A new chapter for you to enjoy. I think I might've made a bad desicsion to start posting this before it was fully written. It is veery mlong, I'm afraid.
I hope you enjoy it, tell me what you think about it, because it seems to be getting really strange as it gets longer.
Thanks, Tael.





"Mwa ha ha ha!!" Gabriel laughed hysterically. "Now do I consequence you!"

"Consequence us?" Niki whispered to Melissa.

"Ahem, yes, consequence you one at a time, or together?" He put them down,

and almost automatically two hands went up to rub their sore necks from where the

collars had chapped them.

"How about neither." Melissa suggested. She motioned subtly to Niki they had to

get out of there.

"Don't even think about," and the two girls dashing off again in the other direction

interrupted then Gabriel. "Running away. Oh, children, children. Outrunning a teleporter."

And with that he appeared right in front of the two girls. With it being dark,

Melissa ran smack dab into him, with Niki running into Melissa's back. The three of them

fell over with a scream that could've been issued by one or both of the girls. Melissa

hurriedly backed up into a wall, not knowing what they had run into with her weak mortal

nightsight. Niki stood up and began reprimanding who she thought to be Melissa. "Why

would you just stop like that?!" she demanded. "I almost had a heart attack."

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it appears Melissa did as well." Gabriel said

smoothly as he stood up and dusted himself off. Niki stumbled back to where Melissa sat

and almost tripped again. Gabriel lit a torch on the wall, leaving bright spots in the girls'

eyes. He spoke again walking towards them lithely. "Now, about those consequences."

Melissa and Niki were both on their feet now, preparing to run again, but they

were stopped as they heard a new voice. "Gabriel, what have I told you about tormenting

my husband's guest?"

The speaker was female, with a head of flowing brown hair that neatly hid her

face from their vision. She was wearing a long nightgown, but she still had the air of

someone royal.

"Oh, milady. Forgive me, I was just showing these young ladies back to their

room, they were lost." Gabriel lied quickly. He bowed slightly to show respect, or to hide

his eyes from the disapproving look from the women.

This lady smiled slyly. "Make sure you do, Gabriel, or I will personally inform your

brother about his" she smile warmly at the girls, showing off a row of pearly white. Her

eyes were hazel like Melissa, but her thigh-length hair had a much more Niki-ish quality

to it.

" Sure thing, my Queen." He crossed his arms in an impatient gesture, and the

queen returned gracefully to her own chambers across the hall. Now he turned back to

the girls. He offered them each an arm. "If you will."

"We most certainly will not." Melissa said.

"We aren't about to suffer "the consequences". You're even weirder than us!"

Niki added.

"If that's humanly, or well at least inhumanly, possible." Melissa finished for the two of them.

"I simply need to escort you to your rooms. We can't get there without direct

contact, remember sweetling?" He said in a silky voice. Melissa shook her head, but she

knew he was right. Grudgingly she offered her hand, as did Niki a second later. They

braced themselves for the shock, Melissa especially (she still hadn't gotten over that

headache), but none came. With a gentle flash of light, they reappeared in the chambers

they left what seemed like hours ago. Kelly still slept soundly, and now the modest beds

seemed very welcome. Niki and Melissa wrenched their hands away from Gabriel's

almost simultaneously. But he held onto Melissa's, drawing it slowly to his lips. Then

softly to her he added "'Til the night."

"Yeah, um, 'til the night." Melissa returned, lacking any retort. Then with another

flash Gabriel was gone. Melissa and Niki both sank into identical beds with identical

sighs of relief and exhaustion.

Jareth yawned as he angrily paced down the dark hall. Sarah had asked

him to make sure that his brother was not harassing their mortal (and one half0mortal)

guests. He half-wished (for one never fully wished in the Labyrinth) that his queen might

stop mothering Gabriel. At the bright age of 1900, Gabriel was perfectly capable of

handling himself. But yet queen Sarah persisted to bother him.

Jareth sighed and smiled, remembering how Gabriel had been so snobby to

Sarah when she had first moved to the Labyrinth, over a decade ago. He treated her like

an ignorant child, just because she was part mortal. He was fully immortal, though he

and his brother we're only goblin half-breeds. Jareth had a full kingly background, half

fae and half goblin. Gabriel's was more complicated, at half-goblin, quarter fae, and

quarter vampire. That's what happens in royal families, Jareth thought. Now it was Sarah

who was bossy and talked down to Gabriel, though not as maliciously as he did. He still

regretted reprimanding his brother for what came naturally to a mischievous Fae like he

was.

He found Gabriel sitting outside of the girl's room. 'That's odd,' Jareth thought

'the girls are all asleep.' He looked more closely at his brother. He had no fangs, so had

obviously not harassed the girls in the sense of attacking them. Gabriel's long hands

were covering his unusually coloured face. Jareth couldn't remember the last time he

had seen his brother blush.

Jareth snuck up beside him, hoping to scare the living nightlights out of him, and

pull him out of this study, but he realized that Gabriel was talking to himself, murmuring

just loud enough for the king's keen ears to pick up.

"A mortal!" Gabriel muttered, "A young, foolish mortal! How could you? How

could I? Ohhh, stupid mortals. I'm as bad as Jareth." Gabriel sighed and sunk further

into his hands.

Jareth's eyed widened at this overheard confession. So Gabriel was taken with

these new mortals? Perhaps the one who blinked in with him, the Melissa creature? 'He

could've chosen worse' Jareth thought, grinning wolfishly, 'Let's just see how this works

out, without interfering.'

And with that, Jareth flashed out as quietly and lightlessly as possible.