The Chapters of Life
Chapter Seven: The Number of the Beast
I lived alone – my mind was blank
I needed time to think to get the memories from my mind
What did I see? Could I believe?
That what I saw that night
was real and not just fantasy…
Iron Maiden, The Number of the Beast.
The sun was dazzling, blinding.
Jareth stood on a hill, in front of a labyrinth.
It wasn't his labyrinth; it was not even a true labyrinth in mortal terms. Rather than walls that lined a near-impossible maze like his own, this labyrinth was physically no more than a simple garden, a series of paths lined by hedges that led to the grand Northern Gate of Lwenhyn, a city in the kingdom of white shadows, ruled by his only friend among the fey kings, Harel.
But things are not always what they appear to be, and the magic ran deeper than that. Jareth knew that there was magic entwined into the very air, the very soil, into the hedges, the outer walls of the city, reaching miles under and above ground. It twisted and turned, an effective snare, one that would snatch anything evil towards the city and kingdom that it protected and would never let go. One had to be very careful, indeed, when entering such grounds – even to the fey eye, it seemed nothing more, but the magic that formed the invisible labyrinth would overcome any.
He had been here before. Jareth strolled down the hill, stopped, then lifted his eyes to where he could see the castle in the middle of the city.
"Harel," he said. "If you don't appear, or say anything, I'm going to assume that means I have your permission to enter."
There was a beat of silence.
The goblin king waited another second, displaying a rare case of patience, then shrugged and began walking towards the gate.
Nothing happened.
Jareth walked all the way to the metal gates, where he saw a man appearing to be in his late forties with black hair and immaculate leather vest over black clothing leaning casually against the dirtied metal.
"Sometimes I wonder if you really don't care what happens to your own self," the man said. "If the labyrinth had snatched, not even the king himself can get you out of its dark heart, where you'd be trapped, bound tightly by magic that no one controls but simply exists and acts on its own."
"Sometimes I wonder the same thing as well," the goblin king retorted. "Anyways, I'm flattered –" he sounded anything but – "that you feel the labyrinth would feel important enough to imprison me in the heart, and not one of its oubliettes."
The dark-haired man sighed. "You don't feel threatened because you cannot see nor feel the labyrinth, unlike yours – which is physical and appears oh so intimidating, because of the nature of the goblin kingdom and because it needs to threaten humans, who have no knowledge of magic, but –"
"I know, Harel, I know," Jareth said tightly. "Let's put it this way: I knew I wouldn't be harmed because I did not mean any harm to the kingdom, to the city, or to you."
The older fey king sighed. "Suit yourself, then. Come in, come in." He pushed himself off the gates that led to the city, opened the gates, and disappeared behind them. Jareth caught the doors before they could close, and followed, walking directly into a chamber in the castle of King Harel, which stood miles away from the outer wall.
"Sit then," Harel said, finding a chair for himself and lounging in it. "I don't suppose you came here just to chat and bother an aging fey king while he's minding his own business."
Jareth remained standing. "Are you busy, then?" he asked.
Harel made a vague motion of waving something away. "Some problems with the younger generation," he said darkly. "Here's my advice to you, Jareth, and listen closely and take it to heart, mind you. Never have more than two sons. Just one, and he's liable to be either an insipid idiot or an ambitious toad who'll attempt to usurp your throne every ten seconds. More than two, and they'll feud over the throne, kill each other, and the insipid youngest one who ran away from his ambitious brothers will be the only one alive, and he'll end up being king." He stretched.
"I'll keep that in mind," the goblin king said.
"Ah, but then," Harel went on, suddenly animated, "you can never have too many daughters. Wonderful beings, they are. All of mine are as catty as any other young fey ladies, half of them dying to leave me as quickly as possible and find powerful husbands who'll be at their beck and call, the other half swearing undying devotion to their old father and to whichever brother would follow their dear father. Charming, all of them… although I can never really tell them apart, and frankly right now I can't even remember how many I have."
Of all the sardonic descriptions of his children, Jareth knew, the last part was the truest. The king of the white shadows had more than a dozen daughters and sons, only a few from the queen, all others from various mistresses he had taken, at least half of whom were mortal.
Harel suddenly fixed his eyes on the goblin king. "Do you have any children, Jareth?"
"No, I'm afraid not," Jareth said, and, noticing the way Harel's eyes lit up, suppressed a sigh and dragged a chair towards him. This was going to take a long time.
"Really, now… A queen?" the older king asked hopefully.
His mouth in a thin line, Jareth shook his head.
"Ah." Harel watched the other fey with avid interest. "I do have one beauty in my household," he began. "The youngest from my own queen, so you won't have to worry about the breeding…"
"Harel," Jareth cut in with half-clenched teeth. "You forget who my own mother was."
"A wonderful woman, no doubt," Harel said, without missing a beat. "But really, Jareth. You need a queen. Soon your generation will be closed, a new generation will begin, and you know you can only take wives from the same generation that you yourself belong to. There are only so many girls in your generation, you know."
Jareth resisted the urge to rub his temples. Harel was ever looking to expand his influence, playing the game of arranged marriages relentlessly.
"I'm not here to discuss my mother," Jareth said, feeling the tightening of his jaw as he always did when talking of his mother. "Or a marriage. I'm here to talk about the labyrinth."
"Ah." An enlightened look entered Harel's face. "Did you want any advice on renewing your labyrinth, then?"
Jareth took a deep breath. "No. I was actually hoping to discuss a particular Game of a labyrinth with you, if you weren't too busy."
"My sons can tear themselves apart for a couple of hours without my help," Harel said. "Which Game?"
Jareth did rub his temples, then, wondering how he was going to open this subject. "The one between a mortal and a fey," he said quietly.
There were plenty of Games between mortals and fey – the one Sarah and he had played two years ago was one of them, the goblin king absent-mindedly mused – but Harel understood which one immediately, and gave him a sharp look. "The courting one?" he asked in disbelief.
The younger fey leaned back. "Yes," he said.
Harel was thoughtful for a moment. "What would you like to discuss about it?" he asked, frowning slightly.
"Tell me more about it – tell me how it exactly goes," Jareth said.
"How should I know?" Harel sounded astonished. "I've never played it, myself. It wouldn't at all have been fair for the poor thing to leave her mortal life behind only to face my dear wife the queen. Are you courting a human, then?" His tone was curious.
Jareth hesitated only for a split second. "I am," he said slowly.
"Don't." Harel's answer was immediate and short. "If you really care about the girl, get a splendid ring, marry her according to the rituals of whatever religion she follows, and make the rest of her life a happily ever after of a fairy tale. What's fifty years? You can live that long aboveground without neglecting too much in your kingdom. Show her the magic of everyday life, and let her live a happy, sheltered life. I can assure you that it is a much happier fate than being turned into a fey and trying to find her footing in a world she's never known for the next thousand years, all the while being pecked at from every side for having been the lover of a fey king… if she survives the Game and being turned into fey in the first place."
"I've had to find my own footing, and I did it," Jareth said. "Besides, I do hope for more than such a life for her."
"Oh. I see." Harel said evenly. He gave him a flat gaze. "She's going to be your queen, is she?"
"That depends," Jareth said carefully.
Harel sat back, thoughtful. "That Game is a dangerous one," he said slowly. "It was established, long ago, even for us, when our realm was still closely connected to the one above. And you might see that even now, our exploits from that time are being talked about – the kidnappings, the magical seductions where the seduced have no say, the trickery, the meddling. The Game isn't a fair one, especially for the mortal who is unknowingly dragged into it. Whoever your human may be, she just may be better off staying as your mortal lover."
A ghost of a smile played at Jareth's lips. He was not even aware of the fact. "She can take on the Game, I'm more than certain."
Harel held up both hands. "Your human, your Game, your labyrinth, your heart," he said. "So what would you like to know? Ask away, and I'll answer to the best of my abilities."
No longer able to sit still, Jareth stood up, and began to pace. "Tell me the rules, from the start," he said.
Harold watched him carefully as he began to recite the rules. "One, the human cannot be more than six months away from his or her eighteenth birthday, before or after."
"Godsdamn it, that's one nonsensical rule," muttered Jareth.
"It can't be helped," Harold said steadily. "Too many of the fey forced their mortal lovers to face the game of becoming immortal when they were either too young or too old, and too many of them perished that way. There had to be a rule."
"All right, all right. That's still one annoying time frame. Go on." Jareth continued to pace.
The older fey went on. "Two, the human must not be aware that choosing to follow his or her fey lover results in immortality."
Jareth felt his mouth twist in a sardonic smile. This, he knew, was just the selfish fey's way of ensuring that a mortal wasn't pretending to be in love with one of the fey just to become immortal. He himself rather felt that any fey idiot who fell to the charms of a human who only wanted immortality might as well do a service to the fey realm by adding an intelligent member to society instead of wailing about how his love was not returned.
"Three, the human must be fey-marked by his or her fey lover, either by a physical brand, or a gift."
The goblin king continued to pace. No problem there.
"After the fey-mark, the Game will officially begin. Another human will present him or herself to the human, and eventually the human must choose between that another and the fey, before the date six months after the eighteenth birthday has passed."
Jareth screeched to a stop. That was new. "What?"
Harel went on, intending to finish what he had started. "If the choice is for the human, the Game is ended permanently. If the choice is for the fey, both the fey-marked human and the fey must do a run through the labyrinth of the kingdom that the fey belongs to. This final stage of the Game will test the bond between the two, and should the bond prove too weak, the labyrinth will do its duty."
Jareth quirked an eyebrow. He knew what that meant. "The human's going to die if she fails the run."
The older fey looked back at him, a strange expression on his face. "The fey too," he said.
The goblin king took a breath, let it out. "All right," he said. He would deal with that later. For now, he wanted to focus on an earlier rule. "What was that part about choices and another human presenting himself and whatnot?"
"Never understood that part, myself," Harel said pensively. "How does the labyrinth affect what's going on above? Surely the magic isn't strong enough… Ah, but no matter. It happens. Yes, another human will be attracted to the side of your human soon after she's fey-marked." Harel noticed the other fey's face. "Did you already mark her?"
After softly muttering a curse, Jareth straightened. "Yes, I did. So does that mean…"
"Fey-mark? Or fey-mark with the intention of a Game?"
"With intention," Jareth answered tonelessly. "So that means?"
Harel stared. "That means that a human rival of yours is already beside your human, of course. Do you not watch her?"
"I do, but she's eighteen, for the labyrinth's sake. Half of the boys around her are going to be itching to court her, or ask her out, whatever it is they say," Jareth said testily, turning away from the staring fey king.
Suddenly, he froze. Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned back. "Harel," he said in a calm voice. "It isn't possible for another fey to be that rival, by any chance, is it?"
"As far as I recall, it isn't. The whole purpose of the human rival is to represent the mortal choice, I believe. He represents the mortal life; you present the fey life; she chooses. Straightforward enough."
"Can there be more than one?" Jareth asked dubioiusly.
Harel suddenly cracked a grin. "I suppose, nowadays, the mortal choice could be represented by the idea of being with many mortal boys…" He cocked his head, curious. "What are you exactly thinking of?"
"Nothing in particular," the goblin king said. He switched subjects. "So how does she exactly make the choice? And what Game do we have to play in the labyrinth, the one that… what was it? Tests the bond between the two." His tone conveyed skepticism.
Harel threw up his hands. "I don't know. I can tell you the magical aspects of the Game, but I have no idea what actually happens. I suppose you'll find out easily enough. Though be warned, Jareth." The look he wore was now completely serious. "That run through the labyrinth… I've heard that it can be the darkest of all Games the labyrinth can play, even darker than the snatching of intruders into the heart or one of the oubliettes. The labyrinths weren't placed to protect our kingdoms for nothing. Their very nature is to keep evil trapped within it, and the evil has been only increasing throughout the millenniums… By now, they're saturated with evil, steeped in darkness. Not even we can say if one isn't innately evil, and by playing this Game, you put yourself at its mercy."
"I'll take my chances," Jareth said coolly, suppressing a shiver at the memory that passed his mind just at that moment, a memory from a long, long time ago…
Harel seemed to be feeling a similar apprehension. They shared a glance, then looked away. Jareth stood up. "Thank you for your help," he said.
"Tell me how it goes." Harel rubbed his tired eyes. "Good-bye, goblin king."
Jareth left. Still nagging on his mind was the memory, the one that he knew was in Harel's mind as well.
All fey kings went through the labyrinth, at least once, when each became king. It was part of the coronation, part of accepting the crown. It was also something that not even the bravest of them wanted to experience ever again. History had noted that many princes did not survive it. Yet the run, the Game, wasn't dangerous by itself; no sharp, huge drills chased the full-grown fey prince down the corridors, no trap doors opened to a dark narrow tunnel leading straight to oubliettes, no stone bridges fell apart the moment someone stepped onto it.
The Game was simple. It required its runner to win. If not, the runner would die. Simple. Plain.
Jareth fought away the memories of just why it was so damned near impossible to win. Why he had nearly lost. It wasn't something he wanted to go through again, even in just memory. He fought away the doubts that suddenly filled him. Another run through the labyrinth – hours between its stark walls again, walls that closed in on you without physically doing so… Again?
An ironic smile graced his lips. The choice of whether to go through it or not wasn't his, he realized. That depended entirely on Sarah, the girl he had no power over.
Those who've read Sara Douglass' "Troy Game" may recognize the idea of the labyrinths as cities' means of protection against evil. But the similarities between labyrinths from the "Troy Game" and those from this story end there, I promise.
Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter and to those who read this chapter! As always, reviews are welcome!