| �Quaggle!� �Quaggy,� said the goblin, but ver quietly. He turned quite quickly; when you hear Jareth shouting in that tone you don�t waste time. He had the woman with him. She didn�t look happy, but then again nor did the King. �Have you seen the Prince?� Jareth asked, simply. �The Prince, sire?� �Yes, the Prince, you stupid Goblin.� �No sire,� he said, �not since dinner yesterday, sire.� �Are you sure?� asked the lady, who had a blotchy face and sniffed after she asked. �Quiet!� said Jareth. �What about Jaden?� �Jaden?� �My brother, idiot.� �Your brother?� �Why do I bother? Not a brain cell between them.� He grabbed the lady by her arm, and they disappeared. They travelled through most of the underground, and beyond. They didn�t know where Jaden would be, and he was very likely to return to the world to hide. Jareth was incredibly angry, which seemed to be his way of dealing with worry. He didn�t seem to accept that Michelle would feel the same way as he did; it just didn�t seem to occur to him. It was misunderstanding rather than selfishness, even Michelle could see that, not that it made her hate him any less. She really felt that she was loosing her sanity, and the thought of life without Dominic had crossed her mind numerous times. But Jaden was Dominic�s father; sure he would never hurt him? Michelle didn�t know couldn�t tell. They stopped in clearing on the very outskirts of the forest, near the edge of the underground. Jareth sat and thought, probably about what he would do to Jaden if he ever caught him. His hands were fidgety and tense. Michelle didn�t know what he would do with those hands, so she stood a little away from him, and then knelt to pray. Again she said the Lord�s prayer. �Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will�� �What do you think you are doing?� She didn�t know whether to carry on at first. But then she remembered what her mother had told her. �Always stick up for yourself.� �Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.� �Tell me what you are doing you stupid girl.� �Give us this day our daily bread and�.� �Answer me!� �And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.� She heard swift footsteps from behind her, as Jareth stepped on the leafy ground. Her voice was shaky, and she curled herself in a little, preparing for another blow. �And lead us not�� �Still throwing your weight around Jareth?� The new voice made her turn. It was feminine, but quite low in pitch. It rang out, though sounding calm. It was the voice of someone well educated and experienced, with an enviable self-knowledge. Jareth was standing almost on top of Michelle, but he too had turned at the voice, and was now surveying the lady behind him. She was a lady, not a woman. Everything about her seemed perfect, and she stood in front of the most powerful men Michelle had ever met yet showed no signs of fear. She seemed older than Michelle, if she had been human Michelle would have guessed her age as about forty. But she wasn�t human. She was radiating magic, which formed a glow around her. �Lucretia,� Jareth said, almost politely, but hinting a jeer. �Jareth,� said the lady, Lucretia. �If you dislike human girls so much, why do you have so many of them visit you?� �Have you seen a little boy?� said Michelle, quickly. She didn�t care who the lady was. �Another poor wretch through the labyrinth.� She sighed. �Your brother?� �My son,� said Jareth and Michelle almost in unison. �Ooh, the plot thickens, Jareth.� She strode towards Michelle, though almost circling Jareth. She put her hand on Michelle�s face, and gently persuaded it upward with a soft touch. Michelle glanced at Jareth, who was watching intently. �She�s a pretty girl,� she said, as if she was commenting on the weather. She walked behind Michelle, who was glued to the spot. �You two must have made a beautiful child. How did you come to loose him?� Michelle made no attempt to answer, but looked at her feet. Jareth ignored the question. �Have you seen him or not Lucretia?� Michelle felt something warm touch her left hand and looked down. Her breath caught in her throat and she fell over her feet, trying to put as much distance between herself and the lioness that had appeared beside her. Jareth was not amused. �Lucretia!� The lioness growled at him. �I command you to return to your human form!� The lioness sat and growled at him quietly again. Then it changed into Lucretia in one strange, blurred movement. The lady stood up. Then she spun towards Michelle, who was standing wide-eyed with her heart pounding. �Impressed?� she said, more like a child than a lioness. Michelle nodded. There is no other reply to such a question. �She�s a shape changer Michelle, that�s what she does.� Jareth dismissed her with a look, and swept past her to Michelle. He took her arm. �Come, we cannot waste our time with childish tricks.� �But I thought you wanted to find your son.� They both paused, but Michelle was the one to break the silence. �Where is he? Have you seen him?� Michelle looked straight into her eyes, pleading. �Please.� �You poor child,� said the lady. �You couldn�t have been more than fourteen when you had him.� �Stop playing games, Lucretia, and show us the child.� Jareth moved up close to them, in quite a threatening way. �She was seventeen,� he added, maybe as an excuse to himself. Lucretia shook her head in disgust. �Follow me,� she said. She turned and walked into the forest. Jareth linked arms with Michelle, gently but firmly, and they walked after her. �Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom, the, power and the glory, for ever and ever Amen,� Michelle whispered. |