Pumpkin Patch Princess

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Fire Torches and Thrown Out Shoes

"Goblins don't like light," Maud explained. "They're used to the dank, icy-cold cavern aesthetic." She pulled out her magic wand. "If I lit up some of these dim torches with real fire, we could prove it. But how to do it without letting them know we're here?"

I gazed at the greenish torch light. "What kind of fire is this, Maud?"

"Not the real kind, that's for sure. True fire would hurt their eyes. A lot. And it would also return them to their true forms. Goblins can be superb shape-shifters, but real flames will reveal even the most attractive ones."

"Come on, Maud. Give it a try," Peter coaxed. "Make some real fire."

"It's too risky . . ."

"Can I try, Maud?" I asked eagerly, itching to try out my trainee wand. "I probably won't be able to make enough to attract attention."

"Yes, that's right! You're a fairy godmother too," Peter encouraged me. "Go on."

My trainer relented. "All right, but I insist we do this out of sight first."

We went back out into the main hallway, where there were a couple more green torches. Maud removed one and held it in front of me.

"Take out your magic wand, close your eyes, and concentrate very hard," she instructed. "Think of real, bright fire. What it looks like. What it feels like."

I obeyed, shutting my eyes - though it was so dark, I might as well have just left them open – and pictured flames, red tongues of heat. We need real fire, I thought furiously, beads of sweat forming on my forehead. It was then that I felt the wand grow cold in my hand. It was like gripping an icicle, and though it burned my hand, instinct told me to hold on.

Suddenly, from the tip erupted a gust of hot air, which made the goblin fire flicker and waver. Maud and Peter gasped.

"Keep going, Noelle," my trainer said excitedly. "You almost did it."

The wand was already growing warm again, so I redoubled my efforts, concentrating with all my might, until Maud gave a muffled shriek. My eyes flew open and there, on the torch, I saw little orange flames – weak, but decidedly real. As I watched, they grew bigger and bigger until the hallway glowed with legitimate torchlight.

"Noelle!" Maud squeaked. "You're a natural!"

But before she could say more, Peter snatched the torch and ran into the ballroom with it. "Peter!" we cried.

But it was too late. We heard the orchestra stop playing, and then in the tense silence that followed, we heard Leo scream. When we rushed into the ballroom, we saw the goblin prince rolling around on the floor, howling in pain from having been set on fire. His brothers swarmed around him, trying to put out the flames with their eyes closed.

"Put it out, you idiots!" Leo shrieked.

"We're trying!" one of the princes said. "It's hard to do this without looking!"

From somewhere to his left, the torch of true fire hovered brightly in mid-air. "Where did that come from?" another prince asked, squinting painfully at it. He made a strange, guttural noise that sounded like an incantation. Whatever it was destroyed the effect of the draught on Peter, who appeared in full view, his beard and wig now lopsided.

"It's the old man from dinner!" Rosamond gasped.

He ripped off his disguise. "Not exactly an old man."

"Peter?!" The princess sounded embarrassed and a little impressed.

This was not lost on Peter, who threw his pathetic chest out. "Rosamond, I'm here to save you and your sisters," he said boldly, gazing over the sea of redheads. "You see, ladies, these pretty boys are actually . . . GOBLINS. I figured it out on my own."