Chapter Eleven - The Pen is mightier than the Crystal!
******
A/N - All bits written between *asterisks* are what Arian is writing.
******
After what seemed hours, Arian was excused from the breakfast table and hastily
retreated to her room. Jareth watched her leave, her pendulous braid fluctuating from
side to side as she ran, streaked with that viscous black ink she used so much. So she
had lost her pendant, or so she said... The Goblin King smiled as his suspicions were
proved correct. It was the Star that had been stopping her power somehow, like a dam
to a reservoir. For that morning, whatever magic he had sensed in her before was
nothing compared to what he felt now. The dark energies flooded the entire castle,
suffocating it in an oil spill of cold, metallic fire.
******
Arian breathed a sigh of relief when she reached her tower. Why did he have to make
her hang around so long, the last encounter could have been shortened to five minutes
and that would do everyone a favour. She guessed that he knew about her discovery
about his defeat and was being extra nice to her so she'd keep her mouth shut.
A tiny hopeful thought flickered across her mind, wondering whether her father was
finally trying get to know her and perhaps ask her forgiveness for the last two years of
estrangement. She crushed the thought like a fly under a newspaper. That would never
happen, not in a million years. They had been close once, but that was in the past. And
as for an apology, never. That was the most certain fact she knew aside from the
certainty of death. Her father would never apologise and neither would she.
Her eyes fell upon the fresh manuscript she had written the night before and she
gasped as it reminded her of the dwarf's unhappy fate. She was filled by a burning
curiosity when the idea struck her, so incredible that it terrified and enthralled her at
the same time. She rushed across to her desk and pulled out an old scrap of parchment
and a quill from one of the drawers. She wrote a short paragraph describing her
surroundings and what she was doing, almost absent-mindedly for she did it all the
time. Then came the exciting bit...
*...The pen scratched lazily and the short fragments of the once glorious
feather trembled in the morning breeze...*
Suddenly the nearest window swung open and a fresh morning breeze circled the stale
atmosphere of the old school room. That was weird!
*...a spider scuttled across the tea-stained oak desktop...*
No sooner than when her quill tip had left the aged sheet, a spider scuttled across the
desk, just as she'd described!
"Bloody Hell!" she cried out loud.
*...It was followed by a beetle who stopped half way across, spun around three
hundred and sixty degrees and danced the Continental...*
Arian almost screamed when this also happened exactly as she had written. She was
about to investigate further when there was a timid little knock at the door.
"What is it?" she called angrily. What a time to be interrupted!
"I've brought you your dress for tonight, my Lady." said the frail voice of one of her
more regular servants.
Of course! The Mask, she had forgotten all about it. She would have to tell her
grandmother about this, she would know what it was. Although, knowing her
grandmother, she probably already knew. The Queen Mother of the Labyrinth had a
rather unsettling talent for clairvoyance and with a thought could see anything
happening in the past present or future. This could be really useful but its drawback
was that it was impossible to lie to the old woman.
The costume was far nicer than she had expected. Arian had a deep dread of looking
like a meringue. Instead she found a straight midnight blue gown decorated with tiny
stars hanging on the back of her door. There was also a half mask of the same colour
with a silver comet painted around the left eye hole. Arian had to admit that it wasn't
bad. It was ornate and simple at the same time and that suited her just fine.
******
She arrived downstairs in the entrance hall a few hours later. Jareth noted that for the
first time in her life she was early. Probably exited about seeing her grandmother
again. He wasn't sure why. The woman had always been an old dragon where he was
concerned.
"Are you ready, Arian?" he asked.
"As I'll ever be." she replied, idly swinging her mask by her side as she walked.
Beautiful as they were, those things itched like hell.
"I got you something." said Jareth, trying to sound pleasant but not quite managing it
somehow. He held out a small pendant on a silver chain for her to take. It was shaped
like a crescent at the centre of a strange triangular design. Arian recognised it
immediately. It was the family symbol. Every member of the Labyrinth's royal family
wore it in some shape or form. "I thought you might like a new one, seeing as your
star went missing. Shall we get going?" he said conversationally.
"What does it mean?" asked Arian. She was really confused by this sudden act of
generosity.
"To show everyone who you are."
"That rather defeats the objective of a masked ball, doesn't it?"
"You still need to show you're importance. You are the one true heir to the Labyrinth,
a political position second only to myself."
"I'm not a true heir though!" Arian cried angrily as he walked through the main gate
towards the carriage, but there was no answer.
******
A/N - All bits written between *asterisks* are what Arian is writing.
******
After what seemed hours, Arian was excused from the breakfast table and hastily
retreated to her room. Jareth watched her leave, her pendulous braid fluctuating from
side to side as she ran, streaked with that viscous black ink she used so much. So she
had lost her pendant, or so she said... The Goblin King smiled as his suspicions were
proved correct. It was the Star that had been stopping her power somehow, like a dam
to a reservoir. For that morning, whatever magic he had sensed in her before was
nothing compared to what he felt now. The dark energies flooded the entire castle,
suffocating it in an oil spill of cold, metallic fire.
******
Arian breathed a sigh of relief when she reached her tower. Why did he have to make
her hang around so long, the last encounter could have been shortened to five minutes
and that would do everyone a favour. She guessed that he knew about her discovery
about his defeat and was being extra nice to her so she'd keep her mouth shut.
A tiny hopeful thought flickered across her mind, wondering whether her father was
finally trying get to know her and perhaps ask her forgiveness for the last two years of
estrangement. She crushed the thought like a fly under a newspaper. That would never
happen, not in a million years. They had been close once, but that was in the past. And
as for an apology, never. That was the most certain fact she knew aside from the
certainty of death. Her father would never apologise and neither would she.
Her eyes fell upon the fresh manuscript she had written the night before and she
gasped as it reminded her of the dwarf's unhappy fate. She was filled by a burning
curiosity when the idea struck her, so incredible that it terrified and enthralled her at
the same time. She rushed across to her desk and pulled out an old scrap of parchment
and a quill from one of the drawers. She wrote a short paragraph describing her
surroundings and what she was doing, almost absent-mindedly for she did it all the
time. Then came the exciting bit...
*...The pen scratched lazily and the short fragments of the once glorious
feather trembled in the morning breeze...*
Suddenly the nearest window swung open and a fresh morning breeze circled the stale
atmosphere of the old school room. That was weird!
*...a spider scuttled across the tea-stained oak desktop...*
No sooner than when her quill tip had left the aged sheet, a spider scuttled across the
desk, just as she'd described!
"Bloody Hell!" she cried out loud.
*...It was followed by a beetle who stopped half way across, spun around three
hundred and sixty degrees and danced the Continental...*
Arian almost screamed when this also happened exactly as she had written. She was
about to investigate further when there was a timid little knock at the door.
"What is it?" she called angrily. What a time to be interrupted!
"I've brought you your dress for tonight, my Lady." said the frail voice of one of her
more regular servants.
Of course! The Mask, she had forgotten all about it. She would have to tell her
grandmother about this, she would know what it was. Although, knowing her
grandmother, she probably already knew. The Queen Mother of the Labyrinth had a
rather unsettling talent for clairvoyance and with a thought could see anything
happening in the past present or future. This could be really useful but its drawback
was that it was impossible to lie to the old woman.
The costume was far nicer than she had expected. Arian had a deep dread of looking
like a meringue. Instead she found a straight midnight blue gown decorated with tiny
stars hanging on the back of her door. There was also a half mask of the same colour
with a silver comet painted around the left eye hole. Arian had to admit that it wasn't
bad. It was ornate and simple at the same time and that suited her just fine.
******
She arrived downstairs in the entrance hall a few hours later. Jareth noted that for the
first time in her life she was early. Probably exited about seeing her grandmother
again. He wasn't sure why. The woman had always been an old dragon where he was
concerned.
"Are you ready, Arian?" he asked.
"As I'll ever be." she replied, idly swinging her mask by her side as she walked.
Beautiful as they were, those things itched like hell.
"I got you something." said Jareth, trying to sound pleasant but not quite managing it
somehow. He held out a small pendant on a silver chain for her to take. It was shaped
like a crescent at the centre of a strange triangular design. Arian recognised it
immediately. It was the family symbol. Every member of the Labyrinth's royal family
wore it in some shape or form. "I thought you might like a new one, seeing as your
star went missing. Shall we get going?" he said conversationally.
"What does it mean?" asked Arian. She was really confused by this sudden act of
generosity.
"To show everyone who you are."
"That rather defeats the objective of a masked ball, doesn't it?"
"You still need to show you're importance. You are the one true heir to the Labyrinth,
a political position second only to myself."
"I'm not a true heir though!" Arian cried angrily as he walked through the main gate
towards the carriage, but there was no answer.