Chapter 3: In which Elaine Meets Someone Very Important

"Wake up."

Elaine stirred into consciousness. The was aware of soft, satiny sheets beneath her, of light beyond her closed eyes.

"Five more minutes." she muttered,

"Now." The voice was cold, commanding "Wake up NOW."

"What?" Elaine rubbed her eyes and drew the sheets closer. Suddenly the were ripped off her prone form, and Elaine clutched in vain for the coverlet that was no longer there. Prying open her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the man, tall and angry-looking, holding a black silk cover between thumb and forefinger, eyes ablaze. She was in a spacious room with long, narrow windows running down the walls, with nothing but he enormous black bed she was lying on in it.

"When I tell you to wake up, I expect you to wake." The voice was soft, velvet, but oh, so dangerous. Elaine looked at him in wonder, her mind going into overdrive.

Okay. Calm down Elaine

"Well?" The man looked at her with scorn in his eyes.

"Who the Hell are you?" Elaine said, quite calmly, considering she was conversing with a goblin in her pajamas. "Where the HELL am I?"

The man looked at her, a smirk all over his handsome face.

"The underground." He said, simply.

"I—I" Elaine stammered. His eyes were hypnotizing, faintly sensual. She was suddenly very aware of her stained black camisole and pants, running a finger through her tangled mass of hair.

"But I don't want to BE in the underground!" She said, finally, gathering her thoughts together. "Who ARE you anyway? Is this an elaborate joke?" Her eyes searched the chamber frantically. "Let me out already, this is crazy!"

"Don't insult my kingdom." The man's black gloved hand swished the sheet through the air, and suddenly it was gone, vanished completely.

"I will damn well insult your idiosyncratic kingdom if I jolly well please, thanks very much!"

"Well, well, well." A new voice came out of the corner. "It looks as though our kitten has claws."

Standing in the doorway, which somehow had been invisible before now, was another man, tall and lean as the other, but with dark, fine hair drawn to the nape of his neck with a red velvet ribbon. He wore all red, and dark, floor-length cloak with a swath of white ruffles at his throat, and his face was devilishly handsome. He exchanged glances with the man, a faintly ironic tone to his otherwise refined voice.

"Kalmorn." the man was faintly annoyed. "So nice of you to stop by, and without knocking, I night add."

"But you have not introduced me, Jareth!" Kalmorn put of a hurt expression. "I do so wish to meet your lovely new..." His eyes traveled over Elaine appraisingly. "Acquisition."

"What?" Elaine felt rage, white-hot, flow through her brain. "Acquisition? What in fire do you mean, acquisition?"

"Shut up." the golden-haired man flicked a black-gloved hand at her and turned his attention back to Kalmorn. "She just woke up, must you go frightening the little thing already?"

"Excuse me!" Elaine slid off the bed and stood as tall as she could, putting her hands on her hips. "you have no right..."

"Well, the fact is, Jareth old boy, I wouldn't bear to have you keep her all to yourself."

"Oh, and you certainly are making it easier for me to do just that."

"Pardon me!" Elaine interjected, feeling less frightened than plain silly.

"Well, after all, Jareth, I'm going to have to get to know her sometime..."

"Why would I let a rapscallion like you get your claws on a poor little mortal like her?"

"Well, she is going to be your wife, isn't she?"

"WHAT?" Elaine shrieked.

"Oh dear, you haven't gotten to that yet?"

"Kalmorn." Jareth's face grew dark.

"Alright, alright." Kalmorn backed away, a smile on his face. "Goodness gracious, temper, temper, temper..."

He winked at Elaine, who returned his look with a scowl. He swirled his cloak, and Elaine gasped. Beneath his legs were a pair of goat's hooves, oiled and black. Seeing her stare, Kalmorn nodded, a smirk on his handsome face, and vanished through the door, which promptly vanished after him.

"What was he talking about? Who are you? Where am I really? Where's Rhiannon?" Elaine felt absurdly close to crying.

"One question at a time." Jareth raised a hand to her "First, let me look at you."

"WHAT?" Elaine exploded. "What do you MEAN, look at me—what are you talking about you arrogant, presumptuous, unbel—"

She felt her feet freeze to the ground. Her entire body froze on the exact position, as Jareth smirked at her, looking her up and down brazenly.

"Hmmmmm." He raised a gloved hand to her flaming cheek. "Not bad. Not bad at all. Yes indeed." His hand slid down her face and touched her white neck, smooth and soft."Very nice indeed!"

He twirled his finger around once and she felt her body spin about slowly, like a doll in a display case. He was silent.

"Well then." There was no doubting the pleasure in his voice. "you are a pretty little thing, aren't you?" His hand curled around her neck, and he drew closer to her, examining her face closely. "I could have done worse. Yes, I would have done much worse."

Elaine loosened her mouth with some difficulty. "Let me go, you arrogant, self important buffoon." She felt the blood rushing to her face. "How dare you—look—look at me that way!" she stammered, startled by the expression on his face.

He let go of her neck, eyes hardening.

"As you wish." He snapped his fingers. Immediately, Elaine melted to the floor, devoid of any support whatsoever.

"You—you..."she was at a loss for words. She could move, but only barely, with no strength to her movements. She struggled to her knees, only to fall back at his feet.

"Now, on to your next question." Jareth moved away, long legs scissoring back and forth. "I am Jareth, king of the goblins. This is my kingdom, otherwise known as the underground, or the one of the unseelie realms. And you, my dear..." a faint frown wrinkled his high brow. "what was your name again?"

"None of your business!" Elaine grabbed one of the bed posts, hauling herself up "what have you done to me?"

"Ah, that is a good question." Jareth's mouth twisted sadistically. "A simple spell really, it simply renders your muscles useless."

"Take it off!" Elaine glared at him. "You—you—YOU!" She fumbled for a good insult.

To her surprise, Jareth began to laugh.

"Really, Elaine." He leveled his eyes on her. "I think you could call me Jareth, under the circumstances. And you are in no position to tell me what I ought to do."

"Take it off!" Elaine spoke through clenched teeth. "NOW!"

"Don't scream, precious," Jareth's said. "At least, not now. There is plenty of time for me to make you scream."

"Let me go." Elaine snarled at him.

"You didn't say please."

"Please." Elaine said, after a moment of struggling with herself.

"As you wish." Jareth snapped his fingers again. Elaine stood.

Now." she felt her face flaming before his brazen glance. "Please. I don't understand. Why am I

here? Is this a dream?"

"Certainly not." Jareth motioned to the window. "Look for yourself. This is no dream."

Elaine leapt to the window and peered out.

She was obviously in a large, black building of some sort, subconsciously she realized it was a castle. Turrets, balconies and balustrades were all around her. Strange things—goblins, she supposed—were patrolling the balconies, and all around them, sprawling everywhere, was a labyrinth.

Elaine stumbled back in shock. It was incredibly complex, terribly complicated, and strange, stone walls and walls and of hedges, partitioned and twisted and sinuous, with places wreathed in smoke and others overhung with trees. The sky—or what Elaine supposed to be the sky, was blue, but in a strange, almost artificial way, and the sun hanging in the sky was strange, red-yellow, not quite right.

"Where am I?" Elaine asked again, faintly. "Why am I here?"

"I told you. The Underground, my Kingdom." Jareth stepped up behind her "And you are here to marry me."