Disclaimer: Wren is mine, the rest is not, so… yeah. Don't steal her. Thanks.

Sammi C.: Ah, man, writer's block is the worst! I hope it clears up, my friend.

Ghostofthewaterflame: Hmm, maybe we'll see about the gloves, as we go. I haven't quite decided yet… and don't worry, I am writing more!

Yami Moon: Knowing Newton, these chapters are going to be long, so no worries there.

Anij: Relax? Underground? Ha! We shall see…

DanikaLareyna: Well? Where's my doodle? My contribution to Muck has been added... so... now it's your turn!!! Muahahahahaha!!!!

Notwritten: Thank you! Seriously, my friend, do you know what power you have? Long reviews from you are so absolutely flattering... like, being told I've gotten an Oscar nomination, or something!

Contraltissimo: Tell Shred that the Lady Zsanett is highly single, and Wren may be able to pull some strings for him, some time or another. D

Music recommendations:

Fill Your Heart by David Bowie – hee! I just got this the other night (Hunky Dory), and… it just makes me smile.

Legs by ZZ Top – um… yeah, I so love this song. It makes me want to dance!

Come Go with Me by The Del Vikings – so a cute oldie here… I like it.

Um, perhaps I should put in a slight warning... going by reactions I got while I was writing this (which you can all thank Danika for) I would suggest being prepared for giggling like mad, and... yeah, odd stares, maybe. I am not responsible for any and all odd looks you may get, should you find my nonsense to be funny!

And now, on with the show...

Wren's Vacation, day Three

What is it about a fancy dress that makes you tired? I don't know, but I think the feeling gets compounded when you add fancy slippers and gloves into the mix. Whatever it was, I was so tired that morning… I didn't hear Jareth knock when he came to wake me.

Nor did I hear him set the tray on the table.

Nor did I feel him sit on the bed, and give me a gentle shake.

Yeah, I was THAT tired. Heh. What can I say?

But… he did manage to wake me. It was a soft, warm feeling that woke me… I forget what I'd been dreaming of… something pink, I think, but I couldn't be sure of it. Anyway, it was like my mind was drawn out from under the subconscious covers of my dreams. Something was warm on my face… no, my mouth… and something was tickling my ears… and there was warm breath on my cheek…

No, I knew that feeling. It was a kiss. Without thinking I kissed back. The feeling stopped, replaced by a new feeling, and a voice.

"Good morning," Jareth said to me, very softly as he brushed my hair out of my face. I opened my eyes just in time to see him, very close, leaning down to kiss me again. I let him – what, was I supposed to complain? – but smiled and giggled sleepily when his hair tickled my ear again.

"Ah," he pulled back and smirked at me, "So you are awake, now. I wonder how long you were faking…?" He laughed and left my line of sight. I looked around, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. He was retrieving the tray from where he'd sat it on the table, so he could wake me.

I cleared my throat and tried to speak, but before I could, Jareth was handing me a glass of water. I blinked at it, and smiled softly, gratefully. After a few sips, my voice was ready and working for the day.

"Okay, you had your fun playing Prince Charming," I said, plucking a lumpy looking fruit from the tray of food he'd brought for breakfast, "So…" I yawned, quickly, "What's on the agenda for today. You said you had a surprise for me. What's up?"

Jareth also helped himself to the tray, lounged on my bed and gave me a sneaky smile. "Do you swim, Wren?" he asked just before taking a bite of fruit.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Yes, I do, actually. Why? What are you scheming?"

Both his eyebrows went up at that, "Why do you call it a scheme? Can it not be a plan for the two of us, for the day?"

"Not with that smirk, glitter boy. What's up?"

He looked away from me, still smiling, and pulled a somewhat innocent face. "I am merely curious how alluring you would look in a bathing suit."

"A WHAT?!"

As it turned out. Jareth had arranged to take me to his favorite 'swimming hole', Lunari Lake, for the day. I was utterly skeptical, especially since I am not the 'bathing suit' kind of girl… more of a T-shirt and shorts kind of girl… but Jareth assured me that we would be the only ones there, and I'd love it…

He'd left me after breakfast to dress for the day, and I did so as quickly as I could. I waited around a little while for him to be ready – he had a few 'stately' things to take care of before we left, but it couldn't have been after nine in the morning when he did show back up at my door.

When he did show up at my door, he was holding up something that frightened me.

"What is that?" I asked, looking the silvery-fuchsia colored thing he was holding in one gloved hand.

For once, his face was innocent and honest – he wasn't joking. "A bathing suit. You do not have one, yes?"

Still mesmerized by the hideous color, I tried to answer. "Yes – uh, no – uh, I don't – yes – uh…" I shook my head, "No, I don't have one, I didn't think to bring one…"

He held it out to me, "I thought perhaps you would like to put it on now, rather than later, at the lake."

My eyes went wide, "You can't expect me to wear that. That's what, spandex or something?"

He shook his head, "No, not… not whatever it is you said it was. This is a lovely suit, designed to tread water gracefully – there is nothing wrong with it – why must you be stubborn about it?"

I looked at it… was I being stubborn? What was my aversion to it? The color, mainly. But… I also hadn't worn an actual bathing suit since I was… eight? Had that been how old I was? Heck, I couldn't even remember! And… I sure as heck hadn't been in one around any guys. It kinda… scared me.

Amid my debating, Jareth sighed, "Wren," he said, "Understand this. Fae women rarely concern themselves with such modesty, so this is an item that is somewhat hard to come by in the Underground. As such, I created this specifically for you – I know your values. Will you wear it?"

I blinked and looked at him, "We'll be the only ones there, right?"

"Yes," He nodded, "Just you and I."

I forced my head upward and put a smile on my face. "Okay, I will wear it," I said, disbelieving my own mouth. I reached out a shaking hand and took it from him, "Just…just give me a second…"

He smiled at me… I turned my back to him, and glowered. I couldn't believe I was going to do this…

Ten minutes (which mostly consisted of my staring at myself in the mirror, trying not to cry or scream or something of that sort) and a poof of glitter later, and I found myself at…

… The prettiest place I'd ever seen.

I looked around me in awe. This place was amazing, seriously. We were, by all appearances, in a valley in the middle of a very mountainous area. Nestled in the middle of this valley, which was green and lush with strange trees and other forms of vegetation, was a slightly crescent-shaped lake… but you couldn't call it Lunari Lake for just its shape. The water of this lake was so clear and blue… was all Underground water this pretty?

We had brought towels and Jareth had brought what I guessed was a picnic basket with our lunch in it, for later on. He had brought us to a sandy beach that ran along the eastern edge of the lake, a mere ten to fifteen feet from the water's edge. I was wearing the suit that made me look like a shiny pink marshmallow, but had a large towel wrapped snugly around me like a cloak. Jareth, on the other hand, was still fully dressed. I was partly worried as to what he'd be bathing in…

I slipped off my flip-flops and wiggled my toes in the sand… the sand was sparkly and white. I'd never seen anything like it…

I wasn't long before I was ripped from my thoughts of sparkly sand when I felt a hand grab hold of the towel from behind me and yank!

"Yyyaaahh!" I stumbled forward and splashed into the water of the lake – not a voluntary action, I assure you. I spun around, creating several splashes and ripples on the smooth surface of the lake. "Jareth!" I hissed.

He was holding my towel, walking over to a spot on sand far from the water, where he had deposited the rest of our things.

"You were going to get it wet," he said, calmly, "And then how would you get dry? It had to come off, Wren."

I started to fume, but then realized I was standing there, in the suit, feeling very naked. Okay, so as far as bathing suits go, this wasn't the worst I could have been wearing. It totally could have been some kind of low cut, revealing bikini or something like that… this was a rather flattering one piece, that had thick straps that covered a good portion of my shoulders and went down a couple of inches on my upper arms. The lower part of it rode my hips, so I felt like I was wearing short shorts instead of, I don't know, underwear or something. I think I'd seen Ester Williams wear one in an old movie that was somewhat like this… but it did have a low back to it, as most all suits have, and so I felt utterly… bare.

I dropped instantly, sliding back into the water, and getting as far in as I could while still keeping the bottom sand beneath my feet. I was up in my neck in about six seconds flat.

Jareth, chuckling slightly, shook his head, and then began to remove his clothes. He piled up his jacket, gloves (which were an utter fascination to see him take them off), and boots. That had all been done with his back to me, but when he'd finished that, he glanced over his shoulder, smirking.

"Liking the view?" he asked, making me go very red.

I ignored that comment and, instead, asked, "You made me wear this eggplant-suit, what are you wearing to swim in?"

Faster than what seemed possible, he'd pulled the shirt over his head and grinned at me, not saying a word. He was now clad only in his breeches… oh no… he wouldn't… would he?

I gasped and clapped my hands over my face. He laughed heartily.

"Um," I said in a somewhat muffled voice from behind my hands, "Just let me know when you're in the water…"

"Wren," he said to me after a moment. I didn't move. "Wren," he prompted me again.

"Are you in?" I asked, nervously.

"Wren!"

"WHAT?" I ripped my hands from my face before I'd realized it, "Ahhhh! Oh…" and had started to panic, but the sight of what he was wearing halted my protests instantly.

He stood, bare-chested, wearing red and white-stripped trunks that rode high on his waist and went down to his knees. The reminded me of something out of the 1920's – not at all what I expected him to wear.

Ah, I should be grateful, shouldn't I? I was grateful, but gratitude or no, that didn't stop me from giggling madly when I saw them. I couldn't help it. The red and white stripes? Yeah, I wasn't going to go there.

Ignoring my giggles, he wadded into the water before he dove in, and out of sight.

Yeah, and then he promptly grabbed my ankles and yanked me under the water. And so the water war began.

acting like five year olds in the water. Dang that GK, he was too fast for me under the water. I couldn't catch him, no matter how hard I tried… but we had fun, all the same. We'd float for a long while, or head up and lay on the beach, which was nice in the warm morning sun, since the water was just a bit chilly. I even fell asleep for a grand total of five minutes in the sun before I was woken up by cold water on my back – and off I was again, trying to dunk him, or something. In all truth, I wasn't sure what I'd do with him if I'd actually caught him, but it was fun to try, all the same.

It had been a moment in the warm sun, when I'd fallen asleep on the sand, when Jareth cracked open the picnic basket and we stopped our games for lunch. He'd come up with some kind of pita thingy… again, I didn't ask what it was. It was nice, and that's what mattered.

After lunch, Jareth stretched out in the sun, on his back in the sand.

"Feeling sleepy, GK?" I asked, teasingly.

He grinned and closed his eyes, putting his hands behind his head and sighing, "No, I am not, I am just… resting."

The sun did feel nice… "Whatever you say. Mind if I rest with you?"

He didn't say anything, but grinned wider, showing his slightly pointed teeth. "I'll take that as a yes," I said, packing away the remains of our lunch and setting the basket aside. I curled up next to him, also on my back, tilting my head to the side so it rested on his chest. The contact of his bare chest gave me chills. I smiled, closing my eyes…

The sun had moved by the time I stirred and realized I was feeling quite… crispy. My face felt rather dry and ultra warm. I sat up, looking at Jareth, who was snoring slightly. I sighed and decided to dip in the cool water.

The cold water made my face, shoulders and neck feel better. I wadded in just a little ways and went under for a bit, looking around at the depths of the beautiful lake. As I came up, I saw Jareth sitting up and rubbing his eyes. I turned my head to the side as I watched him. To my recollection, I'd never seen him wake up before… it was interesting. It kind of made all of this seem that much more real.

For no real reason, I made my way over to him, sat beside him, and then flopped over, laying on my back with my head in his lap. He looked down at me, still blinking himself awake, seeming to be slightly confused as to why I was suddenly lying on his lap.

"I am reluctant to inform you, Wren, that you have lost your senses," he said, lightly, stifling a yawn, "And have mistaken me for a pillow."

I smiled up at him, "No mistake, GK. This is intentional."

"Is it?"

I smiled and looked out over the lake, "Tell me about it, Jareth," I said, quietly, "Tell me about… other times you've been here."

He leaned backward, propping himself up on his elbows. "I often came here, in my youth," he said, his regal voice taking on a reminiscent tone, "And I have not been here in many years."

I looked over at his face, "And that's it? No gallant tales of brotherly antics, or crazy adventures for this place?"

"No," he said, lightly, "I am an only child."

"Really?" I mean, I guess I knew that much about Jareth, but… not having any siblings seemed so foreign to me. "I can't imagine not having brothers and sisters."

He looked at me, somewhat wistfully, "I envy you, Wren, for having such family, and such closeness with them."

I snorted, "What, you envy the hand-me-down clothes and toys, never having your own room, never having privacy, scrimping like mad to afford anything, getting blamed for something you didn't do, and being bossed around endlessly, as though you have seven parents instead of two?"

He shook his head, "But consider growing up alone. No one older than you to assist you or watch out for you, and no one to share the burden of family expectations. Think of how many people care about you, Wren. I was never so lucky."

I smiled, "Well, I care. What was that part about 'never'?"

He grinned, "Let me amend that. I was not so lucky, until now. Better?"

"Much," I looked up at the sky, "But, c'mon, you have to have some kind of tale about this place. If you love it so much, there has to be a reason why, right? Don't you have some crazy tale or story you could tell me?"

He grinned, "Well, I did, during a royal retreat with members of the Elven Court, manage to anger an aging water sprite so terribly that she stole my pants while I was in the water."

I giggled insanely, "Oh, man! I bet that was embarrassing when you got out, to find your pants gone."

"No… she was a water sprite, Wren. They were my swimming pants, while I was in the water."

I laughed, loudly, and it was a good while before I could breathe properly again. Images of Jareth, trying to explain such a situation to a group of stuffy elves was too funny, in my mind. Then, abruptly, I frowned at him.

"Wait, two things, here. First, what the heck did you do to upset her so badly?"

A slight pink hue colored his sharp cheekbones. "Well, erm, you see," he cleared his throat, "Any time I have come here on any kind of official business, such as a royal retreat with important members of the Underground, I come a day early to enjoy myself. I took to exploring the far side of the lake, where the sprite had made her home, and it was such a warm day…"

I eyed him, "Yes?"

Yes, his cheeks were definitely pink, now. "I skinny dipped in a lovely little mossy area that was, unbeknownst to me, the same area of the lake she called home," when my eyes bugged, slightly, he turned his nose in the air, "Well, how was I to know she lived there? As rude as it was for me to have traipsed through her home, nude, it was also quite rude of her to not make her living area more distinguishable. I politely pointed that out to her, and she vehemently disagreed with me."

There was an awkward silence, during which I was trying not to burst into hysterical laughter.

Jareth cleared his throat, again, "You said two things, what was the second thing?"

I shook my head, "Never mind, it's not important."

"Come now, tell me,"

I giggled, "Well… I was going to just comment that it was probably more likely that the nymph wasn't, you know, holding a grudge against you as much as she had… ulterior motives. But, that's not very important to say, now…" I coughed, to hide my giggles, "because now I'm sure of it."

We opted to stay until sunset. That was Jareth's idea, as he explained that the sunset from the mountains here was lovely. While watching it, I had to agree with him.

When mid afternoon had come, I'd begun to be a little tired of being fuchsia and wet, and had changed into a comfortable pair of pants and shirt. Jareth, not long after, had also redressed, but we both remained barefooted – there's no point in trying to wear shoes when you're in sand, I tell you. So, when sunset arrived, we sat in the sand, watching the rays of orange and gold light shift in the trees and catch in the sparkling ripples of the lake.

I, for one, was completely content. Jareth sat right behind me, his legs extended on either side of me, with his arms wrapped around my waist as I reclined against him. I had a brief bubbly moment, somewhere in there, when it hit me, the fullness of my situation. One year ago, if someone had come to me and said that, in a year, I'd be sitting on a gorgeous beach by a mystic lake in a magical realm, in the arms of a very handsome King from said realm, I would have smiled at them, took them by the hand, and taken them somewhere to have them committed.

And, of course, had that happened, by now I would have felt really horrible about it.

Wren's Vacation, Day four

The next morning, I was woken from my sleep, quite abruptly, by a tray of breakfast clattering to the ground, and a horrified gasp and yell.

As you might guess, those are two noises one isn't accustomed to hearing, first thing in the morning, and as such, the noise drove me to shoot straight up in bed, looking around furiously, wondering what horrible incident had occurred while I slept.

But, there were no monsters or ghosts or any kind of horror to be found. Only a severely worried Jareth and a spilt breakfast.

I looked at him, my chest heaving in a post-adrenaline rush, trying to get my tired brain to comprehend what the heck had possesed him to wake me in such a manner.

Ignoring the stinging sensation on my face, I asked the only thing I could think of to ask.

"Where's the cockroach?"

He said nothing, but merely shook his head and blinked a few time, still looking horrified.

I shook my head, trying to get myself to wake up more fully, "No, seriously, where is it…" I turned around, looking in my sheets and on the bed… it had to be there, I was certain… "Where… Jareth, where is it?" I demanded, angrily.

No, I wasn't really angry, but, I couldn't help but be grumpy. My mind, still in one-track mode, was only thinking on killing the offending bug and going back to sleep.

Man, and it didn't help that my face was so stiff…

"Wren," he choked out, at last, his voice filled with worry (enough worry to actually calm my flaring temper), "What… what happened to you?"

I blinked and looked at him. "What… what the heck does that mean? What do you MEAN, what happened to me??"

He carefully reached out to me, as though he was going to touch my face, but at the last second, opted to take my hand and carefully pull me from the bed, instead. As though I were a hospital patient, he slowly walked me over to one of the mirrors that hung on the wall.

I was freaking out. What was wrong? Did… I don't know, did something eat my face while I slept? Did I morph into something freakish??? What the heck was wrong?!?!

He looked so worried… carefully, he turned me to face the mirror.

I was red. I mean, REALLY red. In my haste to enjoy a vacation, and having no previous knowledge of a lake visit, I'd neglected to worry about sunscreen.

I was, in short, burned redder than a beet.

But… was that it?

I reached up and tenderly touched my face, wincing as my fingers caressed the burnt flesh. Basically, I was pink all over, but my cheeks, chin, forehead, ear tips, and nose were a flaring red.

I frowned and looked at Jareth, "Um, I don't suppose you have any Aloe Vera and some Tylenol, do you?"

He frowned back at me, "Wren, what is this… this… irritant that has overcome you?"

Huh? "What, you've never seen sunburn before?"

His eyes went wide, "The sun burns you?"

I nodded, "Yeah… it's my complexion, Jareth… prolonged exposure to sunlight without sunscreen, or some other kind of protection, burns me… how come you didn't fry? I don't get it."

He didn't seem to hear me. He turned away from me, nearly staggering to a beanbag chair and collapsing into it, dramatically. "Lunari Lake…" he said quietly, "I did this to you…"

I marched over to him, "It's just a burn, Jareth, and I've gotten them all my life! Haven't you heard of a sunburn?"

He looked up at me, near tears, "No! I… the sunrays of the Underground do not burn, and Fae, unless hoisted over an open flame, do not fry!"

It was becoming increasingly apparent that my face was not the only thing burned on me, as I moved about. I could feel my legs aching in my pajama bottoms and my arms felt almost itchy. But… okay, I had to take care of this.

Yeah, take care of this while simultaneously keeping Jareth from arranging my funeral services.

Ignoring the pain, I knelt down in front of him and patted his knees.

"Jareth, my sexy beast," I said in as kind a voice as I could muster, "I'm okay, this isn't a big deal, and you did not do this to me. But," I waited until he looked at me in the face, before I continued, "I could use your help. Think you can help me out, a bit?"

His brow was still furrowed, but at least he wasn't mourning me anymore. He took my hands, gently, "Yes, Wren, in any way I can – please, tell me what can help!"

I reached out and patted his face, "Do you have some kind of…" I thought hard, "Salve?"

With some careful talking, I managed to explain what I needed. I needed something I could slather anywhere on my body that would not irritate the skin, that would help heal a burn. It couldn't have dye in it, or scent, or anything else that would hurt. Just… some thing, preferably a cream of some kind, that I could rub on the burn, to lessen it and numb the pain.

Jareth, it seemed, was ready to do anything, and almost seemed deflated when all I asked for was burn cream. In his eyes, it seemed that it was impossible that something so wicked as a sunburn could be healed by mere cream. I assured him, many times over, that yes, it could.

But, I suppose to make himself feel better, he went the extra mile for me on this. Rather than procuring me a tube or jar of cream, he found some gentle-yet-potent healing cream and filled my bathtub with it.

While probably not needed, I had to admit, soaking in that white healing cream was absolutely heaven. I ignored my growling stomach's protest for food while I soaked. I needed the ability to move about more than I needed to eat.

And yet… Jareth to the rescue again.

"Wren?" called a nervous and highly hesitant voice from the entrance to the bathroom that was attached to my room.

My hair I had pinned up on the top of my head, and so at his voice, I sunk deeper into the cream, all the way up to my chin. "Yes?" I called.

"Erm…" his boots tentatively sounded against the stone floor as he entered the bathroom. As he did, I could see why he was so hesitant. One hand was balancing a new tray of breakfast, the other was over his eyes. "I thought you… forgive me, but… I thought you might…"

I looked at the cream. It was white, as white and thick as paint. If I stayed up to my neck, he couldn't see me in the tub. "Before you trip and fall in to join me, GK, please open your eyes. I'm… covered."

He opened his eyes, his face almost as red as mine had been when I'd woken up (though now my face was all white, with cream smeared on it), but he still wouldn't look directly at me.

Okay, that, I admit, was a very, VERY, weird feeling. Jareth in the bathroom with me. I fully understood, at that moment, how he must have felt when I'd walked in on him in the bubble-bath.

"I thought you might be hungry," he said in a small voice, conjuring a table right next to the tub, on which to set the tray.

Mmm. It was sausage and red toast. I was, I realized, starving.

"Yes, thank you," I said. He promptly set the tray down and moved to leave, "What, you not going to eat, too?"

He kept his back to me. "It wouldn't be proper."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm covered from neck to toe in this stuff, Jareth, and that includes my hands. I can't exactly eat without ingesting cream. Besides, I saw you in the bath. This cream is thicker than bubbles. Won't you at least… I don't know, poof me a fork, or something?"

He turned to me, still not looking directly at me, and gave me a faint smile, "If you insist, my Wren."

He came and sat on the floor, beside the table, his back to the tub. "Do not," he said, in a mockingly stern voice, "Drip that into my hair, if you please." And with that, he reached up, placed a fork on the tray with which I could eat, and snagged a square of red toast for himself.

Feeling feisty, I reached out for the fork, flinging a glob of cream out towards him as I did so. The glob went farther than I figured it would, and landed right on the toe of his shiny boot. I couldn't see his face, but his posture shifted, and I could tell he was regarding the glob in a highly indignant fashion.

I crunched on a speared piece of toast, and snickered, "Whatever you say, GK."

Later on that day, after a good long soaking in cream, I padded my way out of my chambers and headed to find Jareth – he'd left me to myself after breakfast, and said I could join him later. I wasn't sure what he had in mind – part of me wondered if I'd ruined his plans for the day. I promised myself I'd ask him about that, later.

That cream was highly impressive. Magic is so awesome. I was still a little sore, but the redness had nearly vanished, with the exception of residual coloration on my cheeks, chin, and ears. How it was that the rest of the redness had all but cleared up was completely beyond me. Not that I was complaining.

Still, I felt a little stiff, all over, and I had the sneaky suspicion that my body had taken on a pound or two of cream. It was possible. I wore loose pants, a loose fitting shirt and slippers as I headed out to find the GK.

I found him, being the Goblin King, handling situations in his throne room. He was on the throne, listening to denizens of the Labyrinth, who had come to complain about various things. He sat, looking greatly aloof, on his throne as he listened to various issues. The throne room was filled with creatures and being of every shape and size, most waiting to speak with the King.

At present, Jareth was listening to a creature that looked akin to something like the creature from the Black Lagoon. It gurgled at him, and he considered, before nodding, muttering something in response and shooing the creature away. Next in line was a disgruntled looking dwarf, who had some kind of mechanical contraption in his hands, and was demanding it to be fixed. Or improved. Wasn't all that sure.

"…ye ain't happy with em', and so I needs somethin' that'll work better…" the dwarf was saying, showing Jareth certain parts on the contraption I didn't recognize.

But, at that moment, Jareth turned and spotted me, suddenly breaking his cold visage and smiling. "Wren!" he stood, interrupting the dwarf, and striding to greet me. Every eye in the place turned to me. Had my face not already been red, it would have gone so.

He approached me and took my hands, squeezing them gently. "Are you feeling better?" he asked, quietly.

I glanced nervously around the room, "Yes, much better. How do I look? Still a lobster?"

He smiled, softly, "You look much healthier, dearling," he motioned with his head towards the throne, where the indignant dwarf stood, tapping his foot, waiting for Jareth to return, "I hope you do not mind, I was attending to certain things,"

I shook my head, "No, I don't mind. I'm still stiff, anyhow. Mind if I watch hang around and watch?"

"I would be honored," he said, flicking out a crystal to a wall, off to the side of his throne. The crystal popped and a small, cushioned chair appeared there. "Please, have a seat."

I made my way over to the chair and plopped into it, watching as Jareth resumed the conversation with the dwarf, who I couldn't help but notice gave me a nasty look before he resumed detailing his request for a better contraption.

It was an argumentative match with that one, until Jareth finally snatched the contraption from the dwarf and threatened him with the bog. Their voices lowered, and, after a bit, I saw Jareth swish a crystal over the device and handed it back to the dwarf, who stomped from the hall, sending me one final look over his shoulder just as he left.

Jareth muttered something about gratitude then, just as a small contingent of goblins made their way to the throne to ask something about a pig they had brought with them.

It was then that an odd feeling swept over the room, and everyone stopped, as if listening. I looked around, frantically, trying to figure out what was going on. I started to ask Jareth, but he held up a hand to me, for silence.

Then, in hurried delight, everyone began to hurry out of the hall.

Confused, I looked at Jareth, "GK," I said, "What's going on?"

He rose from his throne, looking more like the Goblin King than I had seen him look in a very long time, and said, in a very serious voice that I had never heard him use before.

"Someone has been wished away."

A/N: dun dun dun! I was very pleased with this chapter, and I sure hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did, when writing it. Think I can get the next chapter out, in... oh, I don't know... two days? Being as how my goal is November, I may have to forgo waiting for reviews... unless you all review EXTRA quickly... kidding!

But, do review! I swear, your reviews make me go faster!

So, what will happen next??? We shall see!

Much love,

Marti