"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."
"On your own? Why, you little . . ." I growled.
Maud grabbed my arm. "We need to get out of here," she whispered. "Have your magic wand ready. We'll need to light more torches."
On the dance floor, Peter was enjoying his newfound status as hero of the hour. "Let's having a look at his real face, shall we?" He reached down and jerked Leo's face upward.
I nearly screamed along with all of the princesses. The fire had completely burned away Leo's façade. His real face had mottled gray skin like the belly of a rotten fish and eyes so shrunken it gave him the unsettling appearance of wearing a mask.
Rosamond moaned and made as though to sink to her knees.
"Get the torch, Noelle, Peter's about to drop it!" Maud ordered.
I dove into the center of the ballroom and grabbed it just as Peter let go to catch Rosamond.
"Rose," he said gently, patting her cheek.
Her eyelids fluttered. "Oh, Peter," she sighed.
Unfortunately for me, the scene was not touching enough to distract the goblins.
"Someone else must be here, Leo!" one of them cried, looking at my floating torch.
"Thank you. I couldn't see that for myself!" their leader growled.
They advanced on me slowly, still squinting. I backed away until I felt a cold breeze behind me and realized that the shadow courtiers were still there, trapping me in between.
"Stay away!" I yelled. "Or so help me, I'll set every last one of you on fire!"
"Get her!" Leo shrieked, his head turning wildly in the direction of my voice.
The princes lunged at me. At that very moment, an ear-deafening roar sounded from the hallway. The entrance doors burst open with a gust of wind that blasted through the room.
"Maud!" I whispered. She must have found a way to open the doors.
"Shut them! Shut them!" a goblin yelled to the shadows, but the wind was too strong and had pinned them against the walls.
The princesses panicked and began sprinting out of the entrance.
My torch had nearly died in the sudden gale. Closing my eyes, I gripped my magic wand and willed myself to think of flames again. I pictured the way they had danced on Leo's fake skin. My wand went cold and the torch blazed with renewed fire. The goblins shouted with surprise and began closing in on me.
"Peter!" I screamed. "Peter, get the princesses onto the boats! I'll hold the goblins off!"
"Thank you, Noelle!" he screamed back, rushing Rosamond out of the room.
I held my torch like a garden hose, brandishing it at anyone who got too close. One of the princes caught on fire and leapt back, pounding the flames on his sleeve.
Leo used the distraction to pounce on me from behind. The torch flew out of my hand as his weight knocked me over, pinning me to the ground. I heard him mutter an incantation and watched in horror as my body began to appear.
"Noelle!" Maud shouted.
I hadn't punched anyone since I was seven years old and Kenneth Hewitt, the baker's son, had made fun of my unicorn shoes. I decided that being a creepy goblin prince was just as offensive. Balling my hand into a fist the way Geoff had taught me, I socked Leo in the jaw with all my strength. He flew backward and I jumped to my feet to help Maud.
The fairy godmother was still invisible and wielded three gigantic torches that blazed with real fire, swishing them around in the air at the goblins who surrounded her.
I grabbed my fallen torch. "Get away from her!" I screamed, burning two of them.
"Noelle, get into the boats," my trainer commanded. "I'll hold them off."
"But, Maud . . ." I protested.
"Go! I'll be right there." One of the goblins bent over, having been dealt an impressive kick to the abdomen from Maud.
I raced outside, where the princesses were fleeing in their boats. Peter had coaxed both Rosamond and Rebecca into one boat with him, which groaned under their weight. He spotted me and pointed frantically to the dock.
"I saved you guys a boat!" he yelled, paddling desperately for the opposite shore.
I raised my eyebrows. I had to hand it to him. He was not someone to be ashamed of in a sticky situation. I hopped into the boat and held the oars at the ready. Footsteps pounded on the dock and someone jumped in behind me.
"Row, Noelle!" Maud ordered.
I began to row for my life. Years of fishing with Geoff had given me the strength to propel us with decent speed across the lake. I heard the goblins shouting behind us, but didn't dare look. I knew better than to slow myself down like that.
"Are they following us? Is anyone following us?" I panted.
"Not that I can see," Maud said. "You're doing a great job. Thank goodness I got a trainee with muscles."
I could hear the princesses screaming and crying ahead of us. As soon as we hit shore, Maud and I raced up the stairs, where Peter was trying to keep a hysterical Rosamond from shutting the door.
"I don't know who this Maud and Noelle are, but I don't want Leo to come kill us all!" she sobbed.
"It's fine, we're here, we're here!" I wheezed, throwing myself into the room.
Everyone stared at me in shock, as though trying to decide whether I was a goblin too.
"Whew, what a night!" Maud said. She appeared suddenly to my right, sweaty and disheveled. "Your Highness, you may replace the bed if you wish."
Rosamond gaped at her for a split second before pushing the bedpost. Slowly, the bed moved back into place, obliterating the trap door from view.
The princesses sobbed and hugged each other. Peter patted Rosamond's hair, looking satisfied with himself as she wept into his chest.
"All right, ladies. I think everyone had better get some sleep," Maud said.
"And throw out some shoes," I added, looking at the princesses' tattered footwear. Their slippers looked torn and muddy, as though they had been walking through a briar patch.
Peter pulled away from Rosamond reluctantly. "I'll see you tomorrow, all right?"
She gave him a shaky smile. "All right."
"And I don't think I need to tell you ladies never to open that door again," Maud said to the princesses, who all nodded meekly.
My companions and I went back into the corridor, which was as quiet and peaceful as it had been when we left. King Frederick's gargoyles looked almost cheerful and welcoming after what we had been through.
When we finally got back to our room, Peter unlocked the door for us with a grin. "I have just two words for you."
"And what are they?" Maud asked.
He smirked. "Leo who?"