Chapter Two
"It's history, isn't it?"
The old man's crooked grin made Sarah shiver, and she pressed her lips together as she looked into his grey eyes.
"What do you mean by that?"
Though, Sarah already knew what he meant. Because the book was history. Her history. From when she was a bright-eyed, innocent teenager striving to save her baby brother from the clutches of the Goblin King.
Of course, the Labyrinth was just a story before that. With Sarah's adventures, she had made it real. She had bested the Goblin King in the castle beyond the Goblin City. She had done so to take back the child he had stolen from her. Her will was as strong as the Goblin King's, and her kingdom was as great… and everything else that went along with that.
Sarah had pondered her words that night in the years since. Wondered if she could have been kinder, gentler with the man—King—who's mismatched eyes had looked so utterly defeated as she had spoken them. But then she remembered her youth, her determination to save her brother. To return to the human realm above the Underground and recover a sense of normality.
Did she miss that world below?
Of course.
Had it left her needing years of therapy?
Possibly.
But no matter her feelings on the whole ordeal, Sarah had made the book real. And after that night, she had refused to read it ever again. Her sense of nostalgia, longing and bewilderment was bad enough when she thought back on her evening spent running the Goblin King's maze. It would surely be too painful to reread the words that had sent her down that path to begin with.
"It's your history," the old man said, interrupting Sarah's deep thoughts.
Well, yes, Sarah thought pointedly.
Perhaps he could read her mind, but in case he couldn't, Sarah said, "Yes."
The man grinned wider. "Would you care for a refresher?"
Sarah felt like she was back in university with some arrogant, old professor who didn't understand her story submissions. She frowned at the man, her eyes shifting between him and the door in front of her as though she was now certain that the Goblin King would soon burst in. To their right, the bored café worker was starting to pack up—being quite loud about it, in fact, to make sure his patrons got the hint and started to make a move.
With shaking fingers, Sarah raised her mocha to her lips and took another sip, and then, despite her better judgement, nodded faintly at the little old man.
"Once upon a time—"
"That's not how it goes."
The man glowered at Sarah and his little frame was suddenly much more imposing. "Alright. What's it about then, missy?"
He tapped his fingers, capped with long nails that looked like they'd hurt if he lashed out at Sarah, against the book's cover, and Sarah swallowed another gulp of her beverage as she fought the urge to roll her eyes at him.
"The book is about a brave woman overcoming the Goblin King by completing his maze and rescuing her child."
"And… who is the Goblin King?"
The question made Sarah blush. Did he want to know who the Goblin King of the Underground was? Or the Goblin King of her dreams? Perhaps he wanted to know about the Goblin King who appeared throughout her adult years, only to smile and disappear for months—sometimes years. Any of the possibilities made Sarah's blush deepen, and she cleared her throat as she considered her answer. Wondered if she should send the man looking for a businessman with mismatched eyes back in the club from whence she had just come.
"Well?"
"Sorry," Sarah blinked, shaking her head to clear it as she said, "The Goblin King rules the Underground. He… ah… he was defeated by the brave woman I already mentioned."
"Why?"
Sarah suddenly felt like a teacher instructing a little boy. An image of little Toby, barely out of diapers and talking his little head off, filled her mind, and she couldn't help the way her lips upturned at the memory. Toby was in school now, happily going about his childhood in great leaps and bounds.
It had been too long since she had last seen him. Too long since she travelled across the world to visit him.
"Ah, she defeated him because he stole away her child. Like I said."
"The woman had a child?"
"Well, she had a brother. And she foolishly wished him away to the Goblin King. He, in his… generosity… gave her the choice to leave her brother with him or run his Labyrinth to retrieve him. She ran the Labyrinth."
"That's how the book goes?"
Sarah blinked, confused. Well, no, she supposed that wasn't quite correct. But it was how her version went. The real version. She shrugged her answer.
The man nodded like he was processing the information while he listened and watched her. "And, in the end, she won this task?"
Sarah nodded, her short hair brushing across her cheeks with the movement.
"Hm," the man purred, leaning back in his chair.
He snatched the book where it lay and, with more strength than he looked to possess, threw it through the air where it landed with a bang on Sarah's table.
Sarah jumped at the swiftness of his actions as her cup rattled beside it, and she ignored the spillage that the thump caused, quickly picking up the book before that spillage could damage its cover. The man stood and shook his head as he retrieved his rucksack from the floor.
"That's your history."
Perhaps he could read her mind…
"Well, yes. You asked—"
"I asked what this," he leaned towards her on unsteady legs and jabbed his finger towards the book in Sarah's hands—where she had clasped it to her chest like some precious object without realising. "I didn't ask what your last interactions with the Goblin King were. I asked what hers were. What the book is about."
Sarah blinked, her mind foggy from the array of queries from the little old man. She'd had too much to drink. Perhaps she had even imagined seeing the Goblin King in the club. Perhaps she was imagining this interaction, too. She shook her head. "What are you—" but she was cut short when her attention was drawn to the counter.
"Café is closing now, guys," the café worker said from behind the counter, his hands splayed out on the counter's surface and his expression incredulous. "I'll need you all to finish up. Cheers."
Sarah was frustrated by the interruption, looking back at the man who was still raised from his seat. But when her attention returned to him, her blood ran cold.
There was no longer a little old man standing at his table, but a tall—rather dashing, really—ominous man with a dazzling gaze peering down at Sarah. His mismatched eyes practically glowed as he observed her, his lop-sided grin something of smugness and victory as he purred, "Hello there, Sarah, dear. It's been too long."
Sarah stood, her grip tight on the book still clasped between her fingers as she started towards the door. If the café worker or the few patrons left within the shop thought her movements strange, she didn't care, and she turned her back on the Goblin King as she reached the door and hauled it open, stepping out once again into the cold night.
The wind had picked up outside, the distant thrum of music from the clubs still echoing over the air.
Her sips of mocha helped her dizzy head somewhat, but Sarah still found herself on the wrong side of tipsy, her mind racing as she started down the street.
"Sarah!" called a familiar voice behind her. It was melodic and charming and everything Sarah strived to avoid in life.
"Leave me alone."
But she could smell that musky rose and spices smell that was the Goblin King. She could never forget that smell as it assaulted her nostrils for the first time in years, and she half expected to see a haze of glitter as she turned back to yell at the approaching man still appearing as just that—a man (and not a beautiful, ominous King that haunted her dreams).
"Sarah," he said again, quieter now that he was right there, striding after her.
He still wore that dark suit she had seen him wearing in the club and his hair was still swept back, revealing ordinary features and that hypnotic stare. Sarah thought it was fascinating that despite his apparent ability to completely alter and disguise himself—to physically shapeshift, if he so chose—he decided to keep those eyes in their natural disposition.
Like he knew they made Sarah's knees weak.
She had had too long to grow up, Sarah supposed as she glared back at the man now. Too long to ponder those eyes, that alluring villainy that was the Goblin King in all his glory. His scent, his tone of voice, his attitude… it couldn't be healthy of her to do it, but she did, nonetheless.
"No!" Sarah burst out, both to stop her own thoughts and the advancement of the King. She had stopped so quickly that he almost walked right into her, and he gripped her forearm to brace against the suddenness of it, his lips thinning in an annoyed grimace as she spat up at him, "You don't get to just appear and talk to me. You don't get to trick me. Not anymore. I defeated you!"
A look of utter irritation clouded his gaze, and he shrugged a shoulder as he conceded, "Well, yes, but that doesn't mean I can't speak with—"
"Yes, it does, actually. I don't want to speak to you. I want you to go back to wherever it is you came from."
The King let go of her arm—an action that Sarah hadn't thought to request of him—and folded his hands across his chest. The posture was so very Goblin-King-ish that it made Sarah take a step backwards.
"Honestly, Sarah. You need to ask? You know where I come from."
"Then go back there."
He raised his chin, an eyebrow twitching upwards. "You're not happy to see me? I could have sworn I heard that perfect little heart of yours strumming quicker when you gazed upon me."
"That was the alcohol," Sarah dismissed, unwilling to ponder how the King could apparently hear her heartbeat in a noisy club. From the other side of the dancefloor. Over the sound of everyone else in there.
"Was it?" he retorted, his smile only growing. His brow dipped, though, and he said in a deeper voice, "Aren't you curious why I'm here? It's been so long since—"
Sarah shook her head, ready to yell a hundred different things at the man who took away her childhood; the man who made her realise how grown up she really was and left her pining for the world that had only ever existed in her dreams since that fateful night. Did she regret how that night ended? No, never. After all, she had overcome the Goblin King and won back her brother.
But she missed that world.
She missed it all.
A howl of wind rustled her short, dark hair, and Sarah took a brave step back from the Goblin King in front of her. His eyes snagged on her locks as they blew about her face, his expression unreadable as she said, "Through dangers untold, and hardships—"
The King raised his hand, his fingers splayed as he indicated for Sarah to stop. "No, Sarah. That won't work on me here. You've already claimed your right to overpower me. I am not here to try and best you. You've proven yourself a worthy adversary."
Sarah closed her mouth with an audible snap, unsure of whether she should turn and run, or whether she should punch the Goblin King in his smug face, first. "I proved myself a victor over you, Goblin King."
"Sarah…" he said again, the sound so different from his previous tone.
Sarah's gut twisted at that sound, and she ignored everything that the King was conveying in those two syllables that made up her name. She cleared her throat. "What do you want? I'm cold and tired. I just want to go home."
"Let me escort you."
"No, I don't think so."
The King cocked his head. "Really? It's a perilous world you reside in, Sarah, dear. Wouldn't you like for a gentleman to escort you home? To see you home safely?"
"Well, that certainly wouldn't be you, would it?"
The King touched a palm to his chest. "You wound me, Sarah."
"I'm going home."
"That's all the time you can afford me?"
"Yep," Sarah responded, already turned away from him as she strutted angrily towards the direction of her home.
"You still smell of honey and lavender, you know, dear? A hint of lemon, too. Like a dream, one might say."
Sarah scrunched her nose at the bizarre observation, spinning on her heels to tell the King he was as creepy as she remembered him to be.
The Goblin King was gone, though, but Sarah didn't miss the flurry of white feathers as an owl launched itself into the sky. It disappeared into the darkness before she could bark some insult up at it, and Sarah had to force herself to focus on her trip home. To ignore the feeling of being watched until she reached the entrance to her building.
Because otherwise, she was very certain she would call out to the Goblin King, wherever he hid in that avian form. What she would say, Sarah wasn't sure. So, she hurried inside and made sure her windows were well and truly secured, her curtains drawn despite her usual contentment to watch the stars in the night sky beyond.