Labyrinth, Jareth, Sarah, and Linda all belong to Jim Henson. A
Midsummer Night's Dream and The Taming of the Shrew belong to
Shakespeare. Guess which one that the quoted line & who spoke that line
& get a cookie. The chapter's title comes from Kiss Me Kate.
Shushanna's mine, and if you want to borrow her you'll have to ask me.
Look, I uploaded the first chapter's draft too!
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Paradise
By Ryo Hoshi
Chapter One : Brush Up Your Shakespeare
The Goblin King paced across the carpet in the parlor, almost
completely ignoring his guest. The tall young woman lounged in one of
the two chairs in front of the empty fireplace, a small liquor flute in
her hand almost full of a pale gold-tinted liquid. She sighed, and took
an elegant sip of her drink. "Jareth, you can't just go up there, claim
the girl back, and expect her to love you back."
Jareth stopped, and glared at the woman. They both knew who 'the
girl' was; the primary disagreement was... "I am not in love with her
anymore, Shushanna."
Shushanna smiled to herself, not believing Jareth's words. She had
known Jareth since they were both small children; she knew him too well
to think that he had completely given up on Sarah yet.
Time to take another tack, though.
"Fine, fine, so you just lust after her... You're not going to
seduce her that way, either."
Jareth glared at Shushanna. "What do you suggest, then?"
Well, she thought, he could have surrendered more gracefully, but
that'll do. With a flick of her wrist she produced two sheafs of paper.
A second flick sent them on a graceful arc through the air to Jareth,
who caught them.
He read the printing on the covers. "'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?
'The Taming of the Shrew'? Play-scripts?"
Shushanna grinned. "Learn the parts highlighted in blue -- if you
need somebody to read with you, just send me a crystal. Now, if you'll
excuse me, I'm late for a meeting." Then, in a small shower of glitter
that quickly faded away, she teleported elsewhere.
Jareth nodded absent-mindedly to the now empty chair, put down one
of the two scripts, and started reading from a random page of the other.
"'Hortensio, peace! thou know'st not gold's effect: Tell me her
father's name and 'tis enough; For I will board her, though she chide as
loud As thunder when the clouds in autumn crack.'"
Shushanna smoothed her clothes; they looked normal for on Earth, no
longer the strangely-cut black satin and leather costume she wore when
Underground but instead loose blue jeans and a black t-shirt with
various characters from some anime on it. Her hair was no longer
hanging loose and controlled only by a steely coronet; now it was pulled
back in a tight braid.
She grinned at the mirror that hung on the wall. It was such a
comfort to be able to leave the Underground and visit the Earth
regularly and play at being a normal human. She didn't even have to
worry about funds there; she had long ago set up a system of paperwork
phantoms for herself. She didn't even have to pay rent on the apartment
she kept; she herself had commisioned the building it was in almost a
hundred years ago, and of its five floors she rented out the bottom two
to some friends -- some elves who had decided that they wished to live
Aboveground and now ran a coffee shop out of the old storefront.
The other three floors she claimed for herself, so she'd be able to
put up any guests that she might have.
Checking herself once again for anything that might hint that she
wasn't normally an inhabitant of this realm, and finding nothing amiss
about her appearance, she walked down the back stairs and went into the
coffee shop.
In the back booth sat the two women who were her current
house-guests; she quickly wove her way through the dimly lit maze of
chairs and tables, calling out a greeting to the two. "Hello, Linda,
Sarah! I'm sorry I'm late, I had to talk to a nephew of mine. He's
going to be here around this time next year and wanted to know if there
was anything that might be worth doing..."
Linda Williams smiled at her friend. "Susan, I didn't know you
were an aunt, you don't look old enough..."
Shushanna laughed. "He's a little older then me -- he's my eldest
step-sister's kid. He's got some potential as an actor, so I suggested
that he join the festival." She looked at Sarah and grinned. "That
reminds me, Sarah, would you like to act in the festival next year?"
Eventually, the three went up to Shushanna's apartment, the
conversation still winding along. Finally, around midnight, Sarah went
off to bed, leaving her mother and 'Susan' alone.
"Shushanna," Linda said, "Isn't your only nephew the Goblin King?"
Shushanna sighed. "I should have known you'd have remembered what
I had told you about my family after...that. Yes, he's my only nephew.
Please, calm down," she said, noticing that her friend was about to get
angry at her, "I was the one who convinced him to try this. I didn't
think you'd like it if he just kidnapped your daughter..."
"So you're going to let him seduce her?" Linda said, her tone
making Shushanna wince.
"What kind of godmother do you think I am?! Besides, you know the
rules, I told you them after he had decided to let you keep her for a
while longer when you lost. I've actually got a stronger claim on her.
Not that he knows about that, yet."
"You mean he really didn't remember?"
"That I had introduced you to him back when you were little? I
think Sarah's the first Abovegrounder that he's remembered clearly for
more then a few years... She's the first child he's actually given a
reprieve to, you know."
"No, you hadn't told me, even when you told everything, after..."
Shushanna smiled slightly to herself; she hadn't, couldn't tell her
friend everything. "Yes, I know. But really, you needn't worry about
Jareth. He's never particularly liked Earth... The only areas I can
normally get him into are the castle we maintain in England which the
entire membership of the high court -- which Jareth belongs to, though
not very willingly -- uses, and that's no place to get used to the
current human customs."
"You mean...?"
"Yes." Shushanna's grin took on a preditory aspect. "He'll be no
trouble at all for us."
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Okay, folks, comments will be loved, esp. those that tell me if I have
this chapter finished!
Once again: They also get me to write faster.
Midsummer Night's Dream and The Taming of the Shrew belong to
Shakespeare. Guess which one that the quoted line & who spoke that line
& get a cookie. The chapter's title comes from Kiss Me Kate.
Shushanna's mine, and if you want to borrow her you'll have to ask me.
Look, I uploaded the first chapter's draft too!
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Paradise
By Ryo Hoshi
Chapter One : Brush Up Your Shakespeare
The Goblin King paced across the carpet in the parlor, almost
completely ignoring his guest. The tall young woman lounged in one of
the two chairs in front of the empty fireplace, a small liquor flute in
her hand almost full of a pale gold-tinted liquid. She sighed, and took
an elegant sip of her drink. "Jareth, you can't just go up there, claim
the girl back, and expect her to love you back."
Jareth stopped, and glared at the woman. They both knew who 'the
girl' was; the primary disagreement was... "I am not in love with her
anymore, Shushanna."
Shushanna smiled to herself, not believing Jareth's words. She had
known Jareth since they were both small children; she knew him too well
to think that he had completely given up on Sarah yet.
Time to take another tack, though.
"Fine, fine, so you just lust after her... You're not going to
seduce her that way, either."
Jareth glared at Shushanna. "What do you suggest, then?"
Well, she thought, he could have surrendered more gracefully, but
that'll do. With a flick of her wrist she produced two sheafs of paper.
A second flick sent them on a graceful arc through the air to Jareth,
who caught them.
He read the printing on the covers. "'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?
'The Taming of the Shrew'? Play-scripts?"
Shushanna grinned. "Learn the parts highlighted in blue -- if you
need somebody to read with you, just send me a crystal. Now, if you'll
excuse me, I'm late for a meeting." Then, in a small shower of glitter
that quickly faded away, she teleported elsewhere.
Jareth nodded absent-mindedly to the now empty chair, put down one
of the two scripts, and started reading from a random page of the other.
"'Hortensio, peace! thou know'st not gold's effect: Tell me her
father's name and 'tis enough; For I will board her, though she chide as
loud As thunder when the clouds in autumn crack.'"
Shushanna smoothed her clothes; they looked normal for on Earth, no
longer the strangely-cut black satin and leather costume she wore when
Underground but instead loose blue jeans and a black t-shirt with
various characters from some anime on it. Her hair was no longer
hanging loose and controlled only by a steely coronet; now it was pulled
back in a tight braid.
She grinned at the mirror that hung on the wall. It was such a
comfort to be able to leave the Underground and visit the Earth
regularly and play at being a normal human. She didn't even have to
worry about funds there; she had long ago set up a system of paperwork
phantoms for herself. She didn't even have to pay rent on the apartment
she kept; she herself had commisioned the building it was in almost a
hundred years ago, and of its five floors she rented out the bottom two
to some friends -- some elves who had decided that they wished to live
Aboveground and now ran a coffee shop out of the old storefront.
The other three floors she claimed for herself, so she'd be able to
put up any guests that she might have.
Checking herself once again for anything that might hint that she
wasn't normally an inhabitant of this realm, and finding nothing amiss
about her appearance, she walked down the back stairs and went into the
coffee shop.
In the back booth sat the two women who were her current
house-guests; she quickly wove her way through the dimly lit maze of
chairs and tables, calling out a greeting to the two. "Hello, Linda,
Sarah! I'm sorry I'm late, I had to talk to a nephew of mine. He's
going to be here around this time next year and wanted to know if there
was anything that might be worth doing..."
Linda Williams smiled at her friend. "Susan, I didn't know you
were an aunt, you don't look old enough..."
Shushanna laughed. "He's a little older then me -- he's my eldest
step-sister's kid. He's got some potential as an actor, so I suggested
that he join the festival." She looked at Sarah and grinned. "That
reminds me, Sarah, would you like to act in the festival next year?"
Eventually, the three went up to Shushanna's apartment, the
conversation still winding along. Finally, around midnight, Sarah went
off to bed, leaving her mother and 'Susan' alone.
"Shushanna," Linda said, "Isn't your only nephew the Goblin King?"
Shushanna sighed. "I should have known you'd have remembered what
I had told you about my family after...that. Yes, he's my only nephew.
Please, calm down," she said, noticing that her friend was about to get
angry at her, "I was the one who convinced him to try this. I didn't
think you'd like it if he just kidnapped your daughter..."
"So you're going to let him seduce her?" Linda said, her tone
making Shushanna wince.
"What kind of godmother do you think I am?! Besides, you know the
rules, I told you them after he had decided to let you keep her for a
while longer when you lost. I've actually got a stronger claim on her.
Not that he knows about that, yet."
"You mean he really didn't remember?"
"That I had introduced you to him back when you were little? I
think Sarah's the first Abovegrounder that he's remembered clearly for
more then a few years... She's the first child he's actually given a
reprieve to, you know."
"No, you hadn't told me, even when you told everything, after..."
Shushanna smiled slightly to herself; she hadn't, couldn't tell her
friend everything. "Yes, I know. But really, you needn't worry about
Jareth. He's never particularly liked Earth... The only areas I can
normally get him into are the castle we maintain in England which the
entire membership of the high court -- which Jareth belongs to, though
not very willingly -- uses, and that's no place to get used to the
current human customs."
"You mean...?"
"Yes." Shushanna's grin took on a preditory aspect. "He'll be no
trouble at all for us."
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Okay, folks, comments will be loved, esp. those that tell me if I have
this chapter finished!
Once again: They also get me to write faster.