Sarah picked up the crystal ball with a spiral in the center from the cushioned niche it rested in. That jerk Jareth owed her something for making her run this stupid Labyrinth. The crystal was warm and she could have sworn that for a moment she heard the beating of a heart. She placed it in her pocket then continued to the throne room.
Morgana walked up to the door, barely able to conceal a smirk as she rang the doorbell. Her family wasn't expecting her since she had come home early from college for her birthday. A Redtail Hawk perched on her shoulder with a quiet dignity as she waited and a small black kitten in her arms. When her Step-Mother, who she just called Mom, opened the door Morgana allowed herself to smile.
"Morgana?" She said looking surprised.
"Surprise! I got out early and came home in time for my birthday." Morgana said as she walked inside.
"I wish we had known that you were coming. I would have made a cake!" Mom said a little flustered going to the kitchen to do just that.
"What's up with the cat and bird?" Her dad asked after wishing his daughter a happy birthday.
"This is my mentor's familiar and this little kitty is mine," Morgana said happily.
"Don't familiar's stay with their Magical partner?" Her Mom asked, a little confused.
"Yes, but my Mentor asked her familiar to make sure I got home safely." Morgana said a little embarrassed. "I was using a magical means of travel." She clarified at her parents confused expressions.
"So how has your magical training been going?" Mom asked. They had found out that Morgana was a different kind of Mage or witch so she couldn't go to the schools that normally taught magical children. It had been a stroke of luck that they had found someone to teach Morgana a few years ago though her studies were still in the beginning stages due to her lack of a familiar. Without a familiar to help her learn to control her magic Morgana had been unable to learn more complex spells. The only area that she had been able to progress fully was in healing. There she used herbs and minor spells to heal, but learning all of the herbs and how she could heal with them took far longer than her other subjects. Especially since she couldn't use every herb on every creature. You couldn't use Roan bark with Fey or Coco beans with the Wer. It was hard, but also very rewarding.
"Good, I can start to really progress now that I have my familiar." Morgana said sitting down on the couch.
"She is so adorable," Mom said sitting down next to Morgana. "Have you named her?"
Morgana shook her head. "No, I haven't been able to come up with anything." She sighed.
"What about Arianrhod?" Her father suggested. "Or Cerridwen? Demeter? Diana?"
Her mother started to add names as well. "Inanna? Isis?"
"Isis? The goddess of magic, words, and nature?" Morgana asked curiously.
"She was a great healer who had a great deal of control over life," Mom said, as a History Major with a Minor in Mythology she knew more than Morgana ever had. "She is said to be a great teacher, a protector, and was a great teacher. She was a protective mother and a forgiving person."
Morgana looked down at the black kitten in her lap. "Isis," She said thoughtfully. "I like that name."
"It is a good name for a good cat." Mom said standing up to check on the cake in the oven.
"What kind of cat is she?" Her father asked Morgana.
"She's a Shadow Cat." Morgana said. "A magical cat with an affinity for shadow magic, illusions, and a powerful fighter when full grown."
"How old is she?" Her Mother asked coming back in.
"About six years. She'll really start growing in a few minutes when she turns seven." Morgana said.
"Why is she so small?" Dad asked staring at the kitten.
"Because we never met. Sometimes when a familiar hasn't met their partner they won't grow." Morgana explained. "Since I'm turning twenty this year she's growing up and will be full grown by the end of today."
"Will she just grown slowly?" Mom asked looking at the kitten curiously.
"I don't know," Morgana said. "How is Toby?" She asked. It had been awhile since she had seen her little brother.
"He is growing like a weed," her Mother said a little exasperatedly. Her eyes shone with pride.
"And Sarah?" Morgana inquired. Her parents shared a look.
"She's still adjusting." Mom said. That was code for Sarah still hated her guts.
"She has improved a bit," Dad added.
"I'll go talk to her." Morgana said standing up with Isis in her arms. Walking up the stairs she paused to knock on her sister's door.
"What is it?" Sarah, her fifteen year old younger sister, snapped angrily.
"It's me." Morgana said. "Mind if I come in?" She didn't get an answer so she walked in anyway. Sarah was laying on her bed holding something in her hand.
"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked a little rudely.
"I came to spend my birthday with my family." Morgana replied setting Isis down. The shadow cat slipped underneath Sarah's bed to come face to face with a small object that radiated magic. Isis picked it up and leaped up onto the bed once her Mistress was done talking with the younger girl. Placing the crystal spiral on her Mistress's lap Isis purred, pleased to be able to give her Mistress such a fine gift.
"What is this?" Morgana asked wiping off the dust from a pale gold spiral shaped crystal. "It is very beautiful."
"Your birthday present," Sarah said quickly with a light blush. "I was going to make it into a necklace, but I didn't have time and then I lost it." Isis could feel the lie.
Sarah hoped that Morgana wouldn't figure out that it had been under her bed or in the trash can ever since she had returned from the Labyrinth.
"I found it at a yard sale and thought that you might like it," she quickly made up.
"Thank you," Morgana said.
"I would have finished it, but I didn't know that you were coming." Sarah said. In truth she had wanted little to do with the spiral since it reminded her of her time in the Labyrinth.
"I can finish it." Morgana said. It didn't take long for her to gently clean the spiral then attach it to a leather cord in a delicate looking clasp. The cool spiral had a few darker cracks in it that Morgana had used her magic to try to heal. So far it didn't have any effect on the strange crystal.
"Morgana, Sarah!" Their Step-Mother called. "Cakes ready!"
Morgana was getting ready to leave when her sister walked in.
"Do you really have to go?" Sarah asked.
"I do," Morgana said softly.
"Is it because of your magic?" Sarah said sounding a little resentful.
"Yes and no," Morgana said straightening up. Isis did not want to come out from under the bed at the moment. "I'll be back in time for your birthday." She said and gave her sister a hug.
Jareth, King of the Goblins and Master of the Labyrinth, stood weakly and used his magic to call back the fool who had run through his kingdom only months before.
Morgana and Sarah felt massive winds swirling around them. Morgana tried to protect her younger sister who, terrified, clung onto her. When the winds died down Morgana opened her eyes.
"Why are we here?" Morgana hissed to her sister in a minor panic.
"But I ran the Labyrinth," Sarah said pale.
"Why would you need to run the Labyrinth?" Morgana asked sharply. Her mentor had told her a great deal about the Labyrinth and its people. "Who did you wish away?"
"Toby…" Sarah said looking down at the ground after her sister released her and stepped away to find out where they were.
"Why would you do such a foolish thing?!" Morgana hissed at her sister. Green eyes flashed gold reflecting the owners fury.
"I didn't want to watch over him! All he did was cry!" Sarah yelled at her sister.
"He is a baby!" Morgana snapped. "He isn't old enough to tell you what's wrong! And that doesn't tell me why we are here either!"
"I don't know, last time he came and told me." Sarah snapped at her sister.
"Then I will go to the King and ask why." Morgana said.
"Sarah?" a short man asked.
"Hoggle!" Sarah said with a smile.
"What are you doing here?" Hoggle asked. The man looked tired and scared to Morgana. Sarah didn't seem to notice.
"I don't know, my sister and I were whisked away in a whirlwind." Sarah said before looking around. "What happened here?"
"No one knows. The Labyrinth is dying." Hoggle said sadly.
"Why hasn't he done anything about it?" Sarah asked. If she didn't have to say his name, she wouldn't.
"No one's really seen him much since you ran." Hoggle told his friend. "You've got to do something!"
"Like what?" Sarah asked. "It isn't like I did this in the first place."
Hoggle looked taken back by her response.
"Stay here Sarah, I plan on having a few words with the King." Morgana said as a large cat that came up to her hip gracefully walked to her side. Isis had grown up and her black coat had shimmered with blues, greens, and purples. Golden eyes looked up at Morgana who smiled down at her familiar.
"You're a witch!" Hoggle said in surprise. "Maybe you can help the Labyrinth." He looked at her hopefully.
"I can try, but I don't know what's wrong in the first place." Morgana said calmly. "Can you show me the entrance?"
Hoggle eagerly led her to the entrance, only stopping to spray a few fairies.
"What are you doing?" Morgana asked, appalled.
"Spraying the pests," Hoggle said with obvious happiness. "Ninty-four."
"They are living creatures and have the same right as you to live here." Morgana said firmly.
"Oh," Hoggle seemed uncomfortable. "What's your name?"
"I am Morgana." Morgana said. This seemed to terrify Hoggle.
"H-h-here's the entrance," he stuttered out.
"Thank you," Morgana said inclining her head regally before striding inside and turning right.
"Why didn't you tell me your sister was a witch?!" She heard Hoggle hysterically ask Sarah. Morgana smiled lightly and continued on her way. When she ran across the small fluffy blue worm she stopped.
"Excuse me," Morgana said politely. "Do you where the King is?" She asked him.
"Now why would you want to go meet him?" The worm asked her. "Why don't you come and have a cup of tea with the misses."
"I would love to, but I really do need to see him." Morgana replied kindly.
"Alright then, can you take a message for us and ask what's wrong?" The worm said. "The Labyrinth's in bad shape and we can't live anywhere else."
"I will do what I can," Morgana said.
"Just take a left through that there opening," The blue worm said. Morgana turned around and found herself facing a wall. But she was in a Fae land. So therefore the rule her teacher had taught her clearly applied. 'Not everything is as it first appears.' Morgana walked through and turned left.
"Thank you very much," She smiled at the worm.
"Your Welcome," The worm replied as Isis and Morgana walked towards the Castle beyond the Goblin City. Morgana soon reached the castle and made her way inside. When she found out that the King was in his room she walked straight up the stairs that led to it. Shocking the Goblins behind her into silence.
Gathering her courage, after all Fae were not creatures to be trifled with, she knocked on the door of the Goblin King and Master of the Labyrinth. Nothing. Morgana waited for a while before she knocked again. Morgana was a patient person, but after finding out that her little sister had wished their brother away and having to walk to the castle, which was farther than she had thought, her patience had run out.
So Morgana opened the door. She really wasn't expecting to find a man collapsed on the floor. Rushing over Morgana knelt by the unconscious man. He was very pale and cold to the touch. Checking for a pulse Morgana felt his heart flutter under her fingertips.
Years of training kicked in and Morgana went into what her Mentor lovingly called 'Scary Healer Mode'. Morgana moved the fair haired Fae, after checking for life threatening injuries, to the lavish bed.
Tucking him in she looked for something to warm him up after setting his broken arm and fractured bones. Spying what looked like rice bags Morgana smiled and heated them up with her magic. Heating charms didn't last over an hour or two, but they would help. Morgana pulled back the sheets, she was glad that she hadn't had to change him into something more suited to bed than the soft silk clothing he was currently wearing, and placed the rice bags around the Fae's prone form. In her eyes he looked rather thin, like he hadn't been eating enough or had been sick for a long time. The greyish tinge to his skin worried her and she lit the fire in the fireplace in order to warm up the cool room. She also closed the window that was blowing in cool air. That wasn't going to help her patient.
Jareth felt cold. Why was he cold? Opening tired eyes he found a dark haired women with green eyes staring down at him. Her skin was tan, telling of hours in the sun, and she reminded him of Sarah. But she was older. Her eyes and hair were darker. He also got the impression that she was worried.
Why would she be worried?
"Are you okay?" She asked him.
"What do you think?" Was his sarcastic reply.
"I think that you need to eat."
"Eat…" Jareth said tiredly. He felt like that was something that he should do, but the thought of it made his stomach roll. At least he felt better than he had a few hours ago.
Morgana could tell that he wasn't entirely aware. He looked like death warmed over.
"I'm going to go get you something to eat. Don't fall asleep when I am gone." She told him before reapplying the heating charms on the rice bags. Walking quickly down the stairs she remembered the covetous looks the goblins had been giving her necklace and put the cold spiral down her shirt. She shuddered slightly at the cold touch before seeking out the kitchen.
Morgana walked down the stairs to the kitchen and found a mess.
"What is going on here?" She snapped at the goblins. Her dark green eyed gaze freezing the beings in their steps. "Is this a kitchen or a playground?" It was no wonder the Fae was sick if he had eaten anything prepared in this kitchen, but that didn't explain the broken bones. "I want this place clean now!" She said looking every inch a powerful witch. To the goblins she just looked scary, so they did exactly what she said.
Morgana left the kitchen with a bowl of soup and when she reached the throne room again she found her way barred by goblins throwing chickens everywhere!
So she put the bowl down on the throne, with a mild repelling charm to keep it from being spilled or who knows what, and picked up the nearest object that she could find.
Jareth's riding whip.
After giving the goblins a very thorough verbal thrashing, which was very intimidating thanks to a certain whip, she spanked the lot before returning to the sick Fae with the broth she had prepared. She was fairly certain that he was the King, but was confused as to why he would be so sick and injured.
Jareth watched her warily as she set the bowl she had been carrying on her lap after she sat down by his head.
"What is that?" He asked cursing how weak he sounded.
"Broth," She replied. He turned away in disgust. The Goblin King did not drink Broth.
The Fae's skin took on a green tinge and he turned away in disgust.
"You need to eat something." Morgana said setting the bowl on the nearby chair. "Do you need help sitting up?"
Jareth flushed, but something in her eyes told him that he had better cooperate if he wanted his pride intact. He tried to get up, only to discover he was far too weak to move. The woman helped him sit up and arranged the pillows to support him. He was grateful, but unhappy at the same time.
"I don't know your name," he said softly. He could feel her kindness and an iron strength from her touch.
"Oh," She looked surprised. "Morgana Williams."
"Do you know Sarah Williams?" Jareth asked, his dull mismatched eyes staring at her.
"My younger sister with whom I am not pleased." Morgana said. She did not look happy with her sister at the moment and Jareth had enough sense not to ask anything else about Sarah. He allowed her to help him eat the broth, there was no way in the Underground that he was going to fight Morgana over something so trivial. When he was finished he was pleasantly full and for once in the past few months, warm.
Morgana made sure that he was comfortable before turning to Isis.
"A lot of things aren't adding up here," She murmured to her familiar while stroking her smooth silky coat. "If he's so sick then how did he summon us here and why? And I'm pretty sure that he has healers so why didn't I see any?"
Isis looked up at her Mistress sadly. 'It seems as though some of the goblins have died due to bad things happening here.' She told her Mistress.
"Why?" Morgana asked her familiar.
'The King is not well so the land has been unwell. Very few are still around.' Isis said looking very sad.
"Well I'll just have to fix him. I don't know what I can do about the land part." Morgana said heating up the rice bags again.
'We will just have to do what we can.' Isis told her Mistress. Morgana agreed.
That night Jareth developed a fever and it took all of Morgana's knowledge and magic to keep it down.
Morgana wiped away sweat with a cool wet cloth as she murmured healing spells under her breath. The Goblin King's eyes wandered restlessly underneath closed eyelids. She felt Isis lend her strength and added to her knowledge of healing spells.
It took a week for his fever to break. If Morgana ever got her hand on whoever had done this to him she was going to tan their hide!
Sarah wondered where her sister was. She had been gone for a week now and she wanted to go home. Hoggle had left and it seemed that none of her friends wanted to be around her anymore since she had lost her temper and said that she didn't care if Jareth died. She had almost wished that he had, but the sudden image of her sister's fury kept her from saying that. Instead she had wished that he was so sick that he just might die. She was sure that her sister would still be angry.
Sarah shuttered.
Jareth woke up and found that he felt better than he had in a long time. His fever was gone and he felt warm. Turning his head he could see the woman who had nursed him from the brink of death sleeping. Her head was resting in her arms near his own arm and she looked very peaceful.
He was still in pain, but it was dulled.
He wondered if that meant that the physical representation of the Labyrinth had been restored to its rightful place or that someone was actually taking care of it.
Either way he could actually feel himself healing now.
Morgana woke up slowly. When she realized that the Goblin King was staring at her with an odd expression on his face she sat up quickly. He seemed amused. He was lying down and his coloring was much better than it had been the previous night.
"You look better," Morgana said a little embarrassed at being caught asleep.
"I feel better," He replied.
"I never caught your name," Morgana said to him.
"Jareth, King of the Goblins and Master of the Labyrinth." He replied. "I have a question for you."
"What would you ask?" Morgana asked a little warily.
"Are you the Morgana that your sister was muttering about under her breath?" Jareth asked.
"What?"
~Flashback~
Jareth watched Sarah in confusion. What was Sarah muttering under her breath? Transporting himself behind her and listened intently.
"What would Morgana do?" She asked herself as she stared at the two doors with the two blue and two red goblins. "If I don't get Toby back she'll lay into me after Dad and then I'll be grounded for life or worse."
'Who is Morgana?' Jareth thought to himself.
~Flashback~
After listening to Jareth's explanation attentively Morgana frowned.
"So she's still looking to me to save her from her folly," Morgana said looking rather displeased. Jareth had wondered why Sarah had kept going when she obviously didn't want to. Now he had his answer. He wasn't sure why Sarah's sister was so frightening though. Morgana seemed like a perfectly nice person. "Why have my sister and I been summoned here?" She asked him.
"I only meant to summon Sarah," Jareth said a little tiredly.
"Why?" Morgana pressed.
"Do you know that when a powerful being rules a land and they are connected then sometimes… a physical representation of that… is found in the land?" Jareth said haltingly. Morgana seemed electrified.
"She didn't," Morgana breathed. A physical representation of the bond between the land and its king was a very magical object. If it was harmed then both would suffer.
"She was the last runner before my health began to decline," Jareth admitted. He could tell that this woman was on his side at the moment and she likely could help him get that physical representation back. "I actually didn't have any runners for a week after she can through."
"Do you know what it looks like?" Morgana asked.
"As soon as it left the Labyrinth it changed shape." Jareth replied.
"Hm…" Morgana pursed her lips. "I will have to have a conversation with my dear sister very soon."
Jareth didn't envy Sarah. He was starting to see how scary Morgana could be.
"But if you are healing," Morgana said quietly. "Then shouldn't it be near you?"
"In theory as long as it is in the Labyrinth I should heal." Jareth replied. He really didn't know why he was being so open with this women. Her sister had nearly killed him!
But the memory of her nursing him back from the brink quickly made itself known. No one had ever done something like that before. The fury that she felt on his behalf was nice. No one had ever been angry about something that someone had done to him before.
Morgana sighed. "I'll have to find her and ask her about it." She said. "Rest, I'll be back soon." Morgana stood up and left with Jareth staring at her back. She was an odd mortal.
It took longer than Morgana had wanted to find her sister. She had needed to practically force the Goblins to clean up after themselves and had given them her patented 'Evil Glare' that terrified anyone who crossed her. She didn't use it much, but she was not happy. If her guess was right then Sarah might have nearly killed everyone in the Labyrinth, because she was angry and holding onto a petty grudge.
When Sarah saw Morgana's angry eyes she 'eeped' then fled.
The events that happened after Sarah fled would earn Morgana her reputation as an excellent tracker, a very sharp tongued woman, and an extremely intelligent witch. Even though she wasn't actually a 'witch'. When Morgana learned that Sarah had given her the physical representation she grew very quiet.
Sarah cowered in the corner that Morgana had trapped her in.
No one ever found out what happened afterwards, but Sarah was extremely pale and would not move from the corner Morgana told her to stand in. Morgana wasn't sure that she would be able to keep her temper if she continued to talk to her sister. As it was everyone that she met fled from her icy gaze. When she returned to the castle to check on Jareth he was sleeping.
Morgana conceded that was probably for the best considering how angry she felt. Taking off the necklace she noticed that the cracks were smaller than before and that the spiral was warmer than when she had first put the necklace on. She placed it on the chair by Jareth then stoked the fire. A short while later after checking Jareth she noticed that he seemed a little cold, but the warmth from the fire should take care of that and walked away to go to bed.
Morgana had the strangest feeling that something was very wrong. She turned onto her other side so that she was facing the door. Her Mentor had told her to always listen to her intuitive feelings. That was one of the reasons that Sarah had a very difficult time getting away with being half hearted to her sister. Morgana stood up, dressed in shorts and a loose t-shirt, and walked quickly and silently to Jareth's room. Isis was with Sarah keeping an eye on her. The only reason that her senses would be screaming at her is if there was something wrong with Jareth.
Opening the door she slipped in quietly. The door closed noisily behind her and she whirled around to find no one. The room was cold. Morgana used her awakening fire manipulation skills to wake the dying flames. Pausing she stared at the fire in surprise. Her Mentor had told her that many things that she had a hard time with before she had found her familiar would now be easy, but it was another thing to actually experience it.
Turning back to her original task Morgana walked quickly over to Jareth to find that he wasn't breathing.
~Ending Chapter here~
The Labyrinth shook and light faded. Morgana quickly checked for a heartbeat then nearly swore before she began CPR on the still Fey. She noticed that he was very cold and after a heart stopping minute he took a deep breath and coughed.
Morgana felt relief fill her and sat down by his side. She turned him onto his side as he gasped for breath before he began to breathe normally. Morgana rubbed his back absentmindedly as she boosted the heat in the room to warm him up.
"Where... is... it...?" Jareth finally managed to ask after a few minutes. Morgana looked at the chair and then leaned over to pick it up.
When Morgana leaned over Jareth noticed that she had a very nice figure. He had to fight a blush when she straightened back up with a crystal spiral in her hand.
"This is what Sarah took from the Labyrinth," Morgana said and frowned when she noticed how cold it was. "It's cold," She said.
"W-w-warm… i-it… u-p-p-p." Jareth said curling up. Morgana's eyes lit up in understanding.
"Sorry," She said and reattached it to her necklace before putting it against her skin. Jareth shuttered, but began to warm up.
"So you had it the entire time?" Jareth asked once he was warmer. Morgana hadn't stopped rubbing his back and it lulled him into a content state.
"Only since today, late this afternoon." Morgana said. "I didn't know what it was."
"How did you get it?" Jareth asked. Upset that something so valuable had been treated so badly. And scared. He had never been closer to death than at this moment. Fae didn't die easily and having so many near death experiences in such a short amount of time scared him.
"Isis, my familiar, picked it up from underneath my sister's bed. I thought it was beautiful so Sarah gave it to me as a birthday present because she hadn't been expecting me to come home on my birthday." Morgana said quietly. "I've been wearing it ever since, but I took it off last night."
"When was that?" Jareth asked.
"When was what?" Morgana asked, she stopped rubbing his back and drew back in embarrassment. She hadn't realized what she had been doing. A flicker of disappointment startled her. She didn't like Jareth, she told herself. Then why do you want to make him well and happy so badly, a voice asked her. Because my sister is responsible, Morgana told the voice firmly. It laughed at her.
"Your birthday." Jareth clarified, internally he wondered why she had stopped. It had been rather nice.
"The day you brought us here." Morgana said. Jareth looked up at her in surprise. "Don't worry about it, I'm glad that I was able to keep my sister's folly from hurting you anymore."
"I wonder about that," He said after she resumed rubbing his back.
"Do you think that she has anything to do with how close you came to death?" Morgana asked him as Isis dragged Sarah inside. Morgana stared at her familiar who looked spitting mad.
'She wished that Jareth would die!' Isis screeched. Morgana leapt to her feet staring at Sarah in shock. 'I am glad that you restored him, I wasn't sure that the wish would have allowed it. But it looks like your emotions were stronger.' Isis told her Mistress as she looked at Jareth.
'My emotions were stronger?' Morgana wasn't sure if she wanted to delve into that at the moment.
'Yes, you are a far stronger healer than your sister is a killer.' Isis added. Morgana hoped that no one had heard what Isis had said. 'And you seem to find him pleasant to look at.'
'Isis!' Morgana was now blushing a bit. Turning her attention to Sarah, Morgana wasn't sure why her sister had done something like this so she reached out a hand and forced Sarah to look into her eyes. Then Morgana did something that her Mentor didn't know that she could do. She delved into her sister's mind.
Jareth could feel Morgana's magical strength as she slipped into her sister's mind. The spiral around her neck told him how strong she was and he could feel something change.
Isis watched knowingly.
High Fey are notoriously hard to impress. They also don't fall in love very easily, however, when a High Fey finds someone that they like and their magic finds them to be a good match. They will pursue that person to the end of the earth.
Sometimes they talk briefly and then the connection is formed. Sometimes they simply look at each other. No one really knows what magic deems a suitable partner but Mages believed it was a Soul-Mate kind of thing.
The Fey would court their chosen until the two decided whether or not they love each other.
Isis knew that it was a different kind of soul magic. There were certain souls that were attracted to each other or that were simply meant to be.
Of course, the Shadow cat didn't feel like telling either one that. That would make them reject each other. Or at least one of them might. She didn't want her Mistress to be unhappy because she thought that Jareth didn't feel something for her. After all, courting doesn't work that way.
Morgana withdrew and Sarah noticed that her sister's face was unreadable.
"Do you really value life so little?" Morgana asked her sister.
"I just wished," Sarah started. Morgana placed a hand quickly over Sarah's mouth.
"Words have power." Morgana said. "If you do not know that now then clearly you far more of a fool than I originally thought." Sarah was silent, the disappointment and sorrow in her sister's eyes was like an arrow straight to her heart. She had never seen that expression in her sister's eyes before.
"If," Morgana started then paused. "If you cannot guard your words so they do not harm another who did only what you asked then perhaps you should not speak at all."
Sarah and Jarath's eyes widened.
"You're my sister!" Sarah said angrily.
"Exactly!" Morgana snapped. Sarah drew back in surprise. "I have been cleaning up your messes your entire life. You never think before you speak and you always seem to blame everything on others. Me, Toby, Mom, everyone!" Morgana stalked towards Sarah. "If you can't say something nice then you shall not speak at all." Her final words echoed with power.
Sarah opened her mouth to speak and found that she could not.
"I'm guessing you were about to say, 'It's not fair.' Life isn't fair. You say that so often, I really wonder what you are comparing it to." Morgana said coldly. Jareth almost started laughing, but he really didn't want her attention on him at the moment. "The only way this spell will be broken is if you chose to change. I refuse to have you become a murderer."
Sarah's eyes filled with angry tears and she ran out of the room. Morgana sat down slowly.
Jareth felt guilty. It was not a feeling that he liked and rarely felt. He wished that he could do something. Sarah and Morgana had not talked for days and he was only now well enough to sit up. Sarah's last wish had weakened him more than her previous ones. But it wasn't Sarah who occupied his thoughts now, it was her sister. The woman was a riddle that he didn't understand. She seemed to be a powerful witch, but she didn't use a wand. She had a familiar, but they didn't seem to know each other well. She was kind, but also absolutely terrifying. And a great healer, even though she was good with curses too.
The only thing that she seemed to be bad at was being patient with the Goblins. Not that he could complain. They would try the patience of a saint.
Sighing Jareth let his head fall back. As much as he hated to admit it, the older Williams daughter had caught his interest. The younger had for less than five hours. As soon as he had seen how she acted and found out about her personality, he had been disgusted. Now he wondered why he had been interested in her at all.
Sighing Jareth wished for the first time in a long time that he had a living family member that he could trust to talk to about them. A single name came to mind that Jareth almost dismissed before deciding that it might just be his only chance to figure this out. So Jareth wrote a letter to his cousin who was strange, but trustworthy and old enough that he might know what was wrong with him.
Jareth sat across from his cousin Garin and sipped the tea that Morgana had made for them. She was a very dedicated healer and the tea tasted amazing. Garin had listened to Jareth's story and was now deep in thought.
"Sounds like you are looking for a mate." Garin said. He had darker blonde hair with blue streaks in it and was dressed in human clothing. Really odd human clothing.
"I'm what?" Jareth asked askance.
"Looking for a mate. Did your father never have this conversation with you?" Garin asked Jareth who blushed lightly.
"Not really," Jareth replied. His father had died before Jareth was really old enough for that to be a concern. But not young enough for someone else to take over the throne. Garin sighed, this was not something that he wanted to explain to anyone. Ever.
"When a High Fae becomes of age they grow stronger and start looking for a mate or eternal partner. Whatever you want to call her." Garin said leaning back. "You find yourself entranced by some women of whatever race. Some you only watch for a little while before you find yourself acting normally. A very few you will want to court and find out instinctively if they are your equal. A High Fey will accept no less."
"And if they are my equal, what then?" Jareth asked Garin.
"Then you decide if you want your relationship to go anywhere." Garin said. Finding a mate was an extremely private matter for High Fae's. Jareth stared at Garin. "Want to talk about her?"
"What?" Jareth looked startled.
"The girl in your thoughts?" Garin prodded gently. Jareth stared at his tea cup for a few minutes.
"There are two. The younger nearly killed me by stealing the physical representation," Garin gasped and nearly spilled his tea. That would have led to an all out war. "I meant to summon only her back to the Labyrinth, but it didn't work out like that. Her sister was wearing it around her neck and so she came back as well. Lucky for me she did. She's the reason that I'm alive. She cursed her sister to be unable to speak." Jareth looked lost.
"She sounds to good to be true," Garin said. "Is her aura true?" He asked. Some High Fae were able to see auras. Auras would tell the truth about a person. If they were lying it would flare red at the edges. Telling the truth would have the aura stay the same.
"It is," Jareth said. "And it such a beautiful aura it is…"
Garin smirked. "You really seem to like her." He said as Morgana walked with her familiar bellow their balcony. Garin raised an eyebrow and whistled. "That is one amazing aura."
In the eyes of the High Fae a silver glow with multicolored sparks glittered around her brightly.
"Not a dark spot to indicate evil at all," Garin said.
"No, and I don't know what to do now." Jareth sighed.
"Court her," Garin urged. "From what you've said she is a very good healer, is strong in magic, and is very good looking. That's not a combination that you can pass up so easily."
Jareth sat on his throne thinking. He would be sending the two Williams sisters home tomorrow. He felt a sense of… sadness? Was he really unhappy that Morgana was going home?
Yes, he was. He had spent a great deal of time with her and had found out that she was a very private person who prefered to have a few close friends rather than many less close ones. She also had a wicked sense of humor sometimes. Jareth tapped his leather boot with his riding crop. He was still amused by the fact that the small and far less intelligent goblins that lived here feared her so. And very grateful that she had gotten them to behave. She had made his life so much easier in the time she had been here. Although he got the impression that she wasn't happy with the way things were run and secretly Jareth had to agree.
Hoggle had accepted a bribe from Sarah making him a bad choice as a gatekeeper. He had also gone directly against his orders repeatedly. He hadn't punished the dwarf, but he should. He would also have to punish Sr. Didymus who had left his post and who had failed to make sure that the bridge was in good condition. The rock yeti Ludo had been trespassing and would have to be punished. Jareth wondered if Ludo had ever had the rules explained to him. That would bare some looking into.
Jareth started. When had her opinion become so important to him. They had only known each other for a month. Had she really wormed her way into his heart so quickly?
Jareth stood in front of Morgana and Sarah. Since Sarah had lost the ability to speak she seemed to have become nicer. Of course Morgana and Sarah had spent a lot of time together so that might have had something to do with it as well.
"I guess this is it," Morgana said. Jareth nodded and Morgana stared at his mismatched eyes for a while. She wished that she could spend some more time here with the Fae, but she needed to continue her studies.
"I guess it is," Jareth said. The two stared at each other for a while and Sarah wondered if there was something wrong with the adults here. She stomped her foot after a while in frustration startling Jareth and Morgana.
"I guess we should be going." Morgana said a little sadly. Jareth reached up and removed a necklace with a spiral crystal hanging from a gold clasp.
"I want you to have it." Jareth said. Morgana was stunned.
"But that's-" Morgana started.
"Never been safer than when you had it." Jareth said firmly. "I trust you."
Morgana let Jareth place the necklace around her neck and looked up at him with determined eyes. "I won't let you down." Wind picked up and when it had died back down the sister's were gone.
"I know," Jareth said to the empty air, and the strange thing was, he did.