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

The next day was even more boring as the day before I had been. I got a bubble bath and changed into another plain, but outdated, dress just to give me something to do. I was so bored that I sat on a couch in my room and finished the rest of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". Every now and then Brynn would bring me something to eat or drink, and I would thank her for it.

When I finished reading the book I left my room to go find the library again and put it back. Once I replaced the book onto the shelf I had originally found it on I searched around the room for another one. I ended up deciding on "The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." I had read it once before, and didn't mind reading it again.

For a change of scenery I sat in the library and started reading the book. About three and a half chapters into the book I heard the library door open and Jareth called my name, "Abigail, are you in here?"

"Yes!" I replied. I got up off of the couch and practically ran to the front of the room to meet him.

He smiled when he seen me appear from between the bookshelves, "I thought you might be in here. Are you ready for dinner?"

"It's evening time already?"

He nodded his head, "You are going to join me again, aren't you?"

"Of course," I smiled and we walked out of the room together. Once we were seated in the dining room Brynn and two of the other goblins served us our food like they did the two nights before. In between bites of food Jareth and I talked to each other. "I see you're already on another book," he mentioned, glancing at the book on the table beside my plate.

I nodded my head and took a sip of water before saying, "When there's not really anything else to do you're bound to finish books rather quickly."

"You're bored in the castle?" Even though his tone implied that it was a question, I knew that he knew I was.

I nodded my head, "A little."

"Tomorrow morning we'll go riding then. That will give you something to do, and it will allow us to spend more time together than just at dinner."

"Riding?" I asked, arching one eyebrow.

"Yes, horseback riding."

"I've never been horseback riding."

"Really?"

"Really. Although, one time I did ride on an elephant."

"An elephant?"

I nodded excitedly and wiped my mouth with a cloth napkin before telling him how I rode an elephant once.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"When I was a little girl, my dad would take me to the circus every year. One year they were letting people ride one of the elephants after the show was over, and my dad took me down to where the elephant was and some of the circus people helped me climb this huge ladder up to the back of the elephant, and then it walked around the tent. It was so amazing." There was happiness in Abigail's eyes as she talked. It was so easy getting her to tell me about herself, and about her life. It was hard to believe that the first day she had been in my castle she was so angry with me. I could understand why though.

"Well, it sounds like you really enjoyed yourself whenever you were with your father," I commented when she was done with her story.

She nodded her head, "Yeah, I honestly think he was the only one in my family that really cared about me, but he was never around because of his work."

"What does he do?"

"He's an executive for some big company that was always sending him all over the world."

I was unsure of what to say. Abigail suddenly had sadness in her voice as she spoke about her dad. I reached across the table and placed my hand over hers, trying to comfort her. She looked up at me and I thought I noticed a tear in the corner of her eye that she was holding back. She gave me a soft smile and I removed my hand from the top of hers.

Neither of us said anything at first, and then to break the silence I said, "So, we'll go riding tomorrow, right?"

She nodded quickly, "Of course, you'll just have to show me how."

"I can do that."