FastCounter by bCentral
In the Library of the Castle Beyond the Goblin City, you wander through the stacks, peering at each volume. They are mostly curiosities, but there are a few volumes that look familiar. Alice In Wonderland is among them. High on a shelf, you see a book with black binding, roses bordering the title on the sleeve. There's a puff of dust as you drag it off the shelf, and you cough a bit, the sound echoing loudly in the stillness of the seemingly forgotten room. The letters on the binding are in shiny silver and they read:
The Stories of Alexa Close
Odd. But just as you begin to open it, you hear a sound behind you, rather like someone clearing their throat.
Oops. Jareth's caught you. He stands in the doorway, head tilted to one side, eyes sizing you up suspicously. "And what," he says, "do you think *you're* doing?"
You hold up the book and smile nervously, concerned that his next move might just be to throw you out (or worse, dip you in the Bog of Eternal Stench). He walks into the Library.
"These," he says, touching the books on that shelf, "are the stories of the Labyrinth Listians. You chose Alexa's, I see. The roses rather draw the eye's attention, don't they?" He plucks the book out of your hands and turns it over in his own, looking at the cover. "These are very special books. Always growing. Always changing." He opens up to a page and shows you what's written there. One word is being slowly altered, the letters fading out and fading back in as something else. Before you can tell what, he closes the book.
"You can read this, if you like. I don't really have the time to entertain visitors...you know how it is. Since that movie, every five minutes its another spoiled adolescent girl wishing her kid brother or sister away. So many mind games to play, so little time." He shrugs elegantly and hands the book back to you. "Well, then, happy reading." Jareth turns to leave, but he seems to have second thoughts. He glances back at you. "And, if you don't mind, I'd appreciate you not sneaking around my castle without permission.
"It's an excellent way to land in a oubliette."
You try to smile at what you hope is a joke, but he's already out the door. You sit down in one of the old, oversized chairs in the room and open the book to the first page.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Herald Tales
The Mermaid Bride
Listians in the Labyrinth (frames)
Faith
Threads of Fate (with Clara Gerl)
Crystals on the Wind
Truly Outrageous (frames)
Shade & Shadow
Spark & Light
Turned My World (frames)
For Love (frames)
That one was alright...but you think you'd like to try some of the others. You head back to the shelf and pull down another of the unfamiliar Listian volumes: