Everyone woke up the next morning. To their surprise, it was a little chilly. As Jareth stood up, he noticed Claire shivering from the cold. Of course, she was wearing only a night gown, so she didn't have much to keep herself warm. Out of the pure kindness of his heart, he took his cape off and wrapped it around her shoulders, shielding her from the freezing air. Claire smiled as she accepted the kind gesture. But when she turned around to thank Jareth, she gasped. He looked worse than the day before. He was thin, had black circles uner his eyes, and looked pale...er. "Oh, my God, Jareth! Look at you! You're getting worse! We need to move!" And with that, the group followed Star through the Frightful Forest.
About an hour into the journey, everyone was getting hungry. "If only we had brought some food." Claire groaned. Star, hearing her new-found friends, saw a tree. She quickly flew to it to find it full of beautiful, ripe apples. Smiling, she flew back to Claire and pointed at the tree. Being followed by the only human in the group, Star pointed out the tree she was talking about, or really squeaking about. Looking up, Claire smiled at the sight. "Great job, Star. Now we can eat." Claire then started climbing the tree. Once on the first brach, she picked an apple for each of her friends. "Heads up!" She cried as she tossed an apple to each of them. As she climbed down, Claire was sure to leave one next to the tree for Star. She then handed one to Jareth. "You need to eat." She said as she sat down on the ground. Jareth sat down next to her as they both took a bite from their apples. After chewing for a few moments, Claire paused. She looked around, almost as if she were confused. "It tastes strange." She commented.
The others were eating their apples and walking around, like they were each trying to find their own ways through the forest. Jareth and Claire looked at each other one more time before falling on their backs. Star took one another bite of her apple before turning to see Jareth and Claire on the ground. They weren't passed out, but they didn't look good eithter. Star flew over and landed on Claire chest, screaming as she tried to get her to stand. Claire only blinked a few times until her eyes closed. In doing so, she let her crystal roll out of her hand and onto the ground next to her. Noticing this, Star flew to the crystal and peered inside.
The Troll Queen rolled three dark crystals in her hand as she sat next to her window. She let her crystals float in the air and get blown away by the wind, straight toward the sky. With a satisfied smirk written so clearly on her face, the Troll Queen left the window and sat in her throne. The dark crystals floated into the Frightful Forest, carrying nothing but dark magic that darkened the peaceful sky.
What Star saw was amazing. It was a ball room. And in it were dancers wearing Victorian attire. And then she saw something that made her gasp.
Claire was wearing a beautiful gown. The top was a purple corset with no sleeves. The skirt, unlike the rest of the female dancers, was not poofy. It hung from the bottom of the corset and reached the floor. Her hair was pulled out of her face and tied back with a purple ribbon. And the piece-te-resistance, a Purple mask that matched her dress. As she walked, Claire looked around, wanting to find someone to dance with. She had to admit to herself that even though this wasn't her style, she actually felt pretty. Claire then found Jareth being surrounded by, at least, a dozen women, each one begging him to dance with them. But he kept a straight face. He wore the exact same out when he was in Sarah's peach-induced trance.
Jarath only smiled when he saw Claire looking him. Blushing a little bit, she smiled back. Jareth gentle pushed passed the women surrounding him and walked up to Claire, starting to dance. And, being the romantic he was, Jareth started to sing.
There's such a sad love
Deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel
Open and closed within your eyes
I'll place the sky within your eyes
Claire could only smile as she danced with Jareth. This had always been a fantasy of hers, dancing with Jareth at a masquerade ball. Doing something she had always thought was impossible was now a dream come true.
There's such a fooled heart
Beating so fast in search of new dreams
A love that will last within your heart
I'll place the moon within your heart
Jareth then dipped Claire and slowly brought her back up. He couldn't help but smirk when she wrapped her arms around his neck. He knew his charm would work on her sooner or later.
As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill has gone
Wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you-oo-oo
As the world falls down
Falling
(As the world)
Falling down
Falling in love
Claire looked deeply into the Goblin King's mismatched eyes. The same eyes that would bring her peace in her worst nightmares. The same eyes that seemed to calm every storm that darkened Claire's day. The same eyes that she fell in love with.
I'll paint your mornings of gold
I'll spin your Valentine evenings
Though we're strangers 'til now
We're choosing paths between the stars
I'll leave my love between the stars
As the pain sweeps through
Makes no sense for you
Every thrill has gone
Wasn't too much fun at all
But I'll be there for you-oo-oo
As the world falls down
Falling
(As the world)
Falling down
Falling in love
As the world falls down
Falling, falling, falling
Falling in love
As the world falls down
(Down)
Falling, falling, falling
Falling in love
As the world falls down
Falling, falling, falling
Makes no sense at all
Makes no sense to fall
Falling
As the world falls down
Falling, falling
Falling in love
As the world falls down
(Down)
Falling, falling
Falling in love
Falling in love
(Love)
Falling in love
Falling in love
Falling in love
Claire softly smiled as she leaned her head against Jareth's chest.
Star was amazed, but she had to do something. The sky was darkening and it looked like there was a storn coming. She started banging her fists on the crystal. She even started screaming.
Claire suddenly got a headache. She winced as she felt the ache pulsing through her head.
"Are you alright, Claire?" Jareth asked.
Nodding, Claire said, "Yeah, just a headache."
Still concerned, Jareth led her to a table. "Maybe you should sit down." He gently said. Nodding, Claire sat in the chair Jareth pulled out for her. After a few moments, it got worse. Her head was pounding. She couldn't stand the pain. Finally, she screamed from the intense pain.
Then, Claire opened her eyes. She was on the ground next to Jareth. His eyes were closed, but he had a tight grip on her hand. Looking around, Claire found Star looking up at her with relief on her little face. "Star, what happened?" Star then started acting out what had happened. She pretended to take a bite out of an apple and fell down. Then, she at the crystal. Claire picked it up and peered inside. She gasped when she saw Jareth sitting next to an empty chair. He was looking around, trying to find Claire. "I need to get beck in there." She declared. She then picked up her apple, gazing at the bitemarks and noticing the pulp was not white, but brown. The apples that Claire and Jareth ate were rotten to the core. Looking back at Star, Claire said, "Whatever you did to wake me up, you're gonna have to do it again." Then, Claire took a huge bite from her apple.
Claire then stood in front of Jareth, wearing not her ball gown, but her night gown. "Jareth!" She cried. Hearing her voice, Jareth turned around and quickly wrapped his arms around Claire's small frame. Even though she liked this feeling, Claire separated herself from Jareth. "Jareth, this isn't real! It's all a dream! We need to wake up!"
At first, Jareth looked confused. But he then smiled. "Well, if this is a dream, I never want to wake from it." He then proceeded to dance with Claire again.
Claire was now upset that Jareth didn't get it. "No! We have to get up!" But Jareth ignored every word Claire as he continued to dance with her. Finally, not able to take it any longer. "I'm sorry, Jareth. But you leave me no choice." And with that, Claire closed her eyes, pulled her right hand back and slapped Jareth across the face. Not wanting to look at him, Claire kept her eyes closed. She feared to see the look on his face. That heartbroken look that would nearly kill her. When she felt that Jareth was gone, Claire looked up and said, "Okay, Star." And with that, she closed her eyes.
The moment Claire opened her eyes, she found herself in the Frightful Forest and Jareth standing over her, trying to help her stand up. With tears threatening to fall, Claire said, "I'm so sorry I hit you, Jareth. It was all I could-" Jareth silenced Claire with a kiss. It wasn't a completely passionate kiss, only a simple one. But it was enough to get Claire to be quiet.
When he pulled away, he gave Claire a serious look. "You did what you had to do. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have woken up. I thank you, Claire, for being brave enough to do such a thing." Jareth then wrapped his arms around Claire and pulled her into a hug, despite the fact she was still crying.
Claire was able to wrap her arms around Jareth as she stopped crying. When they finally pulled away from each other, Claire picked up her crystal. "Show me the Troll Queen." She hissed through gritted teeth. Only then did Jarethrealize the truth: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorn. The image of the Troll Queen had shown her laughing with a blackbird sitting on a perch next to her. Claire couldn't take it. "That bitch just crossed the line." She growled. She then looked at Star. "Find the others. Tell them we went off to the kingdom ourselves. If she wants to do this, I don't want my friends to get hurt." Claire then helped Jareth by letting him lean against her. And with that, they finished their way through the Frightful forest.
Hissing at her dark crystal, the Troll Queen threw it at a wall, watching it shatter into millions of little pieces. She then screamed, "AT THIS RATE, SHE'LL DISCOVER HER POWER! I SHOULD HAVE ENDED THIS IN THE BEGINNING!"
Nimblie coward in fear as he tried to speak. "What if her majesty were to simply send a dark crystal to scare the girl away."
Glaring at Nimblie, the Troll Queen made a dark crystal appear in her hand and threw it at the blackbird. Said bird squawked in fear as he lept up in time for the dark crystal to go by him. When he landed back on his perch, the Troll Queen screamed, "IF I WERE TO DO THAT, SHE'D EASILY LEARN OF HER POWER AND USE IT! She is a decendant of the mortal, Sarah! The only one who defeated Jareth's Labyrinth! No one, swimmer of seas, walker of land, flyer of wind, or crawler of earth has ever defeated the Labyrinth! The only reason that little worm of a mortal hasn't discovered her power is because she hasn't faced great danger! The Desert of Illusions has no great danger! I am the only danger in the Underground! Once she out about her power, she'll tear my kindom apart!"
Nimblie, still cowering, gulped as he said, "What if there were a distraction? Some kind of lost memory? This young mortal must have a weakness. Everything does. And if you were to find her weakness, you could stop her."
The Troll Queen thought for a moment before smirking. "Very good, Nimblie. Let's see what the young Claire's weakness is." She then made a dark appear in her hand and looked into it. "What is the weakness of the mortal, Claire?" She asked out loud. The dark crystal then shown a scene.
"And may the Father bless these two souls eternal peace as they leave the earth and go forth into Heaven. Amen." A priest said.
"Amen." Everyone repeated. Well, almost everyone. A little girl had tears rolling down her cheeks. She just stood there, looking at two gravestones. One read: Eve Williams, Beloved Daughter, Loving Mother. The other read: Darren Williams, Grateful son, Caring Father. The little girl held a picture that had four people in it. The first person was a man with dark brown hair and green eyes. He wore a Santa Clause Suit without the beard. The second person was a woman with red, curly hair and hazel eyes, and she wore a red dress with two candy canes that shaped into a heart on the front. The third person was the little girl wearing blue pajamas with white snow flakes on them. The fourth person was a baby boy wearing green pajamas with feet. All of them were smiling, but at the moment, the little girl was crying.
"Come on, Claire. Let's go home." A gentle voice yelled. It was a woman in her early forties. It was Sarah. She was holding an infant in her arms, the little girl ran to Sarah and cried.
The Troll Queen's brows furrowed in confusion. "Is that what mortals call sorrow?" She asked out loud. Her voice was now gentle, only because she was curious. It was a strange sight for her. She had never seen emotions such as that before.
"It is what mortals call 'a broken heart'." Nimblie answered. "When loved ones pass away, mortals become hurt inside. They mourn the loss and feel as though in some way that it was their own fault. All mortals have felt this way at some point in their lives. Over what, though, will always be a mystery unsolved." He explained.
The Troll Queen then smirked. "Well, if the death of her parents is the mortal's weakness, then it sould be very entertaining to watch her scream when they blame her for their death."
Nimblie now looked shocked. He expected the Troll Queen to distract Claire, not scare her to death. 'Time to choose sides.' He thought to himself. He knew that he might die, but he would never regret helping the mortal Claire defeat the Troll Queen. With his mind made up, Nimblie flew out the window to find Claire.
I know, long chapter. Reviews are welcome3 My readers can be so cruel! Just as I can be so cruel and not let you find out what happens.
Who can guess Claire's Power? Winner will have next chapter dedicated to him/her.
