Visitation

by

IrishCreme and Dreamspinner

IrishCreme writes:

IrishCreme’s aqua-blue eyes were glued to the monitor. Not by choice,
mind you, but by trance. She had just finished reading all 20 messages
she had received from the Labyrinth fan-fic mailing list that day and
replying to those that required it. Her eyes couldn’t move from the
screen because she had become hypnotized. God, I spend more time at
this computer than I do in bed, she thought painfully, finally able to
pull away from her computer.

IrishCreme stood and stretched her aching muscles, walking in circles
before returning to her computer chair. She had read so many wonderful
stories just that day, not to mention those archived in Amethyst’s
site. She too had submitted material for posting and had received very
good responses to her fiction. It warmed her Irish faerie heart to know
that the other Labyrinthians enjoyed reading her work and sometimes
asked for more. She certainly relished every tale she came by but
always wondered, What happens to all this fan fiction? Is it just
archived by the wonderful, talented and beautiful Lady Amethyst [brownie
points**brownie points**brownie points]? Or does something special and
magical betide this special and magical writing?

IrishCreme sigh heavily, wanting so much more for the manuscripts she
cherished. "I wish I knew what happened to all the Labyrinth fan
fiction."

Suddenly, all the lights in her room went out, except for the light of
her monitor. The wind outside whipped violently against her bedroom
windows, and tree branches tap-a-tap-tapped on the glass. The whole
scene was just a bit eerie for IrishCreme, and she sat perfectly still
in her chair, frozen in anticipation.

"I can answer that question for you," said a deep, accented voice from
behind her.

No, no, no, IrishCreme thought, shaking her head in disbelief. I am
imagining all this. Too much time on the computer. Yes, I am imagining
this, and when I turn around, Jareth will not be sitting on my bed. She
slowly swung her swivel chair around, the creaking of the joints adding
more creepiness to the situation. Her bright eyes opened widely when
she perceived the Goblin King reclining on her medievally canopied bed.

"Don’t seem so surprised, IrishCreme," he stated playfully, that
ever-present sexy grin playing upon his handsome face. "You always knew
deep down inside that I really existed." He pushed himself off her bed
and pulled a chair beside IrishCreme, turning her to face the computer.

The screen showed Netscape Mail, no messages had appeared since she had
checked before the "visitation." Her breathing was returning to normal
and her heartbeat was slowing, but her hormones, on the other hand, were
running rampant. "Why are you here?"

"To answer your question, of course," Jareth answered, touching her
perky nose with an index finger. "What happens to the Labyrinth fan
fiction? Well, my dearest IrishCreme, it lives on in the Underground."

"What?" Her expression reflected her confusion.

"You see, darling, every time an idea pops into a Labyrinthian’s head
and he or she begins a story, that story comes to life in my world.
Every character comes alive, every action is carried out and every word
is spoken, just as it happens in print."

"But so many tales are going on at the same time, most of them involving
you. How can you do them all at once?"

Jareth laughed heartily. "It’s not easy to explain. Things don’t work
the same Underground as they do here. Just suffice it to say that every
work from a Labyrinthian’s mind is taken care of."

Questions were still racing through her cluttered brain. "But what
about the stories involving list members? Do they go Underground as
well?"

"Why don’t you ask Afton, Amethyst, spOOky or any of the others. They
can tell you of their experiences."

IrishCreme was dumbfounded. She stared in Jareth’s direction but not at
him. He waved his hand before her glazed eyes, snapping his fingers
occasionally. She blinked her lids rapidly, as if blinded by a bright
light, and gradually regained her composure, as well as her feisty
attitude. "So, which story do you like best?"

"Ah, so there’s the question." Jareth put his chin in the palm of his
hand and drummed his fingers against his cheek. "Which one do I like
best…hmmmm…that’s tough one. I’d have to say…all of them!"

"Oh, Jareth, that’s not fair!" IrishCreme exclaimed, instantly
regretting spurting out the taboo line. "Oops! That’s not what I
meant. I really meant—"

"Oh, don’t worry, my little faerie. I’m not going to summon the
cleaners or anything of that nature," he reassured, his tone mischievous
yet sincere. He caressed her smooth cheek. "I would never do anything
to harm my faithful ones."

IrishCreme was undaunted by Jareth’s charm. "You need to answer my
question more concisely, your majesty, so I will rephrase: I realize
that your like all the Labyrinth fan fiction that has been created, but
which stories stick out in your mind as being especially…memorable?"

The Goblin King leaned back in the chair and contemplated IrishCreme and
her question. "Well, Afton and her friends really drove me up the wall
with their antics. I think the Fireys are still angry. spOOky's Poe is
quite a character. I really like him, even though he tries too hard to
be like me sometimes. Amethyst introduced me to some of the most
interesting people in her saga. That was quite a ride. I’m still
deciding whether or not I like Dreamspinner’s idea of pairing me with a
cat. It’s funny, but that cat sheds like crazy. There are many others
that touch my heart, but of course, I can’t leave out Celeste, now can
I? I imagine Celeste as being an extension of you, my lovely
IrishCreme. Could I be correct?"

IrishCreme smiled coyly at Jareth. "I’m not saying. My creations are
not subject to discussion with you."

"Oh, but dearest, I do so love discussing things with you." Jareth
wrapped a strand of IrishCreme’s flaming red hair around his finger.

She gently slapped his hand away. "Puh-lease! What do you want from me
that you’re being so sweet and bewitching?"

Jareth grinned devilishly (what other way can he grin?) and answered, "I
would like to know when you are going to scribe yourself into one of
your captivating tales? I anxiously await your arrival in the
Underground."

IrishCreme smiled provocatively and clicked out of Netscape Mail and
into a new Microsoft Word document. "Well, I don’t know, Jareth. I
guess you’ll just have to wait and see!"

**************************

Dreamspinner writes:

Dreamspinner sat at her computer and pondered IrishCreme's message.
"Well- it is entirely possible." she said to herself.
"Of course it is, you of all people should know that." came a gentle,
but chiding voice from behind her. Dreamspinner spun around and ended up
nose-to-nose with the infamous goblin king. "Oh, my!" she nearly jumped
out of the seat, "What on earth are you doing here- you should be safely
behind the labyrinth walls!" she said, reaching for something to defend
herself with.
"But I thought we were friends, hmmm?" he all but purred.
"Okay. Fine. But if you are here, that means Gwydion could be here too,
and my present husband would not like seeing a duplicate of himself...
One of him is enough, thank you." she said primly. Jareth threw his head
back and laughed heartily at that. After he stopped laughing he said,
"Oh, thank you for getting rid of the cat- I do realize it was not your
intention to have anyone think that I tried to mate with it- I don't
know why they'd think that..." he trailed off quite indignant, then
turned to look in her large blue-green eyes, "I hope you will keep your
dreams alive, they are very important. But you know that. I do enjoy our
talks in your cottage."
"So glad you approve," Dreamspinner spat out the sarcastic retort.
"I see we are a bit miffed?" he said as an ironic smile twisted his
mouth.
"Wouldn't you be? You're not supposed to do things like this! I didn't
make a wish. I wouldn't." her ire was raised, and she pouted at him. She
turned around and sulked for a bit, then turned back and looked him in
the eye,"What game are you playing now, Jareth?" she asked him softly.
He gently turned her back around so she was facing her computer monitor.
"Don't worry so much little one. It was not my intention to upset you."
he said softly, looking at her in apology,"and no- you don't need a
valium. I'm really here." he said as he noticed her looking at the
bathroom door,"you create worlds for others, but can't traverse them
yourself? Come now- what kind of thinking is that." he tutted at her.
"Jareth, I don't think I need to tell you what's going on here. I can't
fly anymore. My wings are gone- broken."
"So you paint wings for others to soar with. I see..." he arched an
eyebrow.
"Please don't do this to me."
"Why don't you do as you dream?"
"Don't quote the Neverending story!" she glared at him. It seemed that
they were at an impasse. He knelt down beside her and glanced at her
worriedly. "You're not going to write about me anymore?"
"I like Gwydion much better." she said flatly.
"I'm sure you do. You were there when you wrote that, didn't you guess?
You even heard the music. Don't run away from dreamtime, or from me, for
that matter. I find it most fitting that you chose the Lord of the Hunt
for your husband." he wasn't sarcastic- he was serious. Dreamspinner was
quite taken aback. So she did what she always did when he came for a
visit- asked him if he wanted a glass of mead. He accepted and they
talked abit, till he announced that there were others on his list for
visitations that night. "Go on- get!" she said as she made to shoo him
out of the house. He smiled at her, and opened his arms to receive a
hug. Dreamspinner hugged him fiercely, her tears burning his chest. He
wiped a few of her tears away, stepped back and looked at her sadly,
holding her by the sholders. "I would change it if I could," he said
softly. "I know," she said. He gently kissed her cheek ...and with
that, he was gone.

*************************

IrishCreme writes:

I turned off my computer and crawled into my soft, comfortable bed. As
sleep descended upon me, I yawned, mumbling something about buying fish
the next day for my daughter. Before my eyes could close, Jareth
appeared, sitting at the foot of my bed.

"You rang, IrishCreme?"

His silky voice startled me. "What are you doing here? I didn't call
you."

"Yes, you did. You said 'I wish,'" Jareth returned, smiling coyly.

"I said, 'Buy fish,' you idiot, not 'I wish!'" I slipped out of bed and
stood before the overly handsome and overly annoying Goblin King. "I
call on you once, and now you jump at any chance to come here. You'd
think there was nothing for you to do Underground. Next time, listen
more carefully before popping into me bedroom."

Jareth was quite astounded by IrishCreme's verbal attack. "I'm very
sorry for disturbing you, dear. It certainly won't happen
again...unwarranted, that is. But since I'm here...when are you coming
Underground?"

"ARRGGHH!!" she exclaimed, stomping her feet like a spoiled child.
"Stop asking me that!" IrishCreme saw the pitiful look on Jareth's face
and regretted yelling at him. "Look, I e-mailed Afton about writing me
into One Awesome Night--"

"Oh, I like that one," Jareth interrupted.

"Ahem," IrishCreme coughed irritably. "As I was saying...I sent her my
bio so that she could put me in the story, so you'll have to talk to her
about it. But if you don't stop bugging me, I'll tell her to leave me
out and I'll never go Underground."

"Alright, alright." Jareth upheld his hands in surrender. "I'll only
come when invited from now on...I promise."

"Alright, then. Thank you very much." Jareth got up to leave. "Well,
wait a minute, Jareth. Since you're already here..."

"Yes?" he raised an eyebrow.

IrishCreme smiled kittenishly. "I'm working on something else and I'd
like your opinion." She went to her computer and started booting up.
"Do you mind?"

"Certainly not," he answered, taking a seat next to IrishCreme. "Let's
take a look..."