Chapter 6
Siblings
Maggie, Nibgit, and the little dog walked out of the stone part of the labyrinth and into a place where the walls were made of thick vines with huge blue flowers. "Kinda looks like something my mom would plant." Maggie said as she passed by one of the flowers. "Does your ma like to garden?" Nibgit said as they followed the little dog that was bouncing ahead of them. Maggie smiled. "Yeah, she planted a rose garden in front of our house. It was the only way I could recognize which house was mine when I was little." Nibgit looked up at Maggie with big eyes as they walked. "And where is your mother?" Maggie frowned. "I, well…," Maggie took a deep breath, "I did something that I shouldn't have. I wished both of my parents away to the Goblin King. However, instead of a king I encountered his jerk son who-"
"Oh, you mean that prince you like?" Nibgit said. "What? No!" Maggie replied. "What makes you think I like him?" "Well", Nibgit said, "your cheeks got really red when we saw him back 'ere." Maggie feel her heart skip a beat when she remembered that wink and she could feel her cheeks getting red again, but with embarrassment this time. "I hope he didn't see that. I hope he didn't see that." Maggie repeated in her head. "Uh oh." Nibgit said, bringing Maggie out of her spiral of "I hope he didn't see that"s. Maggie looked ahead in the same direction Nibgit was looking. "Where did that "dog" go?" Maggie said as the two looked around.
"I…I don't know." Nibgit said as she looked to the left. All they could see were the thick vine walls with blue flowers. "Where'd ya go doggie?" Maggie called out. "Here puppy, puppy." "Maybe he went this way." Nibgit said as she took off to the right. "Hey! Wait up!" Maggie said as she turned around and ran after Nibgit.
Maggie ran around the right corner only to see the vine walls with more twists and turns. "Damn it! Nibgit, where are you? Nibgit!" Maggie called as she ran straight and then made a left turn. "Nibgit!" she yelled. She tried listening for the little goblin but could only hear the tiny thuds of her boots as they ran across the stone ground. "Nibg…Ahh!" Maggie exclaimed as she tripped and fell on one of the stones that were uneven. "Oof!" she said as she hit the ground. She slowly got up and rested back on her knees. "Ah man!" she said as she looked at her hands that had cuts and were bleeding. "Maggie!" She looked up. "Nibgit! Where are you?!" She sat there for a few moments listening carefully.
"Over here!" a small voice called out. Maggie got up. "Stay there! I'm coming!" She started to run again; trying to ignore the pain in her hands. Maggie rounded a few more corners in the direction she heard Nibgit's voice and looked around. "Where are y…" "Ahh!" Nibgit said as Maggie toppled over the tiny goblin. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you! I didn't know you were right there!" Maggie apologized as they sat up. Nibgit dusted off her shirt and then looked at Maggie. Her eyes grew wide with fear as she looked at Maggie's hands, which were now even more cut up and bleeding even more. "I…I…" Nibgit stammered.
"I'm…okay….", Maggie said as she got up, "Ow! Oh, I think my knees are banged up too." she said as she put her hands on her knees. Suddenly they heard a familiar barking not far away. "This way!" Nibgit said as she stood up and ran past Maggie. "Wait! Don't leave me again!" Maggie said as she ran after the goblin; this time trying to ignore the pain in both of her hands and knees. Nibgit and Maggie rounded the corner and saw two oreads petting the little dog. The first oread was a boy with brown hair who Maggie guessed was probably around twelve. His chest was bare and he wore brown pants and boots. He also held a tall branch that had a round wooden ball on the top. The other was a girl who was probably seven or eight. She had long brown hair that had white and pink flowers in it. She wore a red dress that only went down to her skinny knees and her feet were bare.
The boy stood up and looked at Maggie and Nibgit. "Thank you for finding Dagan." he said as the little girl rubbed the dog's tummy. "We have been so worried about him. We have looked everywhere!" the girl said as she looked up. "Dagan? That's its name?" Maggie said. The boy nodded. "Yes, we have heard from the Aboveground about a Babylonian god that was a dog that loved the outdoors." The girl picked up the dog and stood up. "So we named him after him since our Dagan just loves the outdoors." the girl said with a smile. "But he can sometimes venture too far. We started chasing after him after he left the ravine. He's just so hard to catch up to, aren't you?" the girl continued as she started petting Dagan. The dog barked and the girl set him down so he could sit on the ground.
"We're sorry if he bothered you." the boy said. "Well, actually, he was quite helpful. I mean, he's got us this far." Maggie said. The two oreads looked at each other with confused looks. "Helpful in getting you where?" the girl asked. "To the Goblin City!" Nibgit said. "What business do you have there?" the boy asked curiously. "Well, in a nutshell, I accidentally wished away my parents and I only have thirteen hours to get to the castle before they get turned into goblins. No offense." Maggie said as she looked down at Nibgit. "And did you wish away something too?" the girl said tuning to the goblin. "No, I live in the Goblin City and I need to get home. Maggie's helping me find my chicken Esmeralda on the way." Nibgit said. "You wouldn't have happened to see a chicken, would ya?"
The two oreads shook their heads and the little goblin put her head down with sorrow. "Don't worry, we'll find Esmeralda even if I have to spend the rest of eternity down here." Maggie said trying to cheer the goblin up. Nibgit smiled and Maggie turned to the two oreads. "Do you guys know how to get to the castle beyond the Goblin City?"
"Well you could always try that way." the boy said as the gestured to the left with his staff. "Or from here, go right, left, straight ahead, right again…." the girl said excitedly. The boy put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't want to confuse them!" The girl looked at him and then at the ground. "Sorry brother." The boy smiled. "It's okay", he turned back to Maggie and Nibgit, "It's true that you can turn right from here but it's a longer route. I think your best chance for getting there on time is to go that way and make a right." he said as he gestured behind Maggie and Nibgit with his staff. "Oh yes! That is the quickest route!" the girl perked up. "You better hurry though. You still have a long way to go." The boy said.
Maggie smiled at them. "Thanks, you guys have been a big help." She bent down and patted Dagan on the head. "And thanks to you too little guy." She got up and started to follow Nibgit in the pointed direction as they waved goodbye. "Bye! And try not to run off again Dagan!" Maggie said. The two siblings smiled and waved. "Bye! We won't lose him again!" the girl said happily as the little dog barked. "Good luck getting to the castle!" the boy said as the two oreads watched the mortal and goblin disappear around the corner.
"I hope they know not to disturb the creatures here." the girl said afterwards. "Or smell the flowers," the boy said turning to his sister, "I'm sure they'll be fine. Come on, we better get home before mother gets worried." His sister nodded and smiled. "Come on Dagan! We have treats waiting for you at home!" the girl said as she patted her leg. Dagan barked and happily followed the two oreads back home.