~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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