Chapter 9: A Strange Encounter Seen by the Other
Naella could sense it even from the tower as the Goblins and the army of Moraine fought over near the wall to the east. When she had seen Jareth enter the Goblin City some strange longing had drawn her down to him in her heart. As she entered the throne room, it hit her. A wave of exhaustion and sorrow engulfed her making it hard to breath. He was sitting across the room and it seemed to revolve around him, thick enough where if you touched it your hand would grow damp. He managed to lift one eyelid under the weight and called out wearily, "What are you doing down here?"
"I saw you return so I just…" she trailed off not really knowing the reason she had come down to meet him. She looked back out the door thinking maybe she should leave, but then he spoke again.
"What is it you want?"
Turning back, she saw him with his head in his hands and she frowned. Nell walked over to him as quietly as possible and reached out her hand needing to touch him. She paused right before the top of his head as her hand felt like she had stuck it in an arctic iceberg. Nell's hand grew damp and clammy in the dense trail around him, but she pushed forward through it and stroked the top of his head. As he lifted his face from his hands she scooped up his chin and kneeled down so she would have his full attention.
"What happened today?..."
She wasn't really fully aware of what she was saying, as she seemed to forget it as soon as it was said. At the end she couldn't even remember what had happened to get her so upset and what it was she was supposed to be asking. She felt like it was something important. Shock made her look down as she realized something had moved her hand. Jareth was looking at her now, but why? To even more of her surprise, Jareth swept her into his arms and teleported her back to her room.
Naella fell asleep fairly quickly on the bed and Jareth stared down at her with his head cocked to one side. For some reason, his weariness was gone now. He looked down and wondered if it had anything to do with her. A crystal orb appeared and he rolled it over his hand enticingly. He then passed it over the girl as an elegant nightgown appeared on her body. Carefully pulling the covers up, Jareth stole one more glance back over his shoulder before leaving.