I just finished this chapter, right then. It's a little brief, but it provides the precursor to revenge. It also contains me trying yet again to find a way to say 'glitter' without actually saying it. Which is becoming increasingly difficult. It's not a very manly substance, as fun as it may be. Last Monday I covered myself in gold glitter in art, and spent the rest of the day telling people I'd been attacked by a unicorn. This also led to a ten-minute argument in the tuckshop (canteen, for all you Yankees) line about whether or not unicorns can gore people. Which they can. A week later, and it's still turning up everywhere... Anyway, what was I talking about? Oh, yes. Revenge. I only had two people give me suggestions, so I will try and utilise (big word) both their ideas. Also, they get super dooper ultra chocolate chip virtual cookies, and you do not.

Sorry this has taken a while to get up, I've been waiting for more suggestions. Plus, I'm lazy. I'll try and get the next chapter up ASAP.

Disclaimer: I own nothing excpet the bumbling guards and the very dodgy 'court' accent. If I did own everything... Well, I think I've warned you about that.

Oh, and in regards to Toby's rooms... well, let's just say there are an awful lot of words for 'red' out there, and I used a fair bunch of 'em. I was having a Cecilia Dart-Thornton moment (she's an Australian fantasy author. If she cut out even half the description, her books would be about a hundred pages long. Instead, they're about a bajillion).


Chapter Eight

Jareth and Sarah edged cautiously down a cold hallway towards Tobias' chambers. It was a week after his coronation banquet, and they had kept out of sight by disguising themselves as servants using Jareth's magic. He detested it immensely, and it was only the look on her face that stopped him from bursting into the grand hall and destroying the wayward King with a burst of light and flames and sparkling dust.

Princess Sarah's 'death' was gossiped about at every corner. King Tobias breathed not a word about his sister, and had forbidden anyone else from doing so, but not even fear of his vengeful wrath could prevent it. Rumours flew around the castle like sparrows around breadcrumbs, always careful to avoid the fat, clawed cat hiding in the shadows. Why was there no funeral? Where was the body? Did she run off with that no-good but ever–so-dashing minstrel? Did the king have her locked in some secret dungeon? Was she really just hiding away in her tower, mourning the death of her father like some petty little ingrate? Had the king killed her?

No, he couldn't, he never would, not the king, and even if 'e did, you shouldn't say such things, 'cause that's treason, an' he don't like treason, not ol' King Tobias, no sir, you 'eard wot 'appened to Mary las' week, righ', nasty ol' business, 'ad it comin' the little thing, if you ask me, but let's leave it at that, shall we, an' jus' say that the king ain't never done no one a spot of 'arm, 'less they 'ad it comin' to 'em. And that's enough of that.

If truth be told, even in the mere week he had been in power, King Tobias had done an awful lot of people an awful lot of harm. As much as the rumour mill kept turning, no one dared to breath a word of ill against the king. He was a tyrant, and at only a week in power he had already began to twist the kingdom into something black and evil and full of hatred.

That was why Sarah and Jareth had to try so hard to stop him.

Tobias' chambers were in the tallest tower of the castle's east wing, a grey stone monolith that was beginning to look increasingly like the gnarled finger of a bloated battle corpse. The chambers themselves were large and sumptuous, decorated with crimson, velvet chaises and scarlet silks, tapestries of carmine and garnet, red gold candlesticks adorned with rubies, furs dyed vermilion and titian. An enormous four-poster bed of cherry wood took up most of one room, adjoined by a study containing several mahogany bookshelves holding innumerable volumes of illicit material, bound in burgundy leather. There was also a large rosewood desk and a fireplace made from painstakingly small pieces of rose quartz. A large, savage Red Setter dozed lazily on the hearth, when not trotting at its' master's heels.

Tobias was currently sleeping in his enormous bed, muscular chest bare and legs covered with burgundy sheets of the finest satin. Jareth knew this because he had sent a crystal rolling inconspicuously past the guards that the paranoid king kept stationed all over his tower.

Jareth and Sarah edged their way down the hall, so far remaining out of sight of the guards. Her heart beat a frantic staccato against her chest, and she clung desperately to Jareth's hand. She did not like the idea of entering the lion's den at all.

Once, when she was younger, Sarah had accompanied her father on one of his hunting trips. She had seen a man mauled to death by a newly-woken bear, at the tender age of eleven. It was not an experience she wished to relive.

When they were far enough along the hallway that they could not possibly proceed any further unnoticed, Jareth turned to Sarah and whispered quietly to her. "Now, precious, I need you to stay quiet. Don't draw any attention to yourself; my glamour is not strong enough to hide us both in plain sight."

She nodded, smiling weakly. Jareth smiled back, brushing her forehead with his lips. Then he strode out of the shadows, adopting an authorative look. He had changed his clothes and face so that he resembled one of the head guardsmen, and it was with the man's deep, rumbling baritone that he addressed the drowsy guards.

"Gentlemen!" He barked roughly.

The two men jumped, snapping to attention with bewildered expressions. "Sir!" They replied hastily.

"There's bin a bit o' trouble down in th' cour'yard." Jareth informed them in his rumbling new voice. "I want you lads to go an' sor' it out."

"Bu' sir… we've bin stationed 'ere!" On of the guards cried.

"Are you disobeyin' a direct order, boy?" Jareth yelled. "Insolent li'le pup! I'll 'ave your guts fer gar'ers!" He had become quite fond of that expression over the past week.

"No, sir! Jus'… Well, the King'd be awfool mad if 'e woke up an' we wasn' 'ere." The guard replied desperately.

"Look, you sno'y li'le piece o' swine, you does wot I tells you to, go' it? Cus if you don't, then 'is Majes'y's gonna be righ' mad that you ain' done your du'y an' let 'is courtyard get all messed up." Jareth was beginning to enjoy himself. "Now, 'oo was it tha' displeased 'im las' time? An' wot 'appened to 'im?"

"Yessir!" The men cried in unison, scrabbling off down the hallway. They'd both heard the screams, both seen the mangled remains that resulted from one of their colleagues displeasing the king.

With a wave of his hand Jareth returned himself to normal. He grinned wickedly after the two hapless guards, then beckoned to Sarah. Together, they entered the blood-red chambers of King Tobias.