Cassandra was amazed at her bedroom, to say the least. It had a lovely blue and lavender hues, making the place feel inviting and warm. It was twice the size of her bedroom at Goblin City, first of all. The bed was raised up, with the softest of pillows and had a beautiful curtain circling around her bed for privacy. The wall behind her bed had a gorgeous mirror. A grand piano was inside, perfect for her since she loved playing piano (taught by Jareth, of course). Beautiful candles lit up her room, and the window faced the sunlight where she could look out and see the garden. Walking around, she found more chairs and couches next to a vanity and a desk.
But that wasn't the most spectacular part of the room.
She went into the bath room, and was shocked to find that most of it was made of glass. Behind one wall was an aquarium with beautiful plants, but strangely, no fish. Even so, it was amazing! In the very center was a large bath, which also looked like a mini swimming pool. The young princess didn't see any faucets, but when she stepped in, water started magically filling in with pastel colored bubbles. She took off her dress and let herself relax. Might as well, she thought. She had no idea how long she'd be there for.
When she stepped out, a beautiful dress was laid out for her. A yellow dress with gold laid on it. She spun around, delighted at how it flared. She slipped on the small golden slippers and did her hair in a bun with two strands flowing down. The color suit her well. She walked into the bedroom again, and found some pastries and some soup. A strange combination, but she devoured it. She realized that she hadn't had dinner the night before or breakfast that morning. Stuffing the last piece of bread in her mouth, she took off.
She went to explore the castle. Knocking at a particularly decorated door, Cassandra found a room for sewing. It had fabrics and threads of every kind and color, looms and even a sewing machine from Above. Setting to work, she picked out some wool, a light blue color. Cassandra thought for a moment, and picked out black, gold, silver, and dark blue. Walking to the loom, she sewed a beautiful blue blanket. Satisfied, she set down the threads to start etching in a beautiful design. From Sarah, she inherited her artistic talents and creativity to tell stories. From Jareth, she inherited musical talents and dancing. When people weren't praising her beauty, they praised her artistic talents.
A small knock was heard, and Troy walked in. Cassandra stood up. "Hello, Troy," she said politely, but still very cold to him. Troy gave her a nod. "Good evening, my lady. I was wondering if you'd join me for dinner." Cassandra looked out of the window. She hadn't realized how much time had passed. She nodded, accepting. Troy held out his arm, and she took it.
The pair walked in awkward silence to the dining room. Pride was something that the princess inherited from both her parents. She didn't want to be Troy's friend quite yet, but he was the only other person in this enormous place that she could talk to.
He sat her down directly to his right, pulling her chair out like a gentleman. There was fine silverware on the table, but no food. She looked over, puzzled. Troy's food appeared before him, but where was her?
"Um, you need to ask for it yourself. Just think about the food you want, and it will appear for you," he told her awkwardly. Cassandra looked at her plate, and pictured some sushi and a slice of peach pie. As she started digging in, she saw that Troy was eyeing her sushi strangely.
Annoyed that she couldn't even eat in peace, she lashed out. "What? What's wrong with my food?" He shook his head, trying to find the right words. "I've never seen food like that before." He commented, gesturing at the sushi. Cassandra laughed. "Oh sushi? It's an Aboveground food. It's quite delicious. It's fish wrapped in rice and seaweed. There's ginger and soy sauce and wasabi, the spicy green thing. Would you like some?" She offered some to him, trying to be polite. Troy shook his head, looking like he was going to vomit. "Oh, I don't eat fish," he declined. Cassandra's face fell. "Well, why not?" He looked even more uneasy. "Well, I don't just have power to control water, I can communicate with fish. In fact, I can feel the dead fish that you're eating died a painful death." He looked at her plate disgustingly.
Cassandra pushed her food away, appetite gone. Just when she was being nice, he had to go and insult her food. She did feel for him though, if she could understand fish and their coherent thoughts, she probably wouldn't eat it either. It also explained why he had an aquarium without fish. She asked him what his meal was.
"Oh, goblin!" Troy answered excitedly. "Here, have some!" He plopped some on Cassandra's plate. She stared at him in horror.
"What?" He asked with his mouth full of food. Cassandra had to look at him twice before really processing what he said. "You're telling me that THIS is GOBLIN? My parents are the Goblin King and Queen! I spend time with them and even have goblin friends! They're not very smart, but they're like children and you don't eat children!"
Troy stopped chewing. "Oh, I didn't think about that," he mumbled. "Where I'm from, goblins don't communicate or talk at all. They're like chickens..." He made a wiping motion over his plate to clear it. "That was insensitive, I'm sorry." He was sure that he ruined his chances with her now.
Cassandra was indeed tempted to stomp away, but he did apologize. It did seem like an honest mistake. Trying to make the mood light, she asked him, "so, chicken is alright?"
His eyes lit up. "Oh, I love chicken! I can only communicate with water creatures, don't worry." Cassandra nodded, and pictured some homemade chicken soup. She tasted it, satisfied. It was just like the kind of soup that Jareth would make for her and Sarah when they were sick. The memory made her sad, thinking of how he'd come in her room with delicious soup and her mother sitting for hours reading stories while wiping her brow during her fevers.
"Is something wrong?" Troy asked her gently. Cassandra didn't even realize that she was tearing up. She wiped the tears off her face. "Oh, it's just, I miss my family," she said quietly. "This soup was something that my dad made for me when I was sick all by himself, never asking the servants to do it for him. The sushi was my mom's favorite food. In fact, she and my father had it on their first official date," she told Troy.
He nodded sympathetically. "Your parents loved you, that is clear."
Cassandra smiled. "Dad was always overprotective, but at the same time, he let me meet other people and explore as an adult. At the same time, I can't just run around alone. I'm the daughter of two monarchs, an easy target." She leaned back, thinking of the lovely times when her parents would take her on important visits so she could experience more of her world in ways normal feys could not.
Troy laughed. "My mother was very overprotective as well. Not out of love though, but because of her controlling nature," he said sadly. "She saw me more of a means to an end, nothing special. I was never good enough for her. She would use my true name to force me to do her bidding. I don't even know my true name, Cassandra. She hid it from me since I was born. I was hardly able to associate with anyone else; she thought that everyone else was beneath her. It was a very lonely way of life. My father passed when I was only a child, and I often wonder what life would be like if he was here," he mumbled. Cassandra looked at him sadly. Having two parents who loved her was something that she did take for granted, but was always reminded by the children that were wished away. She reached out to hold Troy's hand, not sure why she even listened to that urge. "No mother should treat a child that way," she whispered. She didn't know if he was alright with it or not, but it felt right.
Troy looked at her hand, surprised, but didn't move away. In fact, he took a chance and brought it to his lips. "Thank you for understanding, princess," he whispered. Cassandra blushed, his eyes seemed to be piercing her soul.
"So, if she's controlling, then how are you able to be here?" Cassandra asked. Troy scoffed. "Oh, I'm an adult, so she can't always force me to be at her side. It gets suspicious. This is a palace that my father had grown up in. She hates this place, but I enchanted it so that it would do certain things. It's sort of my way to escape."
Feeling the heavy atmosphere, he changed the subject. "So, what did you do today? There's lots of rooms, and if you wanted anything, I'd definitely try to get it for you." Cassandra sighed. "Please Troy, I don't like pity. I know you feel bad because I almost died and all..."
Troy frowned. "It's not just that, it's not very difficult for me to get things for you. Please. It's the least I can do. I'm not very good at this, but I'd like to be friends." He gave her a small, sad smile and squeezed her hand. Looking down at his hand, Cassandra shrugged. "Oh, alright. If that works for you. I'm trying to make a baby blanket and enchant it." She held up the small blue fabric for him to see.
Troy eyed it, marveling at the craftsmanship. "It's lovely, why a baby blanket?" As he fingered the blue fabric, Cassandra chose her words carefully, heeding Jareth's words of being wary of others and not be too trusting. Not wanting to give too much information about her family away, she said "Someone close to me is having a baby boy, so I was thinking of making it so the blanket is self cleaning, can grow with the child, and maybe even be inflammable. I mean, I burned through my clothes as a child." She laughed at the memories. In reality, she wanted to sew this blanket for her new baby brother. "Would it be alright for me to send it out even though I can't leave?"
Troy thought for a minute. "Yes, absolutely. I'll make sure it is delivered safely, don't you worry." He handed the blanket back to Cassandra and she tucked it away in her dress.
"So Troy, what else is there?"
She was absolutely thrilled to see a library. In one room, it was a long hall of books, and cozy seats to sit in next to a window. Troy showed her a specific spot. "I like to sit here and read," he told her, showing her a window. "Right here and right next to it are nice places to read. It faces the gardens and I'm amazed at what I can learn." He took out a mathematics text book. "Some call me crazy for reading books written by people Above, but I find them fascinating."
Cassandra took the calculus book from him, and flipped through the different derivations. "It's sad," she commented. "So many people Underground could benefit from science. Maybe that'll be my mission, let everyone learn science. It may even improve our own magic and help us to innovate."
Troy looked at the beautiful fey. She really was one of a kind. Smart, kind, determined, always learning more, and an overall good person. Aside from being their daughter, he could exactly why the Goblin King and Queen treasured her so.
Cassandra set that book down, and picked up another. "Ah, Phantom of the Opera! I've been wanting to read this, but haven't had the chance. My mother loved this story." She turned to Troy. "Might I take this with me to my room?"
His eyes sparkled. "Cassandra, you can have whatever book you'd like. It's yours." She squealed, and ran to hug him without thinking. "Oh, thank you Troy! It means so much to me." He slowly hugged her back. "Of course." He smiled into her hair, wanting very much to kiss her.
They stayed up all night talking about their childhood, careful to not reveal too much about themselves. Cassandra had the time of her life, actually being able to talk about books and art, and just be funny with someone who wasn't her classmate. Troy really did take an interest in her, not just agreeing for the sake of it. And, he put in a lot to the conversation too.
When the sun rose, Cassandra realized how tired she was. Even Troy was yawning. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you up for so long," he said regrettably. "It's-ah-alright," she responded between yawns. "I liked staying up and talking to you." Cassandra's guard was down, and her stubbornness and pride went away when she was so tired. Normally, she'd never be this honest about her feelings.
Troy offered her his arm. "Let's get you to your chambers." As they walked, Cassandra couldn't help but stare at her companion. He really was otherworldly, beautiful and handsome. His dark hair sleeked back, his black eyes shined like stars in the night sky, and his tan skin was without blemish.
Stopping in front of her chambers, he bowed and kissed her hand. In turn, Cassandra curtsied. When she rose back up, she found that their faces were mere centimeters away. "Sleep well, princess," he said. "You too, Troy," she said breathlessly.
To this day, neither of them could tell who made the first move. Before they knew it, their lips made contact. A chaste kiss, but a kiss nonetheless. Neither of them had kissed before, so the kiss was shy, but sweet at the same time. Cassandra wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, basking in how it made their hearts soar.
When they finally let go, a tingling feeling surged within them. Cassandra's body screamed for more, but she was tired, and still didn't really know Troy quite yet. For now, she gave him another curtesy, smiling as she blew him a kiss before going into her room.
lol I'm putting off getting crap done because of this fic. So, you get two chapters today! Yay! I wanted to develop the dynamic Troy and Cassandra have (they're the Cupid and Psyche of the story, if you haven't figured that out by now). I wanted to make Troy Asian looking because why not? I feel like Asian men don't get enough credit and are often used as sidekicks or comic relief (which is funny because I'm an Asian woman and my boyfriend is white haha). I couldn't make Cassandra Asian of course, since I wanted to keep Jareth and Sarah looking like their perspective actors. And dang, imagine how mad Jareth would be if he found out that a guy courting his daughter ate goblins! No one's allowed to bully those ridiculous creatures but him! And possibly Sarah and Cassandra and the new baby, but yeah. lol
I just finished summer class, but when I go home to my family, I'll probably have less time since my mom will ask me to put the phone away lol. But, update will still be often! Thanks again for reading!
