Ten
Jareth was reclining on his bed, eyes shut tight, when he was summoned. A goblin burst into the room, huffing and puffing. He turned briefly to shut the door then skidded to a stop in the middle of the room and saluted. Jareth, who had awoken as soon as the door had opened, sat up, a look of deep concern on his pale face. He hesitated, and then levered himself off the bed to direct his attention to the goblin.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" he pulled a chair up behind him and sat, hunching down over his knees so that his head was as near to the goblin as possibly. "Please tell me quickly." He bent his head and listened intently.
"Beg pardon, yer majesty," said the goblin quickly, "but a neighboring king requires your immediate assistance with a very delicate problem." He delivered his message very directly, and with almost no stuttering or drooling. When he was finished, he stepped back humbly and stood at attention, waiting for Jareth's orders.
"What sort of problem is this? Were you told?" The goblin fidgeted nervously with the edge of its tunic.
"He said it was...well, very important, yer majesty. A...a...an affair, he said, of the heart." Jareth looked almost gleeful. His eyes opened wide and he jerked his head up, a small smile playing across his lips.
"Ah," he sighed, "crossed in love. I know exactly how he feels." Jareth shook his head sympathetically. "Well, you can tell him that I'll do everything in my power to help him. I thank you for your time. What did you say your name was?" Jareth cocked his head to one side and waited expectantly.
The goblin looked around and shuffled his feet, not used to such notice from his king. "Er, Bimm, yer majesty. 'Snot a very nice name, I'm afraid, but me mum gave it t' me."
Jareth smiled. "Bimm is a very nice name." Bimm scratched his rear absently. A small shower of dust fell to the floor, catching the light. Jareth ignored it.
"Please," he said, standing up, "take me to this lovesick king." He held the door for the frightened goblin as he hurried out, staring at the beaming Jareth with wide eyes.
Bimm led Jareth down the hall, waiting while Jareth took a torch from the wall to light their way through the dark passageways. The two turned left at a corner, walked down another long hallway, ascended a flight of steps, traversed a courtyard, walked down a hall and out a door, across a bridge spanning the kitchen gardens, down yet another corridor, and finally turned right at a passageway that ended in a heavy oak door. Bimm leaned against it, rubbing the back of his neck with a green, grimy handkerchief.
"Are you sure this is the way?" asked Jareth, placing his torch in a wall sconce. "We're in a completely different wing of the castle." He smoothed out his sleeves meticulously, and waited for an answer.
"Well, yer majesty," said Bimm, "the king did tell me that he lived very far away. He pushed open the door that they had stopped in front of. "Just down there," he continued, pointing the way for Jareth, who peered intently around the door, "is another door. You go through it, and turns left. Go up the three stairs, and the king is there."
Jareth looked into the room beyond the door. The floor resembled a checkerboard: meter-wide black and white squares stretched to all four walls. The room itself was entirely empty. He stepped in and shut the door behind him. It shut with a resounding "boom" that Jareth could feel in his chest as it echoed throughout the vast chamber. He had never seen this room before, which seemed to him to be rather a shame. It was beautiful, really. He looked around admiringly. The room stretched out in front of him for maybe a hundred yards, ending in another wall like the one he now stood in front of. The white walls extended upwards for an impossible distance before curving gracefully and almost imperceptibly into a vaulted ceiling. The high gothic windows featured fantastic stained-glass depictions of different areas of the Labyrinth. There was one window showing the view of the maze from the hill beyond the door, another showing a dark and foreboding oubliette, another showing the hedge maze, and another showing the Escher Room. Twenty different windows in all.
Jareth walked slowly towards the door, feeling very small in the huge room, examining the windows as he passed them. He wished he had known of the room before; he thought of the visiting rulers he could have impressed by inviting them to a ball held in this room. It must have been constructed with the original castle, in his great-grandfather's time, and fallen into disuse under his father's rule. His mind filled with a vision of the room, crowded with masked and costumed dancers, swaying to ethereal music coming from a hidden source. He thought of another ball, quite like the one he was picturing. Quite unbidden, a vision of one dancer swayed into his mind, her eyes scanning the crowded room, searching for something...or someone. Searching for him.
"Stop!" Jareth screamed, the sudden noise echoing in the room, bouncing off the walls and coming back to mock him.
Stop, stop, stop....
"Dammit, Sarah! Get out of my mind!"
Mind, mind, mind....
Jareth put his hands over his ears and ran the rest of the way to the door, slamming it behind him as he reached the other side. He leaned back against it and waited for his heartbeat to slow down.
Jareth was reclining on his bed, eyes shut tight, when he was summoned. A goblin burst into the room, huffing and puffing. He turned briefly to shut the door then skidded to a stop in the middle of the room and saluted. Jareth, who had awoken as soon as the door had opened, sat up, a look of deep concern on his pale face. He hesitated, and then levered himself off the bed to direct his attention to the goblin.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" he pulled a chair up behind him and sat, hunching down over his knees so that his head was as near to the goblin as possibly. "Please tell me quickly." He bent his head and listened intently.
"Beg pardon, yer majesty," said the goblin quickly, "but a neighboring king requires your immediate assistance with a very delicate problem." He delivered his message very directly, and with almost no stuttering or drooling. When he was finished, he stepped back humbly and stood at attention, waiting for Jareth's orders.
"What sort of problem is this? Were you told?" The goblin fidgeted nervously with the edge of its tunic.
"He said it was...well, very important, yer majesty. A...a...an affair, he said, of the heart." Jareth looked almost gleeful. His eyes opened wide and he jerked his head up, a small smile playing across his lips.
"Ah," he sighed, "crossed in love. I know exactly how he feels." Jareth shook his head sympathetically. "Well, you can tell him that I'll do everything in my power to help him. I thank you for your time. What did you say your name was?" Jareth cocked his head to one side and waited expectantly.
The goblin looked around and shuffled his feet, not used to such notice from his king. "Er, Bimm, yer majesty. 'Snot a very nice name, I'm afraid, but me mum gave it t' me."
Jareth smiled. "Bimm is a very nice name." Bimm scratched his rear absently. A small shower of dust fell to the floor, catching the light. Jareth ignored it.
"Please," he said, standing up, "take me to this lovesick king." He held the door for the frightened goblin as he hurried out, staring at the beaming Jareth with wide eyes.
Bimm led Jareth down the hall, waiting while Jareth took a torch from the wall to light their way through the dark passageways. The two turned left at a corner, walked down another long hallway, ascended a flight of steps, traversed a courtyard, walked down a hall and out a door, across a bridge spanning the kitchen gardens, down yet another corridor, and finally turned right at a passageway that ended in a heavy oak door. Bimm leaned against it, rubbing the back of his neck with a green, grimy handkerchief.
"Are you sure this is the way?" asked Jareth, placing his torch in a wall sconce. "We're in a completely different wing of the castle." He smoothed out his sleeves meticulously, and waited for an answer.
"Well, yer majesty," said Bimm, "the king did tell me that he lived very far away. He pushed open the door that they had stopped in front of. "Just down there," he continued, pointing the way for Jareth, who peered intently around the door, "is another door. You go through it, and turns left. Go up the three stairs, and the king is there."
Jareth looked into the room beyond the door. The floor resembled a checkerboard: meter-wide black and white squares stretched to all four walls. The room itself was entirely empty. He stepped in and shut the door behind him. It shut with a resounding "boom" that Jareth could feel in his chest as it echoed throughout the vast chamber. He had never seen this room before, which seemed to him to be rather a shame. It was beautiful, really. He looked around admiringly. The room stretched out in front of him for maybe a hundred yards, ending in another wall like the one he now stood in front of. The white walls extended upwards for an impossible distance before curving gracefully and almost imperceptibly into a vaulted ceiling. The high gothic windows featured fantastic stained-glass depictions of different areas of the Labyrinth. There was one window showing the view of the maze from the hill beyond the door, another showing a dark and foreboding oubliette, another showing the hedge maze, and another showing the Escher Room. Twenty different windows in all.
Jareth walked slowly towards the door, feeling very small in the huge room, examining the windows as he passed them. He wished he had known of the room before; he thought of the visiting rulers he could have impressed by inviting them to a ball held in this room. It must have been constructed with the original castle, in his great-grandfather's time, and fallen into disuse under his father's rule. His mind filled with a vision of the room, crowded with masked and costumed dancers, swaying to ethereal music coming from a hidden source. He thought of another ball, quite like the one he was picturing. Quite unbidden, a vision of one dancer swayed into his mind, her eyes scanning the crowded room, searching for something...or someone. Searching for him.
"Stop!" Jareth screamed, the sudden noise echoing in the room, bouncing off the walls and coming back to mock him.
Stop, stop, stop....
"Dammit, Sarah! Get out of my mind!"
Mind, mind, mind....
Jareth put his hands over his ears and ran the rest of the way to the door, slamming it behind him as he reached the other side. He leaned back against it and waited for his heartbeat to slow down.