Day 106

Two weeks later, everything had gone back to normal. And by normal, I mean boring. Beth was sitting on the floor - refusing to place herself on the brand new couches that had been forced upon them - playing Lord of the Rings Online on her computer. Grosland was sitting next to Beth, squirming and moaning miserably as Beth's on-screen hobbit fought large and ominous spiders. Erin was tilting her head at a ridiculous angle as she tried to draw toast.

After several hours of this, all three girls sighed and put away their toys. Even being lame could get dull after a while. They resigned themselves to sitting in silence for a while longer. Then Beth said, "What are we going to do tonight, you guys?"

"I dunno," Erin mumbled, sprawling out over the new couches - which she rather preferred to their old, ratty, plaid cushions.

"Let's do . . . nothing," Gros said, tiredly.

"Yeah," Beth sighed, relenting to the inevitable. "Nothing."

"Nothing," Erin mumbled into the cushions.

"NOTHING?"

That voice. All three girls sat up straight immediately as the voice echoed spookily around them.

"Nothing? Nothing tra la la!?"

Without daring to speak, all of the girls turned simultaneously towards the Labyrinth poster on their wall. As they stared, their pitiful hearts swollen with hope, the glossy surface of the poster began to blur. The images smeared and became a swirling, sparkling vortex. And then the impossible happened. He walked through. Shining like the sun, his golden hair perfectly framing his chiseled features, the Goblin King looked at them with his mismatched eyes and sneered regally.

"Ladies," he began. "This is disgraceful."

They remained silent, staring up at him with their mouths half-open. Erin's nose had started to bleed.

"For years, you three have been wreaking havoc on the human realm. You have fed off of each others' exuberance, encouraged each other toward more and more reckless plots. Patience, prudence, common sense had no home in your plans." He was pacing now, surely leaving a trail of glitter that would be impossible for them to vacuum before cleaning checks, but the girls were too enraptured to notice. The Goblin King was coldly outraged, his lecture growing more insistent.

"This was to be your last great adventure!" he cried. "Before the world stole you away from each other. This was your chance to be glorious. And you took advantage of that. For a while." He stopped pacing and looked at them, his eyes fierce. "But you have become . . . lazy." The word sounded unusually filthy, the way he said it. "You never leave the house except to perform necessary societal duties, and then when you are home you sit in silence and watch your lives slip away, moment by moment.

"And now, with fewer than five days left to you, you plan to sit around and do nothing." His voice had grown soft, a malevolent whisper. It didn't matter; the girls were utterly silent. They wouldn't have missed a word he said. He raised an eyebrow at them and continued acidly, "This is your climax, girls? After all the weeks you've spent living together, this is how you spend your final days? This is your last scene? No. You each deserve - your friendship deserves -  better."

The trio was silent still. Their eyes were shining with tears of joy and misery. He was right, of course. Their summer together had been grand. How could they let it go out on such a mediocre note? They needed to do something spectacular. Something wondrous. But what?

The Goblin King read the question in their eyes. He considered them for a moment longer, then laughed once. His harsh features relaxed into a dazzling grin. Grosland started to cry. "Come on, girls," Jareth said teasingly. He gave them a significant look, his eyes flashing. His next words came softly, slowly. "Say your right words."

They each blinked in disbelief. For the first time since Jareth had arrived they tore their eyes from him to glance at each other in amazement. Could it really be time? After so many years of waiting?

They shared a look of deep meaning, then they looked back at the Goblin King, and each began speaking at the same moment. Their voices were steady, despite everything.

"We wish the goblins would come and take us away . . . right now."

Jareth grinned slyly once more.

And then they all four were gone.