Chapter Three - The Eastern Tower
******
Arian crept silently up to her rooms. Her quarters took up most of the Eastern Tower
which was the second highest in the whole castle. It was beaten only by the Central
Campanile that contained the Labyrinth's main magic source at the top floor, guarded
by the ever changing tangle of stairways that made up the Escher room. It seemed to
go on to infinity and, on the occasion when she had visited it at the age of eight, she
had tried to comfort herself into believing that it was all an optical illusion (although a
horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that this was not the case). Arian had
only seen that room once before under the company of her father, and once was
definitely more than enough. Had she been alone, she had mused later on, she might
have been lost in there for days and not even her keen sense of direction would have
been able to help her. The magic at it's core had a nasty habit of distorting the laws of
physics.
The Eastern Tower however was fairly static in its whereabouts, almost comfortingly
so. It was definitely the easiest part of the castle to find. Arian's quarters consisted of
three circular rooms and a loft at the top of the tower. These were all separated by a
small spiral staircase through the centre that stretched continuously upwards until it
reached the trap door to the loft. The lowest room was her living area and dining room
where she was supposed to greet visitors (if any of them had reason to see her, which
they never did). Above that was her old school room which she had now converted
into a private study. Higher still was her bedroom and bathroom and above that was
the loft under the conical roof of the tower. Years ago she had delighted in its
contents, exploring every ancient curiosity and forging hiding places among the
forgotten furniture. Now, she had grown bored of its contents and was planning to
clear it out to make some more space for her precious books. Already the three lower
rooms were filled to the brim with these treasures. The most recent edition to Arian's
rooms was the tower's roof itself. The year before a particularly violent storm had
destroyed part of it and there was now a large whole near the roof's base. Arian had
discovered that there was a lot of space between the jagged point of the tower and the
battlements that surrounded it. Enough space to sit and read or to gaze upon the
fantastic view of the Labyrinth that stretched below her in all directions. To this end
she had purchased several telescopes and spy glasses so she could observe everything
in finer detail. On such a clear night, the roof was perfect for stargazing and that was
exactly what she felt like doing.
******
The next morning, Jareth appeared in the tower and momentarily surprised to find it
empty. The Goblins had laid out Arian's breakfast but she was nowhere to be found.
Just an empty, Spartan room with tall piles of ageing books on every available surface.
She had really let the place go, he thought. Seeing as he hadn't been in his daughter's
room for nearly two years, he wasn't prepared for the magnitude of clutter it
contained. In fact, since all the problems with the peace negotiations between the Troll
and Dwarven kingdoms had started, he barely had any time for her at all and had left
her to her own devices. Not that she seemed to mind of course. Arian always looked
as though she desperately wanted to be somewhere else when there were other people
in the room. Perhaps she had not yet risen. With that thought he sauntered up the
spiral staircase, past her study and her collection of typewriters, printing presses and
other literary contraptions. Honestly, what manner of child kept a printing press in her
room?
Her bed was empty! He was about to look for her elsewhere when he noticed the
trapdoor in the ceiling hanging open and a light morning breeze spiralling down from
it...
She had somehow fallen asleep on the roof that night. She sat against the slope of the
roof with one leg dangling over the battlements and the other tucked neatly under it.
She was wearing the same dress she had worn at dinner the previous evening and her
light brown hair hung in a long, tangled braid over her left shoulder. Around her on
various stands and tripods were her telescopes. Jareth had never really understood her
strange fascination with technology.
"Arian." No answer "Arian!" he said, louder this time. Arian's eyes fluttered open and
she straightened her back with satisfying click. Hard tiles were not the best surface to
sleep on. She jumped slightly when she noticed the Goblin King towering over her.
"Father?" she said "What are you doing here?"
"Can't a man visit his daughter?" he replied coolly.
"Well, it's just that I haven't seen you in a while."
"You saw me last night."
"I meant talked to you!" she replied with a hint of annoyance. He was making her
nervous, after all they were very high up.
"I've been thinking." said Jareth, swiftly moving away from the subject of his recent
estrangement. "You're going to be an adult soon and it's about time we decided what
you're going to do with your life."
"I assume by 'we' you meant 'you'." said Arian bitterly.
"You assume correctly. I have decided to teach you the ways of magic, so you may be
of more use to the kingdom."
"Oh not the magic again! I think it's pretty obvious there isn't a magical bone in my
body!"
"Well, would you rather be married off to some nobleman?" he said, his tone suddenly
sounding quite threatening as opposed to the light conversational manner he had been
using earlier. Arian didn't make any response to the remark and looked to the floor. "I
didn't think so." he said triumphantly and began to walk nonchalantly along the
battlements showing no concern that he was balancing on a tiny wall nearly a
thousand feet above the ground. "Your lessons will begin immediately. Have your
breakfast then report to my study." and with that he jumped gracefully over the edge,
changing into his owl form in mid-plummet.
Arian watched as he flew away. "Bloody show off!" she grumbled.
"I heard that." said a disembodied voice by her ear. Arian sighed and shook her head
before making her way back to her rooms.
******
Arian crept silently up to her rooms. Her quarters took up most of the Eastern Tower
which was the second highest in the whole castle. It was beaten only by the Central
Campanile that contained the Labyrinth's main magic source at the top floor, guarded
by the ever changing tangle of stairways that made up the Escher room. It seemed to
go on to infinity and, on the occasion when she had visited it at the age of eight, she
had tried to comfort herself into believing that it was all an optical illusion (although a
horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that this was not the case). Arian had
only seen that room once before under the company of her father, and once was
definitely more than enough. Had she been alone, she had mused later on, she might
have been lost in there for days and not even her keen sense of direction would have
been able to help her. The magic at it's core had a nasty habit of distorting the laws of
physics.
The Eastern Tower however was fairly static in its whereabouts, almost comfortingly
so. It was definitely the easiest part of the castle to find. Arian's quarters consisted of
three circular rooms and a loft at the top of the tower. These were all separated by a
small spiral staircase through the centre that stretched continuously upwards until it
reached the trap door to the loft. The lowest room was her living area and dining room
where she was supposed to greet visitors (if any of them had reason to see her, which
they never did). Above that was her old school room which she had now converted
into a private study. Higher still was her bedroom and bathroom and above that was
the loft under the conical roof of the tower. Years ago she had delighted in its
contents, exploring every ancient curiosity and forging hiding places among the
forgotten furniture. Now, she had grown bored of its contents and was planning to
clear it out to make some more space for her precious books. Already the three lower
rooms were filled to the brim with these treasures. The most recent edition to Arian's
rooms was the tower's roof itself. The year before a particularly violent storm had
destroyed part of it and there was now a large whole near the roof's base. Arian had
discovered that there was a lot of space between the jagged point of the tower and the
battlements that surrounded it. Enough space to sit and read or to gaze upon the
fantastic view of the Labyrinth that stretched below her in all directions. To this end
she had purchased several telescopes and spy glasses so she could observe everything
in finer detail. On such a clear night, the roof was perfect for stargazing and that was
exactly what she felt like doing.
******
The next morning, Jareth appeared in the tower and momentarily surprised to find it
empty. The Goblins had laid out Arian's breakfast but she was nowhere to be found.
Just an empty, Spartan room with tall piles of ageing books on every available surface.
She had really let the place go, he thought. Seeing as he hadn't been in his daughter's
room for nearly two years, he wasn't prepared for the magnitude of clutter it
contained. In fact, since all the problems with the peace negotiations between the Troll
and Dwarven kingdoms had started, he barely had any time for her at all and had left
her to her own devices. Not that she seemed to mind of course. Arian always looked
as though she desperately wanted to be somewhere else when there were other people
in the room. Perhaps she had not yet risen. With that thought he sauntered up the
spiral staircase, past her study and her collection of typewriters, printing presses and
other literary contraptions. Honestly, what manner of child kept a printing press in her
room?
Her bed was empty! He was about to look for her elsewhere when he noticed the
trapdoor in the ceiling hanging open and a light morning breeze spiralling down from
it...
She had somehow fallen asleep on the roof that night. She sat against the slope of the
roof with one leg dangling over the battlements and the other tucked neatly under it.
She was wearing the same dress she had worn at dinner the previous evening and her
light brown hair hung in a long, tangled braid over her left shoulder. Around her on
various stands and tripods were her telescopes. Jareth had never really understood her
strange fascination with technology.
"Arian." No answer "Arian!" he said, louder this time. Arian's eyes fluttered open and
she straightened her back with satisfying click. Hard tiles were not the best surface to
sleep on. She jumped slightly when she noticed the Goblin King towering over her.
"Father?" she said "What are you doing here?"
"Can't a man visit his daughter?" he replied coolly.
"Well, it's just that I haven't seen you in a while."
"You saw me last night."
"I meant talked to you!" she replied with a hint of annoyance. He was making her
nervous, after all they were very high up.
"I've been thinking." said Jareth, swiftly moving away from the subject of his recent
estrangement. "You're going to be an adult soon and it's about time we decided what
you're going to do with your life."
"I assume by 'we' you meant 'you'." said Arian bitterly.
"You assume correctly. I have decided to teach you the ways of magic, so you may be
of more use to the kingdom."
"Oh not the magic again! I think it's pretty obvious there isn't a magical bone in my
body!"
"Well, would you rather be married off to some nobleman?" he said, his tone suddenly
sounding quite threatening as opposed to the light conversational manner he had been
using earlier. Arian didn't make any response to the remark and looked to the floor. "I
didn't think so." he said triumphantly and began to walk nonchalantly along the
battlements showing no concern that he was balancing on a tiny wall nearly a
thousand feet above the ground. "Your lessons will begin immediately. Have your
breakfast then report to my study." and with that he jumped gracefully over the edge,
changing into his owl form in mid-plummet.
Arian watched as he flew away. "Bloody show off!" she grumbled.
"I heard that." said a disembodied voice by her ear. Arian sighed and shook her head
before making her way back to her rooms.