“Well I’m sorry if I am not coming out because I just spent my first night as a fugitive!” Maddie cried angrily.
“Well I was PLANNING on taking a walk and wanted to invite you,” Samara began with a glare, “but then you reminded me we are fugitives because of something YOU did!” she said with a grunt.
“Oh…about that. I already told you I was sorry. Really,” Maddie said, tone changing, “I only wanted to save my dog. You don’t understand. He’s been with me through such hard times,” she said, trying her best to keep her hopes up when it came to saving Sparky.
“Well, let’s go take a walk with Brido and Ragon. Brido’s head stopped swelling,” Samara said kindly. Maddie laughed. Samara wasn’t so mean ALL the time. Maddie agreed and Samara went out to fetch the other goblins. Maddie rose, tired of wearing the same clothes all the time. The only time she got to change was at the royal palace where she received a lovely new nightgown.
Samara came into the tent, followed by Ragon and Brido. Ragon looked at her. “Hello and good morning! You ready for that walk?”
“Um, yeah I guess,” Maddie said, tone changing to annoyance. She didn’t know why she felt that. Almost like she suspected they were hiding something, and she didn’t know what. But she felt it was important. Then she remembered. She couldn't understand why the goblins would keep the trapdoor potion from her. It was clear they were incredibly interested in it. Not just because they didn’t want her to know what it was.
Maddie took a deep breath and tried her best to calm down. Whatever it was, maybe they had a good reason for it? They were friends. And friends would never do anything to hurt one another. Maddie put on her sneakers and stood up, the goblins waiting for her.
“Come on!” Maddie cried excitedly, “I saw something last night that will blow your mind! I don’t know whose it was, but I know you will love it! An abandoned castle!” she cried excitedly.
“An abandoned castle?” Ragon asked, excitement creeping into his voice, “I’ve never heard of one here! I can’t believe it! You found one! Think of all the learning and history and-and-and yes! Let’s go! If it’s abandoned, we’ll be safe. Nobody tends to visit abandoned castles here in Enchanted,” Ragon finished.
“Why not?” asked Maddie, “back in my world, abandoned castles are tourist destinations. Tons of people go every year!”
“Well in this land, a castle isn’t abandoned unless something bad happened within its walls. Deaths or failed treaties or anything that could result in a battle,” Ragon explained, looking grim.
“Well, let’s go check this one out. For me!” Maddie begged. The group agreed, and they set off towards the abandoned castle. It was not far from the campsite, but Maddie was the only one out of the entire group that noticed it in the first place. The goblins didn’t even know an abandoned castle existed over there. Maddie trudged along, occasionally shaking some dead grass off her sneakers.
“How much longer?” Brido moaned, “I still have a headache…”
“It’s not that far you, big baby,” Maddie said, giggling, “just keep walking. It's only like a forty-minute walk.”
“Forty m-m-minute?!” he sputtered, clutching onto his head. “I don’t think I will last…I should be with Sparky, sitting in a tent, sleeping!” he complained.
Maddie and the goblins trudged through the grass. “Ragon, you are sure you covered the tent for Sparky to be in there?”
“I’m one-hundred percent sure,” he responded, “I also left some food and a blanket for the dog to curl up in. It seems a bit irresponsible of you to just leave him there, however. Especially since it is only sticks. He could find a way to get out. Not to mention his condition or the-”
Maddie glared at Ragon and heaved a sigh, “I know. I trust he will be safe. We will only be gone for a little bit.”
The group walked the rest of the way in silence. Maddie saw the castle right in front of her. She gasped excitedly.
“Here it is!” she said, squealing with delight, “Isn’t it gorgeous?”
Ragon stood gaping at it. “It’s b-b-black…Maddie that stands for evil!” Ragon said, unsure of whether he should take the risk. The castle was a dark black and was rimmed with silver lining on each wall. The grand doors reached about ten feet and were also colored silver. The castle had a very pointed look as well. The top of the castle was basically a needle.
And at the top, was a balcony with a giant hole at the bottom. The hole led down to spikes sticking out from the ground. This reminded Maddie of the secret chamber in the other castle. Whatever was in the moat was definitely not water. The “water” was a dark blood red. It looked as if it was recently added…Maddie shivered but put the thought away, for an abandoned castle should not have guards, and this one didn’t.
“This is an evil castle Maddie! I don’t want to go inside it!” Brido moaned.
“Calm down! What can hurt you in an abandoned castle? Look! No guards. We’ll just go in and check it out a bit, then we can head back to the campsite and deal with your irrational fear of abandoned castles,” Maddie said, glaring at him, “This was a surprise for you guys! Just pretend to act excited. Please?”
The goblins reluctantly agreed, and all crossed the giant bridge over the moat of blood. Maddie felt shivers go down her spine but knew as long as it was abandoned, she would be safe. Brido gave a moan and stepped over the bridge, shaking like a scared puppy.
“Can you stop?!” Maddie asked, frustrated with Brido’s fear, “I told you it is abandoned! Plus, it USED to be an evil castle, now, with us stepping in as good, it technically doesn’t have that evil vibe anymore!” Maddie said, grinning.
“Maddie! When a castle is run by an evil ruler, the castle itself is evil as well. You can’t change fate,” Samara responded, coldly.
“Ok. Fine. It’s evil. Now let’s go!” Maddie said, staring at the large silver doors. She began to push them open and found they were locked shut. Then, the doors swung open without any help.
“Ok,” she said nervously, “Maybe not evil but it could be haunted…” she whispered, heart pounding against her chest.
“Oh please,” Ragon began, “ghosts are good!”
“Yeah! If that’s all that is in there, then we’re fine,” Brido said, “but it's still evil so you never know…”
“We are going in,” Maddie said sternly. She was a little nervous. It felt as if the goblins’ panic had rubbed off on her. An evil castle filled with ghosts…this wasn’t looking like fun anymore…
Maddie took a step into the castle, and a cold feeling washed over her. The main entrance of this abandoned castle had beautiful tiled gray floors. Torches surrounded the hall but none of them seemed to be lit. Then, 1 sight caught Maddie’s eye.
There was a gorgeous and dusty table in which dark black roses stood. Even though the castle appeared completely abandoned, the roses that stood on the table were full of life. Almost as if having been watered every day. But a faint glow emitted itself from the roses.
“Maddie,” came Brido’s terrified squeal, “that-that-that-”
“Maddie, we have to get out of here!” Ragon warned.
“Why? They’re just roses,” Maddie replied, rolling her eyes. The goblins fear seemed to be rubbing off on her a little bit but other than that, it was just annoying.
“Maddie! There is only 1 way to keep roses in that perfect condition! A preservation spell! IT’S MAGIC! Someone is here, making the castle look abandoned! Maddie, we have to go!” he said.
Suddenly the vase went flying into the wall and shattered into hundreds of pieces.
“Ah, yes,” said a cold, cruel voice, “you are the first to find out my plan, but not the first victim,” she cackled. Maddie watched as a lady slowly walked up to them. Her dark black hair reached to the middle of her back. Her off-the-shoulder blood red dress was tight to the waist with her sparkly diamond shoes glittering like no other. She had dark brown eyes and a stern face. She had a thin body, and her hair was tied into a
half bun half down look.
Maddie stood, gaping, hands closed into fists. “You wanted me to come here!” she yelled, “why?”
“Because I just needed to see you,” she said, smiling cruelly, “I don’t think you would want to disobey me?” she said with an innocent smile.
“You aren’t the type of person I would ever listen to! Who are you?!” The goblins cowered back. Maddie was unaware of this woman’s true identity. Queen Lilith.
“Maddie, just listen to her,” Brido whispered, panic embedded in his voice, “She’s not who you think she is!” he said, staring at the queen.
“Who are you?” Maddie asked again, staring at the queen with a look of distaste.
“Why, the one and only Queen Lilith of course,” she said with a cruel smile. Maddie’s mean demeanor faded to fear. This woman has done so many evil things. But kidnapping a princess? That one was bad. Really bad. Maddie watched as the woman walked closer to Maddie.
“What do you need me here for?” Maddie asked, glaring.
“Ah, dear don’t you look at me like that. I only want to see your skills. I won’t tell you why, but you won’t remember anything once you leave. If you leave alive.”
“What do you mean by she won’t remember?” Brido peeped with a small voice.
“None of you will remember anything! After I check out your skills to see if you are the chosen one, I will erase your memory and let you go. You must be wondering why,” she said, clearly with no intention of explaining any further.
“Well, too bad! You may have magic, but you have no guards!” Maddie yelled.
“Oh, but I do…” Maddie’s smile faded, “I see the invisibility spell worked,” she said, cackling. With a flick of her hand, one-hundred or more guards dressed in black appeared.
“Whatever you want me to do, get on with it,” Maddie said, fiddling with her fingers.
“Oh, nothing much, just a little obstacle course…” Maddie turned to see the queen flick her hand. Suddenly, a course appeared in the middle of the castle. Iron stakes sticking out of the floor, axes swinging from the walls, and a moat filled with a horrible smelling green liquid. There were a ton of other things which Maddie couldn’t see very clearly, but she knew were going to be hard to deal with.
“You may begin, dear, and I allow your friends to watch!” she said, an evil grin visible.
Maddie took her first step and immediately, a clear barrier seemed to form between Maddie and the others. Maddie realized this when she ran towards the goblins, smacking into the barrier with a great amount of force. She had wondered why the goblins didn’t run to her like she did them. However, she found out quickly they were put under a paralysis spell strong enough to keep them from moving at all.
Maddie walked over to the first obstacle: swinging axes. Axes were quickly swinging out from the walls, both the right and left. There was a moat underneath filled with a bubbly green acid. Maddie watched as a tiny little insect slipped into the acid, and slowly disintegrated to its death. The only part of the bug left was a tiny antenna sticking slightly above the pool of acid.
The acid seemed to be burping while a large amount of acid erupted onto the nearby ax swinging past it. Maddie felt her stomach tie to knots. Oh god, what do I even do? she thought, heart racing. The young girl figured impulse could only help her now. If she spent too much time strategizing, the ax will have been hit by acid too many times, causing it to slowly fall apart. Then, she would have no way across, and something told her Queen Lilith wouldn’t be willing to help.
When the ax came swinging, she hopped on. A tiny part of her hand slipped and she found herself attempting to hold onto one of the sharpest parts of the ax. She slipped, cutting her hand and ended up dangling off the side of the ax that was swinging back and forward. She managed to move herself back onto the ax rope, but her hand was bleeding. Nothing horrible, she thought. As long as I’m still able to move, this cut is the least of my worries. Maddie swung from the rope that was holding it up. She hopped on to the next ax, clinging tightly and only trying to hold onto the rope and nothing more. She continued to do the same on the next three axes and made it across safely, minus the bleeding part of her hand. The queen watched, smiling her evil grin.
The next obstacle wasn't nearly as simple. Fire appeared to be shooting from the walls, and snakes filled the pit below. Cobra snakes. They hissed as Maddie approached closer. Every time Maddie moved, they uncoiled, ready to take a bite at Maddie’s ankle.
Maddie saw 1 line of thick rope and figured out the best plan. It was going across the entire pit which meant it would help her get safely across. It was just high enough that if a snake attempted to bite, she wouldn’t be touched. Maddie prayed that she would be able to muster enough strength to pull herself across. It was a one way trip.
The rope wouldn’t support her weight again. If she turned back, there was no getting across. She would have to go quickly or it would surely snap halfway through. She grabbed the rope that was next to her and made sure it would be sturdy.
Maddie pushed herself to the rope and proceeded to put her hands in place. She was shaking uncontrollably. The cobras underneath her peered at her questioningly, as if they too didn’t understand why she bothered to get so close. She began to move through, inching across the rope, dangling over the hissing cobras. She nervously went through the course, taken slow and steady breaths until she reached the end. As soon as she did, she collapsed to the floor out of nerves. Her legs were shaking, having almost been bitten by a cobra.
The last obstacle was made up from a bundle of sharp iron rods, rusted at the top, to not only ensure injury but also a bacterial infection for whoever stepped on them. They were sticking out all over the floor in every little corner and section of the course. But, they seemed to be withdrawing into the floor in sections, then popping back up but all at different times. She was to cross the floor, but Maddie seemed to be extra nervous on this one. She realized if she waited too long on a single spot of the room, she would be punctured by the iron rods.
The rods were sharp. Very sharp. Not only were they fast, but they had a gooey liquid on top of them. Something told Maddie she should not ever try to touch it. Or else…bad things would most likely happen. Once she crossed that, she was to get onto the swinging axes once more to get to the other side. The swinging axes seemed to be the last course. Maddie longed to be in the peaceful zone away from the torture of this obstacle course. The front row of spikes went down first, so Maddie stepped onto the first row. Once the row began to come up, she ran to the next row, which now was empty of the iron rods.
Maddie repeated the process; however the last obstacle would be harder. She had to jump on the ax as soon as the needles rose from the floor. Otherwise, she wouldn’t make it. The timing had to be very precise. If not, who knows what the fate of Maddie Shirkoff would be? Well, she did. And she had to make sure that would never happen. On the last needle filled row, as soon as they began coming up, she jumped, barely hopping onto the ax. Maddie stared at the cut on her hand. It was painful, yes, but not nearly as painful as it would have been to have gotten impaled by an ax.
As soon as Maddie finished the course, the obstacles all disappeared. Right back into the floors, walls, and ceilings. The queen walked up to Maddie, leaving the goblins all paralyzed. Maddie could see the anger in Samara’s eyes, but she knew Samara could do nothing about it.
“One more thing, dear,” the queen flicked her hand. Just then, a rusted metal ax swung at Maddie.
Maddie held her hands out to protect her face. It was a move straight from instinct, not rational thought. However, Maddie did not feel the ax hit. She looked up to see the ax, frozen by magic, a white light surrounding it. Maddie looked down at her own hands; also shrouded with the same white light. They were shaking. She felt strangely drained of energy, both physical and emotional, confused as well. The faint white light continued to emit itself from her hands, however Maddie neglected to give any serious thought to this.
Maddie looked at the queen and couldn’t believe what had happened. Was it Maddie that froze the ax? Or did the queen do it just to see the reaction of the terrified young girl? Then again, she also tried to kill her. She just wanted to see Maddie terrified and afraid! The queen had no intention of murdering her but chose to do this for her own entertainment. At least, that’s what Maddie believed…she couldn’t be one hundred percent sure after all.
“You are The One, dear…I CAN FEEL IT! Now, I shall erase your memory of this ever happening. You will find yourself wherever you were last. The goblins won’t remember either…which is easy to believe since they have such small, pea-sized brains,” she said, cackling and removing the paralysis spell off the goblins.
“Wait… why are you sending me back if I’m The One?”
Queen Lilith gave a laugh before answering, “I don’t need you right now. The prophecy hasn’t started yet. When it does, I’ll know where to find you.”
The goblins all stared at Maddie with a look of shock, but they never got to tell her what REALLY happened, because shortly after, they were whisked away back to the campsite. Almost like going back in time, but this was simply the queen’s magic. So, Maddie prepared herself to wake up for the second time.
Chapter 11
The Battle
At dawn, Maddie rose to see a face hovering over her. She could not remember anything about the castle, which was good, since traumatic experiences should be forgotten. It was Brido. His face was curved into a creepy grin as he shouted, “GOOD MORNING!”
“Ah! Can’t you see that I was sleeping?!” she groggily murmured, unaware of the fact that she had TECHNICALLY already woken up.
“Chill out! I just came to drop this off,” the goblin held out Sparky. The young girl lifted Sparky, placing his tiny body next to hers. Then, Brido continued, “and I came to let you know that breakfast is almost ready. Also, Ragon has bad news about this little…dying…dog,” he finished at last. Maddie didn’t want to know, but she rose, took a deep breath and went outside. Two voices were arguing. Samara and Ragon.
Maddie Shirkoff: World of Odds Page 7
