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Tweak says, "Talk to me like lovers do."

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

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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bravely
2009-03-24 10:42 pm UTC (link)

Xena smirked at the look on her friend's face. "Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself." Then she dropped her jaw in mock horror. "Hey, I could have gotten a date. I just didn't want to. You're the one who couldn't get a date." She smiled a little at the nudge to her ribs and she bumped her back slightly with her hip.

She looked to where Gabrielle was pointed to see a blond man with very sharp features surveying the crowd. He must be very pleased with himself, she thought. "Doesn't look much like any king I've ever seen." She pursed her lips slightly and watched him for a moment. She wanted to have a word with him, but she imagined a lot of people did. With the sea of people surrounding them, it would be fairly difficult to get to him, too. Well, unless she performed some of her acrobatics. It wasn't so far fetched, she'd done worse in gowns before.

Before she got too heated up, she took the opportunity to glance around at the rest of the partygoers. Most of them wore masks, but others didn't. She didn't recognize anyone, but that didn't bother her any. She hadn't recognized anyone on Mirage, either. Of course, the masks made it a bit more difficult. Looking down, she could see Gabrielle's toes tapping to the music and she felt bad for her. She'd been so excited to come to this thing and here she was standing with her stick-in-the-mud friend instead of cutting a rug.

In her customary, over the top fashion, which she did just so she didn't feel like a complete fool, she held out her hand to Gabrielle and gestured with her head toward the dance floor. "C'mon, let's dance." That was not completely out of the ordinary. They had danced together many times and Xena rather enjoyed it, though she took pains not to make it obvious.

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bardictraveller
2009-03-25 12:10 am UTC (link)

Gabrielle glanced around. "Yeah, right. Everyone here is paired up except for us, looks like." She sighed slightly, but then, it wasn't like she'd had the best luck with men, anyway. But there were some very attractive ones around, he had to admit. She was pretty sure she saw Robin in the crowd somewhere, but he was talking to someone and she was fine where she was.

"I know, and he talks more than I do." That was really saying something. "They speech he gave was just..." She shook her head. There weren't words, really. "Anyway, yeah, that's him. We can thank him for being brought here." In a way, she wasn't being sarcastic. Ever since being brought first to Mirage and then here, she'd felt more free, and honestly happier than she'd been in awhile.

"Oh!" She smiled widely at her friend, knowing that the dark-haired woman was doing it as a favor to her, but she did want to dance and found she wasn't inclined to turn her down. Anyway, she had her ideas on the subject, and thought that Xena probably didn't feel nearly as put out by it as much as she pretended to. "Yes, lets--"

But she was cut off by a high-pitched shriek, and something coming up out of the ground a little ways ahead of her. She finished her sentence a little bit differently than she had intended to originally. "Let's go see what in the Gods name that is!" Sais, she hadn't brought her sais, and this occured to her after she was already running toward the monster. She'd figure it out as she went.

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bravely
2009-03-25 08:19 am UTC (link)

"There's a guy all by himself over in that corner. Bet I could get him to dance with me if you won't." She, too, looked around at the people who surrounded them. She could admit when others were attractive and most of them certainly were. Of course, looks weren't everything. Look at Draco. He was handsome, but way too much trouble. She smiled slightly, remembering him. He was probably off somewhere still in love with Gabrielle.

Smirking she turned her attention back to the King as Gabrielle spoke of him. "I may just have to thank him in person." She slid her icy blue gaze down at Gabrielle for a moment, the set of her face completely serious. Not that she didn't enjoy being far away from fighting and all the death that accumulated wherever she went. But it was what she did, she enjoyed fighting.

Xena inclined her head as Gabrielle agreed to dance just before a deafening sound filled the air. Xena ducked her head instinctively and glanced around. Hidden beneath the length of her dress was her sword, of course, and her chakram. Even if she was attending a ball she wasn't about to go defenseless. Things like this always seemed to happen at the most inopportune times. She took off after Gabrielle and launched herself into the air, spinning over the heads of a few people to land near the maelstrom.

The creature roared and shot something out at the King, but it went wide, missing him completely. Xena was about to attack the monster, having already drawn her sword, when the King looked at it, made a motion with his hand, and it disappeared completely. Xena's gaze narrowed and she looked down to see a woman with another lying practically on top of her, although a shield seemed to be between them and the King. Xena frowned again and set her hands on her hips. Seemed the problem was already solved, but now that she was closer, she was going to have some words with this King.

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bardictraveller
2009-03-25 01:09 pm UTC (link)

Gabrielle shook her head, discounting the idea, and then thought again. She looked thoughtfully over at the lone man, wondering if she could get there before Xena did. He looked kind of grumpy, but that was hardly something she worried about. If she let grumpiness scare her away, she never would have befriended Xena in the first place. If it could be called befriending. More like stalking, really, at least at first.

Sometimes, the look in Xena's eyes sort of made Gabrielle want to hide, and that wasn't exactly easy to do. But she could look so cold, determined, and often had that little half-smile on her lips which made it all the more unnerving. "I wouldn't want to be him." Her voice was fervent, her desire in this regard sincere. It would not be fun to have that icy look on herself.

Really, she should know better. She shook her head, knowing it was true. She'd been on the road for long enough to know that you didn't leave your weapons behind. She had gotten careless. Her green eyes narrowed as she took off running, but of course, Xena was way ahead of her. Gabrielle had to push through the crowds, and by the time she got there, Xena was already standing there and probably had been for at least several seconds.

The monster had disappeared sometime, and she didn't understand it. Such a huge thing shouldn't have been able to hide. Nearby, a girl and a man seemed to be speaking, but she couldn't hear over the freaked out whispers of people nearby. She turned her gaze to her best friend, and then went to stand by her side. There was a large candlestick lamp, and it would do as a weapon. She knocked the burning candle off, and was left with a metal stick about the same length as her old quarterstaff had been. It wasn't her prefered weapon anymore, but she could still use it, she was sure.

She leaned on it, but in the sort of way where she could easily access it if she needed to. And then, she waited. That look was still on Xena's face, and she wanted to see what was going to happen.

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bravely
2009-03-28 08:06 pm UTC (link)

Unfortunately, Gabrielle had felt that icy stare on herself more than once to Xena's everlasting shame. To her credit, it wasn't often her fault. But, she still felt bad about every time she'd looked at her best friend that way. She smirked at Gabrielle's comment and noticed that she'd turned a candle holder into a staff. She really liked Gabrielle for her ingenuity when it came to finding weapons.

The girl who had summoned the monster and the man who'd knocked her over still appeared to be speaking, but doing nothing else. Jareth just looked bored so Xena stepped forward. "Who are you?" The question was simple enough. Xena knew from Gabrielle's recitation of his speech that he called himself their king and that they were nothing short of his prisoners. But she wanted to know who he thought he was, and why he was keeping them there.

"Why are you holding us here?" Contrary to popular belief, Xena did like to settle things with talking before it came to violence. She didn't immediately attack someone unless they attacked her first, or she had a good reason. Sometimes Gabrielle saw a reason a little bit differently than she did, but still, she wasn't one to rush in and kill without getting some sort of answer first.

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bardictraveller
2009-03-29 01:45 pm UTC (link)

Gabrielle would prefer not to fight. In fact, part of the reason she'd been so happy and bouncy since getting here was the simple fact that she hadn't had to fight in awhile. It was a nice change. But once giant monsters started appearing, things changed a little. The bard had become a warrior, and it showed in the competant way she held the improvised weapon. The metal was heavier than the wooden staff she had used, but she was sure she could do some decent damage with it.

She watched as Xena stepped forward, and of course, the blonde was right at her side. There had been a time when Xena had constantly had to think of protecting the bard, of keeping her safe, but that time had passed. Now, she was at the dark-haired warrior woman's side no matter what, no more hiding behind her. So she faced off against the sharp-featured king right alongside her friend.

"Yeah, and will you send us home if we go through the Labyrinth?" She couldn't resist adding her two cents. After all, talking was really what she was best at. But, despite an amused glance, the King barely acknowledged them, not even changing the lazy drape of his leg over the arm of the throne. Gabrielle shook her head slightly, and shot a sideways glance to Xena. This wasn't good. Being ignored wasn't something most people liked, and when Xena didn't like things... it could get bad.

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bravely
2009-03-30 07:31 pm UTC (link)

Xena briefly glanced down at Gabrielle as she came up next to her. She gave her a small smile, recognizing the warrior look that invaded her features now. Gabrielle was beautiful when she was angry. Xena, more than she liked to admit, had a difficult time deciding which Gabrielle she preferred. A mixture of both, probably, as both sides of the bard had their advantages. She was just glad she could count on Gabrielle to be there in warrior mode when she was needed.

After Gabriell piped up, Xena wondered if she should have let the bard do all the talking. She was much more diplomatic and efficient with words than Xena was. But, after a moment or two of silence from the King, it was clear that neither of them were going to evoke a response from him. Xena would have attempted to attack him, but after what she had seen with the Anima, she knew it would do no good.

"C'mon, Gabrielle, we're wasting our time." Xena was certain that the only way she was going to get an answer was if she got the King alone. That evidently wasn't going to be tonight. Not with so many other people around. Lifting her dress in a most unladylike manner, Xena turned and merged into the crowd, depositing her sword back in the scabbard she kept hidden beneath her skirts. Gabrielle had been excited to come to the ball. Xena knew she wanted to dance and Xena was going to make sure that happened, with her or with someone else. But the bard wasn't going to leave without at least one dance.

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bardictraveller
2009-03-31 04:57 pm UTC (link)

Gabrielle was less than impressed with the actions of the King. Or, really, more the fact that he didn't act at all, even while being challenged. And she hadn't seen Jareth simply wave his hand and dismiss the monster, either. All in all, she was rather unimpressed. He didn't even look impressive, really, just strange and slightly unworldly.

"Yeah, we really are." She set the candle holder back down, not exactly feeling like she'd need it tonight. What threat could she be under, really? Their host wasn't going to do anything. And if anything happened, Xena had her sword, and there were plently of other things she could use as weapons. If nothing else, being around Xena had taught her to be creative in that way.

"I can't believe him... he wouldn't even look at us, barely!" She was slightly annoyed by that fact. After everything she and Xena had been through, the two in attack mode deserved, at the very least, some caution. She sighed, but then turned back to Xena hopefully. "So, can we dance yet?" Around them, many couples were dancing, and Gabrielle wanted to as well.

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bravely
2009-04-01 08:15 am UTC (link)

For some reason, the King's lack of a response didn't really surprise Xena. He, along with this whole place, was very strange. This was nothing like what they had experienced at home. It was similar to Mirage, but it was also very different. At least on Mirage there'd been no "King" telling them what they had to do. No, it had been a planet before. Perhaps that was even more strange. Either way, Xena just couldn't bring herself to be shocked.

Her companion set aside the makeshift staff and walked through the crowd. For probably the first time that night, Xena really looked at her. She'd seen Gabrielle in a vast array of costumes and outfits before. Some of them had been laughable and so outlandish as to be almost frightening, but this one was nice. She was mildly surprised that Jareth hadn't made them all look like fools. Maybe some felt that way, but no one really looked foolish. Just different. "You look nice, tonight, you know."

Xena gave her a thin lipped smile, trying to work through her anger with a little positivity. "Some people just don't have any manners." Xena then realized that they were very close to the dance floor. She'd offered to dance with the bard before, but Gabrielle had seemed more interested in finding a man to dance with. "Sure I'm good enough for you?" She teased lightly, glancing around. She still liked to keep tabs on where she was in relation to others. Anyone moving too quickly, too slowly, too loudly... or anything else to the extreme deserved to be watched. She kept her eyes open for more danger, but her attention was back on the bard.

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bardictraveller
2009-04-02 12:14 am UTC (link)

Gabrielle smiled in pleasure at the compliment, and knew that she must look nice. Otherwise, Xena wouldn't have said so. She knew the other woman cared for her, but also knew that, if she looked ridiculous, Xena would probably tell her. So she was really pleased with it, more than she would have been had it come from anywhere else. "Thanks. I was worried that I'd have to wear something horrible..."

She turned to look at her friend, and tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "You look really beautiful. It's a good thing you don't dress like that all the time, or heartbroken men would be following us around constantly." She thought about that statement, and then laughed a little. "Well... more than they already do." There had been more than a few, really.

"Oh, whatever. We'll get him later. I wonder what happened to that monster?" She glanced around, but didn't see it. Then, with a smile, she turned back to her friend. "You had to put up with me dancing all day, so you might as well dance with me now." She laughed a little. "If you want to, of course. Anyway, you're prettier than anyone else here." Which was just the sort of endearing thing she said all the time, and was also, in her opinion, true. Other people might have pretty costumes, but Xena put them all to shame, in Gabrielle's opinion. "So... you're going to dance with me, right?"

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bravely
2009-04-03 07:35 pm UTC (link)

Xena looked down at herself when Gabrielle mentioned wearing something horrible. Xena wasn't exactly pleased with her attire, but she wasn't altogether irritated with the outfit either. It was simply something she didn't wear often. She had earlier in her life as a girl in a village and as a young warlord. But these days she favored her leathers over anything else. She felt most at ease and comfortable in them. "Yeah, me too."

Xena smiled slightly. "You said that already." And then she laughed and shook her head. She'd said something to Gabrielle once about wearing a smelly wolfskin to deter men from falling in love with her, but Gabrielle had reminded her that she would be traveling alone, too. That was apparently not an option, so she'd remained in her leathers. "But thanks again." Xena reached out and squeezed Gabrielle's shoulder gently. She was really lucky to have such a great friend here with her. She was almost certain she would have gone crazy long ago without the calming influence Gabrielle had over her.

"No idea, but hopefully that's the last we'll ever see of it." People, Xena could handle. Monsters, more difficult, but also manageable. Xena smirked at the compliment. Xena was aware that many people found her beautiful, but she wasn't vain. She didn't take the opportunity to glance in a mirror whenever she could, nor did she really care what she looked like. Tonight, she'd taken some time to prepare and it was nice to be noticed. "Next to you, of course." Xena returned the compliment and then held out her hand. "Sure, sure. Let's dance."

She tugged the bard toward the dance floor and suddenly felt rather awkward. She was cultured, yes. She could dance, yes. But she didn't do it often, and even more rarely with Gabrielle. Still, she bolstered her confidence and settled her hand on Gabrielle's waist while the other took up her hand. "Ready?" She then began to guide them around the floor to the rhythm of the music currently floating over their heads.

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bardictraveller
2009-04-04 02:15 am UTC (link)

The blonde shrugged, not really too worried about it. Both she and Xena knew that Gabrielle tended to talk a lot, and sometimes said things more than once. If Xena really minded, she would likely make it very well known, and not just sound amused about the whole thing. "It's still true, though." She smiled at her friend, and then looked at her expectently until she held out her hand. It looked like she was going to get to dance, after all.

With a smile, she placed her hand into that of the warrior woman, and they moved together onto the dance floor. There were definitely worse people she could be dancing with, she knew that for a fact. And, in reality, Xena was her favorite person, so a very good person to have a dance partner. Also, the woman wouldn't step on her feet, she knew that much.

So, when Xena put her hand on Gabrielle's waist, she returned it with a hand on the warrior's shoulder. They moved well together, she decided. And it could have been much, much worse, but she didn't see how it could be much better. Her green eyes sparkled at the other woman as they moved through the dance, and it was a very good thing. When the music ended, Gabrielle was sorry.

"That was fun! You should dance more."

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