"Take me back!" I growled. I paced the sitting room on shivering, dirty legs, and bleeding feet. "Take me back and help me kill them!" I stopped and turned toward my goblin suitor...fiancé now...and pleaded with him. "I want to set the entire city on fire and watch everyone in it choke on the stench of their own burning fat!" He smiled with pleasure gleaming in his dark eyes. I knew what I looked like to him and what I sounded like. Goblin.
Knut crossed his long legs as he sat in a leather upholstered chair. He took a faerie fruit from a bowl beside him and took a bite. His many sharp teeth broke the fruit's skin with an audible snap. "That sounds quite fun. An excellent way to spend the honeymoon, I think, but we need to focus on our nuptials and coronations first. I've already put it off too long as it is and I don't think Kai will tolerate another delay."
"Can you make some time in your busy schedule to go after Jasper at the very least?" I asked. Before my eyes flashed images of Rolland and Rhys' deaths. Over and over again, I watched them die every time I blinked my eyes.
Tossing the fruit to waiting servants, Knut rose from his chair and crossed the room to me. His long, thin fingers lightly rubbed my arms. "We will deal with him too, soon enough." He promised. The sugary sweet aroma of the fruit lingered on his frigid breath.
I winced as his fingers brushed over a lash wound and pushed his hands away. "Soon is too far away," I said, growling through bared teeth, "I can't stand the thought of him still breathing while Rolland and Rhys are rotting in the ground."
"Don't you think your revenge will be made all the sweeter if you were to appear to him, a powerful queen, rather than the beaten, hurt girl that stands before me now?" He tilted his head, trying to peer into my eyes to read my expression. I haven't a clue what he saw, but he stopped grinning at me. At least for the moment. He took one of my bruised hands in one of his own. My hand looked like a baby's against the length of his'. He tugged at it, coaxing me towards the door. "For now, let us get you healed and cleaned up. As is tradition, there will be a feast tonight to celebrate tomorrow's coronation."
I dragged my feet. "The coronation's tomorrow?" I sounded as if the noose was still tight around my throat, cutting off my breath. "Can you not wait at least one more day? I almost died today, I'm not looking forward to repeating my near-death experience tomorrow."
"You have nothing to fear." He said as his power over me took hold and my feet were once again his slaves. "You are not going to die. You will be in no danger of dying."
"But you said-"
"That the battle between you and Freya would be one of wit, rather than brawn. A series of riddles. A maze filled to the brim with traps. But if my plan works, and I've chosen my bride as well as I think, your tests won't have to go that far and you'll help me win my crown all at the same time." He guided me down the glittering hall. All around us, the little goblins scrambled to get out of our way while merrily gossiping about the big party ahead. Goblin servants carried around bottles of wine bigger than their entire bodies and dragged squealing half-dead pigs and plucked geese towards the kitchens while others busily cleaned and readied the palace to gleam in its full grandeur. He finally stopped at a door between two portraits of previous goblin queens sitting with their hideous babies in their laps. I averted my gaze to the golden floor beneath my battered feet and dared not lift my eyes again. "Here we are." He said. I jumped to the side as a parade of goblin tailors carried opulent dresses, jewels, and cosmetics into the room. "This will be your quarters for the next few days until everything is settled."
The room was similar to Freya's bedroom. The walls were gilded with gold and floral patterns were carved into them. A large tub sat on one end of the room, being filled with steaming buckets of water that the goblins passed one to the other in a seamless chain. On the other side, sat a vanity like Freya's. The tailors waited for me patiently there, standing the dresses up by themselves, without the aid of a body to wear them. I stood among that grandeur, staring at it with an indifferent gaze, my mouth tasting so foully bitter, I struggled not to retch. "You promise that once this is done...once I'm your wife and you are king...then you'll help me take my revenge on Jasper?" I asked, looking back at him over my bloody shoulder.
His black eyes narrowed. I could feel his gaze on the blood stains on the back of the filthy shift. "On him, on everyone that laid a hand on you and every soul that wanted to watch you die. Don't you worry, goblins are very good at revenge." He shut the door and turned to the servants. "Make her gleam again and do it quickly."
At once, the tub goblins grabbed me and ripped the shift off my body. My arms instinctively went to cover myself. "Not in front of Knut, you fools!" I spat, kicking at them to distract myself from my burning face.
"I didn't see anything." Knut chuckled, clasping his hands over his eyes. "Not much anyway."
"This way, Miss Bride." The tub goblins snatched my hands before I could slap Knut with them and helped me to climb into the tub. The water was just the right temperature and was milky with the vast number of oils and soaps the goblins were continuously pouring into it. The water was sweet with the smell of fresh wildflowers and mint.
"Want me to scrub your back?" Knut asked with his hands still over his eyes, enjoying himself immensely.
"Shut up." I hissed.
The tailors were showing Knut the several ballgowns they'd brought with them. "The black one, I think, for tonight. It matches her mood perfectly. The gold for tomorrow." He said, chuckling at the glare I was shooting him with.
Goblins spread soapy sponges over my body, washing away the filth and grime. Oddly, the soap did not burn the deep gashes all over my back. "What are you still doing here, Knut?" I cringed as he walked towards me, drawing nearer until he stood above me, and I had to crane my neck to keep eye contact. Again, my arms instinctively hid my intimate places even though the milky water came up to my neck. "The servants can take care of me. Leave and let me get ready for your party in peace."
"I will." He said. To his credit he did keep his eyes averted, avoiding directly looking at me. "But first, allow me to give you back your hair." Suddenly, he grabbed me by the head and forced me down under the water. I screamed in surprise, but even with my head completely submerged, no water entered my mouth nor filled my nose. He brought me back up with a jerk and long hair fell around my terrified face. Gasping, I ran my fingers through the long tresses, marveling at the feeling of it slipping through my grasp. He grinned at me as he dried his hand with a towel. "That's better. Seeing you without that glorious mane was depressing me. It's one of your best features." He tossed the towel into a servant's face. "I want her sparkling when you're done with her. I want her to put Freya to shame." He started to leave, but stopped and spun on his heel, swiftly returning to my side. "I almost forgot." He retrieved a faerie fruit from behind my ear and held it before my dripping face. "You never ate the one I sent you earlier. You must be starving. It's been what? Two...three days since you ate last?"
"It's faerie fruit." I wrinkled my nose at it. My stomach gurgled with want, betraying me.
"What does it matter now?" He shrugged. "You pulled the thread. You can't go back to your old life. Not ever. Eat. What do you have to lose?"
I started to reach a shaky hand towards the red plum. My fingers stilled before their tips could graze the fruit's skin. "Why do you want me to eat it so badly?" I eyed him warily.
"Besides it being as filling as a three-course meal?" His smile turned crooked. A red tongue passed over sharp teeth. "It causes an intense feeling of euphoria which I think you might appreciate considering how the past few days have gone." A low chuckle echoed in his narrow chest. "It also happens to be a popular aphrodisiac among the faeries."
I cringed away. "I've just lost my appetite."
He laughed like a little kid playing a practical joke. "We'll save it for the wedding night then." He tucked the fruit in his pocket for safe keeping. He perched on the rim of the tub, absently watching the goblins work. His expression grew dour, his smile falling away. "I'm sorry about your brothers. I know you miss them."
"Thank you." I muttered, resting my cheek against my knees.
"Things are hectick now, but it's okay to grieve. Cry, scream if you need to." He finally turned his head and our eyes met.
"I'll cry all I want after I'm queen." I said. That came first. That was the most important thing to me know. Gaining my crown and throne, taking the power he offered so that I had the means to tear the world asunder.
"That's my girl." Knut winked at me as he stood and patted my head. "Don't worry about the coronation. You'll do just fine." He strode from the room and finally...finally left.
The tub goblins scrubbed me until my skin was rosy pink then ferried me over to the vanity wrapped in warm towels. "What was in that water?" I breathed. I leaned forward, enthralled, as I looked at my reflection in the vanity mirror. The bruises and busted lip were gone. My hair, of course, was back and even wet seemed vibrantly gold. It hung by cheeks no longer sunken in and pale, but rosy. My brown eyes stared into the mirror, clear and alive, sparkling prettily, no longer shadowed by weariness. I turned in my seat, showing my back to the mirror. The gashes were gone. Completely gone. I hadn't just been healed of the new wounds, but old scars had been wiped from my skin as if they'd never happened. Not even blemishes remained.
"Special tonics made from the bark of the Fathers." A human-sized female goblin said as she stepped into view behind me. I was guessing it was female because it wore a dress. It bore no other evidence of its femininity. She was scarily thin, her limbs barely more than twigs, so small I thought her arm would snap beneath the weight of the silver comb she began running through my hair. She had no hair on her brown, rough-skinned head and hid her scalp's nakedness beneath a white bonnet. Her eyes, which were large and bulging and new leaf green, sat above a long, crooked nose and wide mouth. Other than Freya, she was the first remotely female looking goblin I'd seen and was absolutely hideous.
"The Fathers? Is that a kind of plant here?" I asked, trying not to cringe as her fingers moved through my hair, where she touched, the dripping strands turned dry and she began to weave and move my gold locks into an elegant style.
The goblin woman cackled in that eerie, distinctly goblin way. "Prince Knut has much to teach you if you are to be queen. You've been to The Hollow, yes?" I bobbed my head, biting my tongue. "The Fathers are the "trees" you saw surrounding the Hollow, though they are not really trees."
"If they are not trees, then what are they?" I asked, irritated that she thought I was stupid or ignorant. If she wasn't doing such a fantastic job with my hair, I would have snatched the comb from her hand and beat her with it.
"There's so much you don't know." She piled another section of hair atop my head and pinned it into place. "I hope you do not think that I am looking down on you for it. It is only that I worry for you. If you are to beat Freya, these are things you should know. You're at a great disadvantage if you know nothing of goblin culture."
I tapped my fingers on the vanity in annoyance. "I asked you a question. I've had a long and... awful day. Now, what are the Fathers?"
She grinned. An expanse of small, brown teeth stretched across her face from pointy ear to pointy ear. "I'm only your handmaiden. Made for that singular purpose. Ask Prince Knut at the feast."
"Handmaidens should answer their betters when asked a direct question," I said. My patience was quickly waning. She just kept smiling and sticking pins in my hair. "Will you tell me your name, at the very least? Or do I need to ask Knut for that too?" I huffed.
"Ask." She said, stepping back to admire her handiwork.
"Are all servants this mouthy?" My fingers drummed loudly against the vanity. "Should I just call Knut now and have you beheaded? I'm sure he'd do it if I asked."
She laughed again and my drumming got even louder. "Such a feisty thing you are. I understand now why Kai refers to you as "Princess Stabhappy". But I was answering your question. My name is Ask." I gave up on trying to get my answer from her. She finished coiling my hair into an odd duel-spiraled shape and tucked silver branches laden with dangling rubies and diamonds through it until every movement of my head produced a tinkling sound. Speaking in short quips, she dished out commands. Clearly, she was the leader of the endeavor to make me look queenly. She powdered my face lightly with a translucent powder that gave my skin a slight silvery shimmer in the light and painted my lips a deep red. A red as dark and wet as spilled blood. She snapped her knobby fingers and the tailors skittered to her side with pieces of clothing in their arms. "Now, it is time to get you dressed. You are from a poor family, yes? What undergarments are you used to wearing? Have you ever worn a corset?" She asked, peering down her nose at me with a quizzical look.
"Only a shift and stockings," I answered. I recognized those bits, but the others were foreign. "I've never worn a corset, though."
Another chilling chuckle. "There is a first for everything." She said and began her work, shoving me into the hundreds of layers of underthings and overthings that I feared would never end. The corset was synched tight but was surprisingly comfortable, then came the farthingale and kirtles to give the gown its shape before finally I was allowed to step into the black dress and its sleeves were laced into place.
"You look ferocious, do you not?" Ask giggled darkly, grinning into the mirror as she set a large black lace and linen ruff around my throat. It fanned out around my head like the fin of a fish.
My hand slid its fingers down the line of my throat to the dark fabric of the gown's skirt. The dress was made with plush black velvet, its darkness broken only by silver embellishments across the bodice, sleeves, and the bottom of the skirt; the threadwork darted with small rubies. When I looked closely, I saw that the pattern in the embroidery was not twisting flowering vines, but prickly briars and within their entanglement were snared human forms, twisting and writhing in pain. The rubies were their blood.
"You don't look like a scared little mouse anymore." Ask purred into my ear. Her gnarled hands squeezed my shoulders as she admired her craftsmanship.
Her smile reflected in my own expression and a chuckle escaped my lips. No. Tonight I'm the cat. I thought with pleasure bubbling up in my belly, pushing to the surface of a bottomless depth of grief and hatred. The odd shape Ask had twisted my hair into was that of a cat's ears...or possibly a devil's horns. I looked different. I looked strong and mean and frightening.
"A few final touches and you are done, Bride Matilda." She snapped at one of the other servants and it quickly handed her a wooden box. From the box, she withdrew several heavy pieces of jewelry, all rubies. A ruby and diamond necklace were fastened at my throat. A small ruby shard dangled between my breasts. Ruby rings of various styles and sizes decorated each of my fingers. "There we are." Ask beamed at me, her fiery green eyes alight with pride. "Now you look like a proper goblin queen."
"You look lovely." Knut entered the room dressed in an outfit that perfectly complemented my gown. His coat was black satin with the scrolling thorns and suffering people sewn along the front and bottom in silver threat. Rubies encrusted each silver button, and his jerkin was decorated with silver latticework. A small black ruff circled his neck and a shimmering silver cloak hung off one shoulder. "Shall we be off?" He took my hand and helped to guide me out of the room and out into the hall. I was having trouble walking in my wide skirt. "Hold onto me." He cooed into my ear, linking our arms by the elbows. "It is tradition, that the prince and his chosen bride enter the feast together. Arm in arm."
We made our way through the palace halls. It was void of the usual hustle and bustle of the servants. Almost everyone, it seemed had already gone to the feast. "Can you tell me what exactly goes on at this feast? Are your feasts like human feasts or should I prepare myself for some sort of barbaric ritual?" I kept my eyes on the floor ahead. I wasn't in the mood to catch sight of the goblin queen paintings again.
"A little of both?" He snickered. "There is food and wine and dancing, but that's where the similarities end. I assure you; no human feast was ever as fun as one of ours. However, there will be no sacrificing of virgins. At least not at the feast."
I peeked up at him and was unsurprised to see him staring down at me. "Is there something you'd like to say, Knut, or are you just admiring my cleavage?" I asked with a smirk.
"Well, I am admiring the view, but...I'm sorry...about what happened at the brothel...and your brothers." I stopped and he stopped too, stalled in place by my frozen feet. His look was apologetic as he laid his hand comfortingly on where mine rested on the crook of his arm. "I held no love for them. I feel they did you a grave disservice putting you in danger as they did, using you as bait for their crimes, hurting you when you angered them. They could have done better for your sake, but I would have saved them for you had my father allowed me. Unfortunately, my power is limited until I have the crown."
I swallowed all the emotions that tried to rise up at his words. All that loss and anger and hatred and wiped my fingers across my cheek to dry any spare tears before they could fall past my eyelashes. "They might've failed me in many ways, but they loved me in their way."
"Not in the way they should have." He said. Our eyes met for a moment and held. He cleared his throat and his smile returned. "I do have something else to tell you. It's about my plan to ensure we both win our challenges."
"Yes, what is this plan of yours?" I asked as we began to walk again, amused by the excitement in his voice.
"If I came right out and told you what you had to do, it wouldn't be a challenge, now would it?" He whispered. Cold breath tickled my ear. "Keep a close eye on my brother and Freya. They both have a weakness we each can exploit. You're cunning enough to figure the rest out on your own."
"That's it?" My heart sank in disappointment. "That's your plan?"
He leaned in closer until his long nose brushed my cheek. "As I must overcome obstacles to become king, so should you. Show me. Show everyone just how vicious you can be."
"Knut, there you are." I snapped my head up, startled by the sound of Kai's low voice. He stood down the hall from us by an archway that led out into a room filled with flickering light. On his arm was Freya. They were each dressed in fiery reds and glittering gold as if they had already been crowned.
"We've been waiting for over an hour." Freya sighed in annoyance.
Knut flashed his teeth at them. "You can't rush perfection."
Looking through the archway, I saw a cavernous room, lit only by a giant bonfire at its center. It was circled by dancing goblins that twisted and threw their arms up in reverence. They chanted and sang with their scratchy voices, worshiping the bearded, decrepit goblin that sat upon a golden throne high above them.
"Beauty before age." Kai jabbed at his brother. He and Freya brushed past us, entering the party first with their heads held high and their chests puffed out with arrogant pride. Kai laid his free hand over her elbow where their arms linked. His smile warm and full of affection. She gave him a look of her own. One of affection and devotion.
"How cute, they think they've already won." Knut cackled as we took our first steps into the firelight. "I think their confidence is misplaced, don't you?"
A wide bright smile lit my face as the cheers of the goblins small and large filled my ears, chanting my name, cheering in approval of me where they had not for my goblin counterpart.
"Your decision at The Hollow has won you a lot of favor," Knut whispered, loving hearing his bride's name on his people's lips. "They already adore you."
I saw Kai and Freya's displeasure at my popularity clearly on their faces and it made my smile widen all the more.