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Jareth ([info]goblin_king) wrote in [info]labyrinth_rpg,
@ 2009-03-22 20:29:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:armand, arrival, caspian, cathal, cimorene, claudia, complete, day four, edward cullen, faith lehane, gabrielle, giselle, hermione granger, ianto jones, jack harkness, jareth, juniper golding, legolas greenleaf, mercy thompson, ned the piemaker, nymphadora tonks, olive snook, pandora, robin of locksley, rose tyler, sarah williams, schuldig, severus snape, tara maclay, the doctor, willow rosenberg, xena, yaten kou, yuna

Who: Jareth and everyone!
When: Day Four, evening
What: The King 'invites' everyone to his masque...
Where: Jareth's castle
Rating: Anywhere from G to R, I suppose
Status: Complete


It had been raining earlier in the day, but it had cleared up a short time ago. Jareth looked out the window of his massive ballroom, empty for now, and felt a little bit disoriented by the fact that the Labyrinth had just disappeared. Of course, he'd made it happen, but it had been a long time since he'd felt so exposed. But he couldn't very well have people needing to wander through the Labyrinth, could he? And the two who had been running it had been transported to the castle already, and he knew from the screams of rage that they were being dressed at this very moment.

The king smiled and turned away from the window, checking out his ballroom. It was quite spectacular, with a large orchestra pit, many snack tables, and, of course, lots of empty space for dancing. This, he figured, would be a night to remember. He snapped his fingers and peered into the crystal that appeared there, scrying on each and every person he'd brought to the Underground. Some, he knew wouldn't come on their own, and he sent crystals floating out to ensare them. Of course, some might just be strong enough to resist that pull, so he had goblins standing by to bring others in. Whether willing or not, everyone would be attending, he'd seen to that.

Dressed in his finery, with an evil looking mask in the guise of a leering demon, he walked over to his throne. Draping himself casually over it, he waited. People would be arriving anytime, now. He didn't fool himself for a moment that some wouldn't take this chance to attack him, which was why he wasn't precisely there. Anyone who tried to attack him, he knew, would find their useless effort wasted against what was no more than a projected image.

He gestured, and a goblin slave brought him a glass of wine. This, he was convinced, was going to be a night to remember.


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[info]bakersman
2009-03-23 08:26 pm UTC (link)
At least she'd smiled. Ned figured that had to count as progress. He listened to her story, surprise etched all over his face. It wasn't entirely unbelievable. You know, if he were used to living in some sort of fairy tale. "In my world, dragons are completely fiction," he countered, though not in a mean way. Simply stunned. "Then again, most princesses are, too. It's an honor to meet you."

And it really sort of was. After all, how often did he get to meet someone who consorted with dragons? Part of dragon royalty, no less. Chuck would've been... But Chuck wasn't there, and she wouldn't have wanted to have been around him, anyway. So he forced the smile back on to his face. "They're friendly? These dragons? How are you a princess to a dragon, aren't princesses...you know, born to a king and a queen?"

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[info]dragonsprincess
2009-03-23 08:34 pm UTC (link)
Cimorene nodded. "Well, in my world, this e-lec-tricity?" she said, gesturing to the lights above their heads, and saying the word carefully. "It doesn't exist. Not even the Society of Wizards can avoid candlelight. So I suppose that there is a great deal that we could learn from one another, Ned," she offered with a smile. And Cimorene was all about learning.

"Most of them, yes," she said, relaxing a bit and clasping her hands together in front of her, letting them hang. "As I said, there are a few that rampage villages for the fun of it, but most are simply content to live their lives without interference."

Cimorene smiled and snatched two glasses of champagne from a passing tray being wielded by a goblin and nodded, passing one to Ned. "I was born to the King and Queen of Linderwall, yes. Most dragon's princesses are carted off by the dragons," she explained. "I volunteered." Then she smirked and leaned in as if she were going to impart a very grave secret. "That's simply not done," she said amusedly.

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[info]bakersman
2009-03-23 08:46 pm UTC (link)
Something told him he should bypass the champagne all together. He wasn't entirely sure it wasn't poisoned, honestly, and he'd never reacted well to alcohol. But, in sticking with his 'if you can't beat them, join them' mantra, he accepted the glass from her. "Thanks," Ned said quickly, before continuing to listen in on her story.

And listen he did. It was sort of fascinating. Like something in a storybook. One of those tales Olive loved to weave. But she sounded completely genuine. And he'd already met a girl with a journal thing who knew some sort of white magic and summoned large creatures to help her. Why not throw in a princess who hung around dragons?

Besides, she had a kind smile and was obviously pretty spirited if she hopped off with dragons when most didn't. "That's...one of the craziest things I've ever heard," Ned had to tell her, though he was smiling as he shook his head. Not that he had any right to talk, but his secret was a little more personal and a little less...worldly. "I take it the prim and proper princess thing to do is kick and scream and hope someone will rescue you?"

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[info]dragonsprincess
2009-03-23 08:52 pm UTC (link)
She took a sip of her champagne and almost shot it back out her nose at his comment, coughing lightly into her hand and turning her face away. Recovering, she patted her mouth with a handkerchief and put it back in her pocket. "Crazy would be a word my father would use for it, and probably did," she admitted with a little laugh.

"Oh yes," Cimorene said in mock gravity. "Growing up, one of my tutors was instructed to teach me where I was supposed to scream during a knight/dragon duel. I was far more interested in what the knights and dragons were supposed to say," she admitted.

"And what is your story, Ned?" she asked, interested. It seemed that everyone brought here had one.

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[info]bakersman
2009-03-23 09:05 pm UTC (link)
"Oh, but your story's much more fascinating," he informed her, and in his eyes, it really was. Ned wasn't much for sharing any details of his own life. And he certainly didn't plan to tell the whole story. Not the important details, anyway. "Me, I'm just a piemaker. I own a bakery in a town called Lakeshore, do a little detective work on the side... I'm practically normal compared to some of the people here. The amount of people doing magic is just...wow."

Though he'd always known there was some truth to magic, what with his father and his finger and all, Ned had never seen anything quite like the levels around this place. Just from the few journal pages he'd thumbed through, he knew he was in a completely different league here. This place was far from normal, and part of him was still certain he'd wake up to find out he'd been dreaming the whole time.

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[info]dragonsprincess
2009-03-23 09:13 pm UTC (link)
Cimorene didn't completely buy into his story, but she let it go, nodding politely where appropriate. If he wished to keep his secrets close to the vest, there wasn't anything wrong with that. "You like magic?" she asked, amused. She knew mostly the useful and less flashy bits, but if he really found it that interesting, there was no harm in giving a little show.

She switched her champagne to her left hand and then slipped her right into the crook of Ned's arm. "You'll enjoy this," she promised, steering him toward a nearby balcony. It was much darker out there, and the music was softer, which was nice, as it had been a bit too loud for her tastes. "First, let me ask you," she said, setting her glass down on the balcony rail and taking a breath. "Above or below?"

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[info]bakersman
2009-03-23 09:19 pm UTC (link)
Oh, lord, she really was a nervy one if she simply up and touched a man. Weren't princesses supposed to be all proper and keeping their hands to themselves? It made him anxious, but Ned refused to let the pretty girl see that. Much. He gave a nervous laugh, following her, or rather, letting her guide him, to the balcony.

"Never really been a big fan of magic," he admitted with some hesitation. "Of course, never really seen anyone do anything real. Just, you know, trick handcuffs and things." And the magic trick of making one's son disappear, but that was another thing entirely. So he glanced over the balcony, all but willing himself to keep his eyes open. "Um. Above?" Seeing as he was completely clueless as to what he was answering, Ned had decided to simply hope it was over with soon.

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[info]dragonsprincess
2009-03-23 09:29 pm UTC (link)
Well that was more than disappointing. Then again, he hadn't seen what Cimorene could do, so maybe he just didn't know any better. At least, that was what she was hoping, as she had been rather counting on this to help her in making a new friend.

"I don't know anything about trick handcuffs, whatever those might be, but this is something new I'd just learned before leaving." I hope it works, she added silently, and then gestured up to the sky. "Look, just there," she said, angling herself behind him, pointing to a clear spot between the many clouds. Then she concentrated, whispered a couplet, and snapped her fingers. The clouds where she'd indicated parted a bit, leaving the starry sky as plain to them as day. She held it for a few moments, until her arm, barely touching Ned's, began to shake, and the clouds snapped back into place and Cimorene's hand went up to her forehead.

"Forgive me...One of these days I'll be able to change the weather permanently," she gasped out, leaning against the balcony rail, trying to catch her breath.

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[info]bakersman
2009-03-23 09:51 pm UTC (link)
That was like nothing Ned had ever seen. And, for someone who talked to dead people on a consistent basis, that was saying something. It could've just been a fluke, but the movement had been so crisp and concise. He blinked repeatedly, then turned to focus on the girl at his side.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. Though he wasn't big on touching...well, ever, he placed a steadying hand at her back. "Didn't have to show off on my part, not if it meant...this." That and it didn't impress him quite as much as she probably had hoped. It scared him a bit, actually.

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[info]dragonsprincess
2009-03-23 09:54 pm UTC (link)
Cimorene gave him a thankful smile and nodded. "Fine, thank you," she assured him. "I hadn't attempted that here yet. It's...harder, for some reason," she said, her brow furrowing, shaking her head a little bit, and then taking a steadying breath. "Normally, there's no backlash. I wasn't expecting that. Everything else has worked so far." She hummed a bit. There was something about this land that rejected her form of magic, clearly, if anything attempting to change it washed back like that.

Okay, new topic, clearly, since he looked worried, almost frightened. "How long have you been here, Ned?"

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[info]bakersman
2009-03-23 10:13 pm UTC (link)
Ned leaned against the balcony, giving the landscape in front of them a careful look over. Nothing seemed out of place, except that you could make the walk from the castle to their dorms without crossing a giant labyrinth. Well, you could were there not dozens of angry goblins blocking the way. It was a little strange, that a planet, or a land or a kingdom or wherever exactly they were, could affect someone's natural ability. He simply hoped, given the no killing rule, that he'd have no reason to have to use his.

"Today's only my second day," Ned told her, not meeting her eyes but instead, looking out on the grounds. It was a nice night, he'd give it that at least. But he admittedly couldn't help but think how much nicer it would've been were Chuck there, all dressed up, preferably wearing gloves so they might even be able to dance. "I'm still pretty convinced I'm going to wake up in a couple of hours. My dreams don't usually follow such a set pattern, though."

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[info]dragonsprincess
2009-03-23 10:22 pm UTC (link)
Cimorene nodded, letting out a little sigh. Poor boy. "I hoped the same, for a bit, but..." she shrugged and gestured to the party inside before taking another sip of her champagne. "All of this court and proceedings, it's my version of torture. I doubt it's a dream."

She gave him a smile and tried to read the look on his face. She knew that look well, having worn it quite frequently of late. "I'm trying to find out how to get us home, 'King' Jareth or no," she said quietly. "Hope is more profitable than despair."

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[info]bakersman
2009-03-23 10:40 pm UTC (link)
"A nightmare, rather than a dream?" Ned suggested, and caught himself smiling back at her. He knew better, though. His dreams, even his nightmares, typically included the people he knew. Even if it was something as odd as attending Olive and Emerson's wedding, he kenw the people in them. As nice as the people he'd met so far were, he couldn't say he'd ever seen them before in his life. Nor, he admitted, would he ever have come up with the history she'd told him.

"There has to be a way," he said out loud, as much to himself as to Cimorene. "I mean, he can't just keep us here forever. What goes on back home while we're here, I wonder? Our friends and families."

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[info]dragonsprincess
2009-03-23 10:52 pm UTC (link)
"No wizards yet, so I don't think so," Cimorene said with a bitter laugh. That was the last thing she needed. And from the way things were going, she wouldn't be surprised if this Jareth character was in line with the Society.

His question had Cimorene taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, before polishing off her champagne. A snap of her fingers and the empty glass disappeared, but she didn't seem any worse for the wear. "I think life goes on," she admitted sadly. "And in my case, that is a very bad thing indeed."

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[info]bakersman
2009-03-23 11:07 pm UTC (link)
No, he wasn't going to get used to that magic doing thing anytime soon. Ned blinked his surprise, but he was pleased. It didn't seem dark or annoying or child abandoning when she did it. Just seemed kind of convenient, actually.

Life would be just fine without him with him gone. Well, Emerson would have to solve his cases on his own, and Olive would probably wind up with a new job once it was discovered he was missing. But Chuck would get that independence she'd been wanting and no one would die. Just the opposite, really, less people would probably die with him gone. "Why?" he asked, curiously, even if it probably was none of his business. "I mean, if I can ask. What's going on where you're from?"

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[info]dragonsprincess
2009-03-23 11:11 pm UTC (link)
Cimorene sighed. "I was in the library the other day," she started, picking at her nails. "I found these four manuscripts that seemed to be a narrative account of my life." She still refused the label of fiction. They weren't fiction to her. "But only the first book are events that have happened to me," she told him.

"The rest...the things that happen, the battles fought, the losses and gains...they all hinge on me. And without me there to make the right decisions at the right times...Everyone I love dies. People I don't even know yet...They'll all die. Or won't be born at all."

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[info]bakersman
2009-03-24 09:08 am UTC (link)
Ned hadn't even realized the little city had a library, though there was probably lots of stuff he hadn't explored yet. He found himself wary of wandering at all, when he thought about it. But it was unsettling, thinking of how much he didn't know about the place, so instead he wore a concerned expression listening to the princess' tale.

"Manuscripts..." Books? Perhaps. Novel accounts, biographies, in this place they could be anything. "Well, if they're of your future, and how strange does that sound, really? But if they are, then you must somehow go home to them, or they wouldn't be written, would they? Or else, perhaps someone steps in your place and completes them?" Ned knew very little about paradoxes and timelines and all, but he was doing his best. Considering they shouldn't, by all rights, have even been able to be there? It was a start.

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[info]dragonsprincess
2009-03-24 09:45 am UTC (link)
Cimorene shrugged, turning her back to the party and looking out at the dark grounds. Glaring was more like it, actually.

"I don't think that's how it works," she admitted. "Besides, the events had already been set in motion before I left. If I hadn't foiled Zemenar's plans in the beginning, he and his idiot son wouldn't try again. And again. And again," she said with a roll of her eyes. "The dragons had problems with the wizards long before I showed up. It is only a matter of time." Cimorene turned her head to look at Ned, remembering something Hermione had told her. "Besides, the tale of The Sleeping Beauty? Rose is my great aunt. Destiny is really focal where I'm from."

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[info]bakersman
2009-03-24 12:57 pm UTC (link)
Ned's eyebrows lifted. Was this woman saying... "Wait, that story's real? How does someone fall asleep all those years just from a finger prick?" Shaking his head, he rubbed his eyes, once again convinced he'd wake up in just a moment. And, on looking back up, discovered he still hadn't. This was going to get really old, really fast.

"Surely someone else could do it," he protested, fascinated by the idea. "I mean, if it's already written then how..." This was way too much for any one person to take in. But he'd already taken in two full days of it.

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[info]dragonsprincess
2009-03-24 10:11 pm UTC (link)
Cimorene shrugged. "You've seen me split the heavens and make a glass disappear. Is a christening curse that far off?" Cimorene wondered what he'd do if she disappeared.

"It was supposed to happen, I assume. But Jareth fouled it up," she said with a glare in the general direction of their host, though she couldn't see him from where they were standing, out on the balcony.

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[info]bakersman
2009-03-24 10:23 pm UTC (link)
Almost on instinct, Ned's head followed around to where she was looking, but their view was blocked by the ornate doors to the outside. "Our dear king does have a way or ruining things with terrible timing," he commented, annoyance creeping into his tone. "But if it was already written, maybe there is a way back. Maybe you get back there in time for it to all play out as it was supposed to." It had potential. It was scary and worrisome and not entirely normal, but it definitely had potential.

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[info]dragonsprincess
2009-03-26 11:06 am UTC (link)
Cimorene would have continued the conversation, and willingly, but she got distracted by a couple things, all coming one after another. First was a yellow-haired dog with a happy grin, coming barrelling onto the balcony. "Well hello!" Cimorene said with a rare soft smile, sinking delicately to a crouch to pet the dog. He was of the friendly sort, that was for sure, and she laughed as he licked her face, scratching behind his ears.

And then there were the screams coming from the ballroom. Decked out in her finest or not, Cimorene still had her sword belted to her waist, and she sprung to a standing position, drawing at the same time, and hurrying to the entrance way to see what was going on. There were fainting women all over the place, and startled looking men, but nothing to be fussing about. She turned back to Ned, sword still in hand, and her brow furrowed. "I think we missed something..."

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[info]bakersman
2009-03-26 12:42 pm UTC (link)
The dog caused Ned's brow to furrow even more than the arrival of the screaming. Not only because it was a dog at a fancy dress party, but because it was... "Hmm? Sorry, what?" He processed it all much more slowly, as his mind was somewhere else entirely. That and he didn't often come across women wearing swords. "Do you always take that around with you?"

Instinct told him there was a reason there was a large furry dog in front of him. And it had found them, not some other group in the party. It was that instinct alone that kept him from reaching out to pet the dog. The fact that the dog seemed to know unsettled him further. It looked up at him happily, wagging his tail, but didn't try to get any closer.

"Digby?" Ned questioned, and when the dog perked up even more, he gripped the balcony for support. "Well... Whatever it was, it seems to be gone now. I'm sure we can ask around, everyone seems to have seen it."

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[info]dragonsprincess
2009-03-26 10:54 pm UTC (link)
"Generally, yes," Cimorene admitted, returning to Ned's side, her fingers running idly through the dog's fur as she stood there. "I prefer to be able to defend myself, instead of relying on someone else to do it," she said with a light shrug. Simple enough, really.

"Would you think me a coward if I said that I'd rather stay in the dark?" she wondered, raising an eyebrow at him. It wasn't fear in the slightest, but instead the understanding that a person could only take so much at one time, and Cimorene was quickly reaching her limit.

She looked between Ned and the dog and raised her eyebrows. "Do you know each other?"

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[info]bakersman
2009-03-27 12:56 pm UTC (link)
He watched her pet the dog with a small smile, but the retriever continued to bat his tail against the floor, giving that goofy doggie grin in Ned's direction. "Can't say I would," he agreed, tearing his eyes away to watch Cimorene. "It's crazy enough around here. I don't need or want to know what that...thing person man has in there that'll make half a ballroom faint."

For a long moment, he tried to keep from looking down at the dog. But his eyes were pulled back down and Ned took a huge breath before he glanced back up at his companion. "I think we do," he told her. "I... Well, I think that's my dog." So many retrievers looked the same, though, right? But he'd come to them. And hadn't brought himself to touch Ned at all, but had cozied right up to Cimorene. Typical Digby, find the pretty girl in the room and make her befriend him.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]dragonsprincess, 2009-03-27 02:14 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]bakersman, 2009-03-27 02:20 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]dragonsprincess, 2009-04-01 07:39 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]bakersman, 2009-04-01 08:43 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]dragonsprincess, 2009-04-02 10:45 am UTC

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