It was a beautiful day on the mortal day of September 11th, 2001 according to their calendars...
The Underground sun was already high in the golden sky. By mortal standards, it was well into the afternoon. However, Aboveground, they were just beginning their day.
Jereth, High Prince of Avalon and King of the Goblins was at his desk in his study, the warm breeze filtering in through the window. He was busy with official business. Not all of his reign was founded in his throne room, breaking into song and kicking around unfortunate subjects. Hearing laughter, he turned to look out the window to the gardens below, seeing a sight that settled his restless Fea soul.
He and Sarah Williams had long ago made peace with thier failings as people as a couple. Through a series of events not important at the moment, he and Sarah had found their way to this moment. It was a long road and still had its ups and downs, but that was life in any couple, above or below.
Gazing down, he saw his wife sitting on a picnic blanket with her friends, Higgle..no...Hogwart...no...whatever, the huge furball with an annoying ability to make a mess with rocks, and the silly dog passing himself off as a Medieval knight. He heard the little creature babble on although Sarah was fast asleep, her head in the furballs lap, and he crooned in simple joy as he petted her head.
The poor thing was exhausted. She was very pregnant with the first heir, and even though she was mostly Fea at this time, the pregnancy had been hard on her still partly mortal body. In the sun, he could see the soft glitter on her skin and in the lushness of her long raven hair, and should her eyes open, he knew a pair of emerald orbs would stare back at him. Never in his life had things been more content.
It was at that moment that the Underground began hearing cries that made every creature, every species and especially the Goblin kingdomsit up with thier heads bursting and thier hearts frozen in ice.
Jereth vanished, only to appear before Sarahs little picnic, and she woke, blinking her green gold eyes.
"What was that...what's going on?" She asked, panicked.
"I'm...I'm not sure."
Usually, he only heard the cries of humans when they wished away, but the mortals had unleashed such a painful wail that it penetrated the veils.
"Jereth, it's something above, something is wrong...very wrong."
Using one of his scrying crystals, he tried to see the mortal realm, only to be blocked by a red haze of pain and anger.
"Can you see?" Sarah asked.
"I cannot." He answered, the mystery a very unsettling notion.
"We must go Jereth, the cries are louder than I've ever heard!"
"Not in your condition!" Jereth spat, knowing he was being overprotective, but not caring at that moment. If something was that wrong, he wanted his wife protected.
"Jereth, these used to be my people too. Toby and my parents still are. You MUST let me go with you!"
"You will abide any ruling I set down in regards to safety Sarah."
"I promise."
Against his better judgement, Jereth transported them out of the gardens.
They kept a large penthouse apartment in the best part of New York City, its posh environment. The lush interior provided an almost human form replica of his chambers back them both to Aboveworld representations, Jereth and Sarah materialized in the livingroom, where the cries and screams were louder than he expected and the pain entering them both like knives. Wandering about, her long green dress floating about her, Sarah travelled to the west glass wall, while Jereth, his hair tamed, jeans and a blue button down covering his otherworldly splendor, turned on the human television, which he dearly wished he could use magic to run Underground. Thats when the scream from his Queen sounded.
"JERETH!" Sarah let out.
He had never understood the human drive to create massive structures that went into the sky. With gloried castles and simple dwellings, his subjects were content with thier lot. Humans were not. They built huge buildings, reaching high and seemed to him most of the time to be unstable. However, as the fea couple watched, two of those such buildings, the human World Trade Center were both...on fire. Huge holes punched thier way into various sections of the tall structures, and he could see humans jumping to thier deaths, debris falling and he understood the cries.
It was in human nature to destroy themselves. He'd been alive too long to know otherwise, but this was amazing in its horrific precision. The human television reported that four flying vehicles, Sarah called them planes, had each been kidnapped by mortal...terrorists. Two had made the mess outside the window, one a huge hole in the side of the humans governmental building called "The Pentagon" and one crashed itself into a rural patch of land. everyone on the planes had perished, and it seemed as though humans had embroiled itself in yet another in a long line of violence, and this time, the consequences had been nothing short of complete destruction.
"We must get down there...we must help!" Sarah cried out, her hands almost melting the glass. Knowing it was a losing battle to keep her contained, by word or deed, Jereth transported them to a street overlooking the burning skyscrapers.
Jereth cast a spell of bubblelike protection as they stood and watched the humans scatter and run, their tears and anguish almost a bitter taste in Jereths mouth."
Then, just as it seemed it could not get worse, both he and he queen watched as the buildings collapsed, falling like leaves to the ground. He could almost feel the heartbeats of thousands of humans lives silenced.
To his right, to his suprise, was Morrigan, the goddess of war, her black hair and dress almost flowing into one another.
"Young one." She somberly acknowledged him, watching the scene unfold before her, a speck og what looked like regret hanging on her face."
Jereth nodded to her as they all turned to watch the second building ruble to the ground. Without saying it, Morrigan closed her eyes.
"Young one...ifyou have subjects here, living among the humans, order them back." She gritted out.
"Why" Sarah asked, her hand protecting their unborn child.
"Because mortal...this is only the beginning." She shimmered into the dress of a firefighter, determined to help, although seeing through her minds eye, she saw the bloody conflict to come.
Unused to being ordered around, he chose to take the advice of a goddess, and with the plumes of ash and smoke billowed toward them, looking surreal in the early morning.
Jereth looked ahead of him, and although he was no stranger to war, this was more than even he could comprehend. Shaking his platinum hair, he looked at his sobbing wife, and transported them back onto the Underground hill. it was hard to support belief when things like this happened, but today he couldn't bring himself to disdain the mortals. Too many of them were now on their way to Arwann.
The King ordered an immediate mourning order. Black flags flew, chapels were visited, and although most didn't understand, he wanted them to not forget. Humans had unknowingly taught them a valuable lesson.
When Sarah gave birth a month later, they named her Hope.
A/N: I've never attempted this before, but I thought that on that day, reality was something everyone felt. This is dedicated to all that lost their lives to the attacks on September 11, 2001, and to all that have in the following wars.