Key To A Goblin's Heart

Victoria's POV

Magnus was speaking rapidly, but somehow I couldn't register his words in my mind. Surely, he can't be right. Surely, he can't be omniscient as to know it all. But, why did I explicitly ask for his opinion when I had so little regard of it? It was a question that taunted me, but I had no plausible answer in my mind's eyes. 

Magnus was telling about his visit to the Dark Wizard, someone named Donald who is considered as one of the most brilliant Dark Magicians of all ages. As I had expected, Magnus had dabbled in the Dark Arts himself, he was apparently fascinated by it in his youth. He told me stories of the mysterious forest where Donald lived and how he had strived to reach there. 

I had no patience for his long stories. 

"Come to the point, and cut it short." I told him curtly. 

He looked a bit disappointed, perhaps he was enjoying the tale of his own bravery. The stupid snobbish prick!

"The point is, Donald took me in. He agreed to be my teacher, on one condition….that I write a book for him. He wanted to write an account of his life, and the various kinds of Dark Magic he performed, but he was astoundingly lazy when it came to writing. So, he insisted that I write down whatever he said, and in return he agreed to teach me." Magnus said. 

"Fair enough. Then?" I prompted him. 

"Well…" he shrugged, "That's when I came to know about The Queen, err... your mother. It was one of the stories that Donald told me. I must admit, I didn't fully believe him then because the story itself was so incredible. I thought that he made all this up, to impress me."

He took a deep breath, struggling to recall the events. 

Then he continued, "As the Queen had told you, she got cursed because she had unknowingly killed a very powerful Magi. The curse was of a rather strong nature, and without intervention, she would have died in about a year. But, the country was in great turmoil then and if she had died it would have resulted in a civil war, and the fate of Mafhaelore would have been doomed. 

So, she did something no other Queen had ever done before. She traveled to the dark realms."

"Then?" I said, inhaling sharply. 

"She didn't inform anyone, other than her husband of her motives. And, both of them agreed to keep this a secret. She reached the Dark Realms and was stuck there for a long time, trying to find her way to Donald. Now, you must remember that for someone who had never been to the Dark Realms, the way can be really baffling and it's very easy to lose yourself in the woods. There are ancient enchantments in the place, and they try to prevent infiltration in every way possible."

"Yes...and?" I said a little impatiently. 

Magnus sighed, "The Queen was stuck in the forest for a long time, dealing with her own demons. It was roughly at that time, that she came to know that she's pregnant with a child. Now, this was something unanticipated but she had no way of returning now. She decided to see it through and she finally got to meet Donald. 

Now, here's the thing. Dark Magic is seldom all giving, and it often extracts from you more than it gives. The Queen didn't know the extent of it all. When Donald told her that she would have to sacrifice the thing which was dearest to her, in order to delay her death, she was hardly thinking much. She thought what could be the price? It was her foolishness and ignorance about Dark Magic that led her to take a terrible decision."

"To sacrifice her own daughter?" I said in a small voice. 

"No, to sacrifice the thing closest to her. You see, she thought it would be something else, maybe money or property. Little did she know that she would have to sacrifice her own daughter. When she finally came to know the truth, it was too late. The Magic jad already started to take it's effect." Magnus concluded. 

"You mean to say, that she didn't willingly sacrifice me? It...it was all a mistake?" I said, with a ray of hope in my voice. 

Magnus nodded his head and said, "Yes. She regretted it profoundly, but she had little left to do. Did you ever wonder why she is so protective about Cassadrei? 

Well, this is the reason. She had already lost one child, and she dared not lose another."

For the first time since I met her, I genuinely pitied my mother. I felt a bit guilty for judging her so harshly. 

"But, how did I survive then? You said that the child had to die in order for her to live." I said in amazement. 

"That's the tricky part." Magnus said contemplating, "I don't know if I understood it fully well. But, something backfired. The child that the Queen gave birth to was stillborn and she was given up to Donald as a sign of sacrifice. After she had been cured, the Queen didn't want to stay any further because the place reminded her of sorrow and pain. She left immediately and Donald was imposed with the task of burying the little girl. 

As it happens, when he had finally dug a grave, and placed that little child into it, suddenly the child cried out. You can imagine what a rude shock it was to Donald, and he was positively terrified. But, the child was well and breathing and showed all the signs of life. Donald couldn't comprehend it."

"But, how did the child live? How...how did I survive?" I asked in awe. 

"Unfortunately, I have no answer to that. I only know this much, but I have a feeling that Donald knows more about it than he told me. He….he tried to perform some more curses, to kill the baby because he was afraid of it, but he failed every time. So, finally he tried a curse that would suspend the baby's life in a limbo, somewhere between life and death where time would be frozen, and then….he, well he tried to forget about her. 

But some time in the future, he did abandon her on Earth, but why he did so I cannot tell."

I pursed my lips, unable to digest the new found information. Right at that moment, an ominous bell sounded through the castle, reverberating from it's very walls. 

"THE QUEEN HAD COLLAPSED. HER CONDITION IS CRITICAL AND THERE IS LITTLE HOPE TO HER SURVIVAL. THE ARPHOELIANS ARE APPROACHING OUR TERRITORIES, SO EVERYONE BE CAUSTIOUS! AND THE SOLDIERS SHALL REPORT TO THE GARRISON IMMEDIATELY!"

It was followed by a stunned silence, and I looked at Magnus desperately. 

"Mafhaelore will fall. There is no way they can win against Arphoelus with the Queen in such a state." He said gravely. 

"But, we have to do something! We can't just sit here and watch." I said desperately. 

"No." Magnus replied calmly, "We will have to escape this place. You can do nothing to protect it, and so you will have to protect yourself first. Remember, you are the natural heir to the Kingdom!"

"I can't flee, knowing that my parents….my real parents are in danger!" I snapped, "We...we will have to find a way. Let's go to the Dark Realms and meet this Donald. I need answers, and maybe we can negotiate with him to try and save my Mother."

Magnus looked exasperated. 

"Didn't you pay any attention to my words. The Dark Realms are dangerous, I can't allow you to go there."

"This is not a time to argue Magnus!" I roared, "I need to go there and that's final. And, you are coming with me since you know how to reach Donald. You have no other choice anyway, because if the Arphoelians catch you they won't spare your life. Atleast, I gave you your freedom, and you owe this to me!"

Magnus looked thoughtful for a moment, and I kept my gaze fixed on him….lest he tried to do something untoward. But finally he sighed, and agreed to my proposal. 

"But, you need to be careful. Don't do anything rash there. The place isn't exactly safe, as whatever you do….stay close to me." Magnus warned. 

"So that you can protect me?" I sneered. 

Magnus didn't reply, but simply told me to take his hand. 

"I am not going to do that!" I said haughtily. 

Magnus sighed, "Don't be foolish, Victoria. Do what I say, or else we will never reach there. I am going to open the portal, and be ready for a really rough journey ahead."

I grudgingly agreed to take his hand, and together we jumped into the portal he had created. 

It was worse than he had described it. Compared to this, my journey to Mafhaelore from Earth seemed like a cakewalk. I felt like screaming, and vomiting at the same time and all the while I held Magnus' hand so tightly, as if I were holding onto life itself. 

When we finally landed, I immediately collapsed on the ground. Magnus lay beside me panting, then he checked my pulse to make sure that I am alright. I didn't want to appear weak in front of him, so despite the sickness I felt, I still got up. 

The forest looked really mysterious, with tall trees that obscured the view of the sky. It wasn't possible to know which hour of day it is, as this forest was forever bathed in an eternal darkness. I looked around, searching for any sign of life, but there were none. The forest was eerily silent, not even a breeze blew to rattle the leaves.

I felt a strong sense of deja vu as I watched the place, as if I had visited it somehow. I tried to search my memories, but they yielded nothing of significance. 

Suddenly, a shattering noise broke all the tranquil. Someone was screaming in an inhuman voice. I immediately got alert and looked around, searching for someone. There were none. I turned to Magnus, bewildered and then I realised it was coming from Magnus himself.