Chapter 10: Weeping of Willows
The sky was a black canvas. There were no stars, no moon, only clouds and the dark. The ocean below was a void, a black hole, sucking the sky into its depths. The land, by now, had already been swallowed.
"I can't see a thing." Dani frowned, leaning forward to gawk out of the airplane's window. The baby in her arms grasped with pudgy fingers at her mother's clothes only to fail at her task when Dani sat back up properly in her seat. Her face was the mirror image of her daughter's pout.
"Of course you can't. It's pitch black outside," Mabrey giggled. She was currently trying to shift in a comfortable position for sleep to no avail. The girl sighed and concluded that sleep was out of the question. "What I want to know is how we got onto the plane without passports."
"They, I mean, the goblins probably bought the plane with all the money they hoard. They are very smart you know. I'm excited to get there to know more about them, come to think of it," Dani remarked. She held her daughter closer for warmth, abandoning the window. Mabrey bit back her agreement. "You know, I bet you could have escaped properly if the weather was warmer," Dani said completely changing the topic.
"I'm not that sure. I thought I lost that stalker in the snow, but there he was right in the cave's entryway. I think he would have gotten to me faster in the spring." Mabrey purposely said this quite loudly, knowing that Marak would be listening in to every word she uttered. Ever since the small group left the hotel Marak had never took his attention away from her. She would not be surprised if he had somehow bugged her with some sort of goblin magic so if he ever did need a break from hounding her, that bug would be on alert.
"What I want to know is why a great Goblin King would ever be caught going to a Wal-Mart," Mabrey muttered more to herself than to anyone in particular. Whether she intended to receive one or not, an answer came to her question.
"If I am so great, I believe I do not need to supply a response to your ponderings." The girl sucked in a breath and faced Marak. He was sitting comfortably in the chair perpendicular to hers. For this occasion, he wore sturdy black breeches, a black silk long sleeved shirt, and shiny ebony riding boots. He also chose to wear his hair in a high pony tail, showing more of his face. Compared to the other frightening goblins who sat behind her, one being Dani's husband and the other she had not been introduced to, Marak's long face and high cheekbones were actually quite attractive. Mabrey hoped that there would be creatures more beautiful than he where she was traveling to so she would no longer think that horrible idea. To her horror, Marak smirked at her as if he heard what she was thinking. She quickly snapped her eyes down to focus on the smooth fabric of her new jeans.
Marak had bought her new attire after seeing what little she had brought in her battered backpack. Mabrey was forced to accept only after inspecting her beaten up and torn clothes.
"We will be arriving to our destination soon." Mabrey perked up at the sound of the voice over the intercom. She took a fast count of the people she sat with on the plane and mentally kicked herself for overlooking Shamus. He must be the one flying this contraption just like all the others.
"Shamus is a delightful pilot, so don't be scared, miss." This remark belonged to Gresh. Dani nodded thoughtfully and with the innate skill of being a mother multitasked tightening her seatbelt while holding and feeding her child. How she ever heard the conversation with all her activity was beyond Mabrey's comprehension.
"Thank you, Gresh. I trust Shamus not to kill us all." As Mabrey spoke, she turned around to face Dani's goblin husband. Bone white twisted horns lay on either side of his head. Coarse sandy hair that seemed to be more like fur stuck up in multiple directions around those horns. His skin was far too white, which exaggerated the gray patches that were arranged under his coal black eyes. Those same eyes were directed on Mabrey. She couldn't help but shudder, for the eyes lacked whites and irises. In short, they were nowhere near human. Gresh sensed Mabrey's uneasiness and brushed a hand over one of his horns like a human would through his hair.
"Oh, honey, don't be offended," Dani cooed. "Remember how even I had to adjust? That took some time, but she has only been with us for a short while. Give her a month or so and I'm sure she'll laugh at the sharpest fangs and weirdest claws!"
A month? Does she think I really am going to stay? The seatbelt lights flickered red and white like a Christmas tree. Mabrey only bothered to strap herself in tighter. I want to become successful and independent, someone my parents would be proud of. I have to try and not let Dani's prediction come true. She saw Dani clutching her child securely to her as Gresh's hand patted his wife's shoulder from behind. From her side was Marak, his arms crossed and eyes closed in thought. But I have to admit, I actually have friends here.
After the plane landed smoothly, the small group of humans and goblins moved swiftly from the airport to carriages waiting for them just outside of the airport.
"Why are you using these? I think cars would be a little more convenient at this day and age," Mabrey thought out loud. Marak lazily brought his attention towards her as he helped the unnamed human bride into a cart.
"Questions, questions, questions! My little cat is so cute when she is batting with her paws for answers." He cleared his throat when Mabrey indicated that she was grinding her teeth angrily. "I believe that this course of transportation is much more elegant. What would my people think if I drove up in some car with the Goblin King's Bride in the seat like some trophy? No, no, that will never do!" The driver on the carriage, who appeared to be an extremely short red goblin, rolled his eyes behind the King. Mabrey suppressed a giggle.
"Face it, my King, you only like to use grand things," Unnamed goblin husband snorted. He had silver fish scales on his body and great bulbous green eyes. His lips were a mud brown, and his hands were webbed like a frog's. Mabrey wondered if he stayed out in the sun too long he would fry.
"Be quiet, Sorei, or I will have to forget how kind I am and actually punish you." Just like that, the man was hushed. His wife chuckled, her pixie styled black hair following her movements. She had bronze skin and delicate hazel eyes that mimicked Dani's.
"Whose side are you on, Beth?" Sorei whispered. He adoringly touched her large belly and she cuddled closer to him on the red leather seat. Marak closed the wooden door on the two. The muscular large black horses carried them off in a southern direction on a paved pathway. The carriage that contained Dani and Gresh soon followed. Only Marak, Shamus, and Mabrey were left to clamber inside and be whisked away to an unknown place.
Of course, Mabrey sat next to Shamus near the window, studying the landscape. Red hills rolled into the sunset with her. Vast dark forests huddled on the horizon sharing company with farmland. Everything was so beautiful and enchanting. Mabrey had always wanted to journey to England, but not in these circumstances. The view grew darker, her sight becoming less adjusted to the dark. A few cars speed by, ruining the sense of time travel Mabrey was starting to feel. Most of the time she was thinking of how she could escape into this rough territory, and the rest of the time was spent pondering on what was awaiting her at the end of this carriage ride.
When night kissed the land, Marak stared at his kingdom. Although Mabrey could not see it now, a newly renovated house stood next to Hollow Hill. He beamed, knowing that he was home at last. Brushing his clawed hand over the bottom of the window, he let out a breath he had not known he was holding. Inside his rapidly beating heart, he had to realize that this would no longer be that home. The time to move was now and the last memories of Hollow Kingdom be just that. Last memories. The carriage finally drew to a stop along side to a large door.
"Shamus, stay in here with Mabrey. If you must move about, take her with you, but do not bring her inside at any costs. There are some final arrangements I must finish before we leave for our new home." Shamus nodded at his King's command. Marak then strode out towards the door.
"Everyone is out, so why do you want in?" Mabrey tried to see who asked this of Marak, but no one was there except Marak.
"If you do not let me in, I will have the dwarves leave you there to rust without anyone to talk to you for eternity," Marak growled at the door. The door swung open immediately grumbling about only doing what is was made to do.
"What is Marak doing?" Mabrey did not know she had asked this out loud.
"He is taking away all the magic that keeps Hollow Kingdom running. He is taking the lights, the lake magic, the weather magic, the electricity-"
"Electricity?"
"Do you really think goblins would just stay behind the times and lurk in the shadows? Yes, we do have electricity, or at least we used to. My King must take all of that way for when we create our new home next to the elves," Shamus explained.
"Goblins really do needs elves if you are willing to move a whole race to be next to them," Mabrey observed. She had pulled her legs up and placed her arms around them. She thought it was freezing at home, but nighttime in England was harsher. She pulled a woolen blanket that was on the seat around her.
"The migration of our races has happened once before. Hollow Kingdom was not the only home we knew. If you want to know more, perhaps I could persuade my King to lend to you the English translated version of our chronicles while we travel." Mabrey brightened at this. She simply loved learning new facts and this promised something she would not learn anywhere else.
"Oh, thank you Shamus!" She hugged him despite herself and snapped away shyly. Shamus's tufted ears fluffed and he forced his face to remain calm and emotionless. No one had ever hugged him before. Not even his mother, father, sisters or brothers. His family was known for quiet obedience, which did not spare the luxury of affection.
"You are…welcome." He was planning to talk more to dispense the awkward tension in the air when Marak reemerged from the door and signaled to the forest. A couple of short creatures waddled forward with tools. "Those are the dwarves. They are wonderful craftsmen and are desperately aggravated that they must leave their home filled with so many well made masterpieces," Shamus narrated before Mabrey could ask. Everything was still as the two dwarves masterfully tore the door from its hinges and carried it off to an unseen carriage. From far off, Mabrey could hear weeping. Men, women, children, the forest, everyone wailing, sniffling, sobbing. The gaping hole the door left stared at Mabrey like a grave.
"We say farewell to our home," Marak called out to the forest, "To our roots, to the place where we played as children and died as family. To the forest that sheltered bonds and grew them. To where we felt woes and mended them. As we say farewell we must greet the possibilities that await us. We must never forget where we come from, but we must also never let that consume us. This is where our story ends, but it is also where it begins. Let us begin it well!"
Cheers bounced of the trees and forest ground, but the cheers were mingled with soft moans of despair. Marak's face stayed strong for his people. Mabrey turned to stare pass Shamus's side of the carriage window and her mouth opened in amazement. About a thousand or more goblins stood next to their carriages, clapping their hands or deformed appendages. Many faces were laced with sadness, needing something to raise their hopes.
I feel as if I am reading a book's ending. Mabrey went back to her window to watch Marak once more. Grimly, he brought his arms up to the hill and formed fists of his hands. His hair clung to the sweat that formed around his hairline.
The hill caved in. It just simply crumbled. Anything that was inside was gone forever as the rocks tumbled on each other. As the home of so many collapsed, so did Marak. He fell to his knees, his head bowed. Marak!
Mabrey got to her feet and climbed out of the window in a heartbeat. She raced over to where the man hunched.
"Marak!" She gasped, leaning down with him to check on the King. He unsteadily looked up at her with his eyes full of hurt and regret. They shone in a way similar to how they bled in the sun. In that instant, she knew he would only show this pained expression to only her and no other. In the moment she stepped out, however, a deafening hush graced the clearing. She could tell that all attention was directed solely on her and Marak. Her heart strangled itself in embarrassment, yet she did not leave Marak's side.
"That was the first time you called me Marak." The goblin chuckled weakly beside her.
"Just shut up and get up." Mabrey blushed hotly. She grabbed one of his arms and helped Marak up to his full height. Though he seemed to be able to stand on his own once more, he still let his arm linger around her shoulders. She decided she would let him stay there for only a couple more minutes. She wouldn't let him think that this changed anything at all. The silence that clutched the Goblin King's people broke when a yellow feathered woman stepped out of the crowd bravely.
"My King, is that woman who I think she is? Has my King found us a future King's Wife?" As she spoke, a goblin child ran up to cling to his mother's leg. His beak chattered as everyone's attention briefly passed over him. Mabrey remained stiff under Marak's arm, suddenly wanting to dash away.
"Perhaps yes or perhaps no, dear Keran. How about I keep this as a surprise until we get to our new destination?" All traces of anguish Mabrey had previously seen on the Goblin King's face had vanished replaced with the old confidence she knew well. His words confused Mabrey, yet she chose to pay no attention to them.
"Let us be on our way. We will camp during the days and move immediately during the nights. We will be tired and weary, but I am sure we will be greeted warmly to our new location while we create the new home we dream of." Marak lead Mabrey inside the carriage as the other goblins boarded theirs as well. This was why for the rest of the night Mabrey found herself sitting too close to the goblin King.
"Why did you have to destroy Hollow Kingdom?" Mabrey saw the creases under Marak's distant eyes. He started as if he awoke from a deep sleep.
"I couldn't have some pestering humans stumble upon my ancestors' abode. Collapsing the old place was the safer bet. Humans will assume that the hill was some large sinkhole caused by an unsteady underground lake. I made sure we had every important item packed and ready to go before I went off to the United States so we could have a quick getaway once I got back." Marak moved uncomfortably in his seat. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was Mabrey that what he had done was right.
So for the moment, he is exactly like me. I have nothing to run back to, and neither does he. Mabrey took a breath and laid a shaking pale hand on Marak's stiff shoulder. Both he and Shamus stared at the small hand like it was some foreign substance. Their reactions were actually very comical.
"You did the right thing. Like you said, if you let yourself regret what you have done too much, then you cannot see the future ahead of you. I know how the past can haunt someone, and it is best just to let it go." When she saw a glimmer of the old Marak dance in his slit cat eyes, she pulled her hand back into her lap. I hope he does not get the wrong idea. "And I am only being civil since I unfortunately have to travel in this carriage to Ireland with you with no hope of escape what so ever." Marak's laughter was an unexpected relief as it floated sweetly in the air.
"My little cat, I would never dream of thinking such horrible thoughts of a homely you who actually likes being happy for the fun of it." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled the girl close to his warm body. All though it was freezing and the warmth was comforting, she pulled away angrily.
"On second thought, I am not sure I could stand being with you for another minute!"
Shamus focused on the window and sighed. He was not sure if he could either.