Chapter 9 - Family Conversations, Together Again, and What is That!
"You have been busy Jareth." King Oberon studied his son. "The Council is worried."
Jareth whipped around to glare at his father. "Why? I have not been seen by my queen, nor have I physically helped her. There has been no breach of the rules of the Claiming."
The High King crossed his arms over his blue, velvet doublet. "But you have been in contact with her. Even worse is that you ordered your citizens to help her. Theoretically the Council could rule that you claimed your Queen unfairly and dissolve the bond between you." Just the idea caused the Goblin King to growl. "I'm not saying that they will Jareth, after all she did conquer the labyrinth when she was fifteen. The Council can not ignore that the Labyrinth has chosen her as it's Queen." The elder fey placed his hands on his son's shoulders. "Just be careful."
The Goblin King placed his hands on his father's shoulders. "I plan to be. I can't let her slip through my fingers again."
Oberon gave a comforting squeeze of his hands. "Good. Now where is young Toby?"
"I would like to know that as well."
Getting to the Castle was easy without robotic guardians or a goblin army, no matter how bad or unofficial. Not that Sarah wanted challenges mind, but the Labyrinth just didn't seem quite the same without the nerve wracking, near death experiences.
Sarah was still miffed at her friends for not warning her that Jareth was up to something from the beginning. The five companions stayed silent as they made their way through the deserted streets of the Goblin City and up the stairs into the Castle.
They climbed up more stairs, the ones that lead to the throne room this time, until they heard the voice of the Goblin King. "I can't let her slip through my fingers again." His voice hadn't changed since their last fateful encounter. Jareth's voice was still was soft as silk and sent shivers up her spine.
The companions rounded to see the Goblin King and another man with waist length blond hair tied back at the nape of his neck and wearing a blue doublet over down grey pants. The stranger spoke then. "Good. Now where is young Toby?"
"I would like to know that as well."
Two pairs of deep blue eyes swung in her direction. Now that she had a clear view of the strange man, Sarah could clearly see that they were related. "I shall take my leave. Lady." The stranger bowed and left in a shimmer of glitter. The young woman had not notice that he took her companions with him.
Jareth and Sarah slowly moved toward each other from opposite sides of the room. They met in the center of the room, where upon the blond fey reached out and touched the necklace around her neck. "You came." His eyes held a shimmer of fear. Almost as if he was afraid that she would disappear, which was completely ridiculous in Sarah's opinion.
"Of course I did. You have my brother." She was certain that her eyes showed her confusion.
The king smiled at her. "No. You came to me just now. If you truly hated me, as I am sure you are telling yourself in your head, then you would have stayed across the room."
"What is your game Goblin King?" Sarah boldly looked into the fey's eyes.
"No game except that of life." Jareth's smile became wider. "You see, Sarah mine, in the Underground for a King to marry, his chosen Queen must prove herself through the Claiming." Sarah opened her mouth to speak and Jareth cut her off with a finger to her lips. "Let me speak. Each King has challenge that reflects them perfectly. As you could guess mine is the Labyrinth that lies outside these walls. While these challenges are used to settle disputes or challenges to the King, they are also used in the Claiming.
"A Queen must complete the challenge of her King without his direct help. Once she has done this and the King claims her, a bond is formed between them. Technically you have already conquered the Labyrinth already without my help, but the Council of Kings decided that you needed to go through the Labyrinth once again." Through his whole speech, Jareth had continued to play with the crystal necklace around Sarah's neck.
The girl's eyes widened. "Are you saying what I think you are?"
Jareth leaned closer to her. "Yes."
An earth shattering roar split the air, causing the couple to race to the window overlooking the Labyrinth. Both of them took in the sight before them and Sarah only had one comment, "What is that?"
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