“He’s gone!” Sir Didymus dropped his piece of cake and almost fell out of a chair as Hoggle entered the kitchen, slamming the door and breathing heavily.  He leant against the wall and then slipped down, exhausted. “He’s go... sh...” “What?” Sir Didymus found the blueberry cake on the floor and blew on it, cleaning the dust.  He tried to sound noble. “He’s gone! He disappeared!” “Of whom dost thou speak?” “This will be the end of us!” “Calm down, dear friend. You are exhausted. First, pray tell me, slow and clear, who hath disappeared.” Didymus smelled the cake one last time before biting into it delicately. “The king.” “WHAT?” he exclaimed, crumbs bursting out of his mouth, causing him to cough. Hoggle jumped to his side and pounded his back a few times. “He’s normally gone. I was looking for him everywhere. He disappeared. We’re finished...” “How’s this possible?” Didymus screamed hysterically and, as if touched by a magic wand, he immediately forgot about all the food Agnes had prepared for them.  “We’re done for!” “Don’t panic,” Hoggle said, trying to calm the noble knight. Didymus looked at him intimidatingly, but then he froze and turned pale. “Oh no!” “Yes. They’re coming,” the dwarf nodded, looking ashamed – like it was his fault. The message brought news that could destroy them all.  His friend understood even before he could open his mouth. “Oh NO!” he repeated more loudly and hysterically. “But yes. Unfortunately, yes,” Hoggle answered and sat down on his chair, resigned. “The brides are coming.” He was watching her. It had happened two years ago. Two years ago she said the words that defeated him. At first he promised himself a cruel revenge for what she had done, but now, when he saw her again, all his plans disappeared somewhere far away.  How beautiful she is... how innocent. No, cruelty was not necessary this time. “It shouldn’t be a large revenge... a small one... will be enough, just a normal revenge,” he thought and his owl eyes looked into one of the house’s windows, where many people were speaking loudly and a music was playing.  He didn’t have to look for her to see her, his heart found her immediately. “What are we going to do?” Sir Didymus asked for about tenth time, his forehead rested on a wooden table, imitating Hoggle’s position. “They’ll arrive tomorrow at noon,” the dwarf moaned, adding one more log to the ever growing fire of desperacy. “Five princesses!” “And Jareth’s nowhere to be found.” “We’re dead,” Hoggle stated and he started to play with his blueberry cakes with his fork. “What do you think, can I pack all my things and leave the kingdom before the sunset?” “How couldst thou consider leaving, Sir Hoggle, when everyone here looks at thee to set an example?  I will not be moved, I am no coward!” “And besides, if we leave, it will bring a bad end to our land.” “You mean the fair princesses?” “At least,” Hoggle nodded, never stopping his fork‘s destructive process. “And us... when his Majesty doth learn of our conduct,” Didymus explained, his mood somewhere below zero. “If he comes back.” “I’d bet my ears. When we expect it the least...” "And when this kingdom is in such a state that...” "But if we stay,” Didymus continued, “and princesses don’t find the king... Hoggle?” “Yes?” “Do you think there is anything worse than the Bog of Eternal Stench?” He was so far from her, but he remembered every detail of her face. Now she seemed even more beautiful to him.  Sarah was standing at the window. She had long, dark evening dress on, her long hair tied in a bunch, with only a few free strands. Black! This color didn’t suit her. And the hair! He thought, not amazed. He had to close his eyes for a moment, to recall her image in the ball, shining in white dress.  When he looked at her again, she was even closer to the window, speaking to a middle-aged woman who was holding tall stranger and laughing madly at everything.  Sarah looked like she was visiting a dentist to Jareth and he had to overpower a very clear image of the middle-aged woman, shaped like a green hairy goblin. Sarah didn’t seem to have fun. She didn’t seem happy at all. The entire time he was watching her she didn’t smile, not once, and she looked sad.  She’s sad, he repeated for himself, wanting to be sure.  The revenge can be... really small, tiny... Now I can’t harm her more, he tried to persuade himself and in his heart knew he would never do it. “Sooo. Plan A!” Didymus was pacing the room, stopping now and then to be sure everybody was listening. Ludo, Ambrosius, Fireys, Agnes and Hoggle – who brought them all in – were sitting at a table, waiting for him to continue.  Didymus slowly walked to dwarf, looked deeply into his eyes and after two seconds of silence hysterically grabbed his vest and started to shake him. “Let’s erect a blockade and deny everyone entry!” he screamed. Hoggle had his hands full trying to calm him down. “That won’t do anything,” Agnes said, frowning. “A little bit of magic from one of the princesses and all the barricades are history. Got anything else?” “Oh yes,” Didymus waved his hand, dignified again. “Of course we’ve formulated plan B, as well.” “Bring it on,” the Fireys shouted in unison. “So the B plan – let us seek out his Majesty, Jareth!” All the looks given him meant “that’s absolutely crazy”. “Yes, I know, I know! We have little chance of success, because we can only search the Underground and he’s not in the Underground 99.9% of the time,” Didymus sighed and touched his forehead. “But! There still remains C plan, the most cunning by far, and it says: find a replacement for Jareth!” Ludo murmured something, not understanding what Sir Didymus had proposed, Hoggle‘s eyes widened in shock, Agnes touched her head, Fireys started to laugh maniacally and Ambrosius left to pack the bones he had hidden in the garden. “Oh come now, wait! It’s not THAT bad!” Didymus protested and nervously knocked his driving whip against the floor. “It’s not bad,” Hoggle touched his shoulders. “But - where can we find Jareth’s double? That’s the small problem that destroyed the possibility.” “Oh, we would arrange this... fraud, I want to say.” “Eeee?” Ludo asked and everybody agreed. “The princesses only know his description and we can use this to our advantage,” he smiled as widely as he could. “So you mean, we get somebody with spiky blond hair...” Hoggle continued the thought. “Yes!” Didymus nodded, his eyes shining. “And then hit him in the eye, so its color changes, and give him Agnes’s socks?” the dwarf added skeptically; the Fireys were rolling on the floor, laughing. “A daring plan fraught with difficulties, but our only viable course.” “It’s mad!” Hoggle corrected him. “But tell me one thing. Where do you plan on finding a madman who will participate in this charade?” Didymus shone like a sun and enjoyed one minute of a dead silence, when everybody was looking at him and waiting for the answer.  “I’ve already obtained the madman. Thou art him.” She looked in his direction. He almost didn’t notice and nearly fell out of the tree in his frantic effort to hide himself. It was like she felt his presence, his gaze.  Jareth rested his back against the tree and tried to catch his breath and calm down his wildly beating heart. Why was he hiding, anyway? Sooner or later she would see him. He wanted his revenge. He had planned it for so long and today he wanted to harm her. He quickly played out the course of his imminent victory in his head. His great victory. She would kneel in front of him, recognizing his authority, his victory; she would beg... plea, long for his embrace and he wouldn’t oblige her... and then she would beg again – desperate, unhappy, promising to take her life rather than live without him, but he would be unyielding... so, she will beg and beg... and he would make her work for him as the castle cook... oh no, cleaner – of his bedroom, no! Much better, his own personal serving maid living in a small room close to the roof, hmm, no, close to his bedroom, that should be better... or rather... His thought were interrupted by another opened champagne, the seventeenth one this evening, if he didn’t make a mistake in counting. Jareth moved from his hiding place and his eyes immediately found her figure, now standing at a table with fruit. It seemed she was looking at something, confused. He strained to see what it was, and understand, what made her so nervous. Then a self-assured smile appeared on his face.  Peaches. Something happened then. Something touched him and his look changed. He didn’t really want to harm her, he didn’t really want her to be scared and nervous when she thought of him. She’s so delicate... and he can’t harm her.  At that moment all his revenge visions were gone and he knew they wouldn’t be back again. “Oh, there’s a splinter in my hand,” a princess in a pink dress with shimmering flaxen tresses screamed, her voice reaching an impossibly high intensity, “do something!” “Angelica, you have so many problems!” the dusky haired girl answered, disgustedly watching pink-dressed servants jumping around like a flee circus. “I’d like to see you in my place! I could get an infection and loose my hand!” she grumbled. “Oh, I’m sure the king wouldn’t like that, would he?” “But he will definitely like me without a hand more than you with it, Rec!” Angelica’s cheeks flushed with anger. “How many times must I tell you I’m Rebeca, R.e.b.e.c.a! Anyone can remember such a simple name!” the dark-haired one was furious. “Maybe she thinks the king will be amazed by her pretended stupidity. Or maybe you don’t pretend, darling?” a girl with long auburn curls, dressed in a green costume and with a crossbow and arrows, added. Angelica waved her hand and both her rivals had to be very quick not to be seared by the lightning, splitting the nearest tree into two parts. “Oh, I’m so scared,” Rebeca dramatized and fixed her red, too fluffy brocade dress. “She thinks she’ll amaze Jareth by her magic power, too, what do you say, Clare?” “He will like me much more than you two! One of you dresses up like a tomato and the other one’s nice as a wasp’s bite!” The red-haired girl gave Angelica her best murdering look and then smiled as nicely as she could. “Luckily Jareth has a sense, so I don’t worry he would spend his time with such a...” “And neither with you, crossbow-girl,” a sharp voice from the behind added. “Lucrecia! So nice of you to join our conversation, but nobody asked about your opinion,” Clare’s smile disappeared and her eyes were cold as an ice. “But you are right in one thing. Jareth’s got a sense. So I know he will NEVER choose you.” “You!!!” A short moment later a magic arrow flew at the fourth princess, who reacted fast and froze the arrow with a wave of her hand. “Oh. Do you think he would like to marry you? A piece of ice?” Clare didn’t stop, even after Rebeca tried to calm her down. “I don’t know if he would want me,” she answered, touching her silver locks. “But I want him. He is worth it.” “No sense in arguing. Jareth will be mine,” the fifth voice sounded at last, it was a discreet girl with dark eyes and long gray-brown hair. “Bella, I wouldn’t be that sure,” Lucrecia smiled, sounded like speaking to a child filled with illusions. “I think we all have a chance,” Angelica said again and for a moment she forgot about her serious injury. “Oh, the prophetess’s words.” “She’s right, Rec!” Bella bit out and Rebeca turned red. “He can choose any one of the five of us,” Clare continued, stopping the worst arguments, “each of us is special and each of us can offer something. It’s his decision, which one he will choose.” For a moment there was silence, then Angelica spoke.  “It’s ironic. We’re arguing because of him and we don’t even know what he looks like,” she smiled and her golden curls moved. “They say he’s handsome,” Bella breathed. “And he’s got magic eyes,” Angelica added. “And a kingdom and a palace and lots of servants. I think I wouldn’t mind if he is a little bit ordinary,” Rebeca said. “Today men are much more cute, when they’re not so very handsome or magical.” “Is the castle big?” Clare asked, her eyes shining. “Enormous. And wonderfully furnished, all in gold and diamonds.” “Wow,” all five girls said together. “To be honest,” Clare whispered, “I wouldn’t mind if he’s a little bit ugly.” He kept watching her.  Watching her he caught himself imagining her as his bride.  How absurd! He would never marry her. She would never marry him. Would she? He had no idea why, but suddenly he saw her image in a wedding dress. Maybe it was caused by his upcoming wedding, it was coming faster than light. Five princesses. He had chosen the most beautiful five princesses that he had ever heard of, and he decided to choose and marry one of them. He got the idea right after she had humiliated him so much. Then and there, he had sworn to marry the first at least a little bit pretty one.  Later he had added real beauty, good family, magic, good figure, elegance, good manners... and lots of other things.  He had written a thirteen-pages long list, and sent it to all the Underground kingdoms along with a disclosure  about his looks, some information about his property and an impossibly formatted wedding offer, consisting of mutual respect, love, same financial rights for both parties (restrictions for the bride) and common decisions about duties (the bride lost this right completely). Jareth leant against the tree.  So he did this all just because Sarah won? But why a wedding? Did he really think she would say, ‘And my kingdom as great, I love you, I want to marry you?‘ Was he really that foolish?  Yes, he was. He noticed a change, Sarah apologized and climbed the stairs up to her room. Jareth nervously raised his head, when she didn’t switch on the light; he couldn’t see her anywhere. Oh! Was she trying to sense him once again? He thought and moved more deeply into the shadows. The dark continued for a few more minutes, then the light in the room was on and he saw her preparing her bed and taking some things from a wardrobe. “What would it be like, if she was my bride?” The same thoughts again as he watched her cross the room, enter the bathroom and close the door.  “It’s not bad just to think about it,” he assured himself. “It’s just a game... what would I do, if...” If she said “I love you”, his head said and he answered immediately.  “Then she’ll be my bride.” But was this possible? Could he take her from her world, without all the things she was used to since her childhood?  Jareth frowned, unsure.  But what was she used to since her childhood? What does a human being need every day? What does she need?  He slowly moved his eyes to closed bathroom door and then his face got a roguish look. “It’s time to find out.”