AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wanted to slip a little open note here to Kypriothe...

I have looked over your concern, and have noted that I made one error based on your observation(which was along the lines of why characters in the story were still referring to Zahra as Sarah Williams following her transformation). I made that fix(it was in the chapter "The Horned One"), and I do thank you for that! :)

If there were other instances, I should note that those mentions were outside of actual character acknowledgement, and were placed more for reader awareness than those of the characters of the story(ie: calling her Sarah in reference to her human life as opposed to her goblin life as Zahra). Further, it should also be noted that the High Chamberlain's enchantment permanently altered all knowledge of her identity alone. It didn't erase any past memories of what Zahra used to be, so as a matter of example, Hoggle will certainly remember his experiences alongside Sarah Williams, but he can no longer remember her human name. Only that she is now called Zahra.

Again, though...my thanks for the heads-up. :)


Zahra had Hax, and one of the goblins of his own nasty-looking entourage, join her in the exodus out of the Castle, flying over the labyrinth domain using the new Goblin Queen's crystals, soaring over to where the person the bird hat was stolen from was located, following Hax's directions under threat of being dropped to the ground far below.

The goblin group settled harmlessly to the ground, not too far from the venerable old creature's location. The green-skinned, newly-ordained monarch, who was carrying a large leather sack, then hurried over to where the creature...the Wiseman...had settled himself.

Zahra remembered that this was the exact same place where she remembered meeting him twenty years ago. The only difference was that he no longer had a hat.

He also looked significantly older, and when they saw him, he could be heard snoring loudly.

Without the bird on top of his head, a bald spot could be seen as well. Zahra had imagined that the bird on his head was actually part of his head, and if this was so, she wondered what could have happened. If the bird wasn't a part of the Wiseman's head, a spell must have been cast.

She had, however, more pressing concerns on her mind. Zahra turned to Hax and his goblin comrade. "I need to be alone with him. Stand guard, behave yourselves. And don't you dare try to listen in."

Hax snorted in amusement, but the two black-armored goblins nevertheless complied, keeping enough of a distance to be able to see her, yet far enough to stay out of earshot.

Zahra didn't trust either one of them, however, and she decided to pull a crystal, dropping it to the ground with the intent of generating an invisible dome of silence that would make both Zahra and the Wiseman unheard by anyone other than themselves.

The little goblin stepped up to the slumbering Wiseman, and gave his left leg a poke, hoping to wake him up.

No effect. The Wiseman continued to slumber deeply.

Zahra sighed. She tried giving the Wiseman's leg a slap.

No effect.

Zahra frowned. "HEY!" She yelled.

The Wiseman's eyes finally fluttered to life, although they were still heavy-lidded. His old head began to move around, looking for the source of the voice. When he spoke, his voice sounded weak and strained. "Who...who's that...?"

Zahra stepped back far enough for the Wiseman to hopefully be able to see her. "Down here."

The bald Wiseman groaned as he craned his head forward, peering over to the source of the voice...and in the haze of his vision, he saw a small, green-skinned creature in nice-looking robes. The face, however, was hazy, but he at least surmised this to be a goblin.

"Mmmm...come to steal more from me, eh?" the Wiseman weakly remarked.

"I'm not here to steal anything. I...I wanted to..."

"I know...who you were." the Wiseman then revealed, speaking slowly with each breath. "I shun goblins...for what they have done to me...they have stolen from me...they have tormented me...but, in your case...I...will make an exception. What...name...were you given?"

The new Goblin Queen looked down thoughtfully. "Zahra. I...suppose you know they made me their Queen."

"Yes." the Wiseman confirmed. "I...am not surprised. You must feel...awkward...to be part of something you were not...born into. Shall I...tell you...something about goblins?"

Zahra surmised how potentially helpful this could be. "I...I would like that."

"Then know this, Goblin Queen." The Wiseman began. "The goblin race...were always a whimsical lot. But...at the same time...reckless and...often dangerous. In the ancient times...among the fae folk...before there were Seelie...and Unseelie...the Sidhe were often subject...to their mischief."

"And the Sidhe were not amused." Zahra surmised aloud.

"At first...they were tolerant." The Wiseman explained. "But soon...the Sidhe found them...dangerous. Even destructive. The goblins...didn't care either way. Their mischief...was their pride. It wore...on the patience...of the Sidhe."

"Was there anything about the goblins that interested the Sidhe?" Zahra asked.

"Their tinkering skills...crude, but effective...were admired by the Sidhe. They were...quite clandestine...in nature...as well. There is a saying...in your world. 'These walls...have ears.' In the worlds...of the Seelie...and Unseelie...it would be a foregone conclusion...that those walls were created...by goblins."

"Are there Seelie goblins?" Zahra then asked.

"Never." the Wiseman replied. "The social distinctions...of the Seelie and Unseelie...were divided along moral potential. The goblins...were deemed far too...reckless...and dangerous...to be anything other...than Unseelie. The land...this land...was a gesture of grace...from the Seelie. Where only undesirables…those shunned by Seelie…are made to dwell. Where Seelie feared to tread."

"And Jareth?"

The Wiseman was hesitant in his answer, but it came. "Brilliant. Deceptive. Dangerous. Romantic. The perfect Goblin King."

"But...is he...is he a goblin?"

The Wiseman's head nodded forward, and it looked as if he was about to lapse into another nap. She dreaded hearing the sound of snoring, but...

"No."

Zahra frowned. "Then how can he be..."

"For as long...as he hides...behind Vanity, he...can never...be a goblin." His voice was beginning to sound weary now, and Zahra figured he was on the verge of passing out. "That...is why...they will like you. You...don't...use...a...w..."

The Wiseman's head then drooped down, his eyes closed. He then began to snore.

Zahra caught every word of his last statement, and she was able to piece it together. The nature of the secret door, and the mystery behind Jareth, astonishing and outrageous as it was.

From Stave came the basis of her theories. The secret door was a wig, as crazy as it sounded.

Until she heard the Wiseman's words. Particularly the last, unfinished part.

From this, Zahra surmised that Jareth was a goblin, and he was using a magic item to hide behind an image other than that of a goblin, perhaps out of envy for the Sidhe.

And that magic item was a wig.

Vanity was, perhaps, the name given to the item.

The only way she could possibly prove herself right was to have Jareth freed, and then confront him on these claims…but for the moment, she was content to reward the Wiseman for his information.

From her large sack, she pulled the very same bird hat that had been taken from him. The bird murmured when Zahra grabbed it. Floating behind the old creature's head, she settled the hat back upon the top of his head, after which the Goblin Queen carefully pulled the binding from the bird head's beak.

Once the bird noticed it was back on the Wiseman's head, its beak opened in surprise…but it then heard Zahra let out a shushing noise.

"He's sleeping." Zahra quietly hissed.

The bird head nodded. "Gracias, duende. Gracias!" It then gratefully whispered. "Información…free of charge! One time only!" The head looked down on the sleeping Wiseman. "Okay?"

"Okay." The Wiseman quietly replied.

"Alright?" spoke the bird.

"Alright." The Wiseman again replied.

Zahra walked away smiling. "Gracias." She whispered back.

"De nada." The now-smiling Wiseman weakly acknowledged.

Loud growling, however, was then heard ahead of where Zahra was, and the squealing of a very young female voice could also be heard. A crystal in her four-fingered hand, Zahra headed over to the source of the growling and squealing.

She soon discovered that Hax and his goblin companion had gotten hold of a sweet-looking little girl who had the ears of a Sidhe. She remembered this little girl from her time spent as a unicorn.

She was part of Vestrie's entourage.

She was, technically, the enemy in her eyes.

Hax had her mouth tightly gagged, and she groaned and squealed against bonds that were being fastened to her wrists. The other goblin was helping him hold her down.

"Well, well, well." Zahra slowly stepped into sight. "Who do we have here?"

Hax grinned, looking up at Zahra. "A spy for the Seelie, my Queen. We caught her trying to slip past us."

"Ahhh...and I happen to know that she's one of Vestrie's little sweethearts." Zahra's tone was icy now as she stepped in front of the fragrant-smelling Sidhe girl who was held up before the new Goblin Queen. "Helps tend to that blond harlot's chariot steeds."

The Sidhe girl...Cerenede...whimpered pleadingly. She had finally found the beautiful human, but not in a manner she expected.

Zahra stared contemptuously to the girl. "Are you alone, little Sidhe?" She asked, her tone quite menacing.

Cerenede shook her head slowly, fear clearly evident in her eyes.

"No, no. Of course not." Zahra mused. "A Seelie girl in the labyrinth...all by herself...wouldn't last very long, would she?" The new Goblin Queen then stepped slowly away from the Sidhe girl, silently imparting her mentalized will to the magic crystal in her hand. "If I were in your situation, little one...I'd be very afraid of what would happen to me."

Zahra hoped she was right in her suspicion as to why the Sidhe girl was here, and that her impending captivity would prove beneficial to the Goblin Queen's plan.

If she wasn't, she could at least hope that the capture of the little girl would attract the attention of Vestrie. Twice, that Sidhe noblewoman wanted to make a steed of the human she used to be.

Zahra now felt compelled to contemplate revenge.

"The Sidhe have oppressed our people for too long, little girl." Zahra menacingly remarked. "Made us feel like lower forms of life. Like…insignificant dogs! Well...you should know something about me, my little pet."

She then flashed a shark-toothed grin to the Sidhe girl. "I like dogs!"

Zahra then hurled the crystal right at Cerenede, the magic artifact forming a black leather strap, which instantaneously wrapped around the little girl's neck once the crystal touched her unblemished neck. The Sidhe girl's eyes boggled in horror.

Zahra then grinned wickedly as she slowly walked up to Cerenede. "Now let's see how much that strumpet of a noblewoman truly cares for her little servants."

She hoped one crystal…her second one…would be enough to carry them all back up towards the hovering castle.

Thankfully, her entire entourage...including her new captive...went airborne, heading slowly towards the skybound stronghold.

Fortunately, Ludo caught sight of the entourage as he searched for the Sidhe girl. By the time he spotted them, they were well out of earshot.

Horrified, the Rock Troll tromped back hurriedly to tell the others.


After everything Zahra had learned, she couldn't help but feel sympathetic for her fellow goblin brethren. For the fact that they were oppressed. For the fact that they were practically forced into a single stretch of land. It occurred to her that a bit of whimsy wasn't always a bad thing, and she even found herself contemplating some whimsy of her own.

She was starting to forget any notion of being scared...being resistant...of what she was becoming.

She was starting to feel the goblin pride. The goblin in her was quickly taking hold, and she seemed to be growing frightfully accustomed to its taste.

She was starting to understand that if this was what the Sidhe had wanted her to be, just because she happened to have a dangerous weapon upon her that she didn't even use, she might as well let go and wear her shape as well as she could.

Such were her thoughts as she composed her first speech as the new ruler of the goblins. The words came surprisingly easy. She began to anticipate the cheers and the adulation that could result from such a speech.

She very much wanted the full acceptance of her beloved goblins. She practically licked around her lips in anticipation of the moment when she was to deliver the words she was writing.

She practiced them, over and over, when she felt that the speech was just right. Committed every word of it to memory as if she were preparing for the first public performance of a play. She had to nail this oratory, or her competence as the new leader of all goblinkind within the labyrinth would be in doubt.

And that would be potentially catastrophic.

She chose not to appear in any manner of royal dress, as per a point she wanted to make in her speech. She had styled her raven hair in a rough manner of style. Not at all fancy. The outfit she chose to wear also reflected this approach.

When it was time to finally address her subjects publicly for the first time since her coronation, she found herself flanked by the Horned One himself to her right, and Hax to her left.

Stepping up a small set of stairs leading to the edge of the balcony...this time using the one in Jareth's private quarters, so she could speak openly to all of her goblins, not just the subterranean ones...she heard the chanting of her name once more, issuing forth from a veritable sea of goblins down below.

Zahra had a pair of goblin guards standing near the Horned One and Hax, those guards given instructions to watch them carefully. The Goblin Queen also had her crystals on her person, both of them shrunk to sizes that she could easily conceal in the pockets of her outfit.

She raised her green-skinned hands in a gesture of silence, her expression solemn. The crowds below slowly went quiet.

"Greetings, my beloved goblins." Zahra began, gazing upon faces she no longer regarded as grotesque or twisted. "When I look upon you all, I do not see a menagerie of miserable wretches. When I regard your pretty faces with a lingered gaze, it is as a mother lovingly regarding her children. All of whom are meant to be equally embraced as my own."

As Zahra expected, there were no reactions. Just complete silence.

"Unlike your previous ruler, who ridiculously hid behind a vain deception!" She then added, her tone laced with disgust.

A collective, thunderous howl filled the air below the balcony in appreciation of this sentiment.

"As much as the previous Goblin King, Jareth, could not be bothered to present himself bearing the visage of a goblin, I stand before you now without royal dress, without a lavish hairstyle, without shame! This is my true skin, and I wear it with pride!"

Another thunderous roar of approval from the goblin masses below. Both the Horned One, and Hax, subtly glanced to one another after hearing this part of her speech.

"As a gesture of honesty, of trust, of fellowship, I have a confession to make to you all. Some of you may already know what I am about to reveal. To the rest, you may very well be surprised."

Hax arched an eyebrow at this. The Horned One was also particularly attentive.

"During the time of his rule, Jareth took children from the world above, and turned them into one of us. Bringing them into our circle so we could raise them as our own. I am not one of those children, yet I was tasked by Jareth to rescue one from such a fate, and I succeeded. I defeated the former Goblin King! I defeated Jareth!"

Another cry of elation from the crowds below.

"I challenged him again, this time to win my own freedom when one of your own wished me back here." Zahra continued. "If I had won, I would probably have been made to deceive you just as much as Jareth routinely deceived you all with his very presence! I was instead captured, tried, and convicted of an unjust crime! The Seelie condemned me, by their perception, to remain among you as one of you! I will admit, too. I was afraid. Frightened. But then...when the almighty Horned One presented me to you all as your next great leader..." She gestured to the minotaur at this. "...you showed me your love. Your appreciation. You hoped you had found a goblin who could come before you without pretending to be something other than a goblin. My children...I shall never, ever betray this trust. Nothing will change. Your way of life will never change! Your allegiance to the Unseelie will never change! Your QUEEN will never change!"

Another loud cry of appreciation erupted from the masses below.

Zahra then raised her fists to the sky, looking down upon her subjects with a fierce gaze. "FORGET what I may have been before! I AM ZAHRA! NOW...AND FOREVER...A GOBLIN!"

A much louder roar of appreciation went up that was positively deafening. Once again, the chant of Zahra's name, coupled with the banging of weapons, rose up.

But Zahra's hands went up once again, in a plea for silence.

"As your Queen...as one of you...you should know that it was through the unjust accusations of a Sidhe that I was made to suffer."

The Horned One found this part interesting. Was she about to declare war on the High Chamb...

"Your Queen, therefore, is proclaiming the Sidhe Lord called Angaron to be a wanted man. If he is found, he is to be brought before me so I may personally deal with him!"

The minotaur's bovine eyes widened at this proclamation, and the grip on his axe tightened in his shocked fury. Hax simply frowned. The Horned One...who, of course, was actually Angaron himself...could do nothing other than make the offering of his "gift" sooner than he had planned.

"Will you do this for your Queen?" She then asked the masses below.

The voices were unanimous. "YES!"

"Will you fear me?"

"YES!" They cried out once more.

"Will you love me?"

"YES!"

"Will you do as I say?"

"YES!"

Zahra then beamed. "If you mean what you say, my dearest goblins…I will be your slave!"

The chant rose up once more, with many weapons and tools banged in emphasis. "ZAH-RA! ZAH-RA! ZAH-RA! ZAH-RA!"

The Horned One, on the other hand, quietly fumed. He wondered…feared, even…that his plot was backfiring on him. He had never imagined Zahra would become this ambitious as a goblin. He certainly didn't expect that she would turn the little wretches against his Sidhe guise! Wasn't her spite reserved for Jareth, and Jareth alone?

Still…he had to keep a cordial face. He had to play the right-hand for as long as it took for him to find an opportunity to slip his 'gift' around the new Goblin Queen's neck.

Once that was done, all worries would evaporate, and the labyrinth would truly be his.

As the masses below continued to chant, Zahra stepped away from the balcony and moved back into the private quarters, Hax and the Horned One moving with her.

"A fine speech, my Queen." The minotaur growled. "Truly, you have united your…"

"The both of you have two days to find the Sidhe Lord, Angaron." Zahra firmly declared. She then turned to the surprised goblin and the minotaur. "I don't want to see either one of you anywhere on the castle grounds until he is found and brought to me alive. Is this understood?"

As much as the minotaur had wanted to break his pose right then and there, he barely held to his patient resolve. "Yes, my Queen."

"Further, I want you to leave the Iron Winter Blade you took from Stave with me." Zahra then remarked. "I don't want to risk your wanting to use it against Angaron if he proves difficult to catch."

The minotaur's eyes narrowed. "I will bring him back alive, my Queen."

"Leave it with me anyway, minotaur." Zahra shot back. "Think of it as incentive. You won't get it back until you give me Angaron. Now be a dear and place it on the bed."

The Horned One fixed a wary gaze upon the Goblin Queen. Hax, in turn, glanced warily upon the minotaur, wondering if he'd suddenly lash out. He slowly moved a hand toward his blade.

The minotaur, however, pulled the Iron Winter Blade from his belt, scabbard and all, and tossed it on the bed.

The Horned One then tromped up to Zahra. "I don't appreciate my hand being bitten like this, goblin!"

Hax, however, stepped in front of the Goblin Queen, facing the minotaur with his hand on his blade's grip, preparing to draw. "And I don't appreciate you using that tone with our Queen, cow."

The Horned One's eyes now flared with unrestrained fury at this gesture. His right hand's grip on his large axe tightened. It looked like he could strike at any moment as he glowered down on the armored goblin standing between him and the Goblin Queen.

Hax grinned at this, though, and his eyebrow quirked. "Cut me down where I stand if you must, minotaur. All our good Queen has to do is scream loud enough to summon the hordes."

The minotaur's grip loosened.

The massive, bovine head, however, moved right up to the armored goblin's face. "Don't you ever call me a cow again, Hax."

"My, oh my." Hax mused through his grin. "What a moooo-ving show of weakness."

"STOP!" Zahra angrily cried out. "I need you two working together!" She then turned to the Horned One. "You wait outside and cool off while I reprimand this goblin. He clearly had no right to insult you like that!"

With a snort of derision, the Horned One bowed in compliance, and tromped out of the double doors, closing them behind him.

Hax watched him go before turning back to his Queen…

…who grabbed his head and planted her goblin lips upon his, kissing deeply. The armored goblin's eyes boggled with surprise.

Pulling back from the bewildered, black-armored goblin, Zahra kept her gaze, and her tone, as lusty as possible as she spoke alluringly to Hax. "I remember you once asked me if I wanted to, uh…get to know you better. You did say that, didn't you, Hax?"

Hax's expression went entirely lascivious. "Oh yes, my Queen. And believe me…" He pressed his forehead against Zahra's in emphasis, grinning with anticipation. "…I still do."

Zahra, however, kicked him away with a solid foot to his chest, sending the goblin clattering away from her.

"That's good, Hax." Zahra raised a hand, the thumb and index finger brought within an inch of their tips in emphasis. "Because you are this close. Get me Angaron, and make sure the Horned One behaves himself. Play your cards right, and I might just want to invite you to my private quarters far more often." She traced a finger along the skin of her exposed cleavage in emphasis of this.

Hax smirked. He had to admit to himself how alluring it was to have a Queen so feisty. "At your service, my Queen." He intoned, bowing low. He then went for the double doors and departed the room, closing them behind him…

…and giving a lascivious wink to his Queen as he did so.

Zahra let out a long and relieved sigh. The Iron Winter Blade was finally hers. She pulled her crystal and examined the weapon, hoping it wasn't any manner of illusion…but it was truly the very same lethal blade.

She couldn't help but wonder how many goblins Stave had killed with it.

He was, after all, in service to the Seelie Court…


The news came swiftly to the Lady Vestrie, delivered by a small group of goblins that her only remaining servant boy was powerless to prevent from making a mess of her beautiful mansion. It had not been completely wrecked, but it certainly did bear the taint of having been visibly vandalized.

The message, however, had been sent. Cerenede was now a prisoner of the new Goblin Queen, whose name was not mentioned, but it seemed entirely clear to the Sidhe noblewoman exactly who this new Queen was.

She dared not go to the High Chamberlain over this. He could very well find evidence that Vestrie had a hand in Angaron's scheming, and this would shame her in the eyes of the Seelie. She would never recover from the blow. It was bad enough that news had spread of her mansion being vandalized by a small band of obnoxious snitlings.

Her only solace, for the moment, was to hide herself someplace where her Sidhe friends would never think to find her.

Among the Seelie dwarves, a drinking establishment was a lively and raucous haven. Particularly if the establishment was within dwarven territory. Whereas in the worlds above, rabble-rousing and fights and most other kinds of pub-bound rowdiness would be perceived as a clear disturbance of the peace, it was hardly seen as unusual or even criminal to see such things happen in a pub owned and operated by Seelie dwarves. It was simply business as usual.

Vestrie had only been in dwarven company once before, and that was only because Angaron had a transaction to make with a dwarven Lord. Her first offering of dwarven brew had practically been forced upon her. A dare made by this dwarven Lord, whose name was Fjord. The dwarves had threatened to expose her presence among the dwarves to her Sidhe friends, which would have damaged a reputation which, at the time, was flawless. The brew tasted foul when she poured it down and she nearly fainted from its potency.

But she held, and finished the rest in the next tilt.

And she took a second full mug of the stuff after that, much to the surprise of the surrounding dwarves.

This was about ten years ago, and although her mouth spoke of never wanting to touch such "poison" ever again, she had admitted at the time that someday, when she felt like nothing mattered anymore, she'd go back and drown herself in the stuff.

Four empty mugs were in front of Vestrie when the Lord Fjord, who had emptied his first mug in his casual visit, stepped over to her.

"Well! By the almighty axe. The uppity Lady Vestrie herself! Ye've no dares this day, lass!" Fjord mused as he habitually stroked his gray-flecked brown beard. "What brings ye back among the dwarves?"

Half-lidded Sidhe eyes looked up at the curious dwarf, who was clad from head to toe in furs. "Bugger off." Vestrie growled. "An' take thosh poor, defens-lesh annn-malsh offff ya. I'm a…I'mmm a Sheeeel…"

Her head drooped back down.

Fjord frowned at this. The furs were from beasts that had menaced innocents, and were belligerent in nature. The dwarven Lord would never consider slaying any manner of beast that had not proven itself to be a remorseless savage. Most Sidhe knew this about the Lord Fjord, and the mighty dwarf clearly figured Vestrie was getting a bit too deep in dwarven brew.

"Ye've not been 'round these parts fer a good ten years." Fjord filled the seat opposite where the very raggedy-looking, dissheveled-haired Vestrie was kneeling. "This would'na hafta do with ye mate Angaron, aye?"

Vestrie rolled her head to the side to look up at the dwarf. "Nope." She weakly blurted.

Fjord sighed, rising from his seat. He then walked over to lift Vestrie's head up off the table, sitting her back against the wall in the corner of the bar she had chosen to drown herself in. "Deep breaths, lass. Come on."

"I want another!" She called out. "Get me a pint, dammit!"

"Ye've had…one, two…four so far!" A nearby dwarf quickly whispered in Fjord's ear. "SIX?" He incredulously cried out, as a seventh full mug was place before the inebriated Sidhe.

"Oooh! Look!" Vestrie gleefully noted. "Lucky number sheven!" She grabbed the mug by its handle. "Down the hatch with you.."

But Fjord grabbed her drinking arm. "Not so fast, lass. Ye gonna tell me why ye're lookin' ta empty our barrels o' brew some, lest ye lose the right ta drain ye 'lucky number seven' there."

Vestrie's eyes were on the mug, but seeing as how the dwarven Lord's arm was too strong to break free of, she frowned back up to him. "Ffffine."

The dwarf went back to his side, settling into the seat, and placed the pint of dwarven ale on his side, his arms surrounding it like a castle wall while his wide, stern gaze met Vestrie's bleary-eyed stare. When she finally spoke, her voice seemed to weakly ramble.

"I had everything." Vestrie began. "I had my handsome Prince…I had my marked human girl…I had two lovely unicorns. I had my social standing. I was soooooo happy. I had my Jareth…I had my Jezz-bell…I had my cuuuute little girl Cerenede…I even had the ch…champion…of th' bloody lab-rinth. Now…all gone. Boom. G'bye." Vestrie then leaned forward towards the dwarf. "I accepted that I had lost Aegeas. Never liked that pompous steed. Zahra? She loved being a unicorn. Loved it, dwarf!" She slammed a hand down at the wooden table in emphasis of this.

Vestrie then collapsed back into her seat. "Then my idiot 'mate', as you called him, comes up with this big, brilliant plan to bring goblins under his control, but I figure…hey! Jareth hates his own goblins! Ang'ron gives me Jareth, Ang'ron gets Jareth's goblins. Problem solved! But nooooooo. Jareth starts gettin' all mooooody 'bout his little Zahra. One minute, it's 'I want revenge'. And th' next…th' next…"

Vestrie lapsed into a sob, tears streaming down her eyes, before pathetically blurting out her next lament. "…it's…'I want Zahra baaaack!' He SAID this, dwarf! I wanted to be the only one in that handsome scoundrel's life! Now it's all a mess. I've got nothing. All my fault, too." Vestrie then quickly swiped the mug before the Lord Fjord could stop her. She then stared upon the liquor in anticipation, her teardrops falling into the brew. "Only…only you understand me now…Mister Pint…"

Vestrie then poured number seven down her throat. She smiled with satisfaction.

And then completely passed out, her head thudding upon the table in front of her.

Fjord sighed, and then clicked his fingers twice, rising out of his seat as his nearby advisor stepped over with two tough-looking dwarven guards. They then flanked where Vestrie had passed out and stood guard over her.

The advisor looked to Vestrie. "Pint too many, milord?"

"She's had her seven, Praed. Seven mugs of our finest nectar knocks out any Sidhe. Never fails." Fjord noted. "Each mug a willin' lament, too. She's a right broken lass, that one. We'll have the High Chamberlain collect her."

"I'll send him 'round, milord." Praed confirmed, with a compliant bow, before stepping away to do his deed.

The Lord Fjord's curiosity, however, had been stoked by the broken noblewoman's lamentations, and he made a mental note to make inquiries to the arriving Chamberlain.

He also wondered if his old friend, Hoggle, had any involvement in this situation…