Chapter 3---A Tale of Two Nymphs

Yay, another chapter! And the last…for a looooong time…sorry! And so the plot thickens…mwahaha….Bye guys. Read, review, etcetera etcetera…as always, dont own labyrinth, i am sorry...

Jareth was once again in the clouds. No one noticed much, goblins are not famous for their observance. Omega may have been suspicious of something, but who knows? No one understands how the King thinks.

That is what a King's job is.

Jareth's cottage was full of papers and books. He was now the only goblin to have discovered windows, to keep his precious plans intact. It made the air a bit stuffy, but what did that matter? When (not if, when) he was King, he could afford fresh air whenever he wanted.

He was about to put his plan into action (not quite ready, but almost) when something unexpected happened.

Omega had visitors. And not just any old uptight snobby visitors, but nymphs. There was a King who had power, getting the nymphs to come. They resided with the naiads in the trees, outside the Labyrinth and far away in the Underground, in the Forest of Fairies. The Forest was near the Aboveworld land of Greece, and regularly, they would make their mischief up there when they tired of below. The Forest was fiercely misnamed; no fairy ever set foot in there. No fairy dared to go near the nymphs, naiads, and dryads. Not many creatures did, but all creatures loved. Nymphs are very different from fairies. Fairies are small, annoying, pretty, creatures that have little to no magical ability other than the ability to fly. They bite. Nymphs are about the size of human, pretty, talented, loved, mischievous, creatures whose magical ability rivals those of the Warlocks of ancient lore. They are not known to bite, but then again…who really knows what a nymph will do next? Nymphs are associated with the element of earth, though their personalities leans on the side of fire: passionate, changing, warming, and dangerous.

When the nymphs came, everyone knew.

Everyone, that is, except Jareth.

He was in his hovel, nearly napping over a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore. Suddenly, BANG! The shutter flew off its hinges.

"Sorry, Pinchy."

"Shut up!"

Jareth looked out the open window. Hoggle, Bulbosu, and Pinchy stood there. Jareth stared at them before they gave the one worded answer:

"Nymphs."

Then Jareth was out of the hovel and running to the road with the rest of them, eager for a glance, maybe even a bit of magic cast.

There were two nymphs, though only one was noticed. She was tall and thin, with blonde hair that flew in ribbons around her neck. Her eyes were a gold color and darkly lined, standing out against glowing skin. The skirt covering her legs was a pale yellow, and the shirt she wore was more gold than her hair. She was the embodiment of the sun and the most beautiful creature any of them had ever seen.

Her companion was less visible. She seemed to hide in the shadow of the other. Her hair was dark, her skin was pale, and her eyes were grey. She would have had a serious face, if not for the grin worn under a sloping nose. Her white teeth sparkled like stars in her hair, hair that did not understand normal gravity. It swayed in the air like seaweed under water. She wore a skirt of midnight and a silver blouse. She was short and skinny, and pretty. Not beautiful, like the other…but pretty. Yet ignored.

Xannia and Qr'a were their names, Xannia the sun and Qr'a the moon. They knew their positions and how to hold them. They were the nymphs that Omega wanted, but what was wanted, and by whom?

Jareth thought of this as he watched Xannia dance her way up the road and Qr'a glide as if on silver wheels behind her. Omega stood, waiting, and then added his beauty to theirs at the top of the steps. They disappeared into the throne room, a large door closing behind them.

The ordinary goblins went back to ordinary thoughts and ordinary jobs. Jareth was not ordinary, and therefore did not go to normal things. Luckily, the large door that had slammed so majestically, almost saying 'ha-ha, you can't find us!' as it shut, was poorly made (made by goblins after all, carpentry is not their forte) and Jareth could easily listen to what they were saying.

"Xannia! How lovely to see you again, you know my aunt in Nwefland, under Canada, was saying the other day-" There was a soft cough.

"Ah, yes. Qr'a."

"Omega."

"How's life, ah, been?"

"What, since you-"

"Shush, shush sister! This is a diplomatic mission! Not a war fought on old battlegrounds!" a silky voice cut in.

"Of course. My apologies, sir."

"No sarcasm!"

"Xannia, if I cannot use wit has my sword, what have I? Artemis is not on my side today. She-"

"Come, come. Too much useless chatter. To business."

"Right. Omega, we come to tell you of a problem."

"I assumed."

"Well…I'm not quite sure how to say this…"

"Xannia, it is quite simple."

"Then, you say it Qr'a, since you know so much of it."

"Alright. I will. Omega, the magic has awoken. It is coming. You reign…it will end…and soon. The nymphs cannot save you this time, you know the goblin Hoggle should have been the King nigh-on a century ago! Now your monarchy comes to a close and the stars shall not mourn. At night, even the sunflower must darken its petals."

"Well, you would know enough of darkening, wouldn't you, witch? Qr'a of the moon? Qr'a gives not the light of the moon but the night around it! Ill news is ill guest!"

"Ill news it may be! But it is not for you to decide what to hear! What you must do is open the rose, brighten the fallen star when it is necessary! What will you do with this information? How will you find a star on a new-moon night?"

There was the screech of chairs on stone. A frustrated groan and a cracking of bones. The door opened with a sigh and Omega appeared, no longer white and tranquil, but red-faced, stormy. He had the moon-nymph by the elbow, and it was hanging in a peculiar way. Her face was also angry, though more of the irritated look of someone who won't be listened to. He tossed her out and down the steps.

"Ignoring the Armageddon brings it about only faster!" shrieked Qr'a. Omega grimaced and then turned to Jareth. "What are you doing here, goblin?" he spat. Jareth put on his best Bulbosu face. "Catching a chicken. It ran away." Omega sniffed and stomped back indoors.

Qr'a gently realigned the popped joint before turning to the goblin. "Catching a chicken? Omega believed that?" she laughed. "There are a lot of chickens around here." Jareth grunted. She sighed. "That I won't deny. Pesky creatures. Too much noise."

"If you don't mind me askin'…"

"I don't."

"Well, then…why are you and yer sister so completely opposite?"

She laughed again, music of nightbells. "Well precisely because we are sisters! We were born to be the day and night and that is why we hold position! There are eight nymphs that have any sort of governmental power anywhere in the world. Night, moi. Day, my sister. There is also Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Shadow and Light, and Life and Death."

Jareth counted again. "That's ten."

"No, that is eight. Shadow and Light is Shusik and Life and Death is Morealth. You can hardly have one with out the other, so they are together, dealing with both."

"Can you not also have that with Night and Day?"

Qr'a shook her head, the grin still plastered to her face. "We are but figments. You cannot see the day, you only say 'it is light out, time for activity' and you see the dark, and you say 'time for rest'. We are but the Sun and Moon, but we…represent I suppose? Is that really the right word? Oh, well. We represent Day and Night. Do you follow me?"

Jareth nodded.

"Now. As I appear to be thrown out of the diplomatic discussion, I shall take my leave. Good bye." She bowed low, hair dropping. She straightened and it was once again picked up by the wind.

She spun to leave, but hadn't gone more than ten paces when a whisper ran up and down Jareth's spine. She turned her head ever so slightly. "Are you…Jareth? The Most Goblin of Goblins?" she whispered. Jareth nodded, confused. She began digging the folds of her skirt. "You'll want this." She touched the pendant around her neck, a shape almost like bull horns, as she tossed a thin, ragged, old book at him. It was entitled The Labyrinth.