Chapter 8

Not Again

Jareth would never have admitted it, not even to himself, but the first thing he felt compelled to do upon arriving back at his castle was to conjure a crystal and see what had become of Lara Tyler. He found he could think of little else. After entering his throne room and being informed that Hildy had taken the children to the kitchens for buttered cakes and warm milk, the king wasted little time in settling in his throne, raising a hand, and preparing to reach for the magic. Just before he could summon a crystal, however, he caught himself, realizing the absolute madness of what he was about to do.

Bloody hell, Jareth! This was beyond desperate. Had he not just parted ways with her? Surely he shouldn't be drawn (dare he say eager?) to see that arrogant face again so soon. He knew he should be feeling quite content for victory was surely his. The girl would be unable to find her way out of the Oubliette any time soon, particularly in the state in which he'd left her. Jareth tried to picture her there in the caverns, all alone and wide eyed...feeling her way through the blackness with pale, trembling fingers...so young and frail and frightened out of her mind. He almost shuddered as he imagined her voice, fragile in the darkness...begging...pleading...

Jareth shot to his feet as though he'd been electrocuted, terrifying the goblins in attendance and sending all of them shrieking and scrambling from the room. He clenched and unclenched his gloved fists in agitation as he paced up and down before his throne. This was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. He was being made to second guess his decisions and he did not like it. Second guessing led to insecurity...insecurity was a weakness...and experiencing weakness was something that repulsed him severely. In that moment, he found himself hating her. Hating her for waking his long dormant sympathy. Hating her for making him feel guilt.

"AND WHY?!" he shouted to the now empty room. By all evidence, unremarkable Lara was just another runner. Just as basic and selfish and disappointing as any other. And she had very little in her favor, did she not? She was stubborn, smug, infuriating... And her lack of charm was so glaringly apparent, especially in comparison to Sar- Not that name, Jareth! Well...in comparison to the previous runner. Next to to her, Lara was nothing. Lara was nobody. Wasn't she?

"Who does that girl think she is?" he muttered under his breath. "Am I not the one in power here?" If that is true, Jareth, then why do you feel the need to ask it of yourself? He thought of the shock he'd felt when her sword had shorn through his, the look of furious triumph on her face when she leveled the tip of her blade at his throat. With a snarl he forced the image from his mind. "Enough. This is foolishness. I can't lose to her! She has no power over m-" Jareth stopped dead. You have no power over me...

No. Oh no. He had almost said it, hadn't he? Fool boy, he had almost said it. He remembered those words so very clearly. How each one had burned in his ears like blazing embers, and the cruelty in the eyes of the one who had voiced them. And now he had been about to speak them as well? Now he was the victim? This senseless paranoia, this apprehension about losing a second time would turn the tables on him if he let it. If he allowed himself to be victimized by this fool of a human girl...

"No." He was Jareth, first of his name and the youngest monarch to rise to power in over 2,000 years. He was the last of his proud royal dynasty and he was no victim. He never would be again.

Jareth stopped pacing and conjured Lara's timer in thin air, scrutinizing it momentarily. Half an hour. He could wait that long. He would check on her in half an hour. Nobody could then accuse him of obsession. He expected her to be in all sorts of trouble by then, anyway. For that was what he wanted...

Those thirty minutes were absolutely agonizing. Time might as well have been passing at Aboveground speed as torturously slow as it all was. Jareth had paced, he had brooded, he had set a goblin's trousers on fire. He had gone to the kitchens to check on the children, only to find them contentedly stuffing their little faces with buttered cakes whilst constantly being fussed over by Hildy. Satisfied with their well being, Jareth found himself wandering aimlessly and checking the clock a bit too often.

When finally time was up, he was in his chambers, pacing back and forth in front of the massive fireplace across from his bed. He stared quizzically at the clock, almost disbelieving that the wait was over. In something of a daze, he sat down on the edge of the bed and summoned a crystal to hand, finding, much to his annoyance, that he was almost hesitant to call up her image. An unwanted apprehension as to what he might see tingled at the back of his mind. Would she be a shadow of her former self? Would her spirit be broken? Despite his current feelings of animosity towards the girl for making him feel a fool, somehow the king did not think he would be able to forgive himself if that happened. Only one way to find out.

The image that slowly formed itself in the crystal's depths simultaneously shocked, confused, and infuriated the king. It also brought him no small amount of admiration and, yes, even a hint of relief, though he absolutely refused to acknowledge either of these.

"My little cheat, will your wonders never cease?" There she was in all her mundane, humanly glory. In her left hand she carried a torch, in her right a map. She was walking carefully, but not fearfully, and she was singing again. Her voice, low and sometimes smokey, had a strange sort of maturity to it...an almost ancient, other-worldly wisdom. He never would have guessed that she could sing so well.

"Look at you..." Jareth smiled to himself, albeit unwillingly. At the pace she was going and by the route she was taking, he judged that she could potentially reach his castle within the next three hours. He willed the image to grow larger, focusing on the map she carried. It was of Under design, no doubt, and therefore completely accurate. My little cheat...

Where the devil was Clutch? Again? Don't tell me he hasn't caught up with her yet. He conjured an image of the little fellow, only to find him trailing timidly a few yards behind the girl, obviously doing his best to go undetected. Fool...he had yet to get it through his thick skull that she had found the way out. Must I do everything myself? Jareth sighed through his irritatingly persistent and involuntary smile. He would sort Clutch out in a moment... But first, it was time to rein in bold young Lara once more. He refocused the orb on the girl...and snapped his fingers.

—x—

Everything seemed to be going so well before the cave in. There I was, cruising along, having just finished singing an admittedly haunting rendition of a song called Loving the Alien, when a dreadful rumbling filled my ears. It was as if the very air began to quiver, and then the world began to pitch and shake. Stones and stalactites fell from above, crashing to the stone floor and shattering into thousands of shards and splinters that scattered in every direction, stinging my legs through the fabric of my trousers. I can hardly believe that I avoided being crushed to death... In a wild act of self preservation, I ended up diving backward. Somehow, I got clear of the collapsing stone, rolling onto my stomach and flinging my arms over my head in attempt to protect myself from the bite of broken rock.

I can't say how long it all lasted. It could have been an hour. It could have been milliseconds. When finally the shaking ceased and the only sound remaining was that of smaller stones and pebbles tumbling into place, I raised my head and squinted through a thick dust that choked the air and sent me into a fit of coughing. The torch...at least the torch was still burning. It lay there at my side, flickering hazily in the dusty gloom. I reached for it and raised it up to view the extent of the damage.

"Oh... My..." The entire tunnel before me, my route to victory and the safety of my family was almost solid stone. Boulders and broken chunks of ceiling the size of large vehicles were piled together in an impenetrable wall of rubble. There was neither a crack to squeeze through nor space at the top to climb over. The stones were so huge, I had no hope of shifting them by hand. I couldn't have dug my way through if I had all the time in the world.

A feral snarl of fury escaped me as I leapt to my feet and began to pace in wild agitation before my latest enemy, all memory of my stupid darkness issues completely forgotten in the face of this new calamity. I bet it was him! I bet that spoiled, pointy-faced, narcissistic ponce of a king did this! Just wait until I get my hands on him... "I hope you're happy, you glittery twat!" I shouted at the ceiling. Whether he could hear me, I couldn't be sure, but I wanted the little darling to know I was thinking of him.

I allowed my anger to surge just for a moment more before trying to rein myself in and dream up a new way forward. I breathed deeply and halted my pacing.

"Okay. Okay, okay, Lara... You're fine. No harm done... All you have to do is get your map and find an alternative route. It'll be easy. Now where did you drop that...map." There it was. On the stone floor...with only one small corner of the parchment peeking out in demonic glee from beneath a boulder the size of a healthy baby elephant. I stared at it.

"That's it," I said flatly. "God hates me." I was well aware that I probably ticked Him off sometimes, but did He have to exact His punishment now? Resolving to address the Almighty over this unfair treatment later, I knelt beside the boulder and slipped tentative fingertips beneath the exposed parchment. Maybe with some gentle manipulation I could convince it to wriggle free. I applied careful pressure. That's it... Easy does it... The map tore with the insulting sound of my absolute failure.

"WHY ME?!?" In a fit of rage, I flew to my feet and kicked the offending boulder, succeeding only in sending pain shooting through my foot which caused me to hop around on the other like an idiot. I'm quite sure that I must have growled every swear word I knew whilst probably inventing a few colorful new ones of my own.

"Hi, Lady," said the darkness.

My heart leapt into my throat and I forgot all about the pain in my foot as I whipped around in alarm, brandishing my torch in front of me and preparing to fight (or run for my life, whatever the situation called for). "Who said that?!"

"Eeeek!" A dark figure, no higher than my knee darted behind a stalagmite, nearly tripping up over its own feet as it did so. I cursed again and staggered backwards myself, bumping roughly into the tunnel wall and dropping the torch. Was that a goblin? I snatched the torch up again and raised it as high as I dared in attempt to spread its pool of light.

"Who's there?!"

Only silence answered me...silence and the rapid, scratchy breathing of something small and very out of breath. I drew the ancient sword and readjusted my grip on the torch. Carefully and quietly I moved around the stalagmite and cast my torchlight into the massive yellow eyes of a tiny goblin. He wore a little dented helmet over wild black hair and his face was thin and pointed, giving him a very beak-like mouth and rather a comical appearance. Hairy arms and legs poked out from a little tunic and trousers that may have at one point been dark blue. He pressed his back tightly against the stalagmite at the sight of my blade and flame.

"Who the devil are you?" I glowered at the little beast, never lowering my sword point.

If his eyes could have grown any wider, I felt certain that they might pop out of his head. "C-c-clutch!" he gasped, his little chest heaving. "I-I-I is called Clutch!"

"What are you doing down here?"

"H-hiding! Will...will Miss Lady put sword down please? Clutch doesn't wanna hurt Lady. He wants ta help!"

"Oh really?! Why don't I believe you, huh?"

"Clutch friend! Clutch promise! Clutch just wants Lady to get her kids back!"

"You. Are. A. Goblin. Why would you want to do that?"

"Because... B-because-" A stone tumbled loose from the pile of rubble that blocked the tunnel, interrupting Clutch and causing me to whip round and brandish my torch in alarm. Nothing else happened...but my heart thundered in my ears all the same.

"You okay, Lady?"

I turned sharply and glared at the goblin. He was wearing an expression of sympathy, or at least that's what I think it was, and his voice had been gentle. The little fellow pushed himself away from the stalagmite and took a few hesitant steps forward.

"Clutch has been watching you, Lady... Clutch knows you is scared of the dark."

I narrowed my eyes. "Just how long have you been watching me, you little creep?" You could almost see the gears turning in his little head, his eyes like two yellow golf balls in the dark.

"I...I...Clutch is only just seeing Lady when Hands dropped you! Clutch was worried. So-so, he followed ta see Lady wasn't hurt. But you's okay now. Clutch knows 'cuz he heard you singin'. " He smiled almost shyly. "Miss...Miss Lady has a pretty voice...even if she doesn't dress pretty."

I looked down at my now frightfully dusty attire. Battered Converse shoes...plain jeans...boring white t-shirt under a boring brown button down... He was right. Not very pretty. I squinted at the little beggar, that goofy smile still spreading across his face. For a goblin, he was pretty damn cute. "Thank you. But shouldn't you be happy that I got dropped down here? After all, it was your precious king who made the order."

The goblin's mouth opened and closed like a gasping fish before he found his words again. "That true, Miss, that true... That true about all other goblinses. Not Clutch! Clutch...Clutch is 'fraid of king. That's why I is hiding in the Oubliette! Clutch thinks king scary and mean and-and you sees this dent in Clutch's helmet, Lady? That's 'cuz Majesty throwed Clutch out tha window!"

I frowned. "Why did he do that? Were you hurt?"

The goblin shook his head and grinned. "No, Miss. The cobble-rocks in th' street breaked Clutch's fall! And king's just wanting to kick some poor goblinses when he make Clutch fly. It's kinda fun, sometimes. But not when Clutch's only helmet gits a dent."

"That wasn't very nice."

"Nope. Not nice."

I studied him a moment, before raising my eyes to the cave once more.

"Lady needs help?" Clutch asked.

"I need a way out of here. I need to get to the castle."

"Oh! I knows good way out! If Lady comes with Clutchy, she can git to tha castle super-quick!"

I squinted at the little fellow. He certainly deserved points for enthusiasm. "How can I trust you?"

He paused for thought. "Umm... Clutchy nice? Clutchy no like King? Clutchy wants ta help git those kids back?" He smiled hopefully.

I knew I would be a fool for trusting a goblin. My enemy was literally called the Goblin King. Bit of a no-brainer there. But I was pretty desperate, wasn't I? I could, of course, use the little whistle that Tock had given me, but who knew how long the help they had promised would take to get here... Every second was precious and here was little Clutch all ready to go. I'm probably going to regret this...

"Okay... I'll go with you. But if you so much as try to trick me, I'll hang you up by your ankles and set your pants on fire, got it?!"

Clutch giggled. "You is talking like a Goblin Queen, Lady! Maybe Clutch should be callin' you Majesty!"

"You do that, and I'll pull out your nose hairs!"

Clutch burst into a full blown belly laugh then, causing him to fall over and roll around on the ground. His laughter was such a funny sound, like a cross between a cackle and a wheeze. And it was contagious... I found myself chuckling right along with him. "Alright, you... Pull yourself together and let's get going."

Clutch wiped the tears from his eyes and bounced to his feet. "Right away, Miss Boss. You jus' follow Clutchy. I's gonna git you outta here!"

"Miss Boss...now that I like," I said, following the little goblin down a narrow side tunnel.

Clutch really was a delightful guide and quite the little gentleman, for a goblin, anyway. He would warn me to duck my head if the ceiling was low in places or to watch my step if there was rough footing ahead. All the while, he chattered away, telling me story after story. He told tales of his adventures with his goblin friends...stories his mama had told him when he was just a sprog... He told me the local goblin gossip...about the ghost that lived in his granny's cupboard...about the time the Fireys had chased him up a tree. On and on he chattered, perfectly delighted with every new tale and punctuating many of them with, "Isn't that crazy, miss?," "Can ya believe that one?," or "Ya shoulda seen it, Lady!" I don't think I stopped grinning the whole time.

At one point, however, while Clutch was describing the time he'd gotten his toe stuck in a Brownie snare, I stopped in my tracks. To this day, I'm not sure what it was that caused me to halt. Perhaps I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Perhaps I heard the tiniest of sounds. Perhaps I just sensed it with some subconscious intuition. For whatever reason, I stopped and was immediately drawn to look to my left. The tunnel wall beside me was dark and craggy, much like the rest of the Oubliette. Nothing special. Nothing abnormal. I almost looked away and moved on, but before I could do so the tiniest glimmer caught my eye. I squinted and moved closer. There on the wall I could see a small glowing patch taking form. A series of minuscule cracks were weaving together before my eyes, writhing like snakes.

I glanced after Clutch. He was still blabbering away as he scuttled down the tunnel, completely unaware that I had stopped. I knew full well that I should follow him. I knew that if I got separated from him I probably wouldn't stand a chance. But something held me in place...drew my eyes to the wall again. The cracks grew iridescent and began to spread.

Imagine you're camping and your flashlight begins to die... Imagine that thin, feeble glow it emits just before the bulb goes dead, plunging you into night. Imagine that feeling you get, that thrill of panic when you realize the end is near... That was what this patch of weirdness called to mind. It was the color of moonlight covered over by smog. The dull, muddy grey of midnight graveyards...conjuring images of brittle bones and decay. It gave off no heat, no true luminescence. It was just...dead. The patch grew, spread, widened. It emitted a crackling noise, like splintering ice. I swear I could feel it pulling at me, strong as any gravity.

My intuition was screaming for me to flee, begging me to follow Clutch...but my feet remained rooted to the spot, my eyes fixed. It was like my thoughts were being muffled by some foreign presence, like those invaluable instincts of self preservation were a failing radio signal, broken by interference. I was entranced. My arm raised of its own accord, fingers outstretched... An invisible tentacle wrapped itself around my arm and I was jerked forward by a force unlike any I had ever known. The next thing I knew I was falling through darkness. Again. God really must have hated me.

Author's Note: I know what you're thinking... FireDancer is a liar. She lied to us, the unprofessional sod. I am ashamed to admit it, but this is true. Remember when I left that wee note at the bottom of my last chapter? The one in which I apologized for my "long" hiatus and promised to upload content more frequently? The chapter I posted nearly three years ago? Yeah. I lied. Though I swear I did not do it intentionally... I ran out of ideas. I lost interest in this story. I shelved it for a time. A shame really, as doing so made me forget how fond I was of this particular creation.

One thing about this new and isolative age in which we all find ourselves is that it has freed up time for some of us writers to revisit (or, perhaps more appropriately in this circumstance, rediscover) old or forgotten projects. And so, I return to this one. It's amazing how one can sniff out the slimmest of silver linings even in the most trying of times.

Anyway, onward and upward. I've taken the time to make a few alterations to previous chapters...just to iron out unnecessary wrinkles, add a bit more flavor, and help this previously flimsy tale to mature into a very slightly better one.

I hope some of you may find a little bit of entertainment and perhaps even some distraction herein...

Enjoy!