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The
pandemonium of the busy throne room had somehow been shaped into a semblance of
order, the goblin maids tending to the cleaning duties, the goblin guards
continuing to do the exact opposite of their obligations.
Jareth stood in the center of the small room, conveying orders and
directing traffic. This
was a day to celebrate triumph. The Goblin King's plans were on the verge of
being put into action and newfound power was almost at the tips of his fingers.
Frustration swelled within him as he brought to mind the simplicity his task
could have taken on; if only he could have merely transported Sarah to the
plateau! Even if she had refused
him, he would have merely threatened to launch her friends from the summit of
the structure. Unfortunately, the
stone enclosed within the shadows of the caves atop the plateau would interfere
with the work of his crystals. Mediocre
power and immense power could not mingle or be utilized in the same precinct
without some type of catastrophe. To
make matters worse, his own power was not great enough to ferry Sarah to her
destination at the moment. Besides,
as it was said by elfin legend, a great journey had to be made in order to
retrieve the powerful talisman, or the magical item would not reveal itself.
Surely the elves had designed it this way so that the receiver would have
proven their worth. He
pointed to a stumpy goblin and called out to him, "You there!"
Looking around as if to see that he was the focus of attention, the
goblin began to fidget. "Find
some rations," Jareth commanded cheerfully, surprising the victim of his
attentions with his buoyant spirits. "And you," he continued, finding
a new dolt to point his finger at, "find some mountain-climbing equipment!!
Hurry!" With
an energetic burst, the Goblin King pounced onto his throne, standing tall above
the creatures in the bustling throne room. "Everyone to work! If it's at
all possible, I want my treasure by the end of a seven-day turn! Then we will
rejoice!" Isabelle
skipped into the room from the archway to the left of Jareth. Her brown hair
swung from side to side and glittered unusually in the light, capturing the
sparkle of her warm brown eyes and blending with her cream-colored face. Holding
the tattered ends of her skirt in her slender hands, she trotted happily across
the floor and stopped to look up at Jareth. His happiness was reflected in her
face as he towered over the room of servants, calling out demands and
reprimanding idiocy. The black pupils of her glittering eyes expanded and
swallowed the irises as she took in his sight as a child would that of a hero. Veering
his concentration from handing out tasks to speaking with the small goblin girl
at the foot of his throne, Jareth hopped smoothly from the large chair and bent
down to Isabelle's height. Jareth lifted her high above his head as she giggled
with extreme pleasure, then settled in his throne and situated Isabelle on his
lap. "How
has your morning been, my dear?" he asked very dutifully. "Lovely,"
she stated happily as she brushed a wisp of long hair from her face. With
a wistful smile he questioned, "And what is your fancy, my dear?" She
was suddenly grabbed by Sooty, who declared, “Come child, put on your shawl,
you’ll take cold in this place!” “You
know, dearest Sooty, I was speaking to her at the moment,” Jareth proclaimed
without anger. “That's
all good'n well, yer highness, but I'd have to be takin' care'o the girl.”
She looked away from the grinning Goblin King and whispered into
Isabelle’s ear when he wasn’t looking.
“You could swear the man was in love, by the way he’s acting!” “You
think so Sooty?” Isabelle asked excitedly, her sudden happiness briefly
catching the wandering Jareth’s eye. “Shh...Child
hush, doncha let him hear that; ain’t nothin’ worse than tellin’ a man
he’s in love when he don’t wanta believe it.”
She put her hand on the girl’s shining hair.
“Doncha think nothin’ of it, it’ll wear off by tomorra.” Jareth
finally reverted his attention back to the girl.
“Well, sakes woman, are you done with her now?” “All
yours, yer highness.” “Now,
what is your wish, dearest Isabelle?” "A
wish, dear sir," she declared with poetic emphasis. A
playful grin tugged at the corners of Jareth's mouth as he prodded further,
"What would you wish, my dear?" "To
fly, if you please!" she exclaimed with delight. "Then,
so be it," he proclaimed. Silently
and gently he placed her on the floor as she gazed at him with wide, tender eyes;
reverence was reflected in her facial expression. Jareth swept his hand
gracefully through the air above, as if to catch something overhead.
As he lowered his hand to Isabelle's height, a glistening crystal sphere
was in his palm, spinning and twirling madly in place.
A gentle blow released the crystal from his grasp and sent it on the wind,
gliding through the air and veering around to Isabelle's back. The young goblin
turned her head to watch it as it oscillated between her shoulder blades, a
gleeful and wondering look on her face. With a sudden discharge of illumination,
the crystal globe burst as a bubble, causing Isabelle to blink in response. The
dazzling glow diminished to expose a pair of iridescent wings that had adhered
themselves amidst the girl's shoulders. Effortlessly
the wings began to flap, flitting with such speed that they no longer had linear
definition, but were light-reflecting blurs against her back. She
giggled with extreme pleasure as she escalated toward the ceiling, towering over
the numerous gawking servants of the palace.
Growing accustomed to the luminous, housefly wings, Isabelle soared
through the throne room, swooping low and grazing the floor with her fingertips,
hovering in front of the mirrors to admire her wings, turning somersaults in
midair. As she did so, Jareth broke
out into song:
There once was a child,
Whose wish was to fly,
To pass all night entities in her flight.
In one sudden blur,
A star fell for her,
And with that wish she owned the night! Isabelle
swooped down and fluttered in rounds about the Goblin King's crown, teasing his
free-flowing hair as she did so. He was pleased to see such happiness in her
expression. For once he found joy in causing another happiness besides himself. He
continued to chant:
Fly, fly high!
Owner of the sky,
Bring down a star for me.
Capture the moon,
And the sky's navy blue,
In your eyes for all to see. Isabelle
drifted along the walls of the room, finally floating back down and hanging
above Jareth, her small, fragile hand stretched out for his. Tenderly he grasped
her delicate hand as she navigated him and a procession of attendants through
the grey stone hallways and into the tremendous dining room. Throughout the
journey, Jareth sang:
"Hello lovely maid!"
A stranger once said,
"What I would do to fly with you!"
As she fin'ly did part,
He called with a start,
A request into the night so blue...
"Fly, fly high!
Owner of the sky,
Bring down a star for me!
Capture the moon,
And the sky's navy blue in your eyes
and take them to me." The
parade of goblin servants formed an awkward circle around the long table at the
hub of the banquet room, joining the king in his melody to the little girl:
Oh my!
She flies high!
Pass on by!
Touch the sky! Isabelle
glided further into the air and perched herself atop the chandelier, causing it
to jingle and sway a she rested on its wire frame.
She grinned contentedly at the onlookers gathered below her. Singularly,
the Goblin King continued with the remainder of the tune:
If she only could know,
That the moon's soft, warm glow,
And the stars in their rhythmic dance of light,
Belonged only to her,
And were not meant to stir,
From her dark, deep, and silent black night.
Fly, fly high!
Owner of the sky,
Keep all the stars for you.
Hold your white moon,
And the sky's navy blue,
In your eyes so lovely and true. Drifting
from her position on the chandelier and its tinkling glass adornments, the young
goblin zipped through the room and down the corridors, back to the throne room
as a long line of servants stormed after her, Jareth in the lead. *** Sarah
awoke to the sound of music and laughter. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she
laboriously rose from her reclining position in the bed and maneuvered her legs
from under the restless silk sheets. As
she looked down at her bare feet, she tried to recall to memory occurrences of
the night before. Only
vague images of sweet dreams captured her mind's eye. Astonished that she had
not waken from her slumber because of the strangeness of sleeping in an
unfamiliar bed, dilemmas that had been vexing her, and the enmity that had been
seething within her, Sarah was tempted to pinch herself to confirm the fact that
she was not dreaming. The
most recent memory she had was that of the harassment the guards outside of her
door had put upon the small goblin girl, the abrupt appearance of Jareth, and
his show of concern for the young girl and her well being. Music
wafted into her room from the floors below; she rose from the bed and sauntered
toward the dresser and its mirror. The notion of using it to spy on the
inhabitants below crossed her mind, but upon reaching the dresser she found the
mirror to be missing. Inferring that Jareth knew that she had once used it to
find her companions, Sarah cursed herself for having been so obvious the night
before; during their walk to the banquet hall she had let him manipulate her,
and had watched with inactivity as he proceeded to take her friends away. He
handled her emotions like playthings; swindling her out of the control of her
own thoughts and memories was probably a mere diversion to him – like tossing
a rat into a maze and seeing what it does.
She chuckled at the irony of her thought.
"Guess he's already done that to me," she mumbled. Frigid
rock stung her bare feet as she walked across the room in utter frustration,
nervously moving her fingers and rubbing her hands, searching for a plan that
would not be found. She shifted to the tapestry-like rug that was placed
inconveniently about a yard away from her bed and restricted her pacing to the
small region that it covered. Downstairs
she could detect the various sounds of rejoicing, merrymaking, and the delight
that accompanied it, wondering why
she could not shed all of her troubles and feel their delight, as well. Her
curiosity begged for her to find out the source of the jubilation that was
occurring below her. A briskness took the place of the sluggishness of her walk;
she snatched her robe and pulled it on and rushed to her chamber door. She slid
the small panel aside and gazed out the narrow opening, only to find herself eye
to eye with a repulsive-looking guard. Jerking
back and shouting in surprise, Sarah regained her composure and gazed through
the hole, looking into the yellowish, bulging eyes of the guard once again. It
seemed quite absurd to Sarah for the Goblin to be standing so terribly close to
the door, apparently waiting for her to open it. "Whad're
you starin' at?" it questioned as it scrutinized Sarah through the aperture. Sarah
had learned that the only way to converse with these creatures was to bring her
mind to an extremely low elevation. "That's
what I was going to ask you," she stated plainly. "I
asked first," it declared indignantly. "I
was staring at you," Sarah replied. "Now it's your turn." The
guard rolled his eyes upward as if trying to decide what it had been looking at,
but never had an opportunity to. Sarah
poked her fingers into its revolting eyes and swung the door outward, ramming it
into the guard as she raced down the hall. After turning the corner, she spotted
an ornate door that was slightly ajar. Time
being her enemy at the moment, she did not glance within before she took refuge
in the room. Luckily, Jareth, nor
anyone else, was awaiting her arrival there.
She peeked through the crack and saw the goblin ricocheting against the
walls, his helmet clanking as he made his blind search for his escaped prisoner.
Soon he found the stairway, and Sarah could hear him bouncing down the
steps, letting out a yelp with each meeting with the ground. With
one last glance at the goblin, Sarah silently shut the door of the room she was
in. A long sigh escaped her lips as
she put her back to the wall and slid down against it, drawing her knees to her
chest. She swept the hair from her eyes as she gazed in wonder at the contents
of the room. The
stone floor was lit from one angle by a stained glass window to the right of her;
it was very similar to the stained glass window she had encountered in her first
bedroom. Large tapestries covered
the other two walls of the room, and the entire room possessed the closeness of
a chapel. On the opposing wall was
an entrance made completely of a thick layer of cut crystal with two silver
doorknobs placed in the center. Patches
of tinted light came in from the colorful glass windows and shed rays of light
onto the dusty air. The cut-crystal
door captured these rays, giving it a shimmering iridescence. Sarah
rose from her location at the base of the wall and steadily made her way toward
the majestic doorway, preparing for an attempt to peer through its exterior and
see what could lie beyond. Different
hues of illumination flickered across her face as she passed the beams of color
that had sifted through the stained glass window.
Stopping a few feet from the doorway, she bent over to glance inside. Suddenly,
a stone from the ground raced up from its position in front of the crystal
portal, creating a long column of rock that was stationed between Sarah and her
destination. The stone column was her height and, with silent fluidity, the once
flat surface of the cylinder-like formation shaped and molded itself into what
resembled a face. Its thick grey
mustache covered the upper lip, the lower lip fat and comical, protruding from
beneath the mimicked hair as if it were swollen; the rock column lacked a nose,
but this was because its eyes were so enormous that they covered the area that a
nose might occupy. Its voice was
deep and harsh, and it looked a lot like Hitler. "Don't
breathe on the glass," it commanded hoarsely. "Excuse
me?" Sarah said, still in shock from the column's sudden appearance. It
twitched its mustache indignantly and replied,"That nose of yours, which
you probably think is so adorable, is most likely full of all kinds of oils and
germs and all of those other disgusting things that people carry, and, once you
press it on this glass, it will ruin its magnificent splendor and someone will
have to risk getting whatever diseases you might have when they rub it off." It twitched its nose disgustedly. "Then again, you probably wouldn't care." Experience
was on Sarah's side, and she knew better than to let the creatures of the
Underground cause her any hindrance. If she couldn't defy them, she could always
outsmart them; and Sarah was very certain of her own intelligence.
She ignored the grouchy piece of stone and squinted her eyes to make out
the shapes beyond the doorway; it was difficult, because they were distorted by
the cut of the crystal. Obviously
displeased by Sarah's lack of attention, the stone column went on to grumble to
itself about all of the inadequacies that humans portrayed and how the world
might be better off without the faulty creatures. Sarah
slid to the right of the grumbling column and commenced to walk past it, when
another stone column shot into position directly beside it.
The face that formed from the solid rock was more youthful and showed a
softer expression. Its thin lips
broadened into a kind smile as its small, human-like eyes squinted above its
blossoming cheeks. "Aw,
come on Cantankerous – I'm sure she didn't mean any harm," the shorter,
gentler column countered on her behalf. "Of
course she did. Besides Altruist,
the other avid human who says he rules this castle told us not to let anyone in,"
Cantankerous explained. "Avid?"
Sarah said, cocking an eyebrow. She
smirked. "Jareth, of course.
Must agree with him there." Another
column popped above level to the left of Cantankerous at this moment, seeming to
be female by the full, grey eyelashes and feminine lips. "What
he means by avid is greedy," the female column interpreted to Sarah. "I
know," Sarah replied, chuckling at the situation. "I
don't need you to translate for me Consiliate. If the human wants to know what I
mean she can use her microscopic brain to figure it out, or she can find a
dictator," the gruff column argued. "That's
a dictionary, not a dictator, Cantankerous," Altruist pointed out. Cantankerous
almost seemed to blush in embarrassment as he replied, "Well,
um...yes...that's what I meant to say. But,
back to the point – she needs to leave! That
is the main point! Like I said, the human with the unkempt hair told us not to
allow anyone near the premises. So,
go away rude girl!" "You're
a hypocrite, and that's not what the man said," Consiliate asserted.
"He said not to allow anyone near the premises who did not have the
password." She focused her
attention back to Sarah. "Do
you have the password?" Sarah
bit her lip and replied,"Well, I-" "See,
she doesn't know it," Cantankerous declared impatiently. "I
bet she knows it," Altruist claimed, "she's just having trouble
remembering it." "In
that case," Consiliate added with excitement, "we'll have to help her
along." "Oh
no, we are bloody sure not going to help her along!" Cantankerous retorted. "What
harm could it do? Even if she doesn't know, giving her a clue isn't going to
help her guess it. However," Altruist continued, "it will bring it
back to mind if she does know it." "Nothing
doing!" Cantankerous cried. "Listen
you grumpy old goat," Consiliate ordered, "if you don't shut that fat
lip of yours up I'm going to show you what for!" Sarah
considered the unlikely triplet of stones: one being kind but short-tempered,
the other grouchy and ill-mannered, and the third having a loving nature that
would not allow him to participate in any argument that involved two
short-tempered beings. Watching
the scene with a great deal of amusement, Sarah tuned back into the verbal
confrontation. "And
how do you plan to show me what for?" Cantankerous snickered. Consiliate's
voice took on a sense of doom as she replied, "You don't want to find out." Cantankerous's
sarcastic grin shrank, his facial expression went blank, and he became silent.
It appeared she had well-know methods of biting back which left him speechless. "Now,
how does three attempts at the password sound?" Consiliate asked Sarah with
a sudden cheerfulness, looking to Cantankerous for opposition, but finding none. "And
a hint," Altruist added, smiling. At
this remark Cantankerous looked as if he might argue, but he seemed to think
about the female column's threats and decided against it. "And
a hint," Consiliate confirmed. Sarah
thought about the number of possibilities for a password and wondered what would
happen if she was incorrect all three times.
"What is the hint?" she asked. The
two kinder columns looked to each other as if trying to think of one, and
Altruist finally spoke up, "It's a name." Feeling
somewhat relieved that the possibilities had been narrowed down, Sarah furrowed
her brow in thought and rubbed at her cool hands nervously. Logical names ran through her mind as she rummaged for the
most probable ones. Unfortunately,
her knowledge of Jareth's personal life was limited and she had few names to
choose from. "Toby,"
she guessed, almost certain that it would be incorrect. Consiliate
looked doubtfully to Altruist and replied,"I'm afraid not." "Jareth,"
she stated hopefully. "Uh,
uh," Altruist replied gloomily. "I
wonder if she even knew it in the first place. She's not even close to getting
it right," Consiliate said with disdain to Cantankerous. "I
told you," Cantankerous declared scornfully. "I'm
sorry dear," Consiliate said to Sarah sincerely, "but we're going to
have to turn you in to the owner of this castle. Just be cooperative and give me
your name." Sarah
paused and thought about the alternatives.
Consiliate seemed to know what she was pondering for she added,
"He'll find you anyway if you don't." There
was a great deal of truth in this statement and Sarah decided to give them her
name just for the sake of finding out the consequences.
"Sarah," she stated in despair. "Well,
I don't believe it!" Cantankerous exclaimed as his face flattened back out
into the smooth rock surface and the column that bore him slid back underground,
unexpectedly removing him from sight. "Good
show!" Consiliate complimented with excitement as she too disappeared into
the stone floor. "I
was sure she'd get it right!" Altruist declared happily as he joined his
friends and once again became a normal portion of the tiled, rock floor of the
chamber. Suddenly
alone, Sarah stared at the ground in disbelief at her incredible fortune.
Not only was she shocked to see them depart so quickly, but was astounded
as well to discover that Jareth had used her own name as a password into what
seemed to be an important room. Carefully
stepping over the station that the stone characters had once been standing in,
Sarah made her way to the front of the lovely door and apprehensively turned the
carved, silver doorknob, swinging the heavy, crystal sheet with silence and
ease. The
vault beyond was of modest size, lined with golden bookcases that held
knickknacks and other ornaments of all sorts, including leather bound books, the
spines of which were blanketed with elegant gold and silver letters.
An ebony, iron-rod sofa was positioned on the opposing wall, velvet
cushions neatly placed against the arms and support of the dark, metal chair.
The object that seemed of greatest significance was the large crystal
globe in the center of the room. It’s spherical surface was braced by a black
and gold wire frame that rose about a foot from the granite tiled ground, the
glass formation itself three feet in both width and length. Protruding from the
wire frame of the globe's support was a bowl-shaped apparatus, another small
sphere resting in its nest-like design. Anxiety
took over Sarah's emotions as she approached the mysterious object.
She took in its existence with wonder as she circled the sphere numerous
times. The sound of music and
merriment once again drifted into her once oblivious ears, allowing her to
ponder its cause another time. Synchronized
to her thoughts, the depths of the globe shimmered spectacularly and it revealed
to her an image of the bustling throne room. Goblins
scurried about the room as usual, Jareth looking on contentedly, the young
goblin maid from the previous night sitting in his lap.
Man and girl communicated, laughing frequently at each others remarks,
somehow dividing both an age barrier and jumping the hurdle of difference of
origin. No longer seeming cruel and
coldhearted, Jareth baffled Sarah with his abrupt fluctuation of character. Sarah
diverted her attention from the scene within the tremendous crystal globe and
surveyed the shelves of ornaments. Bare feet silently touching the ground as she
moved steadily toward the shelves, she noticed an oriental ebony box that looked
much like the jewelry box she had encountered in the clearing behind her home.
Airy music touched her senses as she turned the superb case over and
pressed the sapphire that was the nucleus of the underside of the box.
Effortlessly sliding open, the panel moved to reveal three compartments
and a twirling princess in a white gown. The
tinkling music coming from the jewelry box mingled harmonically with the music
coming from the jocular celebration occurring in the throne room.
This time she was able to remember what the small figurine represented.
It was a representation of her in the white gown of the hallucination. Sarah
could not comprehend why she seemed to be one of the many themes displayed about
this castle so frequently. She
almost felt like an aging part of its history, an emblem that children of the
future would remember and honor. A
single gold key was sheltered within the gold-lined box. Sarah took it,
virtually out of reflex, wondering what use she would ever find for it.
There were probably thousands of keyholes within the castle and chances
were slim that she would find the particular one that this key belonged to. Gripping
the key firmly in her hand, Sarah swung around to glance at the glass sphere
again. *** Isabelle
climbed from Jareth's lap and landed softly on the stone floor. Continuing to sit, Jareth bent over and spoke to the young
goblin. "Isabelle,
dear, do you remember the lady that was so nice to you last night?" he
asked as he brushed the hair from her eyes. She had been a beautiful child while
human and she still was, despite the transformation.
He thought about last night and how the guards had mistreated his young
servant, how it had been occurring for months, and how he had known nothing
about it. Even though he had placed
the mirrors throughout the castle for accessory cautiousness, the looking
glasses seemed not to protect what was most important to him.
Hoping that the song and flight throughout the lower levels of the palace
would make it up to her, Jareth promised to himself never to let harm come to
Isabelle again. "Yes,"
she replied. "Her
name is Sarah. I want you to bring her some clothes and ask her if she needs
anything," he requested. "Be
polite; it's very important that she feels welcome." "You
said you'd take me through the Labyrinth one day," she stated hopefully. "Yes,
once I take care of a few things," Jareth replied. "Why
is she here?" Isabelle questioned with curiosity. "To
do me a favor," he declared. "Oh." Jareth
handed some garments to Isabelle, whispered something in her ear, chuckled, and
prodded her to go. Merrily she
walked out the door to the side of his throne and made her journey to Sarah's
chambers. Jareth watched admiringly
as she happily got to work. Not
once had he regretted saving her from an abusive family; she was like a daughter
to him. *** Sarah
watched the scene within the crystal and quickly realized that Isabelle would be
in her room very shortly. Hurriedly she left the room of knickknacks and
carefully closed the cut-glass doorway behind her. |
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