Guides and Guards
When Marie had been two months in the castle and Jareth was just beginning to question the arrival of the 'others', the King felt the telltale pull of a wished-away child. As with Marie, it was not calling him to the Aboveground and he could not discern the connection between the child and the wisher.
"So, it begins anew," he muttered to himself, closing the book he had been reading and glancing at Marie who was laid out on the floor next to the fireplace with a book of her own.
She was, he thought with amusement, quite the active little reader. She'd started in the plush chair next to his, sitting upright. At some point, she lounged, draping her legs over one of the arms. A while later, he'd found her upside down with her head hanging off the seat of the chair and her legs resting upright against the back. Then she was on the floor with her back against the chair. She was laying on her side, leaning against its legs with her head propped up in her hand. Each change in position occurred when he heard her verbally react to whatever she was reading. Seeing no point in disturbing her, he stood and exited the library.
"Tog." A heavy-set goblin emerged from the shadows.
"Yes, your Majesty," she said in a low, gravelly voice.
"Have Ghilanna waiting at the entrance to the Wing of the Eight Realms. Have Relde there as well."
"Yes, your Majesty." She turned and waddled down the corridor. Jareth, himself, set off toward the location of the pull.
The King materialized near the same spot he'd found Marie and began walking along the Eastern border until he caught sight of a small figure standing alone. Even from this distance, he could hear her heart wrenching cries. A slender arm stretched out to touch the stone wall that separated the arid landscape from the Labyrinth. Not wanting the girl to stumble upon one of the many entrances and get lost within its endless pathways, he called out to stop her, cursing himself when she jumped, falling to the ground. Jareth put on a small burst of speed.
By the time he reached her, she was already struggling to stand. This girl was certainly older than little Marie, but just as underfed. He could count the notches her spine made through the tattered silken sleeping gown similar to what Marie was dressed in when they first met. Her limbs were encased in dark bruises, though at least none appeared to be broken. He took solace in that. Her hair looked as black as Marie's but as filthy as she was, the King couldn't tell for sure. He was pulled out of his inspection when she gasped, her arms nearly giving out.
"Easy, young one." He spoke softly, recalling his first interactions with Marie. She shrieked, launching herself forward headfirst into the stone wall before collapsing into a ball. If he hadn't seen her trembling figure, he might have thought she'd knocked herself unconscious. "I am not here to hurt you," he soothed. "I am here to help." The girl turned her face toward him and horror filled the powerful King. Where her eyes should have been were two empty, bloodied sockets. The rest of her thin face was covered in swollen, black bruises. His stomach churned at the disfigurement. If he was not in as much control as he was, he might have thought he'd fallen asleep into a nightmare.
"Who are you," she sobbed tearlessly, cowering against the wall behind her. "Where am I?"
"I-" He cleared his throat, swallowing back the revulsion swirling within him, and tried again. "I am Jareth, King of the Goblins and you were nearly inside of my Labyrinth." He watched her shaking form still.
"It worked," she whispered through purple lips, pushing herself up. "I can't believe it. All this time, Big Sister was right. It worked! You're the Goblin King, right? You're the one Big Sister said was powerful and handsome and kind and generous?"
'Handsome?' Jareth smirked. 'That's one Marie never added.' "I am one in the same, though as I told the last one, there are not many who would consider me to be kind or generous."
"The last o- wait, is this where Marie went?!" Jareth quirked an eyebrow at the unseeing girl.
"What is your name?"
"Terra." Terra. The name did ring a bell as one his ward might have mentioned. 'Ah, yes. She was one of the girls Marie said was good at hiding her emotions.'
"Yes, she is here. She arrived two moons ago."
"I just can't believe it worked," she said, mostly to herself. "I wished out of desperation but I didn't think it would actually work."
"Will you allow me to carry you back to the Castle? My healer is waiting to help you and I am sure Marie would be most anxious to see you again."
"Can your healer fix my eyes?" Terra asked hopefully.
"I do not know." Her shoulders sank and her head bowed in disappointment. It was a hard thing to watch but he refused to lie to the girl. "But she can at least see to the bruising and ease your pain."
"O-okay." She blindly reached out a searching hand and he took it in his gloved one. Jareth carefully helped her to her feet, explaining everything he was going to do before he did it. He'd found that Marie responded much better when he'd done the same with her and it seemed to ease young Terra as well.
"By the Stars!" Ghilanna exclaimed in the same horror and revulsion that Jareth felt. "What happened to you, you poor child?!" The King gently led the trembling girl to the cot in the center of the room and placed her hand on it so that she might get a feel for what it was.
"I-is this a-a-a bed?" Terra whispered.
"No, my dear." He replied sadly, ignoring the truly heartbreaking stare his healer was giving him. "At least, not in the way you're used to now. This is a cot, much smaller than a bed. When Ghilanna has seen to you, Relde will introduce you to your new personal attendant." He saw the goblin in the doorway nod her understanding in his peripheral before she disappeared. "She will help you clean and dress and then she will lead you to the throne room where I will introduce you to your new guide. Ghilanna," he said, turning to the elf, "I'll want another full report."
"Understood, your Majesty."
"Good." He strolled out of the room, closing the door to the Fire Chamber securely behind him.
Jareth returned to the library to check on Marie and chuckled. The girl had fallen asleep with her face laying on the book. He carefully picked her up, waved the book back to its place on the shelf, and transported her to her own chamber, laying her on the little cot in the center. The King sighed heavily. 'Will she ever feel comfortable in a bed again?' He brushed some errant hairs from her face and left, closing her door behind him as well.
He placed a barrier on himself and took a step. Before him was the banished kitsune Knight from the Elven Kingdom, jealously guarding the thin bridge that led safely across the Bog. Even as he watched, the Knight brandished his sword wildly and without discipline at a kappa who jumped and dodged, cackling. At length, the Knight landed a blow that wasn't fatal, but did send the creature retreating in huff of irritated grumbles. Jareth stepped out of the shadows of the trees.
"Majesty," the fox said, bowing low. "What hast brought thou to the bridge?"
"I am in need of your services elsewhere." The creature's jaw dropped.
"But Sire, what about the bridge? I have guarded this path for neigh on a century! Who shall protect it, if not I?"
"It will be dealt with. I have a guest in the castle who is in far greater need of your protection now."
"Then thy guest shall have it, or my name isn't Sir Didymus of the Labyrinth Realm. But, prithee tell, why does thy guest require such protection?"
"That is a question best saved until we are back in the castle."
Didymus bowed low again. Jareth could see the curiosity burning in his beady, black eyes and was impressed the fox could hold his tongue. He was such an excitable creature and had given Jareth many a headache before the King had granted himself, and his goblin servants, reprieve by making him guard the bridge in the first place. Perhaps it was the years of solitude that had finally calmed the creature. Then again, Jareth thought with a sneer, perhaps not. He had still been excitable enough during her run. Now, as Jareth watched the once hailed kitsune pack his meager belongings and call for his steed, the King noted his calmness again with new eyes. Was it possible his personality had undergone such a drastic change because of her absence? Her refusal to call upon them as promised?
"Sir Didymus." Jareth, who had just sat in his throne with a flourish, looked sharply at his young ward. She was staring at the fox open-mouthed, recognition lighting her pale eyes.
"Young Miss," he said with a slight bow and a glance at the King.
"Marie, I thought you would still be sleeping." She didn't spare him a glance, which equally annoyed and amused him as it usually did.
"No, I woke up almost as soon as you laid me down," she replied, still staring at the fox. "Sir Didymus, it is you," she gasped. "And Ambrosius, too!" She took three steps toward the bewildered creature before stopping and silently asking permission from Jareth to continue.
"Miss, forgive me this rudeness, but…have we met before?" She giggled.
"No, but Big Sister told me all about you. That you're the bravest, most loyal, friendliest Knight in the whole Labyrinth." The fox shuffled his feet in obvious embarrassment.
"Well, I-I-I thank thee, kind Miss. 'Tis true, loyalty runs deep within these veins but your older sister's words are far too exaggerating." The girl laughed again. "Did something I say amuse thee?" She shook her head.
"You even sound like she said you did."
"If I may ask, who is this sister who knows me so well?" Jareth, who had been watching the exchange in fascination and mild irritation, suddenly sat straight in his throne. It was a question that had been plaguing him for weeks. She'd only ever referred to the mysterious girl by her title.
At once, the amusement slid from her face and her shoulders slumped. Her silence stretched. "I…I don't know," she finally admitted quietly, her eyes glistening. "I don't know her name."
"How do you not know your own sister's name?" Didymus replied in a softer tone, tilting his head.
"I don't think any of us did. We always called her Big Sister. The Masters probably know it but even they called her that. It didn't feel the same as when we said it though. It felt more like…like a joke. Big Sister said it didn't bother her as long as we didn't stop calling her that. I don't think she wanted us to know her name but I can't figure out why."
Sensing the knight was completely baffled, Jareth stepped in, sparing Marie from having to explain in further detail. "The girl before you is not a typical wish-away," he started, causing the other two to jump slightly as if they'd forgotten he was there. Marie lowered her head as she processed what he'd said. He sighed heavily, knowing this was going to be hard on her. "Will you come here, young one?" Jareth opened an arm in invitation and waited. Eventually, she made her way to him. He wrapped his arm loosely around her, drawing her to his side and looked back at the fox. "What I am about to tell you does not leave this castle. I am placing you under a vow of silence as I have every other occupant within these walls."
"Understood, Sire. Rest assured, I will not breathe a word of it to anyone."
"You had better not or the only place you'll be resting your furry little head is an oubliette." Didymus squeaked. He knew the kitsune, being a forest-dwelling creature, would not survive in that black abyss. "Now, she and your new assignment are unique. They have wished themselves away from where they previously resided." The kitsune's head looked from one to the other in bafflement. Marie tensed beside him and he rubbed her back absently. "It is not for me to speak of that place, though they may tell you if they so desire. If they do, what they say does not leave your snout to any but myself. Not in word, spoken or written, nor any form of communication. Do I make myself clear?"
"Banish the thought, your Majesty. Their confidence shall, of course, be kept by me. But prithee tell, what manner of assignment am I to be taking on to require this level of secrecy?"
"You are to be a guide. The girl in question is currently being healed by Ghilanna." The fox gasped. "I see you understand what that means. However, I am unsure if Ghilanna will be able to heal everything. That is where you come in. You will need to be her eyes. You must lead her, protect her, and inform her at all times when she is not in her chamber."
"So, someone else from…there…is really here?" Marie asked, gazing up at him. "Who is it?"
"Terra. She arrived just under an hour ago."
"Terra's here?!" Jareth nodded. "Yay! I always really liked Terra. She got there about a month after I did and she always made us laugh. Even after a punishment, she could make us laugh." Realization lit her pale eyes. "But wait. She never believed any of Big Sister's stories before so why would she even bother to try wishing?"
"Perhaps, in that one moment when she wished herself here, she did," Jareth offered. It still didn't explain how a simple belief in a story led to the wish actually working. He frowned at that. It didn't explain this sudden ability, yet nothing else made sense.
Marie's eyes lit up with excitement before they dimmed once more. "You said Didymus is here to 'be her eyes'. What's wrong with Terra's eyes?"
Glancing at the kitsune hanging onto their every word and understanding very little of it, and then to his young ward with eyes so like his own, the King steeled himself. There was no easy way to say such a thing. "I am sorry to tell you this, little one, but I'm afraid the Masters," he sneered at the title, "have permanently blinded her."
Marie gasped, covering her mouth with her small hands. "No," she whispered, distraught. "But…Ghilanna can heal them like she healed me, right?"
Jareth shook his head before she was even finished speaking. "There are some things that even healing magic can't reverse," he replied morosely, thinking of what the elf had told him about the wounds inflicted upon her.
"So, what's going to happen to her?"
"For the moment, nothing. She will be asleep for several hours even after Ghilanna has finished all she can, just as you were. When she awakens, she will be brought here by her new attendant, whom Relde is currently choosing, introduced to Didymus who will be her guide at all times, and begin to heal as you did." He could see her thoughts spinning in her mind and her face pulled into that same curious expression he had come to recognize meant she had something to say. "Yes, little one?"
"What about Sir Miren? Shouldn't he be here too?" She asked hesitantly.
"Interesting, why do you ask?" She had been terrified of his friend when she'd met him and still jumped whenever he transported near her.
"Well, I didn't meet him for a while after I got here. Until then, I only knew you and the goblins. That's one of the reasons I was so scared: because I didn't know he was here. So, I think it'd be better for Terra to know he's here, especially since she can't see anymore. It'd be really scary if Didymus told me you were the only one in the room but I could hear someone else's voice too."
"I see your point, young one, and you make it well." The girl blushed, beaming under his praise. "Trust goes both ways. As you have trusted me to protect you, so must I trust you in this. We will take your suggestion and introduce young Terra to Miren when she arrives in the throne room." He hoped this would encourage her to voice her thoughts and desires more often instead of relying on him correctly interpreting her expressions.
"Lady Ghilanna, your Majesty," a goblin called from the throne room doors.
"Already?" He muttered. "That was fast." In a louder voice, "send her in". The old elf walked slowly, bowed with weariness, her ears low. "Marie, you wait here. Didymus, you will guard her with your life until her attendant has returned from her task."
"Of course, your Majesty. Thy guest is safe with me."
"Marie is more than a mere guest, Sir Didymus. She is…" Jareth glanced at her, pondering how best to phrase it. "Important to me." He strode over to his healer. "Shall we take this into my study as before?" He asked quietly. She nodded.
"Speakest thou more of thine sister, Miss. I would like to know of the human who tells so kindly of me." Jareth shut the throne room doors behind them.
"Why have you returned so soon?" The King asked the moment they were seated. "It took you nearly three hours to heal Marie."
"This one's injuries were not quite so severe as the first. There were as many heavy bruises, but no broken bones this time 'round."
"I see. And her sight? Have you returned it?" Her crimson eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"Alas, I cannot." She gave a shuddering gasp. "If there was anything left, I might have been able to do something for her but, there was nothing."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, Sire, that her eyes, they were not just slashed or cut. They were completely removed. There was nothing." She shuddered."The only thing I could do was clean them up, place a ward on them so that nothing would get in, and wrap them. The bruises will heal and the swelling will reduce while she sleeps, but there is nothing I can do about her sight."
"I understand. And her maidenhood? Was it ripped from her as well?" He dreaded the answer and yet he knew he must receive it if he was to help her to heal mentally.
"Aye, Sir," the elf replied gravely. "But from her, it apparently wasn't enough to steal from one side." She stared, tears breaking free, waiting for him to deduce what she was insinuating but refusing to say outright.
'Steal from one side, what does that me-' Revulsion churned his stomach once more as realization hit him. 'Surely not,' Jareth thought, horrified, 'to a child? Have these humans no mercy?'
"Let me guess," he seethed. "As with Marie, neither were done by a gentle hand."
"No, your Highness," Ghilanna sobbed quietly. "Nor can I find any evidence that either girl has ever known a gentle hand." Jareth cursed.
"How long will she sleep?"
"I know not. Healing takes as long as it takes, you know that."
"I do." He sighed. "If that is all, we best return to the throne room. I doubt Relde will be much longer but I do not wish to leave Marie alone with the knight too long, lest he ask questions he need not know the answers to."
"Her attendant is with her now. I would not have left her side otherwise."
"Good. Who is it Relde chose?"
"One called Sath, your Majesty." He nodded his approval and stood, ushering them both out of the study. It would not do to miss young Terra's arrival to the throne room.
On his way back to the throne room, he called for Miren. He rubbed at his temples to relieve the ache growing there. Feeling his friend fall in step alongside him, he cleared his throat.
"I want you to meet the new girl from the start this time."
"Ho ho, why the sudden change in attitude, my King?" Jareth's expression soured at the brunet's teasing tone. The man's mirthful glee would be the end of him one day, he was absolutely convinced.
"Let us only say a little robin believed it to be the better course of action and leave it at that, shall we?" He replied, tiredly.
"Really now," Miren drawled. "And would this little robin of yours happen to have pale eyes that mirror the ones I grovel before?" Jareth scoffed.
"When have you ever groveled, my friend? Certainly not in my lifetime. If you have found the way to communicate with your past self, by all means, do not guard such information so jealously."
"Not true, I grovel before the High King and Queen whenever I am in their presence."
"Ah. You have proven me so sorely mistaken. However could I have forgotten?" The King rolled his eyes as Miren laughed. "In any case, you will be in the throne room when Terra arrives." His expression and tone darkened. "I warn you, what has been done to this girl is gruesome and unfortunately, cannot be undone."
"You say that as though what they did to Marie wasn't bad enough," Miren growled.
"Marie, it would seem, got off lightly by comparison. It makes me fear for the others who come to follow."
"How do you mean, 'Marie got off lightly'?"
Jareth had to brace himself before able to relate the most recent sequence of events. He reasoned it would be better for Miren to have an idea of what he was about to face before his initial reaction frightened young Terra. He watched his friend carefully. The shock and horror were everything he'd expected and everything he himself felt.
"They did…what?" Miren whispered, unable to speak any louder. Jareth nodded gravely. "But that- that's something we'd only ever even consider for an enemy spy during a time of war…" Jareth nodded again, feeling his anger surge once more.
"The girl is barely older than Marie, and yet…" The King couldn't finish.
"How could one do such a thing to a child?" Miren demanded, laying his fist into the stone wall, the surge of power leaving a sizable dent. "Such mutilation, it is abhorrent!" His amethyst eyes blazed with fury. "Promise me, my King, that should we ever be so fortunate as to get our hands on those detestable humans…"
"We shall use every method at our disposal in retribution." Jareth vowed.
"If you so desire it, Majesty, I shall heal the worst of the injuries you inflict upon them and keep them alive so that you may administer further…punishment," Ghilanna offered darkly from behind them.
"More than desire it, I welcome your proposition, Ghilanna," he replied, feeling the thrill of vengeance flow through his veins. He would take immense satisfaction in replicating every injury the elf healed in the children upon those who inflicted them.
When the trio entered the throne room, the sight the were met with caused Jareth to nearly growl in response. Marie sat at the corner of the bottommost stair leading up to his throne with her head tucked into her drawn-up knees. He could see her shoulders trembling even as Relde attempted to soothe the girl. Didymus stood off to the far side looking completely bewildered and being prevented from approaching his ward by three guards who stood in front of him, hissing and spitting angrily.
"What has happened here?" He demanded. He stalked closer, his boots echoing off the high chamber walls. Those of his friend followed just behind while Ghilanna hurried to the distressed girl.
"I-I don't rightly know, your Majesty," Didymus replied, lost and confused.
"Like hell!" One of the goblin guards snarled.
Another one elaborated without taking his glaring yellow eyes off the knight. "We hears it all, your Majesty. The fox is askin' questions of missie. Made 'er 'member stuffs she don't like. Made 'er cry. Kingy is protective of missie, so we guards is too. We keeps the fox away and pokes him when he talks. Relde tries to make missie stop cryin' but can't yet."
"I see." He turned and slowly advanced on the shaking kitsune. "Just what sort of questions did you ask of my ward?" He demanded in a deadly calm tone.
"I only asked after the health of her sister and if she would be returning to the Aboveground to her family. Then these brutes surrounded me and began assaulting me!" Didymus replied, suddenly much more affronted than afraid. The three guards snarled in unison and made to poke him again before Jareth called them to halt and waved them off. They bowed deeply, parting, but remaining close.
"Is that true?" The King asked the goblins.
"Yes," one of them growled low. "Missie started cryin' and we didn't give the nasty fox a chance to be askin' more."
"Good. Dismissed." The three bowed low again and retreated into the shadows. "Ghilanna, Relde, take Marie to the library. Give her a touch of Calming Sense. I will see to her shortly."
"Yes, your Majesty," he heard the two mutter. He listened as Ghilanna scooped her up and the trio exited the throne room.
"Miren."
"Understood, Sire." Jareth listened to the throne room doors being secured by his friend's magic. None would be able to enter or exit without Miren's say. At the sound, the trembling kitsune before him swallowed thickly.
"I-I don't understand, your Majesty. What have I done wrong?" Didymus quailed.
"Can you truly not fathom it? Has your miniscule brain been so addled by Bog water that you can no longer stand to reason?" Jareth's voice never raised above a low hum, yet it could be heard in every corner of the room echoing off the high walls.
"F-forgive me, Sire, please! How could I have known such questions would lead to thy ward's discontent? I swear to you, on my honor they were innocently meant." The fox kneeled before him, groveling at his boot.
"You dare seek forgiveness for impertinence such as this? You, who have, by your own admission, reduced my guest to tears with your invasive queries? I shall not stand for it. To the oubliette with you!" Miren came to his side, placing a calming hand on his shoulder and bringing his lips close to his ear.
"Now, my King," Miren muttered soothingly. "Recall that you are in need of this particular creature. How can he possibly serve as a guide to your new ward if he spends his remaining days at the bottom of an oubliette?" Jareth heaved a deep sigh, unwilling to admit his advisor had a point. Still…the goblins could…
"I know what's going through that head of yours, my King. Yes, any one of the goblins could perform the physical aspects of the job but their communication skills leave something to be desired. Imagine the potential calamities that might occur should a goblin guide misinterpret something she says or fail to convey what's necessary for her understanding?"
Jareth narrowed his eyes at the quailing kitsune. "Count yourself lucky, fox, that I have use of you. Consider this your only warning. Upset my wards again and I will string you up by your tail and leave you to dangle in the blackest oubliette I have. You are not to ask about their time in the Aboveground in any respect. If they offer such information to you, you will keep it sealed behind that insignificant snout of yours to all but myself or their attendants. Is that understood?"
"Y-yes, Sire. O-of course, Sire. But why?"
One of the goblin guards growled low. "You dare question Kingy after he gives you a command?!" The guard made to jab at Didymus again.
"Enough, Rydhaark. One more outburst and you will be demoted to scraping up chicken droppings from the streets." The guard relaxed and dropped to his knee. "Now then," Jareth continued, turning his attention back to Didymus. "You ask why you are not to speak of their time in the Aboveground. Where they come from, to put it mildly, they were not treated well and any reminders result in the upset you witnessed. I am sure you do not wish to repeat such an action, correct?"
"Oh. O-of c-course not, your Majesty. Forgive me. How could I have been so thoughtless? Oh dear. Thy ward must think so ill of me, I must apologize at once for causing her this grief!"
"Absolutely not. You have done enough damage for now. You will wait here until I return. If Terra arrives before I do, you are not to speak to her beyond announcing your presence. Is that understood?"
"Yes, your Majesty. Of course, your Majesty."
"Good. Do not fail me in this, kitsune." Didymus dropped to one knee and bowed low. "Come, Miren. Let us see to young Marie."
"If it is all the same to you, my King, I believe I shall stay here and keep watch over this one, lest young Terra fall prey to his undisciplined tongue if she should arrive before you."
Jareth nodded his agreement and proceeded to transport himself to just outside of the library. It wouldn't do for him to further upset his young ward by materializing next to her after all. He knocked to announce his presence so as to not catch her unawares and opened the door slowly. Seeing her curled into a ball on the plush seat of a chair with Relde standing over her and Ghilanna watching the pair from nearby, he stepped in and shut the door behind him silently.
"How is she?" He asked the elf.
"Not well, I'm afraid. I had to give her so much Calming Sense just to settle the poor thing that it ended up putting her to sleep. The questions posed by the kitsune have hurt her deeply."
"The young miss misses her sister something fierce and worries about her all the time but she loves it here and doesn't want to be sent back," Relde piped up. Jareth's frown deepened.
"I can do nothing at present about this Big Sister but Marie will not be returning to the Aboveground." He gazed at the small child and sighed heavily. "So long as she sleeps soundly, I see no reason to disturb her. For now, continue your vigil and when she wakes, have something ready for her to drink then bring her to the throne room. She'll not want to miss young Terra's arrival." Both females bowed low and he retreated from the room.
Miren looked up from his post next to Didymus when he reentered the throne room. "She's sleeping for now," Jareth answered his unspoken question as he took to his throne with a flourish. A quick nod and he resumed his watch. Didymus quailed once again under the brunette's sharp gaze but said nothing. Ambrosius trotted over to the steps and laid at the King's feet, much to the fox's chagrin.
An hour passed spent entirely in silence before Marie's presence was announced. Jareth granted her entrance immediately and she entered the throne room meekly, rubbing her eyes with Relde six paces behind her.
"Did you rest well, young one?" the King asked cordially, noting the way she shied away from not only the fox, but Miren and the guards as well. She nodded, sitting silently on her little cushion at the top of the steps and drawing her knees up to her chest. He sighed internally and glared at the fox. It was usually this way only when her slumber was disturbed by nightmares, but for one of his own subjects to put her into such a state was inexcusable.
"When will she be here?" Marie asked, so quietly he almost didn't catch it. The steed shuffled a little closer to her, laying his head near her feet. He watched as a tiny smile formed and her hand scratched behind Ambrosius' ear. Perhaps the creature would not only be useful for Terra.
"That is a difficult question to answer. Healing is not a thing to be rushed. We wouldn't want to make Terra worse simply because we were impatient, would we?" She quickly shook her head. "I thought not. Did you know I waited almost the entirety of a day for you to arrive?" Marie's shocked expression caused him to chuckle lightly. "It's true."
"I'm sorry I made you wait so long."
"Never apologize for such a thing, little one. As impatient as I was for the answers I sought, your improved health was far more important."
"Besides," Miren chuckled from his place by the kitsune, "Ghilanna would have had his hide if he'd have rushed your healing."
"Even though he's the King?" She asked.
"Even so," Jareth answered. "Ghilanna has served my family for generations and, while properly compliant, she takes no issue with putting her foot down on anyone who attempts to disrupt her patients."
"'Tis true, Marie," Miren chuckled lightly. "I recall once when my mother was ill. Ghilanna was attending her and my father burst into the room having just found out his wife had taken to her bed. I'll never forget the way Ghilanna reacted." His quiet laughter grew. "My poor father couldn't sit for a week!"
Jareth was relieved when the despondent expression on his ward's face melted into giggling grins, the light returning to her eyes once more. "What did she do?" Marie managed to get out.
Miren pondered for a moment. "Now that, I am not entirely sure. All I know is that whenever he attempted to sit, his face would contort into a pained grimace and he would quickly stand back up again. Perhaps she covered his backside in boils." His grin widened as her barely controlled giggles rose into a shriek of laughter. The King allowed a few chuckles of his own, lounging back in his throne now that the latest crisis had been temporarily defused.
"Okay, okay, I'll wait," she laughed, relaxing her legs into a crossed position.
"A wise decision, I think," Jareth replied, nodding seriously before letting a grin overtake him once more.
"So, what did you do while you waited for me to wake up?"
"Paced, mostly. Arranged for your needs to be met. Paced some more."
"You waited in here the whole time?!" She exclaimed, her eyes wide.
"Of course. You must understand, wishing yourself here as you did, such a thing has never been done before and should not have been possible. I was still not entirely convinced you were not some effect of the magic of the Realm being weakened. I was fully prepared to destroy you the moment you failed to answer a question to my liking." He watched her face pale. "Not to worry, I have not so much as entertained the thought since that day, though I still do not understand how you, and now Terra, have accomplished the task." Her expression relaxed and morphed into one of contemplation.
"To be honest, I'm don't really know either. Master Derrick finished p-p-punishing me," she shuddered, causing him to pat her head soothingly. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"Nonsense," Miren assured.
After a few moments, she continued. "When he finished…that, and Master Thaddeus locked me back up in our room, I remember crying in the corner. I was alone. The others were still busy with clients or chores. Then I remembered Big Sister's story about the Goblin King. She tells it to us all the time and she says that if you believe in a story hard enough, it comes true. If I believed I'd be safe here hard enough, I would be, so I tried it, made a wish like the girl in her story, and the next thing I knew, I was looking up at you."
Jareth nodded. She had told him as much on her first day, though in not so many details, and Terra had mentioned something very similar. Yet it still did not explain how a simple belief led to the two being able to wish themselves to his Realm. He was saved from further pondering by the announcement of Terra's arrival, far sooner than he'd expected.
"Send them in."