Labyrinth Fan Fiction ❯ Heard About A Place Today ❯ Trouble with royalty ( Chapter 6 )

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Chapter Six: Trouble with Royalty



As the girls walked through the door, they found a very different scene on the other side; instead of the hedge maze, they were surrounded by a vast forest. The mid afternoon sun shone through the trees.

"Wow!" Chantal exclaimed looking around.

"Yeah, wow!"

"Now which way do we go?" Chantal asked, still looking around. Several paths lay in front of them.

"This way," Stephanie said pointing to the path directly in front of them. The two girls started down their chosen path. Serek launched from Stephanie's shoulder and glided in front of them. After walking a while, the forest got dark. The sun had disappeared behind a large cloud. Suddenly an owl hooted above them.

Stephanie stopped in her tracks, spun around and looked through the trees, but nothing was there.

"What's the matter?" Chantal asked her friend, turning around to look at her.

"Nothing, I think I'm just being paranoid," Stephanie answered, her eyes searching the area. "Let's keep going." She took one more look behind her before they continued.

As they took a step forward, they heard laughter behind them. Stephanie slowly turned around and looked up to where the deep laughter had come from. Up in a nearby large tree the Goblin King sat leaning on one of the branches. Chantal turned around and when she spotted the Goblin King, she placed her hands on her hips. "Have you come to taunt us again?" She asked in a bored voice.

The Goblin King looked down at Chantal with an amused smile, and raised an eyebrow. Chantal smiled back, her braces showing.

Stephanie elbowed Chantal, a nervous grin on her face. Chantal looked over at her friend. "Fine, I'll be quiet this time," She said as she looked back up at the Goblin King. Chantal then pulled off her backpack and rummaged in it. She took out a roll of Life Savers, ripped open the package and popped the first one into her mouth.

Stephanie looked over at her friend, a puzzled look on her face. "What are you doing?" She asked Chantal.

"Getting out a Life Saver," she told her. "Want one?" She asked as she held out the roll to Stephanie. Stephanie sighed loudly as she shook her head.

"'Tay." Chantal then returned her Life Savers into her backpack. The Goblin King tilted his head and watched as the girls wondered what brought him there. After several minutes of silence, Chantal couldn't take it anymore. "Are you just going to sit there and watch us?"

The Goblin King laughed once again. "You two amuse me."

"Yeah, so you decide to follow us, and creep us out by staying in the shadows." Chantal shook her head, curly brown hair bouncing. She sighed. "Come Steph, there's no point in trying to talk to him. Let him play his little game." Chantal grabbed Stephanie's arm and began to pull her away.

As the two girls walked away, they heard something behind them. Something swooped and nearly missed Chantal's head. Stephanie felt the brushing of wing tips against her fingers. In front of them, the sun broke through the clouds, just as they caught glimpse of a white barn owl fly away down the path.

"Well, we must be going the right way since he's following the trail. Unless he's messing with us again," Chantal commented.

"Maybe, let's just keep moving, time is short." Stephanie replied.

Unknown to them, they were being watched by several dozen pair of eyes. As they continued walking down the path, the owners of the eyes followed, rustling in the bushes.

Stephanie stopped in her tracks. "Chantal? Did you hear that?" she asked, looking towards where she had heard the noise. The leaves of the bushes settled when she glanced on a precise spot.

"Hear what?" Chantal said, looking around and listening.

"That noise. There it is again." Stephanie spun around.

"I heard it that time. What was that?"

"I asked you first. Let's not stick around to find out." Stephanie took a step forward, more rustling followed it.Serek landed on Chantal's shoulder and wrapped his furry tail around her neck. They turned back to the path.

Suddenly something jumped out in front of them.

"Eek! What is that?" Chantal half screamed.

"A goblin. This is not good," Stephanie said as she took a step back. Suddenly several goblins appeared behind them. Chantal turned her head and saw them. "I think we have company. What do we do now Steph?"

"RUN!" Stephanie yelled as she ran forward past the goblin in front of them. Chantal not too far behind her. The girls ran as fast as they could down the path. Several dozen goblins popped out of the bushes and started chasing them. The hideous sound of the goblins' laughter could be heard behind them. As they turned a corner, Chantal tripped over an exposed tree root. Stephanie stopped to help her friend up. "Come on, we have to keep going."

They ran around another corner, what trees could do corners; Chantal running a little ahead of her friend. The sounds of the goblins faded into the background. Behind her, Chantal heard Stephanie let out a cry of surprise. Chantal twirled around, expected to see that her friend had tripped herself.

No sign of Stephanie.

"Steph!" Chantal cried out. "Where did you go? Steph?" Chantal turned around in a circle trying to figure out what had happened to her friend.

"STEPH!" Chantal cried out one more time.