- Chapter 2 -

My legs almost buckle a second time, but I manage to stand up. That was so… beautiful. I didn't know the world could be so beautiful. I stagger my breaths; my lungs haven't exactly caught up with me yet.

"That… what was that?" I manage to ask.

"If you found that astonishing, you're going to find yourself incredibly out of place here, Rebecca." the Goblin King responds. "There are far stranger things here in the Underground." Looking past him, I finally take in the room we've arrived in. The walls are made of sculpted sandstone, which take in the orange sky seeping in from the windows really well. The floors are made from the same material, and the whole room seems to glow. Such warm colours… I really want to paint this. My hands feel restless and my mind is spinning with inspiration.

"Stop gawking, it's embarrassing." The Goblin King starts walking down a hallway full of arched windows. "Follow me." he says over his shoulder, clearly not waiting for me.

Oh, that's right. I'm here with this asshole.

I try not to let him ruin my mood. Try to make the best of this, Becca.

Yeah. Make the best of this. You're only the eternal prisoner of a being you don't even understand. No big deal.

"Wh-Where are we going?" I jog behind him so that I am not so far from his long stride. "To your room, naturally." he replies without looking back. I can tell he doesn't really want to talk, so I take in the scenery instead. The windows to my left show me beautifully unusual landscapes, with twisted trees and a forever sunset sky. I want to go out and explore it further, but I know I probably shouldn't. I don't know what's out there, and I certainly don't want to find out by having it bite me. The castle looks beautiful, but not in a conventional way. It feels like it was built ages and ages ago, but the stone doesn't show it. It's not quite like how I imagined when I was reading the book earlier.

The book!

Did I leave it at home? Oh no! That's the one advantage I have in this world!

Lost in my thoughts, I end up bumping into the Goblin King, not realizing that he's stopped. I immediately apologise, but his face sours anyway.

"This is your room." The old wooden door opens by itself, revealing a simple room with stone walls and a bed in the corner. I walk inside, and it doesn't have much in it. There's a vanity with a mirror, an empty wardrobe, and a window, and that's pretty much it. Even the bed is plain; only big enough for one person to lie on comfortably and white blankets on top. No pillow.

"It's… better than I expected." I say truthfully. I honestly thought he was going to have me in a prison cell or a dungeon or something like that. I actually have a window. I genuinely appreciated that. "Thank you-" but when I turn around, he's gone. The door shuts on its own, making an audible click.

"Wh-" I adjust my beanie. "What the heck am I supposed to do all day anyway?" I huff and look at my converse. "He doesn't honestly expect me to just sit and twiddle my thumbs by myself does he? And what am I supposed to eat?" I realize I'm just complaining out loud, and that no one is listening, but it does help to relieve some of my stress. I'm trying very hard to ignore the reality that is setting in. That this isn't a vacation. That this is my life now.

"Agh, fuck." I groan. I go over to the bed in the corner and flomp. Fuck him. I don't fucking care. I'll just sleep myself to death. I close my eyes and kick off my shoes. What would he care anyway? He doesn't even want me. I bet if I died he'd open up a fucking bottle of champagne.

I sigh loudly, and curl up in a ball. I mean, I don't want him either. I never meant to make a wish in the first place. At least now I won't have to be a doctor, I can just… wallow away here… no parents telling me what to do… no babysitting… no budgeting… no internet, no painting, no friends… no family…

Forever.

Against my wishes, I start to tear up a little bit. "NO, no." I tell myself. "I'm not going to cry. Michael is safe. I'm safe. I'm going to make the best of this." I wipe my face, slap my cheeks, and take off my beanie. In doing so I catch a glimpse of the golden sky from the window. It's so gorgeous… I get up, and go over to the windowsill. Leaning out over it, I can finally get a closer look at this strange new world.

Through my window, I can see bizarrely beautiful wildflowers in the strangest of colours, filling up a small field like dots of paint. Beyond that is the twisted forest, with its dark wood and verdant leaves, and beyond that still is a distant mountain range that seems to go on forever.

"Maybe I'll go find… something to do outside." I think out loud. "I mean, I could die, but as we've already established that might be a good thing."

A soft breeze brushes through my hair, rushing past my nose. It smells sweet. The strange-looking wildflowers shift with the wind, dancing in their own way. The impossibly twisted trees add to the song as their leaves rustle gracefully. "This world is just too beautiful." I whisper.

I end up just staring at it all for another fifteen minutes, just trying to take it in. I take a deep breath, and let it out slowly; the first real breath I've taken since I met him. I climb up and sit on the windowsill, gazing out at the world I now belong to.

"Maybe it has something for me."

I decide to go and investigate tomorrow. I'm way too tired right now, and I don't think he would approve much. I need to eat, I need to sleep, but more importantly, I need to figure out a way to leave this room.

I walk over to the door and run my fingers along the old wood. Should I ask him about it? He might say yes. He doesn't care about me anyway. Then again, I don't think he's that generous. Maybe I should just leave on my own. But how? I jiggle the door handle, and find that it isn't locked.

"Yes!" I say under my breath. I open the door, but see nothing but hallway on either side. "Um…" I realise that I wasn't paying attention on our way here. I don't know which way we came from, or even what I would find if I went back that way. I have no idea where anything is. And if this castle is anything like it is in the book, then I could easily get lost here.

"Agh, what the hell? If I end up dead or somewhere he doesn't want me to be, he can deal with it and come get me." I smile and go to my right. I'll just keep my hand on one wall, and only go for five turns. If I don't find anything interesting, I'll turn back and go left instead. I step out of my room with as much confidence as I can muster, and close the door. Placing my hand on the right wall, I start walking.

After a minute or so, I find my first turn. Right or left? I grit my teeth and go right. I find myself in a large plain room after a while. In it, I see chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, but no other furniture. There is, however, a beautiful picture of Jareth upon a hearth, looking regal and wearing all white, sitting upon a large red throne, smiling with that charming, sinister smile. I find myself staring at it for a moment or two.

"I've known him for maybe an hour and I hate that smile… I wonder if I always will…" I stare for a moment longer. "Yeah… yeah I always will." I shift my weight onto my other leg and look closer at the picture. "Beautiful painting though. Did goblins paint it, or… how does goblin society work anyway…?" As I stare at his portrait, I find myself wondering how exactly goblins do anything. Did goblins build this castle? I always kind of thought that they were really stupid. Well, I guess I'm going to find out eventually. I only have forever to figure out this place. Guess there's no rush.

My eyes wander over his portrait, and land upon his enchanting gaze. I blink up at his painted, mismatched eyes. He really is beautiful. Unfortunately. I sigh. Why is a cruel man like him so… I shake my head. I don't want to think about him.

"Agh, fuck him. What do I care." And so I left the room, turning right again. This leads to a long room with mirrors on the walls. Not those long, industrial mirrors, like in ballet studios. No, just small mirrors of every shape and size, ornately framed in bronze and every one unique. Nearly every part of the walls were covered.

What the heck? That's pretty strange. Why mirrors of all things? Looking around, I notice it makes an interesting effect. I walk down the hall, and observe myself in every mirror. It's almost like looking through broken glass, but not quite, and I can see myself repeating in some of the larger mirrors because of the reflections behind me. It was actually really cool.

I walk farther down the hall, and find a quaint little mirror at my eye level. It's ovaline, and reminds me of a victorian portrait, the way the bronze curls about its frame. The glass is a little bit cloudy, but not by much. I look at myself, and play pretend that it was my royal portrait. I do my best impression of the Goblin King's portrait from the room previous. I laugh a little to myself; I look silly, making faces in a mirror. Then I get a little bit sad. I don't look nearly as impressive as he did. My nose is a little too round, my lips are a little too thin. I don't look regal at all.

Well, I shouldn't feel too bad about it. I'm only human after all.

Maybe I'll look more professional as I grow older...or maybe not. I shrug it off and keep walking down the hall. Once I finally reach the end, I make note that the Hall of Mirrors would be a fun place to hang out if I got bored. I leave the room, and find a smaller one, with nothing inside. Rather plain, in fact.

I hear scratching and high pitched mumbles to my right, and stop in place. I did hear that… right? I stop at the corner and peer around, looking back at the room I just left. There are two little creatures, just, walking around, and, I guess, talking?

"AH!" I shriek and pull back into the empty room, shutting the door on the hall of mirrors. That was a natural reaction, right? Yeah, totally.

Once I catch my breath, I notice that the impish mumbling is still going on. What were those things? Goblins? I mean, I guess so. What else would they fucking be? The sounds were getting closer; they sounded… confused? Curious? I don't know, does that even count as talking? If it does I'd have no idea what language. Goblinese?

"You thinks it's her?" one of them says.

"I dunno, it's not an us." A deeper voice answers. An us? Goblins… no grammar. I hold my breath and open the door. The two of them are much closer than I thought, and they practically spill out onto the floor at my feet.

"Ah!" I scream again, though admittedly quieter than the first time.

"Sar-!" The larger says, but seems to cut himself off. They both stand up, and look at me closer like they're inspecting me, tilting their little heads and smelling me. "Um…" I mutter, very uncomfortable.

"You're not her." the smaller finally concludes.

"Huh? I'm not who? I'm… I'm a her… What do you mean?" I tilt my head to the side.

"Oh, nuffink, lady." says the larger.

"We just thoughts you was someone else." The smaller says.

"Who else would I be?" I ask, bending down to their level.

"We're, um…" the larger begins, but is cut off. "We's not allow to say." the little one pipes up. "King Jareth gets real mad. It's never good when King Jareth gets mads like that."

"Nuh uh, no goods, not at all." the larger agrees, shaking his head.

"Will he kill you or something?" I question.

"No, but…" They both look at their little goblin feet. "Is no goods, not at all." Hm. I guess they don't want to talk about it.

"Why is you here, anyways?" The smaller speaks up. "If you not her, then what are you?"

Should I say? I guess they're all going to find out about me eventually. I live here now.

"You can call me Becca." I tell them. "I um… I'm… King Jareth's prisoner." It sucks to actually say that out loud.

"Prisoner?" asks the larger. "But if you prisoner, why you free?"

"I… uh… I don't really know?... I guess I don't need a cell, I won't try to run." Not like I'd get anywhere if I did. I kind of live in another dimension now.

"Well, Beccas is pretty." says the larger.

"Yeah, real pretties!" the smaller agrees.

"Haha, thank you… what are your names?" I smile at them. They remind me of little kids.

"Grup!"

"I'm Gurgle!" They smile(?), looking excited to introduce themselves to me. It was honestly pretty cute.

"I like those names. Very… unique…" I giggle.

"What are you doing out here, Rebecca?"

Shocked, I gasp and turn around, bumping into Jareth's chest. He doesn't seem angry, but somehow I still feel intimidated.

Fun's over.

"The door was open, so I-" I look down to my newfound friends, who seem equally as nervous in their king's presence. "I just walked around for a bit. I was going to go right back-"

"I know." he replies. His voice sounds calm, but it doesn't ease my nerves. "I can tell you're not as much a rebel as you think you are."

"How many goblins are around here?" I try to steer from me being in trouble.

"You're terrible at changing the subject, Rebecca. Honestly, you can do better than that." he circles around me, looking down on the two goblins at my feet.

"I asked a simple question…" I back away, closer to the smaller creatures as though they can save me somehow.

"Because you think I'll forget that you've been running amok in my castle?"

"Okay first of all, I was walking; second, all I've done is talk to these guys. I haven't done anything wrong have I, Mr. Goblin King?" I move to adjust my beanie but forget that I'd left it on the bed. I put my arms across my chest instead.

"Oh, is that all? Well then." he responds demurely. "Then, I guess you wouldn't be interested in knowing that your dinner is ready."

"Huh?" I tilt my head for a moment. They have food here? Well… of course stupid, he can't hold me here without providing the simple needs of LIFE.

"I was going to send these two to go and notify you, but when I saw that you were mucking around out here, I thought I'd stop by and tell you personally. How nice of me, don't you agree?"

"Ha ha… right…" I laugh weakly, going along with it. I don't really want to make him angry twice in the same day.

"Wait… how did you know that I was here?"

"We can talk more over dinner." He looks down at Gurgle and Grup, who hide behind my ankles. "And why weren't you two where you were supposed to be?" he asks, with a slight edge to his voice.

"We was…" says Gurgle the smaller.

"We thoughts that…" says Grup the larger.

"They thought there was an intruder in the castle." I speak up, defending them. If he finds out that they were looking for She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, he'll probably skin them alive. "So, they went looking and found me. I let them know that I'll be living here now…" I swallow hard, hoping he's buying it. "We're friends now."

"Oh, is that so?" he replies, never shifting his gaze from the two little goblins. "Well then. I hope you're well acquainted." He turns his eye to me, and a shiver runs down my spine. "Shall we go?" he asks me, with a sense of debonair, and false sincerity.

"Of course." I respond quietly. I think it worked?

He turned, and I went to follow him. Just before he left the room, he turned back to the two goblins. "What are you still doing here?" he asks, irritated. They snap to attention, and bumble out of the room, mumbling apologies and talking in that weird goblin-speak to each other. Once they were gone, the Goblin King turned back to me with a false smile, and nodded at me, implying I follow him.

I walk behind him just staring at his back. I don't really want to make my situation any worse, so I don't try to say anything. Eventually, we reach a large room with a table that looks older than me but new at the same time. It's just what a royal table should look like. Long and rectangular. It is a gorgeous dark brown wood. I smile; it's something that I've always wanted to see. The room has tall, arched windows that show a similar view to the one I have in my room. The sun is setting now, revealing a grayish sky just beginning to show the remnants of stars.

Just as beautiful as the king that rules it.

He walks ahead of me while I gawk at the sky. Stopping at the head of the table, he leans on the back of the master's chair.

"Go on, have a seat." he says, indicating the chair to the right of the head of the table.

"Um… sure…" I sit at his right, a little uncomfortably. I look at my thumbs. I really wish I had my beanie…

"So um, what's for dinner?" I ask, trying to fill the silence.

"What do you want for dinner?" he returns.

"Huh?" I'm confused. "I thought you said dinner was ready?"

"It is." he says, lifting his eyes to meet me. "What do you want for dinner?" I'm not really understanding what he's getting at.

"Um… I guess… Chinese?" I respond tentatively. "Honey walnut shrimp." Suddenly, I smell exactly what I'm craving. I look down, and sure enough, there is a plate of Panda Express, steaming and with plenty of shrimp.

"Wh-How?" I stutter. I look up at him, genuinely amazed. "How did you…?"

"I don't have much taste for human food." he responds, mildly amused at my reaction. "So, I don't see much point in choosing your meals for you. It's just more work for me, and I don't feel like it." A wine glass appears in his hand, and fills with a dark red liquid.

"Can… can I try that?" I look at the drink in awe; it's going to take some getting used to things just popping out of thin air like that.

"This? Oh, I don't think so." he smiles grimly, swirling it in the glass. "Let's just say, this isn't wine."

"What the hell? What is it?" I look at it more carefully, trying to recognize what it is.

"It doesn't really matter what it is. You can't have it. Literally." he takes a sip, then goes back to observing the drink.

"What's that supposed to mean? Think I can't handle something that you can?" I slightly frown feeling a bit insulted.

"Don't pout so much, little girl. I wasn't trying to offend you." he looks over at me, a snide look on his face. "It's not meant for humans to consume. If you were to taste this, any other food you'd ever eat would be as good as dust. And frankly, I don't feel like sharing."

"I was frowning, not pouting, and I'm sixteen in case you didn't know… I'm not that much of a child."

"Compared to me, you may as well be a babe. Don't act so high and mighty." Jareth takes another sip, appearing more interested in his drink than me. Jerk.

"Whatever. Thank you for the food, I guess." I pick up a pair of chopsticks and start picking at my food. Sure beats leftovers and fish sticks for dinner. "So… how did you know where I was earlier?" I ask before nibbling on a shrimp. I'm slightly afraid that this too might harm me somehow. Surprisingly, it tastes really good.

"Rebecca, what kind of a King would I be if I didn't know what was going on in my own castle?" he responds dryly.

"Um… uh…"

Yeah, okay, I guess he's got a point.

"A pretty stupid one, I guess." I reply sheepishly.

"Exactly." he drinks again from his glass. He doesn't seem to be eating. Is he not hungry? Or maybe he doesn't need to eat? "To be honest," he continues, "I thought I would observe you. I was curious to see what you would do." He looks me in the eyes this time. "I left the door unlocked for a reason, you know." Suddenly the realization hits me.

"You… you were watching the whole time?" I ask him, a little embarrassed.

"Of course."

"You're not going to do that often… are you?"

"No, to be honest it would bore me too much if that was all that I ever did." Looking back at his drink, now half empty. He swirls it elegantly in his glass. "You're not as interesting as you'd like to think you are."

"I didn't mean it like that…" I can feel my face getting a little bit red. I don't know if it's because he's embarrassing me, or pissing me off. Both, I guess? "I mean to say… you're not going to be looking in my room a lot, are you? I'm a lady."

"You don't mean to insinuate that I was a Peeping Tom, do you?" he responds, with a sarcastic tone. "Honestly, Rebecca, what do you take me for?"

"A kinda freaky Goblin ruler who kidnaps children." I say dryly. His fake smile fades lightly, but stays on his lips. "I don't really have interest in such things. Not with you." he says, staring into the glass. "Fae aren't like humans. Don't compare me to them."

"Good, I might have injured you if you did." I smile for real this time and take a bite of the shrimp. "I'm sorry, the human men that I know aren't like you, I… I need to get used to it." I make a slight effort to apologise for thinking that he was some sort of pig. I mean, he's an asshole, sure, but at least he isn't a pervert.

"Don't worry, Rebecca." he says in response, clearly not taking offense. "After all, we only have forever to get to know each other."

"Yeah… heh." I laugh weakly, as the reality of my situation once again sets in. Staring down at my plate, I can feel my appetite fading.

Forever.