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Crystalline Dreams by Dreamspinner and Delilah
Chapter 2


    Delilah yawned and threw her uniform on the chair not really caring if it got wrinkled. All she wanted to do was get her mail and go to bed. She frowned as she realized that it had been at least two or three days since she had last posted a chapter in her story but she really didn't feel up to it. Work in the morning and the ever popular search for Henry IV cliff notes tomorrow night was what she had to look forward to. Wincing she rubbed the pain out of her neck as she sat down and turned
on her computer.
    A glint caught her eye and she glanced at the crystal that sat serenely on the edge of the desk. She was going to have to figure out how to get rid of that thing before she accidentally made a wish. The last thing she needed was Jareth trying to be generous. Everyone knew where that would lead and frankly she didn't have the time to go cavorting about in the Labyrinth. Not that she was overly fond of deciphering Shakespeare either. She reached out and directed the little pointer towards the mail icon and clicked it twice to bring up the new mail. To her surprise the screen flashed red then fell dark.
"What the . . ?" She muttered as she shrugged and flipped the computer off. After thirty seconds she rebooted it and waited patiently for it to start. Two beeps later and a dozen error messages found her ready to pull out her hair.
"What's wrong with this stupid thing?" She muttered as another error message appeared demanding that she look up a certain message in her instruction book.
Sighing she dragged the heavy book out from under the desk and after blowing the dust off of it she began to read. "An error message stating. . .yadda yadda yadda. . . formatting the hard drive. . . whatever . . .and. . . wait a minute. Formatting the hard drive? I didn't format anything." Reaching out she lifted the phone off its receiver and quickly dialed her father's phone number.
"Yeah, dad? It's me. What happens when the computer says you formatted the hard drive? Uh-huh. Really. I swear I didn't touch anything. Look... how do I get all my documents back? What! What do you mean they're gone? They can't be gone! All my reports and list stories are saved in there! Back up disks? Who has time for back up disks? This is so not happening! It's gotta be a dream. Yeah, that's what it is, a bad dream." The woman sighed and dropped her head into her hands. It was then that she noticed that the corner of her desk was empty.
The crystal was gone.
The phone dropped from her bloodless hands. Rage crossed her face and she began to shake.
"He is so dead!" she murmured. "Do you hear me? You are going to wish you had never heard of me! Do you hear me? Jareth!"

*********

    Dreamspinner knew something was amiss as soon as she entered the study/computer room. She checked her desk- all seemed to be in order, except that the crystal Jareth had left was gone. She shrugged and sat down at her computer to finish one of her fanfics. When she tried to pull it up, the file was gone. Frantic, she searched in all of the sub directories for her story files- but all of them were gone! Every single piece of her works of fiction were gone! Even the ones that had nothing to do with Labyrinth! Severely miffed, she all but howled,
"JARETH!!! You SWINE! Get your frippy butt down here right now! How DARE you mess with my stuff! And to think I was writing something just for you too!"
Jareth appeared in a poof of glitter and the scent of peaches filled the study, "You called, dearest?" he cooed.
"You know what your gift has done! Undo it!" Dreamspinner snarled at him.
"You are quite beautiful when you are angry, you know. I just love to see you this way- eyes flaming blue-green fire, hair all fluffed and swirling about. It suits you," he said mockingly, catching a stray red-gold lock in his dexterous fingers.
Dreamspinner pulled the lock of hair from his grasp and glared at him, "Jareth, please, I have had the most horrible day. Why can't you just let me dream a little without interfering? My stories are important to me."
"Which is precisely why I took them. I want your company for a while- and the only way to get you to come with me is to hold something dear to you captive. You shall get your stories back, only if you agree to come with me now," he said, "So there."
"Why?" Dreamspinner's expression was deadly calm.
Jareth decided now was the time to reverse tactics. "Come down to the underground. Rest there for a bit. I promise you can have everything your heart desires," Jareth said solemnly, "But time is of the essence- the portal between the worlds is only open for a short time. Come with me now if you are coming."
"Yeah, right." Dreamspinner wondered what was motivating the goblin king as she glanced around the study wistfully, "What about my husband?"
"He shall never even know you were gone. I will put you back in the same moment I took you. And no- you won't age any in my world- time will stop for you. I promise to return you better than how I found you." Jareth swirled his cape gallantly for emphasis.
"With my computer and files intact? And no additions or "improvements" to my person?" she eyed him critically.
He held his hand up to grasp the strange pendant he always wore, "I swear by the powers of the triple moons that it shall be so." He sounded grim enough in his pledge that she couldn't not believe him. But she still had a few doubts.
"What shall be so? You have to spell it out- I know your type better than that! I want a document signed in your blood before I go anywhere with you," Dreamspinner stated seriously, and he knew she would not back down until he had procured the desired document. "Better yet- I want you to swear on your wretched soul- if you even have one- that no harm will come to me or my stories!"
"What on earth happened to you during my brief absence? You were never like this before," he seemed at a loss for words, and stood there staring in total unbelief at her. He looked quite comical caught off his guard like that, and she giggled nervously.
"Well?" he demanded.
"If you bring me to your realm, all that occurs there because of my presence rests on you, agreed? I will be returned here with my property and myself unharmed in any way. Can you pay my price?" her eyes glistened in the lamplight, her voice carried a warning that demanded his attention.
He took a step backwards away from her and cocked his head to the side to regard her silently, "I agree to your terms, but why do you find them necessary?"
"Ever *really* looked at yourself in the mirror?"
"Touché."
She sighed, "Oh, all right...", but before she could finish, her room began to melt, distort, and change.
Jareth's hands on her shoulders were the only things keeping her stable enough to stand. The force and current of magic sweeping around her made her dizzy. She gritted her teeth, swearing she would *not* fall down and give him the satisfaction of having to "rescue" her. She suddenly found herself in a tastefully appointed apartment fit for a queen. The huge bed was canopied in lush teal-blue silk,
with complimenting bedspread and pillows. Gorgeous tapestries hung from the crystalline walls. In a room on the left was a bath fit for a goddess. The large almost pool-like bathtub was beautifully laid out in an alcove surrounded by sheer silk draperies which puddled so wonderfully on the creme marble floor. Candlelight flickered welcomingly throughout the room. The water in the tub whirled lavender scented tendrils of steam at Dreamspinner, inviting her to bathe. A few towels, robe,
slippers, and a nightgown of embroidered creme silk was laid out for her on the chaise lounge by the tub. On the vanity was enough make-up, oils, perfumes, jewelry, brushes, and hand mirrors to have satisfied a dozen vain princesses. The wardrobe burst open to display the many beautiful dresses within. She silently took all of it in, waiting for Jareth to say something sarcastic as he stood there looking at her, his hands still on her shoulders.
Instead he bowed, took her hand and pressed it to his lips, "Enjoy the evening, Dreamy. I have other things to attend to, so with much regret, I must leave you to your own devices." Having said that, he disappeared.
"Do NOT call me Dreamy!!" she yelled into the air, and was rewarded by a faint rich chuckle.
"Oh well, what am I supposed to do now?" She glanced at the steaming tub in the alcove. She cautiously allowed her senses reach out- ah yes- all traces of his presence were indeed gone.
"Hmmm... should I ? I wonder. Well, I guess it's safe..." and she joyfully disrobed and sank into the warm water with a contented sigh, her long hair floating around her head like a fan. Sensing something, she grabbed a towel from the chaise by the tub and sat up, not caring if she did soak the towel through, "I don't care if you are watching, Jareth!" she sang as she swirled the mountains of bubbles around the tub. The feeling of someone watching her went away abruptly and she giggled.
"Ha! So I was right! Should've figured." She made a mental note to trust her intuition totally now.

    Jareth smiled to himself at Dreamspinner's perceptiveness and let the scrying crystal disappear.
"Child, if you think I'm letting you go....your very presence here in my labyrinth causes the ancient magic to stir. Such power. But I did swear, hmmm? How does one keep such a promise and still keep one such as you?" he conversationally asked the moon.
"Jareth, you are messing with powers you do not understand," a silvery mist solidified into a beautiful statuesque woman who glowed with inner luminosity. Her enormous crystalline wings fluttered silently, the sweet scent of roses swept through the air.
"So you have decided to make yourself known, hmmm?" his sarcasm was edged. Was it fear?
"That "child" is under my protection. You would do well not to forget that," the woman raised her arm and pointed at Jareth's chest. He felt his heart gripped in a steel vise. His eyes widened in astonishment.
"Enough! I will remember!" he gasped painfully.
"Good. Also remember that she can do much worse to you, should she choose to do so." the woman faded into silvery mist and was gone.
"I will remember," Jareth pledged to the empty air, somehow knowing that his words were acknowledged. "But I know Dreamspinner well enough to know that cruelty is not of her nature. Potential to harm is not the same as willingness to harm. And I have a few cards left to play...," he smiled to himself and went to check on another of his muses...
Delilah.

~~~~on to Chapter 3