| �Michelle.� She turned back to her old friend. �I missed you.� �I missed you too.� It sounds like such a corny and fake way of saying it, but it was what they needed to say to each other. �Pascal, we were all so worried about you, your Mum�� �You all forgot about me.� There was a big pause �We�I�� Michelle started, and then stopped again. �I didn�t mean to,� she said. It sounded pathetic. She hadn�t meant to forget about her best friend. She�d just not seen her or her parents and it had gone out of her mind, she had her own problems. �Pascal,� she said. She wanted to explain her thoughts a bit, but couldn�t, so tried to explain what had happened since. It was a simple enough to say, but incredibly difficult. �This is Dominic. He�s my son.� She called Dominic back. �Dominic, this is Pascal. She used to go to school with me.� Dominic skipped towards them, after half ignoring the majority of the conversation having found a copy of a book by Anne Fine. �Hello,� he said. �Hello� replied Pascal, not sure what else to say. She glanced back at Michelle, and then said �did you find the children�s section? There are loads of books. Do you like Roald Dahl?� �Yes.� �Why don�t you go have a look then.� Dominic skipped back to look at the books, and Pascal looked at him and then at Jareth, who was enjoying their pain. �He�s�� she started, but Michelle interrupted. �Yes.� She looked at Jareth herself, and then back at Pascal. �I didn�t want to. You saw them, you were there.� She said it quietly, but Jareth still heard, and it angered him. He moved up behind her and almost whispered in her ear: �You keep telling yourself that, Michelle, and you might just believe it.� Michelle scowled at him, but he ignored her and moved towards Dominic. Pascal watched them together, knowingly, and Michelle watched her. �What happened?� Michelle asked her. �Why didn�t you come home? Where did you go?� �I came here. They sent me here. I don�t know how or why. I wondered around the city for a while, I didn�t know what to do. Then I found Gregory. He was working in a bookshop. Jareth had taken him too, but his sister lost the labyrinth and was too old to become a goblin, so he stayed. It was love at first sight. Jareth forgot about me, so I stayed with him. We�re not married; we just like to say we are. There is no way for us to marry here.� �Did you not want to come home? What about your Mum?� �No, I didn�t want to. It was just, simpler this way. I love Gregory, and he can�t go home. At least here we�re together. Mum would understand.� �Does she know where you are?� �Sort of.� �Sort of?� Pascal looked down, with slight embarrassment, and Michelle felt for her. She said her friend�s name, and hugged her. She really had missed her awfully, even if she had only just realised how much. Pascal hugged her back, and they held each other for a moment. They had each other again. Gregory watched his wife with a mixture of fear and joy. He loved the idea that she now had a friend, it would make her happy, but she could be a dangerous friend. He didn�t want to get on the wrong side of the king ever if he could help it. He�d kept his wife out of the man�s way for years; he hadn�t even noticed her. He didn�t want to get caught in one of Jareth�s games. They ordered the music and left. Michelle didn�t know whether to be happy or sad about her discovery. The first thought that hit her on leaving the shop was what Pascal knew. Had she seen Jaden? What about her hair on the rose? Michelle couldn�t say. She wished she had asked while she had had the chance, but then again, Jareth had been there, so maybe it was for the better. Dominic was trying to walk and read at the same time. Jareth steered him around a couple of bushes and a quite large goblin that had placed itself in the middle of the road and didn�t look like it wanted to move. Michelle took the book, and told him to wait till they got home to read it, then wished she had said that differently. Jareth put his arm around her shoulders. She moved away from him and he didn�t stop her. The door of the bookshop opened. Gregory and Pascal weren�t expecting anymore visitors that day; they had already seen their only real customer. They worried a little about why Jareth would come back again; he wasn�t exactly a person to drop in for friendly chats. Nor did anyone else actually. They quietly crept into the shop and were met by the friendly gaze of a lady they had never seen before. She had quite long, smooth hair, which was pulled back behind her shoulders, and pale blue eyes. She was beautiful, but not young. She wore a long green dress, which seemed to shimmer, but Pascal couldn�t tell what it was made of. The sleeves were long, and the skirt floated over her figure. She looked incredibly elegant. �Good afternoon,� she said kindly �I�m looking for a book.� �Of course,� said Gregory. �Are you looking for a particular book that I could help you find?� �Not really,� she said. �I just haven�t read anything properly in ages and just thought I�d start again. I remember I used to love it, I just haven�t had the time in a while.� �That�s fine,� he said, �there are some very good titles I can recommend to you.� �Please don�t take this the wrong way,� she said. �I just thought that maybe your wife would be able to help me.� �Oh,� said Gregory, �I�� �It�s just that maybe another woman would know more about what I would like.� She smiled again, and looked at Pascal. �Of course,� said Gregory. �Pascal, would you...?� Pascal stepped forwards smiling. �Yes,� she said. �How can I help you, Madam?� Gregory wandered off, leaving his wife to charm the lady into buying as much as she could. He was quite doubtful of a sale. �So, are you looking for fiction?� asked Pascal. �Yes, I think so,� said the lady, �something entertaining I feel.� �What sort are you in to?� The lady laughed at her choice of phrase. �I�m not sure, really. What about some real literature, like the Bront� sisters?� �Have you read Jane Eyre?� �Not in a long time.� �What about Wuthering Heights?� said Pascal. �You can just imagine Heathcliff, tall, dark, incredibly handsome! I�m completely faithful to Gregory, of course, but those Victorians really knew how to create men.� They laughed together. �I�d forgotten about Heathcliff. It was silly Cathy, she should have married for love rather than money, and everyone would have lived happily ever after.� �Yes, but it would have been a very boring story.� They laughed together again. �There was something about Heathcliff that reminded me of an old friend of mine. I believe you know him actually. He�s incredibly handsome, tall, though has fair hair, but he has that exciting streak.� �I�m not sure who you�re talking about,� said Pascal, thinking about Jareth, though she might have exchanged the word exciting for dangerous. �I think you know him as James Landau.� Pascal knew Jaden�s real name, but Jaden wouldn�t have had such an effect on her as Mr Landau, her once class music teacher. Lucretia smiled slightly at the girl�s expression of slight confusion and fear. �We need to talk about Michelle.� |