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Chapter Eight: Dancing Flames
Vesper opened her eyes to find herself in the immense ballroom of a castle. She was standing just inside of a jeweled door, and stretched out before her was the great room. It seemed so eerie, so dreamy, as though she had been here before. Something very much like flames seemed to have engulfed the walls, making the whole room have a fiery red tinge. Dancers were swirling before Vesper, all of them staring at the woman as they spun past.
The room just seemed to be made out of fire. Flame colors blazed all about Vesper, and there was a distinct mist, making it seem as though she was actually standing in smoke. It didn't hurt her to breathe it, however, and she was too drowsy to have noticed if it was. Everything was so dim, yet so fiery, and Vesper felt a strange feeling surge through her, the feeling that she was here to find someone.
She stepped forward, striding past a full-sized mirror as she did so. She glanced into the mirror and saw a woman there, someone she didn't recognize at first.
There was a queen gazing back at her, so beautiful that it nearly took Vesper's breath away. The woman looking back at her was dressed in a silky burgundy dress, the whole upper part of the dress tight, showing off the exquisite creature's figure. It was low-cut and had no sleeves, revealing much of the woman's glistening, fair skin. There were no sleeves on the dress, but the woman did have red fabric reaching from the tops of her elbows down to her wrists, made to look almost like sleeves. The skirt of the dress was long and covered with sheer material, making it look unearthly.
The dress was somewhat disturbing to Vesper, for she preferred to be as modest as possible, and this queen gazing back at her seemed to have no difficulty revealing her beauty. It was the woman's face that stunned her most, however, for the woman's dark hair, interlaced with golden strands, was piled up the back of her head, with loose ringlets about her bare face and shoulders. There was darkness around her eyes, making her violet orbs sparkle with radiance, and red and gold glitter lined her eyes and cheeks, making her glitter radiantly.
"Who are you?" Vesper whispered, watching the woman's deep, desirous lips move as she spoke.
The girl's hands immediately went to her sides, feeling the fabric beneath her fingertips. Her eyes widened and she gazed down to find that she was in the gorgeous dress, that she was the one in the mirror! But how? Why? And did anyone in this whole room have a shawl she could cover some of her skin with?
In a daze, Vesper began walking, searching through the room, hunting for someone to relieve her from her discomfort. She felt a tugging at her heart, calling her somewhere, but she didn't know where. She couldn't understand how it was there were so many people here, all dancing about her, all gazing at her as if they knew she was royal blood and she deserved to be revered.
Vesper stepped past a wall with water running from it, the water the color of fire. She gracefully strode past a great grandfather clock, both of its hands pointing up to an elaborate thirteen. Dancers brushed past her, smirking at her, grinning at her apparent discomfort in that dress. She twirled around, her eyes wide at everything she was seeing, at the mysteriousness and…danger of the place. There was just something dangerous about it.
She came to a stand still on the other side of the room, still searching through the dancers, and she took a long step back when a familiar form walked into her range of vision.
He was exuding power, radiating with strength and charm.
Vesper gasped as Hunter drew closer, dressed in a silk black pirate shirt, his hair pulled back into a ponytail and his eyes the color of black onyx with fire rising up inside of them. He stalked to her and then stopped before her, took her hand in his, bent low, and kissed each finger.
"Wha-?" Vesper started, but his hand on her lips stopped her.
He smiled, a gorgeous, devouring smile, and slowly walked behind her. She never moved, but stood still as put his hands around her neck and placed a thin, cool chain against her skin. She glanced, down, smiled when she saw her mother's ring on the end of the necklace, and then she closed her eyes, still in a dreamlike state, wondering if any of this was really real, and sucked in a deep breath as his fingers traced across her skin, gracing her collarbones before his hands came to rest on her shoulders.
It was all so much like a dream. If it were a dream, then, would it be wrong to indulge a bit? Would it be wrong to give in to the emotions that were flowing rampantly through her blood? But surely, dreams couldn't cause emotions to flow like that, could they?
His hands stayed on her shoulders for a few seconds, caressing her skin, and then he dipped his head slightly and brushed his lips against her fair flesh. She shivered and opened her eyes. She turned her head to look into his face and was amazed at the deep desire in his dark eyes. She could see flames reflecting in his orbs, and she gulped, uncertain as to what to do. She had never been looked at like that before, with pure hunger, and she couldn't think of anything to say.
He let his hands slide down her arms and then grasped one of her hands in his and twirled her, bringing her against his body and wrapping his free hand around her slim waist. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his as he pressed her against him and began to move her in a slow dance.
He didn't sing, but his movements made her heart pound like never before, adrenaline rushing through her veins.
"Hunter," she choked as he dipped her low and then pulled her back up, spinning her elegantly before they began waltzing smoothly together. "Is this…is this all a dream?"
"Yes," he smiled, touching her nose with his own and then moving his head to kiss her temple.
She grabbed hold of his jacket as his mouth moved down the side of her face, pressing feather light kisses to her skin. She could scarcely breathe as he kissed her jaw and then moved his lips to the corner of her mouth and touched her softly.
She was falling fast. If this all really were a dream, as he had said, and she had no reason to doubt him, then a kiss wouldn't mean anything. And he was so stunning, so wonderful, that she couldn't help but want to return his affection. She put her hands to the back of his neck and let him pull her closer, closer than she had ever let anyone get before. He smiled against her cheek and then moved his lips to her neck, enjoying the shivers that went through her body.
"No!" Jareth shouted at the crystal, watching Vesper being pulled closer to Hunter, pressing against his body. "Vesper! Listen to me! No!"
"She can't hear you, can she?" Toby asked worriedly, watching Hunter move his head again and dip his face closer to Vesper's.
"This whole time!" Jareth shouted angrily. "This whole time!"
"I don't get it. What's happening?" Toby frowned.
"If he gets that kiss, he'll be the king of the Labyrinth! She'll be enslaved to him for the rest of her life! Vesper!" Jareth roared.
"There's nothing we can do about it," Toby said, glaring into the crystal. "He's got her."
Jareth shouted angrily, beginning to speak in some foreign language that Toby was grateful he couldn't understand.
Both men watched as Vesper stroked the back of Hunter's neck, seemingly enchanted, and moved closer to him, inclining her face up towards his.
"Vesper! Child! Goodness gracious, for the sake of our whole world, someone stop her!" Jareth shouted, picking up the crystal. "Someone do something!"
Vesper moved her mouth close to Hunter's, and Jareth let out a wail of agony. He drew back his hand and threw the crystal, making it shatter into uncountable pieces of glass when it hit the stonewall of the throne room.
"Well, that settles that," Toby sighed, plopping down onto the floor.
"Toby, we're going after her," Jareth scowled, rushing towards the throne room doors.
"What? I thought we weren't going to take on the whole fairy army?"
"That is my daughter!" Jareth shouted, ignoring Toby's difficulty to keep up with his pace. "I'm not going to let her be enslaved forever to some monster! Ryenth, you haven't won this one!" Jareth shouted, rushing out of the castle and moving rapidly towards his mazes, Toby tripping along behind.
Vesper simply couldn't breathe as she closed her eyes and let Hunter's breath brush gently against her lips. She kept reminding herself that this was all a dream, that it would be perfectly fine to give away her kiss since she was asleep. But something nagged at her heart, something persistent and painful. Even if this were something happening in her sleep, wouldn't it be wrong to so willingly give such a gift away? Every action had a consequence to it, even if the action was done in sleep. She would end up waking up and feeling so powerfully attached to Hunter that she might not have such a good hold on controlling herself.
Hunter felt the girl pull back from him, but he kept his hands on her lower back, rubbing circles there, and used one hand to tilt her face up towards him again.
"Love?" he asked.
"This isn't right. Something's wrong," Vesper whispered, trying to catch her breath. "I shouldn't be here. The necklace…you found my mom's ring…but how? Is this really a dream? I can feel your touch as if you're really here."
"I can prove that this is a dream," Hunter said alluringly, kissing the tip of her nose. "Just kiss me," he breathed.
It was tempting, so tempting that tears formed in Vesper's eyes.
"No!" her thoughts cried to her. "No! Something's wrong!"
"Help me."
"What?" Hunter frowned, gazing down into her face with concern.
"Help me," Vesper repeated and then gasped when he kissed the corner of her mouth.
She opened her eyes, a lone tear streaming down her cheek, and saw the dancers part slowly, revealing a new stranger standing at the entrance to the room.
She had thought Hunter was beautiful, but this stranger struck her entirely differently than Hunter ever could.
Standing in the doorway was a man with pure gold hair and eyes that had several different shades of blue to them. His face was pure and beautiful, without blemish, and his eyes had an innocence to them that made Vesper ashamed. She glanced down at her dress, pushing back slightly from Hunter as she did so, and really took notice of what she was wearing. She blushed, feeling the stranger's gaze on her, and her eyes returned to the newcomer.
He wore a white shirt, open only at the neck to give him more room to breathe, and black breeches. His hair was fashioned somewhat like Jareth's, with loose strands lying against his perfect face and the rest of his hair, barely shoulder length, resting in layers against the sides of his face and down the back of his neck. His jaw was firm, yet somehow gentle, and his lips were inviting, yet so innocent, and so pure.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he took one step into the room, graceful and strong. Vesper forgot that Hunter was there, kissing her, trying to absorb all her attention. She kept her eyes fixated on the stranger and watched as he raised one hand in Hunter's direction.
Hunter growled, and Vesper looked up into his face to find that it was changing. His eyes became darker, angry, his lips became cruel and mocking, his ears became pointed, his eyebrows narrowed, and his skin obtained a certain odd shimmer to it.
"You…you aren't a goblin!" Vesper cried, pulling back from him. "You're a fairy!"
She turned from him and ran, racing out of the room and towards the end of a long corridor. There was no wall at the end of the corridor, but there was an open space revealing a brilliant moon and parts of the castle. Remembering how Sarah's hallucination had occurred, Vesper ran to the edge of the corridor and then fell, down, down, down…
Vesper sat up abruptly to find herself situated in a marsh, her legs and backside getting soaked by muddy water. She gasped and stuttered for air as she stood up, water dripping from her skirt. She was dressed in the outfit Jareth had given her, and it seemed as though everything had been a dream, but for the cold metal resting against her lower neck.
She glanced down to see Sarah's ring hanging from its chain, pressing against her skin.
It hadn't been a dream. She had nearly given away her kiss, but someone…someone had saved her.
"Vesper?"
Vesper gasped and looked around worriedly, recognizing the voice.
She was no longer with the rest of her group. She was alone, in a strange place with no idea where she was.
Hunter appeared in her vision, stepping though a thick fog.
"Are you all right?" he asked, his eyebrows narrowed.
She saw the shimmer on his face. He saw the terror in her eyes and understood immediately what was going on in her mind.
"No!" she cried and then turned and started running, mud splashing up against her legs as she struggled through the marsh.
"Vesper, don't run from me," Hunter ordered, moving after her.
"You're a fairy! Everything about the kiss was true! You're trying to steal my kiss!" Vesper shouted, struggling to find some solid ground somewhere.
"You can't outrun a fairy!" Hunter hissed, and Vesper turned her head to see him directly behind her.
She screamed, flinging her arm out to block his hand as he reached for her. He was too strong, and in an instant, he had his hand wrapped around her neck. She kicked at him, and he caught her foot and twisted it, making her fall, hard, into the mud. She gasped and kept screaming as he landed on top of her, grabbing her wrists and instantly pinning them to the cold wet ground.
"Stop it!" he snarled.
"Let me go! Let me go!" she screamed. "I won't let you take it!"
"You know who you are, don't you?" Hunter accused, lowering his face to a position just above hers.
"I don't know what I am, but I have a good guess! You get your filthy body away from me!" Vesper sobbed, struggling to pull her hands away from him.
"Not this time!" he hissed.
"You're the one that stole my necklace! I don't know what plan you have, but I know it doesn't involve my well being! Get away from me!" Vesper screamed. "Help! Somebody help!"
"There is no one here," Hunter smirked. "All this time, you thought I was the perfect gentleman, absolutely stunning. You poor creature. I could almost pity you."
"What have you done to the others?" Vesper panicked.
"They're safe and sound where we left them, back in the Haze," Hunter smiled.
"You can't do this," Vesper whispered, resorting to calm, trying to convince him to leave her alone.
"Oh, I think I can. I'll take that kiss, Princess, and then I'll kill you, so I won't have to worry about you coming back to haunt me."
"How can you do this?" Vesper screamed. "Have you no heart at all? Don't kill me! Please, you can't kill me!"
"Poor, pathetic little…"
There was a horrifying shout from somewhere nearby, and Vesper screamed when she saw a creature fling itself at Hunter, slamming right into the fairy's neck. Hunter fell over into the mud, giving Vesper the chance she needed to scramble to her feet and jump back.
"Peekalo!" she cried, both with relief and terror.
He spoke one word, and she instantly obeyed.
"Run!"
She turned and fled, jumping over brush and stumbling through the mud until she found a patch of tall grass and buried herself in it. She pulled her knees up to her face and wrapped her arms around her legs, burying her face in her knees. Terrified tears trickled down her face as the horror of everything rushed to her mind.
This whole time, Hunter had been a fairy and he had been trying to steal her kiss. He hadn't at all cared about her, but had been seeking her harm for his benefit.
"Oh God, why am I here?" the girl sniffed, curling up into a tight ball. "Why am I here?"
Thirty minutes passed, and Vesper got off the ground, soaking wet and muddy, and rushed back to where Hunter had last been. She was cautious as she neared the area, and she let out a long sigh of relief when she saw that he was nowhere to be found.
"Peekalo?" she called softly, terrified that at any moment Hunter was going to jump out of the grass and grab her. "Peekalo?"
She heard a faint cry, and she ran to the place she heard it come from. She collapsed on her hands and knees when she saw a little bundle of fur, overalls, and an acorn cap lying on the ground, coiled up into a bloody, bruised ball.
"Peekalo!" she cried, turning the goblin over to look at his face.
She immediately saw the gash in his chest and let out a cry.
The goblin had been stabbed. In saving her, he had put his own seemingly insignificant life into jeopardy, and now he was suffering for it. He was going to die. There was no way out of that horrid truth.
"Peekalo!" Vesper sobbed, gathering the goblin into her arms. "I'm so sorry! I'm so so sorry!"
She could hear his harsh breathing against her ear, and tears streamed like a fountain down her face.
"Oh Peekalo!" she wailed. "What have I done?"
He coughed, a pathetic, pained cough, and Vesper moved him so she could see his face. His large eyes were glassed over from pain, his whole pair of overalls was covered in blood, and his little ugly face was scratched up, almost to the point of being unrecognizable. He was, by far, the most unattractive, sad little creature any world ever saw, but at that moment, Vesper felt an amazing affection towards him and such gratitude that she couldn't help but feel close to him.
"You saved me, Peekalo. If you hadn't come, I would have died. Oh Peekalo, I'm so sorry!" She wrapped him in her arms and held him against her chest, rocking him as she would have a baby. Her tears matted his dirty head, and her entire heart ached as her eyes burned with tears.
This was all her fault, and she had nothing she could give the goblin before he died, to show her how grateful she was. Wait…there was something…
Vesper held the goblin away from her slightly, as she would have a doll, and then leaned forward and gently kissed him, letting her lips touch his dirty, bloody mouth. The little guy responded, nibbling on her lip uncertainly, not knowing what the girl was doing, but trying to show he cared anyways.
"You saved my life," she whispered, watching his eyes drifting closed. "You alone deserved that, Peekalo."
He let out a little choke, and then he went limp.
Vesper cried until she could cry no longer. Her whole body weakened from her exhaustion and misery, and she let herself slip to the filthy ground, still holding Peekalo close. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him against her, and let her body ooze into the mud beneath her. She already felt so dirty that she didn't really care. She had been reckless, foolish, and because of that, she had lost a brave little friend.
"Oh Peekalo, I'm so sorry," she sniffed as she fell into a deep, troublesome sleep.
There was a flash of light, shining blindingly through the goblin castle, reaching to the far edges of the Goblin City, rushing across the Labyrinth and the lands beyond.
Jareth glanced up at the sky when the flash passed and collapsed on the ground in dismay. The kiss was gone. Ryenth, in his palace, smiled in satisfaction and chuckled as he watched Jareth's reaction from the inside of a crystal. Teegan, miles away from Vesper, woke up and shivered. Onyx let out a roar of rage in his sleep and sprang to his feet, wanting to defend the princess and finding that she was nowhere to be seen.
And Sarah, locked deep within the walls of the Fairylands, stood up from her bed and moved to the bars of the prison. She took hold of the bars and gazed out at the world that stretched ahead, a strange, quivering sensation flowing through her body.
Somehow, she knew, nothing was as it seemed.
