The Darkened King

As the house shook and the, once sunny, skies darkened, Sarah knew they were in trouble. She had barely had time to give her parents the abridged version of her tale before the trouble had begun. She certainly had not had enough time to force them to leave the house and make a run for it. Though, she mused, that would have been foolish. The Goblin King would have been able to find her family no matter where she attempted to hide them away at. Furthermore, at least she had wards and charms upon the house. It was a some-what protected area, much better than any others she could have found in such a short notice.

Once again, the house rattled and Sarah knew that her wards would not be able to keep out an enraged King, at least not for long. She had hoped that the wards, though simple, would have been able to draw on his power. Sarah should have known that her little magic would never be a match for his. She would never be able to best him in a duel of magic. Power and will she could kick his ass in any day, but magic was nearly foreign to her.

The little she knew focused on protection, not attacking, and it had been a slapjack study. Sarah had searched through old manuscripts, studied ancient mythologies, and poured her time, heart, and soul into finding a way to protect those she loved. Obviously, though her studies had not completely failed, they had also not been successful.

Karen and her father had been skeptical in believing her tale, she had not blamed them, and when they had believed it they had been enraged. Again, Sarah could not blame them. She had, after all, wished her little brother away to a stranger and all for a measly wish. That was equivalent of trying to selling him on Craig's list. Sarah had not even attempted to argue the fact that she had gotten him back, safely. Though that was mostly due to the fact that she was frightened of losing him again and not being able to save him. She had not even tried to stop Karen from yelling and shouting at her, not even as Sarah focused on keeping the house from falling in due to all the magic being thrown at it.

Mostly, they believed her because a storm seemed to surround their house, only their house, and it had nothing to do with freak weather. It had, in the end, been what forced her parents to believe her story was the truth and nothing but, except a few things over looked, the truth.

The storm and glowing wards forced Karen and her father to swallow the truth and get a piece of iron, Sarah kept a well stocked collection. She had learned, early on, that it was best to be prepared for anything and had begun her collection of anit-magical weapons. Though, admittedly, the collection was tiny she still felt, a little, safer with having it.

It was, however, impossible to feel safe when the walls of the house you are sitting in begin to shake and the windows rattle as if someone was pounding against them. Sarah knew she was, hopelessly, outmatched. She knew that her little understanding and independent study of wards and protection charms were pitiful. Sarah also knew that she could not simply give up.

Sure, Karen and her dad were not her favorite people in the world, but she loved them. Besides, the Goblin King was threatening them all and that included her little brother. Nobody fucked with her little brother and got away with it.

Toby, as it happened, was attempting to wear a brave face and not appear as frightened as he truly was. His valiant efforts, however, were failing miserably and Sarah could not help but want to hide him away from all the worlds, magical and not.

However, she could barely keep the wards around her home up and the goblins out. The little bastards were tricky and fast and completely exhausting. Sarah knew that he was using them as a way to exhort her power and it was working. She could not simply stand by as her family was attacked around her and she certainty would not give in without a fight.

She had gotten out of the Goblin King's grasp, not once but twice, and she would not escape just to fall back into it. Granted, the first time she had loads of help and even more luck and the second time...well she was still trying to puzzle that one out. Either way, she had beaten him twice and she would ensure that the third time was the charm.