Chapter Seven
Karen watched Toby play on the grass in the park. Something seemed to pass over her and she looked up frowning. A shimmer in the air played with the breeze and she gasped. Picking up Toby, she ran for the house.
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Kendrick surveyed the world around him with an air of arrogance. He looked down his nose at the insignificant human species and their annoying antics. Without a word, he swept into the house through the door which was open in invitation. The woman holding it open was finely dressed, appropriate to her station. The man stood to welcome the King and Queen of the Goblins.
Emogen said softly into the silence. "Shall the Conference of Unification commence?"
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The lake was absolutely gorgeous. It reflected the deep blue of late afternoon with a pebbled beach. The opposing shore was a mass of wild bush while the shore the students were on had been tamed and trimmed, little cottage-like cabins, strategically placed. Torches dotted the perimeter to keep the unwary from wondering away through the forest and doubling as an incense to keep the bugs away. It was a little piece of heaven hidden in the wilderness.
Jareth loved it all. The four boys were the first to pull up on the rocky gravel road that widened into a parking lot. The truck wasn't even thrown into neutral before Jareth hopped out, trying to get out of sight from the incoming vehicles.
"Oh man, this is a beauty! Hey Jar, what do ya think?" Kyle called out. "Jareth! Where are you going?" Soon Derek joined in with the calling out and Jareth could feel heavy eyes on his back. He kept moving, seeing a path in the bushes and bee-lining for it. Soon the laughter and talking faded behind him and he was lost to the serenity of nature.
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At last, Jareth seemed to find something in the internal dialogue going on inside his head that was convincing enough. He settled on the fact that if he were to hide the entire weekend, then Mason would have more time with Sarah. His jealousy conveniently forgot the conversation he overheard between Karen and Sarah. He came out of the same path onto the pebbled beach. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. Three boys whom Jareth didn't know were working on a fire which promised to be a roaring delight. A few girls were sitting in beach chairs watching and laughing at their progress which was excruciatingly slow. More teens were coming out of the cabins dressed in bathing suits and sandals heading for the water. Jareth then spotted the truck he arrived in parked beside one of the small cabins. He turned in that direction.
Hoggle was just coming out wearing a hoodie and some sweatpants. He glared at Jareth and waited until the prince was a little closer before talking. "I thought these kingly tantrums were going to stop! I know your sore about Sarah but-."
Jareth just walked past him into the cabin. He was followed but knew Hoggle dared not continue when others were about.
The cabin was very simple. Along one wall was a wood stove with a booklet of instructions on how to operate and if one didn't feel up to the challenge, a thermostat was on the wall beside it. There were electric lights as well as gas lamps to give the visitors the option. There were two sets of bunk beds beside each other against one wall and a table in the centre of the floor. That was all.
Derek was sitting on one of the lower bunks bent over his shoe. He looked up when the screen door slammed shut. "Jareth! We thought we would have to score the country side looking for you. This is wild country not your tame forests of England. Hasn't anyone told you about the wild animals?"
"There are no wild animals out there!" Jareth felt an anger that goes with every beast to get degraded. Seeing as he was a goblin, it was understandable that he would feel their plight.
"Bears? Wolves? Coyotes? They all live out there you know." Derek was looking at the other boy strangely.
Jareth just shrugged. He saw a bear with her year old cubs while he was by himself and she didn't look all that wild to him. She ignored him and he ignored her. Now the head tossing, fire loving beasts on the other hand were truly wild. No amount of laws and threats from the king could keep them out of that forest.
It didn't occur to Jareth that his definition of 'wild' and the other boy's would be so drastically different.
Derek just shrugged. "I'm going to see if they made any headway with the fire. If not, I have some gas in the truck which might help." He left, leaving Hoggle to once more interrogate the annoyed prince.
Jareth glared at the disguised dwarf, daring him to continue. Hoggle just sighed. "If you took the time to talk ta her, you'd see." He left, following Derek to the fire.
Jareth looked around him and spotted his bag on the top bunk. He nodded to himself and stripped his jacket off leaving him in a long sleeved T-shirt. Going outside again, he saw that they had finally started the fire but the jerry can a few feet away gave testimony that it wasn't pure man power. He then spotted Sarah going toward the path he had traveled a little while ago. He squared his shoulders and trekked after her.
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Hoggle watched the prince go after the maiden and sighed. "About time," he grumbled to himself. He picked up a stick with the sharpened end and, carefully surveying the others, speared the dog and went about seeing to it that it got hot! (1)
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He caught up with her just on the other side of the trees. "Hey" he said in a way of greeting.
"Jareth, what are you doing here?" Sarah asked. She didn't stop but kept moving.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going?" Jareth asked defensively, evading her question.
"You didn't tell me either!" Sarah said. "You were just going to leave without letting me know."
Jareth looked down in shame. "You're right. I was going to leave without telling you. I thought that you might be relieved to have some time without me."
"Oh Jareth, don't do the self pity thing. It doesn't make you look good."
"And you care how I look?" They stared at each other until they both looked away.
"I-."
"Why-."
They both started and stopped at the same time. Jareth was going to be polite. "Go ahead." He said but Sarah shook her head.
"You first." She lifted her chin and her eyes flashed. Jareth bit back a grin and complied.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think like I didn't care or that I was ignoring you. I'm not even sure why you thought that when it was you who was avoiding me." He winced as his apology turned into an accusation but Sarah didn't complain.
"I know, it just seemed… I don't know! How did you come to the conclusion that it was your fault?"
Jareth walked a little more and Sarah followed. "I overheard you talking to Karen…"
Sarah took in a sharp breath and Jareth shied away from her, preparing for the torrent of yelling. It never came. He looked up and Sarah stood rigid, eyes closed and lips moving. She was counting.
Finally she opened her eyes and sighed. "You heard?" she asked flatly. "How much did you hear?"
Everything. "You told her about Mason and then… blamed… me…"
She nodded. "Everything then. I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. I should have told you that I wasn't ready for what you told me! I should have told you it scared me and that I couldn't even comprehend it! But, it all seemed like a dream. I stayed away from you because I didn't understand."
Jareth frowned. "I didn't say anything. Only that I-."
"Loved me." She finished.
"Oh." He thought about that and stared at her. Her eyes were liquid. "You love me back and it scares you. Why?"
Sarah exploded. "I'm fifteen! I'm too young by far to experience these feelings! I'm too young for sex so I should be too young for love!"
Jareth had to bite his lip to keep from grinning. "What's sex got to do with anything?"
Sarah just glared at him.
Jareth laughed. "I'm not asking for sex, not yet! I'm much too young to be a father and you humans are way too fertile to begin with. What I am asking is for you to come home with me when this is all over."
Sarah opened then closed her mouth a number of times before scowling at him darkly. She went to pass him, going back to the lake. Jareth was confused and tried to keep her near so he grabbed her arm. Her reflexes were quite fast and Jareth was kneeling in the dirt with a look of agony on his face, watching Sarah quickly retreating back.
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Karen sat in her kitchen trying to fathom the existence of the strange pair seated across from her at the table. Robert was shuffling through some aged yellowed paper that didn't quite look like paper but Karen was unsure as to what it was. She hadn't been married to Robert long enough to fully comprehend the situation. She just knew that she was needed.
The woman, a beautiful caption of what being a lady truly means, sat looking languidly out the window, an odd mysterious smile on her face. What Leonardo would have done if he ever saw her would have put the Mona Lisa to shame. Robert apparently found what he was looking for because he placed one sheet down in front of the man. He grinned. "This is the contract! See, it says here that only if she agrees to go Underground is she allowed to be taken!"
The man who was introduced as Kendrick read the paper calmly and carefully. "Yes, it indeed says that but must that be with every time she goes?"
Robert frowned. "What do you mean 'every time'? It should only include the first time since that's when the wedding would take place. Do you want her to visit before she is to wed?"
Kendrick leaned back and Emogen, the woman, looked fondly at her husband. "I mean simply that she has already given her consent once and that's all that is needed."
Robert stood quickly and slammed his hands down on the table with a bang. "What? She wouldn't dare!"
Kendrick twisted his hand and pulled the book from the night table beside Jareth's bed. "Does this not seem familiar?"
Robert snatched the book from the king's hand and stared at it hard. "This is one of Sarah's plays she has…" he sounded unsure of himself now.
Emogen chuckled, the first sound she made since entering the house. "I suggest you open it, Robert."
And he did. After flipping a few pages his face became an ugly red. "You have got to be kidding! How in the seven hells did she get this book?"
He looked at the cover again before tossing it on the table. "I wrote that nearly three centuries ago!"
"And what a wonderful anniversary present it was. I looked like a heroine." Emogen smiled at Robert. Karen just sat back. She wasn't aware of any of this. They would be discussing it later, she promised herself.
Kendrick snickered. "My faithful and beloved vassal, your daughter wished your young son away. She went forth and challenged my son for the rights to the boy and she bested the Labyrinth."
Robert sat down hard again. "That's why you sent him here? That's why you made me his guardian? He broke the rules and you sent him here for punishment?"
"Three lousy rules and he had to break them all! Of course he was punished."
"And Sarah knew all this?"
"Yes."
Robert swore again. "I was teasing the boy about his attraction to her thinking it would just goad him not even realizing that it might be true attraction and the feelings returned. Damn!"
"Robert, my friend, you sure have to learn to put a foot in it!" Kendrick howled in laughter. Karen thought it might be better if she withdrew. She didn't want to reveal anything Sarah had told her about Jareth.
"So they know each other but Jareth is unaware that I know who he is correct?"
"You look very different from when last you served me and you're powers have all but faded into nothingness. Similar mannerisms have never troubled the boy for he thinks that everyone is cut from five or six different pieces of cloth." Kendrick turned then to Karen. "And you, my dear. How much of this do you understand?"
Karen was stunned. She didn't understand anything but nor did she wish to reveal the fact. "I have learned many things here tonight," she said carefully. "Such as the fact that my husband wasn't fully human but I think I need more time to process the information. Thank you." She bowed her head in respect then looked up. Toby had started to cry. "If you will excuse me…"
"You have a remarkable woman there, Robert. Much better than that fairy rabble you ran away with."
"Kendrick, there was once a time when I would have punched even you for that comment, however I think I must agree with you this time." Karen moved swiftly out of hearing distance.
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It was a half an hour later when their guest left, giving Karen some time to breath. She approached Robert in the kitchen. "I think we have to talk."
Robert winced.
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It's a HOTDOG. Geeze! Hoggle isn't a monster you know! He's a gardener.
P.S Thanks for the reviews. :)
