"Savannah run!" She could hear him shout. "But I don't believe he intends to hurt me!" She replied. "Just run!" Jareth screamed at her. "Don't run from me please" the creature said. "I have to!" Savannah ran through the forest going as fast as her legs would take her. As she ran, she thought back to the events of the day...
"Wake up little one" Jareth whispered in her ear. What was he doing in her room? How long has he been in there! The man went and sat down in her chair by the window. Savannah sat up and yawned. Today, she would have her second history lesson. She wasn't sure what else there was to tell, Mr. Chauve had taught her a lot her first day, so what more was there? "Hurry and get dressed, so you can go to your lesson. I have a surprise for you afterwards". Said Jareth. "Wheres Matty?" She asked. "She will be up later to give you your breakfast, she wanted you to chose your attire for today". Really? She never once looked in her closet to see what clothes she had! "Well, I'm not going to get dressed with you in here!" She snapped. Jareth laughed as he rose from the chair "Come now, don't spoil my fun!"
When he left, Savannah opened her wardrobe. It was filled with dozens of beautiful dresses, colors, and styles. She found that all her shoes were now flats. The girl laughed when she remembered the reason why they had to be changed. Flipping through the dresses she paused when she saw a bright red gown that had golden swirls on it. "Perfect!" She took off her previous purple dress from the fair, bathed, and got dressed. The only problem was that she could not lace the dress by herself. "I'll just wait for Matty to get here" she thought. Her hairstyle for today was going to be a French Braid. She brushed her hair and gently pulled her soft locks into the delicate style and left two locks of hair down beside her ears. Before she knew it Matty entered the room with her breakfast.
"Mornin' lady! It's a beautiful day today ain't it?" The woman asked cheerfully. Savannah smiled and opened her tray. The mornings meal consisted of oatmeal and an orange. As she scoffed it down, Matty laced her up. "My...yous looks real pretty today lady!" Matty said gasping "Thank you Matty!" Savannah replied looking at her reflection. Her and Matty began to head out the door "Wait!" The girl said running back into the room. She grabbed the beautiful griffin ring the ring seller gave her and rejoined the maid. She certainly couldn't leave it. Knowing Bella, the cat would have knocked it off and hidden it for sure. "Ok, ready!" Then they proceeded to history.
"Hello again Ms. Savannah!" Mr. Chauve greeted. Savannah smiled and shock the goblins hand. "Well what will we be learning today?" She asked. The man replied "Not much...I think our previous lesson went a little bit over schedule, so what you were supposed to learn today, you have already learned. That being said, I think I will give you a small quiz on the kingdoms. Besides, I was only told to give you the basic knowledge about the kingdoms. Jareth said he would teach you the rest after the wedding". Oh yeah, she was supposed to get married...she had forgotten about that. At least the quiz would be easy. Mr. Chauve handed her a sheet of paper and asked her all sorts of different questions. When he was finished he laughed "You are one smart cookie, you passed!" Of course she passed, she had studied those notes until she developed a headache!
"Well...what now?" Savannah questioned. "Actually, I think we are done here! I believe Jareth has something planned for you two to do for the rest of the day..." He replied. Wow! Her lessons were finished quicker then they had started! "I best escort you to Jareth's study...Come" the man said signaling for her to follow. They went all the way through the Escher room and by the time they reached Jareth's study, Savannah felt like she had walked a five-hundred miles. "Boy am I out of shape!" Mr. Chauve said his goodbyes and left her in front of the Kings door. She brought her small hand to the doors surface and gently tapped it. The knock was greeted with a firm "Who's there?" "It's me Jareth" she cooed.
The door opened and she walked in "Your finished early?" He stated. "Mr. Chauve said that he has taught me all the basics, so he gave me a small quiz-I passed of course- and sent me on my way" Savannah replied. "Well then, I guess it's time for us to go to a very special place little one" Jareth said. "Close your eyes!" Savannah stared at him hesitantly. "I won't do anything my dear, I promise" she closed her eyes and a light wind blew around her. When her eyes opened, she was taken back by the scene before her. She was in a bright forest. It's trees similar to the one she tried to climbed while running the labyrinth. "What do you think?" Asked Jareth. "It's absolutely beautiful!" The girl squealed. She twirled around to take in all that she could around her. "That's not all" Jareth began "Follow me".
As she followed the man down a path made of silver, she was brought to a beautifully crafted wooden table. The girl smiled at Jareth and sat down. With a flick of his wrist, a picnic basket appeared. "I was planning on eating this a little later, but since you finished your lesson early I figured we can go ahead and eat. You don't have to finish all of it" Was he kidding? She was starving! "I'm pretty sure I can manage" She replied. The king smiled and began to take out two plates full of food. "What is all of this?" Savannah asked. "This is some of the labyrinths finest delicacies". He pointed to a greenish pudding thing "This is fog pudding. It's made with dragon berries and fog apples". Savannah grabbed a spoon and took a bite. It tasted amazing! The dragon berries tasted like sparkling grape juice and the fog apples were very similar to green apples except that they made a small fog around the pudding (hence the name).
Next, Jareth pointed to what looked like a type of meat "This is Fried chicken" Savannah interrupted "Isn't that a human delicacy as well?" "Yes, but goblin chickens are a bit different then your chickens, they have a very sweet greenish meat". Cool! She ripped off a small piece and popped it in her mouth. It tasted like a chicken, but it really was rich and sweet. "What's this?" She said pointing to a type of bean. "We call those Junkyard Beans. Mostly because the junkyard ladies bring us many cans of these to trade. The other goblins and I really like them with butter!" Maybe she knew what these beans really were. She spooned some up and ate them. "Yep! llama beans!" But, she would let Jareth call them Junkyard Beans. "Any thing else?" She asked. Jareth shook his head and they began to dig in.
When they were finished Jareth took Savannah's hand and guided here to two big trees. Tied between the trees was a big hammock. Was he expecting her to sleep with him! Just because she was about sixteen, did not mean she was ready to sleep with any one! "So, what's this for?" She asked. Jareth laughed as he sat down in the soft hammock "To just relax...why?" Savannah's cheeks became red "Just wondering..." She sat down beside him and laid back. Listening to the sounds around her she sighed. It was a little awkward sitting next to him, she still was not sure of her feelings towards him. The sun shimmered over her face and through the crystal clear bark of the trees "Its beautiful". Jareth nodded.
After awhile, Savannah sat up and noticed that Jareth had fallen asleep. Maybe she could walk around on her own for a bit. Gently, she left the hammock and began to walk. The trees were ringing with the sounds of birds. The birds were well hidden for she could not find them as they sang. She must have been a little ways from the hammock when there was a loud screech. The sound made her jump. "Remember, nothing is as it seems!" She reminded herself. Savannah followed the sound to a big field in the forest. Once there, all went quite. Another screech broke the silence and from across the field stood a huge Griffin. Savannah's eyes widened as she neared the creature. It huffed at her and continued to screech. It had black feathers and grey fur. "What's the matter?" The girl asked. Savannah saw that the Griffins foot was caught in some wire. "Why didn't you just break free?" When she looked closer, she saw that the wire had cut into the poor beast skin.
"You poor thing!" She shouted. Slowly Savannah approached the animals leg. It jerked and pulled making the wound worse. "Stop moving!" The girl yelled. The griffin continued to jerk and pull. As the creature snapped its beak at her, she placed her hand gently on its neck. Her eyes flashed. It was like she saw the griffins life! She could see a hunter placing wire traps throughout the field. Then she saw the happy griffin flying down to the field. Once it's foot hit the ground, the trap sprung tangling around the creatures ankle. When the vision was over, Savannah fell to the ground "What just happened!" She looked over to the where the griffin stood. It had stopped jerking and stared at her. "Ok I will allow you to help me". Who said that? Savannah looked around in confusion "Over here idiot! I'm standing right in front of you!" The voice said again.
The Griffin was speaking to her! "How are you doing that!" Savannah said gasping. "I'm not sure, but help me!" Right! She knelt down beside his leg. Carefully, she uncoiled the wire from its leg reviling a gruesome wound. "Savannah!" Jareth screamed from behind her. He ran in front of her. "Who the fuck is this!" Shouted the griffin. The creature screeched at the man as he pushed Savannah farther behind him. "Where are you going!" It asked. The Griffin began to run towards the two. "Savannah run!" She could hear him shout. "But I don't believe he intends to hurt me!" She replied. "Just run!" Jareth screamed at her. "Don't run from me please!" the creature said. "I have to!" Savannah ran through the forest going as fast as her legs would take her.
Behind, she could still hear the Griffins screeches. "I hope Jareth is ok!" She looked back behind her, not noticing the root coming up ahead. Before she knew it, she flung into the air hitting the ground hard. She heard the huff of the creature that was chasing her. Her leg hurt, but she was sure it was not broken. "Where's Jareth?" She thought. "He won't bother you anymore! Where are you?" She heard the Griffin respond. Savannah stood up wobbling only a little. "Right here!" The beast caught up and stood before her. "Don't run!" It huffed. Savannah nodded and stood still. It breathed in her face as it circled her. The girl shivered "Stand still!" She quickly straightened. The creature bowed before her "I will protect you!" Woah! Ok that was forward.
"Savannah are you ok!" Jareth asked grabbing her shoulder. "Yes I'm fine!" The Griffin glared at Jareth "This guy again!" Savannah snapped her finger at the beast remark. "He is ok Dumble!" She snapped. "Dumble? What kind of name is that!" Dumble hissed. "It's your name now hush!" Jareth interrupted "How fascinating!" What was going on! "What?" Savannah asked. "Is he speaking to you? Through thought?" The man questioned. Was he? She thought he was actually talking, but maybe he was talking to her through his thoughts and she replied to his statements out loud. Cool! "Yeah I guess he is!" She responded. Jareth laughed "Well isn't that interesting. This beast has imprinted on you". In-what? "You mean like a dog?" Jareth nodded "It happens a lot, but I've never seen it happen with a Griffin".
Savannah looked at Dumble "This guy is a genius!" The beast said with sarcasm. The girl laughed "What is he saying?" Jareth asked. "Dumble thinks you are very smart". The king smiled "Thank you beasty!". Dumble huffed "Yeah that's definitely what I said!" Jareth looked at the animals wound. "I am going to heal you ok?" Dumble eyed him as the king wrapped his hands around the creatures ankle. Dumble winced at the pain, but when Jareth removed his hand the wound was healed. The griffin nodded a sign of thank you. Jareth put a finger to his lip "Since Dumble imprinted on you, he will not leave you for long periods of time. You basically have a protector when I am not around and he will be your best friend through the years. That being said I will have to have a stable built for him". "It better look nice!" The Griffin screeched. Dumble nudged Savannah's shoulder "It's getting late, I will take you home" Savannah nodded and sat on Dumble's back his fur was very soft. "Where are you going?" Jareth snapped. "Dumble said he will take me home" Savannah replied. "Well what about me!" asked the king. "You can do that teleport thing!" She laughed.
Dumble took off into the clear night sky. Savannah tightened her grip on his back. This was her first time riding anything. "So, where are you going to land when we get to the castle?" She asked. "I will fly to your window, so you can go in there" Dumble replied "For now just relax, we have a little flying to do". The girl thought for a moment before adding "How exactly did you imprint on me anyways?" Dumble paused "I'm really not sure how it works...when I first saw you, I was going to rip you to pieces if you came near me. But, after you touched me, all I wanted to do was protect you. I have no idea how it happened, but it did, so I'm not going to leave you alone". Savannah smiled "Thank you!"
When they reached her window, Savannah hugged Dumble around the neck and leaped off into her room. After everything happened, she felt like she had known the beast all her life. "Where will you go?" She wondered. "I will be sleeping down somewhere on the ground. If Jareth knows what's best for him, he will have a stable prepared for me within a day. If you need me call me ok!" Dumble responded. Savannah nodded and gave him a kiss on his forehead. He then flew off. She could hear the screams of goblins as Dumble neared the ground. "This is so cool!" She thought.
There was a knock at the door. Before she could answer it Jareth barged in. "Check the crystal I gave you!" Why? What happened? More importantly were her siblings ok! Savannah grabbed the ball and gazed in. Inside she saw her siblings crying as they changed out of their black clothing. What's wrong! Finally it hit her...her sick grandmother had passed away. The ball dropped from her hands and she broke into tears. Jareth caught her as she fell. That was her mammie...she and her did so much together and she didn't even get to say goodbye because she was down here. She was down here because of Jareth. Not thinking about what she was saying she pushed Jareth away. "Get out!" She screamed. Matty came in and hugged the crying girl. The maid nodded at Jareth and he left. He knew she was in shock and didn't mean to say anything hurtful. "Calms downs deary! I's gots ya"! Matty said in a calm tone. Savannah buried her head into the woman's chest. Matty helped her get into her nightgown and to the bed "I'lls stay withs ya untils your asleep". The poor girl cried herself to sleep and Matty left heading to the place she always did after getting Savannah ready for bed.
Jareth's Point of View
Today was a very eventful day. That beast had imprinted on his wife-to-be and he was not real happy about it, but at least Savannah would have some protection whenever he was away. Why on earth did he imprint on her though? It was partly his fault anyway. If he hadn't of fallen asleep, Savannah wouldn't have wondered off and she would have never made contact with that creature! But, that wasn't important at the moment. Her grandmother had passed away, so she would need Him, Matty, Dumble, and her other friends from the labyrinth to help her get through it. "Hey!" Matty shouted snapping him back into reality. "Don't yell at your king!" He responded. "I'm sorry, but I's called ya name fives times and ya didn'ts answer!" Oh! Whoops, he was so lost in thought that he didn't notice.
"So what should we do about Savannah?" He asked the goblin woman. "Just be's there fors her, but shes asked me's to asks yous if she can have some alones times riding Dumble in da morning?" Jareth sighed "Very well...she can. I believe I am going to have those three twats from the labyrinth come by tomorrow to comfort Savannah". Matty thanked him and assisted him into his night wear. "It'll be ok's" Matty said before leaving. He sure hope it would. Dumble better ride smoothly with her because if he didn't, they would be making fried griffin for super tomorrow. Jareth slid down into his covers, but had a hard time sleeping. After an hour or so, he finally managed to sleep.