"My lord? Did you receive summons?"
Jareth turned to the faery woman sitting before him. Her flaxen hair glinted in the russet sun of the Labyrinth, complementing her lightly tanned skin and amber eyes. She was from his father's Court, but a bit too whimsical for the strict regime of the High Court. So, of course, the High King sent her to him.
Jareth took an immediate liking to her – when he found her in his throne room, she was on the floor in the depression where most goblins liked to sleep, telling them a story and letting them climb around her. One goblin was snoring in her lap, and she was stroking him like a cat. He'd watched and listened until the story ended and most of the goblins had fallen asleep. She'd stood and carefully disentangled herself from them before picking her way over to him.
"I'm sorry, my Lord," she whispered. "I wasn't aware of your presence." She'd curtsied, then, and he took her hand, pulling her back up.
"It's quite alright, precious," he'd responded, leading her to the Escher room. "Let's find somewhere not infested by goblins to talk."
She'd then run squealing through the room, taking delight in the nonsensical layout of the room. They'd spent hours chatting and chasing each other through the room, before finally making their way back to the throne room, falling over each other and laughing.
Jareth shook his head, returning to the present. "A request, actually."
"Oh?" her voice was lightly curious, enough to let him know he didn't have to answer. "From whom?"
Jareth almost responded, 'No one important,' but knew she deserved more than that – with how understanding and kind she'd been, both to him and to his subjects, she more than deserved the proper answer. After a moment's hesitation, he responded, "The Victor."
"Oh...?" her voice was a touch more curious, and more obviously restrained. She didn't ask any more, letting him control the conversation.
"It's been a while since I've heard from her." It had been a year in Faerie, even though it had only been four months where the Victor lived.
"Are you going to respond to the Victor's request?"
The girl's voice – hurt and desperate – echoed in his head. A part of him took a perverse sense of pleasure from her pain – She deserves it – but the other part wanted nothing more to do with her. She'd hurt him, and now... now, he was done with her.
"No," he finally responded, his mismatched eyes meeting her sparking golden ones. "She is no longer important to me."
The woman smiled, then, a bright, happy smile. "I'm glad," she said softly.
Jareth gently took his hand. "As am I, my Lady Eleise."
Eleise, all gold and glitter, blushed prettily, letting him steer the conversation away from the Victor. A nagging feeling at the base of her heart, though, told her this would not be the last she would have to deal with the Victor. But until then, she was satisfied being the companion of the Goblin King.
And, if the High King's wishes came to fruition, she would happily take the title of Goblin Queen. The goblins were adorable, and they already loved her, saying she was much prettier and much nicer than the Victor anyway. She had yet to find the friends of the Victor, but she was bent on winning them over as well, so that should the Victor return, she would know her place was far below herself.
Ha! If you couldn't tell, I'm not particularly fond of Sarah Dearest...