Hunt for the Goblin Queen

By Hannah Carter

“What we have here is a mystery, my friends.” Ten-year-old Ana addressed the row of stuffed animals—and one real girl—that sat at attention.

The girl raised her hand, and Ana swallowed a sigh. “Yes, Mabel?”

“This is just a pretend mystery, right?”

Ana loved her cousin dearly, but, by Shakespeare’s pen, she could be dense sometimes. “Yes. It’s just a pretend mystery.”

Mabel nodded, apparently satisfied, even though she’d probably ask a hundred variations of that same question before their playdate was over.

“A dragon has gone missing from the camp.” Ana crept closer. “And I have it on top authority that one of you knows where it is—because you’re working for the Goblin Queen!”

Mabel gasped, her eyes wide. “A real dragon or a stuffed one?”

“One of the real ones.”

Mabel’s eyes grew even bigger. “Oh, no! Poor thing. I promise—I didn’t take the dragon.”

Ana inhaled deeply. “Yes, Mabel. I know. Trust me. There’s no way you’d steal anything. You’d start crying the second you took it, then turn around and tattle on yourself.”

Mabel nodded serenely, like Ana had complimented her. Which maybe Ana had; it was hard to tell. Mabel was Mabel, and thank goodness there was one of her in the world—but only one.

“So now… we look for clues.” Ana snapped her fingers and conjured a magnifying glass and bent down to study the lineup. Stuffed, grinning faces stared back at her, one of them concealing the true intentions of a heinous henchman for a malicious mastermind.

Mabel picked up the bear next to her. “This one isn’t it. He’s too cute.”

Ana studied the one Mabel held to her chest. “Wait—look!”

With two fingers, she pried off a note that was attached to the bottom of the bear’s foot. “I have your dragon. Follow my clues if you want to see her alive again. Go to the dragon house and look for the map.”

“I knew it!” Ana crowed. “He was the Goblin Queen’s minion!”

Mabel squeaked and tossed the bear down. “I’ve been betrayed by fluffy cuteness.”

“It’s always the snuggly ones.”

The girls left Ana’s house and darted across the camp to where a large barn stood, bright and bold with flags waving in the wind. A wizard on top of a dark green dragon waved to them as he landed. The barn was the centerpiece of the wizards’ camp, the small domain where Ana lived, since wizards weren’t allowed to participate much in “proper society” or own property.

But who cared about “proper society” anyway? She had her dragons, her parents, and Mabel. What else could society offer her?

She pushed open the barn doors, and several of the dragons inside swiveled their long necks toward her. Ana wasn’t a dragon-tongue, so she wasn’t sure what they said, but she imagined they were happy to see her.

Well, maybe not Arvack, who snorted and turned his back, but everyone else.

“Scour every corner! We must find the Goblin Queen’s map before she destroys the entire town with a dragon!” Ana darted into the first stall, but Mabel froze by the second.

“Will she really—” Mabel began.

Ana rolled her eyes. “No, Mabel. It’s all just pretend.”

“Oh.” Mabel entered the second stall and squealed. “Oh, no!”

“What?” Ana peeked over the stall ledge, and Mabel waved a note around.

“Look! The Goblin Queen took Noni and is hiding her in Oberon Woods!” Mabel’s face turned pale. “Noni is my favorite dragon! I hope the Goblin Queen doesn’t hurt her.”

Ana vaulted over the short fence, grabbed Mabel’s hand, and headed for the back exit. “It’s pretend.”

“I know!” Mabel sniffled. “But I still hope Noni isn’t scared. She doesn’t know it’s pretend.”

Oberon Woods was right outside the camp. Mabel clung to Ana’s back and trembled. “It’s dark. And spooky. I bet Noni is scared.”

Ana snapped her fingers and held up her palm. A light appeared there, and Mabel relaxed a little.

“I always forget you can do that.” Mabel snuggled in closer. “It’s not so scary now.”

“Good.” Ana reached over her shoulder and patted Mabel’s head. “Stay with me. I’m sure the Goblin Queen could be—”

“Grrrroar!” The Goblin Queen, covered in weeds and mud, jumped out from behind a tree.

Mabel shrieked and dug her nails into Ana’s shoulder. Ana screamed as well, but more from pain as Mabel dragged her to the ground.

Behind the Queen, Noni trumpeted and flapped her wings.

“You girls shouldn’t have come for your dragon!” The queen stomped toward them, her teeth bared. “Now I get to eat you!”

Ana shoved her light at the queen’s dirty face. “You’ll have to get through me first!”

She swung her fist, but the queen dodged and tackled Ana. They both rolled to the ground.

“Om-nom-nom!” The queen pressed her lips to Ana’s face and made childish eating noises. “Too slow. I got you again!”

“Mama!” Ana giggled and shoved her mother off. “I almost had you.”

“You did. You were very valiant, and you’ll win next time, I’m sure.” Mama hoisted Ana up and dusted them both off. “Where’s Mabel?”

Ana glanced behind her, where Mabel should have been cowering.

Her heartbeat sped up. “Mabel? Mabel, we were just pretending! It’s only my mama!”

“Oh, I know!”

Ana swiveled back around to find Mabel perched on top of Noni’s head. She stroked the dragon’s scales and pressed a kiss there. “But I told you. Noni didn’t know we were pretending, and she was scared.”

Ana grinned and joined her cousin on Noni’s back. “I’m glad you’re you, Mabel.”

Mabel’s eyes sparkled. “Thanks. I’m glad you beat the Goblin Queen and we found Noni.” She leaned back against Ana’s chest and shook her head, then she added, “But the Goblin Queen is just pretend… right?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hannah Carter is just a girl who wakes up every day hoping it will be the day she discovers she’s secretly a mermaid. Her work has been included in several anthologies: Whispers From Before, The Depths We’ll Go, Havok’s Prismatic, and Finding God in Anime. Her short story, “Lara,” won a competition, and she has two published novellas, “Amir and the Moon” and “Seashells.”

---

More Stories | Author Website |Facebook | Instagram