Chapter Two
Jezebel fumed to herself as she flew back to the Underground. That rotten pirate! How dare he call her those things! She was not spoiled! Just wait until she told Jareth her little tale. He would help her teach that pirate a lesson! Yes sir! She transported herself to the Underground in a flash. She looked down expecting the lush rolling hills of green grass surround the sparkling white limestone walls of the Labyrinth and the Castle beyond the Goblin City. The Enchanted Forest would be in full spring glory and the fairies would be in a friendly mood for once. But she became shocked. The hills were dry, barren and scorched by the sun, the limestone walls dirty, crumbling and overgrown with weeds. The Enchanted Forest was dark and dead looking and she could hear the fairies hissing with venom. Jezebel swooped down to get a closer look. What had happened to her home? She flew towards the castle praying that her brother, the caretaker of the Labyrinth, the Goblin King himself, would be alright. And if he was, maybe he could explain what had happened to their home.
She landed on the ground before the Castle in the deserted city square. She changed back into her normal form and looked around. The once charming village was now a crumbled and dusty ghost town, with the drunken laughter of the Goblins on the wind. She started up the steps to the castle when a cultured voice shouted,
HALT! WHO GOES THERE?" Jezebel stopped in her tracks completely when a small fox dressed in the clothes of a nobleman with a feathered cap jumped out of his hiding spot and stood his ground before her. Jezebel put her hand on her hip and smirked at the little creature with an eye patch who was proceeding to growl at her,
"ANSWER ME MILADY! OR I SHALL HAVE TO USE FORCE!"
"Who wishes to know gentle sir?" she asked.
"Sir Didymus of the Order of the Underground! Defender of the faith, and loyal protector of our ill Goblin King! Again, I ask thee, who art thou?"
"Ill? When did the King become ill? Is that why the Underground is in ruin?" asked Jezebel deeply worried about her brother now.
"The King is ill of heartbreak Milady. And the Kingdom has not been the same since." said the knight.
"Heartbreak? Since when?" asked Jezebel.
"What a minute! Why should I talk of such things with a lady who has yet to identify herself?" asked Didymus.
"Princess Jezebel Minerva Alexis. Sister to the Goblin King. An honor to meet you Fair Knight." said Jezebel frustrated only slightly. The fox's bushy eyebrows rose upward in surprise.
"Well I…oh a thousand apologies Your Highness! I had no idea!" said Didymus bowing low.
"You are forgiven Sir Knight. You have served your post well. Now shall you take me to my brother?" asked Jezebel. The knight took off his cap and bowed again,
"My Lady." As he stepped aside to let her go first, she said,
"Thank you Noble sir." The small fox led her into the throne room. She gasped. The once grand and elegant banners flowing from the ceiling were now tattered rags a few drunken goblins made their hammocks out of. Dirt and trash were everywhere, but even more so than in the circular pit that she remembered playing in as a child. The throne was dirty and worn, badly needing a new cushion. A few chickens darted around her feet as she stepped forward to look over the throne to see her family crest. An owl and a hawk each holding one end of a sickle in one claw each, while the other claws held a crystal ball. Engraved in the sickle was the family motto, 'Il nat naa mani ta ta ve'. ' Nothing is what it seems.' Actually there was no Elfish word for seems, so the phrase really says, 'Nothing is what it's like', but Elfish also takes on new meanings with different dialects. So in a Fae's tongue, it is 'Nothing is what it seems'. The crest now was a chipped dirty shadow of its former self.
"Oh Jareth. What happened here?" she muttered. The fox pulled on her cape and took her out of the pitiful throne room to the upper hallway where the royal bedroom was kept. At her brother's door she saw a short wrinkled dwarf holding a tray full of food and knocking politely.
"Your Majesty? Please open up! You haven't eaten for days!" He pleaded.
"Perhaps I may be of some assistance." said Jezebel warmly. The dwarf turned to her and raised his bushy eyebrows.
"Your Highness! You're home!"
"Hello Hedwart."
"Hoggle!" cried the dwarf in frustration. Jezebel chuckled.
"Just kidding, Hoggle. What is wrong with Jareth?" she asked looking worriedly towards the door. Hoggle hung his head and said,
"The King got his heart broken, Jezebel. You know how you Faes can only love one person in their lifetime."
"He fell in love? With who?" asked Jezebel. Hoggle looked nervously towards the door.
"She Who Must Not Be Named." he said shifting his feet. Jezebel frowned and dryly said,
"Oh. He's in one of those moods. Well I'll get to the bottom of this." said Jezebel. Jezebel straightened up and knocked on the door.
"BLAST IT HOGGLE I SAID GO AWAY!" shouted a cultured voice from within. Jezebel merely folded her arms and concentrated. To Hoggle's and Didymus' wonder, she turned into a shadow upon the floor and flowed under the doorway. When she shifted back into her form, she said,
"Now is that any way to talk to your favorite baby sister?" The tall, lean, elegant man lying on the bed sat up. His long angular pale face with equally pale blond hair grown long and wild grew surprised. His mismatched blue and green eyes, once bright and mischievous were dull and depressed with huge bags under them from lack of sleep. His clothes were worn, faded, and dirty and he had actually grown an impressive and long blond beard badly in need of a trim.
"Jezebel?" he said. She stepped forward until she was directly in front of him.
"Jareth. Is that you under all that hair?" she asked brushing her fingers through his long tangled locks. He cracked a small smirk.
"I see you have not lost your sense of humor." said Jareth.
"Hmm, but you seem to have lost whatever little fashion sense you may have had!" she said scanning his clothes. He sniffed,
"What are you doing here anyway?"
"Well I thought I'd come home, see my big brother, and find out how the kingdom's been doing. Well, I've come home, seen my big brother, only to find out that the kingdom's has gone to pot!" she said sarcastically with her hands on her hips.
"I don't want to talk about it, Jez." Jareth said in an almost bored tone.
"Well I don't either right now. Right now I want you..."she said pulling him to his feet and dragging him to his bathroom. "to get out of those clothes, take a nice hot bath, wash yourself, and then get dressed in the clothes I'm going to pick out for you, comprende? Then I'm going to take some scissors to you Mr. Adams, and see if I can find my brother under there!" she continued flipping some of his hair and patting his cheek before walking out.
"There's no hot water." said Jareth before she left the room entirely. With a snap of her fingers, the tub was filled with hot, steamy water. Jareth smiled as he shook his head. Jezebel would never change. He slipped off his clothes and climbed in. He hated to admit it, but the water felt good to him. He conjured up a crystal and turned it to look at a frozen image of a young girl. A beautiful young girl with long raven hair and wide, innocent black eyes. Her round open face and her lovely pouty smile brought one to his face. She had been so creative, so full of imagination and dreams. Yet so wise beyond her years, despite having a little more growing up to do. Intelligent and kind. Bold and brave. That was his love. That was his...
"Sarah." he whispered to the image begging for it to be the real thing fingering the ball.
A little later, Jezebel was sorting through Jareth's clothes. Holding up a pair of leggings, she said to herself,
"Gees Jareth, a little tight don't you think?" The bathroom door creaked open and she heard Jareth say,
"Oh I don't know. I found them quite...satisfactory." She turned and saw her brother trying to give her a little smile. He had changed into the only non-tight outfit Jareth owned. A loosely fitted gray pajama pants, it's companion long since lost, and a long sleeve white undershirt.
"Not very Kingly. But they'll do until I can conjure you up some more appropriate attire." she said smiling back. She tossed the leggings aside and walked over to the wooden table in the center of the room. She picked up a pair of scissors and then pulled a chair out for him and patted the seat. Surrendering only after giving her a glare, he walked over and sat down. Silently she took his hair and gathered it in her hand in a makeshift ponytail. She took the scissors and began to hack at the damp hair. When she was done, she handed the locks to Jareth who pursed his lips in thought. It had been a long time since he had cut his hair. She stepped in front of him and did the same for his beard. Satisfied, she went back around and began to shape his hair into a neater haircut. They were in silence for several minutes until Jezebel said,
"So who is 'She Who Must Not Be Named'?" Jareth sighed,
"I see you've been talking with the servants."
"Well?" she asked.
"Long story short. A mortal I fell in love with. I challenged her to the Labyrinth. She won and refused my heart. The end." he said.
"And that's what caused this kingdom to disintegrate?" she asked. He nodded and said briskly,
"Happy?" She knew there was more to tell. But she said,
"For now." And she continued cutting. Once the hair on his head was done, Jezebel turned her attention to his beard. As she shaved his lathered up face with a straight razor, she said,
"I think I'll leave some of it. I'd always thought you'd look good with a goatee. But I'll take enough away so I can actually tell where your upper lip is." She said.
"Fine with me." he said. A few minutes later, she produced a mirror and held it up for her brother to see. He quirked his eyebrows when he saw his face again. His hair was the shortest it had ever been. A few whips of hair flopped in his eyes, and his goatee looked dashing on him. He stroked his facial hair and said,
"Not bad."
"This is the part where you say 'Thanks Jez for making me look like a normal Fae again!'" she said. He stood up and kissed her on the cheek.
"Thank you." he said. Then he pulled her into a tight hug. Surprised at this, since their family never was the tight hug kind, she shrugged and awkwardly returned the hug.
"I suppose I do need a little butt kicking right about now." he said. She looked up at him, which was an easy thing to do considering he was a head taller than her.
"That's what sisters are for."
"I'm glad you're here. It's been hard not having family around." he said quietly. She thought of their parents and nodded.
"It must be hard knowing you can never fall in love again." she said. He locked eyes with her and said,
"If you find someone to love, hold on to them. Hold on to them as tight as you can, understand?" She nodded quietly.
As she sent Jareth to the dining hall to eat something, Jezebel and a crew of recruited goblins, along with Hoggle and Didymus, began to clean up the castle. It was hard at first to get the goblins to pick up the trash and not eat it or throw it at each other, but luckily, Jareth had trained them to know that with one glare, a Fae meant business. Soon she, Hoggle, and the captain of the Royal guard, a tall goblin at four feet with an elegant long white beard went up into the castle tower where Jezebel learned Jareth had hidden away all the family portraits. It was dusty and crowded with cobwebs and canvases. She pulled back the cloth covering on one painting and came face to face with her parents. King Jared and Queen Jiselle. Hoggle looked at the portrait and scratched his leather cap.
"What happened to them again?" he asked in a curious tone. Gulping back the lump in her throat, Jezebel said,
"They died in an avalanche." The guard said,
"But I thought Faes could live for thousands of years!"
"We can. But we can be killed as easily as a mortal." said Jezebel stroking the painting. She had her fathers curly brown hair streaked with gold. Jareth had their mother's fair blond hair. She had her father's brown eye, while Jareth had his green one. She had her mother's violet eye, and he had her blue one. Jareth shared Father's high cheekbones and tall lean stature, while she was like their mother. Shorter and curvy. They were both elegantly dressed and regal looking with both having the Fae's characteristic arched eyebrows.
"Look at this one!" said the guard pulling back a cloth to reveal a portrait of Jareth and Jezebel as children. Jezebel laughed an embarrassed laugh.
"Oh no! I can't believe how young we looked! Gee, when was that? Fifteen hundred years ago?" she reflected putting a hand on her cheek. She smiled at how her younger self was just a little rounder and how the teenage Jareth was smiling with wicked innocence with the round cheeks of youth and not yet the elegant high bone structure he now possessed.
"How old were you?" asked Hoggle.
"I was only five hundred. Jareth was, gosh, fifteen hundred?" she pondered. With every portrait revealed, memories were made anew and laughter was shared. Finally she pulled back the last one as Hoggle and the guard began to load up the canvases to be brought back downstairs. Jezebel frowned. She didn't know this one. It was a simple charcoal drawing of a fifteen year old young mortal girl with dark eyes and curly dark hair. She had a wide eyed innocent look to her, yet, she also seemed sad somehow. As if she was lost. She wore a big puffy dress, heavily embroidered, suitable for any little girl playing princess, but not quite for a mature young woman. There was no artist that signed it.
'Only one way to get to the bottom of this!' thought Jezebel pulling off her glove. Fae are known for many powers, but only a few can master the memory reading. She placed her hand on the canvas and concentrated on the feelings, emotions and memories associated with this picture. She closed her eyes and soon a progression of images began to fill her mind. Slowly at first, but then they cascaded into a waterfall. She saw the girl running the Labyrinth, she saw Jareth, she saw the girl with Jareth, she saw Hoggle, she saw the girl with Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and another creature, a rock caller. She saw a little baby boy and she heard voices.
"TOBY!"
"LUDO!"
"HOGGLE!"
"JARETH!"
"ATTACK!"
"RETREAT!"
"WOAH NELLY! DUCK!"
"AAARRRROOOO!"
"SARAH!"
"SARAH!"
"SARAH!"
"Sarah!" said Jezebel snapping out of the spell. Hoggle and the guard froze in their tracks. She grabbed the drawing and rushed back downstairs with Hoggle pleading after her,
"Your Highness! Don't! Just let it be! DOH!"
Jezebel stomped into the dining hall to find Jareth picking at his food and taking a bite every now and then. She held up the drawing before her and said angrily,
"The girl you fell for was only FIFTEEN?" Jareth looked up at her with a hint of anger in his eyes mixed with regal boredom and said,
"I had forgotten about that picture."
"Jareth! I saw everything! You didn't just challenge her to the Labyrinth, you kidnapped her baby brother!" snapped Jezebel.
"She asked me to. You know a Fae has to do what their asked to do." said Jareth leaning back and playing with his napkin.
"Only when it doesn't hurt ourselves, the kingdom or anyone else! Jareth! You tried to force a FIFTEEN year old girl to be in love with you? Number one, you can't force love, it has to come naturally! Number two, I never saw you kiss her, so it must not be real love. Three, if you did love her, you wouldn't have endangered her or tried to take her world away!" yelled Jezebel. Jareth slammed his hand on the table.
"You don't know anything! I gave her everything she wanted!" he hissed looking dangerously at her.
"She was only FIFTEEN! She didn't know what she wanted! Especially when it came to love! Which as I already said, I doubt you really loved her!" she said. Jareth stood up and said,
"Oh? Well dear sister, allow me to enlighten you!" And with that, Jareth waved a hand and the room became an open field fresh with wildflowers. Jezebel looked around.
"Where are we?" asked Jezebel. Jareth circled her,
"The past."
"Which past?" asked Jezebel knowing time had little boundaries in the Underground.
"Well, my past. And the past of the girl. The year is around nineteen hundred and ninety in the Aboveground. And if you want to see how I love Sarah, then just look over there." said Jareth pointing over the hill. Jezebel did look and sure enough, she saw a younger version of the girl Sarah in braids and a crown of interwoven flowers. Then she looked into the trees and saw a young Jareth, age one thousand staring at the girl from behind a stone pillar in the park. Suddenly, the girl saw him.
"Who are you?" asked young Sarah. The young Fae gulped,
"Jareth."
"Hello Jareth. I'm Sarah. Would you like to play with me?" she asked sweetly. Jareth nodded timidly. He had never been around let alone talk to a mortal before. Soon the pair were chasing after each other and pretending to be a princess and a prince (which wasn't so much a stretch for Jareth) running from an evil dragon. Sarah flopped down on the grass and said catching her breath,
"I believe we have lost them My Lord." Jareth sat down beside her and said,
"Yes Milady."
"I wish to reward you brave Prince. Shall I give you a kiss?" asked Sarah. Young Jareth gulped and nodded. Young Sarah leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. But Jareth turned his head so their lips would meet. It was quick and sweet but then Sarah pulled back and said nervously,
"I have to go." Then she ran away leaving young Jareth baffled.
"Oh Jareth!" said Jezebel as the scene faded. She turned back around to her brother, who had his arms folded as he said,
"Well you know how us Faes are. One kiss given away in the innocence of youth and I am unable to love another ever again. And when she said I had no power over her, she might as well have said, I don't love you and I never will. I have no power over her, but she has every power over me." Noting his remorseful tone, Jezebel stepped forward and said,
"I'm sorry Jareth. I still think you went about courting her the wrong way, but I am sorry."
"I thought if I appealed to her when she was still young and innocent, she might agree to love me. But I was wrong." said Jareth leaning against the hardwood table.
"Jareth, it's not just that! You tried to force her! You didn't give her a chance to get to know you and the whole kidnapping her brother thing, didn't help! I've been traveling around the mortal world for some time now. Heck, I just attended a mortal wedding! Love can't be forced, it must be chosen. Both parties are not each others slave and they know each other well enough to want to know everything else. Do you see why she couldn't love you Jareth?" asked Jezebel putting a hand on his shoulder. He smiled weakly,
"No, but you have given me a lot to think about. Goodnight Jez." He kissed her cheek and walked out of the room.
"Jareth..." He turned back to face her.
"Why couldn't I see that memory of your first kiss when I read the picture's memories?"
"Something's can be hidden even from magic." he said. Jezebel watched him walk up the stairs to his chambers vowing to herself to try and see what this Sarah had that could make Jareth love her so even after rejection and the nature of the Fae.