A brief detour for the linguists in the audience. The phrasing "goblin top" is deliberately anachronistic internet slang. In traditional romance publishing, this would be called "The Queen and Her Feral Ward." But the internet chose "goblin top."
This matters because "Top" has a dual meaning. In fanfiction, "Top" refers to the dominant sexual partner. However, in this genre, "Top" is often used in the "fighter tier list" context (S-tier, A-tier, Top-tier). The Goblin is a "Top-tier" fighter. The brilliance of the keyword is the ambiguity. Is the queen adopting a goblin who is a top (dominant), or a top-tier goblin? Usually, the answer is both, which adds a layer of spice that traditional publishing blushes to mention.
According to historical accounts, Queen Victoria became acquainted with a small, peculiarly-named individual called Top. Described as being no taller than a thumb and having an uncanny goblin-like appearance, Top quickly captured the Queen's heart. The origins of Top are shrouded in mystery, with some claiming he was a real person with dwarfism or a similar condition, while others speculate he might have been a cleverly dressed individual or even a doll.
What did the queen learn from her grotesque adopted child? the queen who adopted a goblin top
One cannot discuss the queen who adopted a goblin top without discussing the worldbuilding of the Undercity. The story pulls no punches in describing the genocide of the goblin race. They are used as living shields in wars they do not belong to. Their ears are sold as "luck charms."
When the Queen legitimizes Rinn, she inadvertently legitimizes all Goblins. The middle third of the book is a brutal political thriller where guilds try to assassinate the queen to prevent a "species treason."
The climax involves the Goblin Tops—thousands of them—climbing the outer walls of the capital in a silent tide. They do not carry weapons. They carry buckets of water to put out a fire set by the Veil Dominion. In the rain, soaked and silent, they save the very humans who spat on them. It is a visual so powerful that readers report crying through the chapter. A brief detour for the linguists in the audience
The border between the Sunlit Realm and the Gray Waste was marked by a wall of white stone and a century of blood. It was a place where soldiers wore polished steel and goblins wore the shadows. Queen Elara, unlike her predecessors, did not stay behind the velvet curtains of the capital. She rode the border lines, her cloak less regal purple and more the dusty brown of the road.
It was during the aftermath of a skirmish—a rout, really, where the goblins scattered like roaches before the knights’ torches—that the Queen found him. He was not a warrior, nor a spy. He was a creature no larger than a badger, shivering beneath a burned-out thicket, clutching a piece of tarnished glass as if it were a diamond.
The knights drew their swords, expecting a bite or a trick. But the Queen saw something they did not. She saw fear, raw and mammalian. She dismounted, the mud ruining her slippers, and did the unthinkable: she offered her hand. In fanfiction, "Top" refers to the dominant sexual partner
"You are a long way from the dark, little one," she said. Her voice was not the commanding boom of a ruler, but the soft croon of a mother.
The goblin did not bite. He grasped her finger with a clawed, three-fingered hand. The Queen announced then that she would take him back to the castle.
"A pet?" the Captain of the Guard asked, sneering.
"No," the Queen replied, lifting the creature to her chest. "A son."