Chapter Fourteen
Third Person POV
A nine year old Lily sat on her bed cross-legged, her hair in a messy ponytail, and cradling her bandaged arm. She wiped away the dried tears from her face and cautiously rotated her arm. She winced when she felt searing pain in her shoulder and forearm. She looked up when there was a gush of wind through her window and a white barn owl flew into her room.

She looked back down at her lap and felt new tears swelling. "Lily, love, what happened?" came a deep voice. She looked up to see Jareth kneeling in front of her bed, concern etched into his face. She couldnʼt help when the tears fell from her eyes. In a blink of an eye, Jareth had her sitting in his lap with her injured arm resting against his chest. "Come now, my Lily Pad. Tell me what happened." he said softly, stroking her hair.

"Uncle said I had to learn horseback-riding." she said, wiping away the tears that had fallen. Jareth completely understood the moment the words fell from her mouth. He chuckled lightly. He stopped when she gave him a bad look, but the smile and the amusement in his eyes never left. He gingerly took Lilyʼs arm in one of his hands and conjured a crystal with another.

Lily watched him curiously and winced he moved her arm. Jareth felt his heart wretch when she winced, but continued what he was doing. "Hold the crystal in your hand." he told her softly. He helped her wrap her fingers around the crystal. The crystal gave off a bright glow and then popped in Lilyʼs hand.

She tentatively rotated her arm and was surprised when there was no shooting pain in her shoulder and forearm. She looked up at Jareth, confusion shining in her eyes. "If the wound is new and small enough, I can fix it easily." he told her, taking the hair tie out of her hair and letting it fall.

"Youʼre much prettier with your hair down, love." he said softly, kissing her on the forehead before vanishing. Lily sat on her bed completely speechless. She looked at her arm skeptically and then smiled. She jumped off her bed and went downstairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You know, I broke my arm two more times after that." Lily said, placing her hand Jarethʼs. Jareth just shook his head and smiled at her. "Well, you know what they say. Practice makes perfect." he told her. Lily felt a warm feeling come over her and then she felt her legs become cooler. She looked down at herself and looked back up at Jareth.

"Really?" she asked. Jareth chuckled and leaned down so that his face was level with his. "I donʼt think it would have been very easy for you to ride in your other clothing." he said, the mischievous spark back in his eyes. Lily looked back down and rolled her eyes.

Her shirt was light gray with slightly puffed sleeves and buttons on both sides of the front. Around her waist was a brown and white waist corset to make the shirt fit better around her small waist. Her skirt was now pinstripe and gray while shorter in the front, but longer in the back. And her heels were replaced with a pair of tan boots that stopped about halfway to her knees and had buckles around the calf.

"Pants would have been a better option." she teased as he helped her onto Cassandra. "I agree, but I do enjoy the sight of you in a skirt." he said seductively when she was positioned in front of him, wrapping his arms around her waist and taking the reins in his hands. Lily only blushed and placed her hands on his forearms.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The ride was smooth and after a while she became relaxed enough that her grip on Jarethʼs forearms loosened and her hands trailed down to rest on his. They had about three hours till they had to be back at the castle so they were enough rested for the long day tomorrow.

Lily noticed that Jareth wasnʼt actually steering Cassandra. Cassandra was leading them. "Whereʼre we going?" Lily asked, turning slightly so she could look at Jareth. He looked down at her and smirked. "I have no idea. Iʼm letting Cassandra decide where we should go." he told her, tightening his grip around her waist.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cassandra kept leading them through the Labyrinth and Lily noticed that Jareth was slowly becoming more tense. Lily was about to ask Jareth what was wrong when Cassandra stopped outside of what looked like a cave built into the wall. Jareth tried to get Cassandra to take them away from that spot, but Cassandra refused to move.

Jareth hoped down from his mount and then helped Lily down as well. "Iʼm guessing Cassandra wants us to see something here?" Lily asked, starting feel a little frightened and the way Jareth was acting didnʼt help matters. When Jareth didnʼt answer, she walked over to the cave and was about to step inside when Jarethʼs hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her back.

"I wouldnʼt go in there if I were you, Lily." he told her, pulling her further from the cave entrance. Lily looked up him, giving him a questioning look. Jareth shook his head and looked back at the cave.

"Aliessa told you that some creatures move to different realms when theirʼs have dried up and died. She also told you that some come here, but only after theyʼve gotten my permission." he told her. Lily nodded her head, remembering what Aliessa had said about Pixies and why they were in the Labyrinth.

"A while ago, a creature came into the Labyrinth without my knowledge. A creature that Iʼve never seen or heard of before. When I came to investigate, it injured me greatly for intruding on its space. I decided that if it wasnʼt hurting anyone intentionally, it wasnʼt much of a problem if it made its home here. If thereʼs a runner in the Labyrinth, I make sure they stay clear of this area." he went on.

He then turned to Cassandra and looked into her eyes. He seemed to be communicating with her in some strange way. "I donʼt understand why she would bring us here." he said, crossing his arms and placing a hand on his chin in thought. Lily looked into the cave and saw a pair of large red eyes.

Oddly enough, she wasnʼt afraid. Those red eyes, when she looked into them, seemed to have a calming effect on her.

A/N: R&R and let me know what you think!