It was her nose that alerted her to her new location. It was the warm, inviting smells of baking bread and food being cooked. Before she opened her eyes, she could hear the crackle of something being cooked in grease. Tess opened her eyes and felt her stomach gurgle.
"Aaron?" Tess managed while trying to push the grogginess from her mind. She could see him at the stove. His cape and coat were off and his hair was tethered back. He turned and smiled.
"The food is just about ready" Aaron told her. Tess moved to sit up. She was on a wide cot. A cot just outside of the kitchen. Her head slowly spun and she tried pushing it away by rubbing her forehead.
"Where are we?" Tess asked. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and found Aaron kneeling next to her with a glass of water.
"This should help with that" Aaron said lightly. Tess looked at the water for a moment, but saw nothing seemingly wrong with it. She took it with a light 'thank you' and took a long drink. "We are at my place. It's safe."
"Was there ever any real danger?" Tess asked. Aaron just gave her a small smile and helped her up.
"Take a seat at the table" Aaron ordered. "I'll bring you a plate of food."
Aaron had taken the glass from her, placing it on the small wooden table on his way to the stove. Tess watched as he served up two plates of sausage and some kind of mixed roasted vegetables. He placed the plates on the table before heading back to pull a loaf of hearty looking bread from the oven. He placed the loaf onto a board with a knife and grabbed a few utensils.
"You made bread?" Tess asked.
"I had the time" Aaron told her. He sliced off a steaming chunk of bread and handed it to her. It smelled incredible.
"Why is there a cot over there?" Tess asked. Aaron gave her a strange and amused look. "I mean, most people don't sleep this close to their kitchen."
"Oh" Aaron said with a small chuckle. "It's the emergency cot. I have found, over the years, that I tend to find those who need assistance."
Tess automatically started eating the food in front of her while her mind was taking in everything that had recently occurred. It wasn't until she was halfway finished with her food when she spoke again. "Will you tell me what exactly is going on?"
"I have" Aaron said simply. "You read that book."
"What exactly does the Goblin King want from me?" Tess asked. "What does that have to do with you?"
"He wants you to wish someone away to the Labyrinth" Aaron replied, as if he was speaking to a young child. "Obviously."
"That's just dumb" Tess replied. "I'm single and I work from home. I don't have anyone to wish away to the Labyrinth. I don't even have a cat or anything." She finished her water and eyed Aaron. "I suppose I could always wish you away."
"I'm sure he would reject that" Aaron said with a sigh.
"How do you know?" Tess asked. "Maybe I should do it and just get it over with."
"You can try, if it would ease your mind" Aaron replied. He speared a roasted carrot. "Let me eat first."
Tess watched him eat. The feathers tied in his hair would fall forward when he bent his head to take a bite from his fork, and then fall straight when he picked up his head. Her mind naturally tried associating colors and actions to other things. She associated his hair with roasted chestnuts and his eyes to amber honey. He was delightfully tanned, but not to the point of having a leathery-look.
"Are you going to eat?" Aaron asked her. She gave a slight 'hmm?' in question and realized that she had been blatantly staring at him. She felt the uncontrollable blush through her face.
"Yeah" Tess replied. "Sorry. I was just…thinking." Tess finished up her food, taking mental notes of Aaron watching her while he finished his food. As soon as she was done with the meat and vegetables, Aaron took her plate. "It was very good. Thank you."
"Sometimes simple is best" Aaron told her. He stood over a large basin and took a minute to wash the plates and forks. Tess ate her bread and brought her glass over to Aaron, who immediately cleaned it.
"So…" Tess said leaning against the counter. She hated to start a sentence by saying 'so' and let the pause expand. "You can change into an owl?"
"I can, yes" Aaron replied. He was scrubbing at his roasting pan that had held the vegetables. Tess's lips pulled into a slight smile. Immediately taking care of the dishes was automatic for him. She liked knowing that she was able to see something that exposed who he was.
"Why were you hanging around me? I mean, you ended up being of great help with those two guys last night, but you could fly anywhere if you're an owl" Tess said. Aaron glanced over at her, briefly. She was thinking about traveling and he could almost see what she was thinking.
"Maybe I found something that I wanted to be around" Aaron said with a shrug.
"What is your connection to that red book?" Tess asked.
"Paying off a debt is all" Aaron said cryptically. Tess looked at him, waiting for an answer. He set the pan aside to dry and rinsed his hands. Being this close to Aaron, Tess realized that she was at least a head shorter than him and she had the strange feeling of smallness. She wasn't sure how to explain it to people who weren't petite other than it felt suddenly as if she were growing smaller and could possibly disappear. The feeling always passed quickly. Aaron stepped around the basin and invaded any kind of personal space Tess had.
"A debt?" Tess whispered. She naturally leaned slightly back against the counter at his closeness. His leg touched hers and he leaned over to retrieve a hand towel. A smirk graced his face, knowing that he was making her slightly uncomfortable.
"Hand towel" Aaron said softly. He took a small step back and made a show of drying his wet hands. "Years ago I interfered with one of the Labyrinth runners."
"What did you do?" Tess asked. Aaron set the towel down on the counter beside Tess and stepped in to touch the counter on the other side of her as well. He could smell her fear and her attraction to him, as well as her curiosity.
"I gave directions to his castle" Aaron replied in a soft voice. He gave her a smirk and leaned in so he was inches from her. "I was in the middle of tracking a deer. I really could have cared less about the idiot who wished someone away."
"Well I—" Tess began, but cut herself off. "Um—"
"Yes?" Aaron asked. He watched her stumble over herself. She would start to form a word, react to his proximity, glance at his eyes or mouth, and loose her words.
"Step back?" Tess finally asked. Aaron obliged. As soon as he was far enough back, Tess carried right on with her questions while stepping away from Aaron. "You just gave directions and that made you owe a debt?"
"Interfering with royal affairs was the phrase he used" Aaron said. "I was left in an oubliette longer than I care to ever repeat, and then I became indebted."
"Who is he?" Tess asked. Aaron pulled the leather thong from his hair, letting it fall over his shoulders.
"One of my older brothers" Aaron replied. Tess tightened her lips. Aaron left the kitchen with Tess following him. "We've always butted heads, but he usually allows me to hunt in his kingdom. I just happened to help the wrong person."
"And now you've helped the wrong person again" Tess finished. Aaron's place was definitely a cabin and had strange furniture of a fantasy-rustic nature. Tess touched a carved ram's head that protruded from the frame of a leather chair. Aaron stopped behind a matching chair.
"You can sit if you'd like" Aaron replied. Tess looked at the sitting area. "I wouldn't call you the wrong person."
"Right" Tess replied. She moved around the chair and sat down. She looked up at him, expecting him to sit, but he didn't. Instead he walked away and stripped his shirt off.
"I'll be back in a moment" Aaron called over his shoulder. Tess watched him walk away, disappearing through a doorway. As soon as he was gone, she let out a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. The room around her was pretty much all wood and leather. The rug between the chairs and couch was a deep crimson red and was the most prominent color in the room aside from two paintings on the walls. Tess stood up and looked at the smaller, closer one. It was a small landscape painting with mountains, trees, and a river. It seemed fairly manly and like something Bob Ross might have created. Tess moved over to the other painting and smiled. The style of it would be considered pre-Raphaelite by most standards. A beautiful woman was tethered by thorny rose vines while a gallant white knight was caught in mid-battle with an evil looking armored troll figure.
"Isn't it lovely?" Aaron asked. He moved and brushed up against the back of Tess. She hadn't heard him or even seen him come back into the room. One of his hands fell to her waist while the other pointed to the clenched hand of the troll. It was holding a necklace. "It's an old story that not many aboveground know about. Tristan, the knight, fought for his true love's virtue. The necklace is a symbol of her value and where her heart lies."
"It's very different than your other painting" Tess replied. She looked at the woman. "What's her name?"
"Callea" Aaron replied. Tess felt his thumb rub against her back in small circles.
"If this troll guy has her necklace, wouldn't he have her heart?" Tess asked. "How do you know who is good and who is bad?"
"Just…that's just how the story is told" Aaron finally replied. Tess moved away from Aaron, heading for the large bookcase. He had changed from an off-white shirt to one the color of a green grape.
"How long am I stuck here?" Tess asked. She was embarrassed with herself, allowing him to breach her personal space.
Aaron shrugged, but never let his gaze drift from her. "Say the words, wish me away. So far, there's only been one who has managed to get through the Labyrinth."
"You said that he would reject it" Tess said. "What exactly happens to you if I wish you away?"
"I honestly do not know" Aaron replied. He moved over to her and stretched his neck. "Alright, I think I'm ready."
"We came here to get away from him" Tess stated. "Why should I wish you away?"
"To give you a chance to win your freedom" Aaron replied. "Otherwise he would just take you."
"For personal freedom then" Tess said with a nod. "I wish the goblins would take you away." Aaron took a deep breath and sadness touched his eyes. "Right now."
Silence filled the cabin. Tess looked around, not sure what she had been expecting. Silence had not been it.
"Did I say it ri-?" Tess asked. She let out a startled cry when Aaron tumbled backwards. Small dark creatures surrounded him, giggling. "Aaron!"
"Aaron" A deep, rich voice said with a slight chuckle. Tess turned around and behind her, just feet away, was the blonde man from the night before. He was in deep black clothing and a cape of midnight. "Hello there."
"You're Jareth, the Goblin King" Tess said. Jareth gave a slight bow and flourish of a hand. "Can we talk this over?"
"I do believe what's said is said" Jareth replied. He shot a victorious grin to his brother. "I believe my brother owes me, yet again. Perhaps this time it's the dungeons for him."
"Now wait a second" Tess protested. Jareth flicked his hand her way and Tess gagged. A toad emerged from her mouth and leapt to the floor. Tess made a sound of disgust.
"Brother, you are not lucky" Jareth chided. With a flick of the wrist his brother was suspended in the air, the goblins around him falling to the floor. Jareth moved to stand next to Tess and closer to his brother.
"Why don't you just leave her alone, Jareth?" Aaron said. Jareth turned to Tess and twirled a crystal around his fingers.
"I have a gift for you Tess" Jareth said with a smile. The crystal came to a halting stop at the tips of his fingers. "Would you like it?"
"The last gift I received from a strange man landed me in this place" Tess replied. "I think I'll pass."
"Are you sure? This will show you your dreams" Jareth replied. Tess shook her head 'no'.
"I think I know my dreams, but thanks" Tess said. She looked over at Aaron, who hung in the air quietly.
"Dungeons for Aaron, but first" Jareth said grabbing Tess. He stole a kiss from Tess, much to his brother's chagrin, before sending him away to the dungeons and Tess to a starting point on the outer edge of the Labyrinth.