Elle surprisingly adjusted a lot quicker than she had assumed she would to living in the castle. She actually began to enjoy her daily tasks, and began taking great pride in her work in the laundry room. Kaley also adjusted fantastically; she had always been somewhat difficult to manage, but with Scrump overseeing her daily care, she was actually much happier. As the time went by, Elle became more efficient at her chores and even enjoyed venturing out into the city on her days off with Asha.
Still, Elle felt uncomfortable around Jareth. She was also no longer afraid when she was around him. She rarely ever saw him actually, as he often spent a great deal of his time either in his room or study. Everyone else in the castle, however, she got along wonderfully with. Everyone from the cook, to the guards. Despite being a human, the goblins didn't seem to mind her as much as when she first came to the castle. They actually all seemed to find her rather fascinating, especially when she would tell stories about her world.
When Elle really thought about it, she found it astonishing that she and Kaley had only been there for two months because it felt like it had been so much longer. She felt at home here, somehow, and it made it seem like this was where she and Kaley truly belonged. Despite this, she found it difficult to not think about the human world, her home, and her family.
Elle sat in the castle garden, watching as Scrump and Kaley chased after butterflies. For some reason, all day she had found it impossible for her mind to not keep drifting back to thoughts of her brother and father. "Are they okay?" She wondered simply, "Do they even remember us?" She tried her best not to dwell on it, and instead focus on enjoying the lovely summer day outside with her sister. Yet she could not manage to properly distract herself from the gloomy thoughts that plagued her mind.
"What's troubling you?" Asha asked as she approached Elle, taking a seat on the stone bench next to her.
"Nothing, why do you ask?" Elle insisted.
"You humans are horrible at concealing your feelings." Asha explained. "Something is bothering you, I can see it in your eyes."
"It's nothing." Elle brushed it off, knowing if she were talk about it she wouldn't be able to take her mind off it until her burning questions were answered.
"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Asha reminded Elle, after all the two of them had become rather good friends.
"I know it's just…" Elle's voice trailed, she knew Asha would persist until she finally told her. So, with a soft sigh, she gave in, "I just wish I knew what happened to my family after Kaley and I came here…I never even got a chance to say goodbye to Eric, much less my father."
"Is that all?" Asha smiled, as if she knew something Elle obviously did not. "Well if that's it, why don't you ask Jareth to show you?"
"What?" Elle was taken a little off guard by Asha's suggestion.
"Now that his powers are at their full potential again, something as simple as peering into the human world would be easy for him. C'mon, we can go ask him to show you right now." Asha stood up and grabbed a hold of Elle's hand, but Elle yanked it away. "What's wrong?"
"I'm not so sure it would be a good idea to ask him for a favor like that." Elle explained simply as she looked down at her feet. "After all, I already know what he did for me and my sister was a lot, and I have no right to ask any more of him."
"Elle…" Asha kneeled down I front of Elle, placing her hands on Elle's knees as she looked up at her, "Then let me talk to him, okay? I'll ask him, make it seem like my idea."
"Do you really think he'll say yes?"
"Of course I do! Just because he's a little mean spirited sometimes doesn't mean he's completely heartless. Just let me talk to him."
Later that evening, well after dinner, Asha brought a cup of tea to Jareth in his study. The study was still undergoing repairs from his recent meltdown, Asha and Elle had both been working to restore to as it was before. It would have been much easier if Jareth just used his magic to fix it, but for some reason he had requested Asha and Elle fix it up for him. Asha knocked on the door; she received no answer but the door opened on its own so she took it as an invitation to enter.
Jareth sat mostly in the dark, with a one single candle lit, as he read one of his books. He looked up at Asha, closing the book and setting it on his desk. "Tea?" He asked simply.
"Yes." Asha smiled simply as she sat it on his desk.
"You only bring me tea without being asked when you want something." He observed.
"Do I?" Asha smirked as she sat on the edge of the desk.
"What is it?" Jareth asked as he reached for his tea.
"Well, it's about Elle," Asha began. Jareth leaned back in his seat, sipping his tea as he listened intently. "She misses her family-"
"She made a deal, Asha, you know that."
"Let me finish." Asha insisted. "She doesn't want to go home. In fact, I think she rather enjoys it here. But, she does want to know how her family is doing."
"You want me to cast a sight spell so she can see her family?"
"Exactly." Asha smiled, "Will you do it?"
"Give me an hour." He said with a sigh as he rose from his seat, setting the tea back down on the desk. "Then bring her to the throne room."