Chapter 9: The Calm Before The Storm
Jareth paced the floor of his study. Robin had shared a drink with him, but went to bed exhausted from the long ride. Jareth had bathed and was now wearing one of his many long satin robes and black silk pajama pants. He stopped pacing only to refill his wine glass.
He went over to his large crystal ball and waved his hand over it. He wanted to see where his goblin diplomats were. The crystal clouded over until it was grey. Deathly grey. Jareth took a long drink from his glass and returned the crystal to its usual clear form. His goblin diplomats were dead.
Jareth moved to look out the large windows at the Goblin City. The citizens below were doing what they usually did. Some were pulling things, some were pushing things, some were riding horses, some were just walking, and some were even chasing chickens. Jareth sighed and sipped his wine.
A knock on the large wooden doors brought Jareth's thoughts to a halt.
"I told you I did not want to be disturbed!" Jareth bellowed without turning around. There was a "hey, you can't go in there" and the sound of something hitting the wall. Then a heavier banging came from the door. Jareth knew who it was. "I am busy!"
"Like hell you are" Jessie said loud enough for him to hear. She pounded a fist against the door. "You're brooding over things and drinking."
"I said I AM BUSY!" Jareth yelled. He drank the last of his wine and went to refill his glass.
"I need to talk with you" Jessie said. Jareth put down the wine decanter and produced a crystal. He let it float in the air as he moved to sit in a large chair that faced the fireplace. The crystal started to play music, effectively drowning out the pounding on the door.
A noise that sounded like something that came from a blacksmith shop cut into the music. Jareth leaned over the arm of the chair to watch the door handle forcibly turn and nails fall from the handle. The doorknob and lock fell to the floor with a clank. The door opened and Jessie walked in. She was wearing her leather armor, which told Jareth that she was working the graveyard shift.
"I SAID—" Jareth yelled standing up.
"Shut up, Jareth!" Jessie quipped. Jareth's eyes filled with rage. "I just got word that Koenraad's troops are forming outside of Lungand."
"Why wasn't I notified earlier?" Jareth asked still enraged.
"I was just notified" Jessie said. Jareth turned towards the fire and drank the rest of his glass of wine.
"How many are there?" Jareth asked staring into the orange flames of the fire.
"An estimated 10,000" Jessie replied. Jareth set the wine glass on a small round table.
"I haven't even had time to contact any other kingdoms" Jareth said in a small voice.
"It gets worse" Jessie said. "They have a six slidringtanni, those large black boars that I've only read about in legend."
"Slidringtanni?" Jareth asked. "Are you sure? I thought they were extinct."
"Unless my brain deceives me, they are indeed Slidringtanni, and they are each hauling a catapult" Jessie replied.
"We are not ready for such an attack" Jareth said. He looked back at the knight in his study. His eyebrows pulled together and the anger in his eyes shone like the fire. "Why didn't you just go to Modsognir? This wouldn't have happened if you had just gone."
"Excuse me?" Jessie said. Her eyebrows were high and her mouth hung low.
"I needed someone to prevent this from happening!" Jareth yelled. Jessie's features came together to mimic Jareth.
"I am not responsible for your political fiascos!" Jessie yelled back. She pointed a finger at him to emphasize her next words. "If you ever, EVER, blame me for your lack of confidence during your political disputes--!"
"Do not point at me!" Jareth interrupted. The crystal that was hovering in the air, still playing music, crashed into Jessie's right shoulder, knocking her to the floor. It bounced twice on the stone floor before returning to hover in the air. "And, do not raise your voice to your king."
Jessie stood up and stretched out her shoulder. "You're just drunk. I'll come back when you're sober."
The room seemed to get hotter and the air between the two seemed thick with animosity.
"What did you call me?" Jareth hissed through clenched teeth.
"I called you a drunk" Jessie hissed back. Jareth stepped close to her and held his face level with hers. "I can smell the wine from here, Jareth."
Jessie's head snapped to the side with a sharp crack. A red hand imprint stung her cheek and a few drops of blood stained her lips from where her teeth had bit. She licked her lips and glared at Jareth.
"You're a fool" Jessie said. Jareth's fists connected with Jessie's jaw and her cheekbone, sending her stumbling back. Jessie regained her balance and stepped towards Jareth. "Is that all you've got?"
The hovering crystal came smashing into Jessie's chest and repeated to beat into her as she fell to the ground. Jareth watched, "seeing red", as the crystal bruised and battered the knight. He flicked his wrist and the crystal flew off to hover near the door. Jessie turned on her side and spat blood from her mouth. Her face was a mass of red and purple bruises.
"Coward" Jessie said. In a fury, Jareth bent down and grabbed her by the collar.
"Shut up!" He screamed in her face. He violently shook her until his rage died down a little bit. "Just shut up!" He let her drop to floor in a heap. "You're a mess."
"You feel a little better though, don't you?" Jessie groaned. Jareth balled up his fists and took a deep breath. He agreed with her and he didn't want to. He picked up his glass and went to pour himself a glass of wine. Jareth made a distasteful grunt when he looked over at Jessie and moved to go stand by the windows.
Slowly and painfully, Jessie picked herself up. The sound of the creaking leather and metal against the floor gave her movement away.
"Shouldn't you be out on patrol?" Jareth asked.
"I'm not working tonight" Jessie replied. Jareth turned and narrowed his eyes at her.
"You're in your armor" Jareth replied. Jessie's nose started to bleed and she pulled out a handkerchief to stop the flow. Realization hit Jareth as he watched her. "You wanted me to hit you."
"Actually I figured you could use a physical release" Jessie replied through the cloth. "And you barely hit me, just for the record. You used those stupid crystals."
"Get out of my study" Jareth growled.
"What are you going to do about Koenraad's army?" Jessie asked.
"I will figure that out" Jareth said. He sipped his wine and looked out the windows. "Go away. Your appearance is unpleasant."
"Yeah, well fuck you, Jareth" Jessie said still holding her nose. She turned and pushed the heavy door open. "I don't know how accurate Idis was in her prophecy, but we need to act now or we'll lose."
"Get out" Jareth hissed. He watched as she shook her head and left the study. He could feel a part of himself agreeing with her, but his mind was being very indecisive.
The next morning, before the sun ever arose, there was a meeting between all of the elder knights in the Council Hall. Tensions were high and the knights looked haggard.
"We need armor for the new troops" Alexa said standing and hitting the table.
"No one but the dwarves can make armor that fast" Don Carlos said. "Let them wear leather."
"I agree with Alexa, Don Carlos" Aulus said.
"We need to work out a plan of attack!" Pheon'a Ch'a cried. "We should not be here discussing armor!"
"I have an idea" Hugo said. The knights looked at the small glittering faery as if he wasn't really there. Hugo, in his very small form, floated to the middle of the room with a piece of paper. He held it up. "I have a plan!"
The drawing was very simple. Mountains were upside-down V's, the forest was simply a shaded area, and the roads were dark squiggly lines. The Dwarves were composed of a very dark shaded area.
"If we can get a message to Svengard and Jurassitol, they could provide an immediate defense both north and south of Lungand" Hugo said.
"We know that, Hugo" Alexa said. Hugo put the drawing flat on the large round table.
"We need to leave a third of our troops here in the Labyrinth" Hugo said ignoring Alexa. He marked two X's at the two main entrances of the Labyrinth. He placed an X near a bunch of hills. "We should drop off a sixth of the troops in Baku as immediate back up. The rest of us go north to Lungand."
"This plan is nuts" Alexa said. "They could just go through the forest."
"No one would willingly go through that forest" Zill argued calmly.
"I think we should see what the king's plans are" Jessie said.
"We do not need the king here to make our decisions" Alexa replied.
"You're a fool, Alexa!" Jessie said. "We need the numbers that the goblin army has."
"The Knights of The Labyrinth are known for our small numbers" Alexa said leaning towards Jessie.
"Yes, but we have many new knights" Jessie quipped. "New knights who are not trusted yet." Jessie pointed at the map, south of Lungand and Jurassitol. "I think we need to move our troops to Baku."
"Baku is a day's ride to Lungand" Aulus said. "Why Baku?"
"We can take out the north Blutberg River bridge" Jessie said. "If we need to, we could send troops out to hold tight in Olive Grove. When the Dwarves move to Jurissitol or even on towards Baku, we can take them from both ends."
"Who would we send out?" Alexa asked.
"The goblins" Jessie said. Pheon'a Ch'a leaned forward and pointed to an area halfway between Baku and Jurissitol called Pining Plain.
"That's where we should have the battle" Pheon'a Ch'a said. "It's open, it's not in a city, and if we can get extra troops to come in from the north, then we can be rid of the Dwarves."
"They have six slidringtanni" Aulus said. "How are we supposed to kill them? Their hide is stronger then ten layers of armor."
"If we had our own beasts" Don Carlos said.
"Yes! Our own beasts!" Hugo said.
"What beasts?" Zill asked. "We have no beasts!"
The group fell silent. Hugo fiddled with his map. Pheon'a took off her ears, scratched them, and reattached them. Alexa played with her chain mail shirt. Jessie leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.
"Can anyone pull any favors from any high fae?" Aulus asked sinking in his chair. Silence licked the room again until an idea came into Jessie's head.
"The Shaitans" Jessie said. The others looked at her. "The Shaitans. They are in debt to the Ama'sovai."
"Those desert demons?" Alexa asked incredulously. Jessie leaned forward.
"You don't have to like them, Alexa. We just have to get rid of the Dwarves" Jessie replied.
"Why would they help us?" Alexa asked. "What would you offer them?"
"I don't know" Jessie replied. "I don't even know what they'd want."
"If she goes out to negotiate and they say 'no', then we remain in the same spot" Aulus said. "I don't see any reason why Jessie shouldn't go to the Shaitans."
"Who else votes for Jessie to negotiate with the Shaitans?" Alexa asked. Hugo, Pheon'a Ch'a, and Zill raised their hands. Alexa looked over at Jessie. "Are you willing to go?"
"Yes" Jessie said.
"Five out of seven. Go tonight" Alexa said. "If you are not back by morning we will send someone."
"Then I will leave as soon as the sun goes down" Jessie said.
"We will meet back here when you return" Alexa said. The group seemed anxious to stand and stretch. Jessie and Aulus left the room quickly, standing outside in the cool early morning air.
"You're going home?" Aulus asked.
"That I am" Jessie replied. "I haven't slept in thirty hours or so."
"Mind if I ask you a personal question?" Aulus asked moving towards his horse.
"I might, but go ahead" Jessie replied. Aulus mounted his horse.
"What happened?" Aulus asked gesturing to his face. Jessie touched her cheeks where purple bruises graced her cheekbones and jaw.
"Just a fight" Jessie said. "I am fine."
"Right" Aulus said. Jessie started to walk off as the others came out of the Council Hall.
"Good night, Aulus" Jessie said walking towards her small cottage.