Underground

IX

Harry had finally completed the first section of the labyrinth. He had taken a lot longer than you had, but his progress was still steady. Harry would still have enough time to get to the castle, if only he would try harder. You kicked your legs back and forth in a lazy fashion, watching as he approached two different doorways, both of them with curious creatures hidden behind shields; one side coloured red, the other coloured blue. Harry asked them questions, they answered in confusing riddles. Only one of them was telling the truth about what was behind their doors—one would contain the pathway leading to the castle, and the other would plunge Harry into certain doom.

You focused hard when they spoke in their funny riddles. To you, it was obvious that the door to take would be the one on the left. To Harry, nothing was obvious and confused him even further. But he couldn't walk away, he had to make a choice because the way he had arrived from was now walled off.

"Go left," you muttered, staring intensely into the crystal ball, as if Harry would be able to hear your voice. It was a silly notion, one that you knew wasn't true, but it brought you comfort at the thought that you might be able to help him somehow. "Choose the left side."

Harry didn't go left.

Harry went right.

As he stepped into the narrow corridor, he paused and cautiously glanced back. You held your breath, the hairs on the back of your neck standing on edge as he stepped further inside. And just when you thought Harry was safe, the ground opened up beneath him, causing him to tumble down into complete darkness.

You wailed a pathetic "no!" at his terrible luck. If you were unsure of your telepathic communication before, you were certain it didn't exist now.

"Your fiancé has tumbled into an Oubliette."

You should have known that the Goblin King wouldn't leave you alone for very long. Especially when Harry made dumb mistakes and ended up trapped—like now. Jareth would obviously want to taunt you with your ex's failure. It was his source of entertainment, how could you think any different?

You wanted to stick your tongue out at Jareth, but refrained from acting so childishly. Instead, you kept your gaze forward and focused on Harry, who had started screaming and yelling for help. His fists were pounding on the walls of the darkness; you could see tears in his eyes.

"Ex," you corrected bluntly, rolling your eyes. "He can get out. He just needs to be smart."

Jareth lowered himself to sit next to you. You watched with a raised brow as his booted legs started to swing gently, mimicking you. "It may take him awhile—he fell quite far down. And without any assistance, he'll have no hope."

You clenched the crystal ball between your fingers. "Do you enjoy stating the obvious?" You found yourself saying before you could stop yourself. You immediately wanted to throw yourself off the ledge; bite off your own tongue. The lack of sleep was starting to make you crack, your exhaustion was winning, and so far your irritation was too.

But Jareth didn't seem offended by your quip. His eyes sparkled with a particular fondness, and his lips curled into a mischievous smile. To your relief, and initial surprise, he let out a hearty laugh that somehow made your muscles relax.

Harry continued to scream and yell into the darkness, which is what drew your attention away from Jareth. The Goblin King frowned at this.

"Perhaps a bit of light would help him out," Jareth mused, rolling a crystal ball between the palms of his hands. You snapped your gaze to him, heart skipping a beat at the fact that Jareth was going to interfere again. But what could he possibly do to make things worse for Harry? Another rolling boulder wouldn't be effective—it would squish him in seconds, he wouldn't even see it in the dark!

You opened your mouth to protest against Jareth, but he already dropped the ball from his fingers. Despair filled you in an instant, and a sour taste was left in your mouth as the crystal ball vanished before hitting the ground. Your eyes averted back to the ball in your hands, eyes stinging as your mind raced with the horrors that Jareth could conjure.

And you waited for something to appear.

And waited.

A lamp lit up next to Harry.

Harry reached out and gingerly plucked the lamp from its place, and then he went about exploring the absurdly large room. He nudged random trinkets and ducked underneath thick cobwebs, searching for something as a sign that he could get out of the Oubliette.

Jareth tutted loudly. "Do you really think me so cruel that I'd harm him at his weakest?"

Yes. That's what you wanted to say. You wanted to blurt out that he was the cruellest man you'd ever met. But you couldn't find it within yourself to do so. You just stared at him, blinking softly, picturing Jareth back at the lake when you had found that unicorn. He could have done something to hurt you then, but he didn't. Jareth told you that the water had healing properties. He could have said nothing at all. Jareth could have halted your progress in the labyrinth with the click of his fingers, but he didn't. He made the game easy for you to complete, allowing you access to his castle.

Why?

A deep rumble broke the tension that had formed between you both.

Your eyes widened and your cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Instinctively, you placed a free hand against your stomach to try and silence it. But another rumble confirmed your hunger, and you realised that you hadn't actually eaten anything for almost 24 hours. The last thing you ate was a packet of crisps and a cup of coffee.

Jareth rose from his place next to you. You watched him curiously, expecting him to make a teasing comment to worsen your embarrassment; but it never came. His gloved hand reached down, palm out to offer you up.

"Come, my precious dear," Jareth cooed. "If you won't sleep, then you must eat."

That was an offer you couldn't turn down. You placed your hand into his and allowed him to pull you up. He did it with such ease and made the task look entirely effortless. And now your cheeks were flushing red for a completely different reason.

You let Jareth guide you out of the confusing staircase room and down the corridor, wondering where he'd take you next.