Ch24 Off again

"The castle is through here," Morgana said opening the door to show a hallway with a clock on the wall that said there were 3 hours left, "Just head down this and it'll take you to the main hall, take the middle corridor which will be to you're right and that'll take you to the throne room."

Cara nodded, "Thank you for everything, Grandma," she said as she gave Morgana a hug. She smiled at Morgana's reaction and started down the hall to find Jareth and get Niki back.

"A lost girl found direction,

As the eastern orb rose high,

The dark sky turned to blue,

Like the colour of his eyes," Morgana said smiling as Cara headed off.

In the throne room Jareth was lounging on his throne, propped up on one elbow. Beside him was Toby. Goblins stood around, watching them play together, and wishing that they had Toby to play with. It looked like fun. Jareth would tickle Toby, and whenever he was within range the baby would punch Jareth in the face.

Jareth chuckled. "Spirited little fellow." ^In more senses than one, ^ he thought, ^but why bother to say it when all you've got in the audience are goblins? ^

He nodded. "I think I'll call him Jareth. He's got my eyes."
Toby smacked him in one of them.
"And my disposition," Jareth added.

With nothing else to do Niki watched the game, which had been going on for some time, but she couldn't take much more she was going out of her mind with boredom. #Oh god, someone LET ME OUT OF HERE! # she thought desperate for anything to happen.

A goblin suddenly came running into the chamber, tripped on a chicken carcass, fell flat on his face, and from there delivered his message. "Your Highness! The girl!"
Jareth glanced up laconically. "What?"
The goblin was picking himself up. "The girl who ate the peach and forgot everything?"
"Yes, yes," Jareth said testily, as though he had had more than one girl on his mind lately which was probably true. "What of her?"
The goblin's eyes were boggling, and he had one arm flung out behind him, pointing. "She's here."
"Hm?" Jareth stopped tickling Toby and scrutinized the moronic messenger.

Niki's eyes lit up a bit, #Cara? #
"She's here, your Highness! With the monster, Sir Didymus, and the dwarf who works for you."
"What?" Jareth shouted standing up.

"They've gotten through the gates and are on their way to the castle."

Jareth's face was working. "She got past Humongous?"
"Yes, your Highness. He's blown his fuses."
"Blown his - where are they?"
"They're almost halfway to the castle."
Jareth stood, holding Toby, who wriggled. "Stop her!" the Goblin King commanded. "Call out the guard!"
The goblins milled around the chamber, screeching, "Call out the guard!" at each other.
"Don't mill," Jareth told them. "Do something. She must be stopped."
As one goblin, they all dashed for the door.
"Wait!" Jareth shouted. Carrying Toby, he strode over to them and handed the baby to one of them. "Here," he said, "take Jarethkin. She must not get the baby."
The goblin with Toby ran off one way, while the rest rushed off to raise the alarm.

Jareth heard a laugh from behind him and turned to see Niki laughing, "I have to admit I didn't think Cara would make it but here she is, and causing a war too," Niki smirked at him, "Like another one I heard about from my little escapade."

Jareth glared at her, "You know nothing."

"I know enough," Niki said still smirking, "The last girl you liked caused a war and now it looks like my sister has too, or maybe it's that third girl that was there."

"Enough!" Jareth bellowed, "You have no idea what's happening! That girl I sent them after is not Cara, she didn't eat the peach!"

Niki's smirk faded and was replaced with confusion, "Then where is she?"
Jareth looked out a window, "I don't know but she must not get here."

Niki was so confused and now worried she wasn't sure what to do. "But I'm sure she's close I can feel it," she said more to herself then Jareth.

"She must not get here," Jareth repeated quietly. "She must be stopped." He walked toward Niki, "I trust your feeling as such I'll make sure you're hidden too."

"Like hell!" Niki shouted looking like she was going to punch him, and not in the way Toby had been.

"Must you always make things harder then they need to be?" he said more then asked as he grabbed her wrist.

Niki let out a string of curse words that any sailor would be proud, or perhaps shocked, at as she tried to pull away and beat on Jareth's back with her free hand. Jareth was more then a little annoyed by this and held her wrist tightly as he roughly led her toward a set of stairs and out of the throne room.