Anam Cara

The Champion Becomes a Nurse

Jareth stared at the wooden ceiling of his canopy, eyes straining in the darkened room, tracing the dark grain of the wood with his gaze. How many times had he followed the sloping curves of each plank? He saw the markings even as he closed his weary eyes. But the pattern of those panels was preferable to his own thoughts which inevitably always won out.

Pain coursed through his veins. He had brought this on himself. His past opinions on humans were right all along. Humans were weak. Easily broken and he was weaker still for allowing himself to even entertain the thought of forever with one. He deserved this fate. How much longer did he have to suffer the consequences of his failings?

His ears pricked at the sound of voices down the hall, doors slamming, the excited chatter of goblins. They weren't allowed this high up in the castle. He'd long ago forbidden any goblins from frequenting the upper floors. Too many damaged antiques and heirlooms. Fae and other creatures with higher intelligence and self-control tended to the maintenance of those areas. Where was Torren? Shouldn't he be aware of such goings-on?

With great effort he rolled to his side, turning his back to the door. Had he the strength, he would address the obvious infraction but he lacked all his usual power. Why should he care anymore? There would be no successor to inherit such things. Let them shatter everything to shambles.

He watched his black and silver damask bed hangings sway in the breeze from the poorly shuttered window. A crack of golden ray danced along the curtains reflecting light off of the silver satiny threads, corrupting the shroud of caliginosity he created for himself as it appeared synchronously with the wind's sporadic currents.

Jareth heard laughter once more and groaned. There was no need for them to enjoy their simple lives within his vicinity. He wouldn't begrudge them their ability to continue their days without the pain that he felt growing day by day, but there was plenty of place in the lower floors for them to celebrate their chaotic existences without disturbing him. However, he did expect them to show their due respect until his final days.

He bit his lower lip, his long fingers fisted the sheets that slipped between his whitened knuckles as agony radiated from his chest through all his extremities. The taste of iron met his tongue as the inside of his lip bled freely under the sharp edges of his teeth. If ever there was a time he wished for death, it was in these moments where his entire body seized as pain swept through him in undulating waves.

His eyes closed, lids weighted and heavy. His body damp with perspiration, hair clinging to his brow. His one reprieve was knowing he would pass out in a dreamless stupor once this passed. If he were luckier still, he would never wake up.

Sarah watched the short procession of her friends and goblins carrying her meager belongings up the many elegantly twisting staircases and through the galleried hallways of the castle. Twists and turns abounded mimicking the stonewalled edifice that surrounded the towering palace. The higher they went the more she noticed the changes in her environment until they came to a corridor with portraits, tapestries, tables, and suits of armor lining the entire length of the hardwood floors that shone with freshly polished wax.

"Swanky," she muttered as she followed everyone through extravagant double doors. She paused to look at the intricate carvings of flora and fauna on the door, her fingers tracing over the smooth carving of vines that surrounded a graceful unicorn. Her attention was pulled by the goblins squealing with laughter as they jumped on a substantial four-poster cherry wood bed. She ran forward to stop them but Ludo had scooped them all up before she could even utter a word.

"No," the furry monster scolded. And for some reason, the goblins looked mollified as the gentle giant held them in a tight hug. He carried the squirming prisoners away from the furniture, ducking his head to avoid a chandelier topped with candles before dropping them on an alabaster rug woven with twisting vines and leaves spiraling in a pattern surrounded by a navy border with red roses.