The Labyrinth on Bourbon Street 2

How I was Used

"So who were the runners?" I asked when Jareth and I returned to the throne room the next day. I was eager to know if my friends had come back to me. 

"Nobody you'd know." Jareth answered. I knew him well enough to know that he could deceive in the same way he told the truth, so there was no way to tell. "I just sent them on their way, setting a little trap for them that'll split them up for good."

"Clever." I retorted, willing to drop the subject entirely. 

"Out of curiosity, if we were to have your friend return for a visit, what kind of dream should I treat her to?" he asked me. It was then when I knew something was up. 

"Why?" I questioned, raising one eyebrow.

"If there is a time in the near future that your friend willingly comes to visit our kingdom, and doesn't pose a threat to our sovereignty, I would, of course, treat her as a guest." Jareth explained, his silver tongue shimmering. "And of course, we would treat her to the Underground's finest spells."

"I see." I responded, being painstakingly weary of everything he asked. 

"So I would like to know up front so we can have it ready for when she arrives." Jareth played on my emotions and made it sound like he was planning a surprise visit. "Does she have a gentleman friend?"

"Yes, I believe she does now." I laughed, letting the nostalgia that I had previously smothered to cloud my judgement. "We had a boy that we fought over who worked at the bar with me."

"Tell me about him." Jareth insisted. This confused me, because something told me that Jareth was the type that gets easily jealous.

"Ookayy..." I answered, suspicion unwavering. "His name is Sebastian, he's from Romania and he plays the piano for live music nights at the bar..."

"Your hair is lovely." He interrupted, pretending to be distracted. "May I touch it?"

"Um, I don't mind..." I said, pushing a stray blade behind my ear. My face turned almost as red as my hair was. "Be my guest." 

He ran his spindly fingers through my hair and made a part, then busied himself weaving a braid. 

"You seemed to have eyes for this Sebastian," He started. I relaxed at the feeling of his hands brushing through my knotted hair and it seemed that opening up was suddenly an option. In hindsight, I applauded him. He sure knew how to manipulate a girl. "What is he like?"

"He's got dark hair and blue eyes and is basically a human marshmallow." I confessed. 

"Marshmallow?" Jareth asked, confused. "I don't think I've heard of such a thing."

"Oh, I see..." I corrected myself. "Well, he's really innocent and polite, and his favorite exclamation is 'goodness gracious, great balls of fire'."

I laughed when memories came rushing to my head. "He hosts sing-along nights every Friday and Saturday, and he loves to flirt with the waitresses by pulling them up on stage and having them sing along."

"He sounds..." Jareth searched for his next word. "Rather fragile." 

"That's an odd conclusion to jump to." I commented. "But you're not wrong. He's kind of a boy scout. But his precious innocence is protected by Allie and I."

"Will Allie be able to take care of him now that you're away?" Jareth asked.

"Absolutely." I nodded my head. "Allie can hold her own, and hold it for him too."