The Best Yule Ever (According to the Goblins)
Goblins by nature don't wear much clothing. For one thing, many of them are quite hairy and clothes would just get in the way. For another, the temperature in the Underground was quite mild most of the time, verging on hot during the summer months. An occasional storm would pass through, and during those days, the goblins would stay indoors, much to the consternation of the King. Thus, it was quite a shock when it snowed two days before the Yule celebration.
At first, the goblins could hardly contain their excitement, and they played in it, making snow angels and sliding around in it. Soon, however, they discovered the downside of the white fluff; it was seriously cold. All of them ended up shivering and wet. "What do we do?" Cricket
Balderdash, who liked to go by Dash, replied, "The lady will know what to do!" Which inspired much cheering and rousing choruses of, "The lady!"
Until Fritter asked, "We haven't heard our lady call for us in ages. What if the portal doesn't work?"
There was a moment of silence before they decided that they had to at least try.
Sarah had had a long day and was looking forward to relaxing in her apartment. Sales were unusually in the red for her company for this time of year, and her boss was breathing down her neck about it. As head of Research and Marketing, it was Sarah's job to stay on top of trends and the next hottest thing to hit stores.
Never mind that her boss hadn't listened to her when she'd told him that Candy Babies (literally dolls that were comprised of candy, but of course they were plastic and only smelled like various sweets) were not the smoking ticket this Christmas. And now he was acting like she was the one who had ignored his advice. As she reached her door, she thought that she would love to quit her job and do something different with her life. It was right about then that she noticed the three sets of small eyes peering at her from a bush. She stared at them for a few minutes, while they stared back with big goofy grins on their faces, as if waiting for her to put two and two together. "Goblins!" she blurted, finally.
They all cheered. "Yay, the lady remembers us!"
Sarah looked around nervously, wondering if any of her neighbors were watching the scene unfold. "Don't worries, you're the only big human who can see us," one of them said, making Sarah relax slightly.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"It's snowing in the Goblin Kingdom!" they cried.
Taking in their distraught looks, Sarah could only conclude one thing. "It doesn't normally snow there, I take it?"
"No, not for a very long time. We're too cold! We thought you could help us."
Sarah mulled over their words. It had been years since she'd called on her friends from the Labyrinth, and it had been even longer since she'd seen a regular goblin. So why had they come now? "I don't understand. Why didn't you just bring this issue up with your King? Isn't he the one who would be able to solve your problem?"
Instantly the three goblins seemed to have their energy diffused. One of them answered in a melancholy voice, "He's always busy now, gone a lot. He hardly dances with us any more."
The image of the Goblin King dancing sprung to her mind, and it was a hard image to shake, simply because with the tight pants she knew he favored, she was sure that certain parts of him would move to the music. "Uh... Ok then, I guess I can take you guys shopping." She paused, then got down to their level and narrowed her eyes at them. "But you have to promise not to touch or break anything."
"We promise!" They all said.
Forty minutes later, Sarah was questioning her decision after she had to put toys back where they belonged for the twentieth time. "Alright, that's it, we're leaving now," she declared.
Just about then, one of the goblins came running up with an article of clothing in their arms. "I wants this, please! It looks warm, and look it's got a chicken on it!" He held up the piece of clothing, which turned out to be an Ugly Christmas Sweater, and it indeed had a chicken featured on it, complete with a Santa hat. There were also sequins, fuzzy balls, and pieces of yarn stuck on it.
Sarah shrugged, "Sure, if that's what you guys want and it will get you out of my hair, then I'll get it for you." The goblins cheered again. Sarah had to take them all to the fitting room to try on different sizes, making sure the sweaters would fit. She then filled her shopping cart with them, so that the other goblins back in the kingdom could have one too. "If you need more after this, you'll have to show your King and have him make you some." Bringing him up again got Sarah thinking. For the first time that day, a big grin began to spread over her face. She looked at the Ugly Sweaters again, until one popped out at her. It was a dark red color, and it had words on it which read, "On the _ list." Right in the middle, there was a big sequin patch which could be changed to say either "Nice" or "Naughty". "Oh, this is perfect," she chuckled. She turned to the goblins, asking, "What size do you think he'd wear?" Seeing their blank faces, she grumbled, "Never mind, I'll just guess." Finally, she took everything up to the front and paid.
Once she got home, she gave the goblins their sweaters and mulled something over, then nodded her head. "I'm going with you," she said.
The goblins whispered to themselves, "Can she do that?" "Well she is the Champion." Then they told her, "Alright, but you gotta be quiet and stay out of sight. The King is cranky lately."
Jareth came back to his castle tired and grouchy. The goblins would never understand the lengths he sometimes had to go to in order to make sure the kingdom ran peacefully. There were treaties to maintain, meetings to attend, and courtships to artfully avoid. Speaking of that last one, Lady Lillian whad been especially annoying today. To top that off, it had snowed today, something that hadn't happened in a hundred years, possibly more. Winters in his kingdom were typically mild affairs, but it seemed that this year would be cold. The goblins had panicked, but now they were no where to be seen. That usually spelled trouble. Just as he was about to shift into his owl form, his doors burst open and the goblins came pouring through, singing. That wasn't the most troubling part though, since goblins normally enjoyed singing. No, it was the gaudy clothing they were all wearing. "What in the Underground are those?" He demanded.
"Ugly Sweaters!" They yelled. "Humans wear them for Yule." "Look, they have chickens on them!"
Jareth opened his mouth to tell them that the sweaters needed to go, when one of the goblins, Dash, came up to him with a present. "For you, your Majesty," he said proudly, with a bow.
Curious, Jareth unwrapped the gift, almost letting his jaw drop when he saw what was inside. "Where did you get these...sweaters?" He finally asked, his voice low and threatening.
"The lady got them." "Nice lady remembered us and helped us!"
"What lady?" In Jareth's mind, he wondered if some old woman had seen them and thought them children. It happened a lot more than one would imagine. Just then, though, he heard giggling. The giggling sounded feminine, and very much not old. "You brought a human here?!" He practically thundered at them.
"Jareth, don't blame them, please. I asked them to bring me here. And I did buy them the sweaters, so I'm sure they felt obligated," Sarah said, stepping from the shadows.
Jareth froze. She was here. Again. She looked...gorgeous. He took a breath and regained his composure. "Thank you, Sarah. You really didn't have to get my goblins anything. They could have come to me for assistance."
"They said that you've been busy and they didn't want to bother you."
"Yes, well, the kingdom doesn't just run itself."
Sarah shifted in place. This was a bit more awkward than she had thought it was going to be. Perhaps she should explain why she had felt the need to come. "By the way, I'm sorry for the way I acted when we last saw each other. I shouldn't have wished my brother away, and you were only doing what I asked of you."
She saw shock register on his face before settling back into a neutral expression. "Thank you, I appreciate your apology."
"And," she hastened to add, before her courage left her, "your offer was very tempting. More so than you probably thought, considering the outcome."
Seeing the blush on her cheeks, Jareth smirked. "Indeed?" He looked down at the gift from her in his hands. "Will you excuse me a minute, please? And goblins, please leave the throne room, or be bogged."
The goblins scattered as they made haste to get out of the room, leaving Sarah by herself, wondering what Jareth was doing. When he returned, she gasped. He was wearing the sweater she had gotten for him over his usual clothes, tight pants included. He'd made the sequined patch in the middle say, "Naughty". A gulp escaped her mouth. "Do you think it fits me?" he asked, teasingly.
"I... I mean, yes, of course, it's very handsome on you. Not sure how you pulled that off with an Ugly Christmas Sweater."
He approached her, a sly grin on his lips. "You think I'm handsome?"
She felt herself backing up to the wall as he effectively boxed her in. "I've always thought so, but I'm sure you knew that."
"No, I didn't know that already. After all, you didn't seem very interested in me when you were here before." She opened her mouth to retort, but he put his finger on her lips, earning a small eep from her. "I think, Precious, that instead of arguing with me, we should put our mouths to better use." He lifted his finger only to replace it with his own lips on hers.
After several minutes, they broke apart, both breathing heavily. "I think I like not arguing with you this way," Sarah said.
"Do you think that your Santa Claus will be giving me coal this year?" Jareth asked.
Sarah pressed herself to his warm, welcoming body and replied seductively, "I think that you could persuade me to get on the naughty list, too."
A genuine smile split his face, and in an instant, he transported them to his bedroom. "Prepare to get lots of coal, dear Sarah, for we're going to be at the top of that list."
"I think I can live with that."
The next day, Jareth threw a Yule celebration for the goblins, with Sarah by his side. There was much singing, dancing and laughter. It was the best Yule ever.