Before Maddie realized it, she had fallen into a deep sleep. In her sleep she had an unusual dream. She was back with the dragons and a harmed Sparky was being eaten.
“Nooo!” Maddie woke up with a start.
“It’s time to go Maddie,” Samara said as she towered over her. “Let’s go find us some magic and save that scrawny dog.”
Chapter 5
The Palace
So, what if this quest to find magic and save Sparky might be very, very, very hard? At home, Maddie was tired of not being praised when doing something great. If she did accomplish to save her dog and contact Doobi, she could be a hero in this strange world. People would say, “Great job!” whenever she passed by. Or they would high-five her wherever she went.
At home, it was always about “Avery this… or Avery that…” Maddie was ready for a change. Just because Avery was younger, she received all the recognition for everything. Avery would draw an ugly princess and be praised beyond measure. Maddie could save a baby from a burning building and simply get a nod from her mother. It was enough to drive anyone mad.
Maddie rose and waited for breakfast. She had slept peacefully regardless of laying on a few moldy blankets on the floor.
“Ewwwww, what is that?” she asked as she sat down on a rock that was supposed to be a chair.
“Goblin Gloop! It’s quite delicious you know,” Samara said. Maddie took a tiny bite out of the weird, oatmeal looking soup. It tasted oddly crunchy and certainly didn’t have a nice taste. Almost like the key ingredients were something that were bound to make anyone gag.
“It kind of looks like slime!” Maddie put her hand out to touch it.
“Our key ingredient is bugs,” said Ragon.
“Well, that is disgusting,” Maddie added while making a sick face. She proceeded to gasp, “I ate a bit of that!”
“Hey! People all over your world eat bugs!” Samara said, “I read about it in a book, you know.”
“Well yeah, but…I don’t eat bugs so it’s weird for me.”
“And about that little comment…SLIME. I bet in your world it is used a lot.”
“Samara, it is, just, not to be eaten…” Maddie turned back to Ragon, “but this really does look like slime!”
“Then I guess you like it. I bet slime is delicious. If this looks like slime, then I’m sure in your world, slime is simply Goblin Gloop,” said Brido.
“Of course not! Slime…you play with it. You don't eat it!” she said, glaring at him.
“But if you all did, I'm sure you would like it,” he said, taking a big scoop of the gloop and slurping it up.
“Ewww. No, not at all. It’s disgusting,” Maddie said with a stink eye.
She peered around the cave. She hadn't gotten a good look at it last night because it was so dark. There was a homemade fireplace in the middle of the wall, facing Maddie’s direction. It was made of just bricks seemingly piled on top of one another. And possibly glued on with the leftovers of Goblin Gloop. The brown bricks actually made the fireplace look nice. And the decorative wood on top made it look gorgeous with the light shining upon it. It seemed as if they used the leftover wood and carved a nice little design to put the entire thing together.
A portrait of older goblins was hung right above the fireplace, and the frame was coated in gold. There were two other portraits hung side by side on the fireplace. One on the left, and one on the right. Each also had a coat of gold on their frames. It seemed odd that the goblins would complain so much about where they lived, but then again, having all the luxuries in the world would be no fun if you lived in a cave. The tunnel that led to their cave home was lined with many torches for light. But none of them were lit.
The rocks that the goblins and Maddie sat on had been flattened out to be used as chairs. And, the table was clearly homemade. It seemed to consist of a makeshift wood. Maddie was careful not to lay herself on the table in fear of getting a splinter to the hand. There were some brown wooden, rickety, old cabinets. This seemed to be the place where the goblins stored all their cups and plates. The goblins’ beds were simply blankets laid out on the floor (they most definitely did NOT have the same feeling as a real mattresses).
Each goblin had their own blanket/mattress and a blanket to cover themselves up at night.
The pillows were covered in a brown dust, but other than that, they seemed to be in good condition. The goblins made their home sound horrible, but now that Maddie was REALLY looking at it; it wasn’t so bad.
Samara had Maddie head to the village shop to get some clothes. Of course, only older-fashioned clothes were carried so Maddie purchased a pair of scissors and a few sewing supplies to create makeshift overalls together with a nice, white T-shirt to wear underneath.
Maddie did learn to sew at school from the odd kid on the playground who used to be one of Maddie’s only friends. The little boy had been obsessed with sewing, and Maddie, having nothing else to do, simply played along with it, learning how to sew like a champ.
The village wasn’t too far away from the cave, so Maddie had no problem arriving at the stores. However, when she arrived, and after she selected her items for purchase, she realized she had no currency. She did receive her items for free after explaining that she needed to make some clothes for a journey. Maddie, however, felt that the shop owner only gave her the supplies after seeing her current outfit in pity. (“No wonder he gave you free items, I would have been shocked at that outfit too if I didn’t know you were from another world!” Samara said, snorting.)
After Maddie changed (she had to hide in an empty tunnel further away from the goblins’ home to do this) she headed outside. She sat next to a lovely pond next to a few tiny palm trees. This wasn’t too far away from the cave. Maddie sat down and wondered if Sparky was going to make it. After all, he wasn't in the greatest condition.
They first stopped at a goblin restaurant. It had more food options so Maddie could get a proper breakfast (“Can’t we stop by a human restaurant? The village had some nice options,” she had whined, gagging at the way the food looked and tasted). The goblins had also taken her to purchase a nice little backpack for the journey. It was a boring chestnut brown color that had a dark black zipper attached to the front of the pack. Sparky was starting to wake up, so Maddie began to set him comfortably in her arms. When it was finally time to leave, Maddie took one last look at the cave and wondered if she would ever make it back. She was planning to ask the goblins more about the Great Doobi later if she had the chance.
Brido took Maddie to see a beautiful, black female horse with a gold carriage behind her. This was where Samara and Ragon were waiting. “Wow,” Maddie gushed. “This is amazing! Why are you showing me this?” she asked, eyes shining with excitement.
“We are going to use this for the journey!” Samara responded, with a happy squeal.
“But how did you receive it?”
“Well…while you were sleeping this morning, Brido stopped by to rent a carriage. In this world, horses and carriages are our main source of transportation. We use them for everything. We don’t really have a horse, but the wealthy would have many for each person! Sadly, we can only use it up to the royal land. After that, we are on foot,” Ragon said.
They all piled into the carriage and Ragon offered to lead. Where he learned to do this, Maddie thought, no idea. Everyone was quite relaxed that morning. Maddie stared out the window. The birds were chirping, and it was very windy. The ride was incredibly long. Not to mention that it didn’t agree with Brido’s stomach at all. By the time they had been riding for a solid hour, he looked even greener than when he started.
“I’m gonna be sick,” he complained to Samara, who was sitting right next to him.
“Brido, if you vomit on me…SO HELP ME. You won’t have anything to vomit with after I am done with you,” Samara growled. Brido had stopped complaining for a good while after that.
“So,” Maddie began, trying to break the silence, “do you guys have music?�
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This seemed to cheer them all up a little. “Oh yes. Samara is obsessed with the band “Goblins 4 Life”! To me, their music is enough to make my ears bleed. I, however, am classier and like the Royal Symphony,” Ragon stated. He began to ramble on and on about how classy they were and how beautiful the royal music was that Doobi used to listen to. Thankfully, even the horse became bored, because a few seconds later, his voice was drowned out by the annoyed neighs of the stunning creature.
“So…what about you Brido?” Maddie asked. Brido just shook his head and proceeded to vomit out the carriage window. This was followed by Maddie staring in shock and disgust.
“I’ll handle this,” Samara began. She slapped Brido twice on the back of the head, the second slap harder than the first. “Now, where were we?” she said as if nothing had happened.
“Hey!” Brido cried. The color had finally gone back to normal on his face, “it is not MY fault I get carriage sick!” he said with a pouty face.
“It doesn’t matter if you get carriage sick, but PLEASE! Try your best to keep it in you!” Ragon said, clearly annoyed. Samara slapped Brido over the head with her hand once again.
Maddie was so utterly disgusted that she refused to talk to any of them for the rest of the carriage ride. She spent the remainder of time surveying the land. It looked so gorgeous that she couldn’t help but “ooh and ahh” at almost everything (“Would you please stop oohing and ahhhing every time you see something?!” Samara asked, annoyed.). Maddie had vowed not to talk after the vomit incident but eventually, something caught her eye that made her speak.
As Maddie stared, she noticed a tall palace that shone so brightly that it reminded her of dragon scales. The outside of the palace had gold lights surrounding it and the brick was a happy brown color. In the center stood a beautiful garden in the shape of a heart. So many roses and daisies. Maddie felt happy. But in this world, not a single feeling lasts for long, she thought.
“Look! We can cross that land and then—” Maddie didn't get the chance to finish because at that very moment, Samara interrupted her.
“Whoa, wait a sec, do you realize that that is the land of the king and queen? We need their permission to cross. It would be so much safer to take the long route. The king and queen’s land would take three days at the least,” Samara said.
“Ok, then how much time would the longer route take?” asked Maddie.
“About three weeks. It’s also much safer,” Samara added.
“Are any of you aware that Sparky is dying?! I don’t even know if I have thirty minutes left with him!” yelled Maddie who was now on the verge of tears. That’s when Maddie realized that the castle was just like the one that her grandfather used to tell her about when she was a little toddler.
He always ended with, “Now Maddie, remember that there is a possibility of another world and for that I give you this key necklace, so you remember to always let your imagination flow through every door,” Maddie looked down at the necklace that hung slightly below her neck. It was in the shape of a key. The key was painted in gold and had words on it that said: A trusted advisor. Maddie never paid much attention to the necklace but mostly to her grandfather’s stories. And this castle was in the story: The Missing Princess. He always talked about how he was never there when the story was told. The fact that it was a story and not real life had always made it funny to young Maddie that he spoke about the tale as if it was based on a real one. A story or tale he missed being there for.
“Fine. If we go in there, to the king and queen’s land, I want to search for Doobi artifacts,” Samara said so sternly that it brought Maddie out of her memory. Ragon opened the door of the carriage to let everyone out, leaving the carriage in place, separating the horse from it. The horse neighed but was soon taken in by the palace guards who seemed to surround the castle and apparently didn’t care that there seemed to be a royal carriage being left out in the sun. The two remaining goblins jumped off the carriage and Maddie followed their lead.
Ragon strayed the path and focused on the large variety of flowers that happened to be in the royal garden. He hopped over for a split second to get into the middle of the perfectly arranged garden before letting out a shout.
“Youch! I tripped over something!” Ragon yelped. As he fell, he grabbed Maddie, who had followed him into the garden, to help him keep his balance, but he only made them both fall. His foot had apparently gotten caught on a piece of metal bearing out of the floor. Ragon looked underneath himself. It was a trapdoor. The trapdoor had words in gold written on it. Maddie squinted to see what the words were but they seemed to be covered in dust.
She brushed the dust aside to read:
Advisors only. Our gift to you and your descendants for your deed towards us.
Maddie pondered over the message but formed no real understanding of it. A keyhole was showing on the trapdoor. Maddie put the words aside and focused on the keyhole.
“Umm. I think this could mean something,” Maddie said as she glanced at the keyhole that bore out of the trapdoor. It couldn't be missed. It had to mean something.
“Well, thanks captain obvious, but I think we all figured that out,” Samara said, “wait one second, what’s that necklace you're wearing?”
“Pfffft! This old thing?” Maddie asked looking down carelessly at the necklace that now had a few ugly scratches from the fall with Ragon.
“Yes. That old thing, give it to me,” Samara said hastily. Maddie removed the necklace just in time for Samara to grab it without scratching Maddie hard on the arm. Maddie watched as Samara took the key and placed it in the keyhole. Each goblin crowded around, making it harder for Maddie to see. As Samara opened the trapdoor, a shiny and unmistakably powerful glow shone in their faces. Each goblin gave a look of awe at what was inside the door. Maddie, however, had absolutely no idea what the object was or what was even happening due to her terrible view.
“What is it?” asked Maddie. She was shocked to see the dirty look given to her by Samara.
“You’re obviously not ready yet,” Samara said, almost inhaling whatever was in there, her face was so close.
“What she means to say is that you will find out at the right time and that time just isn't now,” added Ragon. He had spoken so little in the entire journey that Maddie had forgotten he was even there. Maddie had only then realized that each goblin was crucial to the group’s success in accomplishing the mission. Here’s what Maddie realized:
Samara- She can be strict and keeps the group on track. Loud and outgoing.
Brido- Funny but gets off track and doesn't enjoy having “know it alls” around.
Ragon- Smart and is very quiet. His smarts keep the group from having life issues (having no food, no water, and no money). He is also kind and caring and has a way with animals.
Maddie had absolutely zero idea whether her grandfather had been to this world after the opening of the trapdoor, but she put that thought aside and focused on Sparky. Ragon tenderly wrapped Sparky in a blanket he had packed earlier. Maddie watched as Sparky closed his eyes under the strength of whatever medicine Ragon had just given to him.
It was supposedly a mix of different plants from the royal garden that Ragon secretly grabbed. The problem was, Ragon couldn’t guarantee that Sparky would ever wake up. It wasn’t what he had given the dog. It was how weak the dog was that made the problem so horrid. Maddie watched as Sparky licked her face as he had done so many times before. Tears rolled down her face uncontrollably. This could be the last time Sparky would ever lick her, so she took in every moment.
“Who are you?” came the voice of one of the guards. It was one of the males. Maddie turned around to see Brido stuffing whatever was under the trapdoor into his bag. Two guards stood side by side. Two puppies.
“The Royalis guards!” Ragon whispered.
“The who?!” Maddie asked, confused.
“Royalis! That is the name of the Royal Family!”
“Royalis? Oh! Ha! I l
ike that! Royalis…kinda like royal. Isn’t the name perfect?” Maddie said, grinning stupidly.
“Maddie! Be quiet!” Samara whisper-shouted, “you're talking like an idiot isn’t going to help us get past these guards!”
“Ok, Ok,” Maddie whispered back, “you don’t have to be so mean about it,” she pouted.
“Both of you! Enough!” Ragon said, intervening, “The last thing we need is to get into trouble!” he continued, “and I need you both to get along for just a FEW minutes! Just enough time to get us into the castle! Those dogs aren’t as innocent as they seem!”
“Oh,” Maddie felt her stomach tie itself to knots, “will we get in trouble? Wait…they are kind of cute…aww,” Ragon pinched her.
“Don’t underestimate those dogs, Maddie…”
There was a sweet looking female who was just a little chunky and short, making her look so innocent and adorable. But something about her told Maddie that she would sometimes have a temper and a vibe that said: Don’t touch me when I’m eating or am tired or when I am sleeping or doing anything unless you are giving me a belly rub. I love you! Standing next to the female dog a skinny but muscular male puppy who was so very cute and seemed to have a vibe that said: You can touch me or pick me up, I don’t care I just wanna give love.
“Ha! Like we wouldn't be able to pass you! You're so tiny! But we will still follow your rules,” Samara added after seeing the glare that was swiftly given by Ragon. “um, how old are you exactly?”
“15 weeks,” the female said proudly.
“But we are getting bigger every day!” piped up the male.
“You two are stunning golden retrievers. Doobi was an amazing Golden Doodle. What are your names?” Ragon asked, awed by their beauty.
Maddie Shirkoff: World of Odds Page 3
