yikes! sorry it's been so long! told you, NaNoWriMo is pretty much ruling my LIFE right now! but hey, i'm almost halfway done! yay! lol ANYWAYS back to our story:

6

She had said yes! He still couldn't believe it, even a week later, and he looked up from his papers with a satisfied smile on his face.

Jareth's brown and blue eyes gazed into space as he rested his chin in his hand. The papers could wait. The whole kingdom could wait! The Goblin King was in love, he was about to be married, and his people were thrilled at his queen of choice. Even the weather in the Underground seemed to be uncharacteristically favorable. At this exact moment in time, it was storming heavily, filling a vast amount of the Underground with much needed rain.

"The whole world knows she's coming," Jareth smiled, in a dreamlike state as he thought of his beautiful bride-to-be.

He had spent every available moment of the past week with her, and she had been delighted to share her time with him. They had gone for walks on the farm property in the early morning light, had sat by the pool with their legs in the cool water in the afternoon, and had danced beneath the starlight when night fell. He had written songs for her, and she had sketched several drawings for him. They were in as much love as a newly engaged couple could be expected to be, and it was with a love that would never end and would never fail.

A candle flickered in Jareth's dark study, but he paid it hardly the slightest bit of attention. What was one flicker of light in comparison to the radiance of the sun that came from the one he adored? The moon's light paled in comparison to his Trinity's smile.

Half an hour passed, and Jareth was drawn out of his musings by a peculiar shadow moving rapidly across the far side of his wall. It moved with such speed, he could hardly see it, but the shadow was enough to invoke his attention. Jareth shook his head, clearing his mind, and glanced to the study's open window. Rain fell steadily outside, and lightning flashed incessantly, but there was nothing there to make such an awkward shadow. Nothing there to draw Jareth's attention.

Jareth glanced back to his papers, but looked up again a minute later when the shadow again flew across his wall. There was something awkwardly familiar about the shape of the shadow, but it was a shape that hadn't been seen in the Labyrinth for so long that it couldn't possibly be what it seemed. Nothing ever was as it seemed in this place. Still, a gut feeling caused Jareth to stand up from his desk and move to the window. He peered outside, careful not to put his head into the rain, and forcefully took a step back when he saw what had caused the shadow.

There, looming like a plague over the city that surrounded the great castle, was a dragon. He was enormous, measuring at least forty feet from the tip of his nose to the end of his long, whip-like tail. It was a good thirty feet from his left wing tip to his right. He was a deep red color, with glistening scales and powerful muscles rippling through his entire, outstanding body. His scales had the faintest gold tinge to them, which glowed brilliantly with each flash of lightning. His eyes were by far the most brilliant part of his body, glowing red in the dim lighting.

Jareth was stunned. A dragon hadn't been seen in the Underground for over five thousand years, and the last one had been almost impossible to kill. Jareth himself had never seen such a magnificent and intimidating beast. Surely, the whole creature was just part of his imagination. It was late, and his imagination must have been playing tricks on him.

The dragon opened its enormous mouth, revealing gigantic, pointed teeth that looked as though they could slice through a stone building with little effort. A sound came from its throat, a deep growl, like the sound of a mighty lion preparing to attack its prey. It made this sound once and then made another sound, a terrifying sound that made the hair on the back of Jareth's neck stand up on end. It roared. It was different from what Jareth expected it would be, for it wasn't a deep roar, like a lion would make, but it was instead high pitched and frightening.

"Guards!" Jareth shouted, throwing a black bathrobe over his open poet shirt and his breeches. "Sir Didymus! Get in here immediately!"

The door slammed open, and Sir Didymus appeared, riding his sheepdog, Ambroscious.

"Yes, your majesty?" the little fox quipped.

"There is a dragon outside! You are a great warrior! How does one slay a dragon?" Jareth demanded, swallowing back saliva as the dragon flew past his study again, seeming to wait for something, like…like its next meal.

"A dragon? Oh surely your majesty, you must be…"

Sir Didymus stopped when the great beast flew past the window again.

"A dragon!" he exclaimed, shocked.

Ambroscious reared, and Sir Didymus fell off.

"Well, I can't believe it! A real dragon! Here! In the Labyrinth! It's impossible!"

"But it's right there!" Jareth growled, and then reached his hand into the left sleeve of his poet shirt.

He drew a dagger; one with a white blade glowing with magic, and then stepped towards the room's only door.

"I suppose I shall have to confront it. I am going to the North Tower."

"But Sire! They eat living beings! They eat anything!" Sir Didymus panicked, following Jareth out into the hall.

"Not if it is killed first," Jareth growled and then made his way through the corridor, pushing aside guards as he did so.

He reached the stairs to the North Tower and was surprised to find some fifteen Fae women waiting there, all cowering like children.

"Your majesty!" they cried out when they saw him, and they rushed to him. "What shall we do?"

"He's going to kill us all!"

"Save us!"

"Only you have that power, Jareth!"

"Silence!" Jareth ordered, annoyed to no end. These women knew fully well that he was engaged to be married, and yet they constantly tried to win his affections. "Get out of my way so that I may take care of the beast! If you won't move, I may just feed some of you to him! I haven't the time to deal with you now!"

He moved past them and then began to run up the steps to the North Tower.

Once he stepped into the North Tower, he moved to a door on the right side of the room and flung it open, exposing himself to the raging storm outside. He ignored the weather and stepped out onto the balcony that encircled the whole tower. The last time he had been here, Trinity had been with him, and they had looked out at the kingdom together. Now, it was just him. Just him, and the dragon.

The dragon swooped towards Jareth, moving gracefully, with great sweeps of his wings, as though he were a great ship on a rolling sea. It wasn't at all concerned about Jareth, even though it saw the blade glowing eerily in the Goblin King's hand. It wasn't the least bit worried, and it flew calmly and powerfully towards Jareth.

It came to a stop a few yards away and, if possible, glared at the Goblin King. The two gazed at each for a moment, never moving, never breaking stride. Then, the dragon flew high up into the air with another one of its terrifying screams. It disappeared into the storm clouds, and Jareth gazed up, surprised. He was even more surprised when, a split second after its disappearance, the dragon reappeared, diving down towards him.

Jareth gasped, something he rarely ever did, as the dragon plummeted towards him. The Goblin King fell back against the wall of the tower, nearly dropping his dagger, as the dragon did not slow its pace, but instead quickened it.

"He's going to slam into me!" Jareth panicked. "I won't have a chance!"

He hurried to produce a crystal, but he wasn't fast enough.

The dragon shot past him, flicking its tail viciously in Jareth's direction. The tail whipped through the air, shooting towards Jareth like an arrow bent on killing its prey.

Jareth saw clearly what caused him to immediately fall into unconsciousness. He watched, stunned, as that tail, with the power of a brick wall falling down on a person, lashed out and caught him hard across the chest. He was flung back into the wall, slamming through the stone and landing on his back in the center of the tower. The thrust immediately knocked him out, and he went entirely limp.

Sir Didymus rushed up to the tower, just in time to see the dragon reaching into the room with its huge claws and grabbing hold of the Goblin King. It then pulled Jareth viciously out of the tower and shot up into the sky again, gone like a vanishing vapor of the storm.

In its wake, Sir Didymus found a parchment, rolled up tightly and sealed. The little fox picked it up, his paws shaking fearfully, and opened it.

He couldn't read it, for the writing was in scarlet calligraphy. The handwriting was so refined, so graceful, that the fox couldn't understand it. He panicked, terrified for his king and for his country.

XxXxX

Trinity awoke with a start; sweat streaming down her forehead and her eyes wide with fear. She glanced to her side to see Evelyn peacefully asleep on her bed, oblivious to her friend's discomfort.

"Ev!" Trinity whispered, putting a hand on Evelyn's arm and shaking her gently. "Ev, wake up. Please?"

Evelyn mumbled something and then opened her eyes and smiled tiredly at Trinity.

"Yes?" she yawned.

"Something really bad just happened."

"What?" Evelyn asked, sitting up slowly and turning the light on next to her bed so she could stay awake and listen to Trinity.

"Something just happened to Jareth. I don't know what it was, but I'm scared."

"Did you call him with your ring?" Evelyn asked.

"No," Trinity admitted, and then took hold of the ring around her neck and spoke to it. "Jareth. I need you. Come quickly."

She and Evelyn waited for five minutes, and nothing happened.

"Ev, I'm really worried," Trinity panicked, standing up and beginning to pace. "This has never happened before. What if he was killed?"

"Did it feel like he was killed?" Evelyn asked, trying hard to wake up more.

"I don't know! Ev, I just don't know!"

"Shh… It'll be all right," Evelyn said, reaching over and enveloping her friend in a hug. "It will be quite all right."

The room became silent, and the silence was almost immediately interrupted by a quiet knocking on the bedroom door.

"Yes?" Evelyn called softly.

"This is Vorian. Evelyn, I need to see you."

Evelyn let go of Trinity and pulled a jacket on over her sleeveless shirt. She then opened the door and stepped back with surprise when she saw Vorian standing before her, poet shirt open in what appeared to have been an attempt on his part to get dressed in a hurry.

"I'm sorry," Vorian apologized, hurriedly closing up his shirt. "I was in a bit of a hurry to see you both."

"On any other occasion, I wouldn't let you in here," Evelyn said, somewhat crossly since she was tired. "But since we don't usually get visitors at two o'clock in the morning, come in."

Vorian stepped into the room and then turned to Trinity with a weak smile.

"Again, I am terribly sorry to interrupt your sleep, but something urgent has come up in the Underground, and I need both of you to come back with me."

"What has happened?" Trinity asked, moving over to him and looking up at him with fear written all over her face.

"Jareth is gone. It has been said that a dragon took him. Sir Didymus has a letter that was left in the tower where Jareth was taken. He can't read the writing, nor can anyone else, so I have been asked to return to the Underground. Trinity, since you will never be able to rest until you know Jareth is safe, you are welcome to come. Evelyn," he said, lowering his voice and speaking gently. "I wish you would come as well, to keep your friend company. If you come, you will not need to worry about her, for you will be with her."

Evelyn glanced at Trinity. The small girl had brought her hand to her mouth, and was swaying on her feet. The older woman also belatedly noticed her friend was wearing incredibly short sleep shorts that showed an awful lot of her legs, and that Vorian was avoiding looking in Trinity's direction. Sighing, she got a blanket and wrapped it around Trinity's shoulders, so that it covered her to the floor. The small girl held it tightly to herself, her eyes wide.

"When should we leave?" Evelyn asked Vorian.

"As soon as possible," he said. "I will wait outside until you are ready." And he bowed and went out into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

The girls dressed in more modest clothing, not really paying attention to what they were putting on. Trinity had her own room in the palace, which included a closet full of clothes that fit into the Underground world. They would stop there once they got to the palace.

They met Vorian in the hall, and he quietly put his hands on their shoulders. Evelyn blinked, and found herself in the great hall of Jareth's palace, where three years ago she had attended a ball that had nearly cost her her life. The whole place was in an uproar, with Fae (as well as other, stranger beings) scurrying all over the place. It was evening in the palace, so there were not usually this many people about.

"Trinity, if you will take Evelyn to your quarters…" Vorian began, but was cut off by the small girl glaring at him.

"No," she said softly, "My fiancé is missing, the kingdom is in an uproar, and we have a note from the kidnapper that no one can read. You did not get me up at two o'clock for me to waste time changing clothes. Didymus!" She strode off in the direction of the small fox, who had noticed their arrival and was hurrying over.

Evelyn sighed when she noticed the funny glances they were attracting with their jeans and t-shirts, but followed her friend.

"My lady!" Didymus squeaked when he reached Trinity. He too was thrown by the human world garb, but he shook it off. "You are here!"

"Yeah," Trinity said. "I am. Where's this note? Who's in charge here? What the crap is going on?" Normally she wouldn't have fallen back on her human slang, but she was tired and not in the mood to speak understandably. Didymus looked helplessly at Evelyn.

"Who is on the throne now?" Evelyn said patiently. "She does not want the Underground to destroy itself all over again."

"Ah," the little fox said, "My Lady Cristain is here, acting as stewardess of the throne. She cannot make any decrees or pass any laws, but she can handle everyday affairs until our king returns, and the weather will hold steady."

Trinity breathed a sigh of relief. Evelyn looked confused, so the small girl explained. "Cristain is Jareth's sister. She recently married some kind of Lord of somewhere, I forget, but since she's a blood relative of the king she can sit on the throne and handle everyday affairs without anything bad happening."

"Ah."

Vorian came up behind them then. "Sir Didymus," he said quietly, "Where is the note? I would like to see if I could read it."

"I would too," Evelyn said.

"Very well," the fox said, "Follow me."

They went to the palace library, where there were fewer Fae running about. Didymus explained that they had had several professors come in to try to decipher the strange writing, but it was in such an old style that no one knew how to read it anymore. The note was sitting on a wooden table, and the girls, Vorian, and Didymus gathered around it with a few other wizened-looking Fae men.

The letters, written in scarlet, seemed to burn from the paper in the light of the setting sun and several torches in the room.

"Oh dear," Vorian said softly.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"It was written by a vampire," he explained.

Evelyn narrowed her eyes. Trinity raised an eyebrow.

"How can you tell?" one of the Fae men asked softly.

"That's why the writing is so old," Vorian explained, "Only one being could have lived long enough to still write in the old style. Also, I believe…" he picked up the letter and held it to his nose, smelling it. "Yes. It's written in…" he trailed off, glancing at the young women.

Evelyn resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"What?" Trinity demanded.

Vorian sighed, and set the letter back on the table.

"It's written," he whispered, "In blood."

XxXxX

Trinity swayed on her feet. "Blood…?" she squeaked.

Evelyn rushed to put a chair under her friend. The small girl sat down in it, hard.

"Yes…" Vorian mused. Then, he noticed that his king's fiancé had swooned. "Is she alright?" he asked, concern furrowing his brow.

The green-eyed woman sighed, nodding. "She doesn't do well with the sight of blood." Not to mention her fiancé has just been kidnapped and she was woken up at two o'clock in the morning to hear this news, Evelyn chose not to add.

"Perhaps we should move her…?"

The smaller woman shook herself, and attempted to glare at the Fae man who'd spoken. It didn't really work, considering she was pale and (in Evelyn's opinion) a little green. The man who'd spoken was a physician in the palace.

"No…" she said weakly, "I wanna stay. Just don't let me…see it…"

Evelyn rolled her eyes. That was Trinity, always stubborn.

"Fine. But no more fainting," she said cheerfully, then turned back to the parchment. "So, what is it written in? Some really complicated calligraphy?"

"Only vampires can write like that," Vorian nodded. "It's a very difficult penmanship to read."

"Well, that looks like a T," Evelyn pointed.

"No," Vorian said, shaking his head. "That's a J."

The professors in the room exchanged glances and then watched, with no little amusement, as the Fae lord and the human woman attempted to piece together the mysterious writing.

"Why would he form a word that starts with J?" Evelyn frowned, extremely tired.

"For Jareth, perhaps?" Vorian offered.

"Oh. Okay, so the word's Jareth. How about that one?" Evelyn asked, pointing to a curvy drawing that didn't look like any type of letter.

"That's an L. That's just wonderful," Vorian sighed. "Leont. King of the pirates."

"Are you sure? I mean, why would pirates want to capture a Goblin King?"

"Pirates," Trinity said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Won't they do anything for some extra money?"

"They would. That's what that five million cestas is for," Vorian said easily.

"Well, that letter there is definitely an S," Evelyn pointed.

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is!"

"Evelyn, really now. I've seen plenty of this type of writing."

"And I've written this type of writing!"

"Just relax," Vorian said calmly, seeing that she was fast losing her patience.

"I can't! This has everything to do with Trinity's fiancé, and I can't just relax! Especially not if there are pirates and vampires involved!" Evelyn hissed.

"Getting angry over it isn't going to help."

"Vorian! Just stop it!"

"Ev. Take a deep breath and relax," Trinity said, trying to help Vorian. "Getting angry isn't going to do anything except waste time."

"Do we have an extra piece of paper?" Vorian asked, turning to one of the professors.

"Aye, we do," one of the men nodded, and handed him a paper and a quill.

"Evelyn, let's try and piece this together," Vorian said, drawing a chair and gesturing for her to sit down. "This is going to take awhile."

XxXxX

It took four hours and fifteen minutes for Vorian and Evelyn to translate the fancy handwriting into something understandable. Vorian read the letter to everyone, and its words chilled all of its listeners to the bone.

"To whom it may concern:

Do not fear. King Jareth of the Underground is not, as of yet, in harm's way. He is, at this very moment, being held captive in Point de Rouck. I have no desire to kill him, and only wish for five million cestas in exchange for his life. There is no need to panic. I am graciously giving you one full month to come and give me my pay for the Goblin King. Until then, he shall be treated in a reasonable fashion, although he will have very little contact with any of you. For his sake, come quickly, for I do not wish to keep company with him for much longer than the allotted month. I hold you in the greatest of sympathy.

Respectfully,

Leont Parifa

King of the Pirates"