A goblin's shouting alerted the two males of her awakened state. Toby and Jareth had been enjoying plates of toast when the sound had interrupted their breakfast. The king apparated from the dining hall into the East Wing corridor in a split second only to discover the girl leaning against a stone corner in terror while being reprimanded by a stout female goblin. Pieces of ceramic cups lay about the floor along with a metal tray.
"Watches where you's going, missy!" warned the goblin a final time before fleeing the scene with broken cups in tow.
Jareth looked to the girl. Her green eyes were wide, insinuating a cherubic face he found rather attractive. Her hair fell in auburn curls around her face just as it had when she'd been sleeping, but with more life to it. Why, if she were a bit heavier she could be beautiful. He'd be sure to have Cook fatten his future queen quickly.
"What the FUCK!" she cried in a hoarse voice similar to the plea he'd heard the night before. "What the HELL WAS THAT! Who the fuck are you, man! Where am I!" The king flinched at the excessive use of expletives but decided not to comment on them. There'd be time to work that out of her vocabulary later.
"You are in the Underground, my dear." He swooped in to whisk her into his arms, and she pushed him back with such force he nearly stumbled. There was strength in those scrawny arms.
Toby showed up with a slice of French toast. "Toast?" he offered her, making sure to stand back a good distance so's not to disturb her personal space in any way as the demonstration with Jareth had shown she disliked that very, very much. "You gotta be hungry." He dangled it. The girl stared at him, and he knew immediately that she was recognizing him as a human kid like herself. She moved forward slightly, leaving the corner. Jareth still stood back with hurt pride and watched curiously.
"Am I dead?" she asked point blank. Toby shook his head. "Then what?"
"You're here and there simultaneously," answered Jareth shortly. "You asked to be brought to my kingdom and I obliged. You are in debt to me." The blonde youngling shot him a disapproving glance. He ignored it. "So stop being the impudent wench and allow me to introduce myself."
The girl watched with a passive expression upon her face. "Go on."
"This is the nation of goblins. This castle is my own. I am King Jareth of the Goblins. You are in a world called the Underground. From now on, it's your home as well as mine."
She seemed to be soaking the information in for a moment before nodding. The king was mildly surprised of such quick acceptance. "I see."
"My name's Toby," explained the blonde teen. "I'm human like you." She nodded.
"I thought so. But he- " she gave a jerk of her head towards Jareth, "Looks different." Her voice was becoming stronger with every word. It was quick and prim, like a schoolteacher's. Her green eyes were analyzing and knowing. "My name's Terry."
The king of goblins nodded. She was staring at him now, finally noticing his beauty. He was somewhat vain about his looks, but it didn't matter. As a king he was allowed to be. The new youngling was taken by him, he was certain.
"Blue and brown don't match," Terry commented with little emotion in her voice. Toby chuckled appreciatively.
"Yes yes," said Jareth impatiently, masking his disappointment. "Now, regarding this." He snatched up her arm and rubbed the marks upon her veins with his rough thumbs. The girl pulled back on reflex.
"Don't touch me!" The king moved forward and pressed his body against hers.
Toby felt his ears flush and hurriedly left the corridor. This wasn't his business really...maybe Cook needed help in the kitchens...
Jareth had her small face cupped in his hands, with her delectible lips so easy to take in his own. "I do not condone drug use here in the Underground from anyone, including you love. Understood?" Her mossy eyes searched his mismatched ones, and he willed himself to look more serious than he felt at the moment. "You will feel withdrawals, of course, and I will be by your side to carry you through them. There will be no more pain."
She frowned into his pointed face so solemnly he felt it right to protect her for the rest of her mortal life. "All right King Jareth. You'll have your way," she sneered. The king released her face and swept his cape around her shoulders.
"That should keep you warm until the royal tailors are able to present you with more suitable clothes to the land's climate. Are you hungry?" he asked calmly. "Cook has whipped up French toast for Toby and I daresay there's plenty left for a young ravenous woman."
Terry gave him a contemptuous look to match all looks. "I'm not ravenous. Barely even hungry." With that her stomach lurched with a low growl. "..."
Jareth smiled. "I see. Well, shall we head to the kitchens love?"
"...Fine...But stop calling me that! I'm not your love!" she added fiercely. "So get it out of your head!"
"Sorry darling. Force of habit."
"Argh!"
He led her to the dining hall, where they sat at the long royal table side by side, he in his throne and her in a straight-backed wooden chair. Many servants were bustling about preparing food for that night's feast, carrying ingredients to Cook and stopping along the way to peer at the "royal couple." Terry was furiously attacking pieces of toast and crunching quite loud. Jareth was silently grateful that she didn't chew with her mouth open, as he loathed that disgusting habit.
Toby was no where to be seen. The king had the sneaking suspicion that he knew where they were anyhow, and was down in the villages. The child loved speaking to commonfolk and wandering around the huts. Often he came home with old crafts made by goblins that he'd traded something of his own for, usually an expensive gift from Jareth himself. It was all in good fun though, so he almost always let it pass. How this new resident would behave in the Underground was an interesting question in itself. Would she try to find narcotics? A futile mission, as all mind-altering substances had been outlawed back in the days of King Zacharias' rule. No doubt that any creature she asked would report immediately to the king, lest they be punished.
"Terry..." he said slowly. The girl glanced up from her plate questioningly. He shook his head. "I don't believe I like that. I shall call you something else."
"My parents used to call me that when I was little," she protested. "That's what everyone calls me!"
He waved his riding crop into the air dismissively. "Not anymore. I think you'll find yourself taking on a new persona in the Underground. Now, what shall we call you?" He put a finger to his chin teasingly. "How about something sweet, like Reesa? Or Bella?" She made a face. "Hmm...something ethereal, to go with your lovely eyes... Or maybe birdlike, to match your physique."
The mortal frowned into her plate and shoved it aside suddenly. She stood from her chair and backed away. "Enough with the flirting...I don't want to - To be your play thing. I don't want to be anyone's play thing ever again! I hated it!" Her mossy eyes shined. "Being a whore- a crack whore! I never wanted it!" Her lips trembled, the bones in her neck shifted. "Do you think I wanted it! The drugs, the sex, the isolation from everyone? It was like being in a cage- a dirty, fucking cage! And you're no better than any of it. You just want to cage me up in this place to be your whore. Your play thing!"
Jareth blinked at this sudden rush of words and was immediately at her side. He took her arm and pulled her into his body; folding his own arms around her like a spider. "Shh," he shushed her and rocked her gently. "It's alright love, it's alright. You aren't my play thing, and you're definitely not my whore. You're my little queen. My Queen Kestreal," he said, testing out her new name.
"Don't touch me," she said in a quivering voice. "I don't want you to touch me."
"Kestreal," he said again.
"Please..." The king released her, and took off on his heels to his room without another glance back. He wouldn't be jerked around like this, even by her.
Terry - No, Kestreal sat down again, her knees turned to water. What did she just say? The truth, she decided. Long ago her life had taken a turn for the worst and she'd admitted her grievance to no one but herself before now. Now Jareth knew. He knew her more than anyone. "Get real," she muttered aloud. They'd just met! But his eyes could see more of her than anyone. Those blue and brown orbs of his were omniscient.
She wanted the needle so badly. Her veins screamed for sustenance and relief. Her nose was burning for lines. Her lungs begged for canabis. Oh god, how far gone was she?
"You'll be okay, Kestreal." Toby was suddenly there, behind her chair. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I know it seems rough right now, but you'll be okay."
Toby knew everything too, she realized. There was nothing she'd be able to hide in this castle. This kingdom. Was this the end of the line?