GYAH again!!! I must again beg forgiveness for prolonged lateness! I've been working on other stories (such as my upcoming Kingdom Hearts epic!) and other things, like life. Funny thing, life is…
Anyway, this chapter might be a little shorter, but it's also revealing! I hope you all enjoy it!
"Stewie, you shouldn't even be alive, you sniveling little creep."—Simon Cowell, Family Guy
Chapter 11: Sibling Rivalry
Hoggle, Ludo, and Didymus glued themselves to Sarah after Jathan's departure and they weren't about to let her out of their sight for a second. Toby kept one eye on Sarah, the other on Molly, and both on the sky. Jemna, livid with both her brothers, gave Jareth a good yelling-at in her private study known as the Willow Room, soundly reproaching him for causing a scene in the middle of one of their most important holiday feasts, frightening the entire kingdom, losing his temper, etc., etc. She dropped more D-bombs on him than Rex Harrison in "My Fair Lady."
"You think this is funny?" she screeched, catching him trying not to laugh.
"Forgive me, Jem, but," he smiled, "it's just so funny when you swear."
"Is it funny throwing a whole kingdom of elves into a panic on a sacred holiday?" she responded, red-faced and teeth gritted, "Do you know what the Council is going to do to me now? Good goblins, don't even get me started on Lord Gimble."
"Jem, he kidnapped your unicorn," Jareth said quietly, "Not to excuse my behavior, but he stole a unicorn—your unicorn. You can't tell me you weren't that close to bashing him in yourself."
His sister slouched with a sigh.
"I was trying to control myself," she answered morosely, "for Sarah's sake. I wish you'd have done the same."
He lowered his eyes shamefully; he never did like to cause trouble for his sister.
"Compared to what I had in mind, it was self-control," he said, "I'm sorry for causing trouble for you, Jem, but I don't want him anywhere near Sarah."
"That will be difficult once you're in his castle," she said grimly, "Protect her if you must, my brother, but remember that she is the only one who can save Amalthea. Now, if you'll kindly go and bring her here, we can begin planning. And send Toby's friend back home, please; she'll be missed by now, I'm sure." He bowed slightly and strode out of the study. Jemna sighed and held her elbow, rubbing her eyes and nose bridge with her thumb and finger.
"Jay-Jay," she mused to herself. She looked up at a picture on her fireplace mantel of herself with her brothers wearing the fall uniform of the Royal Academy of the Fae—navy blue for her and black for the boys. The uniforms were shoulder pad jackets with the crest of the Fae on the chest pocket; their medallions, signifying them as royalty by birthright, hung down the fronts. Jareth's hair was shorter but still wild; he had his head cocked to the side, touching Jemna's head cutely with his infamous smile, only brighter, more innocent. He had his hand on her shoulder across her back and she hung her hand on his arm, smiling with a wink. Her other arm was slung across Jathan's shoulders and he had a hand across her waist with a serene smile, his hair choppy and hosrt with a frayed look at the ends, but shiny from the light. Jemna's own hair was incredibly short, like a boy's cut; only her bangs were left to grow in curves around her face (for a visual aid, imagine Kisa Sohma's hair…if you read Furuba, that is.)
They were in grade school when that picture was taken; they were so much happier back then, more harmonious, more one in heart and mind. They'd gone everywhere together and done everything together; they'd gotten into and out of trouble together. They'd loved each other, like the Warner siblings from Animaniacs! Or Harry Potter!
That was, of course, before everything changed.
Jemna looked away from Sarah in the opposite chair, staring into the fire.
"What happened?" she asked as Bilba handed her a cup of herbal tea, "How did it all change so suddenly?"
They were back in their regular clothes now and Jareth was with them, as well as Toby, Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus. Molly had been sent back home with a promise of secrecy in return for a full report of the outcome of this adventure.
"Don't misunderstand, Sarah," Jareth put in, "The three of us as a whole were thick as thieves, but Jathan and I didn't get along very well without Jemna to keep us in line."
Sarah could feel a mounting tension emanating from the royal siblings; something had happened…something dramatic. So Toby and the others were sent out of the room.
Finally, the Elf Queen spoke, her voice thick with sorrow.
"I was 14," she said lowly, "Jay-Jay was 12, and Jarry was 10. One day, I was in another room talking to someone and my brothers were alone together…That was my mistake."
"I sat on the floor by myself, playing with a crystal," said Jareth, "I was pretty good at juggling them and Jathan was nearby one minute, and the next, he was standing over me. I could tell he was angry about something, but at the time, I didn't understand. It's like something within him just snapped.
"With no warning, he swatted the crystal out of my hands and it smashed on the floor. It had been one of the first I ever made myself, so it was very delicate. I started to cry. He scolded me." (The following italics are a flashback from the past, in case anyone's confused.)
"Cut that out! Don't you know only big babies cry? You can just make another one out of thin air! 'Cause you're just so special, aren't you? Father's little Goblin Prince and Mother's little golden boy! You make me sick with your crying! Quit it! I SAID QUIT IT!"
He flinched subtly and Sarah guessed accurately what happened next.
"He hurt you," she asked softly, "didn't he?" He looked away, as if the pain in his own eyes might hurt her, too.
"I blame myself," Jemna's flinty voice trembled as she tried to stay calm, "The signs were there, but I, um…(swallow)…I just never saw them.
"When I heard Jarry screaming, I burst into the room. I saw Jathan with a card in his hand with blood dripping off of it. I saw Jareth with his fists over his eyes; blood was creeping between the knuckles of his right hand and spattering the floor…" Her eyes closed painfully and she whispered, "I screamed!"
"AAH! JARRY! HURRY, LET'S GET YOU TO THE INFIRMARY!"
"MY EYE HURTS! I CAN'T SEE!"
"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?"
"JAY-JAY HURT MY EYE!"
"He didn't go blind, thank God," she said, "but that's why the pupil of his blue eye is smaller than the one in his brown eye."
"Ohh." Sarah had always noticed but never thought to ask. "That's…that's awful." She looked up at him; he was standing by a window with his arms folded and his back turned.
Jareth felt her soft eyes on him from across the room, her footsteps as she walked to him, her delicate hand as it touched the right half of his face—carefully, as if she was afraid to hurt him again. He didn't look at her once.
'No, Sarah,' he wanted to say, 'Don't' touch me; my flaws, my scars, my pain, they'll only hurt you, too.' But he didn't say anything; he just stood there and memorized the feel of her fingertips near his eye and he hated himself for being so weak and selfish. Why would Sarah allow herself to be anywhere near something as bruised and dark as him? An angel taking pity on a devil…
He stopped; her forehead was against his shoulder and she was holding onto his arm with her hair curtaining her face again.
His sleeve felt wet where her face was; good goblins, she was crying!
Dang it! Why was he always the one that made her cry?
"Sarah…" He gently took hold of her. "It's all right. Look…" He lifted her chin and made her look him in the eyes.
"We didn't tell you all this to make you cry or to pity me," he smiled amusingly, "We wanted you to understand why Jathan is so dangerous. Do you?"
She stared in his eyes as the tears fell; she was thinking.
"I think I do," she said calmly, "He holds a grudge against you for being the baby…in a nutshell." She looked at Jemna. "Is that right?" Jemna nodded once.
"Jathan was only two years old when Jarry was born," she explained, "but he had an unusually large attention span. Becoming the middle child…he hated that. He hated feeling like he had to compete with a newborn for the attention of our parents. I was always there for him, but…he never let go of his anger toward his baby brother."
Sarah felt her heart twinge; if that didn't sound familiar.
"Jemna." She marched over to the Elf Queen. "I'm ready to save your unicorn; take me to the Gargoyle City." Both Fae looked surprised at her; that was why she was here in the first place, but this declaration seemed a bit random.
"Are you sure you're ready now, Sarah?" asked the queen.
"I'm sure," she nodded firmly, "The longer Amalthea's in the castle of the Gargoyle King, the more danger she's in. I think I can save her without bloodshed; all you have to do is get me there." Jemna shared a look with her brother and nodded.
"All right," she said as she removed one of her pendulum earrings, "Bilba, ask Toby and the inhabitants of the Labyrinth to come back."
When they did, they all gathered in a circle with Jemna, who held her earring in her right palm. It magically stood up on its end and spun like a top with a green glow.
"Pretty," commented Ludo. That made Sarah smile and pat his arm. An image appeared above the spinning pendulum; it was a huge black building resembling the Notre Dame Cathedral in France, only more forbidden-looking, like Dracula's castle.
"This is my brother's home," explained Jemna, "the castle Obsidian, named for the black stone it was built of. Charming, isn't it? Surrounding it is a vast lake as black as the castle, infested with mermaids."
"Mermaids?" Sarah lit up.
"Not the ones you're thinking of, Sarah," Jareth cut in, "These mermaids have blinding white razor sharp teeth, perverted minds, swim around topless, and if a drop of blood falls in the water, they'll go into a frenzy. If a person falls in the water…well, it depends on their mood, and whether they're hungry or not." Sarah looked both disappointed and creeped out; he made them sound like sharks!
"I guess I should've expected that after getting bitten by a fairy," she said, "Right, Hoggle?"
"What did you think mermaids did, sat on rocks and sang to sailors?" he asked mockingly.
"Well, yeah," she said simply.
"Hmph!" he chuckled, "Didn't you learn nothin' in the Labyrinth?"
"Ahem," said Jareth as he eyed him threateningly, "Are you quite through, Henhouse?"
"Hoggle," the dwarf muttered, "Y-yes…Your Majesty."
"All right," said Jemna, "Now pay attention: There's a small boat on the shores of the black lake that will ferry you to the castle for a price. Exactly what that is, I don't know; I always just fly over.
"Now—there's something else you should know; I hope you wont' have to use this knowledge, but you never know…
"Gargoyles are made of stone; they're very strong, very swift of wing, can see perfectly in the dark, and they have a deep sense of pride that more often than not proves to be their undoing. The only surefire way to kill a gargoyle is to either stab him in the heart with a knife of stone, crush him with a big rock, or splash water on him so he can't fly (they can't fly with wet wings) and shove him into the lake. Gargoyles can't swim, since they're made of stone, and they'll sink to the bottom and drown. They turn into statues in the daylight and they're more vulnerable that way, but since its' now night, the sun's not an option. Any questions?"
"Do I have to stay?" Toby asked.
"Yes," said everyone.
"I don't want you to get hurt, Toby," said Sarah as she touched his head, "I need for you to stay here in the Elf Kingdom with Queen Jemna. Can you do that for me?" Toby gazed sadly into his sister's eyes as if he'd missed a trip to the candy store.
"But Sir Didymus says a brave man never turns his back when he can fight," he pouted.
"My dear boy," Didymus stammered, flustered, "Thou art still but a wee lad! Thou hast no experience in the ways of battle! 'Twould be a great dishonor to endanger thee."
Toby hung his head. Ludo gently placed his gigantic hand on top of the boy's small head.
"Toby stay here," he rumbled, "Ludo take care of Sarah." Toby looked at him and smiled as he hugged Ludo's huge arm, burrowing his face into his coarse rust-colored fur.
"Okay, Ludo," he said, relenting, "I'll stay here." He jumped to hug Sarah around the waist with his feet popping up in the air.
"Come back safe, okay?" he said, "I love you." Sarah bent over and hugged him back, her cheek resting on his shaggy hair.
"I love you, too," she murmured, "my little goblin prince." She kissed the crown of his head and straightened up.
"Take care of him, Jemna," she beamed, "He can be a handful when he wants to be!" The queen beamed back.
"I have a feeling we'll get along well," she chimed as she held hands with Toby, who smiled as well.
"Take care of my sister, Jareth!" he said, "You took, Hoggle!"
Jemna and the Goblin Prince stood across from Sarah and the Goblin King, with the inhabitants of the Labyrinth. Jareth held out his right hand and summoned a crystal. It glowed with a radiant light that grew until it filled the room and blocked Toby and Jemna from sight. Sarah was alarmed for a moment when she found she couldn't see anything, but she felt an arm wrap around her and pull her close to the body of the Goblin King.
"Don't be frightened," he murmured in her ear.
"I'm not frightened," she responded breathlessly, not fooling him for a second. He merely chuckled and kept his hold on her with a warm fondness until the light faded and disappeared, revealing before her what looked like an island with a stone city and a towering cathedral in the center in the middle of a vast, inky black lake that quietly lapped at the ashen shores near her feet. The sky was almost as dark as the island and its lake. To her right, a large boat that looked like an Italian gondolier stood beached with a haggard old woman standing by it, small and hunched over, a long rowing staff in her gnarled hand, her flimsy white hair hanging like ivy over her eyes. Her clothes were brown and tattered at the ends like rags and her feet were bare and toughened underneath. She drew in a long breath through her nose.
"Goblins," her voice cracked like she hadn't spoken for decades, "Three of them. Their king…and a human." She raised her head and looked at them, her eyes such a pale shade of blue that Sarah wondered if she was blind.
Beside her, Jareth half-smiled.
"Good evening, Natella," he greeted, "Care to give someone a lift?"
Author's Review:
ANOTHER CLIFFY! Hooray!
Okay, references…
Rex Harrison played the male lead in the musical/movie "My Fair Lady," and he was always dropping the D-word through the whole thing. Good grief!
As I explained before, young Jemna's hair is modeled after Kisa Sohma from Fruits Basket. For those of you who don't read or watch that, let me explain it: The two front locks of her hair curve all the way down her face while the rest of it is cut short below her ears. That's the best way I know to describe it.
I guess I made the gargoyles kinda like the ones from the cartoon, "Gargoyles." Anybody remember that one? I didn't watch it that often, but it was there.
Natella's name is taken from the Italian name "Donatella," the female derivation of the Renaissance artist, Donatello. I think it's rather pretty! And she's modeled after Hama from that one episode of "Avatar." That's the only episode I've never let my siblings watch, 'cause…come on! Blood bending? That's a bit much for a kid's show. But I digress.
Hope you enjoyed this! And please wait for me!