~Sarah~

Sarah woke the next morning well-rested. Despite her undeniably enjoyable dream, she'd slept like a baby. Finding a new outfit at the end of her bed, Sarah gladly donned the best clothing the Underground could offer.

Making sure no one was in her way, she made her way out of her room towards the breakfast nook where she had previously dined with the monarchs. She found the room with little difficulty and found Armina dining alone while reading an Aboveground newspaper.

"Hello, dear one," said Armina without looking up. She was definitely a mother.

"Uh, hey." Sarah reclined on the chaise directly across from the queen and began to nibble on some toast with a heavenly peach jam.

"What are your plans for the day?" asked Armina as she folded the newspaper.

"Well, I was wondering if I could go out on the town. You know, maybe see the local shops and restaurants and stuff."

The queen sat up a little in her chaise as she thought. "I suppose. My capital city is always safe to those welcomed here. Go ahead. You'll be safe, yes? I would suggest remaining cautious, regardless."

Relieved Sarah said, "Yeah, of course. I'll stay out of alleys and dark places. Thanks."

"Oh, before you go," the queen rummaged around in the pockets of her vest and handed Sarah a small bag with a drawstring, "take this with you. I'm sure you can't spend this much in one day, right?"

The bag was full of glittering gold coins. Sarah shook her head and saw the queen give her a kind smile.

"Thanks," replied Sarah.

With that, Sarah left the queen to her newspaper and made her way out into the city beyond the palace.

Her whole day was spent looking through the small shops situated around the palace. Gems, clothing, and other specialty wares were displayed proudly by their owners. None of them seemed to pick up on her Aboveground accent or her lack of knowledge.

When she returned to the palace before sundown, she found the queen in her throne room being presented with several strikingly beautiful gowns.

"Ah, Sarah, you've returned. Come and help me pick a dress!" called Armina.

Sarah walked over and eyed the gowns, finding them all to be perfect for the Queen of Beasts.

"I think this silver one would clash with your eyes too much."

"Well, that's not a problem, I'm not wearing it. I've already got my outfit. You don't have one yet."

"These are for me? For what occasion?"

"For one, they are for you. Second, there is a masquerade tomorrow evening and you've got an invitation, courtesy of yours truly." Armina flashed a dazzling smile.

"Where is it?" inquired Sarah.

"Here, of course! I host these parties for many occasions. This would be in celebration of a fine harvest this year. You will come, and you will be dressed as your position in society dictates: a beautiful princess."

"I'm no princess, and I really don't want to go."

"Too bad, dear one. You have to get out and meet those that your brother will be dealing with eventually. You don't want him to deal with them on his own, right?" Armina raised a questioning eyebrow and awaited Sarah's obvious answer.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll go, I suppose."

Armina turned her gaze back to the gowns. "I like this one," she said, indicating a silver number with crystals and beading on the bodice. It had a little body to it, but it was nothing compared to the hideous thing she'd been in when Jareth had first tried to seduce her.

"I like it, too," Sarah paused, "could you send dinner to my room? I'm going to read some of the books I started yesterday."

The queen dismissed the servants holding the dresses and stood from her chaise. "Are you okay, Sarah?" She placed her hand on Sarah's forehead and made a face.

"I'm fine. I kind of ran back here so I wouldn't get in trouble for being out late."

"Okay, then. I'll have dinner sent to you, dear one. Good night."

Sarah left and found a tray filled with some sort of fish and warm rotisserie chicken. After eating, she took a quick bath and settled into her bed, preparing for what she might see that night in her dreams.

~Sarah~

To her surprise, Sarah had slept dreamlessly. There was no fairytale fantasy with her king. To be honest, she was relieved. The dreams seemed to lead up to each other, getting more romantic as they went. She couldn't imagine what might have happened if he appeared in a dream again.

Like the days prior, a nice ensemble was laid out at the foot of her bed. Today it was a poet's shirt with a lovely teal vest, paired with black slacks. Most surprisingly, no boots were laid out. Instead, some simple white tennis shoes sat on the ground.

She pulled on the shirt and pants and found that the sneakers fit her perfectly. Armina obviously wanted to give her some comforts from Aboveground.

Making her way to the little breakfast nook, she saw many servants working on the ballroom that would host the masquerade. It wasn't much yet, but she was sure it would look amazing when it was finished.

Sarah found Armina with an Aboveground newspaper again. She would have to ask her about that later. She noticed that Rūbrind had returned as well and was reclining on his chaise while reading an aged book.

"Hi, guys," said Sarah, garnering bright smiles from both. They must be morning people, thought Sarah.

Sarah continued as she sat down to eat, "What am I doing today?"

Without looking up from her newspaper, the queen replied, "You're staying here and helping me dress up. I lied to you when I said that I had something. I'll need some help picking out outfits and you seem to have so much more of a sense of style than I do." Armina gestured to her usual silver, jewel-encrusted vest with black pants over a lovely blouse.

"I like what you have on. Throw on a fancy cape or something and you'd look amazing," said Rūbrind from across the table. Armina turned to glare at him and he gave her a mischievous smile, which earned him a slap on the back of his head.

Sarah sat awkwardly eating her toast as the king and queen playfully quarreled over what exactly was considered formal enough for a masquerade.

Finally, after about five minutes, Rūbrind relented. He stood and kissed Armina's forehead and smiled to Sarah, "Make sure you put her in something dazzling, Sarah. She deserves nothing less."

The rest of Sarah's day was spent looking through the queen's endless closets, finally deciding on something that seemed to belong at a military review rather than a masquerade.

The ensemble consisted of a white blouse tucked into black pants. Her knee-high boots were freshly polished to a mirror shine. Over her white top went a silver jacket and a white fur cape went over that. The cape was held on her shoulders by a pretty platinum chain. Her hair, as usual, fell perfectly around her shoulders with the perfect amount of volume.

When Sarah asked to leave and get ready herself, Armina gave her a dismissive gesture and called in a couple of young handmaidens who put Sarah in her gown. Her hair was styled eerily similar to the night Jareth had tried to seduce her in the labyrinth.

A knock was heard at the door and Rūbrind poked his head in. "I've heard I must escort the both of you." When Rūbrind caught sight of his wife, Sarah saw the look of pure adoration he gave. He walked over to the queen and took her hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. He turned and offered her his left arm, and offered Sarah his right. Rūbrind smiled broadly as he led both of them into the grand ballroom.