Camilia grabbed Sarah's arm and dragged her out of the room with a devilishly mischievous look written on her pale face that shimmered in the light of the hallway.
"Camilia, where are you taking me?" Sarah said, struggling to get out of the little fae's grip, practically wasting her energy knowing she wasn't going to let go of her right this minute. Camilia tightened her grip and pulled on Sarah's already restricted arm, making her stand up straight.
"Stop squirming. It's not ladylike and you're starting to slouch" Camilia chastised Sarah, who was still struggling in her grip and being literally dragged down the hallway. Sarah's shoes slid on the polished marble floors, making it impossible for her to stop herself so she accepted it and walked down the vast hallway Camilia was dragging her down just a moment before. She regained her composure and repeated herself, still wanting to know where they were off too.
"Where are we going?"
"back to the throne room, before you manage to get yourself lost, or possibly injured." Camilia replied with a hint of compassion returning in her voice.
"But.. This isn't the way I came.." Sarah protested, with a look of confusion painted upon her fair face.
"There are many different ways to all of the places here in the castle, Sarah. You take too much for granted.." she said, leading Sarah down a winding staircase, and taking a torch off of the stone wall. She lead her down a dark hallway, with cobwebs adorning the ceiling at the corners. Sarah's face twisted in disgust at the filthy ceiling. Camilia noticed, and felt she should explain why this particular hallway is so unkempt compared to the parts of the castle she already saw.
"Sorry about the mess. This passage isn't used often, so we don't have people come down here to clean it"
They stopped at the end of the passage, and Camilia placed her hands on the wall and pushed it forward. It swung open slowly, scraping off of the floor. The two walked through the threshold, walking into the throne room.
"Sarah, I see you have met my sister, Camilia. Tell me, is she being respectful to you? " Jareth asked, sounding genuinely concerned. He turned to Camilia and shot a dangerous glare at her, convinced she was not, without being told due to the fact that there was evidence she had dragged lovely Sarah all the way back here. He looked Sarah over, checking for any injuries, knowing what a vindictive little girl Camilia could be when she was jealous because there was another person in the castle.
" No, she is not. That little demon nearly broke my arm dragging me back here!" Sarah snapped, unable to hold back.
" What?" Jareth questioned, about to lose his temper. " Camilia, go to your room before I toss you into an oubliette!"
Her eyes widened in fear and she turned on her heel and promptly ran out of the room, her footsteps echoing in the hallway as she ran.
" Jareth, you didn't have to be that tough on her." Sarah said, feeling sympathetic for little Camilia. Sending her to her room was good enough, but oubliettes are dark ,damp and frightening. An oubliette is where you put someone to forget about them, not punishment for a royal brat.
He looked at her with a questioning look on his face, as if to ask her what she meant nonverbally.
"An oubliette, Jareth. You had to threaten her with one of the worst things you can come up with?" Sarah asked.
Jareth could see the concern Sarah had for other people, especially children. He had almost forgotten that humans are sensitive.
" Oh Sarah, it's not the worst. She wouldn't be locked away in an oubliette for long. Just for a few minutes. She must be punished," He explained as delicately as he possibly could.
The sound of footsteps drifted in through the door, and Camilia walked back into the throne room. Jareth stared at her as if to say 'well? Is there something you would like to say?' Camilia rushed over to Sarah and flung herself into Sarah's arms, burying her head in her dress, and clenching fistfuls of her dress in her tiny hands. "I'm sorry, Sarah." she mumbled into the soft fabric. Sarah smiled and draped her arm around Camilia, attempting to give her a hug, but it looked awkward because of where Camilia was.
Jareth watched and realized that it seemed the child meant no harm to Sarah, but he felt he needed to give Camilia a warning because threatening her with casting her into an oubliette angered Sarah, who didn't think that was fair.
" Camilia I apologise for telling you that I would toss you into an oubliette, but you need to be more careful" Jareth said gently. "Sarah is human. If you aren't careful, you could seriously hurt her"
Camilia scoffed and ran out of the room, her steps echoing from the hallway back into the room.
Sarah went off on her own again, still exploring the vast castle. She had been walking for two hours and there was still so much castle to explore.
"Sarah" a voice called out to her.
She turned to find her friend Hoggle staring up at her.
" Hoggle!" Sarah said pulling the goblin into a warm hug. It had been a few days since she saw the goblin.
" I have something for you." Hoggle said, reaching into the bag tied to his hip. He pulled an apple out and handed it to her.
" Thanks Hoggle." She said standing back up to her normal height.
"Go on then, take a bite" the goblin said, coaxing her to eat the apple. He watched her take a bite and then started walking down the hall. Just as the goblin rounded the corner, he shifted. Camilia walked down the hallway, satisfied that she successfully tricked Sarah, knowing that if she gave it to her, she'd get suspicious.
Sarah fell to the floor, losing her ability to breathe and passing out.
Camilia peeked around the corner to see what the matter was, seeing as Sarah didn't freak out because that apple was only supposed to turn her blue. It was supposed to be harmless, really. She gasped quietly, realizing she had put too much of an ingredient in the apple and made it poisonous instead. She poisoned Sarah. She knew Jareth was going to kill her but she had to tell him that she screwed up, if she doesn't Sarah will die. She appeared in the throne room in an instant and ran up to her brother.
"Jareth, I did a terrible thing" she said, tears streaking her face.
"What happened? Why are you so upset?" Jareth asked, concerned.
"I can't. There's not enough time, come on" Camilia said, grabbing his hand and running for the door.
In a matter of seconds they were standing right next to an unconscious Sarah.
" What happened?" Jareth said, worried and angry at Camilia at the same time.
Camilia picked the apple up from beside Sarah.
" well I accidentally poisoned her. I was just foolin' and all I was trying to do was turn her blue" Camilia explained, wiping her face.
" How did you get her to take it?" Jareth asked, kneeling down next to Sarah, healing her and trying to wake her.
" I turned myself into that goblin she's always with.. Higgle I think his name is.." she said, feeling very guilty for what she did.
" Hoggle" Jareth corrected her. " And you added too much of whatever you put in that. " he scolded her and picked Sarah's limp body up, knowing she'll be fine when she wakes up.
"I'll speak to you later." Jareth said, magically tossing her into the nearest oubliette.
He carried Sarah back to her room and gently set her on the bed and pulled the blanket over her shoulders, covering her up.
Jareth moved to the chair next to the bed, watching her for a bit. After a few hours, he went over to the bed, sitting on the edge. He nudged her gently, and she woke up, staring at him with a look of confusion on her face. She sat up quickly, having no idea what happened that he appeared so worried.
" Jareth, are you alright?" she asked groggily.
He nodded and ran his hand through her hair once, glad she was alright, and disappeared. She figured he went back to the throne room or something. She slid over to the edge of the bed, got up and went to her vanity.
She picked up her colorful brush and brushed her hair. After she finished, she noticed a note attached
to the mirror toward the top left-hand corner. She reached up and pulled the note down, and read it aloud.
"Dearest Sarah, when you've gotten dressed and done everything you need to do, come down to the ballroom in the east wing… -Jareth"
Sarah went to the closet and pulled out a beautiful purple dress that was adorned with little silver sparkles and slipped it on. The purple straps sat just below her shoulders, adding an exceptionally stately look to the dress. She slipped on a gorgeous pair of silver heels and went back to her vanity and curled her hair so loose curls fell to her shoulders.
She got up and slipped a pair of purple elbow length gloves on. Sarah grabbed a silvery mask, placing it on her face as she walked through the door and into the hallway.
After a short walk across the castle, Sarah walked through a massive door and into the ballroom. It was filled to the brim with Fae royalty, goblins, and other friends of the Goblin King. With all eyes on her, she looked around the massive room at all of the people. Sarah wondered for a second how all of these people fit in here without being squashed together.
The Fae royalty stopped what they were doing and stared at Sarah for a minute.
Sarah looked at them and saw the males bow, and the females curtsy. She smiled and copied the females, curtsying and managing to do it quite gracefully, without falling. She wandered the vast ballroom, looking for Jareth. Sarah wasn't paying attention and bumped into someone.
"Sorry" she muttered, and looked up to find that she bumped right into the person she had been looking for.
" No need to be sorry, love. You were looking for me, correct?" Jareth said, extending his hand.
"Yes.." she said, taking his hand and allowing him to lead her to the dance floor.