Breakfast was a quiet time for Sarah and Annie to reconnect and talk about their adventures without interruption. Sarah stretched and sighed. Sleeping in Jareth's bed without him seemed wrong. She missed him and while the dreams she'd had in his bed were nicer than the nightmare, she woke up a bit unsatisfied.
"So no clue what the dreams mean?" Annie asked, pouring herself some fruit juice. Sarah rested her head on her hand and gave a wry smile.
"It means I'm a mess without Jareth," she said, crossing her eyes and laughed with Annie. There was a knock on the door and Sarah called for the person to enter.
"Your Highness," a servant said, bowing to Sarah, "you have a visitor. Are you receiving?"
"Visitor?" Sarah asked, glance over at Annie who shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
He bowed and opened the door with a flourish. An old dwarf ambled in, muttering to himself about fancy airs of servants. Sarah's eyes lit up as she saw him approach.
"Hoggle, you're here!" Sarah jumped up from her seat at the breakfast table and ran to her old friend. He made a show of pushing her away, grumbling and complaining.
"Ack, none of that! The rat'll bog me for sure if he sees," Hoggle blustered, but Sarah could see the grin on his face.
"He wouldn't dare anger his Queen in such a manner," Sarah said loftily, dissolving into giggles when she saw Annie roll her eyes. "He's a good boy when he has to be."
"I's heard you was to be married to him but couldn't believe it. Are you ill?" He seemed concerned and watched her closely.
"Love sick more like it," Annie agreed, getting up to shake Hoggle's hand. Sarah inwardly smiled. Annie no longer shrank back from the people living in this world. Maybe being a goblin for a while had been a blessing, helping Annie mature a bit. Not that she'd ever mention it to her best friend.
"And who might you be?" Hoggle asked, already knowing the answer. Sarah had written him a long letter telling him everything of her adventures since she couldn't talk to him in person. Hoggle had decided that now was a good time to come see his friend, before her royal duties started to interfere in their visits.
"I might be anyone, but I am Antoinette," Annie laughed. Hoggle made a show of waving his hands in the air and posturing.
"Another little girl with a big mouth. Is there no end to it?"
"Oh how you suffer," Sarah laughed. "Is Ludo with you? And Sir Didymus?" She looked over his shoulder, excited.
"They're here somewhere, probably lost. No sense of direction in either of 'em."
Just then Ludo came rumbling in and grabbed Sarah, swinging her around.
"Sawa! Miss you," Ludo said, squeezing her. Annie's eyes got wide, but she just shook her head. A little fox terrier on a large sheepdog came barreling into the room almost knocking Hoggle over in their quest to find their Lady.
"My Lady," Sir Didymus said, jumping off his steed. "It is an honor and joy to see your smiling face once more. And who is this lovely lady with you?" The tiny knight ran up to Annie and kissed her hand. Blushing, Annie giggled and curtsied.
"I'm Annie, and you must be Sir Didymus, Sarah's told me all about you."
"Ah the fair Antoinette lately of the goblin colony. Your exploits are becoming legendary, sweet girl," he said, bowing deeply to her. Annie glanced over him to grin at Sarah, delighted.
"I'm so happy to see you all," Sarah laughed. "How long can you stay?"
"Well that's the thing," Hoggle said, straightening. "You're a princess now and you need bodyguards. That's what we are."
"Bodyguards," Sarah said, trying hard to keep a straight face.
"Why of course, my Lady," Sir Didymus said, straightening up to his full height and drawing his sword. "We shall fight to the bitter end to defend your precious life's blood from pouring upon the ground before us."
Sarah coughed to keep the laugh from bubbling forth. "Um, that's quite generous of all of you. But don't you have other obligations. Hoggle, you're Jareth's trusty aide, and Ludo, you help keep the rocks from being lonely." All right that sounded a bit lame but really - bodyguards?
"And we have to teach you how to be a princess," Hoggle said matter of factly.
"I think they have etiquette experts at my grandparents' castle," Sarah said, smiling.
"Etiquette? Bah! We's to teach you to be a real Fae princess. Didymus here can show you how to ride your own horse and use a sword. Ludo can teach you, well something. And I's not leaving you again while you don't know nuthin' about how to protect yourself."
"And of course, we do this with the full knowledge of your betrothed," Sir Didymus added.
"Jareth knows about this?" Sarah asked, shocked.
"Um, well - he knows we was to visit ya, and um, I mentioned we'd be looking after ya since he's off chasing chickens with those goblins," Hoggle said. "Point is, you're needing us and we's here."
"Are you saying you all love me?" Sarah teased. The looks of fierce devotion all three gave her startled her and she felt tears threaten to come forth. She took a drink of her juice to clear her throat.
Ludo smiled. "Sawa princess," he said lovingly giving her a hug. "Ludo happy."
Sarah smiled through her tears. "Sarah's happy too, Ludo."
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"The first thing to remember, fair Lady, is that your steed is an extention of yourself. See how Ambrocious seems to move with little thought from me?"
"I's always noticed that," Hoggle muttered under his breath, making Annie laugh.
Sarah had been given a tour of the royal stables and with a short prayer, climbed up on a young mare. She followed Didymus' instructions as best as she could and could get her horse to trot at a good pace around the training circle.
"Hey, this isn't so hard," Sarah shouted, not watching where she was riding. The horse came up quickly to the high fence and rather than jump, she knelt down and flung Sarah over the fence and into a large mud puddle. Hoggle fell off the fence, laughing and even Ludo chuckled.
"Are you all right?" Annie gasped through hysterical laughter as Sir Didymus raced over to her on his trusty steed.
"My Lady, are you injured? I shall go for reinforcements!"
"No," Sarah said, giggling. "I'm quite all right, sweet knight. Just a bit muddy," she added, laughing harder as Ambrocious licked her face.
"Maybe I should move on to my next lesson. Ludo, what can you teach me?" Sarah said, brushing leaves off her dress.
"Sawa call rocks," Ludo said proudly. Sarah stared at him. "Call rocks - like you do? How?"
"Ludo teach," he answered, holding her hand. Suddenly magic raced from Ludo to Sarah, filling her mind with images. Of Ludo's home in a deep canyon, of his family, his childhood. The call of the rocks for the first time and the way to form the friendships with the earth around her. She felt a powerful call from them, telling her that she was welcome to this world and they would willingly serve her if asked. Her eyes opened wide with the knowledge of how nature was part of her, and she of it. She looked at Ludo with new understanding and awe. He was a prince of his people and still he chose to stay with her, protecting her from harm. She loved him even more than she'd thought possible and she held his hand tighter.
"Sawa princess - earth is Sawa's friend now."
"Now don't be hoggin' her, I still has to teach her somethin' too. Sarah you needs to learn to teleport, like the rat."
"I've done that, but I think it was the ring more than me," she wondered aloud. "Do you mean I can choose where to go? I don't know, Hoggle."
"You don't has to know - Hoggle knows. Now all of us will join hands - Sarah - concentrate of the castle. Get us back inside."
"Um, okay, how do I do that?" Hoggle sighed dramatically.
"Just think us all there, if the rat can do it, you can do it too. Or are you sayin' he's more clever'n you?"
Sarah frowned. "I can be just as clever! Everyone hold hands," she ordered, and closed her eyes. She thought 'return to castle' as hard as she could. She almost heard a stray thought from Annie. Was she thinking about Aberdon?
Almost immediately, they all found themselves lying on a hard marble floor. Had she done it? Sarah looked around to see Didymus and Ambrocious chasing each other.
"Come here, you beast and let me jump upon you," Didymus was shouting. Hoggle was upside down in a huge vase, legs flailing in the air.
"Let me out!" he shouted as the vase threatened to fall over onto the floor.
Sarah got up to help him then wondered where Annie was. She glanced around and froze. This wasn't the High Court's castle. Annie had apparently been flung onto someone's lap. Someone with a throne. Annie was staring into the face of someone who was suddenly staring at her with a hungry look.
"Aberdon?" Sarah asked, shocked. "I didn't realize I transported us all here," she said, shrugging.
Aberdon laughed and stood up, picking Annie up with him to set her slowly on her feet.
"Couldn't stay away, little one?" he teased and Annie coughed, hiding her face in her hands.
"Aberdon?" Sir Didymus said in awe. "Truly sire, it is an honor to meet a fellow warrior," he bowed low to Aberdon's amusement.
"Friends of yours?" Aberdon asked Sarah, eyebrow raised. She smiled back at him and shrugged.
"My bodyguards," she giggled.