The Goblin's Crown

Chapter Thirty Eight: Love and Happiness

Dappled sunlight flickered across Knut's already blotchy skin as we walked leisurely back towards the village, enjoying the momentary peace before the storm. The light made his skin look even worse, but it also made the silver in his hair sparkle prettily.

"Stop staring. You're making me blush." He snickered, smirking as his black irises shifted to look my way. "Or is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"Forgive me. I was just struck by how disgusting you look in daylight." I playfully snapped, painting on my best sneer. "Were you always so ugly? I swear you're better looking back h-." The word died before its completion.

I'd spent but a day away from the Underground and already, despite my curiosity about the rest of the fae's world, my bones ached for my own bed and more familiar surroundings, much of which now were reduced to rubble. The very thought of my bakery made my eyes sting.

"Homesick already?" He teased. He put his arm around my shoulders, pressing me tight to his side. The tempos of our steps synced at once.

Homesick? Yes, I suppose I was. Such a strange feeling it was to miss a place. I hadn't really missed my old shack at all, only the people that once huddled within it for warmth. London...well, I'd sooner burn it to the ground or send it crashing into the sea than ever go back. When I thought of home, oddly enough, it was our bedroom balcony overlooking the goblin city that came to my mind.

"There's hardly a home left to miss," I answered, my mouth filling with a bitter taste. As bitter as a dead man's ashes. "There's nothing but rubble waiting for us in the Underground."

"We'll rebuild." He shrugged dismissively as if it were a trivial concern. "It will take me a little while to remake our workforce, but once that's done, we'll have the kingdom back to proper order in the blink of an eye. Goblins are very fast workers. And this time, we can build a city of our own. You can help me design it." He sounded...excited at that idea.

My face warmed. I could see us already, drawing up plans, bouncing ideas back and forth. Knut being overly positive about my every suggestion. The image made me smile. "Be careful, leave it to me and there'll be a bakery on every corner."

"If they all sell sugared almonds, I don't see the issue."

"Maybe statues in our stunning likenesses would be a better idea. Your waistline would certainly appreciate it." I teased him, patting his belly or lack thereof.

"Naked statues? Like the ones in Greece?" Knut snorted. "I can see it now. Our grandchildren wandering through the city we built, trying not to look directly at grandma and grandpa's nasty bits." He cackled to himself gleefully, practically dancing.

It was an effort not to join in. The wine was still very much in my blood, and I still ached to dance.

"I was thinking we could wear our armor. You could hide your ugly mug behind your war mask and brandish a spear like the brutish warmonger you are, and I could be the mysterious beauty clad in a draping cloak." I chuckled, fluffing out my skirts and imagining a long cloak made of night itself flowing around me. "A cloak of midnight blue," I said, painting him a pretty picture with my words.

"With a knife gripped in one hand and Mab's severed head hanging from the other." Knut sighed happily as he completed my painting. "I must say, you have an artistic eye, Mouse." He tapped my nose with a long finger. "Once this is over and we rule the Unseelie court, we'll throw lavish parties just so we can watch the faeries squirm in fright as they walk through our city and are reminded of how we lowly goblins and our human queen ruined them. I can hardly wait!"