so the specific demons have to serve the specific clients. End of story."
"So the demon only wants her best interests?" Hubert asked.
"In his twisted way, yeah." Hades had now pulled out a phone to see the pictures of the vandalism on social media. "Big points to him. He actually cleared out all the debris. I can't even tell which demon he is."
"But don't you rule all things hellish?" Evie raised her hand. "Can't you just snap your fingers and tell him to leave her alone?"
"I only rule the Underworld. Not Hell itself." Hades shook his head. "I'm a mere pagan deity who had to micromanage the dead that weren't virtuous enough to go to Heaven or sinful enough to go to Hell. Hell is where all the demons live. The actual purgatory is under the Underworld."
"Lucifer actually exists?" Jay nodded. "Kind of cool."
"Are you people serious?" Hades was exasperated. "It never occurred to you that the fallen angel existed? YOU GOT MONOTHEIST SITES IN AURADON!" He partially burned the tip of a curtain that stood behind his chair. Fortunately, they came prepared with fire extinguishers and were able to put out the sparks.
"I know it's out of your reach, but do you know if there's a way to untether my granddaughter from the demon?" Queen Leah quietly asked Hades.
"Her death. The whole point behind summoning a demon is that the demon is supposed to watch the client's back until the client dies. Then again, whether the details were complex in the summoning or not, I don't know if whatever demon Audrey summoned will treat the deed as unpaid. There's a reason why we call the term 'deal with the devil'. Whatever the case, you can't expect me to undo such a contract."
"But if the demon is probably keeping an eye on Audrey, why is it vandalizing Auradon?" Mal raised her hand.
"Well in fairness, a lot of you gave her a bad time. And I did say that the demon wants Audrey's best interests in a twisted way. He can't physically leave Hell, but he can send manifestations of himself to either protect her or harass those who wronged his client. Right now he's mostly harmed people associated with her family- parents, grandparents, and family foe's daughter, but how long before he starts plaguing all of Auradon? Tough question."
A lot of them groaned. To think that right now, Audrey was probably in some sort of peril that they couldn't save her from or that she was oblivious about. Well, at least that's what they thought.
Back in the Fae Moorways
The sky had cleared up a bit in fogginess and the sunset was beautifully reflecting on the river now that the crystal yacht had reached calmer waters. They were now sailing in parts that were getting less and less frequented by magical doorways and more by natural trees. Well, they looked like natural trees, but the sunset rays did give the leaves a sparkling effect. Gothy had just finished cooking her hazelnut soup in the yacht's functional kitchen and brought the bowls on the main deck just in time for Audrey to finish explaining everything to Crystal. And there was no way to exaggerate the frustration she had that Audrey and Gothy had yet to discover.
"So if I get this straight, you temporarily stole your mother's arch-foe's magical scepter… AND YOU DIDN'T THINK ONE SHIT SECOND OF SIDE EFFECTS?" Crystal screamed loud enough for nearby wild birds to fly away into the clouds.
"It's not like I asked for it!" Audrey protested while the Bloody Bambi rested by her side. "Besides, it's not like I could talk to anyone about it back in Auradon! So yeah, I ran away to catch a break! I had no clue about why the Living Tar chased me back in Corona, and when you brought it up back at your castle, I worried that it chased me because it probably mistook me for Maleficent…"
"Princess, there's no way you could pass off as her." Gothy gave Audrey a bowl. "I already told you I saw what her horns hide."
"Forget horns, Gorgeous!" Crystal snapped. "I told you two that unless it was against people who bugged Marius Bogfae, the Living Tar only chases people that his girlfriend deals with!" She shuddered in disgust. "Ooh, I'd rather drown my way to Hell in the Bog of Eternal Stench than be dragged in that witch's business! But I've been dying to get out of the Underground for a massive amount of time, and I am not messing that up because of some poorly-minded princess!"
"Hey, that poorly-minded princess saved your hide three times!" Gothy snapped at Crystal. "First time with her wish, second time when she gave your dad a concussion, and third time with that abomination of royalty!"
"And that's why we need to double-up the precautions!" Crystal insisted and pulled out a calendar. "OK, if we're fast enough and stay away from any local villages, we might just be able to sail through the river, go through some valleys, and eventually reach the marshes outside Macabretown by next Wednesday! We find my friend, she pulls some strings, and we get that Auradonian scent off Pink Fingers!"
Audrey reached out her hand to the Bloody Bambi, letting it gently sniff her fingers and give them some small licks. "My scent would attract those who'd kill me because my family was among the monarchs who provoked them into exile." It still amazed her that Marius Bogfae was willing to let her off the hook and let her blend in… depending how long it would take him to change his mind and call his supposedly psychotic girlfriend.
Crystal calmed down, took a deep breath, and clasped her hands together. "You two got to understand. You're now on the turf of heroes, villains, and antiheroes that you're unfamiliar about and don't understand. Many of them have either gotten over the pasts conflicts or haven't, made new lives, have their lives in common, but one thing they have in common is that if they start seeing Auradonian royalty snooping around, they will pull their guns out. My own father agreed that he'd unleash his worst forces if Auradon tried to remove him from his turf. Gorgeous, you don't have this problem because you spent your entire life on a secluded island stripped from the mainland, but Pink Fingers practically carries the Auradonian stench that shields her own body odor identity card. Once we get to Macabretown, it's bye-bye Princess Pink Fingers and hello independent, free Pink Fingers. You guys understand?"
Both girls nodded.
"Good. And Pink Fingers, once we dock tomorrow, you're going to destroy that book that Hexe girl gave you. Witch magic won't help you improve your Fae magic so that it's less 'clingy because you initially robbed it' and more 'individually reliant because it's part of you.' Starting tomorrow, I'm going to help you learn the basics behind Fae magic, and hopefully you'll get a better hang of it by the time we reach Macabretown."
Audrey nodded. Crystal final sat down and ate some soup. "Hey, this is probably the best soup I've eaten in my life!" Her eyes gleamed. "Nice work, smuggling microscopic pinch of cinnamon!"
Gothy was surprised. A speck of cinnamon was her absolute secret touch in hazelnut soup and with all the layers of hazelnut, few herbs, liquids, and sharp condiments, she was stunned that Crystal was able to detect the small pinch of sweetness that she always refused to admit.
Then again, Crystal was already a weird person.
An hour or two later
The crystal yacht was still sailing through the currents, creating a rocking movement that further deepened the slumber of Gothy and Crystal. While they slept in their individual cabins, Audrey was in hers with the Bloody Bambi. The beast stared at her as she went over the three pages of The Pros And Cons of Summoning Demons.
A lot of people get that gut feeling that makes them feel guilty over doing a necessary deed that has them lie to those they care. Audrey knew there was no way she could explain her involuntary contract with a demon she didn't know. And she didn't know enough about demons, which was enough to tell her what she had to do next. She grabbed the three pages in her hand and ripped them off the book.
"A small secret between you and me?" Audrey looked at the Bloody Bambi, who gave her a nod. She folded the torn pages and hid them within the confinements of her wallet. She'd eventually need to find a better place in her backpack to hide the pages.
I was worried you were extinguishing that flame of yours.
"I hope that freak of a demon finally lets me catch some sleep tonight," Audrey muttered.
