Chapter 4
Izzy was unsure of herself. She stood in the doorway to her bedroom gaping, open-mouthed at the beautiful barn owl. His gaze did not flicker for an instant as he gazed, smolderingly back at her. His intention was clear. He wanted her to let him in.
Izzy quickly walked to the window, but her hand hesitated on the lock. "I'm going to let you in," she told the bird. "But no funny business, ok? Just promise to behave yourself."
She knew it was ridiculous to be talking to an owl, asking it to behave himself. It probably wasn't even the same owl as the one she had seen that day on the swing set. She was sure the bird just wanted to come in out of the rain. When the rain stopped he would fly out again in search of a mouse or squirrel to make a meal of.
Izzy unlatched the lock, shoved open the window and quickly backed away in fright waiting for the bird to flutter into the room. She heard the gentle rustle of feathers then covered her face, cowering against the wall. She kept her face protected, hoping the owl wouldn't scratch or peck at her.
After a few short seconds when nothing happened Izzy slowly uncovered her face. The smell of sweet smoke filled her nostrils immediately, as if someone had been burning sage. To her surprise when she opened her eyes Jareth, The Goblin King, stood before her, watching her cautiously.
For a moment, Izzy couldn't find her voice. She could merely stare dumbly at him as he smiled softly at her.
"Don't be afraid of me," he said gently. "I realize that the last time we met it was not a pleasant experience for you. I am truly sorry about that." His eyes spoke volumes. They said that he truly was sorry for having frightened her when last they met in what Izzy had thought was only a dream. "Things did not go as smoothly as I had hoped."
He moved ever so slightly closer to her. Izzy stood spellbound. Jareth slowly moved his hand as if to touch her face, but then lowered it. Suddenly she found her voice. All the emotions of the last few seconds came bubbling to the surface.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" She screamed accusingly. "You think you can just come in here acting all mysterious and expect me to be head over heels? Did you think I would fall at your feet and beg you to take me away with you?"
She hissed through clenched teeth so as not to awaken the other girls in the apartment. "You… you… you inconsiderate, pompous, bastard! Izzy's nerve was rapidly unraveling. Then all at once she was crying and shaking uncontrollably. Her knees began to give out as images of her parents flashed before her eyes unbidden.
Jareth caught her before she hit the floor and guided her to her bed. She backed away from him against the headboard, drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around her knees, resting her head on them as she cried.
Jareth watched her in silence, his face etched with deep concern, but he let her cry. Izzy did not think he would force her. She would get the truth from him eventually, if her life depended on it. Izzy slowly lifted her tear-filled eyes to meet his.
"You killed my family, didn't you?" She whispered so softly Jareth barely heard her. He answered truthfully.
"No. I could not save them." He blamed himself for being unable to do so.
Izzy knew he spoke the truth. His eyes told her that if he could have saved her family from death he would have. Intuition told her that whatever his intentions were toward her, he would never lie to her.
It seemed the Goblin King was a man of his word. He put his head in his hands in grief. Could he be grieving for her family? She silently studied him for what seemed a long time.
He really looked nothing like David Bowie had in Labyrinth, except for the hair. The shocking, blonde, lion's mane of a haircut was unmistakable. Also like Bowie, he was dressed in black from head to toe, minus the tights that revealed the curve of his… package. In fact he was dressed as an impeccable 18th century gentleman. Izzy noticed that even his nails were manicured.
Hesitatingly she reached out a hand to touch his arm, wanting to say so much but not knowing what to say. He raised his head in shock and gazed at her with a mix of quiet admiration and pain. They stared at each for what seemed an eternity. Suddenly the teapot whistled angrily, startling them both.
Izzy jumped up and ran to the kitchen, barely noticing that one of her roommates had been startled awake by the sound.
"Izzy, what the…?" She heard a loud boom coming from one of the bedrooms down the hall. The awakened roommate must have knocked something off her nightstand in her fright and gone back to sleep.
Izzy swiftly dug around in the supply drawer for a pot holder, gingerly picked up the scalding teapot from the stove burner. She poured two mugs of steaming, orange ginger tea and padded back to her bedroom to find it vacant. Jareth was gone. In fact Izzy wasn't sure he had ever been. Her room looked exactly as it had before he arrived, immaculate.
Izzy stood holding the two mugs of hot tea as she took in the sight of her vacant bedroom. She nearly scaled herself with the hot liquid as she set both cups down on her night stand. The intoxicating smell of the orange and ginger enticed her.
Her memories of the past few moments were fuzzy. Had she imagined the whole scenario? She sat back on her bed, slowly sipping her tea, thinking over the events of the night from the time she had left the bar with Collette to now. She could not remember anything aside from making tea and reading Jane Eyre. But why had she made two mugs of tea?
Izzy puzzled over the matter until she could no longer hold her eyes open.
