Yay another chapter. i know the last one was long, wasn't it? but it was worth it!
Me no own :(
As The World Falls Down
"She always was a clever one," Jareth smiled to himself as he watched Majeste climbing out of the water. "She's still beautiful when she's drenched through."
"Perhaps we should go there and drench her again," one of the goblins said from the side of his throne.
"This time, we'll keep her under there for good!" another goblin cackled, and the other goblins joined in.
Jareth frowned and grabbed hold of the goblin that had last spoken. He held him up, close to his face, and sneered, "I don't want her dead, you slime! I want her here with me!"
"Then why don't you bring her here?" one of the goblins asked and then yelped as Jareth brought his boot down on the creature's small foot.
"I want her to be with me," Jareth said, striding over to one of the great open windows of the throne room. "I want her to come crawling to me, begging me for forgiveness and begging me to be with her."
The goblins began to giggle and Jareth scowled. "What is so amusing now?" he snapped.
The goblins cowered in the corner of the room, shaking their heads. "Nothing!" they sniveled. "Sounds like a marvelous plan!"
"A beautiful plan!"
"Clever!"
"What will happen to her next?"
"Next," Jareth said, "I shall masquerade as a memory in the Winds of Time. I'll feed her the most glorious poetry she's ever heard, and she'll come to me. As soon as she nears me, I shall disappear again, leaving her alone with all her beautiful thoughts. I'll let hundreds of her dreams appear before her and then vanish before she can get them. It will leave her in desperation, and she'll beg to me for me to save her."
"Beautiful!"
"Splendid!"
"Genius!"
Jareth smiled and then sat back down on his throne again, a glint of mischief in his eyes. Oh, how he would like to see Majeste fallen before him, crying to him for help, to take her back.
The sound of flapping wings suddenly brought Jareth out of his reveling, and he glanced out one of the windows to see at least ten swans of enormous size flying as quickly towards him as they could. Atop each of their backs were two tiny people made of crystal. They wielded tiny spears, and these they threw at the goblins, who, cowards that they were, fled quickly from the throne room, leaving Jareth to fend for himself.
Jareth snorted as the birds moved rapidly towards him, and he reached out a hand to grab hold of the orbs, which he had left on the arm of his throne.
"Don't touch them!" One of the crystal people shouted in a high, whiny voice.
Jareth arched an eyebrow, struck an amused expression, and grabbed hold of one of the orbs. Instantly, a tiny crystal spear became lodged in his glove, but he shook it off carelessly and folded his arms across his chest.
"What can I do for you people, besides kill you?" he asked, a mocking grin on his face.
"We seek the glorious Princess Majeste," the leader of the Crevits squeaked.
"So do I," Jareth said, extending his arms in a casual manner.
"Where is she?"
"I know?" Jareth asked.
"She was last seen with you."
"Your guards must not have been watching her closely enough."
"The king has given us instructions to bring you back to Crystalla. We have come across the gap to get you."
"You haven't gotten me yet," Jareth said, throwing back his head and laughing.
"Let's go, boys," the lead Crevit shrieked.
The Crevits began to move their swans in a circle around Jareth, who thought that their attempts were rather ridiculous. He wasn't particularly fond of birds, after having been turned into one, and he waved his arms at the swans as they encircled him. They began to move extremely fast, too fast for him to be able to see one at a time, and feathers flew everywhere. Several of the feathers became lodged in Jareth's mouth, and the harder he tried to get them out; the more the feathers flew in. After several seconds of trying, Jareth simply closed his mouth and swallowed the feathers that were stuck there(1).
Four pairs of webbed feet grabbed hold of Jareth, and before he had a chance to react, he was being lifted into the air towards the throne room window.
"Put me down, you filthy poultry!" he shouted, swatting at the birds that carried him out of the palace.
"If they put you down, you will fall," one of the Crevits said. "Not that we would care, of course, but your goblins might."
Jareth scowled and looked beneath him, watching as they passed the homes that encircled his castle. He felt the pockets of his black coat, making certain that the orbs were still there, and once satisfied, he straightened himself back up and waited.
Jareth frowned as the swans approached the bridge that separated the Labyrinth from Crystalla.
"Your people aren't supposed to cross the borders," Jareth said, glancing up at the tiny people atop the swans. "How did you get to the Labyrinth?"
"With great difficulty," one of the Crevits said. "Two of us were lost in the battle."
"And you are going to attempt to get through the border again?"
"We have you with us now. It should make matters simpler," the Crevit squeaked.
"I demand again that you put me down," Jareth snarled. "I will make it impossible for you to get back to Crystalla."
"I don't think so, your Highness."
Jareth grabbed hold of one of the orbs in his pocket and held it up towards the swans that held him. The Crevits atop the swans' backs saw the danger that they were in and promptly began to poke at the orb with their spears. While that was happening, the swans were drawing ever closer to the center of the bridge that separated their land from the Labyrinth.
"I wish…" Jareth started, his eyes amazingly dark, "that these imps were…"
He didn't get any farther. The swans flapped their wings viciously and the orb dropped into the lake of fire and water below. There was a tremendous explosion, and Jareth reached into his pocket to grab another orb. Before his fingers found their hold on it, two of the Crevits clambered off their swans and climbed onto Jareth's shirt. They raced down his arm and grabbed hold of the orb. They lifted it above Jareth's pocket, stabbing his hand with their spears, and dropped it into the lake.
"You pesky, mangy, filthy…" Jareth hissed and then caught sight of someone moving on the ground below. Jareth's eyes were particularly keen, and within seconds, he recognized the person as Hoggle.
"Hoggle!" Jareth shouted, grabbing hold of the last orb. "Take this and use it to save me!"
Jareth dropped the orb and he watched as Hoggle rushed to catch it. The orb landed in the little man's hands, and Jareth looked forward again. The swans were now directly above the center of the bridge. A great wind pushed against them, threatening to throw them off course and into the lake. Jareth hoped that the swans would be blown away and that he would be dropped. With great fortune, he would land on the bridge and would be able to get back to the Labyrinth. His hopes were dashed in a matter of seconds when the swans broke through the boundary lines and the towering crystal steeples of Crystalla's castle came into view. On the way through the boundary lines, a great gust of wind grabbed hold of Jareth's legs and somehow managed to pull off one of his boots. Jareth's eyebrows rose as he watched his boot fall far, far below him, and he snorted. Of all the humiliating, ridiculous happenings!
Jareth muttered something inaudible under his breath and then watched as he was lowered into the courtyard of the great castle. He was quite an awkward sight to the crystal people of the kingdom. They stood in the streets watching Jareth, dressed entirely in black, save for his one white sock, being lowered into the midst of their beautiful light crystal kingdom. He was certainly a dark and dismal creature to behold.
"That's right. Stand there and gawk," Jareth sneered and then glanced at the ground as he was lowered onto it. Immediately, great men dressed in crystals and outstanding headdresses surrounded him, their large spears threatening to behold.
"So there are some intimidating people in Crystalla," Jareth snorted and then turned as a trumpet sounded.
The king of Crystalla, Majeste's father, appeared, and Jareth couldn't suppress a laugh. He keeled over with laughter at the sight of the king, shorter than his knee, approaching him. The king looked fairly similar to Hoggle, but he had orange, short fur all over his body and the most pathetic, pale blue eyes imaginable. His lips were awkwardly shaped as well as his nose and eyebrows.
"You find my appearance…amusing?" King Strast asked, his voice raspy.
"Indeed!" Jareth chuckled, standing up straight and trying to compose himself. "Last I saw you, you were a bit…bigger?"
"Your father, impudent prince, did this to me," King Strast frowned.
"That would be king," Jareth said, opening his arms wide and grinning. "King Jareth of the Goblins. What makes you bring me to your humble abode?" He leaned over to look closer into the king's face, and the king squished up his nose with disgust.
"My daughter," King Strast said. "Where is she?"
"Your people rid me of all my sources. I don't know," Jareth said flippantly. "Perhaps at the bottom of the lake?"
"It was said you were last seen with her on the bridge," King Strast snapped. "I am trying to be reasonable with you."
Jareth wiped a piece of crystal off his shirtsleeve and then said easily, "Why should I share her whereabouts? After all, I don't know where she is right now anyhow."
"I'm warning you…" King Strast growled.
"About what?"
"I don't know where Majeste is, but when I find her, if you lay so much as one finger on her, I'll…"
"Settle yourself, good King Strast," Jareth sighed. "If you simply let me go, I shall find your princess for you."
"I said not a hand on her!" King Strast shouted.
"When have I ever laid a hand on your precious daughter?"
"It was told me she often left at night to see you."
"Did she?" Jareth grinned, stroking his chin.
"You met on the bridge, just as you did when she disappeared."
"We met on the bridge to exchange recipes. I'm very fond of good recipes," Jareth said, his dark eyes flashing at the king.
"Guards!" King Strast snapped. "Bring Jareth to one of the cells. He will stay there until Majeste is found."
"Please, prison cells are so lame," Jareth sighed. "You have nothing better for a Goblin King?"
"You aren't pleased with such a simple punishment?" King Strast asked, a sparkle appearing in his eyes. "You need something mightier for such a powerful king?"
Jareth smiled and didn't answer. He was trying to get on King Strast's nerves just enough to get thrown out of the castle. So far it seemed to be working.
King Strast was much more clever than his appearance would have him seem. He knew Jareth's father's character well enough to understand his son's. Jareth was full of pride, more so than his father had been. The only way to knock any sense into Jareth was to strike something in the Goblin King's heart that was close to home. Attack Jareth's pride and he would be forced, under pain of humiliation, to comply.
"I do have something a bit better for your royalship," King Strast smiled cleverly.
"And that would be?" Jareth asked, glancing at the place where his boot had once been and sneering at his white sock.
King Strast took out an orb. It was different than Jareth's had been, for instead of being perfectly clear, this one had a light blue liquid swirling about inside of it. He held it up to Jareth, who looked at it with interest.
"Look deep inside it, Jareth," King Strast said.
"What for?" Jareth asked suspiciously, folding his arms across his chest.
"So you can have something better than just a prison cell."
"You must think me a fool to look into that," Jareth frowned. "I know the power of those orbs."
"Perhaps they have the power to transport you, just like the ones you used on my daughter," King Strast said, holding the orb up to Jareth and gesturing to his guards.
The guards moved into position behind Jareth, pinning the Goblin King's arms behind him and forcing him to lean forward. Within seconds, the Goblin King was gone, and King Strast was smiling to himself. Jareth was now safely behind bars, and to make matters even better for the king, he was perfectly insane. Humiliation was the key to getting information out of Jareth, and if it took insanity to become humiliated, then so be it.
Jareth found himself in a prison cell made entirely out of crystal, two large guards standing by the cell doors. He gazed at his sock and a remarkable expression formed on the once-powerful king's face. He looked at one of the guards and then laughed.
"You there! Happen you to have seen my boot?"
The guard turned, looked at Jareth, rolled his eyes, and then looked forward again.
Jareth couldn't stop laughing and looking at his sock. It would have been terrible for any of his people to see him then. The insane king even made up a ditty as he sat there, gazing at the walls and at his sock. It was the most ridiculous song every imaginable, all about the importance of his boot and his love for the piece of leather. It went something like this: (2)
"Somewhere in time I lost her, the pride of my young life;
The one who stirred my heart so, the beauty my sock to wife.
But now she's gone; and now the song,
The ballad of the lost boot.
He's all alone and tears fall down when he remembers time,
Of ringing bells, and luscious smells, and the boot that's lost in the brine.
Oh come to me, my lovely one, and let me see the shine,
To ease the pain, yes all the pain, of this white sock of mine.
For I bemoan, and hence the poem,
The ballad of the lost boot.
He's all alone and tears fall down when he remembers time;
Of ringing bells, and luscious smells, and the boot that's lost in the brine."
Somewhere, in the midst of Jareth's insanity, a spark of clear thinking ignited, and Jareth cried out, at the end of his wild song, "Hoggle, save me!" He then closed his eyes and fell over, in a drunken sleep of sorts.
1 ew.
2 This tune goes something like Take My Breath Away, by Berlin