Lady Rachelle walked over to the window, where Seth was still standing. He stared fixedly out at the Labyrinth as she raised her hands and put them on his shoulders. "Seth," she murmured, kissing the back of his neck. He didn't respond. She started massaging his shoulders. "Hrow are you?"
"Alive," he said simply. "No thanks to you, I might add." He couldn't forget how she had actually requested the jury to consider the death penalty.
She kissed his neck again. "Forgive and forget," she murmured, kneading his shoulders. He didn't say anything. "Has that human bitch been good to you?" she inquired, pressing herself up against his back. After he had left she'd realized having him banished had been a bad idea...
Seth pivoted and grabbed Rachelle by the waist, easily lifting her so that they were eye to eye. Rachelle smiled at him, noting happily that his eyes had changed back to how they were supposed to be. "She hasn't been, has she?" she asked. "You're so tense..."
"Maybe that's because Karleigh is out in that Labyrinth, quite possibly fighting for her life!" Seth hissed, his grip on Rachelle tightening. "Unlike you I worry about the people I care for!" He dropped her unceremoniously and returned his gaze to the Labyrinth, frustrated. "Never call her a bitch again, Rachelle," he warned her, voice low. "Or I won't be responsible for my actions."
Wisely, the Lady took a step back and did not try cuddling up to him again. Jareth watched the two, amused. He hadn't realized how much Seth cared about Karleigh until now, if he was willing to threaten Rachelle.
Rachelle huffed. "Such a temper!" she murmured, adjusting the bodice of her gown. "This is why I reported you, Seth! If you had only returned the spell to Jareth..." tears began to well up in her eyes. "If you had only listened to me, I wouldn't have had to tell the Court! You would still have your powers, and you wouldn't be a Muse to some human bitch! You'd still be a proper Fae!"
Even without his powers, Seth was a formidable fighter. Lady Rachelle should have remembered that, he thought, spinning around again and punching her as hard as he could. He may have broken her jaw but he didn't really care. "I told you not to refer to Karleigh as a bitch," he said calmly, stepping over Rachelle's fallen form.
Jareth raised an eyebrow as Seth passed him. Rachelle was trying to regain her composure. No man had ever raised a hand to her before. The thought was ludicrous. "You ... you bastard!" she whispered as Seth exited the room.
"He did warn you," Jareth said.
Rachelle struggled to sit up. "That... that Karleigh did this to him..." she hissed. "She poisoned him! My Seth!"
Not really your Seth, my Lady, Jareth thought. You did essentially attempt to kill him, after all. Did you expect a rosy 'I'm so glad to see you'? "I don't believe he's going to sign that contract," Jareth said. "Not if he has to work for you."
Slowly standing, Rachelle angrily began to smooth out her dress. "He will if Karleigh doesn't make it," she said, giving Jareth a hard stare. "Surely there's some way you can... distract her..." she curled a lock of hair around her finger.
"No," Jareth said bluntly. "She still has twelve and a half days to get here." Though she will have to eat eventually, he knew. And when that happened, who knew what kind of effect the food would have on her. It would be so saturated with Underground magic it could even kill her.
Rachelle knew there was a way she could convince Jareth to break the rules for Karleigh. It wouldn't be that hard, really, not for her. She stepped forward and smiled at him. "There are loopholes that would allow you to..." she began.
Jareth looked at his wrist and pretended that he wore a watch. "Look at the time!" he said, with mock amazement. "Must be going now." He turned around and left the room, taking care to shut the door behind him.
For a few moments Lady Rachelle stood alone in the middle of the room. She wanted Seth back more than anything, and she was convinced that if Karleigh was out of the way, he would come to her. If Jareth wouldn't distract the mortal, then she'd just have to bypass him. Her magic was surely strong enough for one little human girl.
Rachelle waved her hand and a silver snake appeared in it. Light glinted off it's emerald eyes. Karleigh will never see Seth again, she thought, twirling the snake around her fingers.
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The door of the gallery had turned out to be behind Jareth's portrait, of all places. After tripping I had happened to grab onto the candlestick underneath it and when I did, the painting swung open, revealing a secret staircase leading upwards. It was entirely unoriginal and I was kind of disappointed in Jareth's lack of creativity.
However it was an excuse to sing the Scooby-Doo theme song. "Come on Scooby-Doo, I see you, pretending you got a sliver," I sang for the third time. It was a short song and the staircase went on for a while. It fit really well to the location of the passageway, though. The hiding place had been used in several episodes of the cartoon.
Of course there was no light in there, which bothered me just a bit. I couldn't see if there was someone waiting at the top with an axe or anything. That would not be a good thing. Trying to make sure I didn't get my head cut off, I stuck my hands out in front of me and waited for them to hit cold metal.
"But you're not fooling me, cause I can see the way you shake and shiver!" Right now I felt more like Shaggy than I wanted to, cowardly and afraid. Where was my brave, gallant Fred when I needed him? You wished him away to Jareth's castle, a little treacherous voice in the back of my mind whispered. I quickly pushed it away. Thinking like that would get me nowhere.
If only it wasn't so dark! Any moment now I would probably trip and break my nose on the stairs or go tumbling back down into the gallery. If that happened not only would I bruise on the stairs but I'd crack a rib or two falling from the portrait from the floor, a drop of about four feet. I winced at the very thought.
"I find your singing rather painful as well," Jareth whispered in my ear. I screamed and jumped about ten feet in the air before tumbling back into his awaiting grasp. He clutched me to his chest as I tried to catch my breath. That jerk! How dare he sneak up on me!
"What the hell was that for?" I demanded, attempting to twist around to face him. It was still dark but I would feel a heck of a lot better if I was facing him. "You should know better than to scare people like that!" I hissed. He wasn't letting me turn around, and he wasn't loosening his grip. Why wouldn't he just let me go already? "Any particular reason for this embrace, Jareth?"
He blew on my neck, making me shudder. "You seem to be enjoying it," he murmured. One of his hands was placed on my hip and the other on my shoulder. If the Goblin King had been someone else I might have found the situation comfortable.
Someone like Seth? a little voice in the back of my head asked. I fought to ignore it. The thought was ridiculous, surely. "Well, I'm not," I mumbled, furiously embarrassed by the mental whisper. I had to stay focused on the situation at hand. Doing otherwise would be very dangerous, especially considering my current position.
Jareth gently began rubbing my shoulder. The effect was unnerving, and I suddenly had no idea of what to do or say to him. Why was he doing this? "Give up, Karleigh. Seth will be perfectly happy without you." He bent down and whispered in my ear, "He wants you to give up, Karleigh."
I froze. At first I felt shocked. That couldn't be right. Jareth had to be lying. Seth couldn't really want me to give up, could he? Then, slowly, it began to sink in. We had never really gotten along, and Jareth seemed to know him, anyway. He really might be happier staying here. My chin sank to rest against my chest. Jareth said I should give up, so maybe... no.
What should I care about Seth's happiness? Who cared about that stupid Muse? I could come up with good ideas on my own - I didn't need him! I wouldn't solve the Labyrinth to rescue him, I would do it to spite Jareth, and to prove to myself that I could indeed accomplish great things. And I would solve it, I had over twelve days left! I resisted the urge to laugh. Jareth was such a fool to give me that much time!
A small smile crept onto my face. "I'm not giving up," I said, my voice calm and confident. Jareth made a small noise in the back of his throat and let me go. Smirking, I bounded up the stairs, not caring that it was dark any more.
And at the top, I found ...
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"Damn it!" Lady Rachelle ran a hand through the wild mass of blonde hair now on top of her head. She was fuming. "Why didn't it work?" She stared, dumfounded, up the stairs in the direction Karleigh had run. Hadn't she acted enough like Jareth to fool her? Magic had given her his body, voice, and wardrobe.
She sighed and began walking up the stairs. This was much easier in pants than a skirt, she observed. Men definitely had the better deal there. But for the life of her, she couldn't figure out how Jareth got his hair to stay like this! Did he use some sort of gel? Using magic every day would exhaust him, wouldn't it? Think about that later, she chided herself, reaching the top of the stairs.
She pushed open the door and walked into the well-lit hallway. Columns decorated the sides, and Rachelle thought she saw a figure lurking behind one. After another moment's observation, she saw it again - the distinct figure of someone bent down behind a column. Laughing softly to herself, she walked across the floor to where it was bent down, and swiftly grabbed it's collar.
"Karleigh," she said, Jareth's voice still sounding unfamiliar. The thing in her hand came out from behind the column's shadow. Rachelle immediately blanched. "Oh, it's just you," she muttered, letting go of the goblin. She wiped a hand on her pant leg and absentmindedly kicked the cowering creature. "Where did the human girl go?" she demanded.
The goblin pointed to a door at the very end of the hallway. "In there, Your Majesty," he said, giving Rachelle a deep bow. She preened. Being Jareth had it's perks, all right. It was worth looking down and seeing his body. She walked forward, carrying her head high, and dramatically flung the door open.
After a second's appraisal Rachelle let out a short, dry laugh. How typical of Jareth, she thought, stepping inside.
The goblin scurried in the opposite direction as she stepped into the room beyond and shut the door behind her, sure that he had just upset his King. Perhaps it was best that Karleigh had chosen that door to venture beyond. Everyone knew that Jareth loved the Hall of Mirrors, maybe seeing his image reflected hundreds of times would calm him down.
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Author's Note: School starts up again soon. ::cries:: They can't make me go!!!!! Actually... they can. Truant officers and such. Sigh. Anyway, much fun awaits in the Hall of Mirrors, or at least I hope it does. I'll update as soon as I can.
Thanks to my reviewers: Mab, Queen of Faerie, I hope Rachelle was sufficiently evil for you. Hehe thanks for your review! BlueyChan, I preferred his voice as well, but a lot of people do talk about his pants for unnecessary amounts of time. Thanks for reviewing! sych77, Thank you for your compliment and suggestion. (Sethrida is Hebrew... so I guess ancient people used it) Thanks for reviewing! :) Princess-RainbowRose, This one was longer. And you never know when you're going to get your couple.. I still don't know how Kar is going to react to Seth's past yet. Thank you for reviewing! Draco's Daughter, Hehe I love Jareth torture too. Yay Pan! :D Thank you for your review!