Chapter Nine: Vanity and Rose Vines
It was early, before Jareth came to take her to breakfast, when Sarah opened her door to the incessant pounding of a distraught Elvin. Who then promptly and almost fretfully asked the most bizarre question she had ever heard.
"Can I hide under your bed?"
"What! Why?" she asked in utter confusion as his mother of pearl eyes implored her.
"Because Jareth's trying to kill me for screwing his sister until about half an hour ago."
She stared at him, blinking. So that was were he and Celeste had disappeared to before noon the day before. Then she stood aside with a sigh, giving Auranar entrance to her room.
"Go for it, just please leave out the details of your sex life."
"I had fourteen centuries to catch up on," he said in protest as he made his way to the large four poster bed against the opposite wall. "Was it my fault that when Jareth came to wake us up we were still going!"
"I said I don't want to know! Just get under the bed and shut up!" And he did, after flashing her teasing but charming smirk.
Less then a minute after he took up his hiding place there was another knock at her door, only this one was most definitely angry rather than panicked. Wonderful, she was standing there in a very flimsy silk nightie that only reached mid way down her thighs and displayed a fair amount of cleavage, and an angry Goblin King was pounding on the door. Oh well, at least it might distract him from trying to murder her best friend.
So with a heavy sigh she once again opened the bedroom door. Only to have Jareth barge past her, fire flaring in his mismatched eyes.
"Where is he?" he demanded, sounding like a commanding King for once. Oh well, so much for the theory of distracting him, but then, she could still try.
"Who?" She asked, innocently folding her arms beneath her bust in a protective gesture.
"Auranar," he snapped, looking purposefully around the room. He didn't even so much as glance at her. "I know he's here somewhere."
"Jareth, what would Auranar be doing in my room?"
"Hiding, because he knows I'm going hang draw and quarter him," he muttered darkly. Okay, this was going too far.
Shaking her head Sarah moved to stand at his side, but it wasn't until she lay a gentle hand on his arm that he looked at her. It was only a quick glance but thankfully it didn't take him long to glance again.
"He isn't here," normally she would have felt bad for lying, however this was to save her friend from serious bodily harm so there was no twinge of guilt to accompany her words. His stance softened slightly and he glanced at her again as he took a deep breath through his nose and let it out slowly. "The only people in this room are me and you." So perhaps it wasn't fair that she was holding her chest out slightly, or that she had moved slightly closer to him and was now almost leaning against the arm she had her hand on, but, well . . . tough. Even so, Hogg- Auranar better be bloody thankful for this. Though she had to admit, it was amusing to see the Goblin Kings reaction. The elegant arching of an eyebrow and the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth. Well, she had wanted to distract him.
"Weren't you going to teach me some sword play today anyway?" Okay, so that defiantly was not fair, but it got his full attention. Jareth tilted his head, smirking as he looked at her, more than obviously finding some form of intriguing mental image from her words.
"Alas I must bow out of such an . . . activity for today," damn, she had been looking forward to learning a little about sword fighting. Oh well, perhaps she could get the Elvin that was hiding under her bed to teach her as payment for this over the top display. "I've just received word from the Gremlin Kingdom that an old friend, called Vanity, is currently being held in one of their high security prisons and has been there for a decade or so. Would you like to come with me while I break her out?"
"You're going to break someone out of prison because they're a friend?"
"No, of course not," he answered as though offended, but his smirk easily let her know that he as nothing of the sort. "I'm going to break her out because she's killed four other inmates in the last year, along with two guards, she's a psychopath and a member of my old squadron which is in serious need of a reunion." Her mouth hung open in shock and she gaped at the Goblin King. He was mad, he had to be. "You needn't worry, she's only a danger to you if you call her a Fawn or if you look like you're about to attack her."
"You're going to break a murderer out of prison." She stated in dumb shock. "And you want to know if I'm going to come with you?"
"She's also mentally unstable, but yes I would."
"Oh this just keeps getting better and better," she replied sarcastically. "Of course I'm going to come," she added with enthusiasm, completely giving up on the logic of the Undergrounds inhabitants. "Though I was wondering if would be possible to find something other than those dresses to wear, if it's not too much trouble."
"None at all," he answered evenly as he took a few steps back from her not bothering to be discreet about looking her over as he summoned a crystal with an overly elaborate flourish and let it role over his swaying hand. He seemed to be considering something, but what ever it was obviously didn't require much concentration as his eyes took in every inch of her exposed legs with great interest. She was about to protest at his attentions when he sent the crystal flying at her. She gave a startled yelp and it exploded, showering the whole room with a slow drift of pink rose petals.
Holding out her hands she looked at the rain of petals in wonder as she caught one of the silk like fragments of a flowers' crown between her fingers. With a dazzling flash of light it became a white feather, just like the ones from Jareths wings.
"Was that meant to happen?" She asked timidly.
"No," replied an almost sulking Goblin King as he brushed the still falling petals from his black clad shoulders, a colour he seemed to be quite fond of at the moment, or perhaps it was simply in fashion. "You deflected my spell because it startled you. It was meant to morph that rather flattering night dress into something more appropriate."
"Oh, oops."
With a wave of his hand the rose petals quickly vanished. As he shook his head Jareth conjured another crystal, but dropped it as soon his eyes landed on Sarah when she gave another startled yelp. She was glowing! From the neck down her whole body was glowing. Then she felt her nightie slip down her body, though she couldn't see it, well not until it landed in a pile at her feet, causing Jareths eyes to widen before a devious smirk curved his lips. Thankfully the light her body was giving off was enough to obscure her form. Then something happened that caused Jareths jaw to drop.
Vines rushed around her mid drift, thick, heavy and tight on her body, causing her to jerk with their speed. They were covered in thorns that should have viciously bitten into her flesh, but instead they felt like a lovers kiss. Soon the vines had dashed around her entire stomach, legs and breasts, completely blocking out the light those areas were emitting. "Rose vines," slipped the whisper from Jareths lips. But for her shoulders arms and hands more pink petals fluttered into existence pressing against her skin like the softest embrace. Then the vines tightened, crushing against each other before melding together into leather and fabric with the petals quickly following suit.
When Sarah shakily looked down to herself she could find nothing to say. She looked like some sort of warrior! Up to her knees were clad in heavy, but practical leather and buckle covered boots with thick heals that added around an extra four inches to her height. And her trousers, she had no idea what they were made of but the midnight blue material was tough as well as smooth and comfortable, if a little tight, and there was a silver crouching wolf embroidered like a ghost at the top of her right thigh. On her torso she wore a rigid, black silk covered bodice embroidered with delicate rose vines, with a stiff white shirt underneath it that was completely unbuttoned and so did nothing to hide her cleavage. Is it just me, or is that a recurring theme with the clothes I end up in here? The shirt in turn was tucked into elbow high black gloves, made of the same bizarre material that her trousers were made of, with the ring Hogg- Auranar had made for her over the index finger of her right hand.
"Was that you?" She asked timidly, still a little shocked about what had just happened. Jareth snorted in a most un-Kingly fashion before giving his answer.
"Don't be ridicules. Rose vines and wolves, that's Sylph magic. It's all your doing. And I must say I'm very impressed, you actually look a noble descendant of one of the most powerful people to have ever existed in the Underground." Sarah could not help but look away and blush. "The cloths suit you, you look very . . ." He gave a wry smirk as his eyes roamed her figure. Odd, had anyone else looked at her like that it would have made her skin crawl, but with Jareth she could stand there all day and just let him look at her. "Well, sexy, if you'll pardon the mortal phrasing but I honestly can't think of any other word." A low growl could be heard, fairly quiet but loud enough to arouse suspicion. "What was that?"
"No idea, let's go," she mumbled, hastily trying to push him from the room.
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He was going to kill the arrogant twat if he so much as thought about trying to look down Sarah's top. His fists clenched as he listened to the conversation from his hiding place. Oh he was going to ring that mans neck, King or not!
"You're acting rather suspiciously all of a sudden. Why so eager to leave the bedroom?" Auranar had to fight not to let another growl escape.
"Suspiciously? What am I doing that's suspicious?" Flirting shamelessly for a start, thought the Elvin grimly. He would have to talk to that girl when he next got the chance. Once she knew what this King was really like she would be able to make a far more informed choice about whether or not to proceed with courting him.
"Glowing for one," replied the King. "We need to get you some magic lessons, though I doubt you'll be quite this bad in the Upperground." He almost went to look out from his place under the bed to see what Jareth was talking about, but restrained himself for fear of death and instead breathed a sigh of relief when he heard them leave the room and close the door. Still flirting as they walked down the hall and out of ear shot.
Now all he had to do was somehow produce the breakfast in bed he had promised Celeste without getting caught by Jareth or one of them would end up painting the walls a rather fetching shade of red.
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"So what is a Gremlin?" Sarah asked, not her first question of the morning and certainly not her last.
"They're basically six foot two Goblins with sharper teeth and far worse personal hygiene," explained Jareth, somehow ever patient with her curiosity. Though he did smirk when he saw her pale a little at his answer as they walked to God only knows where, but it was under the castle with sandstone walls lit only by bracketed torches.
"And what's the difference between a Fawn and a Satyr?"
"Not a lot. Fawns have hair covering their entire body and Satyrs only have hair on their head and on the part of them that is goat. Oh, and a Fawn has a slightly different shaped nose, more animal like."
Why was she so comfortable doing this? It made no sense. Except that, well it did. On some strange level everything made sense. Everything felt like it was as it should be. Like this was the kind of thing she as meant to be doing. As though there was nothing odd about going through an underground tunnel with the King of Goblins, dressed like some sort of warrior on the way to some mysterious transport devise that monarchs used to travel quickly through the different kingdoms to go and break a psychopathic murderess out of a Gremlin prison. Nothing odd at all she thought sarcastically, still trying to puzzle out why nothing felt amiss when there clearly was. Then as if he had delved into her mind Jareth stopped them both and looked into her eyes which obviously showed confusion.
"You've tapped into magic, not to save your life but for the sake of it. The first few times you do it you're left still in the vein of energy that you tapped into for a while. Everything feels right, feels as it should do because in that energy is the nature of all three worlds. Against such a scheme our actions do not even leave a ripple on the surface. In the nature of all three worlds all is right; all is as it should be."
"How did you know . . ." He raised his eyebrow at the query.
"It was in the sound of your voice, the look in your eyes and the way you're acting. You aren't worried or nervous about any of this when you should be. Quite a lot of what you will see today will be completely new to you and most of it would be enough to scare a child of this world. You're lucky that your magic has numbed you in a sense." Then he turned away and began walking again, as though they had never stopped. Leaving Sarah to follow with a frown on her brow.
After a few minutes more of walking in silence they entered a wide rectangular chamber with a vaulted ceiling. She couldn't tell what type of stone the chamber was made of, or even its' colour as everything was cast in an oddly familiar blue light, washing all other colours away. Even the black of Jareths tunic and trousers seemed more midnight that pitch. It didn't take long to discern the source of the bizarre light.
A beautiful arch against the stone wall opposite them. It was breath taking and made entirely of some sort of cut gem or crystal. There were elegant twirls and curves along with hundreds of brightly shining runes etched gracefully into the arches surface.
"I've seen gems like that before," she murmured in awe. "In the cave where Auranar found his body. Only they weren't glowing like this. They were no where near as bright." There was a moment of silence before Jareth replied as the both simply admired the extravagant yet simple craftsmanship of the beautiful crystal structure before them.
"I thought there might have been. It's a gem that only grows in the Goblin Kingdom. It's called Ireth Elensar PalantÃr, or moon gem to most though the literal translation is Magic Moon Gem, and is well known for absorbing magic from the light of the Crystal Moon and storing it or passing it onto a living creature. It explains why Auranar was so much more powerful than before. But it has other uses. If properly worked by a master Goblin craftsman then it can be turned towards almost any use. If you look in almost any home in the Goblin Kingdom and certainly in the libraries where an open flame can't be risked you'll find it being used as a light source. Much like the light bulb from you're world.
"Here however it has been used as a gateway to transport those with enough control to any part of any Kingdom in the Underground. Every monarch has one somewhere in their strong hold, though they are difficult to properly maintain when you don't have a Master Goblin craftsman on hand." He walked to stand by the arch and Sarah followed, her interest in this strange gem clearly showing through and prompting a deeper explanation from the King. "Do you see these runes?" He asked pointing to one of them without touching it. She nodded. "There are exactly seven hundred and fifty nine, one for each Kingdom."
"They're beautiful."
"They're Goblin," he said, a smirk curling his lips at her look of shock. "I've already told you that my people are full of surprises. They know they aren't much to look at when compared to most other kinds, in fact they only beat about four other species I the looks department. So over the years they have strove to make up for that with their language, both written and spoken, and their crafts. Some of the most beautiful art and jewellery in the Underground comes from this Kingdom." The pride in his eyes was easy to spot and Sarah found herself smiling at him. He really did love his people, though he didn't show it often. "It's rare to find a noble or monarch that would not clamour through the bog of eternal stench to get their hands on some of my peoples' work."
"If it's anything like this then I'm not surprised." She knew it was a bad idea to feed his ego, but she was being honest. She had never seen anything as incredibly beautiful as this arch. Except perhaps the crystal moon.
"Most of it far surpasses this, but this is rare and old. Very, very old."
"How old?"
"Older than the dinosaurs of your world." Her jaw dropped. That would make it hundreds of millions of years old! "This world hasn't changed much for quite some time. The more magically rich an area is, the more slowly it changes as it doesn't need to. Really the only thing that has changed is the techniques used in crafts.
"You know the first King and Queen were supposedly carved of this Gem when the Goblins tired of being looked upon as uncivilised savages. It wouldn't surprise me if this were true. I've seen a hatchling Goblin carve a cat and turn it into a living creature of flesh and bone with all the appropriate mannerisms and intelligence that a cat should have. Not to mention the rather painful procedures I had to go through involving this gem before I could become King simply because I wasn't a blood relative of my father." Goblins hatched? Wierd.
"I- errrr." Jareth chuckled quietly.
"You didn't realise they were so skilled did you?" Sarah simply shook her head guiltily. "Look at the ring Auranar gave you." She did, knowing that the craftsmanship was excellent. "He learnt to make jewellery from Draknall, a Goblin crafter who is almost legendary now. Though he didn't quite reach the standard that almost all Goblins reach he made up for with the mirror magic he learnt from his own kind. Open it." Again she obeyed, her eyebrows rising as her eyes landed on the tiny mirror in the lid of the ring, shimmering like quick silver in the light. "I'm not sure what spells he put on it, but they were probably for general health or protection and I can assure you they will work. But again he would not have been able to give you such a gift had he not apprenticed under Draknall." She had just assumed that the compartment would be bland, empty. She had never even considered that there would be a delicate mirror on the inside.
"Shall we set off?" She nodded, not trusting her voice. Despite the fact that everything still held that bizarre feeling of sheer rightness, she was still shocked by what she had learnt. "Okay, the arch works by touching the right rune and concentrating on what part of the kingdom we want to be in. Since you don't know the Gremlin Kingdom you'll just have to hold on to me and let me do the work. Do not let go. I can't stress that enough." Why could she sense a somewhat ulterior motive behind this mode of transport?
Never the less she complied and soon they were standing in front of the arch, Sarah tightly holding on to Jareth in a bear hug and trying to ignore the fact that she was leaning against his very well toned chest, and the aforementioned Goblin King holding her with one strong arm around her waist, the other free to reach out to stunningly cut gem. "Ready?"
"No, but do it anyway."
She watched as he lightly taped one of the less grand runes then quickly flung his free arm around her in a crushing bear hug.
A violent crash of magic smashed out from within the arch. Engulfing them like a tidal wave. Crushing them like a tonne of water. She held on tighter as it almost washed her away from Jareth. Through her slightly open eyes she saw a rush of ocean blue. White foam like pockets of energy rushing past like bubbles on a wave.
Then it was gone, leaving only Jareth and her clinging to each other. Still standing. And they stood for several moments, neither seeming willing to relinquish their life or death hold on the other. Until Sarah finally broke away, curious about their surroundings.
They were stood in a barren wasteland, the only sign of life being the screams echoing from the enormous castle like fort about half a mile away from where they stood. Everything was bathed in a sickly green light that made Sarah believe there was something wrong with her eyes as she turned them skywards. The sun was red, a repulsive sticky blood red.
"It doesn't get jokingly called Colourblind Kingdom for no reason," he murmured, trying to force jest into his voice. But Sarah easily heard the unease there. Despite all his arrogance and skill, the Goblin King was nervous.
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A/N Sorry this took so long, severe case of writers block. Not good.
Thank you to Anij, White Rose Withering (you're review actually made me blush, you're so sweat and good reason for picking new story), crystal13moon, Shadows of Crimson (you'll see why she stopped injuring him because the earring soon enough, there is a good reason I assure you) and Morrigana (I thought you had stopped reading my fic, I'm glad you hadn't) for taking the time to review my story.
And I feel the need to apologise in advance for Vanity; you'll see why when you come across her. She's quite . . . twisted.
Okay, the votes so far are:
A) Prequel about the war (where everyone will be horribly OOC) (Winning with 5 votes)
B) New story about Goddess know what, though I do some really cool ideas. (Loosing with 2 votes, could you people at least make this a close call so it's more interesting to follow?)
Oh, and pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease review my story. It let's me know that there are considerate people out there. (Smiles nicely... or at least tries to.)