The ruins
Sarah hurried after Brunga's scurrying figure.
"Hurry," he hissed, choking on dust. "We're still close enough he can see us if he looks. We need to get there." He pointed toward distant shapes.
She strode quickly, overtaking the goblin. She scooped him up, holding him easily in crook of her arm as she walked toward what was starting to look like buildings. They weren't as far as it had first looked through the swirling dust.
She hurried into the shelter of a ruined structure, stopping as she felt the wind die. She set Brunga down as she looked around. Thin, graceful walls arched toward the sky, but the ceiling was long gone and dust covered much of the stone. She felt a sudden pang as she briefly saw the buildings, covered in cool, green plants. The sound of water came from nearby and a scent...
She shook herself out of her reverie as Bruga moved toward a wall and brushing aside a pile of dust he opened a chest. The sound of the hinge screeched among the walls. Brunga peered into the cavity and made a noise of satisfaction. He pulled out a leather-covered bottle, uncapped it and took a long drink.
"That's more like it," he sighed. "The worst thing about bein' a baby is that you only get to drink when the damn humans are gone."
"Is two years the longest you have managed?" she asked. All the tales of changling babes she had read had the mothers discovering the substitution immediately.
"Nah, I made seven once," he boasted. "Not many goblins can say as much."
"I don't think I ever remember a goblin saying as much as you do," Sarah said. "All the goblins I met before could barely put two words together."
Brunga muttered and took another drink.
"Why can you speak so well?" she asked.
"It's not so easy to take the part of a mortal babe," he admitted. He puffed up. "Only the smartest goblins get to do it. If I'd done a better job, it would have been chicken and pork for me." He deflated again. "But now if he catches me I'll be lucky if it's the bog." He slumped against the chest, draining the bottle. His head flopped.
Sarah shook her head at the sight of the drunken goblin slumped with the empty bottle falling from his hand. As he slumped down, she saw the catch of the chest. Moving Brunga to the side, she fingered the knotted design before lifting the lid. Pushing aside goblin treasures — evidence that more than one goblin had used this as a hide out from their king — her hands found the bottom of the box. She felt a relief pattern.
She heaved the chest up and scattered chicken feathers wrapped in rags, dull and pitted knives and other detritus over the dust. She lowered the chest to the ground and studied the pattern revealed. Something stirred in her memory.
She strode through the buildings, caught in memory, to stand before the remains of a fountain.
"How long has it been like this?" she asked the dusty void.
"Too long," a small voice said.
Sarah gasped and peered into the fountain. A tiny fairy clung to the edge, looking up at her.
"Oh you're back," the fairy cried. "Your Majesty, I knew you'd return."
Sarah gingerly picked up the tiny creature.
"What happened here?" she asked.
The fairy stared at her wide-eyed. "But Your Majesty, if you don't know then..." she trailed off.
Cradling the fairy in her hands, Sarah turned away from the fountain to look across the ruined courtyard.
"This was all green, all beautiful," she said, dazed. "Those were not plains. They were forests rich in life. But I don't know what happened."
"You, Your Majesty," the fairy said. "You went away and the king couldn't make it stay green. So he went to the place where he wouldn't have to make it green and let it all go dead here."
Sarah stared at the fairy. "But outside the Labyrinth was all dusty when I was here."
"Not when you came back," the fairy complained. "Before."
"I don't remember," Sarah said.
"Are you back for good now? Are you going to fix it all back the way it was?" the fairy chimed. "I'm so tired of having to go to that nasty Labyrinth wall to find flowers to eat. There used to be all kinds of nice flowers — gillies, forget-me-nots, sunflowers — oh it's been ages since I had a sunflower. There's only thistles now."
"Is there anyone who knows what happened?" Sarah asked.
The fairy looked frightened. "His Majesty would know."
I suppose he would, Sarah thought.