Finally up! I can't believe its only one chapter left! Sorry for the lateness and I promise the next chapter will be up quicker!

~mpenguin

Chapter Eight: The Battle

As soon as I had woken up, I quickly retreated to my throne room. The goblins looked up as I entered with interested glances, but did not dare to utter anything about it for the look on my face must have look murderous. Even the baby dared not to make a sound about my presence and quickly looked down. Not a moment after I had sat down did an uproar of thoughts explode in my mind, causing me to put my forehead in the palm of my hand to steady the sudden pain it brought.

What in the world was that all about? I thought while grinding my teeth. Everything! None of it made any sense! I had a job to do, and I failed it! Clumsily failed it! In fact, I did this job so stupidly and carelessly I practically didn't do it at all!

I froze at that thought. Did I? Did I choose not to do it?

No, I realized shaking my head in disgust; I didn't try one bloody bit. I let her get away, and what for? I had everything to loose! This was the one job I gave myself and I purposely failed. Why?

As I thought about Sarah some more, my heart did a sudden yank that caused me to grind my teeth once again. What did this girl do to me? This strange feeling, what is it? A spell? Is this girl secretly a witch? That could be the only explanation. But, I didn't feel any other magic other then my own coming from her or the baby. And if she were, I'm sure she would have used some of her magic by now to do some of the tasks. But that seems to be the only logical explanation! Unless… No.

The realization had hit me so fast and so hard that I nearly toppled over and I sat, frozen, and hardly breathing. I couldn't…. be in love with her… could I?

It seemed as silly, if not sillier, then the witch idea was at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I came to see that it was indeed true. The sudden feelings of worry when she's in danger, the unexplainable envy, the strange ache in my heart every time I looked or thought about her, the heat that rose when I held her, how I didn't want to let her go.

I'm in love with a silly girl. I thought and then a sudden gloom passed over me as I realized, a girl who could never love me back.

I sat in silence, try to digest all that I just discovered and trying to deal with the heavy despair I had not felt since my fate as Goblin King had been sealed. Of course I had to fall for a girl I couldn't have, I thought grudgingly. I have had anything material thing I could wish, any girl that I desire, could have anything my mind wants, but the two things my heart desires, living in the Aboveground and have this girl, I can not have? How, as she would say, not fair. I thought angrily running my hand through my hair. But, what was there to do? In a way, I've already lost, I thought glumly.

Suddenly, there was a thumping noise and a gurgle that sounds at my feet. Looking down, I was surprise to see that the baby was looking up at me with wide eyes; they were not frighten, rather curious and, to my surprise, a bit sad.

Giving him a strained smile, I picked him up and said, "What are you sad about, my fine fellow?"

With a giggle, he grabbed my hair and gave it a light tug.

Giving him a real smile now, I bounced him on my knee while a thought came to my mind, I may have already lost, but the game is not done. There's always the second prize. The baby. And there's only a little time left, Sarah will have to try harder to get him now. This lightened my dark mood a bit and I smiled at him again.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!" Someone yelled from down the corridor.

Turning my head and quickly trying to wipe out the smile on my face I saw Julius, my captain of the guard, run into the throne room.

With a quick bow, he said once again, "Your Highness! The girl!"

"What?" I carelessly asked.

"The girl who ate the peach and forgot everything!" Julius chanted.

Of course it would be Sarah, I thought with anger at the slight yank that my heart did when I thought of her again. I wonder how he knew about the peach…

Wiping that thought away, I then asked, "What of her." My tone was more aggravated then I hoped it would be.

But fortunately no one noticed as Julius continued to say, "She's here with the monster, and Sir Didymus, and the dwarf who works for you!"

"What?" I shouted, alarm and panic going off inside me.

"They got through the gates and they're on their way to the castle!" Julius exclaimed, panic rising in his voice as well.

" Stop her! Call out the guard" I commanded to Julius then turning to one of the royal guards told him, "Take the baby and hide it!" Looking around, I felt annoyance build up inside me as I watch them fumble around, "She must be stopped! DO something! Come on! Move. Move! I commanded and finally they all tumbled out and I rushed towards the northern window to watch the battle commence.

When I had arrived at the window, the very same window that I had slip off into Sarah's dream, I looked down and saw Sarah and her companions looking wildly around at the army that had gathered itself at the entrance of the castle. Though I am sure that the army looked rather imposing to Sarah, looking up at them and being horribly out number, from my point of view it looked rather small and pathetic. The only thing that comfort me upon looking at it was knowing that this wasn't all the goblins in the army.

Suddenly, a horn sang a cadence and I saw, with shock, as suddenly a cannon went off and the battle began.

What the-, why are they using bloody cannons? I thought incredulously as I watched another cannon go off and blow a hole through a roof of a ceiling. Bloody hell, I cursed, imagining the stack of new papers that Marcus will most likely put on my desk the following day.

Abandoning that thought, my eyes quickly scanned the town in search of Sarah, for her and her friends had retreated from range of fire and had quickly ran off for cover. I had found Sir Didymus, whom had probably gotten separated from the group due to his steed running towards the exit. Ignoring him, my eyes then locked onto the yeti who, with him, was Sarah and the dwarf.

There you are… I thought then looked around them and then felt my hand smack itself against my face. The goblins were just simply running around them blinding. Stupid pest, they're right there! I growled angrily under my breath, trying to contain the impulse to just warp off over there and stop them myself.

Then, Sarah, the yeti, and the dwarf suddenly took off, running through the streets and the goblins still failed to notice them and continued to tear up the town. Oh, I'm going to receive such a scolding from Marcus tomorrow, I thought, rubbing my hand against my forehead.

Sarah and two friends had reached the plaza that led into the castle. I watched and nearly jumped to my feet in alarm as a sudden spike ball was blasted their way. Trying to calm my heart beat, I watched as Sarah got up from her fall to dodge the spike ball and then strangely ran back to the town. Confused, it took me a while to understand that she had probably ran back in search of Sir Didymus. So loyal, I though again with admiration.

As I watched her race through the town, I wonder why the goblins were so incapable of defending the castle. To say that why were completely unable to battle at all would be false, everyone in the Underground knew how demonic these creature could be if you chose to fight against them, but here, they were completely useless. Oh well, at least their objective was to waste her time, which, I thought as I looked down at my crystal ball on the top of my cane to see that she only had ten more minutes, they are doing a very good job of.

I saw Sarah quickly rush into a house with the dwarf right behind her and wondered how the yeti was going to got in. I then watched as he simply just ripped the wall, swung it open, and then swung it shut when he entered the building. Like that apparently…

Goblins quickly swarmed the house, trying to break in but Sarah apparently was very good at fighting them off. Suddenly, the roof of the tower of the house broke off and the yeti popped his head out. Wondering what he was doing, it wasn't until a moment later did he roar.

Crap, he's calling the rocks, I grimaces again as he roared once more.

My attention snapped over to the main gate and I watched as, surely, it slowly opened and rocks started tumbling out of it. They rolled throughout the entire village, chasing the goblins around and causing them to fly into the air when they made impact.

"Oh, come on!" I mumbled in frustration as I then looked down at the crystal once again to see that it was six more minutes until time was up.

I scanned the town once more and found Sarah as she dove for cover just before a sudden gun cannon shot a missile towards her. Quickly getting up, she, the dwarf, and the yeti raced off towards the castle once again. As they reached the plaza once more, and after three goblins had tried to stop them, but, of course, got run over by rocks and then preceded to retreat, Sarah and her companions started to come towards the castle but quickly dove for cover as once again, a gun cannon started shooting her.

I think I might remove those things from the army, I thought angrily and I worriedly watched her hide behind the fountain and flinch as she heard the bullets get spit out of the machine. Suddenly, a large boulder rolled it's way on the ledge above the machine and with a boom, fell onto it and the machine exploded.

Shaking my head, I knew that now Sarah would make it into the castle. I only hoped that the goblins actually found a good hiding spot for- I froze as I heard a little giggle.

Whipping around, I saw, with surprise, that the baby was crawling down the hall from where I stood. Damn goblins! I cursed them as I ran after the him, of course they would hide the baby in a place where it could easily crawl out of!

As I neared it, the baby had rounded the corner and when I finally rounded it too, I halted abruptly as I noticed that we were now in the Escher Hall. I noted that the baby was crawling its way towards what I considered to be the bottom of the room and I started to go after him until I saw, to my most pleasant surprise, that someone else had joined us in the room as well.