"You know you're taking this whole thing way out of context," Marcus said through a mouthful of apple. Elyssa had spent the entire morning with Marcus and Hyrle, overseeing all of the last-minute preparations for the ball later that evening. Seeing how pale and wane his partner was becoming, Marcus insisted on following Elyssa to her room and sharing a late lunch. It wasn't long before Elyssa finally broke down and told her friend about the girl in the picture. After a few moments of urging, Elyssa took out the picture hidden in her vanity drawer.
"Marcus, I found this damned thing in Jareth's pocket, for Pete's sake." At that particular moment, the image showed the girl and Jareth almost sharing a passionate kiss. "And from the from the looks of things, the two of them were rather close, wouldn't you say? Now your trying to tell me I'm taking this out of context?!?"
Marcus sighed and tossed the remainder of his apple on the table. "Think about it, 'Lyssa - you found this in the pocket of a jacket that the guy probably hasn't worn in bloody years. If it were so important to him, then why would he just... just forget about it like that?" Elyssa crossed her arms in irritation, but Marcus pressed on. "Besides, you have no idea who the girl even is, or what these pictures even mean. Maybe she's his long lost cousin or something."
At that, Elyssa jumped up from the table and stood by the window. Since early that morning, a constant barrage of coaches and carriages had been unloading in the castle courtyard. Some unloaded supplies, while others held royalty and His Majesty's invited guests. Currently, a gaily colored coach decorated in the highest fashion was unloading it's richly garbed passengers. Once again, Elyssa thanked her lucky stars that she had hired actual groomsmen and butlers instead of relying on goblin help. She could only imagine what a nightmare it would be having a hundred goblins showing guests to the same rooms, terribly jumbling the intricate planning and arrangements Hyrle had worked out.
Marcus stood and walked towards the window where Elyssa was staring. Crossing his arms, he leaned against the sill, his voice reflective. "Why are you so worried about this all of a sudden, anyway? I thought you swore hands down just the other night that you hated this guy. When I suggested that you might be kindling a little bit o' love potion deep inside, you just about bit my head off. So why the sudden change of heart?" Elyssa finally turned her head and met Marcus' steady gaze. He could finally see the dark, haunted look in her shadowed eyes. "Oh," he whispered, covering his mouth with one finely manicured hand. "Oh dear, now I see the problem. You do love him, and you finally realized it."
Elyssa glared at Marcus. "I don't love him, and I don't intend to start any time soon. What I don't like is getting lied to."
"What's he lied about," he said. "Did you ask him about the girl?"
Elyssa turned away. "I didn't have the time." Marcus snorted in disbelief. "Look, that picture tells me everything I need to know."
"So if you didn't ask him about it, the how did Jareth lie?"
"He should have told me about the other woman."
"Have you told him about every guy you've ever dated or danced with?"
Elyssa laughed derisively. "Of course not, but that's different."
"How is that different?!?"
"Why are you defending him?" she cried, her voice raw. She turned to face Marcus, her wounded heart surfacing in her eyes.
Marcus' voice softened. "I'm not defending him, honey. You know I hate playing the Devil's Advocate almost as much as I hate gaining five pounds after eating too many sundaes. I'm just trying to open your eyes a little bit. If it bothers you so much, why don't you just talk to him?"
Elyssa looked away, unable to bear her friend's gaze any longer. "Because," she paused. "Because maybe I don't' want him to know I care. Because maybe I'm afraid he'll use that against me somehow."
"Or maybe it's because you're afraid to get hurt," Marcus suggested gently. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Lyssa, has it ever occurred that maybe he's afraid of the same thing? Look, I never thought I'd be giving you of all people the 'big talk' about relationships, but I got to tell you - communication is the key to every solid..."
Elyssa interrupted. "Oh spare me the Dr. Phil crap before I punch you in your damn mouth." Marcus looked at her for a moment, his mouth half open, before they both burst out into a fit of laughter. Suddenly, Elyssa could feel the dark cloud lifting in her heart - if only for a few moments, she felt like herself again. Impulsively, Elyssa wrapped Marcus up in a tight hug, enjoying the comforting feel of his arms around her own. "I'm glad you're here with me," she murmured into his shoulder.
Marcus patted her back and kissed the top of her hair. "You and me both, doll face. I wouldn't miss this for the world." Grinning, she released her hold and walked back towards the window. Already, the lights were looking lower in the sky - evening would soon be upon them. The small clock on her vanity proclaimed that it was half past four. Just a few hours away, she noted, such a very short time. After all these days of anticipation, she could scarcely believe that the hour was almost upon them. A thrill of nervousness coursed through her body. For a moment, she thought that her half empty stomach, which was already queasy, would reject her offerings of lunch.
"Feeling nervous yet," Marcus said after a moment's observation of his friend.
Elyssa rolled her eyes. "Of course not, Marcus. You know me - I always love a crowd."
"Yeah, I know you - and I know you hate crowds," he quipped. "By the way, I was wondering..." he left off, his voice leaving the question wide open. Elyssa hated when he did that.
"Yes...."
Marcus sat quickly down into one of the chairs by their lunch table, plopping his chin into his hands. He bit his lip as if considering whether or not to ask - not that there was ever any real question to it - and said, "So are you two still on for tonight?" He gave her a suggestive wink.
"Marcus, why is my personal life such a game to you?"
"So is that a pissed off yes, or a pissed off no?" he insisted.
Giving up, Elyssa sank down into the chair across from his. "I honestly don't know, m'dear."
Marcus straitened up in his chair. "What the hell do you mean, you don't know," he said indignantly.
"Well, it's just that he hasn't mentioned it a single time since that night and," she made a helpless gesture with her hands. "And, well - I really don't know."
Marcus shook his head in disbelief. "Sheesh...some people. So what are you wearing tonight? Show me the dress, honey. Fashion Show! Fashion Show!" he chanted.
"Well, I really don't know what I'm wearing yet, either," she hid a smile.
"Did you forget to take care of your costume," Marcus chided. "What the hell are you going to do now?"
She shook her head. "I didn't forget." Elyssa gestured towards the massive cherry wood armoire behind them. "Jareth has stocked that thing with whatever I needed from Day 1. Usually, there's everything from pants and skirts to dresses. When he wanted me to dress fancy for dinner, he threw in a couple of prom dresses. I figured he'd be taking care of the situation."
Marcus looked at her with obvious envy. "You little bitch. How come I never get the cool wardrobe?"
Elyssa just smirked.
"Okay, so what are you wearing tonight. Have you checked it out yet?"
"Nope, not yet, but there's no time like the present, right?" She stood and moved towards the armoire with Marcus following closely behind. She swung open the heavy wooden doors with gusto, "Dunt da da dunt da daaaa...."
Her playful cheer ended in shocked silence.
"Umm, 'Lyssa," Marcus suggested. "Wasn't this supposed to be stocked full of clothes?" He gestured towards the empty armoire.
"It's empty," she stated through numb lips. In a frenzy, she began pulling open drawers and shelves in the armoire, but each one came up completely empty and bare. "Zero, zilch, nada," she said frantically. "Oh shit, I'm screwed. What game is Jareth playing now?"
In desperation, two pairs of eyes looked at the clock. "Oh man, how much time do we have to come up with something," Marcus said. Just as the clock stuck the fifth hour, there was an unexpected knock on her chamber door. "You expecting company," he whispered.
Elyssa shook her head. "No...you?"
Marcus shook his own head no.
The door knocked again. Might as well, she thought, walking towards the door and opening it. She was surprised to see four strange women standing in the hallway. Each woman had long, flowing hair each in different shades: one with red, one blonde, and two with dark, raven hair. They wore identical robes made out of an iridescent, shimmering material accented with runes at the collar and sleeves. The sheer fabric hinted at their slender feminine forms shrouded underneath. Their faces were beautiful beyond words, as if some skilled artisan sculpted their features from fine porcelain. Elyssa gazed in wonder with Marcus' head peeking out over her shoulder.
After a few moments, the blonde woman stepped forward and spoke, her voice like the tinkling of a bell. "Well met, my lady." She and her three companions dropped into a gracefully curtsey. "I am Arielle, and these are my sisters Shay, Kiya, and Lelia." Each woman nodded their head when their name was spoken. "We, my lady, are your servants - a gift from His Majesty, the Goblin King."
For a moment, Elyssa was speechless. It wasn't until Marcus nudged her from behind that she managed to sputter," I...uh.." She laughed nervously. "I just don't know what to say to all of this. Look, I don't want to be rude or hurt anyone's feelings, but I don't think that this is such a great idea. I mean, I appreciate what he's doing and all, but..."
The women exchanged a secret smile as if sharing in some private joke. Arielle handed Elyssa a small parchment in which she instantly recognized Jareth's flamboyant script. "His Majesty said that you would tell us those exact words, my lady, and commanded that we give you this in response."
Elyssa fought back a surge of irritation - an almost constant feeling nowadays, she noted - and quickly scanned his message.
My dear, it has come to my attention that you do not have a single maidservant or lady in waiting employed in your service. Considering the rank of your station, I have taken it upon myself to select for you four of the finest, well bred, highly trained dryads found anywhere in the Underground. I must insist that you take them in your service and allow them to serve you in turn.
P.S.
Realize, my dear, that tonight these dryads are still under my service, and therefore must follow my specific instructions. The women follow my commands to the letter, so I would appreciate it if you would avoid giving them any grief.
J.
Elyssa rubbed at her temples, trying to soothe away the headache that threatened to form. "Look, I'm sorry letter or no letter, I simply can't accept this."
Arielle nodded her head again as if considering her words. "His Majesty must know you very well, my lady, for he said that you would say that too."
Elyssa's temper began to flare. Damn it, she hated getting pushed into a corner! "Oh he did, did he? And what, pray tell, did His Majesty have as a response?"
"We are to remind you that His Majesty insists," she said simply.
"It would seem that I have no choice then," She strove to keep her extreme exasperation under control. Don't leave me, she begged Marcus with her eyes. Don't leave me alone with the psychos.
The dryad sisters bowed in unison then circled around Elyssa. "Shall we be leaving now, my lady?" chirped Arielle.
"Leaving?" Elyssa sounded alarmed. "Where are going?"
Kiya, or at Elyssa thought that was her name, spoke up. "A lady of your station must be properly prepared for a night such as this."
"Whoa," Elyssa held her hand out in a stopping motion. "Hold on there sweetcheeks." She looked at Marcus for support, but he looked as flustered as she was.
Arielle stepped forward. "You are his lady, are you not?"
"Who's, Jareth's?" Suddenly, Elyssa mouth was too dry.
Arielle explained carefully, as if to a child. "You are the lady of a High King, and there is no greater sorcerer in the land than His Majesty. As the lady of such a great man, you must be treated in a manner befitting his great position, as well as your own."
befitting your position... Those words again - gods, how she hated them. Elyssa knew what it was to be wealthy, to be famous. But she hated it, hated every moment of it. Even as a child, she couldn't stand the deference that people gave her simply because of her father's money. That's why she and her father chose to only employ Michael for so many long years. Servants - let alone four of them - the very idea was revolting. For a moment, she almost rebelled and told Arielle and the High King himself to go to hell.
...don't defy me...
...if you resist...
...remember you promise...
...your will is mine to control...
Jareth's words resounded in her head, curling around her brain like a snake. She thought of Michael, how his eyes dulled when he was held trapped by the Labyrinth walls, his death imminent. She thought of dancing in the empty ballroom, accompanied only by the music in her mind, and how her lips still burned from Jareth's fierce kiss. Finally, and perhaps most painfully of all, she thought of the girl in the picture, imagining Jareth's lips on another.
"No, you're right. I'm sorry for being so stubborn," Elyssa spoke though a throat that felt painfully tight. "Can Marcus come with me?"
Arielle shook her head. "I'm sorry, my lady, but no man may enter the sanctum of the dryad, not even the King himself." She made an odd, impatient gesture with her hands. "Come, we must be on our way. The hour groweth late."
Elyssa caught Marcus' eye before nodding to Arielle. "Sure...shoot.... Ready when you are."
The dryads already stood surrounding Elyssa. Linking hands, they formed a small, perfect circle around her. One by one, they began chanting in an eerie, lilting language. The circle of women lit up and disappeared in a cloud of shimmering glitter.
Alone now, Marcus sighed. "Well, I guess he didn't forget after all." Smiling to himself, he stepped down the hallway, whistling as he walked.
*********************
When the chanting finally stopped, Elyssa stood in the center of a wooded glen dominated by a large rocky waterfall soaring hundreds of feet into the air. The lights were slowly fading from the evening sky, giving the heavens an almost purple hue. Everywhere Elyssa looked, lights danced and glittered - on stone, on bush, in the running water, high up in the leaves of the trees. Everywhere, they were surrounded by lights. Even the lofty web of a spider radiated and sparkled with light, as if it were spun with diamonds instead of silk.
In the distance, soft music played - it's haunting melody soothing Elyssa's worried soul. She inhaled deeply, impressed by the intoxicating smells of perfume mixed with the heady scent of nature. Arielle took her hand. "Come, my lady," she said, leading Elyssa across the soft grass. "We have prepared for you a bath."
The enchantment of the glen worked it's magic on Elyssa's tender nerves. Already she could feel herself relaxing, all cares and worries melting away. Arielle guided Elyssa towards the waterfall where an enormous wooden tub was situated. As thy approached, on of the dark haired sisters, Shay she believed it was, approached carrying a tray bearing a delicate silver pitcher and a small glass. Arielle filled the glass then handed it to Elyssa. "Something to help you relax," she murmured.
"What is this," Elyssa questioned, sniffing the dark red liquid.
"Tis only juice from the Hylia berry. It has...medicinal properties."
Elyssa drank it down without a second thought. The juice was sweet, yet had a wonderful woody aftertaste. She could feel it as it moved down towards her belly, pleasantly warming her from the inside out. Already Elyssa could feel it's heat spreading throughout her body, and into her muscles.
"Let us help you undress," Arielle murmured while two of her sisters approached. Taking the pitcher, she refilled Elyssa's glass again, who then promptly drank it down.
Elyssa didn't offer a single word of protest while the two dryads carefully removed her clothing piece by piece. It was only after Arielle refilled her glass for the third time that she even realized that she was standing there completely naked. Instead of being embarrassed, or at the very least extremely creeped out and disturbed, Elyssa allowed them to lead her into the awaiting bath, totally mellow about the whole thing. It wasn't that she was drunk, she realized. Somehow the juice managed to relax her completely and lose all inhibitions - the drink simply made her not care.
Stepping into the tub, Elyssa didn't think she even needed the Dryad's drink to be so chilled out, regardless. There was nothing in the world that she enjoyed more than a hot bath, and this was the bath to end all baths. The tub itself was enormous, large enough to fit two, three, or hell even four or five people comfortably enough that they could even lie in it. The water was warmed to a perfect temperature, and steam rose from the surface of the water. One of the sisters sat on the edge, tossing in rose petals while yet another poured in oil with an exotic, spicy scent. "Selvian oil, from the Kraken Barony," Arielle explained. "The finest, mostly costly substance in the Underground. This bottle alone is worth a king's ransom in gold. His Majesty ordered it specifically for you, my lady."
Under Arielle's direction, Kiya began to pour laddles of water down Elyssa back while Lelia began to scrub gently with a sponge sending shivers of pleasure up and down her spine. Carefully, she eased back into the water, dipping her mass of red curls into the water. Closing her eyes, she moaned with pleasure as two sets of hands began to lovingly wash her hair, massaging her scalp. For hours, it seemed, she floated in the deliciously warm water, surrounded by fragile rose petals. "From His Majesty's garden - picked by his own hands," someone had whispered at some point.
To soon, the dryads coaxed her from the bath into the cold night air. Before she could shiver a single time, Arielle wrapped her up in a large, soft towel wiping away the oil on her skin. When she was dry, Arielle took her hand and lead Elyssa to a seat of soft moss while Shay began to brush out her long hair. When Shay was finished, Arielle spoke a word of magic, and a soft breeze blew Elyssa's hair completely dry.
"Come with me, my lady," the sisters urged, helping her to her feet, "for the hour is late." As Elyssa stood, Arielle and Lelia approached holding a small crystal bottle and a large white box.
"Shall I aid you with the perfume, my lady?" Arielle inquired. Still feeling mellow, Elyssa nodded her ascent. Carefully, the dryad placed a drop on each wrist, a drop behind each ear, and a drop on her sex. "The lover's drop," Arielle murmured.
Elyssa was too drugged to even care.
With a nod from her sister, Lelia set down the box then opened it, removing first the finest, silkiest underwear Elyssa had ever seen. The bra was made entirely of snow white lace, softer than silk, and so delicate that she was afraid that it might break. The material caressed her skin like a lover's hand. The panties were made of the same material, cut high and held together by slender strings on her sides. Arielle helped her sister pull on thigh-high stockings also made of the same, shimmering silk, the tops accentuated in matching lace.
Elyssa had never in her life worn things such as these, and could only imagine what Jareth might think when he saw her in this. At that thought, her cheeks blushed bright red, and she dimly wondered if Jareth knew she was a virgin.
With speed and precision, the sisters wove and braided Elyssa's wild hair, piling it high on her head while weaving in pearls and small white roses. Upon her sweet lips, the placed the juice of a piellet flower, turning them as red as a ruby. "She needs no other makeup," one sister whispered. They all agreed in unison for Elyssa's skin was as pale as fresh cream, and her eyes as green as the mossy bank. Makeup would only hide her natural beauty.
Carefully, they placed over her head, the dress that Jareth selected - a dress as ethereal as the swan it was meant to portray. The tight bodice was revealing, plunging low in the neckline, accentuating her tiny waist. The dress itself was sleeveless, but a pair of elbow length gloves were provided. Upon her back, were a bird's wings, covered in soft feathers. Layers and layers of iridescent material trimmed in the same white feathers swirled around her legs. Kiya handed Elyssa a pair of high heeled slippers and helped her place them on her feet.
"I feel like Cinderella," she whispered giddily. Maybe having servants wasn't such a bad idea after all...
"You look like a queen," Arielle murmured. She gestured towards Lelia, who then produced a small bejeweled chest. Elyssa's breath caught in her throat when Arielle took out an enormous diamond chocker necklace, covered in hundreds of carats of sparkling diamonds. After fastening the necklace around Elyssa's neck, she then withdrew a pair of dangling earrings - each at least two carats apiece. "A gift," Arielle whispered, "from the King."
Breathlessly, Elyssa's hand wandered up to touch the necklace fastened upon her neck. The golden setting was cold against her bare skin. Where these meant to impress her, she wondered. While she was lost in thought, the sound of a carriage gradually became louder and louder. Soon, a small covered carriage pulled by two jet black horses pulled into view. "Ah," Kiya observed. "His Majesty sent his coach."
Elyssa swallowed, nervousness and fear suddenly creeping back into her mind. "Do you think I could get another cup of that...?" She turned towards Arielle who already waited with a cupful of the juice. Elyssa gave her an uneasy smile, then gulped it down in one swallow. "Thanks, you're a lifesaver."
"Your servant, my lady." Arielle bowed low while her sisters followed suit. "His Majesty is waiting."
Without another word, Elyssa stepped into the carriage. Closing her eyes, she fell immediately into a light sleep, never noticing that the carriage morphed into a tiny crystal ball. While the dryads watched, it suddenly took to the air, soaring faster than any horse could run, traveling hundreds of miles in mere minutes.
Moments later, when just outside the goblin city, the crystal transformed back into a common carriage. A sudden bump woke Elyssa up. Her quick nap left her with a sense of sleeping much longer than she actually did, so she wasn't surprised when the carriage pulled into the castle courtyard.
Somewhere from deep inside the castle, a clock struck. It was nine o'clock, and the ball was just getting started.....