"Of course, I love Luna. How could I not? She once carried my child. Despite that you, my sweet, are the love of my life. You are the one that promised to love and to cherish, and I will uphold that promise," Jareth assured her, looking lovingly into her eyes and stroking her hand. She smiled at him.
Hades smirked, "How sweet? I really was in shock that you said that because you and Luna seemed quite chummy lately. Necrophilia seems like one of those fantasies that one carries out with only the most intimate of individuals."
Sarah got nauseous, "What the hell is wrong with you Jareth? You and Luna screwed a dead person? Was that what he was talking about when he mentioned your mother? You are a filthy, disgusting−"
"I did nothing of the sort! I really do not like be accused of such things. The thought of doing that to the corpse of my own mother is simply revolting. That thing was going to force me on her body. I was not there on my own accord, I assure you. The injuries I received came from whippings from her. Luckily, Luna fought the daemon long enough for me to escape," Jareth admitted. His voice was weak and his hands began trembling at the memory. He blinked away a few tears that were threatening to come through. Sarah realized by the way he looked that he could not be lying. She placed small kisses on each of his eyelids, and held him to her. Lillian used her free hand to stroke her brother's shoulder.
The god looked at clock on the wall, "Well, that was fun. It is a pity that you must leave so soon. The blind women told me that Dillon and Pashmina have found what you were looking for. You must go, quickly. It is a long journey back home. Do not hesitate to come by again. Especially you, Lillian, your daughter is so precious. We must set up a tea party or something for her, she is an absolute doll."
"We will see," Lillian answered.
"Oh, and one last thing, Jareth," Hades added, tossing him a small ebony blanket, "You will be needing this soon."
Jareth looked at the soft material inquisitively, "What is th−"
Hades placed a finger to Jareth's lips, "All in good time, dear boy, all in good time."They gathered themselves and headed back to the boat. Cerberus was napping on the floor next to the cloaked being. Jareth petted the top of each of their heads. Lillian pulled out twelve more coins and held it out to the hooded figure. He flashed his teeth briefly then ushered them in to the gondola. When they entered, the water reappeared under them.
"Fudge monkeys! They're back!" Pashmina whispered to Dillon. They both ducked down behind a shelf. Pashmina hid the books in her satchel. He peeked out of the side to see the two winged goblins.
"How are we going to able to get out of here?" Dillon mouthed back. One of the goblins heard him, and flew towards him.
The creature snickered, "Hey it's that erm toilet paper boy!" It grabbed him by the legs, hoisting him up in the air. Pashmina started throwing books at the old goblin. When she got its foot, the goblin dropped him. The other goblin brought his attention to her. It wrapped its putrid little fingers around its mouth. She bit the thing, and it screamed as she spat on the floor. With the back of her hand, she wiped her mouth. Seeing Dillon on the floor, she rushed to him.
"You alright?" she asked.
"I'm fine," he groaned wincing a bit, "Do you have the book?"
Pashmina patted her bag, "Right here. How are we planning to get out of here?" Just as he went to respond, the goblins returned their attention to them. They bolted to the door as fast as they could. Unfortunately, the goblins were quickly behind them.
They race down the different hallways. Winged goblins were on their trail. As Pashmina and Dillon sped up, the goblins followed suit. Eventually, they found their way out of the castle. By the luck of the stars, Lillian and her carriage were parked right in front. One of the goblins grab hold of Dillon's hair. Before thinking Sarah rushed to save her son. She grabbed hold of his feet and tossed the creature into the ground. The three of them bolted to the carriage. When they were safely in the carriage, Lillian took off as fast as she could. The goblins got worn out and stop their pursuit.
"Are you alright?" Jareth asked.
Dillon gasped harshly, "We're fine, thanks." He brushed his hair out of his face.
"Did you find anything of use?" Lillian questioned.
"Um yeah . . . I think so. We found this weird old witchcraft book, has stuff about demons," the boy answered.
Lillian raised an eyebrow, "Stuff of what kind?"
Pashmina spoke up, "It shows how to defeat the demon, but there is a lot you must do to complete this task."
"Like what?" Sarah butted in.
"Um we have to get different items, snips and snails and puppy dog tails, you know how that goes," Pashmina stated winking at Jareth.
Jareth acknowledged her jest and stroked his chin, "I see."
Pashmina stroked a sore shoulder, "Did you find what you were looking for?"
Lillian sighed, "Unfortunately, we did." The young elf nodded her head in acknowledgment. With that, Pashmina already knew what she was talking about. As everyone suspected, Cyril was a part of this disastrous plan. As much as it hurt to think of her husband in that way, Lillian could no longer stay in denial. For the rest of the trip home, Sarah informed them of what happened in Hades' domain. She told them of the monster and the three headed dog and about Hades himself. Primrose made noises trying to get Pashmina's attention. The elf ignored her because she was too interested in Sarah's story. Not many creatures could say they have made it out of the underworld alive so stories about it were always interesting to the Undergrounders.
A few hours passed, and they finally made it to the goblin city. Jareth suggested that they hid in an oubliette while working on a spell. He had no doubt that there would be goblins that might report something if they saw it. They would always stay clear of the oubliettes because they could never find their way out. After they found a good spot, they sat down. Roberto guided the children a little farther away, just in case the spell was dangerous. Pashmina took the book out of the bag. Sarah looked over the spell book for a moment, noting that it was written in a language unfamiliar to her.
"How are we supposed to read this?" she asked.
Dillon smiled at his mother, "Only elves can read it, and now that I have lf blood. I can read it." She passed it back to Pashmina.
"Alright, let us see what this book has to offer, yes?" Lillian prompted. The young elf flipped through the pages. Since the book was rather large, it took a lot of searching. The group waited with anticipation for her to find what she was looking for. Dillon stopped her from turning the page.
"That's it!" Dillon announced.
Pashmina blushed, "Oops, I almost missed it. Thank you."
Jareth looked at them impatiently, "Well? What does it say?"
"Salagadoola means mechicka booleroo, but the thingamabob that does the job is bibbidi-bobbidi-boo," Dillon sang. Sarah pegged him with a look and he stopped, "Okay, okay we need to gather some blood of the types that created the spell."
"So we need fae blood and goblin/witch blood. Dammit, how are we going to get pure fae blood around here? I cannot even tell if a goblin is part witch or not," Lillian groaned.
Jareth held up a finger, "Hold on, Luna had befriended a relative of Leseda. Sprickle was her name. I could find her. Luna is keeping Father somewhere in this castle. If someone could sneak past the guards, I am positive he will be more than willing to give up a sample. Is there anything else that is required for the spell?"
Pashmina ran her finger over a few the words, "We need three rocks, chalk, and a vial to keep the blood in."
"Then we just say the magic words and poof. That's it?" Sarah asked. This whole thing seemed a little too easy in her eyes.
The elf shook her head, "I wish it was that simple. After the words are said, Luna must drink the vile."
Sarah grumbled, "How are we supposed to manage that?"
Small wheels started turning in Jareth's head like gears on a grandfather clock, "Do not worry about that bit, my love. I got a plan for that when the time comes time. Now, Sarah and Lillian will start talking to goblins about this or that. One of them is bound slip on the location of the prisoners. I will find Sprickle. Dillon and Pashmina will gather the rest of the items needed for the spell. We will meet back here in the morning with what we have. Is everyone clear on the plan?" They nodded in unison before heading off their separate ways.
Lillian and Sarah started at the kitchens. They could find the most goblins there. At first there was no one there. This seemed rather odd for a goblin kitchen. Sarah gathered a small cup from one of the counters so she could the blood in. Then, they heard some snickering taking place in the back. Naturally, the women headed toward the sound. A group of goblins were huddled together, tearing apart some red velvet cake. The goblins' looked up with fear in their eyes. Clearly, they were not supposed to be eating this cake. This predicament would put Lillian at a certain advantage. She decided to use black mail as her angle.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" she purred in a threatening tone.
"Please, no tell heinie," a tiny one begged.
She looked at her nails seemingly uninterested with what they had to say, "I think I will tell her highness."
A slightly bigger one whined, "No! We does anything, just no tell!"
"Anything?" Lillian bent down to their level, "Do any of you know where they are keeping the fae prisoners?"
The tiny one piped up again, "Chum knows!"
Sarah asked, "Will Chum take us?" He nodded fervently before racing bouncing off towards the door. They followed behind him even though he gave no indication that they should. Down various mucky halls they went desperately trying to keep up with their tour guide. He was tiny and quick on his feet. Both the women were exhausted because it had been a long day and it was proving to be an even longer night. These tasks had to be performed quickly so there was no time to recuperate.
Each hall they traveled down was a shade darker than the previous one. Night was creeping fast on them. Suddenly, the little goblin tour guide stopped. He motioned for Sarah to hand him the torch that was just out of his reach. At first she was a little apprehensive. Giving a goblin fire could be extremely dangerous for all of them. Despite her better judgment, she handed it to him. There was no way they could continue without it because it was getting so dark. Chum stopped at an old mahogany door. He turned it quietly, and put a finger to his lips to signal that they should be quiet too. After they nodded, he motioned for them to follow him.
There was giant goblin snoring on a chair next to the cells. Lillian noted that there were no keys in sight. Luna probably would not give a goblin that sort of responsibility. Though she wished she could release her father and the other royals she could not. However, she could still get a blood sample through the bars. All of the inmates were asleep in a pile except for one. The former dragon princess smiled at her.
"Where is my father?" Lillian mouthed.
"He's sleeping over there. Want me to wake him?" she asked and both girls nodded. She went to the back of the cell. "Your highness, your highness!" She whispered, "Your daughter is here."
He rubbed his eyes and headed towards the bars of the cell, "Oh Lillian, I am so glad to see you."
"Me too, but we do not have much time."
Sarah tacked on, "We need a sample of your blood for a spell to defeat Luna. We need the blood of a full blooded fae."
Lillian pulled her queen's pendant from the inside of her shirt, "Give me your arm." Aldred obliged his daughter by extending arm outside of the cell. Using a pointed edge of the pendant she pierced the skin on his wrist. He bit back a hiss and looked up at the ceiling to keep his mind off the pain. She truly felt bad for injuring him, but he was a true fae, just like Cyril. This little bit of pain might end the suffering of the creatures of the Underground. Soon she, Aldred, Jareth, and the other royals could return their land to its former glory.
"Thank you, your highness" Sarah whispered.
He nodded in acknowledgement, "Make sure you stop her soon. She plans to kill us soon. May luck be on your side, my dears."
"Thank you, Father. I will not rest until you are released from this cell," Lillian kissed Aldred's hand before they headed off.
Dillon picked up three rocks from the floor of the oubliette, "One. Two. Three. I got three rocks. Where do we get next?"
"Chalk," Pashmina answered, "Then we get the vial."
"Okay, where do we find chalk?" he asked while pocketing the three rocks. She put the spell book back in her satchel, and looked at him leaning against the wall.
Pashmina placed a small chaste kiss on his lips, "I think we could find some on the outskirts of the goblin city. There are tons of rocks there and it would surprise me if we found chalk rocks there. If not, they might sell some in a goblin market, but you know how goblins are."
"Yea, they'd raise the price as soon as they see us. So let's head to goblin city," Dillon kissed her sweetly back. They headed towards a door in the oubliette. First, he pulled the door open on the left. Unfortunately, it was a broom closet and it fell onto him. Pashmina laughed before opening it right way for them to escape. She thought about how the dwarves used to do that all the time when she was younger. Whenever Jareth was out on business, dwarves were in charge of her. It was fun because she loved pulling pranks on them, and they got frustrated easily. She really could not get Jareth angry like that. Jareth loved a good prank, no matter who was pulling it. Before Sarah came about, he was said to be one of the best pranksters in the Underground. Though he was not normally in the mood for pranks in his state of depression, he would humor her attempts at getting him. Needless to say, he always got her back.
They walked a little ways north until they found the place Pashmina was talking about. Loads and loads of rocks went as far as they could dare look. There were big ones, small ones, sharp ones, dull ones, shiny ones, faded ones, polished ones, and dusty ones. No particular rhyme or reason was used in the grouping of these piles. Alas, this would only add to the difficulty of the task.
"Rock-callers, they used to live around these parts," Pashmina stated, while picking up and inspecting a rock.
"That's what Ludo is, right?" Dillon asked and she nodded, "What happened to them?"
She grabbed a white one and tried to write on the floor with it, "Dang it, I thought that was chalk for sure. Anyways, the goblins chased them out. They would tie them up and whack them with whatever they could find."
"So they were like piñatas?"
Pashmina raised an eyebrow at him, "What's a piñata?"
He scratched his head thinking of how he would explain it, "It's like a thing made of colorful paper, and it's filled with sweets and prizes. At parties they had one dangling from a tree. They would blindfold the kids, spin them around, and try to hit it with a stick or a bat or something. They tried to break it open and get the goodies."
"Well, I suppose you could compare it to that if you wanted to. As I was saying, most of the rock-callers left to go back to their kingdom. A few of them stay around here, but I was told there was much more a few decades ago," she explained. From a distance, Dillon saw another white stone. He went towards it and it started walking away. The boy shrieked in surprise. Pashmina giggled, "Don't tell me you're afraid of a little bug."
"I'm not. It just− It startled me. That's all," he defended. She gave him knowing wink. Dillon rolled his eyes at her, and when he did that he noticed another rock. He grabbed it and wrote on the floor with it. Lo and behold, it was chalk.
Pashmina snatched the rock from his hand, "Great job, Babe. Now, it is time to get the vial."
Dillon nodded, "We could try going the glass shop by the castle. They are bound to have something like that in there. It's owned by dwarves so we don't have to worry about pricing." She nodded in agreement and went towards the castle. Just like he had said, the little shop was out front. It was dusty and brown with a splintering wood frame. He knocked on the door once and he got no answer. Then she tried and still no answer. Dillon tried once more.
"Alright 'lready. Hold'ja horses," an old woman griped before opening the door.
"Is this the glass shop?" Pashmina questioned.
The women eyed her cautiously, "That it is. What can I do fer ya young folks?"
"We are looking for a small vial. Possibly one with a chain that one could hang around a wrist or neck," she answered.
"Well, yer just in luck. I have one like that's in the back right therr," the store keeper told them. She walked inside and motioned for them to follow her. There was different shaped glass things every which way looked. They went through a curtain of glass beads that flowed around them like a waterfall. Before them, the shop keeper stopped. She blew the dust off a little brown box before opening it. In the box was a clear blue vial attached to a necklace. "This watcha had in mind?"
"Yes, it is perfect thank you. How much is it?" Pashmina questioned.
"Thattle be four gold ones," she stated and Dillon handed her the money.
Jareth decided to go to the throne room with the hopes that he could find a goblin that could point him in the right direction. If his memory served him right, Sprickle was one of the more well-known goblins so he was bound to find someone that knows her. He searched and searched through the goblins until he saw a familiar face.
"Grog!" he called out.
"Yes, yer heinie," the goblin answered, temporarily forgetting Jareth's lesser-status, "Uh, Grog means 'whadaya want?'"
Jareth smiled at his old companion, "I need to find a goblin that goes by the name of Sprickle. Do you know of her?"
Grog nodded excitedly, "Grog knows! Grog knows!"
He put a hand Grog's shoulder, "Smart boy, I knew there was a good reason to have you in charge during my reign. Now, can you help me find her?" Jareth smiled at him. Grog loved to please everyone, and that was the true reason he had chosen him as a guard. Nothing made him happier than making his king smile. Jareth had always used this to his advantage, and it seemed as though it would work again at this moment.
"Yes, yes Grog takes heinie! Grog takes heinie!"
"Excellent. Lead the way," he purred. Grog walked as fast as his legs could carry him. The goblin did not want to disappoint. Jareth strode quickly behind him, ignoring the onlookers. Things were going precisely as he planned it. Hopefully, he could get the blood from Sprickle just as easily. All of this had to be done without the attention of Luna and Leseda. As they walked to their destination, Jareth pondered about a way to get the goblin's blood. Grog took them to a place outside of the castle that was a garden at one point, but now looked like a land fill. A little goblin was on top of the pile, patting the dirt down. "Excuse us."
Sprickle turned around to look at Jareth with wide eyes, "Old heinie?"
"Sprickle, what are you doing up there?" he raised an eyebrow inquisitively at her.
"Makin' pity fwowers," she stated simply. The two of them climbed up the pile to get her.
Jareth offered her a warm smile, "That is nice, but now your dress is a total mess. Come here, my sweet. Let us get you cleaned up." She furrowed her eyebrows at him. Goblins hated baths, and she was no exception to that rule. He pegged her with a look and the frown dropped. Sprickle raised her arms so he would pick her up. In the past, he would have been reluctant to that, but now he was used to the filth. The former king carried her to his and Sarah's house. Grog tagged along. Jareth turned on the water in the bathtub, and Sprickle eyed it in fear.
"Don't wanna," she stamped her foot down.
"Dear, I promise it will be done quickly. Will you let me clean you if I promise to plant flowers with you tomorrow?" he coaxed. Sprickle seemed to ponder it a moment then nodded. Next, Jareth took her into the water. The water darkened instantly from the dirt in her hair. He grabbed a bar of soap and started working on her back. Grog closed his eyes as if that would stop any bath from coming to him in the future. Jareth took a cup of water from the sink and poured it down her hair. "Oh, Sprickle your hair is awfully knotted. Would you mind if I cut just a bit off?"
Sprickle frowned, "Only if heinie brings pity woses."
Jareth nodded, "That I can do. Grog, fetch me my scissors. They are in the drawer in my bed room."
"Yes, old heinie," he stated obediently. Then he hurried off to carry through with his task. The drawer was near thee bed in his room like Jareth told him. Grog went through his things until he found a pair of dull grey scissors. He headed back to the bathroom quickly, and handed it back to Jareth.
"Perfect. Now, Sprickle, I need you to stay still while I do this," he said in a tone that he heard Luna use with the goblins once upon a time. Jareth started snipping away. Then he cut her on her head on purpose, but made it look as if it was an accident.
Her eyes welled up with tears, "Ow!"
The former king wiped her tears with his thumb, "I am so sorry, Sprickle. It was an accident. Grog, pass me that towel by the door. I have to put pressure on this so it heals faster." The goblin handed him the towel, and he applied pressure to the wound. The blood that got on the towel would be used for the spell.
"Baf time done for Sprickle?" Grog asked sounding concerned.
"Yes, yes we are all done here."
[[Sorry for it took so long to update. We moved and the internet would not work for like ever! Ugh, I had to do things like go outside. Disgusting, I know. Thank you for your patience, Tata!]]