I was relieved to find the room I shared with my sister empty when I arrived home. I was not yet sure if I would be confronting her with what I had witnessed last night. As I lay there on my bed, I felt amazed at the lightness in my heart in spite of it all. Even though I had no clue in how to proceed, there was something to be said for sharing one's problems with another.
It seemed I was getting no real peace from the problem, no matter how light my heart now felt. The event had leased permanent residency in my mind.
I grew restless and rose to look out the bedroom window. The rain had stopped, but a heavy fog still covered the land. Leaning against the cool window frame, I let my thoughts wander to the past.
The last time I had seen Jareth had been just after my thirteenth birthday. Most girls my age were working in the kitchens or at other chores used in running the household within the castle as a part of the kingdom itself.
Having lost my mother four years before didn't help my father in these matters. Luckily for him, he had my Aunt's advice. My Aunt, at the time of my mother's death, was helping my other Aunt with my newborn cousin. It had been a worrisome pregnancy and a rough labor. My Aunt pulled through all right, but there was worry she would not remain with us.
This all contributed to my being allowed my freedom to act "like a boy" as it were. (Of course, much to my chagrin, my father drew the line when I dared wear trousers like the boys.)
During Jareth's visit, I helped him torment the visiting Princesses who were hoping to form an alliance with him. I had no heart for the details to why these Princesses were chasing Jareth, I was just glad to be Jareth's cohort in crime. Whenever the opportunity arose, I was game to help in any way I could, and gladly. After all, there wasn't a single one in the batch that was not extremely annoying, silly or—even worse—vicious.
Jareth and I did everything we could think of, from frogs in their beds to spiders in their shoes. I gloried in the results. Many of the Princesses left, hysterical; and those that had stayed behind routinely had trouble eating and sleeping.
In a place deep inside me, I felt a glimmer of remorse, but when push came to shove, I had too much fun to let that same remorse stop my antics. As a result, Jareth and I grew close. We were partners in crime, after all. I chuckled out loud at the memory.
"What in the name of the Fae Queen do you find so amusing?" I heard my sister ask in a voice that spoke of great annoyance at my presence.
"Nothing you would be interested in, Gloria. It doesn't involve making out with guys." I couldn't resist that subtle slam, but at once I regretted opening my mouth this soon. Well, there was no turning back now.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Gloria looked at me, brown eyes, flashing black.
I drew in a deep breath. "It means I saw you with a man last night, Gloria. Here. In this room; And I don't mean Edward. He's not a red head." I watched as Gloria's face went white with fear, looking slightly ill at being discovered. "I know this marriage thing must be rough on you, but I think if you just told Edward—"
"No! Even if he didn't know I was with Andrew, my reputation would be ruined!"
"I'm sure there's something Father—"
"No! Kimberly, don't you dare say a word to Father or anyone!" Gloria advanced on me, her eyes just a bit angry and desperate. "If you dare, Kimberly—no, better yet—Kimberly, I'll have your silence or you will not like what I tell Father."
Naturally, I knew there was nothing Gloria could go to Father and blackmail me with, nothing true, anyway. However, Gloria was intelligent and crafty, not to mention, Father's 'Darling' daughter. He would believe anything she told him.
"I only have ninety-six hours before I'm a wedded woman…"
"Good riddance!" I muttered, turning my back.
"Watch it, you! Remember Father will believe anything I tell him." Gloria unwittingly echoed my earlier thinking.
I felt her angry breath on the back of my neck as she moved closer behind me. Annoyed by the fact that I refused to cower before her, she grabbed my arm roughly and spun me around to face her. "Just remember little sister, if you break your silence, I will make your life miserable."
I yanked my arm from her grasp. "Gloria, I don't have to say a word to anyone. Your true colors will show through soon enough." My voice was filled with more confidence than I felt. She stiffened and backed away from me before spinning around and nearly flying from the room in a near outright run.
My father came in just as she'd stormed down the opposite hall. "What made your sister so angry?" Even phrased as a question, I could hear the accusatory tone in his voice. My heart clenched painfully in my chest. Why couldn't he see the forest for the trees? Was Father, too, so blinded by Gloria's charms—if one could call them such—to see things as they really were? Just like every male alive…
Knowing I couldn't very well place the blame elsewhere and have it sound believable, I took a deep breath and plunged in. "Oh, it's just the usual. She thinks she can boss me into pairing up with Edward's cousin just because she wishes it to be so for her wedding, with no mind to my feelings." I wasn't concerned how immature that made me sound, just that it was a feasible story to appease Father. Why should I bother trying to get Father and everyone else to understand I'm more mature than even Gloria? Where would it get me?
My father sighed, bringing me back to the present conversation. He sat on the foot of Gloria's bed, his head bent, the bridge of his nose pinched between two fingers. "Could you just give in to Gloria's wishes, Kimberly? Just for the wedding to make her happy. I can get your Aunt to make sure you're not seated near Edward's cousin during the festivities. A wedding happens once in a young woman's life, and from what your Aunt tells me, these moments are precious. Everything must be perfect. You'll understand one day when you marry."
"All right, Father. I'll put up with Edward's cousin for the ceremony." I gave Father the answer he was looking for, knowing he wouldn't leave until he got it.
"That's my girl." He bent to press a quick kiss to my forehead. "Just promise you won't grow up so fast and leave your poor old man alone."
I felt my eyes mist and blinked rapidly with my head down to drive back the sudden tears. It was rare that I felt as treasured by father as Gloria was. Looking up again once I composed myself, I answered my father's grin with one of my own, and turned back to the window as he left the room.
I wondered how it was that my father overlooked the fact that I was a woman in my own right. Everyone conveniently seemed to forget I was only a year younger than Gloria and she was marrying late, by society's standards.