[The Puck flips over, balancing himself on one hand. He peers up at Jareth with a smile and a wink.]

But m'lord, surely you've figured it out? A flighty queen fighting over mortals with a half-hearted guardian?

Only half-hearted, you say?

[Jareth laughs, a sound both cruel and musical; it reflects, perhaps, the shifting natures within him, within the Puck, within many of the Fae -- and within their Queen. His amusement is great; he wonders if, perhaps, this little excursion from his plans will not be worth the entertainment.]

But whatever could have possibly happened to the other half, hmm?

I'm only a Puck, oh Goblin King! How can I be expected to know such things?

[But there's a smile there, a wicked, knife's edge of a thing, and the Puck rights himself, twirling his hands like an acrobat expecting applause.]

I know as little as you, and speculate perhaps as much.

Call it thinking aloud. You must admit, it's rather the interesting conundrum, isn't it?

[Jareth grants that applause in his own way, with an indulgent chuckle; quite the opposite of his previous laughter, it is a sound of the type shared with a co-conspirator, one that says 'we're in this together.' For they are, for now; he'll humor the Puck - it never ends well to annoy such a master trickster -- and hope that, for his trouble, a hint or two might be dropped his way, either now or in the future.]

My dear Puck, I think you know more than you let on, but I also think it your own prerogative. You've given me quite a bit to consider though, and I do thank you for generous insights. Pray tell, this place, this Demeleier -- what meaning has it to the Queen? Has she not other realms more fair and foul?

Hm... what does it mean to her?

[He taps his chin thoughtfully.]

You know me, King Jareth; I've spirited away many a baby and left a changeling to look out with old eyes from a young face, and I've never once apologized for doing so, and I've never once answered to anyone for doing it.

[Something Jareth should know, and something Jareth should be able to relate to.]

My Queen is much the same.

Now, imagine someone started interfering with that.