The Goblin's Crown

Chapter Twelve: Coronation

I laid awake that night, unable to fall back to sleep. Knut had long gone back to his own room and for the first time since I pulled the thread, I was alone and could feel the full weight of what I had set into motion.

I was alone in the world now, save for a single brother that never loved me and a monster that did. A monster that, should everything go as planned, would be my husband from tomorrow onward. This would either be my final night of life or my final night sleeping in a bed without that creature beside me. My mind whirled with thoughts of what would come with the morning and snippets of increasingly embarrassing memories from the feast that were slowly coming back. I vaguely remembered my fire dance among the goblins, my body writhing in that faerie wine induced ecstasy, wrapped in Knut's eager arms. Just knowing how I must have looked made me wish I hadn't pulled the thread and had followed my brothers into hell.

The sound of my doorknob turning snapped me out of my thoughts. The doorknob rattled as if the person were struggling to get in. Just as I opened my mouth to ask who it was, a pair of childish hands pinched my lips shut. "Shhh," Pig-nosed whispered at my ear. He kept me quiet while Rat-tailed crouched beneath the vanity's seat. Watching him out of the corner of my eye, I saw Pig-nosed's eyes go dim as if life itself were leaving him. His mouth moved, chanting an incantation beneath his breath. Slowly my body turned transparent, then to nothingness. My blankets flattened against the bed, my body gone, invisible to the naked eye, but there. I could still feel the blanket's softness and warmth.

The door creaked open, and Freya's chubby little butler waddled into the room. He looked around the room, peeking under the bed and into the closets. "Bride Matilda?" He called to me; his tone sickeningly sweet as if he were calling a child to the dinner table. "Where are you? I have a message for you from Bride Freya." He said. His fat hands lifted out from beneath his wool cloak, showing the piece of rope drawn tight between them. A message indeed. Mikkel's small eyes darted from side to side, searching the shadows. His brow was slick with moisture. He wasn't just looking for me. He was looking out for my guards too. He didn't see them, just as he didn't see me. He walked up to my bedside and threw the blankets off my body. His face was inches from mine, yet those eyes still searched, oblivious to my presence. I held my breath, waiting for him to take notice of something, anything. A tickle of breath. A creak from the bed. A telltale scent. Behind him, Rat-tailed crept out from beneath the vanity's seat, baring its teeth as it prepared to leap at my would-be murderer and tear out his throat with its many teeth.

Mikkel spat something in goblin. Curses sounded like. He wadded up the rope in one fist and hurried out of the room on his knobby little legs.

My entire being deflated in relief when my door closed behind him. Pig-nosed took away his pinching fingers and the enchantment over me lifted. I sat up gasping, pawing at my body to be sure that it was once again flesh and bone. "That witch!" I snarled into a pillow, afraid Mikkel was just outside the door. "I'll make her pay for that."

"I didn't think Freya had that in her. Color me impressed." Pig-nosed spoke with Knut's distinct accent. He grinned widely at me. "I think someone's scared of you, Precious." Of course, it was him again, using Pig-nosed's body like a coat. The man wouldn't leave me be to save his rotten soul.

"Good. She needs to be." I growled through my teeth.

Rat-tailed climbed onto the bed and curled up beside me, wrapping its tail around itself. It spoke in its raspy, cooing voice. "Want me to bite the fat one's head off? We could leave it on Bride Freya's doorstep. Make him an example."

Pig-nosed shrugged. "I don't think it's necessary. Mikkel was made to serve Freya. When she dies, he'll disappear with her."

"Do it," I said. I leaped out of bed and grabbed one of the silver branches that I'd worn in my hair off of the vanity. The end of it was nice and sharp. "Stick this in him so she knows who did it." Rat-tailed took the branch from me with his tail. It wrapped around the branch like a snake around a mouse. He bounded away to fulfill his task, chattering gleefully all the way down the hall.