6. Girl Talk

"He likes you."

"What!" Star stopped pointlessly looking around the black oubliette and stared at where she thought Red to be.

"Jareth. He loves you. Or a least likes you." Star gave her the 'are you crazy' look, to then remember she couldn't see her face.

"Are you crazy?"

"Yes, but perceptive!"

"?!"

"As in he chooses to specifically cower /you/, not /me/."

"Really?" Star tried to come off as sarcastic, but failed. Once she would have thought it cool and ... well damn it... Jareth /is/ the sexist thing on legs in tights, but this was scary. This was real.

"So," Redaura said, changing the subject back to the old, for once showing some tact, "how to get out?"

***

Hoggle watched wide eyed as Gareth stuffed. Bread, meat and drink vanished with amazing skill and speed down his gullet. After half an hour, when he'd slowed he started to examine Hoggle.

"Hoggle," Hoggle stiffened at the familiar wheedling tone to his voice.

"Yes," he said cautiously.

"Could you help me rescue Star?"

"No!"

"Please. She'd decked out in jewellery." He tried, vaguely remembering his sister hogging the T.V. and watching and re-watching Labyrinth. To his triumph Hoggle looked interested.

"I don't care," Hoggle lied after a long hesitation, "after what happened last time, NO!"

"And she's all alone. She's got silver and gold and plastic bracelets and necklaces, and rings on every finger... Only you can do it" Gareth told him, turning up the charm.

***

Jareth violently chucked the crystal away form him, hearing what the girls where talking about.

***

"So," Redaura said, with a definite smirk to her voice, "tell me about Ben then."

"Well, he's very fit, kind, nice and he likes me."

"Who-ooo! Anything might happen?"

"I don't know..."

"If we ever get out of this hole." Red sighed. "There has to be a way out!"

"But we can't find it!"

"Shhh! Is that you?"

"No, 'tis me."

"Hoggle?" *We seem to be chorusing a lot today* Redaura thought. The yellow light, though welcome after the depressing, deathless darkness, hurt their eyes. After a while they could see Hoggle looking at them critically.

"The lying little scum bag! The little rat! You lot ain't wearing any jewellery at all!"

Thinking fast Red offered her watch. Hoggle observed it dubiously, but accepted. He nodded to himself and shuffled to open the door with light behind it the first time.

*I must be getting better at this...* He slammed the door on an /angry/ dragon, too late for his eyebrows. Choosing to ignore the silence of eyebrows being pointedly raised behind him he rapidly opened the door correctly.

"Here we are." They filled out to the false alarms.

***

"Hoggle, what are you doing? Seems my warnings aren't enough..." What did it take to get loyal subjects these days? Be ruthless, that's what. With anger Jareth went to discipline them.

***

"Gooooo baack!"

"This is not the way!"

"Soon, it will be to late."

"Oh, shut up" Hoggle told them, with a dismissive wave of his hands.

"No." Red disagreed, "I think they're doing a great job."

"Really?" the false alarms asked eagerly.

"Really great." She assured them. As they trundled down the winding path the false alarms started to mumble between them selves, so they missed the crystal rolling...

"If you like," one said shyly, "we can let you in below the castle."

"Oh, would you?" Redaura theatrically clasped her hands together. "That would be great! You're all brilliant!" A false alarmist raised his upper jaw.

"Og ig"

"Go on in!" the others translated. After a brief hesitation Redaura crawled through.

"Thank you very much." She said as she disappeared. Star echoed Red as she followed her. As Hoggle climbed through the false alarmist nearly took his shoe off as he clambered awkwardly though. Their stony laughter followed them through and trailed after them.

They entered in the dungeon. Pitiful skeletons where placed strategically around in the gloom.

"Where to now?"