The Heart of the Labyrinth Part 2

Chapter 6: As the World Falls Down

Juliet woke later than she usually did the next morning, odd and not since she had slept fitfully the night before. Her dreams had been plagued with visions of her running through the dark, the air filled with salt as if on the shore of the sea. Every direction she had chosen only left her in a more mindless wondering. In the distance she had heard a voice calling for her, but no matter how hard she ran she couldn't find the one calling for her.

This dream left her exhausted when she finally did wake. None of the goblins were in her room, leaving her to wonder where they had gotten off to. The young woman walked to her wardrobe and retrieved her work clothes and changed into them rather slowly, her mind still waking. A few minutes later, she brushed her hair and put it up before leaving her room.

At the top of the stairs she opened the door to a back hall, only the nearly hit someone with it. She quickly pulled it back mumbling. "Sorry." Slipping out of the doorway she watched as the stranger in servants clothing walked hurriedly away without a word. Confused, Juliet walked towards the kitchen where she could make out the sound of the stove fire cooking food, and the aroma of cooked bacon, eggs and vegetables filled the air.

In the kitchen were three more servants, all bustling about in a tizzy, dashing from here and there, opening various cabinets and drawers, retrieving utensils and ingredients that Jules didn't recall having. As best she could, she avoided the cooks, walking over to the cupboard where the bread went, only to open it to see jars of various things she had never seen before.

Setting her jaw, the woman turned about and attempted to catch one of the servants who was slipping past her with a tray. "Excuse me, but where is the bread?" She received no answer. He passed her by without so much as a blink. Walking over to the man behind the stove, she again asked. "I'm sorry, but where is everything?" Once again, no reply was given. Now in quite a terribly put out mood, Juliet left the kitchen in the direction of Jareth's room.

Passing from the back hall over to the main hall, that was thankfully empty, she mentally went over exactly what she was going to say to Jareth when she walked into his bedroom. In her mind she imagined picking up the handheld candelabra that was by the door and throwing it at him where he laid in his bed. With any luck she'd hit him in the head, giving him the head ache she was beginning to get.

Out of nowhere, a hand shot out of the darkness from a side walk way and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her into the shadows before another hand clamped over her mouth. Her eyes quickly adjusted enough to see Jareth's blue eyes looking at her intently as he whispered. "Be quiet."

She removed his hand from her mouth quite violently as she snapped quietly. "What the hell is going on?" Jareth's face was a bit surprised at her choice in wording, but at the moment he was lucky not to be on the receiving end of a long list of expletives.
"Nerrissa has her own personal staff apparently." He explained as he looked out into the hall nervously. Giving him a look mixed with disgust and confusion while rolling her wrist Juliet said.

"You're not even married yet, why is she moving half her kingdom into the palace?" Looking back to her with a look of haughty derision.
"It isn't half her kingdom."
"Jareth, I couldn't find the bread this morning. Those little creeps have completely taken over. Have you even seen the goblins yet?" Worried, Jareth asked.
"No I haven't. Are they ok?" Again, the servant rolled her eyes.
"I don't know, but that's my point, neither of us have seen them today. They always wake me in the morning. Every morning they're up to something. But today, nothing." Sighing, Jareth once more looked around.
"Come, come, let's not lose our heads over this. They're bound to be around here somewhere. Here, I'll search the castle, you can go and look in the gardens, see if the Armōrum will help look for them." She gave him a curt nod before turning to leave but his hand was still wrapped around her arm. "Juliet," he said before pausing. Her head looked back at him, as he added. "Please stay out of trouble. This is stressful for everyone, I would appreciate it if you would at least attempt to be at least tolerant of her majesty, if for no other reason than the fact that she is the heir to the Sea Fae's kingdom." Reluctantly, she gave him another dip of her head before walking away.