The Heart of the Labyrinth Part 2

Chapter 5         Where Have All the Good Times Gone?

            To Juliet’s great relief the other servants stayed for the day after the ball to clean everything so they left it better than it was before. The entire time this was very hectic with giving instructions on where and how things were to be cleaned and stored, while at the same time she dodged the Goblin King as much as possible. Understandably his mood was even more so unpredictable than ever, meaning any slight delay, any wrong tone could send him reeling.

            So, every time he would enter the room the girl was working in, she found an excuse to leave or be too busy to discuss anything with him as to keep the likelihood of ticking him off to the bear minimum. This was a delicate matter, distancing between them couldn’t be too far or it would annoy the king that she was obviously avoiding him. She had to move easily, going from group to group of people she would walk to, asking for updates, giving new instructions and checking things off of her list that was always in hand.

            Going for over a month without the company of her friends was beginning to wear on Juliet’s mind. Her time away reminded her of how close she had gotten to a few of the goblins, especially Tronin, not to mention Nolana. It was going to be quite a night whenever she told them about all that had happened that month. Their confrontation would last hours if she knew her friends at all. Endless jeers and nags about everything.

             At the end of the day, almost everything was completed. Tables and chandeliers where covered with white sheets, fresh drapes hung from every window to help keep the things inside from fading in the light of the sun, and the few things that remained there was no need for any further instructions. This being so, Jareth had arranged for the same carriage that had brought her to the palace to return her back to the castle in the Labyrinth.

            By the time she had set out to return to the Labyrinth it was late in the evening, placing her arrival sometime early the next morning if everything went well. Sleep didn’t come much easier than the first time, though the extra blanket did help some for comfort. The road was just as bumpy as ever and the driver did seem to drive any slower than he had when they were going to the coast.

            Her night passed fairly well, only waking a handful of times, those moments when she was awake didn’t last long before she nodded off again. All of her body longed for sleep, each eye refused to stay open long because of how much they ached when they were. It relieved her much when she remembered that the next day was Saturday and she wasn’t required to do anything except cook dinner for the king.

            Light from the window by her face woke Juliet early that morning. Too early. Though her eyes told her to go back to sleep, her mind was wide awake for now. Any time that she wanted to sleep but her subconscious wouldn’t allow it, made the girl wish she could just go to bed even more.

            With sleep out of the question, she pulled out a geography book from her pack and stared blankly at the pages, not completely comprehending the words her eyes were gazing at. Eventually she left her finger in her spot then closed the book to daze off while staring outside the window she sat beside.

            A crisp fresh breeze blew through the cabin, waking her a little more. Her mind wandered to thinking how everything would work with Jareth marrying someone he quite obviously disliked. This was, if he didn’t find some sneaky loop hole first because, as the king had said before, he wasn’t the marrying type. That was something everyone could agree on. From what she could remember there were no books relating to traditional weddings of the Underground in the library at the castle.