In his chambers, Jareth turned his attention to the nervous goblin holding his clothes for the dinner party. It was only five o'clock. He still had two hours before he had to go downstairs and introduce his dinner guests to Ro and eight hours before Sarah's time was up.
The goblin laid out a handsome silver cloak, black breeches and a white ruffled poet shirt. Jareth nodded his head in approval and waved the goblin away. It scurried away, happy to be gone from the stoic King's sight. Jareth strolled out onto his balcony and leaned on the railing lazily. He waved his hand in a small circle and a crystal appeared delicately in his palm. "Show me Ro," he said and immediately her face emerged. She was sleeping peacefully on her bed, dreaming, the ballroom scene forgotten.
Jareth shifted the crystal and said, "Show me Hoggle and Jaqualine." They were talking about Sarah. Hoggle was retelling the story of the girl who defeated the powerful Goblin King. Jaqualine looked fascinated with the story. She had not yet been born when Sarah was last Underground. The teenager had only heard the sketchy memories from the goblins.
Jareth altered the crystal and said, "Show me Sarah." She sprung into view. He noticed several scratches on her pretty face. He made a quick motion with his hand and they disappeared. Sarah put her hand up to her face as if she had felt something. Her eyes glazed over and she continued to walk. Ludo walked ahead of her, clearing a small path.
As Jareth watched Sarah, he noticed a black crow hopping after her. He laughed. That was something unusual. He studied the crow and it hit him like a ton of bricks. The crystal zoomed in on the crow. Sure enough, there was a small white spot with a black glowing mark on its stomach. The mark was of a sun with a rose in the middle. Jareth had one too on his hip save his was silver. It was his father, King Phoebus of Daystar and his mother's, Queen Rose of Burgeon, crest. The crow was his brother, James, King of the Knaves.
Jareth dropped the crystal and it shattered into a million pieces as he quickly transformed into an owl and flew as fast as he could towards the wheat fields.
----------------------------
"And then she says, 'I must face him alone.' Didymus asks why. She explains that that's the way it's done. I says, 'Should you need us?' and she says she'll call and runs up the stairs. That was the last we had seen of her until she called us back in her bedroom. No one knows what happened behind those walls to this day," Hoggle concluded. The images of Hoggle and Sarah's previous journey played through her mind. She could see why Jareth loved Sarah. The young mother was beautiful and had a charm around her that attracted people to her.
Jaqualine sighed. She had never known her own mother. She had been abandoned as a babe. Jareth had discovered her outside his castle on the steps. He had taken her in as his own, raised her until the day he discovered that she was a Salizkan. Jareth sent her to live with a Salizkan sorcerer, Master Brujo, to teach her about her unique powers.
On her twentieth birthday almost a year ago, Jaqualine had a vision. She had seen a vivid image of a woman running through the labyrinth. That was all she had been able to see for something had blocked her powers from being able to see anything else. The next day, Jareth sent for her at his castle. She traveled by foot, following the winding Zinnia River towards the Goblin City for three days. She approached the gates of the greatly feared labyrinth. The gates swung open and a smoky fog billowed out. Jareth emerged and greeted her kindly as a brother would.
After their greetings had been exchanged, he explained was she was there. He needed someone to play a role in the labyrinth as a fear taker. He had thought that Jaqualine would be suitable for the job. She could also practice her magic and continue her studies in her new home. He had led her to a simple hut built deep in the wall of the labyrinth. She walked in and examined her new home. It was simple but met her standards. A wall was covered with books, a blazing fireplace, a simple kitchen, and a comfortable bedroom with a plain maple bed with brown covers. She immediately loved where she was to live.
Jareth often visited in the following year, bringing with him food and books to keep her going with her studies. One day, about five months later after one of his infamous visits, she noticed a small red book sitting on her chair. It was a leather cover with the title, Labyrinth engraved in gold. Intrigued, she picked up the book and began to read. She was fascinated with the book of the Goblin King, a dreaming teenage girl and her baby brother. She knew that the Goblin King was Jareth but who was the girl and her brother? As she continued to read, she made the connection. The girl was the woman she had seen running in her vision. Who was she? Was she going to return? Did Jareth still love her?
Jaqualine had finished the book late that night. As she closed the book, a sudden knock on her door frightened her and she dropped the book. She hurried to the door and flung it open. Jareth had been standing there in her doorway, just out of the pouring rain. She stepped aside and allowed him in.
"What are you doing here so soon?" she had asked playfully.
"Making sure that you are quite alright. The weather is rather dreadful," he had replied, eyeing the book on her floor. He reached for it and flipped through. "I didn't realize I had left this here," he mumbled.
"Jareth, who is she?" Jaqualine had asked, handing him a cup of tea that she had magiked into her hand. He glanced up in surprise and accepted the mug gratefully.
"You read it?" She nodded her head. "Her name was…is Sarah."
"Why did you let her win?"
"Because it was meant to be."
"What do you mean? You can't predict that," she had said, confused.
"No, I can't. My brother did," he had replied calmly, sitting down on a green chair.
"Your brother?" she choked. He nodded.
"I have two brothers. We are a set of triplets. I'm the middle child. My older brother Jeremy is the King of the Pacifists and James is the youngest and the King of Knaves. Jeremy was always the good child, bringing peace and practicing good magic. James on the other hand, was an extremely self-centered child, practicing black magic, and getting in trouble. Mother and Father never knew what to do with him. Nothing worked.
"Since I was born in the middle, I was influenced by both good and bad. As you read in the book, I was arrogant and still am," he chuckled then and continued, "It was terrible of me to take Toby, yet I was also loving because I let Sarah win," he explained.
"But how did she know to call on the goblins?"
"Jeremy has powers to see the future, to bring peace and he monitors both Aboveground and Underground. A very long time ago, he saw a teenage girl running through my labyrinth just as you did. He watched as she successfully completed my difficult labyrinth. He watched in terror as she tumbled into the Helping Hands Shaft, became trapped in an oubliette, ate my drugged peach, fought a goblin robot, encountered the Escher room and finally faced me. He realized that I would fall for this mere mortal girl and my love would become unbreakable, even if it didn't seem like it. He also realized that this girl would be his stepdaughter, the daughter of his future wife, Linda Williams. He came up with a plan. He wrote a story similar to hers in the form of a book and gave it to her mother once they finally met. Linda in turn sent it to Sarah as if she had picked it up in a bookstore. Sure enough, she said the words and came to face me."
Jaqualine digested that information but still had one more question. "So Jeremy also married a mortal?"
"Linda is now Queen of the Pacifists but she is also an actress Aboveground. She goes to Underground every once in awhile with Jeremy to report to the kingdom but she usually resides Aboveground in New York City. She had a hard time believing that her co-star was a king, but when he showed her Underground, she realized that the book she had given Sarah was indeed true," he had explained.
"Does Sarah know this?" Jaqualine had to ask.
"As of now, no."
Jaqualine realized that Sarah must love Jareth too, even if she didn't know it. Jaqualine had been determined to help Jareth in whatever way she could. Now, here she was hurrying through the labyrinth she called home with a dwarf and she realized that this why Jareth had called her here.
----------------------------
Stumbling through the field, Sarah paused to catch her breath. She wished she had a watch to see what time it was but she had forgotten hers at her home. Cold metal immediately touched her skin and she gasped. She gazed in awe at her wrist. There wrapped around her skin, was a handsome silver watch marked with thirteen little diamonds for the hours. It was quarter of six. Seven hours and fifteen minutes left. She sighed and continued trudging on.
She glanced past Ludo's hairy body at the castle. She should be there in time for the wedding. She must prevent it. It should be you instead, a bone chilling voice said in the back of her head. No, her mind shouted. I can't love Jareth. It's impossible. The voice left her alone this time. She smirked slightly in satisfaction.
Sarah drowned out her thoughts and closed her eyes, concentrating on the sounds around her. The stalks of wheat rustling in the breeze, the sound of dirt crunching beneath her slippered feet, the pattern of her footsteps and Ludo's and someone else's footsteps following them.
Her eyes flew open and she whirled around. Nothing was there but she could sense its presence nearby. She slowly turned back and walked quietly. The footsteps continued. She whipped back around and cried out. Ludo turned around and opened his mouth but Sarah hushed him.
"What the hell?" she wondered out loud. A little black crow stood staring at her. Her eyes fell on the pools of black within his amber eyes.
You are mine, Sarah Williams-Callaghan. I would advise against you struggling or else, a heavily Scottish accented voice floated through out her mind. She nodded her head, terrified. Her eyes grew wide as the crow began to morph into a human. Before her stood a tall muscular man. He could have been Jareth's twin save for his short spiky blonde hair and piercing amber eyes. The skin was the same pale color and the amused smile dancing about thin lips were the same. He was wearing a black glittering cape; a black poet shirt, black breeches and black knee-high boots. He muttered a few words and she saw black light coming towards her and Ludo. Pain spread through her body like wildfire. Ludo grunted in surprise and disappeared. She moaned and collapsed on the ground as the pain burned throughout her body.
"Sarah, Sarah," the man chuckled, the pain immediately dulling slightly.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Who, me? I am James, King of the Knaves of the Bane Kingdom or as most like to call it, the Kingdom of Chaos," he announced with a flourish of his arms, bowing.
"What do you want of me?" she asked.
"What I want of you is you," he laughed. "I want you as my queen and if you disagree, I can do anything bad that I want. I am the King of Chaos!" He grabbed her wrist and pulled her off the ground and close to him. He stroked her cheek as she struggled to free herself. He sent a jolt of shock through her wrist and it spread through her body. She groaned and fell against him.
As frightened as she was, Sarah gathered any energy she had left. She would try to get rid of him, even if her powers were not at their fullest. She concentrated on her gathered energy, pulled away from him and sent it at him as a blue energy ball. He put up a force field around himself and the energy ball disintegrated before her eyes.
James gathered her close to him again and pressed both her arms behind her back. "So you are not all that mortal?" he breathed in her ear. His gloved fingers traced down her jaw, neck and collarbone until he discovered the mark of a lily on her chest. He felt its magic and he laughed. "It's a crystal shard, part of Jareth's fantasy bubbles. Did he give it to you as a gift as a lover? That's what he usually he does, you know!"
"No!" she snapped angrily, refusing to say anymore to this strange man who could talk so freely about Jareth in front of her.
"Feisty! Very good," he exclaimed. "I rather like a feisty woman. You'll do."
"I've seen you before, " she realized. "You're at every single one of my premiers. You always wear tattered jeans, a t-shirt, sunglasses and boots."
"Oh no my dear, that wasn't me. That was Jareth." She squirmed at the sound of the name, trying to release herself from his grip. "Now, that won't do though. We'll have to put you somewhere where Jareth cannot find you," he muttered.
"How do you know Jareth?" she asked ferociously, stopping her squirming.
"Ha! Have you no idea? Jareth mentioned not about his family?" he asked, obviously disgusted and surprised at the same time.
"I've only met him once before!" she protested.
"Oh, but he loves you so. I am Jareth's brother, the last of the triplets," he explained coldly.
"Th…there's three of you?" she stammered.
"Shamefully, yes. Jeremy, Jareth and James, the triplets of King Phoebus of Daystar and Queen Rose of Burgeon," he sneered. Sarah noticed a white blur behind his ear. She looked up painfully. She could feel Jareth's presence approaching quickly. James must have felt it too for he turned and notice the owl.
"Jareth. Oh good. Now the party can begin," he spat. He turned back to Sarah. He flicked his wrists and rope slithered around her wrists, tying them to her ankles. A piece of cloth was suddenly in her mouth and she choked. She felt sick. "Just so you don't use your magic. This rope can resist any kind of magic, even Jareth's," he warned. "Here comes the fun part," he added as Jareth flew towards them as fast as he possibly could.
Jareth, Sarah thought, trying to warn him. Jareth go back. James will kill you. In the air, the owl was surprised by the woman's voice echo throughout his head. So, she had learned to send thoughts, had she? He could see her bound and gagged on the ground next to his brother. No, he thought back. I have to save you. He blocked his next thought so that she couldn't hear it; you're the only one I've ever loved.
James felt Jareth drawing closer. He was almost within reach. A few more seconds. 5…4…3…2…1… James spun around and black lights shot out of his palms. They hit Jareth and he glowed black before they absorbed into his body. His attack stumbled and he tried to regain his composure. He began driving back down steeply at James. Another shower of black electric bolts flew at him. Jareth dogged them rather well but a rather large bolt hit him and he began to flutter towards the ground.
"No!" Sarah tried to cry through her gag. She watched as Jareth landed on the ground and lay like a rag doll. She cried out again as James towered over the fallen owl, glared at him. He raised his hands and shocked the snow-white owl again. It shuddered and lifted its head, resisting. The owl raised his head and gazed at the bound woman. His mismatched eyes made contact with Sarah's frightened gray eyes. They locked; Sarah had difficulty looking away. An unusual feeling entered her, flooding her heart. Images of the ball entered her mind and she was reminded of her fascination with him and how it had never ended. And it was then that she realized just how much Jareth meant to her. James advanced towards the owl and kicked him. The owl fell back on the ground, unable to move.
The owl disappeared in a shower of glitter. After it cleared, Jareth lay in the owl's place. Bruises and marks covered his body. James gazed coldly at Jareth and scolded him.
"Dear brother," he chided. "You should have known that I would return. I will rightfully claim what belongs to me, things you never deserved. The Goblin City, your castle, your title…your lover." He indicated towards the bound and gagged Sarah.
"No," Jareth whispered. He tilted his head to catch another glimpse of her and winced in agony. She sat on her knees, her wrists tied to her ankles and a piece of cloth was shoved in her mouth. Her gray eyes filled with tears and she was gasping for breath through her nose.
"James," Jareth choked. "Let her go! I'll do anything!"
"No can do, brother. She now belongs to me. I'll have lots of fun with her for you, don't worry about that," James chuckled. Sarah whimpered slightly through the gag.
Jareth looked at her again and tried again, "James, please…"
"Your wishes are nothing to me. This is the way the prophecy goes and it must be fulfilled," James chuckled. "Terrible for you. I know the perfect place to put you so you cannot bother me and my soon to be wife." James snapped his fingers and the two brothers disappeared.
Appearing in an older building, Jareth lay sprawled out on the dusty wood floor. His insides churned and he felt sick to his stomach. A white flash of pain shot through his body. He glanced at James, who was floating in a blackish tinged bubble and was watching his brother intently.
"Where are we?" he choked.
"Why?" James chuckled. "We're in an abandoned church, where you will remain for the rest of your limit, may I add, hours. Your powers will slowly diminish as you become mortal. Once you're a mortal, there's no going back to being a Fae!" he cackled. He snapped his fingers again and disappeared. Chains crawled around Jareth's writs and ankles. He moaned as the cold metal pressed into his bruises and as the power of the holy ground began to suck his energy and powers.
Back Underground, James reappeared in front of Sarah. She looked up, startled and snarled through her gag. He stared into her gray eyes and at her tear streaked face. He walked closer and she snarled again. He laughed loudly and lifted her carelessly.
"Now, we go home," he said and they disappeared in a black flash.
-------------------------------
"Ugh…." She opened her eyes slowly and hoisted herself up on her elbows. She realized that she was dressed in a white silk nightgown. She felt well rested but her head was pounding all the same. She thought of the unusual dream she had been having. Surely it had just been a dream but it had felt so real. She felt as though her father had been standing right in front of her, talking to her and laughing. She could even smell his aftershave. She had missed him so much and in her dream, she had talked to him again, told him everything and he had understood.
She struggled out of the pink satin covers, swung out of bed and quietly tiptoed towards her wardrobe closet. She glanced at the clock in passing and saw that it was five thirty. Ro was trying to decide what to wear to dinner when a sudden knock on the door caused her to button it back up.
She cautiously opened the white wood door and saw a female goblin standing there. She had shoulder length black ratty hair and very large blue eyes that stood out against her brown skin. She curtsied and announced, "Milady."
"Yes?" Ro asked.
"I'm here to assist you in getting ready for dinner," she explained shyly.
"Oh, come in," Ro invited and moved aside to let her in. She went to the wardrobe closet rummaged through it. She pulled out a medieval gown that red skirt with a slit in the front that exposed a white skirt underneath. Long white sleeves ended at the knees. Gold ribbon was tightly wrapped around the upper arms. The white top underneath formed a slight u-shape and was stopped by an embroidered bodice that laced up the front. Ro gaped at its simple beauty and the goblin noticed.
"My lady, you have to get undressed to put the gown on," she pointed out before sticking her head into the wardrobe again. Ro nodded, dumbfounded and unbuttoned her nightgown, clutching it tightly to her body. The goblin looked at her and laid down what she was holding. She motioned for Ro to take off the nightgown. Her face reddened as she removed the nightgown. The goblin stuck her head in the closet and pulled out a small ruby pendent and ruby and diamond chandelier earrings. The goblin motioned for her to take off her bra.
"May I have a robe?" she asked, slightly flustered.
"You'll have to take it off again to put on your gown," the goblin replied. Ro sighed to herself and unhooked the bra but held it on.
"Do you have a name?" she asked the girl.
"Me?" she looked up in surprise. Ro nodded. "My name's Clothilda," she blushed and curtsied again.
"Pleased to meet you," Ro grunted, shrugging out of her bra. Clothilda threw a chemise over her head. She handed Ro a stiff petticoat and a silk petticoat. Ro grudgingly accepted them and put them on. Clothilda took the dress and handed it to Ro. She took it and put it over her head. Once on, she buttoned up the white pearl buttons in the back. She wrapped Ro into the corset bodice and tightened it. Ro gasped for breath every time she pulled the strings tightly.
"Sorry, Miss, but you don't want to be fallin' out of your dress, do you?"
"I suppose not," Ro replied, rubbing her ribs. She was offered shoes next. Holding on to her bedpost, she carefully slipped her feet into the small red slippers. She adjusted the dress around her so that it was comfortable. Clothilda pushed Ro's long chocolate hair aside as she clasped the small ruby pendent around her neck. She let Ro put the earrings in as she heated a curling iron with coals from the fire.
An hour later, Rowena approached a full-length mirror. She gazed in awe over her beautiful dress, sparkling jewelry and her curled hair that was piled on top of her head, pinned with ruby clips. Clothilda smiled behind Ro, pleased with her finished work. They had talked the whole hour and both learned much about each other's lives.
Ro glanced at the goblin in her mirror and asked, "Now how do I get to dinner?"
"I'll go get the king for you."
"Thank you Clothilda," she said, watching the goblin scurry out the door.
Ro billowed out her gown before sitting down in a squishy pink chair. She soon became lost in her thoughts until a sudden knock on the door jarred her from her thoughts fifteen minutes later.
"Come in," she called. The door flung open and there stood a distressed Clothilda.
"Milady!" she cried. "The king is nowhere to be found!"
"Sit here and calm down. Tell me what is going on," Ro demanded. The goblin clambered into one of the lounge chairs and stifled her sobs.
"He's gone! The only thing left was a broken crystal on his balcony!" the girl managed before she began to sob again.
"He must have been attacked and kidnapped or something," Ro guessed. This only made the goblin cry harder. "Shhh…" Ro hushed, awkwardly. "No need to fear." She thought for a minute and then asked, "Is there anyway that we can find Jareth?"
"The crystals," she sobbed.
"What of them?" Ro asked.
"Come," the goblin grabbed her hand and pulled Rowena after her. They took a right, then a left, another left, a right, a left and finally a left through the castle before reaching their destination. Ro pushed open the door that the goblin nodded towards. The girls stepped into the dim room. Clothilda lit a candle and the whole room came to life. On every shelf every wall were crystals.
One much larger crystal was centered in the middle of the room. It glowed misty silver. The power radiating from this one crystal was enough energy for the whole Underground. Clothilda quietly approached the crystal. Ro followed suit. The girls gazed into the crystal watching the white energy swirl around inside.
"What do we do?" Ro asked.
"I don't know what King Jareth does, but he can see where people are," she whispered.
"Well, we could try to say his name," Ro suggested. She leaned forward and said, "Jareth." Nothing happened. "Okay…umm…Abracadabra." Still nothing happened. "Where in the world is Jareth?" Nothing. "Jareth, appear." Nothing. "Damn," she muttered, frustrated. "Jareth, King of the Goblins…Crystal, crystal in front of me, show me Jareth wherever he may be…Something has to work…Dearest crystal, where is Jareth? Arrggg!" she cried out. "Show me Jareth, dammit!"
Inside the crystal, the white energy disappeared and was slowly replaced by an image. Ro and Clothilda glanced at each other, then at the crystal. It was a dark room with only slivers of light from the ceiling. A chair decorated with gold sat, slightly melted behind a pile of ashes. A statue of the crucified Jesus Christ barely hung crookedly on the wall above the chair. Ro realized what they were looking upon. "He's in a church!" she breathed.
"No, no, no, no," the goblin whimpered.
"What's wrong?" Ro asked, worriedly.
"He cannot go on holy grounds. It will slowly kill his powers away and he shall become mortal," she explained.
"What will happen once he becomes mortal?" Ro asked, terrified.
"He can never go back to being a Fae. He'll be stuck like that until he dies which will be soon."
"Why soon?"
"He will be weakened by the powers of the church. He won't be able to survive in mortal life. He won't live very long," Clothilda explained. "Look, there he is." Sure enough, there lay Jareth chained to the floor, struggling to free himself. His body was covered in blood and cuts and bruises.
"Hurry, go and tell the dinner guests to enjoy themselves but that their hosts will not be joining them," Ro said.
"What if they question as to why not?" Clothilda asked.
"Tell them Jareth and I had an urgent message from ummm…a village that is under attack by some ogres. We have to go and settle some business. Meet me back in my chambers," Ro thought up quickly. Clothilda nodded and sprinted out the door. Ro searched around the room and found a brown sack thrown carelessly in a corner. She picked it up and reached for the closet three crystals. The room filled with the twinkling sound of bells and a sudden warm breeze pushed her hand from them.
"What the…" Ro began. Startled at the sound of bells, she reached to pick them up and the breeze pushed her hand away roughly. "Umm…excuse me but I need these crystals." Was the breeze shaking its head at her? "I…. uh…I know that they're Jareth's crystals but I…uh…I sorta need them." There was a tense feeling in the air. "Listen, I need them to save Jareth!" The bells stopped and a sudden silence filled the room. The breeze had left her to take the crystals. She sighed in relief and reached up to slowly place the crystals in the sack. She held the last one in her hand and gazed upon it.
"I don't even know how these work," she said to herself. She turned it around and around in her hand. "I wonder if crystals can transport me to the church." As she talked, she spotted an enormous black book on a podium laying open. She walked over to it and ran her fingers over the old yellow pages. The book was open to a table of contents. She read it over quickly; delighted to find that it was indeed a book of spells and history throughout the Underground.
The melody of bells filled the air again and the breeze returned. The pages of the book flipped before her eyes. She felt the breeze kindly slide past her cheek and its desire for her to read it. She did so and began, "Crystals are not a hard concept to understand. If you do not have any magic running through your veins, that is perfectly fine. You must have a crystal within your possession to be able to use one. You will not be able to produce one out of thin air or have an unlimited amount. When you run out of crystals you will no longer be in control of them, unless you repeat the spell on more crystals. Turn to Chapter Twenty-Four: Spells For Everyday Use For Those Without Magical Abilities, Section Four: Crystals…" The breeze knocked Ro's hand out of the way and quickly turned the pages for her.
"Thank you," Ro said. She continued on hurriedly. "The spell involves a few words said. The spell that you must recite is Yartcsl Yartcsl lehp em." The sack that Ro still held in her hand began to glow through the small holes in the burlap. The light faded and she realized that she now had power of the crystals she had in her bag.
Ro left the room and heard the sweet sound of bells following her. When they arrived at her chambers, Ro let herself and the breeze in. The breeze and its bells went to the corner, where they chimed very quietly. The breeze too had seen Jareth trapped in the crystal. It was very willing to help for Jareth was an old friend and it had grown up with his father.
Ro put the sack gently down on the bed and began to pace. Her left hand held her delicate skirt high above her ankles, showing off her slippers, her right hand tapping her nose, deep in concentration. The chamber door swung open violently five minutes later and Clothilda fell into the room. She was breathing heavily, completely out of breath. Ro stopped her pacing and turned to face her.
"I told them…they're not thrilled…but they said…that business…is business," she gasped.
"Fantastic." She hesitated before continuing, "I also need to ask of you an enormous favor."
"Yes? I'll do anything to help save Jareth," Clothilda's rough brown face turned up towards Ro's.
"You know that we must go Aboveground to find Jareth, right?" Clothilda nodded. "Well, you see, most humans have never seen a goblin before in their lives. They will not believe me when I tell them and I do not wish to explain all about the Underground. They will not understand," Ro said, carefully choosing her words.
"You wish for me to turn into a human?" Clothilda guessed.
"I'm sure I can find a semi-permanent spell that will keep you a human for a short time-"
"I have some magical powers. I am a trueborn goblin, not a child that Jareth has stolen and changed. Children that become goblins are usually very stupid. Goblin children inherit a few small powers but they are fortunate to have any at all. My powers will be of assistance for the spell," Clothilda said.
"That will do. Do you—"
"Mind? Of course not. I'm sure that if it is a semi-permanent spell, no harm shall be done," she said positively.
"Thank you. You're not mad?" Ro asked.
"I'm not mad. It will help us in our quest to save Jareth. I understand your reasons for asking me to do such a thing. I might even be better off," she reasoned.
"Thank you, thank you," Ro said gratefully. "Would you like to help me find a spell?" she asked of Clothilda.
"Of course." She jumped as the bells of the breeze rang in her ear. "Beau!" she cried. "You scared me!" They watched as a book floated over to the bed and laid it self down. It flipped open and the pages turned. They stopped turning and settled on either side of the cover. Ro gazed at the pages and realized that the words were in another language. She tried to read it aloud but her tongue twisted itself up into knots over the difficult words.
"Would you like help with that, milady?" Clothilda asked.
"I don't understand it. It's in an odd language," Ro admitted slowly.
"Vdwmldtz, J fywg wp qlzm lzwryrt mw Hzqrml," an airy breath said.
"What?" Ro asked, hearing the voice within the melody of the bells and chimes.
"He says that he knows about what happened to Jareth," Clothilda translated.
"What language is that? How do you know it?" Ro asked.
"Hold on," she laughed. "It's Breezianese. It was one of the many languages I have learned by living in such a unique kingdom. I've known Beau since I was born. He was my nanny at one point." The breeze's chimes chided her. "He hates it when I call him that. He can help us find Jareth."
"He doesn't speak English?" Ro asked.
"He can't speak it but he understands every word you're saying," Clothilda said. "Now let me see that book." Beau picked up the heavy book and held it to her level. "Thanks Beau. Okay, 'Transformations can only occur when the creature is holding a part of a human body. The creature will then transform and look like the human that was used during the transformation. The transformed creature will remain human until the pattern of the sun, earth and moon line accordingly in the sky. If the pattern happens to be sun, moon, earth, the transformation will remain permanent,'" Clothilda quoted.
"So if it's a solar eclipse, then you'll change back into a goblin. But if it's a lunar eclipse, then you'll stay human," Ro said slowly. She turned her gaze to meet Clothilda's. They stared at each other for a moment in utter silence.
"I am all right with this, milady—"
"Please call me Ro," she cut her off.
"Right…Ro. I do not mind if I remain a human or not. Just as long as we can find Jareth," Clothilda said softly.
"Here's the spell," Clothilda pointed to it on the page. Ro glanced at it. "We both have to say it. It'll complete the transformation if we both say it." She reached for Ro's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Here we go."
"Hiswy msin amuha ebot!" the girls said together. A white flash blinded Ro and when she could see again, she could see the transformation beginning.
