Encounters

"Stephan, you have to help me." Jareth nearly begged. "That baggage of a girl is driving me crazy, I have to get away!"

The dark haired man smiled lightly at the obvious suffering on the part of his brother. Cassandra seemed to be leading him on a merry little chase. Well, he had a solution to that problem. "I'll just bring her over here and she can visit the kingdom of the Fey."

Jareth frowned deeply at him through the mirror. "I don't think so Stephan. I'm sending her on a tour of the kingdom with Talius. That should take a month at least, so I think I'm heading out to Sir Liam's country house."

He had to hold in his laughter. So Jareth didn't want him to get his hands on the lovely Cassandra. Well, they would see about that. He had fifty years to change Jareth's mind about that. In the meantime…he *did* need a vacation after all, Stephan didn't think he had taken one in over a hundred years. Jareth certainly deserved a bit of peace and quiet.

"Very well then brother, I'll watch your kingdom for a month. But don't think about running off."

"Oh, I wouldn't." Jareth assured him, "I'll be back before Cassandra returns." Stephan caught the warning in his tone. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning, is that too early for you?"

"The Weavers will be glad to see you." Jareth smiled only slightly before dissolving the link.

Stephan stared once more at his own reflection, then turned to prepare himself for the trip. This would be a long month, no doubt, but he would survive it for his brother's sake. And, he smiled, he would just have to ask a *little* favor on his return. Like Cassandra.

A hand reached out forcefully and slammed down on the alarm clock, and it abruptly stopped beeping. It couldn't be morning yet, the sleeping form thought, it just couldn't. After a few moments of silence, it slipped back into the unconscious bliss of sleep once more.

The alarm sounded once more fifteen minutes later. Grumbling, Jessica Reily pulled a pillow over her head to muffle the sound.

Unfortunately, there were *some* sounds you couldn't muffle. Like ones coming from *inside* your head.

She burrowed under the covers, trying in vain to muffle the sound of the Guardian. "Go away Thetis," She mumbled.

<<JESSICA!>> The voice thundered in her head. Jessica sat up, clearly not a morning person.

"All right, I'm up." She grated out to the air in the room. Dragging herself out of bed, she somehow made it to the shower. Stepping into the steaming water, she sighed. Sleep hadn't been easy last night either. It was the case, she reminded herself, it was just the case.

"Liar." She mumbled as she turned the water off. She knew what was really troubling her. Sam. Her brother. It was nearly a year since his death, and still she couldn't bring herself to accept the fact she'd never see him smile again.

Wrapping herself in a towel and padding over to her closet, Jessica wondered where a normal life escaped her. Perhaps it was four years ago, when she 'inherited' Thetis. Perhaps it was when her parents disowned her for joining the FBI like her brother. Perhaps it was when Sam died. They all factored evenly, she supposed. But then again, when had she *ever* lived a normal life? Sorting through her closet, she pulled out a charcoal gray sweater. Sam's. With a rueful smile she took out a pair of black pants and laid them out on her bed. Glancing briefly in the mirror she frowned. Same dark blonde hair, same green eyes. Nothing spectacular. No true beauty. Nothing special.

"Of course you did." Jessica agreed as she got dressed. "You hear anything and everything I say, think, do you ever just ignore me?" She asked the Guardian.

The voice laughed softly. <<I take my Holiday same as the next goddess. But really Jessica, you need to stop thinking about your brother and think about the case. There's a young girl missing, and you need to find her.>>

"I know that too." She said as she put on some coffee. "I just can't seem to figure out how she simply 'disappeared'. It seems rather impossible. There wasn't a clue to be found anywhere."

Jessica nodded as she sipped her coffee. "Yes, that's a good idea. I'll head in there before I go to the office." She didn't feel like driving into the city anyway. Finishing her coffee she put on her shoes, grabbed her keys and purse, then ran out the door.

<<You forgot the coffee maker again.>> Thetis reminded her as she started up her car.

<<Maybe.>> Thetis laughed and Jessica felt her disappear for a moment, hopefully to turn off the coffee pot before the house burned down.

Putting the car into reverse and backing down the driveway, Jessica wondered once more what it might have been like to live a normal life. Nearly ten years ago, when she was only fourteen, her family had taken a holiday to Hawaii. She and her brother were playing in the waves. Sam was always the best at anything, yet she still had to challenge him. But the undertow was strong that day, much stronger than a young girl could handle. The waves had suddenly picked up, and rather than be crushed, she dove under them.

Again and again, the waves had come. Further and further out she was swept, until she found herself exhausted from merely treading water. She had felt herself going under, felt the air escaping her….

Jessica still wasn't sure if she had actually died or not, and Thetis would never tell her. Instead she remembered suddenly waking up in a hospital bed, with tubes and monitors surrounding her. Scared, she couldn't find the strength to talk. But someone had spoken to her. A voice, soothing and calming, like the waves of a morning sea filled her mind and told her she would live, she would be okay.

Thetis. The woman she had never seen, but heard clearly enough in her mind. She had explained to Jessica that she was a Guardian, a goddess. When she chose to save Jessica from drowning, she bonded with her in a way that defied explanation. She had been with her ever since.

Turning another corner, she pulled up to the pretty brownstone, which was once home to the little missing girl. Belief that the kidnapper had traveled far brought the case into FBI's jurisdiction, which no one on the local police squad liked. One such man waited for her at the front door.

"What do you want this time, Agent Reily?" His gaze traveled down her in a way she would rather avoid, so she merely frowned.

"The same thing I want every time, Officer. To get in the house and have a look around."

He looked ready to argue with her for a moment, then decided otherwise. Unlocking the door, he stepped aside as she entered. "Don't touch anything." He called after her.

Jessica fought to keep walking. That man was a nuisance, for sure. Not only did he dislike the FBI, he disliked women, and disliked her. Well, it couldn't be helped. She turned her attention to the empty home. They had combed it top to bottom, but maybe something had been missed. She couldn't shake off the strange feeling that surrounded her whenever she entered the house. Walking up the wooden staircase, she made her way to the little girl's room.

It was done up in pinks and white. Pictures of teen heartthrobs were tacked up on the walls, speaking out that maybe the girl had grown out of dolls and lace. Jessica walked over to the dresser, glancing once more at the things on it. A small book of poetry, she had already read every line and memorized them well. None seemed the work of a girl contemplating suicide. Only one had even seemed slightly unnerving, talking of goblins and kings. She looked down at the pictures also on the dresser. Most were of family members, but one always got her attention. It was a shot of two girls in front of a large building. The one on the right with dark hair was the missing child. Melinda. She was only thirteen years old, too young to run away. But what had happened to her?

Turning she surveyed the room once more, her gaze resting on a small shelf of books. With a raised eyebrow, Jessica walked over. The shelves seemed to be filled with fairy tales, not the normal horror stories girls that age loved. And these books didn't seem to be for show either. Their bindings were worn, but the books themselves weren't old. They had been read numerous times, that was for certain. Jessica sat down on the floor in front of the shelf and read the titles.

"Cinderella, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast." She scanned the shelves, taking a book out and flipping through the pages. The story of the Frog Prince was the subject of this chapter. Would a girl so in love with fairy tales decide to live one and run away? She didn't think so.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a book falling over, taken off balance from Jessica removing a number of books. This book seemed to be different, a small red-leather binding, with gold letters across the front.

<<I'm not sure.>> Came the halting reply from the goddess. <<It does sound vaguely familiar, but I can't quite place it. Perhaps Carmen would know. She spends more time with mortals than any of us.>>

"Your sister probably would know," she agreed, "But sadly she's not here now." She opened the book and began to read. Surprisingly, it turned out to be a play about a young princess who defeated a goblin king. "The princess and the goblins?" She mused as she read out a few lines. "Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered… wow, perfect fairy tale fodder."

Turning a few more pages back to the beginning, she read some more, wondering if that man downstairs would laugh if he heard her. Let him laugh.

"I cannot abide thee, brother. I summon the goblins to take you away, right now!" Jessica smiled. There were plenty of times when she would have wished Sam away if she could. Now however, she only wanted him back.

Suddenly, a strange thought flitted across her mind. She stood up and walked over to the dresser, picking up the little book. Flipping through the pages, she found the poem she was looking for. "Facing the Goblin King." She mused. "I wonder." The poem wasn't well written, but it showed a kind of determination. Melinda must truly enjoy that story. She read a bit more out loud.

"I found the king, and wished to be with him one day. So I said to the goblins, come and take me away. Take me away to the kingdom of my love, I say. But the words were wrong, nothing that day. I must remember it well, the words I must say. I must remember so well: I wish the goblins would come and take me away. Right now."

Jessica frowned. "It almost rhymed, save for that last part." Laughter agreed with her from under the bed. Jumping back, Jessica felt under her sweater for her gun. Was someone in the room with her? "Thetis?"

Just more laughter, and at a higher pitch than normal for a human, or a goddess. Then what?…

She kneeled down slowly and lifted the dust ruffle from the bed. It was dark, but she could make out a number of forms, all of which seemed to be moving. They were small, each no bigger than a bowling ball…

"Boo!" Suddenly a small purple furry…. Thing…. Popped up in front of her. Something that could be described no other way.

Stephan was nearly beside himself. If one more thing went wrong, he didn't know what he'd do. First, the goblins had nearly revolted when he asked for his dinners to be cooked by his own personal chef, then he had that constant stream of petitioners. Goblins weren't supposed to petition, were they?

And now there was another human in the labyrinth, *without* a younger sibling. What were the odds of that happening twice in a hundred years, let alone one? First it was Cassandra, and now this little slip of a girl who was simply furious that the goblin king wasn't there to welcome her. Damn the red book that was floating around the human realm. Someone would have to go find that thing and burn it! But for now, he had to deal with this human, as her little temper tantrum was getting on his nerves.

She stomped her little feet and glared at him. "I want to see the king, and I know you're not him!" She whined. "His eyes are blue, and he has blonde hair!" For a young thing, she certainly had spunk. How old could the child be, ten, eleven years old?

Stephan rolled his eyes and addressed the little fury again. "Yes, I do happen to know what color hair my brother has, as it hasn't changed in the past four hundred years." He stood up. "Now what *I* want to know is what you're doing here, and why you haven't brought a sibling with you!"

Slightly intimidated, the girl stood back, but her gaze still held strong. "I don't have any siblings, so how would I wish them away? I wished *myself* here, because I wanted to see the *king*."

Stephan turned his head sideways and looked at the girl from the corner of his eye. That didn't sound good. "Yes." He started slowly, "I am the king of the Fey."

"Oh, but that's so cool!" Her attitude had suddenly turned from fury to elation. "That's even better than a stuffy goblin king! Now I'll meet fairies and go to balls and…"

"Yes, miss Melinda. I'm afraid there won't be any balls any time soon, because in 13 hours you'll become a goblin."

"What?" She squealed, her face suddenly changing expression. "You can't do that!"

"But my dear little child, that's what happens. Didn't you read the story?" He asked, exasperated.

"If it's only a story, what do you think you're doing *here*?" He returned dryly. Then he frowned when she began to cry. "Now, no. Don't do that, you can't go and cry on me, I won't have it!"

"Of course not, but without Jareth here, I'm not quite sure how to handle you. I never paid much attention to the rules of the labyrinth, and can't remember if I have to turn you into a goblin now or wait, or even if that." He frowned as he tried to remember. With both Jareth and Talius gone off, he had no one to ask, either. There had to be someone who knew…

The entrance of another one of Jareth's nasty little goblins interrupted him. This one ran right up to him before bursting. "Your Majesty!"

"What?" He nearly screamed. This couldn't be happening, not now. Not when he had this other human to worry about. Take a deep breath, he thought, just stay calm.

The goblin stood up with wide eyes. "But there isn't one, your majesty, this one came alone! We went to get the baby, and only found her"

Oh gods, now it was two *females* at that. "Hellfire!" His nerve broke, and he nearly throttled the goblin. "Don't you *dare* tell me there's two of them now!" Throwing the goblin back down to the ground he turned and stalked over to Melinda. "You stay here. I'm going to go find out why it's suddenly half-price admission day at the Goblin Kingdom!"

For a moment, she stood rooted to the spot, fear in her eyes. Then, after a moment Melinda turned to the goblin and smiled. "Hey, are you a real goblin?"

It turned to her with a look of total disbelief. "Yeah, what else would I be, a fairy?"

The goblin wondered just what "cool" was and whether it was a good thing or a bad one. Then, as the human advanced on him with an expression of wonder, he sincerely hoped Jareth would come home soon.

As soon as she came to again, Jessica looked around. She seemed to be standing in what used to be a courtyard. Used to be because the grass and flowers had long since died, and the ground had dried up to brown dirt. Amazingly enough, she could hear water running somewhere off to her left. Turning, she followed a stone wall around a corner and found the source of the sound. A fountain, half destroyed, still flowed. She took a step closer and gasped. This fountain depicted a gnome… relieving himself! If she weren't so disgusted, she might laugh. Things had certainly gone haywire today. Normally, she wouldn't believe in what was happening, but Thetis was living (or somewhat living) proof that not believing in something does not make it go away.

Jessica chuckled, then replied with false innocence. "Oh, I'm sorry Thetis, were you there?"

<<I'm always here, and you know that.>> She was silent for a moment, then her voice returned. << Oh, and by the way, I figured out what I was forgetting about the story.>>

<<Carmen told me a bit about this place. She followed a girl named Sarah here nearly fifteen years ago while she was sent to earth for a while. She had a falling out with the king here.>>

<<Yes, supposedly he captured her for a while. I didn't get the impression that he was a good sort of man.>>

<<True>> the guardian allowed. <<That was also when she was being punished for stealing Neptune's trident, so she may have been overset.>>

"Related to whom, my dear?" Another voice entered the conversation from the other side of the fountain. Turning, Jessica saw a man approach. She noted his fine clothing, obviously expensive and reminiscent of a different era. As he came closer, she also noticed how very handsome he was, with forest green eyes and dark hair. Was this man the goblin king? And another question, had he heard Thetis?

"Again, I ask you, related to whom? And just what are you doing here?" He stopped a few feet in front of her and frowned. "What's wrong, can't you speak?"

No, he hadn't heard Thetis. She frowned. "Of course I can speak." She noticed he was angry. Well, she wasn't ecstatic to be thrown into this place either. "And I wasn't speaking to you, merely talking to myself to pass the time in this lovely garden."

The strong hint of sarcasm in her voice stopped him short. She smiled lightly and continued.

"I was certainly minding my own business on the case when all of a sudden I was attacked by your little minions. Which, might I add, are sadly in need of a bath." She had already convinced herself earlier that she hadn't fainted from fear, but from the pure smelliness of the goblins.

The man almost smiled, almost. "I can see your arrival with Jar…ah, *my* goblins disturbed you, but I'm afraid that it can't be helped. They hate to bathe, you see, it's ah… against their religion."

"Yes, but you still haven't answered my question yet. Why have you journeyed to my kingdom?"

She raised both eyebrows. "I think you're becoming repetitive. Look, I'll give you my story then you can give me yours." As he was silent, she continued. "I was reading some poetry written by a kidnapped girl and I ended up here."

"Yes, I was investigating her disappearance." Jessica fished around in her pocked for her badge. Showing it to him she tried to smile. "I'm with the FBI."

"You don't get around much, do you?" She said under her breath. Then she lifted up her sweater slightly and pulled out her gun. At his blank stare, she turned and fired it at the fountain. The gnome's… nether region… was blown right off. She would have smiled at her aim, but suddenly she found herself on the ground, tied by something invisible.

"Hey!" She couldn't move for a moment, then the ties seemed to dissolve and she jumped up. He was holding her gun and frowning deeply.

"This will never do." He said and the gun disappeared. Just disappeared. Jessica's mouth dropped open, wondering where exactly she had ended up, and wondered why Thetis wasn't helping her out. What good was a guardian when they didn't guard you?

Silence greeted her. So Thetis didn't want to talk did she? Well, she had better have a good reason. But she didn't think on that any more, for the man was walking towards her again, this time with a bright look in his dark green eyes.

"The girl?" Jessica shrugged. "She was just a little thirteen year old. She disappeared without a trace, so I was looking about her room for evidence of her kidnapping."

And idea began to form in Stephan's head. He looked at her again and asked. "What was her name?"

A look of relief passed over the man's face, then he smiled slightly. "Ah, then you're here to rescue her after all."

He walked up to her with a smile that worried her. Then he began to speak, his voice taking on a repetitive tone.

"You have thirteen hours in which to solve the labyrinth before Melissa becomes a goblin. If you can find your way to the center, she shall be free. If not, she becomes one of us forever. And you my dear… I'm afraid you will simply disappear. Such a pity."

Disappear? She wondered exactly what that meant. A moment later, she heard a strange grating noise, and the stone wall moved aside, revealing a maze of sorts before her.

<<I was afraid he might hear me. We can't be too careful, and you'll need me to help you through this, I think.>>

"Whoopee!" Laughter filled the hallway as Stephan arrived back in the castle. Goblins as a rule did not laugh in such a way, so that left only one other option…

"Melinda!" He called out and ran for the hallway. Opening the door from the throne room, he came upon the young girl, decked out in full goblin armor and riding a Gomberny. These creatures are normally found deep in the Fiery Forest, and they rarely ever come out, as shy as they are. How one got into the castle he would never know. However it got there though, it would have to leave. Now. The Gorberny's habit of breathing fire was never welcomed in enclosed spaces.

"Get off that thing right now, there is no Gomberny riding allowed in the castle! For that matter, there are no Gombernys allowed in the castle either!"

"But you're the king, you can do whatever you want." She argued, but clambered off the creature and walked towards the king. "No one else told me I couldn't ride it, and it's soooo cute." She smiled up at the creature that seemed to Stephan to be drooling.

Oh this was marvelous. The damn dragon was smitten with her. There would be no convincing it to return to the forest now. So what was he to do? Stephan turned to the nearest goblin.

One of Cassandra's guards, Handle, strode forward. "It was found roaming the border, your majesty. We brought it into the padlock for safekeeping, and the little lady found him there." He smiled apologetically, shrugging his shoulders.

Stephan raised a hand to his forehead and sighed, rubbing his temples. "I am never going to help Jareth again. Never never never."

He turned to the girl. "Well, at least one thing is straightened out. A woman has come for you."

Stephan though about this. "No, she wasn't your mother, in fact, she said she was a, oh what was that word. fib? No, fibi."

Stephan sighed. What was that other name, fop? No. Ah, yes. "She said she was a cop."

"Yes. Wow. She's currently trying to find her way through the labyrinth. If she can find her way to the center and say the right words, you will be freed. If she can't, you'll become a goblin." As the girl's eyes began to tear up once more, he sighed. "She seems to be very intelligent. I'm sure she can make it." He thought for a moment, then handed her a crystal. "How about this, I'll give you this crystal so you can watch her progress."

"I know." Stephan sighed, producing a crystal out of thin air. He shrugged as the young girl took the crystal.

Jessica snorted. "This is a piece of cake." Turning another corner, she looked left, then right. "Okay Thetis, which way?"

Jessica stopped. It was possible. The worm had been pretty adamant that she didn't go the 'other' way she wanted to. He was a cute little bugger, but she had learned long ago that didn't mean anything. God, had she forgotten everything she had been taught? Maybe she was taking things for granted that she shouldn't. Well, she would just have to change that, and quickly.

"Oh stop it." Jessica held her hands at her hips in annoyance. "I figured you're probably right." Silence greeted her. "Thetis?"

Jessica frowned. "Yes. Maybe that was a trap. We'll head back the way we came, then throttle that worm if he was lying."

"Yeah, I probably would leave the worm alone, he was rather nice." Jessica turned around to go back the way she came, and found herself staring at a wall.

Melinda held the crystal in her hand and frowned. The woman who had come to rescue her was rather strange. She kept on talking to herself.

She turned to where the king sat on his throne, wondering whether or not to tell him her rescuer was a loony. The expression on his face told her otherwise. Yes. Better to keep quiet for the moment. She'd tell him later, if she had to.

Turning back around, Jessica found herself surprised once more. Not only had a wall appeared behind her, but two doors had materialized before her. A red shield to the right, a blue shield to the left. Neither of the doors had a handle or a knob, and she wondered if she'd be able to push them open.

A movement behind one of the shields grabbed her attention. Frowning, she took a step closer. "Hello?"

With a grumble, a face, rather doglike, appeared from behind the shield. Arms followed, then legs.

Then another pair of arms and legs. Raising her eyebrows, Jessica watched as another *head* appeared from the bottom of the shield. "Just like a playing card." She mused.

"Aw, don't listen to him, he's lying!" Another voice chimed in. Looking over to the right she noticed two heads coming out of the red shield as well. "He's always lying!"

"Look." Jessica demanded, "I think you need to tell me something. The question I asked…" She prompted.

"Ah yes," the blue shield creature agreed. "You're looking for the castle, right?"

"Well, all we can tell you is that one of these doors does lead to the castle, and the other leads to certain death."

"This one is the door to the castle." Both the red and blue shields said at exactly the same time." Jessica shook her head.

"Well, one of us always tells the truth you see, and the other one always lies." The blue shield said.

"Okay." Jessica stood for a moment in though. Then she smiled. Walking over to the red shield, she tilted her head to the side. "Here's my question. What's your name?"

Jessica nodded and walked over to the door with the blue shield. Then she asked the blue shield. "Is this the door that leads to the castle?"

"Not if you're the liar." Jessica countered. "If you're lying, then I can ask as many questions as I want."

The two heads of the blue shield seemed to converse over this, then ruefully looked up at her. "Yes, this is the door to the castle."

Jessica smiled. "Thank you." She began to push on the door when the other shield cried out.

With that she pushed the door open. Ahead of her was a long stone corridor, which seemed to lead into a green hedge maze. She was about to begin to walk forward when two things happened.

One, the door behind her slammed shut, offering her no choice but to move forward.

Then, the floor just before her opened up, leading down into a chasm. Biting back a cry, Jessica leaned back against the door behind her. "How am I going to get past that?"

Jessica nodded, and took a deep breath. There wasn't a great deal of space, but she backed up as far as she could, closed her eyes, and jumped.

Her foot caught on the edge, and she fell forward, but luckily not into the gaping hole. Reminding herself it was okay to breathe again, Jessica stood up, and sighed.

"I didn't think I was going to make that." Shaking her head she turned and began to walk to the other side of the corridor.

Suddenly, the other side of the corridor closed itself off, leaving Jessica in pitch black darkness. She felt the panic begin to set in. She was in the dark, in a very tightly enclosed space with god only knew what.

She was almost shaking too hard to walk, but somehow she managed. Jessica closed her eyes, telling herself it was really open, she was just imagining it closed off. She *hated* closed spaces, she was always uncomfortable in them, and always felt as if she were suffocating.

"I can't Thetis, I just can't." She shivered. "There had to be something, there had to…"

* * * * *
"Yippee!" Melinda tossed the crystal in the air with a giggle, startling the Gomberny sitting next to her. He snorted a bit of flame in the air, just missing a small furry goblin, which screeched and ran to the other side of the throne room.

Stephan sighed, then turned to see what the girl was so happy about. "What's going on?" He picked up the crystal and gasped. That was impossible. It hadn't even been two hours, and she was already in the hedge maze. She wasn't supposed to run right through the labyrinth, she just couldn't. What would Jareth say?

Stephan nearly growled. He knew what his brother would say. Jareth would say that Stephan was too weak, too easy to just run over. *Jareth* would never let a woman get through the labyrinth that easily, not without a fight.

Anger at his brother for putting him in this situation once again filled him. Jareth would fight her with every weapon he had, while Stephan would just sit by passively and let her defeat him.

But not this time. No, this time he's be even better than Jareth, and laugh in his brother's face when he came home.

Stephan laughed and tossed the crystal back to the girl. "You had better hope she's smart."