The Goblin's Crown

Chapter Thirty Three: The Mouse and the Serpent

"Hold on tight. Don't let go." Knut said as we plummeted towards the serpent below. We held our weapons pointed downward, ready to dig into flesh. Then we hit. Our weapons glanced off of the serpent's metal-like scales, sending sparks flying through the air. Even my iron poisoned knife could not pierce its armor. We hit its body hard and tumbled across that moving, slithering spine. It turned away from the palace suddenly, its attention drawn by the stream of assaulting goblins coming from the goblin market. Its tail thrashed as it whipped around and I was thrown off of Knut's back, flung into the mob of goblins swarming the serpent.

I heard a clear snap as I slammed against the ground. Pain flooded my every sense. A thousand feet skittered and stomped around me, the goblins so fixated on killing the snake in their nest that they didn't notice that their queen was among them, wounded and desperately trying not to get trampled. I curled into a ball, protecting my head with my hands. A foot came down on my side. There was another cracking sound and a cry burst from my mouth. The goblins nearest me flinched at the sound. Their burning green eyes turned to me, and recognition twisted their ugly faces into expressions of horror.

"Queen." The word shook through them, vibrating in their chests. They lifted me up to my feet and clung to my clothing, pleading for forgiveness.

"I'm fine." I panted, flinching at the radiating pain shooting through my side with every breath. I was fairly certain I'd broken at least one rib. I brushed their adoring hands off. They were hurting me more than they were helping. "Don't worry about me. This isn't my first cracked rib. Kill that damned snake." I spat, glaring at the beast and wanting to run screaming from the Underground at the same time. I never did like snakes.

Looming over us was that terrifying serpent. Its scales, hard as steel, flashed in the city's torchlight with every movement giving it an almost liquid flow. It was covered in goblins, yet it still moved as if it were unencumbered. I spotted Knut among the swarm. He was easy to spot with his terrifying and awe-inspiring war helm. He was still clinging to it with the claws of one hand and the toes of both feet dug into whatever foothold he could find between the snake's overlapping scales. His chest was painted red with blood. His right arm hung limply, twitching as the shattered bones started to heal and within that broken arm's frozen fist was my knife with my bit of iron wrapped around it. "Matilda!" He screamed for me, scouring the crowd for any sign of my golden head. He used that commanding goblin king voice, but it shook...shook with the fear of not knowing whether I was okay...or not.

"I'm he-" My shout was cut off by a hacking cough. I covered my mouth in reflex and when I removed it was covered in blood. I stared at the splash of red staining my hand. The broken ribs had punctured something, probably a lung. Which meant my chest was swiftly filling with blood. I needed healing, but at such a crucial moment, with all our goblins trying to defend our home, that was not really an option. Even if I went back, it would do me no good if the palace came crashing down on top of me. So instead of fleeing, I wiped the blood away on my leather breeches and hissed a message to The Hollow beneath my breath. "Heal me. Give me the strength to save us." Not a prayer. A demand. "I'd better not bloody die." A doubled over in a coughing fit, splattering the ground with red.

"You are badly hurt." One of the goblins held my heaving shoulders as I struggled to clear my drowning lungs. "Let us get you inside. You need a tonic." I looked up to see that it was Ask looking at me with concern.

"No." I wheezed. "I'm not sitting back while everyone else is fighting." Llinos had told me what was expected of goblin rulers. Goblin Kings and Queens fought on the front lines. They didn't lounge in their thrones, growing fatter while their people died. He'd beaten that lesson into my very bone. Now his words seemed to flood my every thought. His voice screamed in my head. I wanted to be worthy of my position and the gifts I'd been given. That fact surprised me. Right at that moment, I felt like an utter failure, watching helplessly as the serpent wove through the city, gobbling up goblins by the mouthful. My chest seized in another fit. I spat out a wad of clotted blood.