Let us just say that preparing for the war wasn’t the most favorite time in Gustaw’s life. He spent his days idle. No army officer that somehow was still present in the castle wanted to have Gustaw around, no one wanted to have him at the stables, at the armory, even nearby the king’s chambers. They still remembered that he had been captured and was this close to revealing the kingdom’s most securely kept secrets. This close was actually very far away but nobody knew that Gustaw had no idea what was going on around him. From a very young age, he was neither interested in sport nor in politics. He wasted his days attending parties, excelled at ball dances, music, arts, and coffee meetings. He was laughed at by the knights, mistreated and ignored by his own father. His mother’s adoration for him finished when he reached adolescence and his sister’s interest in him ended irreversibly when she started hanging out with this peasant boy David.
Now he was standing in the center of the castle’s courtyard, holding one of Karina’s letters to the kingdom's women and came to the conclusion that she had more charisma than he had ever had under his handsome cover. And that cover was actually a cover for his intense shyness and sense of isolation. Oh, he wished that he was someone like Gwidon, whom his father adored. Oh, he wished he had some respect among the citizens of the kingdom. But the only thing he had were his looks.
And then, feeling quite worthless in his own eyes, paralyzed at the coming war, he saw this beautiful red-headed woman, who approached him with a broad smile.
‘Not again,’ thought he to himself; he had far too many beautiful women in his life, all of them interested in him from a very young age, driven by his popularity and royal descent. But then, after playing with him for some time, they all abandoned him for some more manly knight or lord. Being married to a prince was a challenge in itself and not everybody was willing to bear the burden of such a duty. To make matters worse, all his dates expected that there was something more in Gustaw than there actually was, so he made every single one of them disappointed.
‘You must be Prince Gustaw!’, exclaimed the woman, exposing her straight white teeth as if just the day before she had them fixed by some talented craftsman, ‘Avram’, she introduced herself, shaking his hand, which he didn’t even extend to greet her, ‘I’m glad that I found you, I thought that it would be difficult, but there you are, I managed to find the castle and you stand there in the center. It's as easy as taking candy from a baby!’
Gustaw was surprised at her strange confidence.
‘Were you looking for me?’
‘Yeah,’ she rolled her eyes and smiled even wider, ‘I was told that you would show me around. I have never been here before. I was told that you would tell me something about this kingdom.’
‘You were told by whom?’
‘Well,’ Avram rolled her eyes again, ‘First, the peasants, then the soldiers, then the horsemen, then the women. Everybody said that they were extremely busy and the only person that had nothing to do was the prince. YOU are the prince, aren’t you? You must be Prince Gustaw.’
Gustaw was just about to tell her that he had many important matters to take care of but as a matter of fact, he wasn’t able to recall even one which would be a good excuse.
‘You want ME to show you around?’
‘Sure. I always wanted to get a tour around the castle, to get to know the royals better. To get to know you.’
‘Since when?’
‘What since when?’
‘Since when have you wanted to get to know me?’
‘Since I first met you.’
‘Have we met? I wouldn’t forget such a woman, you’re really beautiful, believe me.’
‘Am I?’, Avram smiled in such a way as if she had just won a contest, ‘Oh, I wasn’t as pretty when we first met. I was just… plain. It took me some time to mature.’
‘It must have been one of the balls,’ Gustaw decided, ‘You must have been one of these young princesses. Have you seen me dance?’
‘No. Will you show me?’, Avram seemed to be really excited.
‘Not here. People are preparing for something serious. There’s war approaching and we shouldn’t be seen entertaining while others are preparing to kill.’
‘Tell me something about it!’ Avram rolled her eyes, ‘My whole life I was surrounded by men interested only in war. I’ve had it up to here!’
Her up to here was really high as she raised her hand and almost reached the sky.
‘Fine, I will take you around the castle.’
Gustaw told Avram stories about the kingdom, and surprisingly even to him, he knew quite a lot about it, recalled his own childhood, showed her family’s portraits hanging in the castle, and proudly presented to her his own paintings from his childhood and formative years. Avram was really enthusiastic and Gustaw suddenly felt very relaxed in her presence even though she was exceptionally beautiful. She behaved in such an unassuming way that the stress of his previous days disappeared and he was able to watch her look at herself from time to time in the palace's mirrors, constantly amazed at her own beauty. All of a sudden, she sneezed, being subjected to the castle’s draft, and covered her own face in her snots. She didn’t wipe it or do anything about it, so Gustaw took his handkerchief and wiped her face.
‘It looks unhygienic.’, he explained seeing her worried face.
‘So you wipe it?’, she was genuinely surprised, ‘You wipe your fluids? You wipe your asses when you shit, your snots when you have a runny nose, vomit when you throw up?’
‘What do you mean we? Don’t you?’
‘We… don’t.’ Avram answered honestly.
‘You don’t? Where are you from?’
‘From…’ Avram was looking for the answer in the drawers of her brain, then, desperate, she looked around and caught sight of one of the vases, a gift from a king, and read the sign under it, ‘Germany.’
‘Oh,’ Gustaw shrugged his shoulders, ‘That explains a lot.’
‘I really liked this tour,’ she said when they reached the courtyard, ‘You are a very interesting guide, I must say. Even though the castle is moderately furnished, you tell about it in such a way that it instantly looks prettier!’ Avram was excited and Gustaw didn’t know what kind of castles were in Germany, but he felt poor.
‘Well, it’s getting dark, maybe in the broad daylight it would seem a bit better,’ he laughed, knowing from his painting classes that light had an immense influence on perception.
‘It’s getting dark!’ Avram went red in the face, ‘I…I must go!’, with no other explanation, she ran from the courtyard.
‘Why don’t you stay for supper?’, Gustaw was woken up by her sudden departure.
‘I can’t!’, she shouted and disappeared behind the castle’s wall, ‘I’ll be here tomorrow!’
Gustaw gasped, but seeing that she had left her scarf, decided to run after her (and hand it to her back). Above all, he had nothing else to do, so he came to the conclusion that he might be of use.
But there was no sight of Avram, and having looked for her for a while, he decided that the forest surrounding the castle wasn’t the best place to stay in the dark. And yes, Gustaw didn’t feel comfortable in the darkness and there was no knight to protect him. He was once abducted, it might happen again.
Suddenly, just before him, he saw someone familiar who was about to jump from the path and hide into the bushes.
‘Marva?! For havens’ sake, what are you doing here?’
Marva stopped, looked at Gustaw, and smiled in her nasty way.
‘You know how dangerous it is?’ Gustaw was seriously worried, ‘Your brother is going to attack the kingdom, everybody is aware of it now. Do you know what people would do to a lonely Goblin wandering in the dark? Are you aware that by being here you are risking your life?’
Marva was overwhelmed by Gustaw’s care and she didn’t know what to say. She mumbled something under her nose.
‘I will just go home, then. I only wanted to see how the world looks outside. I don’t want to stay with my brother and look at him preparing for this war. He thinks that it is me that let you run away. I will be punished. He will make me marry some nasty Goblin.’
Gustaw got serious. He remembered how kind Marva was to him, the only person who talked to him while he was kept hostage. He recalled her interest in him and support. He also remembered witnessing a Goblin wedding ceremony and Marva’s genuine sadness at the jokes about the couple’s wedding night.
‘You must stay here then, I will prepare some hideout for you in the castle, but you must be cautious. You mustn’t walk like this in the light of the day. Otherwise, you will be killed.’
Marva patiently followed Gustaw back into the castle, this time having hidden under Gustaw’s cloak.
‘Who is this my Prince?’ the guard standing at the gate got interested in the presence of Gustaw’s guest.
‘It’s an old witch,’ Gustaw explained, ‘Erwin asked me to fetch her. He said that if I had nothing else to do I could at least bring her here.’
The guard looked under the hood and in the dark, he took Marva’s smile for a genuine smile of a nasty old woman, so he didn’t ask further questions. Gustaw placed Marva in his chamber because he didn’t have any other idea where it would be the safest. He ordered the dinner for both of them and placed her in his own bed.
‘I can sleep on the floor.’ Marva suggested shyly, ashamed of her own looks.
‘Don’t be silly, I can sleep on the floor.’
After a five-minute argument over who was the one sleeping on the floor, they decided that they could both sleep on the bed, without a threat of offending anyone’s dignity, being both royals in their own right.
‘I do feel awkward,’ Marva admitted, seeing Gustaw in his nightshirt, young and handsome.
‘Why is that so, Marva?’
‘You are way prettier.’
Gustaw laughed and handed her one of Karina’s nightgowns.
‘Well, you will have a prettier dress then.’
In the morning, when Gustaw woke up, there was no trait of Marva in his chamber. But beautiful Avram was strolling around the courtyard, singing songs, and playing with the children.
‘You look worried, my Prince,’ she put her hand on his cheek, ‘Has anything happened?’
‘My friend is missing’, Gustaw was overwhelmed by black thoughts that clouded over his head: If Marva had been captured by anyone in the kingdom, she would have been instantly imprisoned and decapitated. Taking into account circumstances, she might as well have been sent to Vandarok in pieces as a warning.
‘If he’s missing, you have to announce that to the castle’s guards. They will surely help you with your search.’
‘I can’t. It’s a special friend. A friend that isn’t supposed to be here. I hope she didn’t go far…’
‘So it’s a she!’, exclaimed Avram happy at her own discovery, ‘Is it your girlfriend?’
‘No. She’s a friend. She’s a dear friend.’
‘But not a girlfriend?’
Gustaw blushed.
‘I’m not sure my parents would approve.’
‘Oh…’, Avram saddened and looked away.
Gustaw also felt awkward but didn’t say a word. How could a woman like Avram understand the bond that he had with Marva? How could anyone understand such friendship? Gustaw trusted Marva, he cared for her, despite her race and her family. She was a genuinely good person. Honest, trustworthy, and kind. She was also real, not silly and superficial as these princesses he used to meet at kingdom’s balls.
‘I can help you find her if you want,’ Avram sensed that no matter how beautiful she was, it wouldn’t make Gustaw care for his missing friend any less. ‘Tell me something about her, then.’
Gustaw carefully observed the castle's courtyard.
‘Well… She’s really smart and really good to people. She’s not prejudiced. And she’s really talented. She can make beautiful things. She’s thoughtful and you honestly want everything good for her. And the family she grew up in… I thought that it was hard for me, but it seems that it was even harder for her. This brother of hers, my God, he’s a monster…’
‘You seem to care about her a lot. Do you love her?’
‘Do I love her? As a friend, for sure. She has done so much for me. She kept me alive. I’ve never been more grateful to anyone in my life.’
‘But you don’t love her as a woman?’
‘She’s not really a woman, you see. She’s of a different kind.’
‘So you wouldn’t be able to fall in love with her?’
‘In love?!’ Gustaw was overwhelmed again, ‘Why do you ask me such questions?’
‘You see, my Prince, I’m just checking if there’s any woman apart from me that could win your heart. I suppose that you can only fall in love with someone as beautiful as me. Someone who would give you this…’
Avram unbuttoned her dress and showed Gustaw her naked breast with a perfect protruding pink nipple, below there was a lovely stomach with a perfect round navel and the Prince’s eyes couldn’t help but to look down to the spot her left hip forming a curved path to her bosom.
‘No!’, Gustaw made Avram button up her dress, ‘I’m not in the mood.’
Gustaw looked at Avram and felt her disappointment. She looked as if she was offended by the rejection of her gift but, fortunately for him, didn’t try to undress again.
They didn’t talk much, just walked, Gustaw was all the time looking for Marva and imaging another possible dark scenario. Avram disappeared at dusk, this time Gustaw even didn’t try to make her stay. Instead, he went back to his chamber and was happy beyond measure to find Marva in his armchair devouring a bowl of apples.
‘So hungry!’, she explained with her mouth full.
‘Haven’t I told you that you are in extreme danger? No one can see you here, you might be killed!’
‘I was here all the time, why are you shouting at me? In the morning, I heard someone talking behind the door and I hid under the bed. The next thing I saw was you in the courtyard with this woman! So you have a girlfriend now?’
‘She’s not my girlfriend. She’s some German princess who is getting to know the country.’
‘Maybe she’s a German spy!’ Marva laughed, spitting pieces of apples on the carpet.
‘Even if she was a spy, she wouldn’t get the information she needed to conquer us. Your brother wasn’t able to.’
‘Maybe she is here to steal your heart!’
‘Maybe she is here to steal yours!’ Gustaw threw a plum at Marva and they both laughed. Marva enjoyed Gustaw laughing, she looked at him with a mix of admiration and care.
‘Marva, what do you think about our kingdom?’
‘In general? It’s fine.’
‘But it’s not as rich and beautiful as your kingdom?’
‘In general, not.’
‘And it’s also not as beautiful as Germany, I was told. Why would someone like you, a Princess owning the richest, the most beautiful palaces, decide to abandon it all for a far poorer abode?’
‘People leave various things for various reasons.’
‘Even their most valued possessions?’
‘I suppose even those.’, Marva saddened and went pale in the face.
Gustaw observed her for a while eating plums himself. She finished her apples and sat motionlessly deep in her thoughts. Gustaw was in the meantime adding pieces to the puzzle. Yes, Gustaw wasn’t stupid. And there was something about Marva’s sad expression which looked weirdly familiar.
‘Marva?’ Gustaw asked out of the blue when they were both lying on his royal bed. ‘What if someone wanted to switch into something else? For instance, for one part of the day he wanted to be one thing and for the night another?’
‘Then he’ll have to contact the witch. I know one witch that can do exactly the thing. I… someone I knew wanted to change into something else but it wasn’t possible for the whole time only part-time, but still, it worked…’
‘Ah, really? Do you know how I can get in contact with this witch?’
‘Sure, why?’ Marva was really sleepy.
‘I also have such a friend.’
Gustaw stormed into the witch’s hut early in the morning, having left Marva sleeping in his bed. But he was able to see how the first rays of sunlight made her skin lighter and from her head spread red curls of hair.
The witch was an old witch and she looked at Gustaw from the pot of boiling onion soup.
‘It is you who turned Marva into a woman, isn’t it?’
‘You mean, the Goblin princess? Yes, a silly girl. She fell in love with some handsome prince and sacrificed herself for him. She will come back to me heart-broken.’
‘I am this prince,’ Gustaw smiled shyly, ‘I want to ask you for a favor, witch.’
‘Yes, my Prince?’ the witch tasted a spoonful of her soup but didn’t manage to swallow.
‘I want you to turn me into a Goblin.’
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