Suppressing a yawn, since I had not exactly slept well, I walked down the hall to begin at the beginning once again. A lantern was waiting for me outside my room, already burning with a steady flame. Where did these thoughtful gestures come from? The glittering walls were bright enough for me to find my way, but the lantern would certainly be useful for more careful exploration, since my bedroom seemed to be the only room with a skylight.
The entrance hall, I noted, was large enough to accommodate a whole gathering of people. And there was the painting that caught my eye the first night, of the dancing goblin maidens. I looked at it closer. Goblin maidens were certainly fearsome looking. All those teeth and claws, strange enough on a man but particularly unfeminine. And yet, they didn’t look ugly to me, the way people said. I thought I wouldn’t mind having fangs and claws myself. No more troublesome suitors! And they were having such fun in the painting. I wouldn’t have minded climbing into the scene, cutting my hair shorter like they did, letting it tumble around my head without bothering to brush it, gallivanting around in the night.
“Where are you?” I whispered to them.
I continued on, poking my nose in every corner, finding tiny passages that led to a music room with everything from lutes to pan pipes, and then finding servant’s quarters, including the well-stocked kitchen. I saw beds for hundreds of people, clothes hanging on pegs, cribs for babies.
But everywhere I went, there was no sign of life. It was eerie.
The one thing I could not seem to find was the king’s bedroom. Where did he sleep? I thought I had searched every inch of the place, except one.
In the deepest depths of the caves, I found a grotto where clear water flowed by in a river, and the walls were covered in moss and colorful lichen, with tiny white flowers that somehow bloomed without ever seeing the sunshine. “Oh my,” I said, when I came upon it. “Is this the source of water for the house?” (I was starting to talk to myself by now, for lack of company.)
I approached the river, picking my way over rocks that were treacherously slick, for the ceilings and floors all seemed to be excreting moisture, and all around me I could hear the little pit-pat of water, even over the sound of the swiftly moving river.
But there was something—some kind of altar or construct—on the other side of the river—
I gasped.
It was a glass coffin. And from here, I could see a beautiful man sleeping inside. He was so beautiful, so perfect and golden with his shining hair and white and gold clothes, that I thought he must be one of the fey race.
I wanted to get a better look. I was standing right on the edge of the river now. The current was fast, but it didn’t look very deep or wide. Currents could be deceptively dangerous, I knew, and yet…I might never see anything so remarkable again. A fair gentleman, frozen in sleep, like one of the sleeping kings who waits to be summoned in a time of need…
Kings.
I was about to put my toes in the water when I stopped, and thought of the goblin king, the king I had already known. He was not so beautiful, but he needed my help, I knew he did. Something was tormenting him, forcing him into this position. He had already given me a number of small clues that he wanted someone to set him free, but he didn’t trust me, had probably given up hoping.
What was this man in the coffin? Why would he be sleeping here in the king’s cave?
It made me think of the legends of the fey, luring humans to their grand feasts of food, offering them fine clothes, only to find in the morning that it was all made of bark and moss. Bad goblins would steal from a man; bad faeries would deceive.
A test, I thought.
But what if the test was, in fact, to be brave enough to cross the river? Oh, how I wanted to cross, wanted to lift the glass and touch the man’s skin. I felt sure he would be living and warm, perhaps waiting for me…
No! I took a step back. The desire burning in me was too strong. It spoke of magic.
I failed the first test, but I’m not going to fail again.
Chapter Five
What else was there to do? I had searched everywhere. Now I had an excuse to go to the library. It might be the only place for answers.
I quickly realized that the one subject missing from the library was magic. There was not a single tome about enchantments or curses or even common household spells, not even “The Hedge Witch’s Book of Advice” which nearly every literate person owned along just after their holy writ.
I was starting to feel a little despairing by the time dinner came around. I ate alone in my room, surrounded by so much beautiful food, and yet I couldn’t stop murmuring to myself nervously. “How much time do I have? What test did I fail? I don’t want to go home… I don’t think I could bear to go home, in fact. My family doesn’t care about anything much, except having money and stylish clothes and impressing everyone. Sometimes I wonder if they even care about me. I think I'd rather be a goblin and dance around in the moonlight, but…” I trailed off, poking at my soup.
The table before me was set with bread and butter, a joint of beef, spring peas, red wine…too much food for me.
I suddenly noticed that the butter dish was still vibrating. At first I thought it was another tremor. But no, it was just the dish. I picked it up, to make sure there wasn’t a bug underneath it making it move. The butter had been formed by a mold, and had the shape of a rose set in it.
I put it down and the butter hopped. My silverware shifted position.
“Wha?”
Now I saw something out of the corner of my eye. The wardrobe opened, and a clean nightdress floated out onto the bed.
“Are you here after all?” I asked. “Goblins?”
Everything on the table jittered a little bit. The jam drew closer to the butter.
“Are you the king’s subjects?”
The silverware straightened up.
“Hmm. How about this? Fork and knife, can you cross positions to indicate no?”
The fork and knife just spun around in frantic circles.
“Maybe you can’t answer questions…”
The fork and knife shifted position again, forming a right angle, and then the knife on the top began ticking down like the minute hand on a clock, in even intervals. Tick…tick…tick…
“I don’t have much time?”
They reverted back to their original position.
“Well, I know that,” I said. “Believe me, I’m trying my best.” I picked up my spoon full of soup. “I feel a little strange putting you in my mouth if you’re really listening to me…but it can’t be helped, can it?” I slurped carefully before continuing.
“Let me think about all of this,” I said. “Goblins don’t usually have much to do with humans, except to steal apples out of the orchards and that sort of naughty thing. But then, ten years ago, this goblin king appeared, offering a gold coin to every human woman who spends a night with him. Let me suppose that he doesn’t actually want to do this, but he has to accept. Does he have to accept? Even if he thinks the girl is completely odious? It seems like the urge is very overwhelming for him, so I’m assuming that one way or another, yes, he must accept, even as he knows that human women usually find him ugly and only want him for his coins. He must’ve made some witch very upset.”