Chapter Three: Dreadful People

The boy awoke the next morning very slowly and leisurely. He was quite glad for the straw mattress underneath him and his blanket. He was much more comfortable and warm than he'd ever been on Freecloud. He stretched out a little and then rolled onto his back, sighing heavily. It was another day to explore and see what wonderful adventures the mortal world had in store for him. But before he could do that, he would need some music to start the morning. He limply extended his hand to where his guitar was propped on the opposite wall. He concentrated for a bit and could feel the tendrils of magic extending from his fingertips. The magic started out rather lazily, drifting towards the instrument until it made contact. The strings of the guitar thrummed softly. Opening his hand and making some gestures with his fingers the magic wrapped around the guitar at the base and around the neck. Bending his hand at the wrist, he was able to raise the guitar in the air and have it hover a few inches above the ground. Jareth started to curl his fingers inward and the guitar slowly drifted over to him, pulled gently by the magic he was exerting. It reached the bed and bumped gently against it. Jareth winced despite the absence of damage and reached out with his other hand taking it for real. His magic dissipated.

For a few moments he spent his time strumming mindlessly, but then devoted his time to the little tune he'd been playing in the market square the previous day. He wasn't quite sure what he'd do with it, maybe he'd scrap it, maybe he'd keep it, but for the mean time he decided he would just play it until it was second nature. Lying back on the bed he stared at the guitar with heavy-lidded eyes as he played. His fingers moved steadily over the strings in a repetitive manner and his right arm seemed to act on its own accord, knowing just how to hit the strings to get the desired sound. He thought back to the gypsies and their appreciation for his playing. The fact that music could affect fae and human alike intrigued him. Maybe that would be how he connected with them, through music. But then he was yanked from his stupor as someone knocked harshly at the shutters of his window. Jareth started and sat up quickly, putting his guitar down and getting up from the bed. He momentarily wondered if he was in trouble. He opened the shutters, expecting some town official, only to see Catherine, the girl he'd met the other day. She was dressed in what Jareth would assume were her finest clothes. Her hair was done up and hidden under a bonnet. She wore a conservative brown dress that went to her wrists and ankles and cream stockings with her black dress shoes. In her gloved hand she held some sort of book that Jareth could not make out the title of. Glancing at the other people of the town behind her, he saw that everyone was wearing their best clothes. Something important must've been happening for them to do so. Cynically, he noted how poor they all looked compared to the fae at home. It wasn't that they looked bad, they were a completely different culture, but only the least fortunate of the fae back at home wore this kind of clothing. It gave him a good idea of how to dress, though, so he supposed that was good.

"Hullo Catherine," he greeted her.
"Good morning," she replied. "You haven't forgotten your promise, have you?"
Jareth blinked. "My… promise?"
Catherine laughed, "I should've known you'd forget. You're not even wearing the proper clothes. I invited you to church, remember?"
It hit Jareth all at once. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot!"
"Clearly," Catherine smiled.
"Here, give me one moment, I will be out and ready!" he reassured her, closing the shutters. He ran to the chest at the end of his bed and pulled out an outfit. He quickly tucked his white poet shirt into grey trousers and threw on his black leather vest over it. He was shoving his feet into his boots on the way out and only just managed to pull on his black gloves as he left the inn. He met up with Catherine on the other side and was attempting to comb through his hair and make himself look presentable.

"You changed fast," Catherine remarked. "But you look good. Ready to go?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Jareth said with a shrug.
"Oh, don't sound so downcast!" Catherine shoved him playfully.
"Well, I've never been to church. I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" he said defensively.
"You'll be fine! Just do what I do, church isn't all that bad," she reassured him. "And I can introduce you to everyone after the service! I'm sure they'll be dying to see you."
"Yes, I did draw quite a lot of attention to myself the other day, didn't I?" Jareth blushed.
"Don't worry about it, everyone would've sought you out anyway, we always recognize when there's a stranger in town," Catherine said.
"Always?" Jareth asked.
"Everybody knows everybody around here," Catherine said. "There's only about fifty of us."
"Oh my," Jareth murmured.
"Come on, now, we're gonna be late!" she urged and they trotted towards the church at a quick pace.

Even if Jareth didn't have Catherine as his guide, he supposed he could've figured out where the church was. Everyone was heading towards a building near the front of town. It was taller than the others, mainly because of the cross and steeple at the top. A young man was ringing a bell in front of the establishment and people were steadily filing in, exchanging pleasant hellos and hugs and suchlike.
"Don't worry about all the people," Catherine said to him. "You can sit next to me. I'll explain what to do. It's all rather simple, really."
Jareth nodded to indicate he understood, but he still felt nervous. As they got closer to the door, Jareth saw Reverend Verity greeting everyone at the door.
"Good morning, Mr. Faeson, Miss Horner," he smiled down at them. "It's a real pleasure to see you both."
"Thank you, Reverend," Jareth ducked his head in respect. If anyone else had said that to him, he felt he might not have taken them to be sincere, but Reverend Verity just seemed very genuine in his speech.

They entered the church building and Jareth was very grateful that he had not run into Judge Braen on his way in. He scanned the crowd and saw Braen sitting in the front row of the pews, turned around and in conversation with a man in the pew just behind him. The pews were divided into two columns. There was a walkway right down the middle and on either of the far sides. In front of all of the pews was a large stage with a podium and a chair or two. On the wall behind it were tapestries with intricate artwork on it which Jareth appreciated a lot. There was a small organ in the front corner with an elderly woman sitting hunched in front of it.
"That's Mrs. Johnson," Catherine said. "She's been playing the organ for the church as long as anyone can remember!"
"She must be good at it," Jareth murmured. Catherine showed him to the left side of pews where her family was already sitting.
"Hey, Mum, Dad, Isaiah," she said to them. "Meet my new friend, Jareth Faeson." The family turned to her and looked past at Jareth. "Jareth, this is my family."
"Hullo," Jareth said, waving slightly.
"This is my brother, Isaiah," she gestured to the young boy who looked a good deal like her. He had a round face, round eyes, and big ears.
"Hi," Isaiah said, shrinking close to his mother's side.
"He's shy," Catherine explained. "He's also six."
"Six and a half," Isaiah argued.

"This is my mother," Catherine gestured to the woman who now had her arm around her son. She was blonde with green eyes and angular features.
"It's lovely to see you," she nodded to Jareth. "You may call me Mrs. Horner."
"It's a pleasure, Mrs. Horner," Jareth nodded.
"And this is my dad," Catherine smiled at the large man who looked to be a head taller than his wife. He had dark hair and dark eyes and a full beard.
"It's nice to meet you," he extended his hand and Jareth shook it.
"The same to you, sir," Jareth smiled.
"So, tell us, where are you from?" Catherine's mother asked.
"Far away, I'm afraid," Jareth said. "Not a village anywhere near here."
"Oh, then I probably wouldn't know it," Mrs. Horner admitted. "I was born and raised in Dreadful. I've never been to any of the neighboring villages." As a side note, she added, "I don't even know the names of those!" and laughed.

"How old are you, lad?" Mr. Horner asked.
"Eleven," Jareth answered.
"Oh, just the same as our girl!" he remarked. "How do you like school? Catherine can't seem to pay any attention to her schoolmaster."
"Father," Catherine hissed.
"School is fine," Jareth said.
"Do you do well?" Mrs. Horner inquired.
"Yes ma'am, I think I do alright," he replied. He had no idea what she was talking about. He had lessons back home, but he had no idea whether they were in anyway similar to the ones here. Mrs. Horner looked as though she was going to keep speaking, but then Reverend Verity went up to the podium and everyone fell silent.

"Welcome, dear brothers and sisters," he greeted them, "to yet another service. It is my pleasure to see all of your smiling faces." He straightened his glasses. "I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming. Our service is about to begin. Let us all join in worship."
He stepped down and the woman in the corner, Mrs. Johnson, started playing the organ. Everyone stood and Jareth followed suit, not sure what was going on. Apparently the tune she played was familiar to all the village residence because they burst forth into loud singing without looking at any paper. Jareth felt terribly outnumbered. While the singing was not altogether good, it was well meant and sung with gusto. Jareth braced himself against the incessant bellowing of the villagers, biting his tongue and trying his best not to look terribly uncomfortable. After at least five songs, the crowd sat down and Jareth sighed with relief. Catherine giggled.
"I know, we're not very good."
Jareth blushed, embarrassed his thoughts had been noticed.
"I didn't…"
"It's fine," Catherine reassured him.

After the singing, Reverend Verity went back up to the podium.
"Today, we will be delving into the life of our Lord and Savior," he announced. "Everyone, please turn to the book of Matthew…"
There was a general shifting about and then ruffling of pages as everyone pulled out a book they all seemed to share. Jareth panicked. He didn't have anything like that. He didn't know he was supposed to bring literature to this place. Catherine nudged him and offered her own book they could share. Jareth gratefully leaned in and studied the pages she presented. Reverend Verity started to speak about ignorance and intolerance. He spoke about how the Jews betrayed a man named Jesus Christ. The Reverend said they did this because they were ignorant that Christ was their savior and intolerant because, if they'd heard, they refused to believe. Reverend Verity went on to talk about how ignorance in general was not something the people of Dreadful should be characterized with. He said the people should make an effort to learn about people around them and neighboring villages and such like. He also said they should not be intolerant to new comers or to each other or people who are different. He spoke about peace and love and accepting one another.

Jareth wasn't quite sure about a lot of things he said, like the history of these peoples of different religions, but he liked what he had to say about loving one another. If he could just convince the family back at home everything would all just be fine and dandy. The service ended with another hymn and then Reverend Verity dismissed them and they all started milling about the place, some leaving and some lingering behind.
"Come on," Catherine grabbed Jareth by the hand. "I have to introduce you to the others."
"But it's so crowded," Jareth said.
"That's why we're going outside," Catherine laughed. And they did. They squeezed past adults and children and finally made it to freedom, just outside of the church.
"What did you think?" Catherine asked when they stepped out into the sunlight.

"Of what? The singing?" Jareth furrowed his brow.
"Of the service, you clot!" Catherine shoved him and he smiled.
"It was alright, I guess," Jareth shrugged. "I didn't know a lot of the people he was talking about, but love is good."
"Ha, 'love is good,'" Catherine smiled. "If any adults ask you, tell them you completely agreed with his sermon, that's what they'll want to hear."
"Why is that?" Jareth inquired.
"They don't like non-Christians," Catherine answered. "I dunno why it's a problem, but they don't, so just thinking you should give them the 'right' answer, you know?"
"Yes," Jareth nodded. "Adults have their ways, don't they?"

"Ooh! Look, here come my friends, I'll introduce you," Catherine waved to two girls her age and they walked over to greet her.
"Hi Kelly, hi Shannon," she said.
"Hi Catherine," they replied in unison.
"Jareth, this is Kelly and Shannon Gibson," she introduced them. "They're twins." They were indeed. They were practically identical, with straight, jet black hair and dark eyes. Their hair was even styled the same way, in two tails on either side of their head. But Kelly had a mole on her cheek. That's probably helpful for the parents, Jareth thought. He bowed to them.
"Hello Kelly and Shannon," he said. "I'm Jareth Faeson."
They curtseyed.
"Nice to meet you," Kelly said. Shannon whispered something in her sister's ear. "Shannon says she likes your hair."
"Oh," Jareth put a hand to his head. "Thank you. You both have quite beautiful hair, yourselves." They blushed.

"Look, there's the Wilsons!" Catherine said. "Excuse us, I have to introduce Jareth to a whole lot of people. Come on, Jareth!"
"See you later," Jareth said to the twins. They waved and Catherine pulled him over to a new family.
"James, Peter, Maxwell," she greeted them. "Have you met my new friend?"

The three boys halted and then walked over to them.
"I don't think we have," the middle one said. He was of an average height and build and a round nose. He extended his hand to Jareth. "I'm Peter, how do you do?"
Jareth shook the russet-haired boy's hand firmly. "I'm well. My name is Jareth, how are you?"
"Just fine," Peter answered. "Maxwell, say hello to the stranger."
"I'm not a baby," the slightly chubby, chestnut-haired boy glared at his brother. He went up and shook hands with Jareth. "I'm seven."
"It's a good age," Jareth consented.

"I'm James," the oldest boy nodded to Jareth, but didn't make a move to shake his hand. He was tall and thin and had long brown hair tied back from his face. He seemed a bit standoffish.
"A pleasure," Jareth nodded.
"How old are you?" Peter asked Jareth.
"Eleven," Jareth answered.
"Aw, you're a year older than me. I'd hoped we'd be in the same year," he said. "Are you going to come to school?"
"Uh…" Jareth blinked.
"Don't pester him with questions!" Catherine scolded. "He just got here yesterday, how is he supposed to know what he wants to do?"
"I haven't even met everyone yet," Jareth shrugged noncommittally.

"There aren't a lot of people to meet," James said, picking at his nails.
"Yes, this village is very small," Jareth remarked.
"Is the village that you come from very big?" Maxwell asked.
"I was about to ask that!" Peter said.
"Oh yes," Jareth answered. "Very big."
"Wow," Maxwell murmured. "I want to live in a big village."

"Maybe you will someday," Jareth said.
"That'd be nice," Catherine said. "But quick, you need to meet the others, Jareth."
"Alright," Jareth murmured, "Goodbye, Peter, Maxwell, James."
They all said their goodbyes and Jareth was brought over to another family of three, with two boys and a girl.

"Hello, Catherine," a young girl said to her. She looked about nine, with strawberry blonde hair she wore loose around her shoulders. She was very small and had bright blue eyes.
"Hi Sally," Catherine smiled down at her. "This is Jareth. He's new here."
"Welcome," Sally said to Jareth, blushing and twisting the fabric of her dress between her hands. "Do you like the town?"
"Very much so," Jareth answered. "Catherine's been introducing me to everyone here."
"My brothers are over there," she pointed to two other small boys with equally blonde hair. One was bigger and rounder and the other was small and thin like Sally.

"Hank! Samuel!" Catherine called to them. "Come meet Jareth!"

They two boys trotted over and gazed up at Jareth with wonder.
"Why are your eyes so weird?" the younger one asked. Jareth was taken aback.
"Sammy, don't say that," Hank hissed.
"Sorry."
"Are my eyes really strange?" Jareth wondered aloud.
"NO," Hank insisted.
"A little," Samuel said in a small voice.
"Sammy!" Hank shoved his brother.
"Hey!" Samuel tried to shove Hank back.

"No, no, don't fight," Jareth pleaded. "It's alright if my eyes are strange. It doesn't matter."
"He just wears makeup," Catherine said to them.
"Like Mummy?" Hank inquired.
"Yes, like your mummy," Catherine nodded. Jareth wasn't sure what she was going on about, but it seemed like she was covering for him so he let her speak.
"That's funny," Sammy said. "Hank, do you think Mummy will let us try on her make up?"
"Let's go ask her!" Hank suggested and they took off.

"Ooh, maybe that was a bad idea," Catherine muttered. "Oh, well. You ready to meet other people?"
"Sure," Jareth said.
"Let's go talk to the Powell children," Catherine suggested. "They're nice. Faith is my best friend."
A lot more people had exited the church and were standing about talking to each other. Catherine quickly located the family and guided Jareth over.
"Hey, girls," Catherine said. "Meet my new friend, Jareth."
They smiled and curtsied. "It's nice to meet you," the oldest one said. "My name's Mary."
"Hello, Mary," Jareth smiled at the brunette with curly locks.
"I'm Faith," the auburn-haired and blue eyed girl said.
"I'm Hannah," the smallest one insisted. Her hair was just a shade lighter than Mary's.
"It's very nice to meet all of you," Jareth smiled at them. "I hope I can keep everyone's names straight. I've met a lot of people today."
"You can do it," Hannah said. "We all have."

"I think we just have the Smiths and the Whites left," Catherine admitted.
"Well, go catch them then," Faith said. "You know the Smiths like to leave early."
"We will, come on, Jareth," Catherine urged and they went to yet another family. "Molly, hello!"
A girl with long straight light brown hair turned to them. "Oh, hello Catherine." Her blue eyes landed on Jareth. "You're the boy from the market the other day, aren't you?"
"Yes, Jareth Faeson," he bowed and she nodded to him.
"It's nice to meet you," she said, but her tone held a note of insincerity. Jareth didn't let it bother him.
"Who's this?" a curly, black haired boy approached them.
"Andrew, this is Jareth," Catherine said. "He's new here."
"Welcome to town, Jareth," Andrew nodded. "How long have you been here?"
"Two days," Jareth answered.
"You like it here?"
"Yes, it's nice."
"Good."

"Oh, there's, Evan," Catherine pointed him out. Evan was short and stocky with brown hair.
"He doesn't like talking to people," Andrew said. "Don't take it personally."
"I won't," Jareth reassured him.
"We just have the Whites left to meet," Catherine remarked. "We are making a lot of progress, aren't we?"
"Yes, we are," Jareth admitted.
"Let's go find those other two then," Catherine decided. They walked around for a bit, but then stumbled upon a young redhead who looked about five.
"Hi! Hi Grace," Catherine squatted to be at her height. "This is Jareth. Can you say hello to him?"
"Hi Jared," Grace said in a small voice.
"No, no, no," Catherine shook her head. "Jareth."

"Jareth," Grace said.
"Good job!" Catherine complimented.
"Hello, Grace," Jareth smiled down at her. Grace tried to hide behind Catherine and she laughed.
"Where's your sister today, Gracie?" Catherine inquired.
"Claire's sick," Grace pouted.
"Aw, that's too bad," Catherine pouted back. "Give her a hug for me."
"I will," Grace replied.
"I doubt she'll remember," Catherine said to Jareth when she rose back to her full height. "But that's fine. She's cute."

"She is indeed," Jareth agreed. "The children here seem quite nice."
"People always put on a nice show when you first meet them," Catherine said, cynically.
Jareth raised his eyebrows. "What does that mean?"
"Nothing really," Catherine reassured him. "I'm not saying everyone here is terrible. But it's not like everyone's saintly."
"Well, of course not," Jareth murmured. "But, for future reference, who are some people I should try and avoid?"
"Judge Braen," Catherine said.
"Yes, I know that one."
"Believe it or not, Lauren Johnson," Catherine added.
"The old lady playing the piano?" he asked.
"Yes, she's not awful, but she sees and knows everything," Catherine murmured. "Some say she's as old as the town itself. So I don't know, just don't give her any reason to suspect you're… less than human."

"Would the townspeople believe her?" Jareth asked.
"It's hard to say," Catherine shrugged. "She could probably get her other elderly friends on board. "And possibly her daughter. You see that couple over there?"
Jareth followed her finger. "They're the Wilsons. There are two Wilson families. But Helen and Theodore are James, Peter, and Maxwell's parents."
"Alright," Jareth nodded.
"The other Wilsons, Isaac and Lana," she pointed again, "They're the parents of Sally and her brothers, they're fairly nice. They're not related to the first batch."
"Is everyone here superstitious?" Jareth wondered aloud.
"Oh, yeah, especially the Smiths, the Gibsons and a good number of elders. Reverend Verity is the nicest of all of them. George Robertson tends to be grumpy, so does Emma Edmonson. I think they should get married," Catherine said. Jareth laughed and she continued to pick out the other old people. "Jonah Andrews keeps to himself, mostly. I don't see the Davis family at the moment, but Old Man Saunders is kinda crazy. The Petersons are nice too, it's just if you make anyone suspicious, they'll turn like that," Catherine snapped her fingers. "Like, I used to be an angel child, but ever since I took an interest to Freecloud Mountain…" she huffed. "People are just odd. But that doesn't matter, I guess just don't do any magic tricks."
"Noted," Jareth nodded.

"Well, well, well," a familiar, loud, and boisterous voice greeted Jareth from behind and he physically winced. "Looks like you made it to the service after all! I didn't see you!"
Jareth turned to face Judge Braen. "I-I did make it, sir. I was sitting with the Horner Family…"
"Oh, fast friends are you?" the Judge raised his eyebrows and glanced at Catherine.
"I… suppose so, Catherine has been very nice," Jareth nodded.
"Yes, well, there's no better girl to introduce you to everyone in town than Miss Horner," the Judge rested a meaty hand on Catherine's shoulder. Catherine cringed slightly, but only enough for Jareth to see. "She's one of the brightest girls here. But a mischief-maker at that! Don't let her get you into any trouble."
Catherine was clearly miffed, but remained silent.
"Of course not, Judge Braen," Jareth said, making an effort to not seem upset. He did not like the way he was treating this girl.
"Yes, you do seem like you're one to obey the rules," Judge Braen murmured. "Speaking of rules, are you planning on going to school here?"

"I… don't even live here, sir," Jareth said.
"You did rent room in our inn," Judge Braen pointed out, "And you paid enough for a month long stay. Your parents gave you so much money for your travels?"
"I've been finding work in the other villages that I've been in." Jareth narrowed his eyes. "And how do you know how much money I've spent?"
The Judge removed his hand from Catherine's shoulder.
"While you're here, I think it would be most conducive for you to seek out some form of education. It is not good for a young boy to go without teaching for a month," he said, blatantly avoiding the question. "Do you know what conducive means?" He looked down at him haughtily.
"But of course, sir," Jareth replied. "I understand everything you say. Thine forward voice, now, is to speak well of thine friend; thine backward voice is to utter foul speeches and to detract. While you wish for me to go to school, I am afraid I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request. 'Tis a generous offer, but I believe I shall resume with my afore mentioned plan. Many thanks for your input, most honorable Judge."

Catherine bit her bottom lip in an effort to stifle her nervous laughter. Judge Braen's expression faltered and his face started to grow red.
"You," he pointed a fat finger in Jareth's face, "Should watch your tongue, boy. It is unwise to say such things. I will be keeping an eye on you."
And he whirled around at a remarkable speed and stormed away. Jareth could not help but feel a smug satisfaction.
"I can't believe you said that!" Catherine whispered.
"Oh?" Jareth smirked.
"I mean… that was great, but…" she hesitated. "Judge Braen is kinda scary. That may not have been the wisest move."

"She's right, you know."
The two turned around to see Reverend Verity approaching them.
"Oh, hello, Reverend," Jareth and Catherine turned. "How much did you…?"
"Enough," the reverend reassured them, "An amusing show indeed."
Jareth blushed and looked down at his boots. "He was trying to tell me how to live my life, sir."
"He does that quite a lot," Verity replied. "But some people in our town need that kind of person leading us."
"Because they don't know what to do with their own lives?" Jareth asked.
"Yes," Verity nodded. "But I do think he was out of place. He just seems to forget sometimes that that behavior is not always called for." His gaze briefly flickered to Braen's retreating figure. "Tread carefully, my boy. Mr. Braen does not take kindly to insult, no matter how deserved it may be."

"Yes, sir," Jareth also followed the judge's form. "I'll keep that in mind sir."