When Alia awoke it was nearly midday. She did not quite feel like going back to her real world just yet, so she called in sick for her classes and her meetings with her professors that afternoon. She would have to go back and catch up eventually.
"But not today. Not yet. Besides what would I do with Tieran? We need to get him settled in the job first." She got dressed and walked out into her living room, still yawning.
She expected to find Tieran still at the computer, but did not. The screen saver whirled quietly around the monitor. She looked out in the kitchen, but he was not there either. Just when she thought he had gone home without leaving a note she saw him. He was sleeping on the couch, hidden when she first walked into the room by its back and its angle in the room. She took the throw off the nearby chair and covered him with it and then returned to the kitchen for breakfast. She fixed herself some instant oatmeal, then decided that checking her email would be a quiet way to occupy herself until Tieran woke.
She entered her password on the computer and clicked 'check mail,' then winced as the modem started dialing and screeching. She quickly glanced over at the couch, but there was no movement. Once the modem had finished its noisy preliminary antics, only the quiet clicking of mouse and keyboard was heard.
Eventually, she finished sorting and responding to e-mail and found herself at loose ends again. She thought about what they needed to do that day. "I have to visit Cara – I promised. I have to explain everything and need to ask her advice. Then we have to see about Tieran applying for one of those jobs. He'll need a background – we can ask Cara about that, too."
Tieran sat up on the couch.
"Good morning," Alia greeted him. "Did you sleep all right on the couch? Why didn't you go home and leave me a note?"
"The couch was fine. I only intended to sleep for a short while."
"How late did you stay up? Did you find much more information?"
"I think it was about dawn, several hours after you went to bed. I printed off all I found and left it on the desk. Whether it will be of any use remains to be seen."
"What if we get you some textbooks? I know we don't have time for you to take a course, but couldn't you take them to the Underground and do a crash course on your own?"
"That might help. Would Cara be able to help me at all?"
"We'll have to ask her when we visit today. Add it to the long list of things to ask her, if we can get a question in edgewise. If I know her, she'll have a million questions by the time we get in there. The sooner we go the better, because the longer we leave her, the more questions she'll think up. Did you want to eat here or go home?" Alia looked at him critically. "You're a kinda wrinkled, maybe you should go home."
He looked down at his shirt and pants, which now showed signs of wear. "Perhaps I should. I will be back in a few minutes."
While she was waiting for Tieran, Alia thought to call Virtual Pencil to check on the jobs. She wanted to make sure they were still available and that there was no other information the company needed. She looked up the phone number on their site and called. She learned that there were still openings, that the company required a general application filled out with the resume and, at the last minute, she remembered to ask for their address.
Alia was just turning off the computer when Tieran reappeared. This time he wore a blue shirt and black pants.
"Good, you found something else." Alia bustled around the apartment picking up a few things laying around. "I just got the address for the company. I think we'd better stop there to pick up the application before we stop at the hospital. The application should give us an idea of the sort of information we'll need to fake your ID. There's no telling how long it will take to explain all this to Cara." Alia turned to Tieran, done tidying. "Ready?"
"Yes. Are you?"
"Just waiting for you."
"Of course," Tieran said with a smile as he followed her out the door.
She drove to the other side of town and found Virtual Pencil easily. A long drive and large parking lot separated the new, free-standing building from the main road. Two multi-story wings ran back at angles from either side of the slightly taller glass-fronted central section with a curved face. The entrance hall occupied most of this center block and rose the full height of the building. Alia saw elevators at the rear of the hall with twin staircases on either side curving up to long bridges or balconies running from wing to wing on the next floor. Planters of small trees and other decorative plants stood here and there, scattered throughout the foyer. The receptionist sitting at the desk gave them the application papers and they left for the marathon question session at the hospital.
As they were walking into the hospital, Alia asked Tieran, "Did you talk to Jareth?"
"Yes. I gave him a report. He was less than pleased that we had been spending precious time shopping, cleaning, and drawing pictures."
"Oh! We forgot to ask if we could use the tunnel hunter. Did he object?"
"At first, he resented the liberty of using one of his creatures, but once I explained why we needed it and that we would not let them take it, he decided he could spare one for the cause if necessary."
"Awfully generous of him considering it's his behind we're trying to save," said Alia as they walked through the corridors of the hospital to the elevators.
Tieran nodded. "I also remembered to ask him about Arten'barad this time."
"And?"
"And he said she asked him to bring her up to date on local history."
"In other words they gossiped?"
"Yes, they gossiped."
"I can see it now. What was that line he said to Hoggle in the movie? About the bracelet? Just change it a little. 'What was that plastic thing hanging on his arm?'"
"Or better yet: 'You should have seen who she married. Such a pity.'"
Alia burst into laughter and got a few stares from passing nurses. Tieran already had the accent naturally and mimicked Jareth's voice nearly perfectly. "You sounded just like him," she said, still laughing, as they entered Cara's room.
"Like who?" Cara demanded.
"Like the Goblin King in the movie last night."
"What's he? A fan of the movie?"
"I don't know. I never thought to ask." Alia turned to Tieran. "Are you a fan of the movie?"
He shook his head. "No, I have seen it once or twice."
"So, he's not a fan of the movie. Then who is he?"
"Like I said, it's a long story. Are you feeling up to it?"
"I feel fine. Better than I have in ages. If they would just quit poking me full of holes and running tests and scans, I'd be even better. I swear there must have been a dozen different nurses and doctors in and out of here this morning and none of them has said a word to me. What did you do? Spike that peach with some drug that messed up their tests?"
"Not exactly. That peach was supposed to heal you, so it might make their tests look funny, but it wasn't spiked with anything."
"Oh, come on. Enough with the fantasy, Alia. I thought you were more sensible than that."
"It's not fantasy. I'm being perfectly serious. The peach was magic. It better have been after what I went through to get it."
"Yeah, right. Whatever. What was this long story you were going to tell me?"
"Maybe you'll believe me after I tell you." Alia sat on the edge of Cara's bed and Tieran found a chair in the corner. "It started a few minutes after you fell asleep. Well, actually it started weeks ago, but I didn't know that then. After you fell asleep, I worked on the stuff I brought with me. You remember?"
"Yes, of course I do. It was just last night."
"Well, shortly after you fell asleep, Tieran appeared."
"Appeared?" Cara commented doubtfully, sensing an unexpected meaning to the word.
"Yes, appeared." Alia turned around to look at Tieran. "You did appear didn't you? You didn't walk in?"
"Yes, I appeared."
"Great, both of you are nuts." Cara rolled her eyes.
"Just listen to my story without the editorials for a little while, okay?"
"Sorry. Habit."
"I know. He appeared and explained to me why I found the stone, why he was here, and what I needed to do. Then he essentially gave me a choice. I could go on the way I was and wonder If I could have saved you or I could go with him and try to save you."
"Save me? Wait a minute. Go back and tell me about these whys."
"It all begins with a prophecy from the Underground." Alia began and continued with the whole story. She told Cara about the house and the lake, the dragon and the desert, the cliff and the caves. She described the tree and meeting the Goblin King, his predicament, and how he wanted it solved. "So we came back here and gave you the peach. Then we went to my apartment and cleaned, did the shopping, and researched the company."
Tieran spoke up then, startling Cara who had forgotten he was in the room during Alia's narration. "That is where we will need your help. I will need to be knowledgeable in this field. I will need to get information and an identity and background to use to work for them. Will you be able to help with that?"
"I'm still not convinced this isn't some cockamamie fairy tale you made up for me last night, but all right, assuming it isn't – no, I can't do that. But I think I know someone who can. I don't know how you'll get him to do it, though."
"That's a start anyway. Really Cara, I'm telling you the truth. I wasn't sure at first either, but what would I gain by making all this up? What would be the point? It would take me weeks, if not months, to come up with a story like this in my spare time."
"I don't know, but things like this just don't happen."
"They might happen all the time, we just don't believe them."
Cara still looked skeptical.
Alia tried Tieran's tactic and asked, "Okay, if you don't believe, what happens? You don't help? What if you just play along for a while?"
"I can't ask this guy to make up a life for him," Cara waved in Tieran's general direction, "just based on playing along. I'll owe him. I'll owe him, big time. And I don't think it's exactly legal."
"Well, this is a good cause. And we'll help. We're committed to doing so many other things, what difference will one more make? And you're feeling better, that's proof that there's something to the story."
Cara shook her head, unconvinced. "If anything, that's proof that the peach was spiked with something and I'm still on it."
"The doctors haven't said anything to you?"
"No, I think they're a bunch of vampires. They come in, take some blood, and leave. They did another CAT scan this morning even though I just had one. Here comes another one," Cara said as a doctor entered her room.
Alia had met this doctor and recognized him as Cara's regular one. He was just the sort you pictured as a doctor: middle aged, glasses, dark hair graying slightly.
Cara confronted him. "All right, Dr. Stevens. What's up? What's with all the tests? If you're here for more blood, you're out of luck 'cause I'm fresh out. I'm sure if you ask anyone you meet in the hall they'll be able to give you some of it. I think I've had everyone in the hospital stick me this morning."
The doctor smiled. "No, no more blood. No more tests. I'm here to give you some interesting news." He paused and looked questioningly at Tieran still sitting quietly in the corner where he had settled when Alia began her story.
Cara dismissed him. "Don't mind him. You've met Alia and that's Tieran. He knows everything anyway."
"All right." The doctor still looked a little dubious, but continued. "The reason we have run so many tests today is that your routine tests from this morning came back abnormal. When the second tests to confirm this came back the same, we ran more specialized tests and the CAT scan. Now we have run out of tests and we're still not sure what to make of the results."
"What results?"
"Your tumor is gone."
"Gone?"
"It vanished overnight. There is no sign of it on the scans. Your blood work is completely normal. We have no idea why."
"I'm cured? Just like that?"
"It seems so. We'd like to keep you overnight and run one last set of tests in the morning. If they come back clear, you can go home."
"That's wonderful, Cara!" Alia exclaimed.
Cara studied Alia. "Yes, isn't it?"
Dr. Stevens, confused by Cara's unusual reaction, looked at his watch and excused himself. "If you'll excuse me, I must be going now. I have an appointment and rounds to make. It was nice to see you again, Alia, and nice to meet you, Mr. ...?"
"Just Tieran will do, thank you," Tieran replied and smiled charmingly.
"Well, then, nice to meet you, Tieran. I'll check in on you in the morning, Cara." The doctor left and the three of them sat staring at each other. Finally, Alia could stand it no longer.
"Well? Convinced?"
"I guess I have to be. It still doesn't make sense though."
"No, not in our world, but then, it's not all from our world, is it? What do you have to do to contact this guy and get him to help?"
"I'll call him and ask him. I'll find out what kind of information he needs and get back to you."
"Okay. Need anything else before we go?"
"Can't think of anything. I'll call you and leave a message tomorrow if I find out anything before your usual visiting time."
"All right. See you then." Alia collected Tieran and they left the hospital.
She decided to take him on a tour of the local shopping mall to get clothing ideas. On a whim, she also picked up a copy of the movie.
"You'll need to know what you're animating after all," she rationalized.
After dinner, they both had studying to do. Alia concentrated for as long as she could, but eventually succumbed to temptation and suggested they take a break.
"Are you ready to take a break? I can't manage anymore. We could watch the movie."
"If you like," Tieran responded noncommittally from the couch where he was reading his printouts.
"Don't you want to watch it?"
Tieran looked up from his reading. "I do not care one way or another. I could just as easily continue reading this." He held up the sheaf of papers.
"Don't you take breaks when you are studying?"
"Not very often. I find they break my concentration." Seeing the look Alia was giving him, he laughed and explained, "Remember, I have had centuries more practice at this than you have." He swung his legs off the couch and placed his print outs back on the desk next to the computer. "We will watch the movie."
Alia inserted the tape in her VCR and made some popcorn.
"Have you really only seen this movie once or twice?" she asked during the opening credits once they were settled on the couch.
"Yes. Why?"
"Seems odd, that's all. I'd have thought you would have seen it more often. It's about where you live."
"But I live there. I do not need to watch a movie to see it. If someone made a movie about this city or the one next to it, how many times would you watch it? Once? Twice?"
"That's true. I hadn't thought of it that way. It's only exciting if you don't live it every day."
They discussed the movie as they watched it, Alia asking questions, Tieran pointing out the occasional inconsistencies. Having met the real Jareth now, Alia had more trouble believing the Magic Dance sequence.
"Would he really do that?"
"Who knows what he does in the privacy of his castle? He must not have disliked it too much or he would have interfered with it."
"That's true. Maybe he was trying to change his image."
When the tape ended, they watched another movie they found playing on television. This one interested Tieran more, not having previous experience with it. When it ended Tieran discovered that Alia had fallen asleep on the other end of the couch.
He turned off the television and retrieved the throw off the chair next to her. After tucking it around her, he gathered the glasses and popcorn bowl to take them to the kitchen, but paused a moment lost in thought, watching her sleep. He shook his head, rousing himself from his thoughts, and continued to the kitchen. Then he gathered his printouts, left a note saying he would be back in the morning, checked the locks on her door for her, and left.
Disclaimers, credits, trivia:
Labyrinth, etc. belongs to somebody else.