"You can't be serious."
Twenty eight year old Sarah Williams dubbed those four words her catchphrase of the day. Honestly, she'd said them so much they might as well have been the only words she said the entire week.
"You're crazy."
The dead of the night was not her ideal time for a conversation. Sarah was always grumpy if she was woken up at night; being woken up by rain pouring through her window had made her even more irritable. She had actually been having a good nights sleep for the first time in thirteen years and now that the rest was stolen from her she was rather angry. Not to mention the unknown child dripping water on her carpet that had just came in through her window.
"I am not crazy." The young blonde haired Fae girl retorted hotly. "You're the one who wished your baby brother away."
The girl looked about thirteen, with a heart-shaped face, a white blondish mane of hair, and icy blue eyes. She was tall and willowy, looking rather strong for a barely teen girl. Though her eyes blazed with fire, she was shivering in her wet clothes and her lips were blue. The girl stood near the center of the bedroom, looking oddly regal with her head held high. Sarah bit back her snarky reply with difficulty; the Fae girl didn't know anything about her run or about her for any matter. Who was she to criticize when she likely to catch pneumonia with how wet she was and how she was shivering?
"Can't get one night of sleep," Sarah grumbled as she swung her legs over the side of her bed. "Without being interrupted by every creature above and below."
"Oh, please." Scoffed the girl. "Stop being such a drama queen. You've had good nights of sleep for years."
"Actually, I haven't." Sarah snapped irritably as she stood. "And I wouldn't be speaking that way to the person who's getting me dry clothes."
Striding past the wet girl, Sarah opened the door to her closet and flipped on the light switch.
"I don't need those." The girl shot at her, turning away from the closet. "I don't wear above grounder clothes."
"Well, it's either my clothes or pneumonia. And you're not getting pneumonia in my house." Sarah snapped.
Shuffling through the cardboard boxes of old clothes, Sarah pulled out a pair of plaid pajama pants and a top. The girl remained silent.
"These should fit." Sarah tossed the clothes at the girl, who was still standing in the center of the room. Her straight legged position suddenly struck Sarah as odd, and she caught sight of a small figure peering at her from behind the girl's leg.
"Hiding a stowaway?" Sarah quipped.
"He's my brother." A note of protectiveness crept into her tone and she shifted slightly to hide him from Sarah.
Sarah sighed; no girl should be this distrustful. She mentally cursed the Fae repeatedly.
"I won't hurt him." Sarah held her hands up, palms facing the girl. "I need to get him some clothes before he gets a cold. I swear that I won't hurt either of you."
The girl eyed Sarah. "Promise?" She questioned doubtfully.
"Promise." Sarah said with conviction.
The girl moved her brother in front of her and Sarah was finally able to see him. He was small, maybe seven or six. He had a shock of blonde hair like his sister, and he had one arctic blue eye and one brown. His facial features were regal, surprisingly chiseled for a little boy. His thinness struck Sarah and she felt a flare of anger. Were the Fae not feeding their children now? She noticed a fading purple bruise on his cheek and her lips thinned into a line.
"I'll find him clothes. Get dressed and meet me downstairs in the living room." Sarah told the girl softly, barely containing her rage.
She hated that human children were abused and mistreated. Sarah had often volunteered at the food pantry and had seen one too many dull eyed, starving children. The knowledge that the Fae did the same to their children set her on fire.
Sarah hurried from her bedroom, going into Toby's and grabbing a set of old pajamas before the fifteen year old woke. She gave them to the girl, who gave her a brief grateful smile.
"Williams family meeting!" Sarah hollered as she turned on the hallway light and headed downstairs.
This was about to get interesting.
Sarah had once been in the midst of a goblin battle with a fox knight, a hairy rock caller, and a dwarf. She had been fired at by missiles, chased by chickens, pursued into a house too small for one of her companions, and threatened with death by weapon carrying goblins. The goblin battle seemed like nothing compared to what was happening in the living room.
Robert and Linda were having a yelling match that Sarah was pretty sure didn't even pertain to the situation. Toby was trying to catch Sophie, their six-year-old sister, and this involved climbing over couches, tripping over cords, and jumping over a resting Merlin. Karen was trying to stop Robert and Linda, which resulted in her screaming at the top of her lungs to be heard. Sarah was sitting on the coach next to the boy and girl.
"What are your names?" Sarah asked casually, like this was completely normal.
"Ellie and Jarred." The girl replied as she watched the Williams in all their fighting glory. Jarred had pressed himself close into her side and was watching the action with wide eyes.
Sarah sighed. "Sophie." She called, beckoning the young brown-haired girl to her side. "Can you go stop the fight for me?" Sarah smiled at the bright gleam in Sophie's blue eyes. "You know what to do."
An exhausted, red-faced Toby collapsed on the floor as Sophie scampered between the three adults. Sophie looked to Sarah so much that her admiration was almost comical and, due to this, she did practically anything that Sarah asked.
"You might want to cover your ears." Sarah warned, sticking her fingers into her own. Jarred and Ellie out their hands over their ears and not a moment too soon, for a second later Sophie let out a piercing scream.
Karen, Linda, and Robert became silent at once, concerning themselves over the wailing child. Sophie grinned at Sarah and skipped over to the coach as soon as she was done. For a moment, silence reigned as everyone caught their breath.
"Now that the neighbors think that we're all getting killed, can we put away our egos and talk like a civilized family?" Sarah drawled. "If you haven't noticed, we've got company."
"Who are they?" Linda asked, having recovered first. She eyed the children suspiciously. "They're Fae."
Linda had just arrived at the Williams home for a family Thanksgiving that she had only been invited to by Sarah pleading with Robert and Karen. She had come from her kingdom in the Underground, the Elf kingdom. In a strange turn of events, Linda had revealed herself as the Elf Queen nearly ten years ago on Sarah's eighteenth birthday. Linda and Sarah's relationship had grown stronger now that her disappearance had been explained, though Sarah affectionately called Karen 'mom'. Robert still hated Linda with a passion for walking out on them under the pretenses of becoming an actress and keeping the truth hidden.
"This," Sarah gestured at the two, "is Ellie and Jared. They appeared-"
"Transported." Ellie interrupted proudly.
"Transported," Sarah rolled her eyes, and continued. "Into my room and demanded that I shelter them."
Ellie didn't interrupt this time, she just sat quietly and stared at everyone in the room. Outside, rain pounded off the roof of the house and lightning flashed. Jarred was looking at Merlin with wonder in his eyes.
"Why do you have a monster in your house?" He asked, speaking for the first time.
Sarah glanced at Merlin and chuckled. "That's not a monster. That's my dog, Merlin. Don't worry, he wouldn't even hurt a fly."
"What are two Fae doing in my house?" Robert inquired irritably.
"Three." Linda spat.
"And a half." Sarah added, glaring dangerously at her parents. She was a hybrid, half human and half Fae, but that only made her more powerful.
"So who," Robert eyed Ellie and Jarred, "are they?"
"Will you tell us?" Sarah asked kindly.
A mischievous twinkle in Ellie's eye caught her attention. "But it's so much more fun if you guess, isn't it?" She drawled with a smirk.
Sarah snorted, shaking her head. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought that Ellie and Jarred were His kids. The mismatched eyes that Jared had, the blonde hair, the way they both spoke. Ice suddenly ran in her veins as a thought struck her at the same moment the idea struck Linda.
She gasped. "Gods and goddesses help us. You're the Goblin King's children."
Ellie's smirk disappeared immediately and she looked away for a second. Her displeasure displayed clearly on her face. Thunder boomed loudly, nearly shaking the house. Sarah felt sick to her stomach.
Toby pushed himself off the floor, his incredibility so visible that his expression could have been laughable in another situation. "Please tell me that there's more than one Goblin King." He begged.
"You? You!" Sarah exclaimed. "You can't be serious. You're father is going to kill me!"
"No he won't." Ellie fired back. "He doesn't even know where we are."
"You ran away?" Karen asked, looking horrified.
"Yes." Ellie answered casually. "We tried to warn our father, but he was too busy with our mother. He wouldn't listen and we couldn't take it anymore."
"Take what anymore?" Toby asked curiously.
"You were getting abused. Weren't you?" Sarah concluded sadly. "That's why you ran away."
Ellie didn't answer, but her jaw tightened in response. Forgetting her momentary fear, Sarah looked at the brother and sister with sympathetic eyes. Jarred, however, looked at Sarah boldly and straightened from his slouch against his sister.
"Our mommy is mean. She doesn't tell us stories like daddy does. She yells at us a lot. Daddy doesn't see her hit us." Jarred looked at her with fear filled eyes. "You'll protect us, right?"
Sarah stared at the guarded Ellie and little Jarred; they were too young. She bit her lip, she had already made up her mind. She wasn't just going to send them back to the Underground. She couldn't even if she was forced to, the action simply wasn't part of Sarah's nature.
"Sarah," Linda said. "I know that look. Our best choice is to return them as soon as possible."
"No, it isn't. Our best choice is to protect Ellie and Jared. They need my help and I'm not turning them down." Sarah said with determination gleaming in her emerald eyes.
"We will help them Sarah." Karen assured her.
"How are we supposed to do that?" Robert asked, conceding to the power of his wife and daughter.
"Well," Sarah began. We're going to need protective wards, first of all."
Down below the Williams feet, an infuriated Goblin King stormed through his castle. His boots clicked off the stone floor with the promise of danger for any who came in his way and all the goblins scurried out of his path.
Pushing open a pair of heavy mahogany doors with enough power to snap them off their hinges, the Goblin King charged into a large bedchamber. The furniture was fit for royalty and a beautiful black haired Fae woman was seated in front of a large mirror. She was applying lipstick to her already painted lips. She was pale, with a heart-shaped face, a willowy figure, and shocking purple eyes.
"Where are they?" He snarled.
"Where is who, my king?" The woman turned to him, voice soft as silk.
"The children, Aleera!" He bellowed. "Where," he growled, "are the children?"
"Jareth, darling, calm yourself." Aleera said. "The children retired to their rooms after dinner. Poor things. They spent the entire day playing with the goblins. They're probably already sound asleep."
"Well, unless they've figured out how to turn invisible. I don't see how that's possible." Jareth replied, voice deadly calm.
Aleera's unnatural purple eyes dimmed in their happiness. "You-you mean they're gone?" She stuttered.
"Yes." Jareth growled, turning away from her and pacing the length of the chamber. "Their rooms are empty and no one has seen them since dinner."
"Oh, Jareth," Aleera cried, tears already streaming down her face. "What are we going to do?"
Jareth finished his pacing and came to the window sill, gripping the edge with glove clad hands. His breathing was coming out in angered pants and his body was shaking from the strain of not lashing out at any object he could reach.
"Sound the alarms. Gather the guards and sent out search parties," then with a growl he said, "my queen." With a look at the brightening sky, he added. "I will search in the air."
With those words, Jareth threw himself out if the window and morphed into an owl before he could hit the ground. He pumped his wings powerfully as he soared over the large labyrinth. He would find his children, he swore to himself, even if the task killed him.