Chapter Two: Another Sleepless Night...
"It worked!!" Calliope did a little dance around the Fey King. "It worked, it worked, it worked!!!"
Stephan merely smiled. "You doubted it would?"
Calliope laughed. "Well, no, but still..." She snorted. "Did you see the look on Jareth's face? It was priceless! Absolutely priceless!!" The Labyrinth muse sighed. "But I suppose I have to be getting back now. I promised Caillean I'd help her finish decorating Greywolf Manor." She pulled out a crystal and prepared to leave.
Stephan grabbed the crystal. "Wait a minute. You're supposed to be mad at Caillean, remember?"
"Oh, damn. I forgot." Calliope frowned. "Thanks for reminding me. Oh well, I guess I'll just head back to my cottage." She turned.
Stephan thought furiously for a moment, and then grabbed her arm. "Or you could stay here. Join me for dinner and then I could take you for a ride in the countryside. It's really lovely this time of year." The Fey King smiled. "You don't have snow on Olympus, do you?"
"No."
"Then it's settled." He held out an arm and gave a short bow. "Will you join me for dinner, my lady?"
Calliope giggled and dropped into an exaggerated curtsey. "I would love to, kind sir."
And with that, the pair walked, arm in arm, into the dining room.
* * * * *
Elsewhere in the Underground, things were not nearly so cheerful.
"Caillean, would you please stop snoring?!?"
The lump of blankets on the couch stirred. "I do not snore."
"Fine then, whatever." Sounds of creaking bedsprings could be heard and then all was silent again.
For a minute or so, anyways.
"Caillean, for the last time, Would. You. Stop. Snoring!?"
"Jareth, for the last time, I. Do. Not. Snore!"
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't."
"Do too!"
"Do not!"
"Um, excuse me?"
Both Caillean and Jareth sat bolt upright. "Who said that?"
"Uh, me."
Jareth rolled his eyes. "And who, pray tell, is ' uh, me?'"
There was a pause and then the sound of paper rustling. "Er, sorry to bother you, your highness, but could you please turn on the lights?"
The Goblin King gave a very put-upon sigh and conjured a crystal. Instantly, the bedchambers were brightly lit.
Squinting against the sudden brightness, Caillean stared at their visitor. A small goblin, wrapped in what appeared to be a length of white tulle, was standing in the doorway, reading a piece of parchment.
"I....am....the...Goblin...of...Christmas...Past...come...to...visit...you...this...Christmas...Eve."
"Jareth, how in the world did I let you drag me into this?" Caillean groaned and burrowed back under the covers.
Which promptly disappeared.
"Now, now. Can't have you going back to sleep. If I have to put up with this, so do you!" Jareth turned to face the small goblin in the door. "Let's get on with it. The sooner we start, the sooner..." The king trailed off as loud footsteps were heard coming down the hall. "Oh, what now?!"
Caillean stifled a laugh as a very tall and very round goblin wearing a moth-eaten robe appeared behind the first goblin. "If my memory of Dickens serves, I would guess this is the Goblin of Christmas Present."
The King of the Goblins buried his face in his hands and moaned.
* * * * *
"Oh, it's lovely, just beautiful!" Calliope snuggled deeper under the warm blanket as the horse-drawn sleigh crested the snow-covered hilltop. She looked out over the countryside, at the tall pine trees covered perfectly in snow. Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, Calliope turned to her escort.
It was funny, but she had never really noticed just how handsome Stephan was. Sure, he was attractive enough with his dark hair and green eyes, not to mention his physique.... wait. Don't want to think about that right now.
There was something else about him though, something she hadn't noticed before. Stephan thoroughly enjoyed life. He was always conscious of the beauty in things, and in the world around him. How had he become so different from his brother?
"A penny for your thoughts." Stephan smiled down at the muse.
"What? Oh... nothing. I... that is, I was just thinking."
"About?"
She looked up to meet his green gaze. "Oh, just the eyes... I mean the trees. They're very green...nice."
"Yes." He smiled. "They are."
"Yes, well..." Calliope could feel a blush steal across her cheeks. Trying not to let him see, she reached up and tugged on a passing branch. A bit of snow dropped from the pine into her lap. She gazed down at it for a moment, and then a small smile lit her eyes.
At the next turn, Calliope casually lifted her arm and tugged on a branch. She got it at just the right moment, and a cascade of snow fell on Stephan's head. She had meant to pretend nothing amiss had occurred, but the expression on his face sent her into a peal of giggles.
He studied her for a moment with a mock frown, and then grumbled. "Minx."
He pulled the horses to a stop.
* * * * *
"Wait a minute." Aren't you all supposed to show up *after* one another?" Caillean looked at the three goblins standing before Jareth's bed.
"Well..." The Goblin of Christmas Present shrugged. "We weren't sure which one should go first."
"Yes." The Goblin of Christmas Future nodded. "We figured that you'd be able to tell us who goes first."
Jareth and Caillean exchanged a look. Shrugging his shoulders, Jareth kicked away his bedcovers and stood up. "I believe the story goes that you take me..."
"Ahem."
"Us..." he corrected with a gesture to Caillean. "Take us to my past."
"Oh." The Goblin of Christmas Past nodded. "Okay then."
Caillean suddenly felt her stomach fill with butterflies. Her vision blurred and the floor slipped out from under her feet.
The next moment, her vision cleared, and she found herself in a large stone chamber. Glancing around herself, she took in the wall coverings of deep tapestry and the floor rugs of rich velvet and furs.
Then she turned and saw Jareth.
Choking back a giggle, she looked at his doublet and pantaloons that could only have come from the early Elizabethan period of England.
"Stop staring." He growled. "At least your legs are covered... although the rest of you..." His grimace turned into something akin to a leer.
Caillean looked down at herself.
Oh dear.
Caillean had never considered herself a well-endowed woman, but what she did have was fairly pouring out of the top of her dress.
Nearly blushing a shade to match her hair, Caillean avoided Jareth's gaze and merely turned to the Goblins of Christmas.
"We're supposed to be observing, not participating."
They looked back at her with equally blank stares. "But this is the past." One of them chirped. "You have to fit in."
Jareth shook his head in frustration. "Are you saying that we can be *seen*?"
At that moment, a younger version of Jareth, perhaps ten or twelve years of age, walked around the corner and spotted the intruders.
"Who the devil are you?"
Caillean and Jareth exchanged looks of dismay.
Taking a deep breath, Caillean stepped forward.
* * * * *
"Why you..." Calliope, already covered in a fair amount of snow, picked up another snowball and launched it towards the Fey King.
Neatly dodging the ball, Stephan ran forward and grabbed the muse's arms. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He laughed and pulled her into a bank, covering them both in snow.
Calliope landed with a shriek, nearly on top of him and the two rolled about in the snow, the muse eventually ending up sandwiched between a snowdrift and the very warm body of the Fey King. After a moment, their laughter faded, and she found herself staring rather intently into his green eyes.
"Are you cold?" He asked after a moment.
"A little," she said, smiling coyly. When Stephan shifted to stand and help her up, she grabbed his hand and gave a quick twist, pulling the startled king back to the ground. Another roll and she was on top of him. She scooped up a handful of snow. Smiling innocently, she regarded the Fey King. "Now then, what are we going to do with you?"
Stephan smiled back. "My dearest muse, I think perhaps the question should be what are we going to do with *you*."
"Huh?"
Another twist and a roll had their positions reversed. Calliope yelped as Stephan very calmly began shaping a snowball. Grinning wickedly, he gently tossed it from hand to hand.
Calliope wriggled ineffectively beneath the king. "Stephan, please..." She managed to free her arms and tried to steal the snowball. The Fey King laughed. "Really, now, do you think I'd let you get away *that* easily?" He grabbed her wrists with his free hand, trapping them above her head. He grinned. "Now what are you going to do?"
"Um, close my eyes, cringe, and wish it was summer?"
* * * * *
"Go ahead, your highness. Tell him who we are."
The Goblin King growled low in his throat. "I will get you back for this." When Caillean only smiled sweetly at him, he stepped towards the young boy. "I am Jareth, King of -"
"No, you're not."
Jareth looked at the younger Jareth. "I beg your pardon?"
"*I'm* Jareth. My father told me it was an original name. So you can't be Jareth. And you don't look like a king to me." He folded his arms.
Caillean laughed. "Boy, J, you haven't changed at all!"
The young king turned to face the redhead, looking her up and down. "You, on the other hand, can be whomever you like." He smiled suggestively.
She rolled her eyes. "Haven't changed a bit!" Caillean turned to face the goblins. "Can't you *do* something about this? We could be changing history, for all you know!"
The three goblins looked at each other in confusion. "Uhh..."
Caillean sighed. "Look, why don't you just transport Jareth and I back to the present and we'll discuss it there."
The Goblin of Christmas Past smiled. "I can do that!" There was a bright flash of light and the group reappeared in the king's bedchambers.
"Thank you." Caillean said, with obvious relief. "Now then," she said, turning to face the king.
"Damn." Grinning widely at her was Jareth...age 12.
Meanwhile, back in the past...
"CAILLEAN!!!!!"
* * * * *
"It worked!!" Calliope did a little dance around the Fey King. "It worked, it worked, it worked!!!"
Stephan merely smiled. "You doubted it would?"
Calliope laughed. "Well, no, but still..." She snorted. "Did you see the look on Jareth's face? It was priceless! Absolutely priceless!!" The Labyrinth muse sighed. "But I suppose I have to be getting back now. I promised Caillean I'd help her finish decorating Greywolf Manor." She pulled out a crystal and prepared to leave.
Stephan grabbed the crystal. "Wait a minute. You're supposed to be mad at Caillean, remember?"
"Oh, damn. I forgot." Calliope frowned. "Thanks for reminding me. Oh well, I guess I'll just head back to my cottage." She turned.
Stephan thought furiously for a moment, and then grabbed her arm. "Or you could stay here. Join me for dinner and then I could take you for a ride in the countryside. It's really lovely this time of year." The Fey King smiled. "You don't have snow on Olympus, do you?"
"No."
"Then it's settled." He held out an arm and gave a short bow. "Will you join me for dinner, my lady?"
Calliope giggled and dropped into an exaggerated curtsey. "I would love to, kind sir."
And with that, the pair walked, arm in arm, into the dining room.
* * * * *
Elsewhere in the Underground, things were not nearly so cheerful.
"Caillean, would you please stop snoring?!?"
The lump of blankets on the couch stirred. "I do not snore."
"Fine then, whatever." Sounds of creaking bedsprings could be heard and then all was silent again.
For a minute or so, anyways.
"Caillean, for the last time, Would. You. Stop. Snoring!?"
"Jareth, for the last time, I. Do. Not. Snore!"
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't."
"Do too!"
"Do not!"
"Um, excuse me?"
Both Caillean and Jareth sat bolt upright. "Who said that?"
"Uh, me."
Jareth rolled his eyes. "And who, pray tell, is ' uh, me?'"
There was a pause and then the sound of paper rustling. "Er, sorry to bother you, your highness, but could you please turn on the lights?"
The Goblin King gave a very put-upon sigh and conjured a crystal. Instantly, the bedchambers were brightly lit.
Squinting against the sudden brightness, Caillean stared at their visitor. A small goblin, wrapped in what appeared to be a length of white tulle, was standing in the doorway, reading a piece of parchment.
"I....am....the...Goblin...of...Christmas...Past...come...to...visit...you...this...Christmas...Eve."
"Jareth, how in the world did I let you drag me into this?" Caillean groaned and burrowed back under the covers.
Which promptly disappeared.
"Now, now. Can't have you going back to sleep. If I have to put up with this, so do you!" Jareth turned to face the small goblin in the door. "Let's get on with it. The sooner we start, the sooner..." The king trailed off as loud footsteps were heard coming down the hall. "Oh, what now?!"
Caillean stifled a laugh as a very tall and very round goblin wearing a moth-eaten robe appeared behind the first goblin. "If my memory of Dickens serves, I would guess this is the Goblin of Christmas Present."
The King of the Goblins buried his face in his hands and moaned.
* * * * *
"Oh, it's lovely, just beautiful!" Calliope snuggled deeper under the warm blanket as the horse-drawn sleigh crested the snow-covered hilltop. She looked out over the countryside, at the tall pine trees covered perfectly in snow. Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, Calliope turned to her escort.
It was funny, but she had never really noticed just how handsome Stephan was. Sure, he was attractive enough with his dark hair and green eyes, not to mention his physique.... wait. Don't want to think about that right now.
There was something else about him though, something she hadn't noticed before. Stephan thoroughly enjoyed life. He was always conscious of the beauty in things, and in the world around him. How had he become so different from his brother?
"A penny for your thoughts." Stephan smiled down at the muse.
"What? Oh... nothing. I... that is, I was just thinking."
"About?"
She looked up to meet his green gaze. "Oh, just the eyes... I mean the trees. They're very green...nice."
"Yes." He smiled. "They are."
"Yes, well..." Calliope could feel a blush steal across her cheeks. Trying not to let him see, she reached up and tugged on a passing branch. A bit of snow dropped from the pine into her lap. She gazed down at it for a moment, and then a small smile lit her eyes.
At the next turn, Calliope casually lifted her arm and tugged on a branch. She got it at just the right moment, and a cascade of snow fell on Stephan's head. She had meant to pretend nothing amiss had occurred, but the expression on his face sent her into a peal of giggles.
He studied her for a moment with a mock frown, and then grumbled. "Minx."
He pulled the horses to a stop.
* * * * *
"Wait a minute." Aren't you all supposed to show up *after* one another?" Caillean looked at the three goblins standing before Jareth's bed.
"Well..." The Goblin of Christmas Present shrugged. "We weren't sure which one should go first."
"Yes." The Goblin of Christmas Future nodded. "We figured that you'd be able to tell us who goes first."
Jareth and Caillean exchanged a look. Shrugging his shoulders, Jareth kicked away his bedcovers and stood up. "I believe the story goes that you take me..."
"Ahem."
"Us..." he corrected with a gesture to Caillean. "Take us to my past."
"Oh." The Goblin of Christmas Past nodded. "Okay then."
Caillean suddenly felt her stomach fill with butterflies. Her vision blurred and the floor slipped out from under her feet.
The next moment, her vision cleared, and she found herself in a large stone chamber. Glancing around herself, she took in the wall coverings of deep tapestry and the floor rugs of rich velvet and furs.
Then she turned and saw Jareth.
Choking back a giggle, she looked at his doublet and pantaloons that could only have come from the early Elizabethan period of England.
"Stop staring." He growled. "At least your legs are covered... although the rest of you..." His grimace turned into something akin to a leer.
Caillean looked down at herself.
Oh dear.
Caillean had never considered herself a well-endowed woman, but what she did have was fairly pouring out of the top of her dress.
Nearly blushing a shade to match her hair, Caillean avoided Jareth's gaze and merely turned to the Goblins of Christmas.
"We're supposed to be observing, not participating."
They looked back at her with equally blank stares. "But this is the past." One of them chirped. "You have to fit in."
Jareth shook his head in frustration. "Are you saying that we can be *seen*?"
At that moment, a younger version of Jareth, perhaps ten or twelve years of age, walked around the corner and spotted the intruders.
"Who the devil are you?"
Caillean and Jareth exchanged looks of dismay.
Taking a deep breath, Caillean stepped forward.
* * * * *
"Why you..." Calliope, already covered in a fair amount of snow, picked up another snowball and launched it towards the Fey King.
Neatly dodging the ball, Stephan ran forward and grabbed the muse's arms. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He laughed and pulled her into a bank, covering them both in snow.
Calliope landed with a shriek, nearly on top of him and the two rolled about in the snow, the muse eventually ending up sandwiched between a snowdrift and the very warm body of the Fey King. After a moment, their laughter faded, and she found herself staring rather intently into his green eyes.
"Are you cold?" He asked after a moment.
"A little," she said, smiling coyly. When Stephan shifted to stand and help her up, she grabbed his hand and gave a quick twist, pulling the startled king back to the ground. Another roll and she was on top of him. She scooped up a handful of snow. Smiling innocently, she regarded the Fey King. "Now then, what are we going to do with you?"
Stephan smiled back. "My dearest muse, I think perhaps the question should be what are we going to do with *you*."
"Huh?"
Another twist and a roll had their positions reversed. Calliope yelped as Stephan very calmly began shaping a snowball. Grinning wickedly, he gently tossed it from hand to hand.
Calliope wriggled ineffectively beneath the king. "Stephan, please..." She managed to free her arms and tried to steal the snowball. The Fey King laughed. "Really, now, do you think I'd let you get away *that* easily?" He grabbed her wrists with his free hand, trapping them above her head. He grinned. "Now what are you going to do?"
"Um, close my eyes, cringe, and wish it was summer?"
* * * * *
"Go ahead, your highness. Tell him who we are."
The Goblin King growled low in his throat. "I will get you back for this." When Caillean only smiled sweetly at him, he stepped towards the young boy. "I am Jareth, King of -"
"No, you're not."
Jareth looked at the younger Jareth. "I beg your pardon?"
"*I'm* Jareth. My father told me it was an original name. So you can't be Jareth. And you don't look like a king to me." He folded his arms.
Caillean laughed. "Boy, J, you haven't changed at all!"
The young king turned to face the redhead, looking her up and down. "You, on the other hand, can be whomever you like." He smiled suggestively.
She rolled her eyes. "Haven't changed a bit!" Caillean turned to face the goblins. "Can't you *do* something about this? We could be changing history, for all you know!"
The three goblins looked at each other in confusion. "Uhh..."
Caillean sighed. "Look, why don't you just transport Jareth and I back to the present and we'll discuss it there."
The Goblin of Christmas Past smiled. "I can do that!" There was a bright flash of light and the group reappeared in the king's bedchambers.
"Thank you." Caillean said, with obvious relief. "Now then," she said, turning to face the king.
"Damn." Grinning widely at her was Jareth...age 12.
Meanwhile, back in the past...
"CAILLEAN!!!!!"
* * * * *