Glitter and Glow. . . an experience in decorating part 2
-Raine-
Raine stumbled up the stairwell, tripping on gobins that were making the oddest noises... "It almost sounds as though they've been breathing helium!" she mused to herself absently, checking the clipboard she carried in her hand for only the seventh time since she entered the castle. Her free hand moved to grab the cell phone she had borrowed from Evil Incarnate, and dialled the number of Magic and Monks to confirm their delivery for the fifth time that hour. There was no way she was going to let anything go wrong at Delilah's party!
Rounding the corner she stumbled over another pile of goblins, and fell, face first and sprawling, onto the beglittered glow-in-the-dark carpet. Gazing upwards she shook her head, confused by the stars she was seeing, "Did I bump my head?" she drawled, raising herself up again, dusting her pannelled red-and-green, knee-length, velveteen party dress off only once before deciding it looked pretty darn cool with all that glitter on it. Then she saw the Labrynthian sprite.
Her eyes scanned the room, drinking the decorations in like fine wine. Her jaw dropped open in awe. Finally she spoke. "This *ROCKS* :)!! Great job, hon'! Did I have anything to do with this? The strobe lights, perhaps? The stars? You are too cool! What a glorious decorating job! You are very good at what you do ;) Can I comission you for my 17th? Comin' up in January ;o)!"
Leigh nodded, graciously accepting the compliaments.
"Great fun," Raine stated absentmindedly. "Stage, did you say? Shall we set it up then?"
Leigh and Raine began working on the stage; quite the difficult job with all the goblins always underfoot. When it was finished being set up, Leigh draped it with black curtains to make it match the rest of the room. Raine tested the trap doors. Leigh got out the industrial glitter gun. Raine inspected the backstage area. When the raven-haired gypsy reappeared, she found the sprite kneeling at the far corner of the stage, lovingly sticking on the last glow-in-the-dark star.
"Finished!" she shouted triumphantly.
"You rule, y'know that, Leigh? Thanx for all your help. Some of the performers have begun arriving, hon', so I've gotta go backstage again. Have a great time at the party, K?" And with that, she tossed up a handful of glittering green and red confetti and disappeared.
********************************
Delilah takes another low blow at Jareth's apperances
-Delilah-
Delilah watched as the white owl slowly made it's way towards the castle. As it flew past her she crinkled her nose at the noxious smell wondering just where the Goblin King had gone to. The owl landed on the balcony leading into his room and the bird changed into the form of a man. Grinning she moved herself into a possition where the could hear everything and activated the crystal that allowed her to see into his room. Absently Delilah wondered if Jareth was going to notice the unusual amount of crystals being put into use but pushed the thought out of her mind. She would deal with that obsticle later.
Jareth peeled off his shirt and wanderd into the bathroom, probably to wash the smell out of himself. Delilah cocked her head and waited. Two minutes passed before a scream ran through the air. She watched as Jareth hurried from the bathroom witha towel drapped around his waste. His hair dripping and his body shaking he grabbed a passing goblin and hissed someting at it. Delilah chuckled as she imagined that she could almost see the tint of blue in his normally fair skin. Nothing worse then getting into a freezing cold bath. The goblin returned and reported something back to him. He muttered and quickly got changed. She didn't need to hear what was being said to know what was going on. She had destroyed the water heater and madfe sure that there was no way Jareth was going to get it fixed. Being the little techno-jynx she was she found that she excelled at breaking mechanical things. She laughed and watched him walk down the hall. She gasped, however, when she saw him heading for the throne room. She hoped Afton's plan worked. If not everything was about to go down the drain.
Jareth got within six feet of the room before the goblins began their singing. Jareth stumbled back and raised his hands to his ears. It was working! Giggling in delight she watched him retreat then fly off, probably to find a nice quiet place that had hot water. They were in the clear, for now.
*******************
Aleria can cook (Hey, it's better then Aleria Stewart's Living isn't it?)
-Aleria-
Aleria looked about the kitchen feeling slightly disturbed. It looked like the place came out of a medival book. How was she supposed to cook in here? She began tossing dishes around trying to find the stove. What she found was an ancient cooking oven that had to be fed by a fire from underneath. This was not what she had expected. She shrugged and continued on looking for various spices and taking stock of the food in storage. Baskets of peaches sat in a corner, a gift from the list members who had already arrived. She pushed up her sleeves and pulled out a large book. She already had the entire dinner planned.
peach butter:
4 pounds peaches peeled pitted and sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
juice of a walnut sized chunk of ginger (use a garlic press)
1/4 cup honey
in a large pot combine the ingredients with 2 cups of
water. Cook over med heat until peaches are very tender,
about 30 min. puree the mixture and return it to the pot.
cook over low heat, partially covered for about 2 hrs or
until very thick. let cool and refrigerate in airtight
containers. makes 2 cups
peach pockets
filling
1 cup cottage cheese
3 oz cream cheese
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp grated lemon peel
2 peaches peeled pitted and sliced in eigths
8 sheets phyllo dough (the paper thin stuff they use in
baklava)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup ground almonds
prepare the filling by combining the cheeses with the egg
yolk sugar and lemon peel until smooth. set aside along
with the peaches. preheat the oven to 375 degrees. line a
baking sheet with parchment paper.
place one sheet of phyllo dough lengthwise in front of you.
keep the rest from drying out by covering them with a
towel. brush with melted butter and sprinkle with some
almonds. place a second sheet on top and brush again with
butter. with a sahrp knife, cut into 3 equal strips
lenghtwise. on the left hand corner of each strip place 2
tablespoons followed by 2 peach slices. fold down as you
would for a flag; continue folding flaglike, until you have
a many layered triangle. place it on the baking sheet and
bush with butter. repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
you should come up with 12 pockets. bake for 18 min or
until golden brown and puffed.
makes 12
caribbean chicken kabobs
soak 16-20 skewers in water 30 min before assembling (to
prevent scorching)
2 lbs boneless skinless ckicken breast, cut into 3/4" cubes
1 lime cut into 8 wedges and then cut in half =16 pieces
1 large yellow onion (about 1lb)cut into 3/4" pieces
2 peaches, peeled and cubed into 3/4" pieces
skewer in this order: chicken peach lime peach onion
chicken. smush all ingredients together on one end of the
skewer and lay skewers in a shallow pan.
Marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce
6 tbsp oil
4 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground ginger
combine marinade ingerdients in a bowl till thoroughly
blended pour over skewers, refrigerate for 4 hrs. grill or
broil 3-4 min on each side, serve immediately
Peach tiramisu
cheese mixture:
1/2 cup egg yolks
1 1/2 oz sugar
1 1/2 oz peach schnapps
2 lbs marscapone cheese
1 pt loose whipped cream-no sugar
1/2 peach compound (peach puree)
stir yolks sugar and liquor over double boiler in 5 quart
mixing bowl with a thin wire whisk until mix is thick like
hollandaise. take off heat. put on mixer usine a whip
attachment on high speed until mixture is cool and thick.
turn mixer on low while addind marscapone cheese. scrape
down bowl, and fold in whipping cream by hand making sure
there are no lumps from the cheese and the cream (these
need to be thoroughly combined). add the compound mix till
combined
compote:
15 peaches peeled and sliced
2 cups peach schnapps
1 cup sugar
1 pint water
bring above mixture to a boil, let cool and set aside
ladyfingers:
16 egg yolks
1 lb powdered sugar
1 lb all purpose flour
16 egg whites
1 lb granulated sugar
whip yolks and powdered sugar till light in color is 5 qt
mixer. add flour on first speed. set aside. in another bowl
whip egg whites and granulated sugar till stiff peaks form.
fole 1/3 of thei mix into the yolk mixture until smooth by
hand. add the rest. immediately pipe on parchment
paper-lined pan about 3" long with #8 round tip. bake at
400 degrees until golden brown. let cool. can be made up to
a day ahead. store in a cool dry place.
dip ladyfingers in compote. then lay fingers flat on bottom of 12"x8"pan, covering the whole pan. spread 1/3 of the cheese mix on top of the ladyfingers. take 1/3 of the peaches from the compote and scatter over cheese. repeat 2 times. refrigerate at least 2 hrs before serving.
(Note, these are real recipes, try 'em yourself!)
An odd smell caused her to turn. Three goblins stood there staring at her. Nothing annoyed her more then people in the kitchen with her. Letting out a shriek she cases them out with a frying pan and locked the door behind them. Now that she was all alone she had to get started on trying to light that oven.
******************
Rebekah strikes again
-Rebekah-
Rebekah tied her horse to a post outside of the castle. She was on a mission to kidnap Jareth, she had to get him out of the castle or at least get him trapped, before Delilah and Afton, got there to put up the decorations, for Delilah's party. It was going to be a blast!! she checked her gear to make sure she had her rope, and the Chloroform.She knew were Jareth's bedroom was. She climbed the castle wall and went into the nearest window to Jareth's bedroom, looked around and that the coast was clear! So she climbed inside and headed toward Jareth's room. She was slightly surprised to see the bedroom door was open," where is he ,she thought?" she walked slowly into the room, then she heard boots clicking on the hard floor. Rebekah looked around wildly to find a place to hide, she spotted the closet and went in there, and kept the closet door open slightly,so she could see whats going on. when he came in to the bedroom, she waited for the right time to pounce.
As soon as he turned his back to her she jumped out of the closet and put the chloroform to his mouth. and he passed out. she grinned, and thought to herself and said I did it!! when she finally got him to the bed>he was heavier than he looked> she started to tie him up, and really good to so he could not use his majec to! she got on the end of the bed and sat there till he woke up. When he finally woke up, He exclaimed"what the *@*#&*!!* is going on!" He looked around and saw Rebekah ginning wickedly at him and said "who are you"
"My name's Rebekah, and I am apart of the Labyrinth lists. "she said.
"oh I should have guessed it was you people" he said sarcastically.
So Rebekah Waited For Delilah, Afton, and the rest of the members to come.
*******************************
Aleria's fiery experience
-Aleria-
Delilah nodded to a passing list member who waved back enthusiatically. The entire area, which had been transformed ito a war zone, was begining to shape up nicely. She could barely wait for tonight. Something burned her eyes and she cough wondering what had happened to the air. A woman came flying around a corner and ran past her. Black smoke followed and Delilah felt a sinking feeling in her gut. She headed towards the source of the smoke and entered what looked like the kitchen. Heat irritated her skin and she jumped back as flames licked their way across the floor. She looked about for something to put it out with. If they burnt down the castle her party would be nixed before it even started!
To her surprise the woman returned brandashing a fire extinguisher. With practiced ease she aimed it and turned it one. Within moments the blaze was tamed and the heat disspersed. The woman put down the extinguished and opened the door to the oven. She pulled out a tray of lovely little peach flavoured snacks. She turned and offered her one assuring her they were quite good.
"I'm sure they are." Delilah replied glancing about. "Just out of curiousity, where did you get the extinguisher, I don't remember seeing one around."
Aleria shrugged. "It was sitting under a table. Amazing isn't it?"
"What is?"
"That Jareth can have an extinguisher but doesn't have modern kitchen appliances." Aleria pulled out a messuring cup and began filling it with sugar.
"I don't think he even knows what kitchen appliances are." Delilah said as she headed out of the kitchen to resume her rounds.
Aleria smirked. "I'm sure he doesn't."
*************************
In your dreams, Jareth!
-Dreamspinner-
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Delilah asked as she eyed her friend.
Dreamspinner nodded. "Trust me, nothing is going to happen. Besides, what good is being a woman if you can't use it to your advantage sometimes?" She smiled and turned heading for the upper levels of the Labyrinth. She pulled absently at her dress hoping everything was in place. The semi-opaque dreamcloth clung exquisitly in all the right places..nothing was revealed at all, just enough to let the imagination wander. And it was very strong fabric as well, a nifty little plus. She had used a wonderful perfume..gaurenteed to ahh..ignite a man's passions.
This had to go smoothly or Jareth was going to ruin the whole party. She was surprised to see the Goblin King's door cracked open but she shrugged. Toeing the door all the way open she leaned suductively on the frame waiting for Jareth to notice her. "I'm really not in the mood." Jareth snarled as he heard the door swing open. All he wanted to do was go to bed and forget this day had ever happened.
"That would be a first."
Jareth's back arched as he recognized the voice. Whirling around he felt his heart stop. This was so not happening but no matter how many times he blinked the woman he had always wanted stayed leaning against the door frame. An enticing blend of fragrances curled around Dreamspinner's form to inflame his senses, the most comforting was her trademark scent of lavender. Still wary of a trap, he stood his ground and waited, but there was that random hope...
Dreamspinner smiled slightly as she realized that maybe it was time to give the man a little push in the right direction. Jareth seemed mesmerized by the cool flow of the shimmering dreamfabric across her alabaster skin. She stood and slowly made her way towards him, smiling a naughty but impish smile, and began to play with the long thin strands of blonde hair absently noticing the glitter that was rubbing off on her dress. She knew she would have to change before she made it to the party. Not a problem really. She felt his arms slide around her waist and she tensed for a moment before forcing herself to relax. His arms came up around her and she felt him running his fingers through her long firey tresses. He buried his face in her neck-right where she had put a liberal dose of the special perfume.
She tried not to shudder when his warm lips touched her neck. Certain that the plan was working, she began pushing him towards the bathroom where she was sure a bath full of cooling water was waiting to recieve the goblin king. Delilah had promised her that the bath would be full and she had faith that it was. Jareth never realized their destination until he felt himself shoved backwards and submerged, almost taking Dreamspinner with him.
He struggled up and gasped for air as he tried to sit up ungracefully. Shaking the water out of his eyes he gave Dreamspinner a sulky questioning look. She couldn't hold back a laugh.
"But. . ." He sputtered tring to keep the water away from his face.
"Jareth, I'm married. And never mess with a married woman." Before she turned, she couldn't help but notice the look of dissappointment that briefly flashed across his pale features. It wasn't fair to do that to him...but he didn't exactly rate high in the old morality department either.
With a swirl of gossomer clothing, Dreamspinner turned and walked out slaming the door behind her loud enough so that he wouldn't hear the click of the lock. She hurried from the room laughing under her breath. He'd probably seek her out later for an explaination...if he didn't figure it out on his own. She giggled as she thought about what lay in store for him next...Delilah had also removed the hair dryer and everyone knew that Jareth would never appear in public with wet hair. That gave them at least two hours for him to air dry his hair and then another hour until he figured out where all the combs in the building had gone. Surely that would be enough time for them to all have their fill of the party. With a whisper, she magically changed into something more suitable, then wandered off to find the others.
In your dreams, Jareth!
*****************************************
Delilah's day in the spotlight
-Delilah-
Delilah looked about herself in breathless fasination. Everyone had turned out for the party. The room was lit by various sized candles and tactifully hidden lights that lit up the walls in a miriade of colors. The large stage was being used at the moment by a group of dancing men. She took her position dutifully by the door and greeted guests as they came in. Delilah smiled and nodded to all the people who were arriving by various means. Those used to the Underground arrived on horse back, carriage, or on strange mystical creatures. Others came by shining crystals and others by gates. She spoke with each, exchanging pleasantries and on more then a few cases hugs and laughs.
The singing goblins had been sacked and scattered about the Labyrinth to keep them from clashing with the real entertainment. Twilight had managed this feat in less then two hours and had assured her that they wouldn't be returning any time soon. The last thing they needed was those annoying creatures singing at the tops of their lungs in compition with the superior sound system they had managed to set up. She chuckled as she remembered the look on the faces of the electiricans when they had tried to wire the throne room for electricity. They had finally given up and used the crystals as a power source. When the last of the party goers had arrived she wandered about engaging in conversations and simply glancing about herself in wonder. Nothing that had happened had prepared her for the sucess of this moment. A huge cake was rooled out and she found herself pushed into a chair. The candles lit simolatniously and as the song drifted to an end the top of the cake opened and a large white owl gracefully fluttered out of it. Enormous applause filled the room as the bewildered bird rose up into the air and escaped out of the proped open door. Delilah felt her heart stop for a moment fearing that Jareth had discovered the party but when the owl disappeared she sighed recognizing it as a simple bird. She was about to start on the presents when the lights went out and a familiar beat filled the air. Six words was all that she needed before she lept up with the others in an extactic cheer.
Now this was one hell of a present. ********************************
Send in the Clowns part 1
-Raine-
"That was just fantabulous, guys -- I could hardly keep myself standing upright; I was laughing so hard! Clowns are definately a good way to open a show!" Raine cheered the comedic troupe as it bounced offstage, drying tears from her cheeks from having laughed so hard.
Bounding out to the centrestage microphone she called out to the audience, "Weren't they fantastic? Let's give them another hand!" The crowd cheered again.
When the applause died down, Raine introduced the next act. "These fellows came a long way just to dance for you," she intoned, "So let's give it up for the Dancing Lansings!"
A quick succession of eight explosions of party-fog bombs cascaded across the stage, a Dancing Lansing vaulting up through each one, jumping up and touching his toes to the palms of his outstreached hands. Raine disappeared through a trap-door downstage, and the boys set to work on their explosive number. The music was rhythmic; the lights, hypnotic; the footwork, exquisite. Whispers in the audience found it described as somewhat a 'Riverdance meets a chorus-line of tap-dancing Fred Astaires' where the men were strong and built, but the dance was choeographed to match. The audience, largely a populous of women, went wild. Backstage, Raine smiled to herself, glad to have brought these talented young men to her stage, and to such a warm welcome.
***************************************
The Dancing Lansings did three numbers in succession, and still the crowd cheered for more. "I know you enjoy them," Raine laughed, trying to convince the audience to let the show go on, "but the boys need a rest! Whatsay we call them out again later, eh?" The applause said it all.
"Then, without further ado -- let's have an intermission! Get some cake! Have some punch! Enjoy the background music! Delilah has to open her presents :)!" At the mention of party gifts, the audience immediately refocussed on the mountinous pile of favours guests had brought to bestow upon the birthday girl. Raine quietly removed herself to backstage again.
"You boys were a smash hit!" she cheered, throwing the Dancing Lansing's dressing-room door open and strutting in. "The ladies evol-ed you :)! Would you guys mind making another appearance if we can squeeze you in?"
A chorus of "Oh, not at all!"s and "Sure, why not?"s followed, and the tanned hardbodies began discussing which number they'd do for their next curtain call.
A cheer rose from the throneroom. 'Delilah must've opened a good one,' Raine thought to herself. Voices floated up the backstage stairwell. "Don't drag his feet!" someone whispered harshly. "Keep his neck supported!" Kitiara and her partners in crime came labouring in with a bodysac slung between them.
Raine's jaw dropped. "I've never had a performer arrive like this!" she exclaimed. "Who is this?"
Kitiara grinned wickedly. "This," she purred, "is David Bowie." *****************************************
Kitiara's David Bowie story
(Still missing. If anyone has a story about how they managed to capture poor David for my birthday, send it out and I'll put it in!)
****************************************
Send in the Clowns part 2
-Raine-
A very unconscious David Bowie, bound and gagged and most likely drugged, lay sleeping soundly on the sofa in his dressing room. Four ladies bustled around the room, trying to get everything organized so getting him in constume and on stage would come off seamlessly once he woke up.
"Do you have the wig teased?" one asked.
Another wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out playfully. "Of course, you goose!" she answered, placing the styrofoam head wearing the ever-glam blond eighties coif on the dressing table.
"Has the poet's blouse been ironed?" the first queried.
"Well, duh!" countered the third. "And before you ask; yes the make-up is all set out."
"Then someone wake him up! We have to get him together! He's on right after the magician," Raine explained, checking her watch. Leigh and Kitiara nodded their understanding. Kitiara elbowed Leigh and winked. "Oh, yeah... sure... get him in costume and stuff... yeah. Done in a jiff..... but can't we have some fun with him first?"
******************************************
The background music that played the Great Daldini and his assistant off stopped abruptly. The lights dropped. Peach fog rolled in from backstage, swamping the floor and pouring out into the audience.
There was a resounding drum beat. Another. A spotlight flashed on the stage and went out. Another from a different source. The drumbeats continued. The spotlights got faster. The drums were joined by a violin, singing up and down in a discordant -- yet familiar -- tune. The spotlights, now giving a strobelight effect, changed colours.
Slowly, from below the stage on an elevator, through a trap door, a backlit figure with very big hair rose through the smoke, fog pouring off of him like water. The audience gave a collective squeal. The tune was one very similar to the lab-listians in attendance. The figure stepped down from the podium.. beat, "You remind me of the babe --" he began, and was cut off by an exstatic cheer.
*****************************************
Who are you and why do you look like me?
-Entire cast-
They had managed to sucesfully corner David Bowie against the far wall and were beginning to make their final attack for various soveneirs when the sound of the doors being blasted open with great forced caused them all to turn and see a very unamused Jareth glaring at them in surprise and rage.
Delilah felt her heart sink for a moment sure that they were about to be scattered all over the Labyrinth when hope sprung up in the form of about two thirds of the female compliment of the party rushing the seathing king with screams of devotion and love. Realizing too late that he had just made a bad mistake bursting into the party Jareth soon found himself cornered against the wall next to a man who looked a fair bit like him.
They studied each other before Jareth asked him the one question allowed before the swarm of women engulfed both of them in a tsunami of lust and simple fascination. "Who are you and why do you look like me?"
Delilah backed out of the swarm and met up with a few of those who had helped with the party. "So should we save him?"
Dreamspinner shook her head. "Let him fight his way out."
Leila pulled something out of her purse. "I still have his credit card, we could have a night on the town." She suggested.
Raine sighed. "Normally I like to promise my staff their safety but I don't want to tell all those people they have to give him back."
Kitiara grinned. "Hey, I didn't give David any promises. Besides, I'm sure this happens to him all the time, he knows how to fight his way out."
The rest of the group shrugged and nodded before turning and walking out.
"So who wants to go eat first?"
The very satisfing end.