I'll Be There for You; As the World Falls Down

I woke up the next morning to the sun shining into my room through the big bay window. I stretched and yawned before I climbed out of the bed. Before I could do anything there was a knock on the door. "Come in," I called.

The door opened and one of the goblin girls who had served dinner the night before appeared carrying a tray of food. "His Highness asked that I bring you some breakfast Miss Barr."

"Thank you, and please, just call me Abigail."

She smiled at me and sat the tray down on a coffee table. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head, "No. This is fine."

She smiled again and turned to leave the room.

"Wait! What's your name?"

"Brynn," she said, turning back around.

I smiled at her and said, "Thank you Brynn."

"You're welcome, Abigail."

We smiled at each other and she left the room while I sat down and ate. When I was finished I sat at the bay window looking out at the labyrinth. Every now and then I thought I noticed something change or move. Or maybe it was just some one or some thing walking around in it. It also could have been my imagination. After sitting there bored for awhile I decided to explore the castle.

I got up and walked over to the closet to find something to wear since I didn't want to wear the thin white night shirt I had found to sleep in. I got out the plainest dress in the closet. It was gray and long-sleeved. The skirt fell to my ankles, and although it was loose, it still hung to my body. I walked into the bathroom to brush out my hair, which I left down, and seen that the dress didn't look so bad on me.

Before I left my room I slid on a plain gray pair of flats. I walked around the castle for what seemed like hours, opening doors when I came to them, just to see what was inside of each room. Finally I came upon the kitchen. There were five goblin girls, including Brynn in the room. Each one was either cleaning something, or cooking something. "Exploring the castle, Miss?" Brynn asked as she seen me, even though she knew the answer was yes.

I nodded my head.

"Are you hungry? I'll whip you up some lunch real quick."

"That would be nice, thank you."

We smiled at each other and I took a seat at the small table in the corner of the room. A few minutes later Brynn walked over to me with a plate in hand. On the plate was a ham sandwich with swiss cheese.

"Thank you," I smiled as she sat the plate on the table in front of me.

"It's not a problem. Is there anything else I can get you?"

"No, this is fine."

She smiled before walking over to a stove where a pot was sitting on a burner. She picked up a ladle and stirred the contents of the pot while I ate the sandwich. When I was finished I walked over to the sink and handed the plate to the goblin girl that was washing dishes. She smiled at me, and I smiled back.

On my way out of the kitchen I asked Brynn, "Is there a library anywhere in here?"

She nodded, "When you walk out into the hall, go to your right, at the first intersection of halls, turn left, and walk all the way down. It's the room with the huge double doors."

"Thank you."

I left the kitchen and followed Brynn's directions. When I got to the library I pushed open one door and shut it behind me. At first I was amazed by the size of the room. It was bigger than any room I had ever seen before. I spent the first few minutes walking around just exploring the room. It was three stories high and the walls where completely lined with books, all the way up to the ceiling. There were bookcases filled with books on the floor as well, and in the center of the room was a couch, two chairs, a coffee table, and two floor lamps, one on each side of the couch.

When I was satisfied with my inspection of the library I picked up a book and started reading. A few chapters into "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" I heard someone come into the library. I sat the book down on the couch, leaving it open and got up to see who had walked in. Jareth was standing in front of one of the book cases next to the door.

"Um....hi?" I said, letting him know I was in the room.

He turned around and faced me. A smile played out across his lips and he said, "Abigail, I see you've been exploring my castle today." It wasn't a question.

I nodded, "I thought that since I'm going to be living here, I should become familiar with the place."

"How smart of you."

I gave him a quick smile.

"How about joining me for dinner tonight?" he asked.

"That would be nice. Especially since I don't know how to get to my room from here."

He smiled and offered me his arm to escort me to the dining room.

"Can I take the book I was reading with me?"

"Of course Abigail. In fact, feel free to borrow any book from my library at any time, just make sure it gets back to it's shelf when you're finished."

"I will!" I smiled and ran back to the couch to get the book. I memorized what page I was on before shutting it and hurrying back to allow Jareth to escort me to the dining room for dinner. Dinner conversation between Jareth and me was much nicer and civil than it had been the night before, and there was no threatening each other at all. Jareth even asked me questions about myself, and I stayed long enough to eat dessert, unlike the night before.

When dinner was over I returned to my room with my book in hand. I changed back into the night shirt and crawled into the bed. I read a few more chapters of the book before going to sleep.