Chapter Two - The Education of Arianhad
******
Demon Faerie Queen - "It sounds as though Black Star became your interest before
this (What am I supposed to do with a Goblin Babe) got finished"
A/N - You assume correctly. I got a bit impatient with the other story and I wrapped it
up a little quickly. I'll probably re-write that last chapter eventually and make some
improvements, but right now I'm bloody sick of it.
******
In retrospect, Jareth was never really sure if that was the exact moment that he had
decided to keep her or if it had been when Arian had woken up a few hours later. Her
eyes were so dark that it was hard to tell where the iris ended and the pupil began,
which was unusual compared to her fair hair and skin. She had not looked at all
worried that she was in a room full of Goblins on a dark and stormy night. Instead, she
just gave them an inquisitive look as if she was trying to work out what made them
tick. Either way, she showed intelligence far beyond her years and for that reason, the
Goblin King decided to bring her up as his own daughter. Contrary to what most
people thought, he did have a bit of a soft spot for kids.
Over time, Arian certainly proved her talent. After six months she had learned to talk
and her vocabulary was larger than most adults in the Underground court. Although,
Jareth was horrified to find that the Goblins were teaching her swear words behind his
back. By the time she was three, she had successfully learned to read and write and
finally at age five she was fluent in several Underground languages like Elvin and
Dwarfish as well as the more ancient tongues of the Aboveworld such as Greek, Latin,
Sanskrit and Hebrew. She had a passion for the written word and nothing gave her
more joy than the dusty tomes of the castle library or a quill and ink.
However, despite all her literary gifts, it seemed that Arian did not have a single ounce
of magic inside her. Jareth had done his best to draw it out of her. Figuring the best
way to encourage magic was to make it an option of self defence, he arranged for the
Goblins to pretend to attack her in the middle of the night and had even resorted to
pushing her off a cliff so she might give some sign as to whatever the energy was that
hung around her. Sadly, all the young Arian had learned from these experiences was
to keep a loaded crossbow under her pillow and avoid her father when they took walks
at high altitudes. She showed no natural ability.
Childhood traumas aside, she led a reasonably happy life and didn't mind her state of
isolation. She adored the Labyrinth and over the years she came to know it like the
back of her hand. In fact it was her party trick whenever there were guests at the
castle. Where other princesses would have sang played instruments, Arian would read
stories and essays she had written or sketch maps of the Labyrinth from memory.
It was on one of these evenings, when Arianhad was fourteen years of age, that this
story began. There were a number of foreign ambassadors from the surrounding
kingdoms attending. As usual, Arian found it so boring that watching paint dry
sounded like a bit of a laugh. She desperately wished that she could go to her room
and read or go outside and make the most of the fading light. But no! She had to stay
and listen to a bunch of old politicians and smile politely and only speak when spoken
to ect. ect... It wasn't fair!
Then it was time for her reading. Here we go again! She stood up at the front of the
drawing room her plain black dress posed a high contrast her pale skin and her dark
eyes shone like coals in the candlelight and glinted in unison with her star pendant she
had worn since infancy. This night she had chosen The Iliad by Homer, in its original
Greek. Ha! That would show them. Seeing as no one in the room had a very strong
understanding of the language apart from her, she felt an arrogant spasm of pleasure as
the words flooded out faster and faster and her shocked audience tried hard to hide
their difficulty in keeping up. When her reading was finally over she bowed (but no
more than she had to) and left the room.
"Well, that was certainly quite...interesting." said one of the guests.
"Don't be a fool. You didn't even understand it!" said his wife.
"I got the gist of it. Boy meets girl, they run away together, girl's husband sends a huge
fleet after them and holds the city under siege for years and years. Quite a sweet little
domestic drama."
"I see why she's nicknamed the Black Star. She's too bright by half and equally
distant..." said the wife under her breath, or so she thought.
"Is there a problem, Lady Bernadette?" said a smooth yet stern voice from across the
room. She turned to see the King was looking straight at her.
"I was merely discussing your daughter's reading with my husband." she gushed with a
false smile "Such a strange area to educate her in, isn't it?"
"In what sense?" asked Jareth, his tone swiftly becoming icy.
"It's just that girls should be taught the arts and proper etiquette, not idle stories of the
Aboveworld. How will she become a wife if she has no idea how to behave like one?"
"That is only when marriage is the only option." said the Goblin King "I have far more
important plans in mind."
He still had not given up on Arian's potential. The magical energy around her radiated
like heat from a lightbulb but still had failed to present itself. This was irrelevant,
however. In the end it made no difference whether the child had a natural ability or
not. It all depended on how well she could be taught and once she reached the right
age, with the right amount of tuition, he would be able to harness her power.
******
Demon Faerie Queen - "It sounds as though Black Star became your interest before
this (What am I supposed to do with a Goblin Babe) got finished"
A/N - You assume correctly. I got a bit impatient with the other story and I wrapped it
up a little quickly. I'll probably re-write that last chapter eventually and make some
improvements, but right now I'm bloody sick of it.
******
In retrospect, Jareth was never really sure if that was the exact moment that he had
decided to keep her or if it had been when Arian had woken up a few hours later. Her
eyes were so dark that it was hard to tell where the iris ended and the pupil began,
which was unusual compared to her fair hair and skin. She had not looked at all
worried that she was in a room full of Goblins on a dark and stormy night. Instead, she
just gave them an inquisitive look as if she was trying to work out what made them
tick. Either way, she showed intelligence far beyond her years and for that reason, the
Goblin King decided to bring her up as his own daughter. Contrary to what most
people thought, he did have a bit of a soft spot for kids.
Over time, Arian certainly proved her talent. After six months she had learned to talk
and her vocabulary was larger than most adults in the Underground court. Although,
Jareth was horrified to find that the Goblins were teaching her swear words behind his
back. By the time she was three, she had successfully learned to read and write and
finally at age five she was fluent in several Underground languages like Elvin and
Dwarfish as well as the more ancient tongues of the Aboveworld such as Greek, Latin,
Sanskrit and Hebrew. She had a passion for the written word and nothing gave her
more joy than the dusty tomes of the castle library or a quill and ink.
However, despite all her literary gifts, it seemed that Arian did not have a single ounce
of magic inside her. Jareth had done his best to draw it out of her. Figuring the best
way to encourage magic was to make it an option of self defence, he arranged for the
Goblins to pretend to attack her in the middle of the night and had even resorted to
pushing her off a cliff so she might give some sign as to whatever the energy was that
hung around her. Sadly, all the young Arian had learned from these experiences was
to keep a loaded crossbow under her pillow and avoid her father when they took walks
at high altitudes. She showed no natural ability.
Childhood traumas aside, she led a reasonably happy life and didn't mind her state of
isolation. She adored the Labyrinth and over the years she came to know it like the
back of her hand. In fact it was her party trick whenever there were guests at the
castle. Where other princesses would have sang played instruments, Arian would read
stories and essays she had written or sketch maps of the Labyrinth from memory.
It was on one of these evenings, when Arianhad was fourteen years of age, that this
story began. There were a number of foreign ambassadors from the surrounding
kingdoms attending. As usual, Arian found it so boring that watching paint dry
sounded like a bit of a laugh. She desperately wished that she could go to her room
and read or go outside and make the most of the fading light. But no! She had to stay
and listen to a bunch of old politicians and smile politely and only speak when spoken
to ect. ect... It wasn't fair!
Then it was time for her reading. Here we go again! She stood up at the front of the
drawing room her plain black dress posed a high contrast her pale skin and her dark
eyes shone like coals in the candlelight and glinted in unison with her star pendant she
had worn since infancy. This night she had chosen The Iliad by Homer, in its original
Greek. Ha! That would show them. Seeing as no one in the room had a very strong
understanding of the language apart from her, she felt an arrogant spasm of pleasure as
the words flooded out faster and faster and her shocked audience tried hard to hide
their difficulty in keeping up. When her reading was finally over she bowed (but no
more than she had to) and left the room.
"Well, that was certainly quite...interesting." said one of the guests.
"Don't be a fool. You didn't even understand it!" said his wife.
"I got the gist of it. Boy meets girl, they run away together, girl's husband sends a huge
fleet after them and holds the city under siege for years and years. Quite a sweet little
domestic drama."
"I see why she's nicknamed the Black Star. She's too bright by half and equally
distant..." said the wife under her breath, or so she thought.
"Is there a problem, Lady Bernadette?" said a smooth yet stern voice from across the
room. She turned to see the King was looking straight at her.
"I was merely discussing your daughter's reading with my husband." she gushed with a
false smile "Such a strange area to educate her in, isn't it?"
"In what sense?" asked Jareth, his tone swiftly becoming icy.
"It's just that girls should be taught the arts and proper etiquette, not idle stories of the
Aboveworld. How will she become a wife if she has no idea how to behave like one?"
"That is only when marriage is the only option." said the Goblin King "I have far more
important plans in mind."
He still had not given up on Arian's potential. The magical energy around her radiated
like heat from a lightbulb but still had failed to present itself. This was irrelevant,
however. In the end it made no difference whether the child had a natural ability or
not. It all depended on how well she could be taught and once she reached the right
age, with the right amount of tuition, he would be able to harness her power.