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Chapter Text

"Give me the child."

"...Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen."

"For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great..."

"...Damn, I can never remember that line."

Idia says, reaching into the sash of his dress, one inspired by medieval fashion, and pulling out a small red book, the one he was reading a monologue from. He had a love for the theatrical, therefore his dress was from a play he had been in recently. He stood in a park on a stormy day, alone aside from his dog at his side, and a crow watching him far too closely, although he paid no attention to the bird. Idia reads over the monologue carefully.

"You have no power over me."

Thunder strikes, causing the dog beside him to begin barking.

"Oh, Cerberus..." Idia sighed before the clock at the center of the town struck 7.

"Oh, no, Cerberus! I don't believe it, it's 7 o'clock!" Idia exclaims, stuffing his book back in his sash and gesturing at the dog, telling him to stand. "Come on, we should've been home an hour ago." He calls before holding up the skirt of his dress and beginning to run home.

His house was nearly across town, or so it felt! He lived in an average neighborhood, with average neighbors, and a nice house. It wasn't bad at all and he knew it. But getting there in the rain was horrible! Water splashed beneath his feet as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him, his flaming hair now short and black from the rain.

Idia turns down multiple streets, eventually running down his driveway. His mother- well, stepmother- stood in the doorway of the house, watching as he ran home.

"It's not fair!" Idia cries out, throwing his skirt down.

"Oh, really?" His stepmother said. Idia responds by rolling his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I lost track of time-"

"Don't just sit there apologizing in the rain, get inside before you catch a cold." She said, brushing pink hair behind her ear as she waited for her son to enter.

"Come on Cerberus-"

"Not the dog!"

"But it's pouring-!"

"Into the garage!" Cerberus tilts his head down and walks to the garage. He seems dejected.

Idia storms into the house, pushing past his stepmother.

"Idia, you're an hour late-"

"I said I'm sorry!" Idia interrupts.

"Please let me finish." His stepmother raises her voice slightly. "Your father and I go out very rarely-"

"You go out every single weekend-"

"And I ask you to babysit only if it does not interfere with your plans!" She calls, following Idia as he slowly storms up the stairs, going further up toward the second floor as the argument progresses.

"How would you know what my plans are? You don't even ask me anymore!" Idia says with an accusatory tone. These quarrels are daily for him and his stepmother.

"I assume you'd tell me if you had a date! You should have dates at your age!" She calls as Idia climbs up the stairs further. His father exits a room, holding Idia's baby brother as the teenage boy stomps up the stairs.

"Idia, you're home! We were worried sick-"

"I can't do anything right, can I?!" Idia yelled, completely ignoring his father as he shut himself in his room. He needed out of those soaking wet clothes.

"He treats me like a wicked stepmother no matter what I say." Idia's stepmother leaned against the banister of the stairs as she sighs.

"I'll talk to him." Her husband reassured her.

Chapter Text

Idia had since changed into a more casual outfit, a white blouse with an ivory swirl waistcoat and blue jeans. He places a fake crown on his head as he peers into his vanity mirror, surrounded by fantasy books and cute plushies and photos of his mother, applying lipstick as he quoted that same monologue he did earlier to himself yet again.

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City... to take back the child that you have stolen..."

He whispered before there was a knock on his door, his head swiveling around to face the noise.

"Idia, can I talk to you?" Idia's father says.

"There's nothing to talk about!" Idia snaps, throwing the lipstick down on his vanity, making the table shake. "You're gonna be late if you don't get going."

"We've fed Ortho and we've put him to bed, we have to leave now but we'll be home by midnight, okay?" And like that, footsteps can be heard getting softer and softer as Idia's dad walks away from his room.

"You really did want to talk to me, did you?" Idia scowls under his breath as he stands up. "Practically broke down the door!" He then flopped onto his bed, looking at the ceiling above him and the walls around him.

His walls are covered in posters, all about theatre and all things fantasy. Trinkets are everywhere, all throughout his room. It's childish and he knows it. Especially his shelf of stuffed animals... wait.

Idia squints as he looks at the said shelf.

"Panic!" Idia calls, sitting up as he notices his favorite stuffed animal missing. It was a little blue imp, usually sitting alongside a red imp stuffed animal. "Someone's been in my room again!"

"I hate it, I hate it!" Idia sneered as he stood up and stormed out of his room and into his parents' room, where Ortho's crib was, holding a crying young child inside of it. Idia stops in the doorway and peers at the floor, where a blue imp stuffed animal lay.

"I hate you! I hate you!!" He cursed as he picked up the stuffed animal and held it close to his chest. "Oh, someone take me away from this awful place!" The storm outside rages on, and Ortho's crying doesn't cease.

"What do you want? Do you want a story?" Idia says, leaning over the edge of the crib. "I'll give you a story."

"Once upon a time, there was a handsome young boy whose stepmother always made him stay home with the baby. And the baby was spoiled and a brat and cried non-stop. And the boy was practically a slave." Idia stood up, pacing slightly as he spoke, soon facing the mirror on the wall near Ortho's crib.

"But what no one knew was that the Goblin King had fallen in love with the boy, and he had given him special powers. And one night after a long day of work, he called on the goblins for help."

The chest at the end of Idia's parents' bed rattled just slightly, enough for no one to notice.

"Shh... listen." A voice that may normally be quite loud, yet whispered so as to not be caught now, said to the other goblins within the chest

"'Say your right words' the goblins said, 'and we'll take the baby to our King, and you'll be free.' But the boy knew that if he said the words, the Goblin King would keep the baby forever and ever. And turn him into a goblin! And so he suffered in silence, until one night, when he was exhausted from the child's demands and hurt by the harsh words of his stepmother, he could no longer stand it."

Despite Idia's compelling story, Ortho doesn't quit crying. Idia groans as he picks the baby up.

"Alright, alright! Come on, quit crying." He says as he bounces the boy, trying to lull him into staying.

"Stop it! I'll say the words." Idia threatens as the boy in his arms doesn't quiet at all. "No, I mustn't say..." He sighs before adjusting how he holds his brother, holding Ortho up in the air. "I wish..."

More rustling comes from the chest.

"Listen! He's going to say it!"

"Say what?"

"Shut up!"

"I can bare it no longer!" Idia holds Ortho up further in the air. "Goblin King, Goblin King, wherever you may be, take this child of mine far away from me!" Ortho remains in Idia's arms, still wailing.

"Awww..."

"That's not it! Where'd he learn that rubbish? It doesn't even start with 'I wish'! Hmph!"

"Oh, Ortho, stop it!" Idia groans as he holds Ortho normally once again, positioned on his hip. "I wish I did know what to say to make the goblins take you away."

"'I wish the goblins would come and take you away right now!' That's not hard, is it? Hmmm??"

"I wish... I wish..." Idia stammers before sighing. He places Ortho down in the crib, tucking him in.

"Did he say it?"

"Shut up!"

Idia begins to leave the room but speaks before he goes to turn the light off.

"I wish the goblins would come and take you away." Idia flips the light switch. "Right now."

Chapter Text

The crying stops.

Idia stops and stands in the doorway for a moment. He slowly turns around to face the room, dark and lifeless aside from the storm and moonlight pouring in from the balcony door.

"Ortho...?"

Idia frantically tries to turn on the light, but the light doesn't come on.

"Ortho are you alright?" He says, his voice quavering as he approaches the crib. He sees movement under the sheets and pulls them away, revealing...

Nothing.

He was gone.

Idia had little time to dwell on this. As soon as he pulled back the blankets, the storm outside grew more dangerous. It's hard to focus on anything, with all the movement out of the corners of his eyes that disappear as soon as he looks in the direction and all of the maniacal giggling.

Unbeknownst to Idia, a crow just outside the window flies onto the balcony and flaps against the balcony door as if trying to get in, and Idia is far too busy trying to get a grasp on his surroundings to realize until the balcony doors swing open.

The rain around the house stops and the crow rests on the floor before transforming into... a human?

No.

That couldn't be human. He couldn't be human.

Idia looked up at the figure, who was about a foot taller than him. The man in front of him, whatever he was, must've been taking the form of a crow for simplicity. Despite the feathers around his cheeks, he looked more... draconic.

The towering figure's long black hair blew elegantly in the wind alongside his long, sparkly cape, dramatizing his entrance more than the glitter did. He had bright green eyes, a set of horns atop his head, and a smile that Idia felt charmed by despite being mostly terrified of this intruder.

"You're him, aren't you? You're the Goblin King..." Idia whispered, his voice shaky. The regret settles in almost immediately. "I want my brother back, please, if it's all the same-"

"What's said is said." The Goblin King said with a pout in his voice. Idia seems dejected.

"But I didn't mean to-"

"Oh, you didn't?" His voice holds an amount of cruelty to it. Like he holds no sympathy for taking Idia's brother.

"

...Well then, where did you take him?" The faerie approaches the boy as he speaks, looking down at him.

"You know very well where he is."

"Please bring him back. Please." Idia feels the uneasiness in his stomach expand as it seems that his pleading is doing nothing.

"Idia," The Goblin King begins circling Idia, like a predator circling its prey, "go back to your room. Play with your toys and your costumes. Forget about the baby." His voice is so smooth, and he's so cunning and charming, it's just the impression he gives. But Idia regrets giving his brother away more than he cares about this exchange.

"...I can't." Idia whispers. Unimpressed, the Goblin King faces him once again.

"I've brought you a gift." With the flick of his wrist, he's holding a crystal ball. "It's a crystal, nothing more, but if you turn it this way, and look into it... it will show you your dreams." He begins juggling the crystal ball, performing tricks that captivate Idia, his eyes following the crystal in the other's hands.

"But this isn't a gift for an ordinary boy who takes care of a screaming baby." He holds the crystal stationary again. "Do you want it?"

"It's..." Idia stammers, pausing, trying to find the words to say this kindly. "It's not that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do for me I just- ...I want my brother back. He must be terrified-"

"Idia."

His voice suddenly grows more loud and demanding. He turns his hand, and the crystal turns into a snake, coiling around his hand with a hiss.

"Don't defy me."

He throws the snake at Idia. It wraps around his neck, staying there until Idia gets hold of it and throws it to the ground. He watches as it turns into a line of connected pieces of fabric, then a goblin that scurries away under the bed.

"You're no match for me, Idia." The Goblin King's voice is full of confidence and pride as he talks.

"I don't care, I'll do whatever it takes. Please, tell me where he is." Idia begs. With reluctance, the Goblin King turns around and walks onto the balcony, Idia trailing behind him. Before him, he sees a large and intricate maze. The Goblin King points to the kingdom in the middle of this labyrinth.

"He's there, in my castle." He allows the size of the labyrinth to sink in. "Do you wish to continue searching for him?"

"Is it the castle in the center...?" Idia says, mostly to himself, knowing it's a stupid, redundant question.

"Turn back, Idia! Turn back before it's too late!" The other urges, but Idia refuses to let him convince him to not go after Ortho.

"But I can't! I can't just leave him there!"

"Such a pity..." He hums, his voice seeming to fade away. Idia stares at the labyrinth one more time.

"Well, it doesn't seem too far."

"It's farther than you think." Idia jumps, previously under the impression that he had left, looking back to face the other. "Time is of the essence." He raises his arm and adjusts the hands on a clock displaying 13 numbers.

"You have 13 hours to solve the Labyrinth before your baby brother becomes one of us."

"Forever."

He fades into the scenery, leaving Idia alone. With no way back home and nowhere else to go except into the Labyrinth.

"The Labyrinth. ...It doesn't look that hard." Idia takes a deep breath. "Well, come on feet!"