Chapter 4: Bloodline Secrets
Linda met the gaze of the stubborn Fae with one of her own. She did not like to be ordered around. Especially by those that she felt were lesser than her. She had always liked him, but now he seemed to be getting overly pushy lately.
"What is it you want, Goblin King?" She addressed him just as her daughter had, all those years ago; practically spitting out his title.
"I am here for the girl," Jareth remarked with an arrogant sneer. "She is mine, you promised her to me through an agreement with my parents many years before. You knew this day was to come, Linda. I demand you turn over my rightful property to me."
"Property?" She raised an eyebrow and laughed at his bold statement. The two laughed together, like old friends. But then the seriousness returned to the conversation, all too quickly.
"Seriously, where is she?"
"Sarah does not belong to you just yet, Jareth. She has yet to go through her rite of passage as a woman. We have to hold a coming-of-age ceremony before she can possibly be allowed to wed."
He rolled his mismatched eyes. "Don't tell me that you really intend to carry out such an old tradition?"
"Nothing is old in the eyes of the Fae, you know that."
"I suppose you are right, then," He smiled, hopeful at the notion of finally having his precious Sarah all to himself at last. "Besides, it shall give me something to look forward to. I have not been dancing in... ages."
He still recalled, with fondness, his last dance with Sarah. She had looked so beautiful that night, all dolled up in her mother's dress. He certainly could see the resemblance between herself and her mother. Linda was a force to be reckoned with, and he bode her no ill will. He simply wanted to ensure that he was the only man ever to touch Sarah. Was that really asking so much? They had been betrothed since her birth, after all...
"If that is all you wish to discuss, I must be on my way. If you would be so kind as to forgive me, but I really must insist that you leave now."
"I understand," He nodded respectfully to her, but did not bow. Their two kingdoms were considered perfect equals. Neither held power over the other. "But there is one more thing. When is her official coming-out going to be held?"
Linda had yet to even give any thought to the matter. "I have yet to decide the date. She is in a strange place, and she may like to become accustomed to it before doing anything drastic. I will leave the matter up to her for now."
He narrowed his eyes, clearly not liking what was happening. "Be that as it may, she must still attend the ceremony. And when she does, my intentions shall be amde clear. Be sure to let me know when the date is to be set. Until then... farewell, Linda."
"Goodbye Jareth," She chuckled, as he kissed her hand lightly, and then he was gone.
'This is not good,' She decided. 'Whatever am I going to do? I will be forced to honor the contract, but if my kingdom is to survive, I cannot do that.' This was more of a problem than she had given it credit for.0
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When she found her daughter, she was still with Savina, although the two did not look entirely happy with one another. She sighed, long and heavy, as she forced herself to smile at Sarah.
"Let us see if lunch is ready."
"That's a good idea," Sarah mumbled. "I think I could use something to eat, after having missed breakfast."
Linda was surprised to hear her say that. "We do not usually eat breakfast here. There is too much else that I have to do in the mornings."
Savina chose not to add to the conversation, she only followed the two to the lavish dining room. She had been chosen, hand picked by the Queen herself, to accompany and guard the Princess of Ankaa. And she would do so, even if she was not overly fond of the girl. She would find a way to get along with her.
"What do you think of it?" Her mother asked.
"It's lovely!"
And indeed it was. The table seemed to be made of the finest polished pearl. It was white, with a bit of a gleam to it. There was a large floral arrangement in the center of it, with white lilies and roses woven in among the baby's breath. Those were flowers she recorgnized from the aboveground; a bit of home.
Sarah took her seat in a chair that another servant pulled out for her. She had short red hair, and brown eyes. No introductions were made, she only pulled out chairs for the Queen and her daughter, and then served their lunch to them. The table had already been set, and everything was so fancy.
"This looks... strange." Sarah commented.
"I know it may appear that way, but I assure you it's quite good."
"What kind of meat is this?"
The Queen shrugged. "I'm not certain. But I know that my chef is very skilled, and would never serve me anything but the best quality meat. The rest of the meal may look strange, but once you taste it, you will find that some of it tastes like foods you are used to. I promise, you will like it if you give it a chance."
Sarah tried the food, and found it was not at all bad. But it still was not what she was used to. She noticed that Savina bowed her head respectfully, and left mother and daughter to dine alone.
"Why did Savina leave?"
"She is only a servant here. Servants are not permitted to eat with royalty. It is not proper etiquette, Sarah. Don't worry yourself over it too much, she is used to it. She will eat in her room, in the servant's quarters."
She saw the redheaded servant offer her a kind smile. Maybe she was pleased that Sarah was so concerned over the well-being of the servants.
The meal went on without much more than small talk being said between them. Linda thought it inappropriate to have a heart-to-heart with Sarah so close to prying ears. What she had to say could wait until later.
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"Why are we in here again?" Sarah asked, seeing that her mother had led her into the Sun Room again.
"This room is sealed with white magic, and no one can listen in to what we ahve to say when in here. I need to discuss things with you, Sarah. We were never able to finish our conversation from earlier."
Sarah said nothing, but only listened intently.
"Your father had to go aboveground to care for you when you were a baby. I have told you that already. He cannot come back, because he is over the age of eighteen. Only children, and those with the mind of a child, can be brought to the Underground. With the exception, of course, of those brought here by some old Fae tradition or law."
"If there are exceptions," Sarah whined. "Then why can't one be made for him?"
Linda smiled at her, maternally. "I'm afraid that is not possible. You see, that can only be done, by say... Wishing away a child. That would grant him the ability to come Underground, but only for the sole purpose of running the Goblin King's Labyrinth, in order to win back the child. Once the runner has either won or lost, they must be sent back aboveground, either with or without a child. There are other beings in other Kingdoms who have similar rules such as this."
From the look on Sarah's face, she immediately knew she had struck a nerve. Just what had happened during her last trip, to make her so distraught? Still, she had thought it better to use a basis for comparison that Sarah herself was familiar with.
"Wait, how do you know about that? Do you know the Goblin King?"
Queen Linda had to laugh at that one. "Yes, Jareth and I are quite well acquainted. But don't worry, it's nothing to be jealous over." She smiled at the way her daughter blushed at the mention of the beautiful masculine Fae. "The Labyrinth was more of a test to see if you were true of heart, or not. I'm sure it will be explained to you later. Anyhow, back to explaining things...
As you know, you were given certain powers by the Goblin King. But what you don't know is that in order to keep those powers, you must be returned to the Underground as soon as yout turn Eighteen. Any later, and you would have been trapped in the Aboveworld forever! Only children are allowed to pass through the void in between worlds without changing one way or another, as was in the case of Toby when he was there in the Labyrinth with you."
Each time she said the word "Labyrinth", the Princess cringed. But Linda continued anyway.
"One thing I did not count on was Karen being in the mix. I never expected Robert to tkae a new wife, but I have learned to deal with it. We can never be together again, so I suppose it was only a matter of time..." She seemed sad when she said this.
A thought ocurred to Sarah, suddenly. "Wait. Won't they miss me when they realize I'm gone? I mean, they'll probably be so upset, and call the police, and worry over me for years! It isn't fair to them!"
"You don't have to be upset over that, my dear," Linda spoke to her daughter in that soothing tone of voice that only a true mother could have. "Robert has told Karen about his true identity long ago. She knows all about it, and has accepted it as the truth. No one will be surprised when you are gone."
"That's a relief."
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Disclaimer: I do now own Labyrinth or anything associated with the movie.
A/N: Well, this chapter was a bit longer this time around, huh? I wish I could make them longer, but then I would not be able to update as often as I do. Well, Jareth is finally in this one. But he is forbidden to have contact with Sarah yet. I wonder why? Hmm, mysterious chapter... But at least toward the end some of the "rules" I came up with were explained. But like Linda said, sometimes there are exceptions. Lol. What could possibly be in store next time? Wait and see! I promise not to keep you waiting TOO long! Don't worry, Devlin AND Jareth are both in this next chapter. hehehe. I am such a tease! -Kaline Reine