Part IV Bride's Maids
Cara felt a wide array of emotions in just a few short seconds. She felt victory over her father's bullying and defeat in her bet with the goblin King, a nagging sense of worry and anxiousness from being taken to live in a cave with monsters but excitement because she was going to be their queen. A tear escaped from her honey colored eyes and Marak watched it thoughtfully as he held her in his arms bridal style. Cara didn't object as the goblin started to walk farther and farther in to the forest, she had lost and she knew there was nothing she could do about it anymore. A wave of relief filled her body, only to be replaced by a feeling of dread.
"You did better than I expected you to," Marak said after a moment of walking, Cara was amazed he could carry her so easily. She however didn't know how to respond to his compliment. "You would have had me stumped for a few minutes if you had not made such a mess with the leaves beneath the tree. As soon as I passed by I could tell what you had done." Cara mentally kicked herself over such a simple mistake.
"What's your kingdom like?" She asked thoughtfully after a minute of silence. Marak chuckled in the darkness and Cara pressed her head into his chest to listen.
"It is the most beautiful place you could ever hope to see," he responded. "Over time, I am sure you will learn to love the caves and all the subjects that dwell there." Cara seemed content with his answer as she bit her lip. Would the goblin kingdom look at all like The Labyrinth depicted? If so, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad place to live.
"What do the goblins that live there look like? That Eleanor rabbit girl seemed normal and your features aren't exactly… ugly," Cara looked up at the King's face in the dim light of the moon. His nose wasn't particularly large or long and his mouth wasn't too big or small for his face. If he didn't have all his goblin traits he would be an okay looking man, however the addition of the unusual skin color, pointed ears, large, yellow eyes, and ruby red lips that hid silver fangs made him very creepy, not mention the menacing paw covered in feathers that now held her. Cara stopped looking at his face and turned her attention to his hair as they continued to walk along leisurely. "You have really nice hair," she mumbled into his chest.
"Goblins can look like almost anything," Marak started with a titter. "Beast goblins can mate with almost any animal if they find strength there, and once the trait has entered the goblin society it can show up anywhere." Cara braiding the end of his ponytail as he held her close, she was coping with the loss of everything she held dear very well. Marak didn't comment on her strength however in fear that she would crack like so many other captured brides. "Eleanor is part of the high class of goblin society. They tend to look more like people, but Eleanor is an especially rare case. Every now and again there is a goblin who looks almost human, and that is because since 1854 we have had plenty of elf brides mixed in with higher society. I am so…," he paused as if trying to find the right word in English. "I am so normal looking because we have had an elf bride since Marak Sixfingers ruled which was very early in the nineteen hundreds." Cara was about to ask why he had chosen to marry her, a mere human, but he interrupted her. "We are almost home."
Cara looked up from the goblin's chest. There were still trees for as far as her eyes could see, there wasn't a cave in sight. Slowly she noticed that they were sinking into the ground. With each step that Marak took, Cara could see the ground getting closer. Soon his feet disappeared below the earth, then his knees and waist and soon she was starting to sink into the ground with him. She reached a hand out and touched the ground. It still felt completely solid, until she touched it again and she hand began to sink with the rest of her. The girl couldn't believe that she was so calm in the presence of magic but she blamed the indifference to all the movies she had seen. Nothing was surprising in the day and age of computer graphics and green screens.
After a minute, both the goblin and the girl were in an underground tunnel lined with floating, circular lamps that gave off a dim glow. The tunnel stretched for as far as the eye could see in one direction and lead to an iron door in the other. The door slowly opened and Marak entered, still carrying his stolen bride. Large crystals lined the walls and protruded from the ground. Each crystal reflected back the pair walking along as though there were a hundred mirrors in the tunnel. Cara moaned and closed her eyes. Watching herself from so many different angles and degrees was making her feel sick to her stomach.
"Oh, forgive me," Marak said as Cara hid her face in his chest. "This tunnel can be hard to handle if you are not used to it. Keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them." The girl was going to protest and tell him to not order her around but when she opened her mouth she almost puked and therefore decided against giving the King a piece of her mind.
"Hello, King." A voice boomed in the tunnel and echoed off of the large crystals in stereo. "Good luck with your marriage tonight." The goblin King chuckled as metal screeched open in front of them. As they walked through the door Cara opened her eyes and peaked back but she couldn't find anyone in the tunnel or around them that the voice could belong to.
They were now on an upward slant in a plain tunnel again Marak told Cara she could open her eyes again. "This is the lowest level of my kingdom," he said. "The higher up we go the more beautiful it becomes. I promise you will like it." The girl looked about at the dull walls, it was very dim even with the scattered lamps and Cara had to strain her eyes to see the stairs built in the rock and the ceiling start to get higher. As Marak continued his climb, the girl noticed a small mosaic butterfly on the wall. That butterfly continued up the stairs gently fluttering its wings in the stone. More magic. The butterfly was joined by jade grass and tall trees pieced together with dark stones until it seemed the walls were a forest swaying in a calm breeze.
"Oh wow," Cara started as she struggled in his grasp. Marak set her down on her feet concluding that she had nowhere to run from him. The seventeen year old looked at the mosaic pictures on the stone walls feeling the uneven texture with her hand. As she touched the picture, the leaves on the tree crumbled back as though someone had thrown an invisible stone at it. Cara quickly pulled her hand away with wide eyes before turning her attention to a small squirrel that was running up a tree. With a single finger she stroked the imaginary creature and it responded as though it was being petted like a cat. Cara smiled as she turned to Marak. "Is the rest of the kingdom like this?" She motioned to the walls for emphasis. "How did you do this?" Marak chuckled as he grabbed her hand and continued to walk up the stairs.
"The dwarves love to work with stone and enchantments that are aesthetically pleasing, and after they ran out of practical work around the kingdom they started to decorate all the walls with their charmed works of art." Marak ran his fingers along the cool surface of the stone walls as Cara continued to gaze at them in the dim light. "The elves that stay with us enjoy the scenes as well, they do not like being underground away from nature, you see." A deer was now in the picture and it followed closely to Cara who reached out to caress it.
"Ms. Locke is a dwarf too, right? So can she do all this stuff?" Marak shook his head, his long ponytail falling behind his back until he corrected with his paw.
"Ms. Locke, or rather Agora is her real name, never had much talent for creating beauty with stones but she took care of me as a child so I entrusted her with finding a bride for me above ground." Marak looked thoughtfully for a moment. "She is not as bitter as she seems, sweet Cara. After the ceremony that makes you my wife, I guarantee she will be much kinder to you." He chuckled again and the girl was starting to enjoy hearing his laugh. It was loud and clear and very unique to the raven haired goblin whereas instead of a 'ha ha' it was more of a 'ha heh ha ha.'
"What is the ceremony like?" Cara wondered as she looked at his human hand holding her own. Marak stopped laughing as he thought of how he should word his answer.
"It is very unpleasant." He concluded. The girl was going to press for more details but she stopped in her tracks. A large creature stood on the path with long spindly legs and two horns on his nose. He was not clothed like Marak was and bowed awkwardly as he saw the King. Marak pulled on Cara's hand to pull her up the stairs with him but her feet were frozen in place. The tall goblin stared at her with white eyes until Cara started to run up the steps with Marak still holding her hand, attempting to slow her down. Another goblin appeared, along with doors and openings on the staircase, and another, each more hideous and revolting than the last. One had large ears and a large nose with giant body while another was only a few feet tall with wide eyes that stared at the running girl with black irises. Marak was finally able to slow his frightened bride down, but when he did she was mumbling incoherently and refused to look at him. She had cracked just like all the other captured brides. "Cara! Cara, you look at me!" He said sternly and the girl obeyed even though she didn't want to. "Please calm down; you are only going to tire yourself out before the ceremony. I promise that it will get easier to deal with the …uniqueness of my subjects." A rush of tranquility washed over the girl and she could once again speak clearly.
"I'm already tired, Marak!" She shook her head. "Please, let me go to sleep. I don't know if I can deal with everything right now, I'm just very confused and so, so tired!" A very short goblin with a nose like an elephant scurried past her and she let out a yelp as she jumped into Marak's arms. He was the only familiar (and somewhat normal) face and she welcomed him.
"We had a deal, my sweet Cara. You can sleep after the ceremony but it needs to take place tonight, right now." Marak didn't show any expression as he picked her up by the waist and kept walking up the stairs until they had reached the top. Cara moaned and yelped with each creature that passed by before closing her eyes tightly. When she had opened them again she was in a simple stone room with a simple stone table. On the table was a goblet with a strange lip and four bracelets. She and Marak were alone yet again and the door was shut behind them.
"Is this the ceremony? What's this?" Cara lifted the goblet to smell the liquid inside.
"This is the start of the ceremony. That drink will take away your voice so you cannot curse me, and these bracelets will stop you from using your powers, that is if you had any." The King leaned against the stone table as he watched her. "You need to drink that, or I will have to force it down your throat." Cara gave him an indignant glare. She couldn't decide if the goblin was kind or unfeeling.
"I don't have any magical powers," she said as she lowered the cup. "At least none that I know about." Marak shook his head.
"It is a precaution. If an elf bride is chosen, her magic could be dangerous to me and my subjects, or even the elf herself. Even if you do not have magic you have to drink it, or it will be forced down your throat. That is what the lip is for." Cara bit her lip before gulping down the drink, secretly admiring the goblins for their safeguards. She didn't feel any different after she drank the magic drink but when she opened her mouth to say so nothing came out. "See? That was not too hard." Marak chuckled as Cara touched her throat and tried to speak. "Please sit down; I need to put these on you before you go into the next chamber. There will be some goblin women who will work on your hair and such." The girl sat on the small stool as Marak took a golden circle from the table and put it around her wrist. She examined the bracelet but it was a simple circle, a complete circle, and it then shrank to fit her wrist perfectly. More magic. Marak continued to put the other bracelet on the other wrist and then took off her shoes, Cara opened her mouth to object, but he already had both her shoes and socks off and the bracelets on her ankles. "Now please go into the next chamber, and remember that you made a deal and lost. The ceremony is very unpleasant, however if only lasts a few minutes and after it you may sleep for as long as your heart desires, and please do your best to be civil about it." With that Marak opened a door across the room and ushered her in, closing it behind her.
A wave of panic struck Cara as she looked at all the goblin women. They all looked very excited as they took her by the arms and undressed her (something Cara did not appreciate and she tried to cover herself with her arms). She was forced into a golden tub full of hot water and the monstrous women scrubbed her from head to toe. None of them ever spoke to her but instead they all spoke a strange, guttural language to each other. Cara felt like a doll. She was pulled from the tub, covered with towels and led her to a stone couch where some women went to work on drying and combing her hair, others started on her makeup, and more trimmed her toenails and polished her fingernails. The girl felt like she was being pampered for prom.
Cara took a few moments to reflect as the hideous women of all shapes and sizes worked on her. She was about to be married to a goblin. A mythical creature had brought her into caves underground, and although the caves were beautiful (even the chamber she was in had mosaic scenes enchanted on its walls) she was going to spend the rest of her life away from her family and friends. She had gotten what she wanted. Her father would be horrified when the Douglas' noticed she was missing and Ms. Locke would probably make up some story to cover the goblins tracks. Cara wanted her father to be sorry for sending her away and he was going to be. She looked at the positive side of her situation. Adventure was something that she cherished and she was on a very big adventure now. Not only was she getting married at her tender young age but she was going to be a queen. The girl opened one eye to watch the hideous beasts work on her. She was going to be the most beautiful creature in the caves, she concluded, and her confidence was ignited. The only down side to being the queen of goblins was that she was going to have to sleep with one to continue the race. A shiver went down her spine.
The activity around her changed. She opened her eyes cautiously to see a small, very old goblin woman with eyes like dinner plates. The little creature had a paintbrush and a small amount of black paint and began to paint strange characters on Cara's arm. The letters went in a straight line down her limb and she couldn't help but notice how cold the paint felt to the touch. Once the goblin woman finished one line she picked up a bottle and sprinkled oil onto Cara's arm. Two of the characters faded from black to gold. The goblin picked up the brush again and kept writing on the next row, dotting it with oil when she was done and going on again. In each row at least one character turned gold after the oil was dashed. The women around her were squealing with delight and Cara figured it must have been a test and she was acing it.
After the old goblin had finished writing on Cara's arm she stepped away and the other women got back to work. They dried her hair and wove ribbons into it while more women helped Cara into old-fashioned undergarments that covered much more than the girl was used to. She could see out of the corner of her eye that some of the goblins were examining the clothes she had come in with perplexed looks before one summoned fire to her hand and she promptly burnt them to ashes. Cara's eyes got wide but she calmed herself down, she would have new clothes to go with her new life. Finally, two of the women took her by her elbows and helped her into her dress.
A mirror was brought out in to her and Cara stared in horror at her wedding dress. One woman fussed with the seams of the golden bodice because it was too small for Cara's chest and needed to be let out, which it was with the help of magic. The skirt was a twisted mass of red silk and her hair was tied with twenty or more ribbons while one strand of hair remained on her neck. Cara tried to fix the single strand but a woman with a face like a dog stopped her and led her away from the mirror to the door.
It was time for her wedding.