As The World Falls Down

Chapter 5

Once inside the castle, you were immediately overwhelmed with more stimulation than you had sustained in every day of the past week combined. The inside of the castle was as grand in structure as you had expected a castle to be: broad stone arches, winding carpeted hallways and an abundance of finely carved staircases. However, you felt the overall aesthetic to be lacking the grandeur the architecture seemed to require. It was a bit dim in every room, the overarching color in each room was the drab gray of the stone, and there was always at least one goblin watching you as you moved curiously through the barren halls, Sarah guiding as you trailed her quietly.

"I'm guessing there is no Goblin Queen," you said to Sarah as you turned into yet another silent hallway and she nodded. "That makes sense. It's lovely, just feels a bit..."

"Empty? It really is," Sarah agreed. Jareth had insisted she take you to settle into a guest room while dinner was prepared, not even giving you the opportunity to decline an offer to stay the night. He had simply made the decision for you. "The goblins are only here during the day or when Jareth calls for them, so he stays in this castle all by himself. This is probably the first time someone has ever spent the night here with him."

"You say that like we're going to be sleeping in the same bed," you said, nervously swallowing at the mental image.

"Well, you're going to be in the guest room in the same wing of the castle, so you might as well be," Sarah joked, and you shoved her arm as she giggled. "It's the most intimate he's been with someone in years."

"Seriously? You cannot convince me that man doesn't have people breaking down his door for a chance."

"You forget this is the Goblin City. The only non-Goblins that come here are me and my friends, and he doesn't care about any of the inhabitants of the labyrinth, so I'd say he's not exactly on a winning streak right now."

That was an absolutely baffling thought. But it was quickly put on the back burner with the rest of your dirty thoughts when Sarah brought you into the room where you would be staying the night.

The doorway you passed under had been of average build, and the door was wooden and plain, so when you stopped into a room with ceilings tall as a cathedral, you were a bit surprised. On the far left side of the room was the thick trunk of a tall tree with brilliant emerald leaves bursting off of the branches that wound their way through each wall in the room, curling up at the very tallest peak of the ceiling. The walls were a true shade of jade and the floors were made of a shiny, sturdy hardwood that was peppered with an assortment of neatly woven rugs. The bed was pressed up against the wall next to the base of the dominating tree, boasting a king size mattress adorned with a plethora of fluffed pillows and thick blankets, all on a vintage silver bed frame.

"It's beautiful," you exclaimed faintly. "I can't possibly stay in here, this is too-"

"Nice? Big? Green?"

You turned to see Jareth leaning in the doorway, looking you over. You realized that you had stumbled into the very center of the room while lost in thought, as well as the sudden absence of your newfound friend.

"Where did Sarah go? I never heard her leave," you asked and Jareth let out a harsh laugh, standing up straight before walking casually towards you.

"You find yourself gifted with this room, alone with the only other fairy I'm guessing you've seen in a long time and all you think of is poor Sarah? Should I be expecting her to be spending the night here with you?" he teased and you squinted at him in disbelief.

"Certainly not," you replied, crossing your arms under your breasts. "We've only just met."

"We've only just met and yet I can't help but see you jumping at the chance to spend the night with me."

"You're mistaken," you spat at him and he raised an eyebrow at your response, smiling smugly. He was not mistaken, but you wouldn't dare give him that satisfaction. "What have you done with her?"

"You say that like I'd hurt her. I sent her off to the dining room a little early, I was hoping to catch a moment alone with my guest before I let her stay in my castle," he responded casually, cocking his head to look at you from a new angle. You tried not to twitch under his gaze. "I haven't encountered any of the fae for a century now. You mean to tell me a fae colony has been in my very own labyrinth all this time?"

"It's not like we knew either, if that makes you feel any better."

"It does not. I'm guessing you have no way of getting back to your community. Speaking from my own experience, of course."

"Nope," you confirmed and for a moment, he looked genuinely sympathetic. "You left, too?"

"Never mind that, I just want to know what you intend to do beyond tonight, considering you can't go back."

You opened your mouth to reply but found no answer. His eyes on yours were so piercing and left you even more clueless than you already were, so you let your mouth gape like a fish before noticing and clamping it shut, looking at your boots in embarrassment.

"I'm not quite sure," you admitted. "But I thank you for letting me spend a night here. Truly, it's very kind. I'll figure something out in the morning."

"Well, you can't stay in the city," he muttered, regarding his leather gloves with newfound interest. "It's goblin only, of course. I'm quite strict about that."

"Oh, of course, I wasn't saying th-"

"I suppose you'll stay in the castle until further notice."

"Wait, what?"

At that moment, a bell rang from somewhere deep within the castle and Jareth turned to it, clasping his hands together.

"Ah, dinner at last. Come, Y/N, eat your fill before we discuss the logistics."

As soon as he had come, he had gone, and you were left alone in the beautiful room that you were starting to think he had made just for you.

To stay in. For a while. A few doors down from his room.

"This should be interesting," you muttered to yourself as you shut the bedroom door behind you and started off towards the dining room.