Chapter: A Spider's Web
It was in a dark room, but It didn't need light to find It's way around the various pieces of equipment, this was a room It knew well, far too well.
Sliding silently forward, It stopped as It felt the feeble creature who lived here brush up against It's polished boots. A perfect crystal formed at Its fingertips, rolling from one gloved hand to another. Before It let it float upwards to hover like a Willow wisp casting its faint blue light on the cowering creature before It.
- She will come... She will come... She will come.: The broken creature which had once been the goblin king, was pathetic, barely recognisable as a man, with bones pressed against his ripped skin, giving him the appearance of a dried out husk.
Nudging him with the toe of It's boot the perfect creature frowned, as a bulging blackened vein burst under the slight pressure, spilling foul smelling black ichor onto the already soiled stones. No this would not do, not at all. This broken man before It, was weak, pathetic and far too damaged to be allowed to live, let alone rule.
Stepping back, the proud creature squatted before the quivering man, and prodded his huddled up form with It's riding crop:" Why do you not just die? There is no place for you in this world, no place for this weakness. Give in, give up. "
The man shuddered from either the cold words, or the touch of the crop, It didn't know, and it mattered little as the man turned slowly to peer up at It through filthy lanky strands of once pale golden hair, with blazing eyes of mismatched azure and gold.
"She will come... she will come" : He ground out defiantly:" she will..."
Recoiling in disgust It struck him across his emaciated face splitting more black veins.
" Why... would she come? Look what she has done... see what love did..."
Blood and ichor stained It's once immaculate gloves as It grabbed the bony left arm the man huddled in on. Pulling it into the now glaring blue light It thrust the frayed stump back at the cowering man forcing him to look at the horrid wound.
The broken king struggled weakly, but he was too weak, too frail to ever pull free of It's vice like grip.
" See the price of your LOVE... SEE IT... Even if you still love her, how could she... a queen ever love a pathetic cripple like you, you're weak! Deformed. .. a thing.. a beast... pathetic. ... a bastard... an abomination. ... why won't you just DIE..."
" No" : He whispered as he gave up on freeing his amputated arm from the perfect beings grip, and simply curled tighter in on himself: "She will come, she'll see... she'll see...And she'll make it right again... "
" Fool" : It snarled as golden light flared along It's slender powerful limbs, like the lines guiding a puppet:" Don't you see, she will never come, why should she, you are a cripple, a freak, deformed and perverse, no she will never SEE you! Not now..."
Grasping the whimpering man by his reed thin neck It held him up in one arm as a crystal appeared in It's other hand: "Not Ever...You should never have been born. .."
Light golden like the glow of the first sunrise erupted from the crystal searing the flesh from both bodies, to the sound of screeching and cold cruel laughter. ..
. . . . .
Waking from the nightmare with a shocked start, Jareth stared blindly into the dimly lit night, as his tortured mind raced wildly.
NoNoNoNoNoNoNo! Alone, he was alone, and the night was crushing him with its oppressive weight. he needed her, he needed Sarah to lie beside him, and chase the debilitating dreams away with her mere presence.
But she wasn't there, and she never would be again. His cold words had seen to that, cold words that he could not stop himself from uttering. The spell was still there, holding his mind and body in a steely grip of shimmering strands no thicker than they could be hidden within a single hair. And even now he could feel it feeding off the meagre magic that remained in his core, and warping his emotions into something ugly and cruel, just waiting to erupted from below the surface.
Something was different though, he could feel it like an absence in his mind, that the cruel voice had tried to fill. It was different, less accurate, yet more potent, as if it was simply aimed at alienating everyone. Blinking slowly Jareth felt as if his mind was dying under the pressure building as the iron was draining out of his system.
He didn't know just how it all connected, but it felt as if the spell was gaining more strength as the iron dwindled, and his magic began to trickle back. Not only that but it seemed to him that the spell woven by his "mother" was beginning to feed off of the magic of those around him, now that it could no longer feed sole off of him.
It was as if the stronger the person the stronger the malice he spewed. Turning onto his right side, Jareth watched the soundly sleeping Lilly. Firelight illuminated her perfect goblin features softly, giving her a very pretty golden skin tone. But it was not her beauty that was the reason why she was the only one who could come close without the spell flaring. It was her complete lack of magic that rendered the spell nearly inert when she was the only one in the room.
Frustratingly the spell still retained enough strength through Jareth himself that it rendered it impossible for him to let her or anyone else know that it was a spell and not him, that was directing his actions.
Fisting his remaining hand in the long hairs of the furs, Jareth growled darkly, so little remained in his grasp, and now even his own body seemed lost to him. And he was helpless to let anyone else know.
No matter what he tried, no matter how indirect his approach he couldn't find a way to make any of them see what it was he was trying to tell them.
He was caught.
Even here beyond the jaws of death, did Titania's malice followed him, there was no escaping her not now, not ever. And that single horrifying thought filled him with a hopelessness, black enough to make him wish that he had gone to the realm of the dead, and even the spell could not hold back the tears as he silently turned back towards the wall and let his pain have full reign.
. . .
Closing the door behind her, Lilly ran her fingers through her hair. As she swallowed back the terse reply that burned her tongue.
God but Jareth was trying her patience.
It had been three weeks and he was getting more and more vicious as his magic returned. To begin with it had been Sarah and Didymus who had born the brunt of it, then after a week or so Shiver had become a target as well. And now in the last few days Jareth had begun to lash out at Lilly too.
Yes his words hurt, yet there was something about it all that bothered Lilly, as she thought back. But she couldn't put her finger on it and Sarah and Shiver was far too affected by the way Jareth was acting to be of any help to Lilly when she tried to figure out what was wrong.
Walking into the large all room, Lilly immediately fixed her sight on the huge furred figure, who leaned over the kitchen counter with an intent look on his fox face as he gingerly carved thin slices of smoked and salted meat.
Turning quietly Lilly quickly surveyed the large space, smiling curtly as she found them to be alone.
Didymus nose twitched as if he had picked up a scent, but there was no other sign that he was aware of her presence. It was something that Lilly had noticed in the last two weeks or so, that Didymus always knew when Sarah or Shiver entered the room, but never seemed to be aware of her presence. It had been a game to begin with, but now she was beginning to notice a pattern in everyone's behaviour, and things began to add up.
And yes Lilly was very aware that it was utterly childish to enjoy scaring the filling out of the knightly fox, but dammit, who could resist when the surprise on his face made his eye grow to double size, and his nose go all twitchy every single time !
It was too good, and who was she to resist.
Keeping her steps light and her breathing slow, Lilly walked slowly up behind the softly humming fox.
"Yo Didymus where are the two others? Don't tell me they are still sleeping. "
To say that he startled would be a major understatement. Every inch of Didymus nearly eight foot tall muscle and leather clad form jumped a full 10 inches. Sending the knife flying to the floor, along with a few slices of meat.
Grinning Lilly slid around the knight and leaned back against the cool edge of the kitchen counter: "Oh I'm sorry did I startle you?"
The look on the large fox's face was one of utter startled surprise as he pressed a paw like hand against the furious pounding of his heart, and looked down at the grinning girl.
"Verily mine lady thou shall be the death of me..."
" Oh.. I'm sorry, I thought you might have heard me... but alas. .."
Shaking his head lightly at her obviously insincere apology, Didymus returned her grin with a lopsided smile of his own: "Pray mine lady, thou knoweth that I canst not sense thy presence. Thou hast no magic for mine senses to detect... as to the lord Shiver and the lady Sarah, they have left intending on bringing home fresh prey."
" Yeah... okay, that's good, we are not really running low yet, but it's good to have stores in case of a harsh winter... ": Picking up the dropped knife, Lilly watched the light play along the slender glass blade, as she pondered her next words, and how to not sound like a complete idiot:" Look Didymus you know a lot about magic, and how it works right? "
" Aye that is the truth of it my lady, I doth sense, the currents of magic and its effects. "
" Okay,... Look I have a theory and I need to run it by you okay? ..."
Giving a shallow bow, Didymus meet her worried frown with a look of intense scrutiny:" Verily my lady, reveal thine worry that I might offer my meagre support such as it is."
" Okay here goes, look, Jareth has been a real jerk to Sarah ever since he woke up right.."
Picking up the knife, Didymus nodded, as he resumed slicing the meat thinly:" Aye that is the truth of it..."
Jumping onto the counter, Lilly rested her elbows on her knees as she leaned forward with an intent look in her grey eyes that made the bright blue star burst shine:" But Sarah said, that he started being a jerk long before that, back in the underground and that it all started really suddenly, right when his magic started returning to him... now when you brought him to her in the aboveground, he seemed nice, dying but nice... He was loving and sad... So I gotta know did the iron block his magic? "
Skewering the thin slices with a thoughtful expression, Didymus said: "Aye, the iron did most assuredly block his own magic, but it was not all. The closure of the gates caused much pain as it cut him off from the labyrinths magic as well..."
" Okay so am I hearing you right if I understand it like this. When you brought Jareth to us he had next to no magic inside him, right? But then where did the crystal he made come from? "
Stopping on his way to the stove Didymus shrugged with a confused look on his face: "Verily I know not... unless... nay.. he would not... the danger..."
" What? What wouldn't he do?"
"It may be that our lord drew on the unfiltered magic of the aboveground. .. verily that wouldst explain his most sudden decline..."
Sitting up straight, Lilly shook her head as if trying to comprehend the meaning of Didymus words.
" My lady? ": Worry was thick in his voice as he moved towards her.
" No no I'm fine its just... Magic still seems more like fantasy to me... I don't know. .. Is there any way where that ... Aboveground magic could be able to fuel a spell? From the underground I mean? "
The thin slices sizzled as Didymus laid them in straight lines on the wood stoves clay fryer, and an instant scent of succulent bacon filled the air.
"Nay no being from underground may safely wield the pure magic from above..."
Nodding as her thoughts began to make sense, and her mouth began to water, Lilly said: "So any spell that feeds on magic would remain dormant. .."
Nodding his confirmation, the large fox delicately skewered a barely cooked strip of bacon like meat, and popped it into his sharp teethed mouth with a look of utter contentment on his face:" Aye that is the truth. .. But what correlation doth thou see my lady. "
Jumping off the table, Lilly bit the knuckles of her right hand as she mumbled:" So no magic equals good Jareth, magic equals asshole Jareth, and the more magic he has the bigger a bastard he becomes. .. And the more magic those he is together with has the more of an ass he is to them... "
Cocking his head in a very feline movement Didymus paused with a half filled plate of fried bacon in his hand:" My Lady...?
But Lilly didn't hear him, she was too rolled up in her own thoughts as she leaned over the counter, and picked idly at a cooling piece of toast.
Quickly picking up the, remaining bacon while it was still just crispy. Didymus cast a quick glance at the still softly muttering girl as she stalked back and forth across the floor, with an indecipherable look on her face. And once more he found himself confounded by how much the lithe girl resembled a goblin .
"Okay listen to this will yer... I think that Jareth is under the influence of a mind spell, and I think that once Jareth " lost" his magic and was filled with that iron that nearly killed him, it went dormant. But once the iron was bleed out of him, it "revived" and since it still couldn't feed off of Jareth, it fed off Sarah and then once it got stronger, it began to feed of you, then Shiver, and now that Jareth is beginning to regain his own magic, he is beginning to become nasty to me too."
Didymus had stopped setting the table and was now looking at the pale greyish girl with genuine intrigue. The kind of spell that she was speaking of was not widely used or even something that the uninitiated public would have any knowledge of, and yet here she was putting accurate words to his own suspicion.
" So tell me does that sound utterly insane to you or am I onto something? "
" I... I..I do not know my lady... but thy thoughts on the matter are most eloquent and plausible, I should most assuredly investigate further. Though how I know not..."
"Yeah .. About that.. look from what I've seen up till now.. everyone has a different colour magic right... I mean, Sarah's is silvery white, Shiver's is bright green and yours is this rusty red sort of like your fur... so my question is, if someone has cast a spell on someone else, then would you be able to see that persons magic on the victim?"
" Aye thou wouldst, albeit it may be hidden well within the victims own magic... or of a similar colour. .. thus rendering it neigh on impossible to discern the difference..."
Biting on her lower lip, Lilly nodded slowly:" Yeah there is of course that, but that's something we can't do anything about.. All we can do is you know, give it a shot... But what I was getting at is this, if you looked at Jareth with that magic detecting gaze of your would you be able to see if a spell has been cast on him? I mean if it's still there ..."
" I know not my lady, but I should like to venture an attempt, when wouldst thou attempt this? Now?"
Nodding eagerly Lilly fairly jumped on the spot as she grabbed Didymus hand and pulled him along with her as she rushed them both down the hallway towards the closed door. Pausing with her hand on the handle Lilly gave Didymus a shaky nervous little smile :" You ready?"
Ready... The word hung in the air between them, like a heavy sword.
Ready... No by the mercy of the earth mother, Didymus wasn't ready, yet the knight didn't know how to formulate a refusal as he watched her optimistic eyes glow up at him. She wanted this to be true, not for her own sake, but for Sarah's and even Jareth's. Because a spell would mean that Jareth was blameless in his own cruel behaviour.
Licking his lips nervously Didymus felt almost overwhelmed by fear as he contemplated the repercussions should he not find any evidence of foul play. If that proved to be the case, then they would have to deal with the fact, that the man they had known and truly respected, even loved was gone. And accept that the broken cruel creature left in his place, was truly him.
Letting out a breath that he had not even realized that he was holding, Didymus said:" My Lady... I... I might not find any evidence of a malicious spell, have you considered the implications of that outcome?"
"Yeah... I have, and let's not get ahead of ourselves here. You all say that this is far from normal behaviour from him. So lets just give him the benefit of the doubt here... okay no more stalling. "
Sharing a quick look of reassurance with the knight Lilly pushed the handle down and opened the door into the silent and dark room.
" Jareth are you awake? Jareth? "
Nothing, the warm darkness remained silent, as Lilly signalled for Didymus to follow her into the large bedroom.
The room itself looked just as it had when Lilly had left it, the only change, that Jareth was lying on his right side with the heavy furs pulled as tightly around him as he could manage and not suffocate. And still he shivered with cold.
Moving with a surprising level of stealth, Didymus glided through the flickering shadows, to stand at the foot of the wide bed.
Magic was everywhere, as the Llwynog knight blinked once, shifting his vision, from that of ordinary sight and into the spectrum of magic. The predominant colours was a deep almost black emerald green, and a bright silvery white, but there was also purple, and orange as well as a dark blue, that Didymus clearly recognised as belonging to the obviously sleeping king.
To Lilly it looked as if Didymus was waving his large pawed hands aimlessly through the air above the curled up form. But to Didymus is caused the magic to ripple and part before him, revealing deeper layers in the magic like pages in a book. Here the colours were the same only somehow thicker as if something was drawing it in and condensing it in a nearly solid cocoon around Jareth.
It would have been perfectly normal had Jareth been conscious and dressed in his armour or in magically enhanced garb as had always been his custom. But in this very instance he lay, either naked or clad in very little, and none of it of his own conjuring.
Suspicion peaked, Didymus glanced up at Lilly:" Hast he consumed the potion of rest this morn?"
"Oh yeah he is fully knocked out, you could burn the lodge down around him and he wouldn't react.."
Horror widened Didymus golden eye at Lilly's flippant reference to Jareth's demise:" Sweet goddess perish the thought, verily it shall not come to that. .."
Holding up her hands, Lilly grinned as she moved closer, obviously curious:" Easy there Lancelot, it's just a way to say that he won't wake up easily. I usually change his bandages around this time, so you should be safe for the next hour or so."
" Very well then, I shall proceed."
Turning back to his still king, Didymus nodded to himself as he eased the heavy fur blankets back, exposing Jareth's skeletal body to the warm dry air. It was what needed to be done, and yet it felt utterly wrong to see his always impeccable king dressed in nothing but a pair of rumpled silk pyjama bottoms as he shivered violently. Shaking off the uneasy feeling that he was trespassing, Didymus steeled himself as he lowered his fingers to move through the dark blue shell, soaking up the magic as he touched it.
Layer after layer thinned and then vanished under his touch as he moved through them. The first six layers parted easily under his hands, as their potent magic was drawn into his ever accepting core. But the seventh gave Didymus pause, as he ran his hands lightly over the shimmering surface. this layer seemed thicker, yet more fragile, as if it was propped up from the inside by something not of Jareth himself, something alien. And Didymus instinctively felt that, whatever lay below should not be disturbed unless one was prepared to pay the price.
Every fibre in the large knight's body screamed at him to leave this last layer and let Sarah deal with this. But to back away from the face of danger, was not a thing a Llwynog knight could do. No he would meet it head on and fight for what was right.
Digging both hands into the strange surface, Didymus used the magic that he had just leached from the previous six layers to make this final layer crumble into fine glittering dust as it revealed a tangled web of thin golden filaments.
"Wow that was pretty, what was that? ": Wonder filled Lilly's voice, making it softer, and less nasal."
" That was a spell my lady, made visible as it dissipated... and great goddess, it is as thou suspected, a spell hast verily been woven about his person... I... I know not its purpose. . only that it is there, and that thou were indeed correct, it doth leech off of his core, and off those who are in its malignant vicinity... Thus, never have I seen a spell more vile.."
" Vile.? How so? Come on you can't just tell me it's vile, and then shut up, I can't see what you see... I ... oh wow"
Darkness erupted from Didymus outstretched hand, moving like dye in water as it spread out covering Jareth from his bare feet, and up. The darkness lingered for a few seconds, before beginning to dissipate like smoke, as bright golden filaments of light flickered into being, creating a flimsy looking web around Jareth. At first is seemed to cover him evenly, but closer examination showed the pair, that the spidery lines all appeared to anchor at the crown of Jareth's head, and the area around his mouth. They also saw, that the lines at his feet seemed to be wavering gently in the unfelt eddies of air.
"Is that..."
Nodding with a look of distaste on his face, Didymus growled:" Verily it is, the very weave that thou doth feared. "
" So can you remove it? "
Plucking a random thread, Didymus flinched as it flared and drew a pained hiss from Jareth, yet still left him sleeping: " I fear this far beyond mine paltry skills, but the knowledge doth brings clarity. Truly this is what hast guided the hurtful words of our sovereign lord."
" Okay so we tell Sarah, and then we figure out what to do from here right.."
Pulling the heavy blanket up to cover the fragile form once more, Didymus nodded his acceptance as he stepped back:" Aye thus is our plan..."
A gentle hand engulfed Lilly's shoulder as Didymus quietly ushered her from the room dark room: " And now my waifish lady to break thy fast on the meagre food that I have provided, I fear that it is not much. But needs must that it suffice for now.."
Twisting just enough to meet his single worry darkened eye, as he lead her to the kitchen and the waiting but now cold food, Lilly prodded: " Look you have to be honest with me, how bad is this, I mean what are our chances of breaking this spell? And what is it doing to him? Is it killing him? And how dangerous will it be to try to break it?
A heavy sigh was all the response he gave her, as he pulled a chair out for her, and finished setting the table. Finally once he had set out everything did he sit opposite her, and began to fill his own plate.
" I shall be most honest mine lady, I have very little knowledge of spells to ensnare the mind and control the actions. But" : Holding up a hand to stop her from interrupting Didymus pressed on:" I now realize that our king hath attempted to alert us all to its presence, even as his mother the queen Titania doth drew his blood.."
" Ooh holy shit you're right the salute thing, yeah Shiver told me that Jareth saluted Hoggle when Hoggle cut him off from the labyrinths magic. And now that we are talking about it I think that he might have tried to tell me during these last few weeks, but it must have been keeping him from telling anyone. ... Wow, that must major league SUCK.."
Punctuating the last word, Lilly stabbed tree slices of bacon with her fork, and brought them to her plate. Cutting into them, she continued:" How long do you think it's been controlling him? I mean you guy's all make him sound like he's like a barely contained force of nature. And this just doesn't seem like something you would allow anyone to subject yourself to."
Shaking his head as he swallowed his food, Didymus took his napkin and daintily dabbed his muzzle before answering: " Aye it does indeed not appear to be a thing one wouldst allow. As to the age, I know of no way to ascertain it with any accuracy, and thus I shall refrain from hazarding any closer than this... It hath been woven about our liege for centuries, of that I am certain."
Dropping her utensil on the table, Lilly pushed back from her half eaten breakfast with a hissed and heartfelt, "well shit!"
" Verily..."
. . .
Waiting for Sarah and Shiver to return proved to be one of the hardest things that Lilly had ever done. Not because Didymus that great coward, had fled into the winter garden to fire up the smoker. But because Jareth woke up.
Sitting beside him, Lilly smiled as he contemplated his next move on the beautifully carved game board. It was a strange game that involved navigating through a maze that changed according to different cards that the players drew, and a random clock that was built into the board. At first there didn't seem to be any system to it and it had taken Shiver almost five days to teach Lilly the very basics of it. And to be honest she still sucked at it, but now she could at least spot her own mistakes as her piece was trapped in the maze time after time.
Pursing his lips, Jareth tapped his aardvark piece against them, before grinning and setting the at a junction where he would have a clear path to either the centre or the wishing well at the edge of the board. Both clear roads to victory, if the board didn't shift that was, and Lilly had utterly missed both as she had moved her piece through that part of the maze.
" Oh shit tell me that that's a lie. Seriously you can't keep beating me this easily! Not again..."
His satisfied smirk widened as he leaned back into the mountain of fur pillows that supported his frail form: "Honestly Lilly I would hardly call this beating you, when it is you who are defeating yourself. .. Really Lilly you need to take your time and access your options more carefully... Look at your piece..."
Leaning in Lilly seemed to follow his gentle lecture, but in truth her thoughts were elsewhere.
This was how he had woken up, smiling and relaxed, as if having Didymus leech his magic while he slept had erased the last few days of nasty cruel comments. Leaving a tired, but pleasant Jareth behind. Nodding as he pointed to something she should be aware of, Lilly bit her lower lip and sighed, as she wondered for god only knew what time, whether he was aware of the spells presence or not. In a way she hoped that he wasn't, because she couldn't even begin to imagine the horror, of being caught inside one's own body, while unable to control it.
It seemed a nightmare beyond any other.
And yet she was pretty sure that he was fully aware of not only what had been done to him, but also what it was forcing him to do and say. She wanted to ask him, but there was a tiny insistent voice in the back of her head that told her emphatically that it was a bad idea. It was not like she had a doomsday vision, but it was close. Nope telling him was out of the question. .. At least for the time being.
" Tell me young lady am I speaking into deaf ears? "
Shaking herself, Lilly cleared her mind of all thoughts of the spell, before she slipped up:" Sorry I'm just really bad at these kinds of games. If you think this is bad then you should see me playing chess.."
Sharp teeth flashed as Jareth smiled, and chuckled softly, something that he had not done in almost a full week.
Feeling a smile of her own, lighten her face at the sound, Lilly unthinkingly said: " Wow you are in quite the good mood after your little nap, did you dream something good?"
Oh how she could have kicked herself for those words, when the smile died and turned into a pained frown, his lips twitching as if on the verge of speaking, yet no words left them. Shadows clouded his mismatched eyes as he spoke in a soft despondent voice:" Yes I dreamt... that... ": The clouds deepened as the words clung to his tongue, stubbornly refusing to be uttered: "I feel refreshed ..."
Cold realization hit her like a freight train.
He knew, and what was more, he was trying to fight it. It was subtle, stumbling over a word, or a sudden rephrasing that changed a sentence completely into something that didn't make much sense.
Something must have shown in her eyes, something that had alerted some defence in the spell. Or at least that was what the thought that flashed through Lilly's head as Jareth's head whipped up, and a cold predatory light filled his eyes making his golden eye shimmer like that of a bird of prey.
The screech escaping his twisted lips as he launched himself at her with his remaining hand curled into a claw and aimed straight at her neck, paralyzed her for just a fraction of a second before her instinct had her scrambling backwards out of dangers way, but she was too slow.
The creature that was no longer Jareth grabbed her throat in a steel grip, digging his claws into her soft flesh as his still greater weight and strength forced her to the ground.
Pressing his face into hers he growled in an icy voice:" So you know... Well, that will not save you... nor will it save this heinous atrocity who calls himself king... now die..."