CHAPTER FIVE
A Cloak of Folly
"Let folly be our cloak, a veil before the eyes of the Enemy!
For he is very wise, and weighs all things to a nicety
in the scales of his malice.
But the only measure he knows is desire, desire for power;
And so he judges all hearts.
Into his heart the thought will not enter that any will refuse it,
that having the Ring, we make seek to destroy it.
If we seek this, we shall put him out of his reckoning.
-Gandalf, from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"
The pale yellow sunlight streamed through the tall mullioned windows, bathing Sarah in a warm glow. She snuggled beneath the warm covers, thinking hazily that she should try to sleep some more. Her mother had not come to wake her, which was rare. She was not usually allowed to sleep so late into the day. Her father always scolded her lightly whenever she overslept, telling her that she had missed the best part of the day, that the day was already half over with by the time she rolled from bed.
Sarah sighed and pulled the covers up higher, tucking them beneath her chin, fully intending to sleep for as long as she could. She could not remember why, but she was so dreadfully tired. What had she been doing last night? It had tired her out.
She dozed for a while longer, drifting lazily in and out of wakefulness. After her desire for sleep had been sated, Sarah began to try to encourage herself to get out of bed.
She yawned and stretched, cracking open one eyelid so as to not be blinded by the brilliant light that permeated the room. She closed her eye again, trying to will herself to open them and get out of bed, never mind how comfortable she was at the moment.
Her eyes flashed open, blinking rapidly at the bright sunlight. She was not at home.
The pale yellow stone walls were quite a bit larger and more roughly hewn that the warm grey stone bricks that made up the Guillemin castle. She struggled to sit up, fighting against the heavy bed coverings. She was still wearing her dress from last night, which was a rumpled mess. How on earth did she get here, and where exactly was 'here?'
A knock sounded suddenly on the heavily carved oak door to the room, and Sarah jumped, turning to look inquisitively at the door, bewildered and a bit apprehensive.
Her memories all came back to her in a flash as the person stepped through the door and into the room.
The unexpected visitor; the revelation of his true nature; the reminder of the curse; Sarah's choice; her journey through the wood; and her confrontations with the Goblin King during the carriage ride last night.
Sarah's hand flew to her throat, touching the amulet, her one protection. Then, with a sinking feeling, Sarah remembered that the Goblin King had decided to neutralize the iron's effects last night, effectively eliminating her one solid defense against fae-kind.
The Goblin King strode through the door, as bold as brass, smiling brilliantly at Sarah's bewildered expression. He watched delightedly as the confused expression slid quickly from Sarah's face, quickly replaced by shock and horror, which quickly settled on unbridled wrath. He leaned up against the doorframe and crossed his arms, content to watch her splutter and gather up her discombobulated memories from a safe distance. Sarah stared at him at the memories clicked into place slowly, one by one, and he waved his fingers at her.
"Yes, 'tis I, the dreaded Goblin King, Keeper of the Labyrinth, Lord of the Dark Wood,
Protector of the Realm, et cetera, et cetera and et cetera. I stole you away last night, remember?"
Sarah angrily flung a pillow at him, which landed with a soft plop a few feet to the left of the Goblin King.
"That was…quite ferocious, I will admit. I am properly terrified right now," said the Goblin King in a droll voice. The bastard did not even have the good grace to pretend to flinch.
Sarah grumbled dispassionately and burrowed her head beneath her remaining pillows. A muffled voice emanated from beneath the fluffy pile, determined and perhaps a little bit pleading.
"You are not real, this is just a dream, this cannot possibly be real…"
"A bit slow this morning, eh?" called the Goblin King from his perch in the doorway, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Where am I? What happened last night?" growled Sarah as more memories clunked into place, deciding to unbury her head from the mound of pillows.
"You fell asleep last night in the carriage, poor dear," said the Goblin King in a tone that Sarah thought was supposed to be innocence, were it not for the fact that it was the Goblin King who was uttering the words. Instead, his words sounded diabolically mischievous, just like every other thing he ever did or said.
"And of course you did nothing to help that along, did you?" asked Sarah sarcastically, raising an eyebrow of her own. The Goblin King shrugged in an expansive, blasé movement. Sarah narrowed her eyes as she correctly interpreted the Goblin King's nonchalance.
The Goblin King's humorous visage grew a little more serious. "I could not have you knowing where exactly my kingdom is. It has been a closely guarded secret ere you were born and it shall remain so long after you are dead. There are other reasons as well, but seeing as I am king of this castle, I do not have to share them with you."
"Why can I not know where this castle is?" asked Sarah, truly curious, "If any human happened to find your castle, you have an army of goblins and unfathomable magical capabilities. It would be a simple thing for you to take care of them, no problem." She snapped her fingers, demonstrating how easy she thought it would be.
"I am touched that you think so highly of my prowess, but as I said before, I cannot tell you my raisons d'être. That is for me to know and for you to figure out on your own, if you are clever enough." The Goblin King raised an eyebrow mockingly, as if he doubted that Sarah would be able to puzzle out his incredibly vague riddle. "Now if you would be so kind as to make yourself presentable, we shall go downstairs for lunch. There is a washbasin over there, and a change of clothes, if you wish. I shall wait for you outside." He bent over in a sort of half-bow, and then exited the room as suddenly as he had entered.
Sarah watched as the door swung shut with a click, and waited a few moments, listening to the Goblin King's retreating footsteps before detangling herself from the covers to crawl out of bed. Sarah realized that she was still partially wrapped up in the Goblin King's cloak, and she recoiled slightly. She vaguely remembered the Goblin King draping it over her just before she was magically put to sleep. She wrestled with the cloak for a moment, which was tangled up in her skirts and in the bedclothes, but after a few more moments, she was freed of the piece of black wool. She threw the cloak derisively on the floor, and crawled out of bed, taking care to tread over it several times as the got ready. She smelled like him now.
Sarah walked over to the washbasin and splashed some water on her face. She looked at herself in the mirror, assessing the damage. Her auburn hair was a wild mess, elf-knots tangled liberally through her riotous mane. There were great dark circles under her eyes, and she appeared to be paler than normal. Sarah poked at the dark, bruise-like spots under her eyes and sighed. She washed her face and did her best to tame her hair, raking through the mess with her fingers. Sarah walked over to the chair over which a dress had been carefully laid, and she gave a little laugh. It was pretty enough, but the style of the dress was woefully antiquated. What's more, Sarah would be hard pressed to get into the dress by herself. She would most certainly not be asking the Goblin King for help lacing up a dress. If only her mother, always regarded as quite the expert on the latest court fashions, could see this dress, she would die of laughter.
A pang stole through Sarah's heart at the thought of her family, she quickly pushed the thought away, trying to avoid breaking down. She failed, as memories of her parents' and her brother's faces swam into her mind, blurring her vision as silent tears traced wet paths down her cheeks. Sarah gripped the sides of the small table the washbasin sat on and tried to steady herself as a few tears dropped from her cheeks and landed with a soft plink in the water of the washbasin. Sarah wiped her eyes unceremoniously with the back of her hand and looked up once more into the mirror, laughing harshly as she saw her reflection. Now, in addition to having black circles under her eyes, she now had tear-stained eyes. She looked quite fit to be having lunch with the Goblin King, that was for sure.
Sarah splashed her face with water once more, trying to alleviate the worst of her problems, brushed back her long hair, and snorted again at the clothes that had been laid out. She tried smoothing out the worst of the wrinkles that had settled into the dress she was wearing, and gave up after none budged. This was the best that the Goblin King was going to get: a rumpled, weepy girl who looked as though she had been without sleep for about a week straight. It was his fault, so he had better have the good grace not to complain.
Sarah gathered up all of the valor that she still possessed, and strode regally to the door, opening it and descending down the stairs. She met the Goblin King about half-way down the staircase. He was sitting on a step, one leg stretched out across it while his other was bent to support his elbow, a gloved hand propping up his chin. He seemed to be lost in thought, but looked up when he heard Sarah approaching, and stood, brushing the non-existent dust off of his pristine clothes. Sarah felt quite like the Ugly Duckling at the moment, in her unkempt and tearstained state. It was just not fair. Her one consolation was that she was standing a few steps higher than the Goblin King, thereby erasing some of the power that he had over her from just his height. It gave her the little boost of confidence that she desperately needed at the moment.
"Are you ready?" asked the Goblin King, proffering an arm.
The gesture reminded Sarah irresistibly of his attempt at the same civility last evening, and she ignored it just as she had last night. Was it really only last night? It seemed like that happened ages ago.
The Goblin King's pleasant façade darkened just a bit, and he suddenly reached out a hand and grabbed Sarah's hand, pressing it firmly into the crook of his arm and holding it there. He looked at her challengingly as Sarah struggled to free her hand, and she stared back just as rebelliously.
"Sarah…" said the Goblin King warningly, trailing off.
Sarah exhaled contemptuously and gave in. She would rather walk down the steps of her own free will instead of being carried down over the Goblin King's shoulder, kicking and screaming. You win this fight, Goblin King.
They made their way silently down the rest of the stairs, which ended in a sort of foyer, off which other staircases stemmed, except for one side, which extended into a hallway. Everything in the castle had a distinct air of foreignness to it, with more than a few hints at their magical origin. It was clear that the Goblin King had lived in the castle for a long time for it bore the mark of having held the same occupant for some long stretch of time. The décor was a mishmash of styles Sarah recognized, from the present to the past, and styles that Sarah, try though she might, could not place. It was as though the Goblin King was a giant magpie, collecting all sorts of shiny and interesting things from a myriad of cultures throughout time and space and storing them neatly in his castle.
They moved wordlessly throughout the halls, turning this way and that, until Sarah was quite convinced that they were lost. Or, at least, she was hopelessly lost. She would most certainly be unable to find her way back to the room where she had slept the night before.
After a few more minutes of corridors and passageways, they passed through a set of ornate double doors into what was certainly the great hall. Torches lined both sides of the long hall, and on the far side, opposite of the doors, the wall was devoted entirely to an intricately designed stained glass window, spanning from floor to ceiling.
A long table ran the length of the hall, populated with high-backed wooden chairs. Two places had been set at the far end of the table, and a mass of heavily laden dishes crowded that end of the table. Sarah's stomach grumbled loudly, and the Goblin King glanced down at her, amusement lifting the corners of his mouth. Sarah felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment. She had not realized how hungry she was until she saw the spread that was laid out before her.
Sarah decided that she was too hungry to fight the Goblin King when he pulled out her chair for her. She would resist him some other time when she was not quite so hungry.
They ate quietly. Sarah was too engrossed in filling her empty belly to pay much attention to conversation, and obviously the Goblin King had other things on his mind right now than polite small talk.
After Sarah had been eating for a few minutes, she suddenly remembered an old story about goblins and their food. It was said that if you happened to stray into the fairy land, you must never eat or drink anything offered to you, lest you be trapped in the magical realm forevermore.
She looked down guiltily at her half empty plate. She was already damned to be the Goblin Queen due to the curse. Now she was certainly never going to escape the Goblin King, if the old wives tales about goblin food were true. Besides, who knew if this counted, as it was the Goblin King's food, not the goblins' food? Or perhaps it was twice as incriminating as it was the goblins' monarch that had provided the food. Sarah became lost in thought, trying to reason out all of the ramifications of eating goblin food.
The Goblin King noticed that Sarah had stopped eating, watching with amusement as her thought process was played out plainly on her face. He waited to see if she was going to say anything.
Sarah decided that since she had already imbibed copious amounts of goblin food in the past few minutes without any ill affects, she would just go ahead and finish eating. She was under a curse, and anyways, what did it matter if she just piled another inconvenience on top of the first? She resumed eating, and after a few more moments of silent contemplation, so did the Goblin King.
Later, once both Sarah and the Goblin King had eaten their fill, the Goblin King stood, and suggested that he take Sarah on a little tour around the castle and a bit of the grounds, and perhaps they would go to the Goblin City as well. Sarah resigned herself once more to being led around arm in arm by the Goblin King, deciding that this was one battle she would just have to concede defeat.
They strolled aimlessly through the large complex, the Goblin King pointing out architectural focal points or explaining the long-winded story behind some painting of a battle or magical monarch. Sarah listened half heartedly, murmuring the appropriate response every now and then, catching snippets here and there of what the Goblin King was saying. Most of her brainpower was dedicated to trying to remember the layout of the castle, and attempting to concoct escape schemes. Surely there was some loophole in the curse that would allow her to escape unscathed and keep her family from being tormented by the Goblin King's wrath. There had to be something. Some fae were careful to make sure that no loopholes or escapes were left for their curses, their advanced age and superior intellect closing every gap and smoothing out every kink.
Some fae like the Goblin King, however, would revel in the thrill of leaving a loophole to test and tease the recipients of their curse. It would give them something to taunt their victims about, other than the curse itself, and it would be a perfect opportunity for ever more mischief. Surely the Goblin King would be among those fae, he would delight in flaunting the opportunity of escape in front of Sarah's nose. He would think that he had hidden it carefully and made sure that it would be so precise and constrained that it would be nigh impossible to find or act upon. Sarah must unearth the loophole and use it to earn her freedom and the freedom of her family. She would do all that she could to try to break this curse.
Sarah brought her mind back to the excursion through the Goblin King's castle, as the Goblin King was leading her through some new hallways, and down a set of stairs Sarah did not remember seeing before. The Goblin King opened the door with a flourish. The bright light that streamed in through the opening temporarily blinded Sarah as they stepped through the doorway. They moved out onto a sort of terrace that overlooked the palace property.
They were underground. When Sarah's eyes adjusted to the sunlight, she amended her statement. They were not quite underground, not really. They seemed to be inside a mountain whose top had been removed to let in copious amounts of sunlight, and whose insides had been hollowed out. The more Sarah looked, the more it seemed as though the palace had been carved from the insides of the mountain in one large piece. It was a little disconcerting. How long had it taken to achieve such a feat? Or perhaps, had it been encouraged to develop this way by magic? Either way, Sarah felt her heart sink. How would she be able to find her way out of a mountain? It just was not fair. Fate seemed to be continually conspiring against her lately.
She felt, rather than saw, the Goblin King's eyes fall on her, taking in her dismayed expression with some pleasure.
"Surprise" he said, a hint of amusement coloring his tone.
Sarah did not deign to respond, still thinking furiously about all the escape plans she now had to discard, and wondering how the hell she could revise them to account for this huge hitch in her plots.
The Goblin King placed her hand in the crook of his arm once more and continued the tour. This time, Sarah was listening raptly to every word he uttered, ready to pick up on any hints he dropped or anything that she could use to her advantage.
They walked to the edge of the terrace and looked over the edge, down towards the palace grounds far below. There were gardens, orchards, fountains, walkways, and things that Sarah could not see from her perch. There was also what looked like a wooded area at the edge of the grounds, spreading out into the gloomy edges of the vast cavern. It was so strange. It did not seem possible that the light that warmed Sarah's skin and clearly lit a great part of the cavern could come from just the hole at the top of the mountain, but there it was, clear as day in front of her. What on earth could she expect, she was in a place of magic.Magic was also probably the catalyst that allowed the garden to be filled with all sorts of flora and fauna that could not have existed in the gloom otherwise. It made her head ache.
The Goblin King pointed to the far end of the cavern that disappeared into the gloom. There were tiny pinpricks of light that illuminated something that Sarah could not quite make out.
"The Goblin City lies in that direction, through a series of rock tunnels and caverns," said the Goblin King, clearly enjoying the fact that he had someone to show around and exhibit his expansive domain to.
"Let me guess, to get out, you have to pass through the Goblin City?" asked Sarah dully, not really expecting her query to be answered.
"Perhaps," demurred the Goblin King, with an elegant shrug of his shoulders. He looked at Sarah, studying her intently, "So, what do you think of my kingdom thus far, Sarah?"
"Well," she replied, looking out over the cavern, "It is a kingdom, I suppose." The Goblin King let out a sharp bark of laughter at her response.
"Would you like to know to how escape?" the Goblin King asked in a deceptively casual voice, laughing jovially at the keenly shocked expression that suddenly overcame Sarah's features.