Once outside the room, Sara was quickly approached by the goblin servant. "This way please, madam." it said as it swept a low bow. Sara followed it through a maze of corridors and stairways to a pair of intricately carved mahogany doors.
"Your room, madam." said the goblin before standing respectfully to one side with its hands clasped behind its back.
The room that lay beyond was like no other Sara had ever seen. She entered it slowly, unsure if it was real. It was gigantic, the size of a ballroom, and equally as elegant. The floors and walls were a pale white marble, but there were no cracks, as though the entire room had been cut from one single huge marble slab. In the very center of the room was a majestic crystal chandelier that lit up the room with hundreds of hanging candles.
As she walked through the doorway, Sara looked around the room. To her right, on the same wall as the door, near the corner of the room, was a magnificent fireplace, the mantle carved with intricate designs of flora and fauna. Surrounding this corner were a chaise longue, four very comfortable-looking armchairs, and a loveseat.
A long tapestry hung on the adjacent wall, depicting a unicorn standing guard over a forest while a dark murky stream dripped down into the open jaws of a dragon in a cave below. Sara thought she saw the unicorn move but since it stayed perfectly still when she watched it a moment longer, she decided it had merely been a trick of the lights. Next to the tapestry was a beautiful old-fashioned writing desk with many drawers.
Glancing over her shoulder, Sara noticed that the goblin servant was still standing outside the door, staring blankly at the wall opposite from it. She went to it and said "You don't have to stay there - you can leave if you want."
The goblin gave her a curt nod and a grateful smile, said "Madam." then left. Sara turned back to her room.
In the center of the wall opposite the door was an enormous four-poster bed, hung with deep emerald silk curtains that matched the open ones on the glass doors beside it. Through them Sara could see a balcony of the same marble as the rest of the room and the afternoon sky.
The wall to her left simply had two mahogany doors, and a very large mirror in a gold frame stretched from floor to ceiling on the left side of the door. Next to it was a magnificent grandfather clock with an abalone face. Sara noticed right away that the hours went to thirteen. Twenty-six hour days she thought idly.
Sara crossed the room and opened the glass doors. A cool breeze met her and ruffled her hair. She crossed the balcony and leaned on the railing, admiring the view. Below her stretched the labyrinth, though not the same part of it she had run through on her last visit. From where she was, Sara could see all of its twists and turns as though it were a maze on paper. It looked so simple from where she stood; so easy. But if Sara had learned anything during her last visit to the Labyrinth it was that not everything is as it seems. And she knew firsthand that the Labyrinth was anything but simple. She turned back to her room.
Sara went to the first mahogany door and opened it. Behind it lay a room smaller than the main one but still very big. To her right were three small steps that led up to a deep green marble bath the size of a small swimming pool. It was oval in shape, cut into the large marble block. Small tea-light candles lined the rim of the tub except a gap in front of the stairs and another where a polished brass nozzle and two knobs protruded. The candles lit up as if by magic as Sara entered the room, revealing the many coloured glass bottles that lined the wall around the tub, as well as a marble toilet that Sara thought looked more like a throne, a matching sink, and a brass towel rack filled with fluffy blue towels. Sara left the room and moved on to the second door.
As she passed through the second mahogany door, Sara gasped. The room that lay beyond was a huge closet. Three of the four walls were lined with clothes and shoes. Next to the door was an old-fashioned dressing table with a mirror on it. There were many perfume bottles on it, as well as a beautiful set of silver combs.
Sara walked over to the nearest rack of clothing and pulled something out at random. It was a green silk dress with a pattern that gave the impression it was made of thinly woven ivy strands. Slipping out of her pyjamas, Sara pulled the dress over her head. When she exited the room to examine herself in the gold-framed mirror, she was astonished to see that it fit her perfectly. She hurried back into the closet, eager to see if this would be the case with all the clothes she tried. It was. It's almost as if, she found herself thinking, almost as if… They were tailor-made for me, She realized.
Sara decided she needed to change out of her pyjamas and into some clothes. She tried on several more things that were, in her opinion, too dressy for supper, and finally settled on a breezy white blouse, black pants, a silver belt and earrings, and a pair of dark suede shoes that were so soft they felt like slippers.
As she went back into the main room, closing the dressing room door behind her, Sara glanced at the clock. It was half past four, so she had an hour and a half to kill before supper. She wandered over to the writing desk and plopped down onto the generously stuffed chair in front of it. She opened a few of the numerous drawers and found an array of writing equipment. There were many bottles of different coloured ink in every hue imaginable, ancient-looking pens and nibs, and lots of thick creamy paper. There were several sticks of sealing wax, heavy metal seals and even some ribbon to tie scrolls.
Wow, she thought, just like in a fairytale.
A sudden knock at the door pulled Sara abruptly from her musings and made her jump. She crossed the room and opened the door to find a short green goblin in a similar suit to the one who had shown her to her room.
It bowed low, then inquired "Is madam ready to be escorted to supper?"
"Is it six already?" Sara said more to herself than the goblin.
"It is five to the hour if you please madam." the goblin replied.
"Alright, well let's go then." Sara said.
Th goblin bowed and said "Very good madam" then turned away with a "This way, if you please." and led her off down the corridor. Five minutes later they stood before a pair of glass doors similar to those that led to Sara's balcony. The goblin motioned the doors. "The Northern Veranda, madam." It said. Sara thanked the goblin and went outside.
Jareth was sitting on a silvery brass chair by a matching table. He stood up as she entered, ever the gentleman, and smiled. "Ah, my guest of honour." He said, then pulled out the chair opposite him, "Please, sit."
As they sat, Sara looked around her. Exotic flowers bloomed in an array of colours, vibrant hued birds flapped between trees squawking and whistling to each other, and the air was warm and humid.
"It's very pretty, isn't it." Jareth said, noticing that Sara was impressed by her surroundings.
"Yes." Sara agreed. But she was a little confused as to how a small tropical jungle had gotten inside a castle.
When she voiced this question, Jareth replied "This was built many thousands of years ago by a Goblin King whose name was lost in history." He paused for a moment to signal a nearby goblin waiter, who promptly left them only to reappear with what looked like a bottle of wine and two gold-rimmed wine glasses.
"Purpleberry wine." Jareth said as he filled both glasses. "Unique to the Labyrinth and very difficult to produce on account of the fact that the only known purpleberry bush grows in the very murkiest part of the bog of eternal stench and only produces berries every seven hundred years." Sara couldn't help but wonder how much a single bottle must cost under those conditions.
"It is one of the most exquisite drinks in the known world and a personal favorite of mine." Jareth continued. "Here, try some." he said handing Sara a glass. "I'm sure you will be most pleasantly surprised."
Sara took the proffered glass and sipped. There was an explosion of flavour as the drink reached her tongue. It was bubbly but not fizzy and just tangy enough to make her back teeth tingle. It had the most unique and delicious taste Sara had ever experienced, and had the very odd effect of making her feel like she was a cloud floating lazily along the sky. It was the most extraordinary drink she had ever tasted and she immediately said so. Jareth laughed and said "I thought you might enjoy it"
"Anyhow," Jareth said, getting back to the plants, "the King who built all this had voyaged to Somshabar, a land of exquisite beauty and heat, and fallen in love with a woman more beautiful than the land around her. She was the daughter of a poor but greedy farmer, and since a King could never marry someone so far below his rank in those days, he paid the farmer a substantial amount of gold to take his daughter back home with him as a concubine, for this was back when a father decided his daughter's fate."
Jareth paused to sip from his glass. "So the Goblin King arrived back home with his prize," he continued a moment later, "but she was very unhappy and missed her homeland a great deal. She never smiled or laughed and spent most of her days sighing and gazing forlornly out of windows towards the East and Somshabar. In an effort to cheer her, the King had the rarest, most beautiful plants and birds imported from Somshabar. He enchanted the plants to be in eternal bloom and never fade, and the birds to sing as flawlessly as nightingales and never age. Then he had this room built to hold them and presented it to his concubine on the one year anniversary of her arrival."
"However," he continued, "the flowers and birds succeeded only in making her miss her home more fiercely than ever and she grew more and more unhappy and wistful each day. But her sorrow soon turned to spite and her spite to anger and hatred towards the King who had kidnaped her from her home. She refused to speak a word in his presence and turned her cheek to his kisses. This behavior seemed merely to amuse the king and did not lessen his love or lust, and indeed, he sired seven children by her despite her hatred and revulsion."
"Ugh!" Sara exclaimed in disgust. "What a pig!"
"Yes," Jareth agreed, "this particular King was quite an unsavoury fellow. And this is quite a sad tale. I can stop if you wish." he offered.
"No," Sara replied, "I have to know what happened in the end."
"As you wish." Jareth said. "Finally one night the girl decided she'd had enough. When she was summoned to the King's bedchambers she carefully concealed a dagger in her robes. After the King had made love to her and lay sleeping beside her, she silently got to her feet and retrieved her dagger. She had planned to kill the King and then herself, but he woke up just as she raised the blade over his heart, and he managed to wrestle the blade away from her, yelling for the guards. They burst in and arrested her and dragged her away, naked as the day she was born, spitting and screaming her hatred for the King. She was executed the next day."
"That's terrible!" Sara said.
"I warned you it wasn't pleasant. But you can console yourself with the fact that the King got what he deserved in the end : History has forgotten him and he is only remembered through his unhappy mistress."
Sara took another sip of purpleberry wine. "I guess history is bloody no matter which world you're in." she said.
"Quite." Jareth agreed. "But enough of those sad matters. I didn't bring you here to depress you. Let us eat ."
He signaled the goblin waiter again and hot steaming rolls and fresh salads were produced. As they worked on these, Sara asked Jareth about the Feast of the Goblin.
"Guests should begin to arrive tomorrow afternoon." he told her. "Most of them are coming from lands very far away and are staying in the castle. The actual feast isn't for another six days, so there are all sorts of balls and banquets planned to keep the guests entertained."
"What sort of people are these guests?" Sara inquired as she broke open a second roll and spread soft white butter on it.
"Oh you know - Royalty, diplomats, aristocrats, old money, new money, old friends, new friends, lords, ladies, dukes and duchesses... Mostly people I have a diplomatic relationships with. But there are a few people who are very dear to me who are coming."
"Like who?" Sara asked.
"Like Vincint." Jareth replied with a grin. "There is no one whose company I prefer."
Sara smiled. "How long have you two known each other?" she asked.
"Oh, forever." Jareth replied. "Vincint is the Demon prince. Our parents were bitter rivals in every way, so naturally they encouraged us both to spend time together so that they could glean as much information about the other as possible. They did everything in their power to convince us to hate each other, so we decided to become real friends just to disobey them, of course."
"I see." Sara laughed. " so you two must be pretty competitive." she added.
"Competitive doesn't do us justice. But we both love nothing more than a challenge and there are never hard feelings (although we do goad each other on past defeats) because the fun is in the competition not in winning. And mostly it's ongoing things because you can never really have read the most books or cast the best spell or run the farthest or what have you."
Sara rolled her eyes. Like Edmond and Fernand in the count of monte cristo, she thought. Boys will be boys.
By now they had finished with their salads and the main course was brought on. The plate in front of Sara had nothing she recognized on it. It was excellently presented : A thick piece of tender looking blue meat on a bed of flame orange leaves with a thick purple sauce drizzled expertly on top. Anywhere else, Sara would have taken one look at the meal and turned her nose up at it proclaiming the colours artificial and the food therefore full of dyes and chemicals. And indeed, she might even have had some qualms about eating blue meat even here if it weren't for the mouth-watering smell.
Sara took a tentative bite of the meat, thinking of the Dr. Seuss story about green eggs and ham. I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I Am. But, like the character in the story, she quickly discovered that the food was exceptionally good. It was tender and tasty and spiced to perfection. The purple sauce was mildly spicy, a nice balance to the meat, and the orange leaves had a definitive nutty taste. As she ate, Sara said "Speaking of friends, when will I get to see Ludo, Sir Diddymus, and Hoggle again?"
"Tomorrow, if you wish." Jareth replied. "I will send them notice right after dinner so they can come in the morning."
"That would be great." Sara agreed. "I haven't seen them for so long!"
Jareth smiled and watched her over the rim of his glass. For a few minutes neither said anything and the chink of cutlery on china was the only sound to be heard aside from birdsong. Then Sara thought of something to say. "So you said there are activities to keep guests entertained. Is there anything planned for tomorrow?"
"Yes, actually." Jareth said. "There will be a formal supper for all the guests who will have arrived by then and who will, I daresay, be hungry, followed by a welcoming ball."
"Oh..." Sara said, unable to hide her anxiety.
"What is it? Don't you like dancing?" Jareth asked.
"Well, I do, but I have no clue how to ballroom dance, and even if I did, it's probably all different down here and–"
Jareth cut her off. "Oh, is THAT the problem. Well don't spend another minute fretting about it. I'll simply have to make you a pair of dancing shoes." he said.
Sara was very confused by this reply. "I don't think shoes are the problem." she said.
"No," said Jareth, "they're the solution. I will make a pair of magical dancing shoes. Shoes that dance for you." he clarified.
"You can do that?" Sara asked before she could stop herself.
"Well really, Sara," Jareth chided, "I'd expect you of all people to know that my magic is quite powerful."
Sara had to agree.
Jareth laughed. "So don't worry about that. Besides, even if you made up a dance as you went along, you could tell everyone it was the height of Aboveground fashion. They'd be none the wiser."
Sara smiled as she pictured herself doing the chicken dance as a roomfull of nobility whispered how fashionable she was. Hardly likely.
"Is your room to your liking?" Jareth inquired.
"Yes, very much so." Sara said. "And the view is amazing!"
Jareth seemed pleased to hear this. Sara wondered if preparing her room had taken a lot of work, thinking back to all the clothes that fit her perfectly. She asked Jareth about it.
"I noticed that all the clothes fit me perfectly...how did you manage that?"
Jareth looked a little confused for a moment then laughed. "Oh yes, I always forget that clothing has sizes and measurements in the Aboveground! Well all the clothing you'll find Underground is spun by the Blue Threadworms, a very old guild of tailors. They make the clothing to fit any wearer (and not vice versa) with an ancient and secret technique which involves spinning ancient and secret magic into the thread."
"Sort of like a universal one-size-fits-all, right?" Sara asked.
"Yes, sort of." Jareth agreed.
That would save some time shopping, Sara thought, then laughed out loud at how materialistic that sounded.
"Is something funny?" Jareth asked, a little smile playing at the edge of his lips.
"Oh, uh, no..." Sara stammered, "I was just thinking of something."
Sara sipped a mouthful of Purpleberry wine and let the bubbles play on her tongue.
"Are you enjoying the food?" Jareth asked.
"Yes, very much." Sara assured him. "It's delicious."
Jareth smiled. "Just wait till dessert." he said.
By the time Sara got back to her room it was dark outside. The fireplace lit as she entered her room casting long shadows along the floor. She had that feeling of warm sleepy fullness that comes after such a huge delicious meal. She changed into her pyjamas from that morning, too tired to look for a pair in the huge closet, then sank into the feathery softness of her bed. She was asleep in moments.
