Once again, Code Green (my coauthor) and I recommend you google a picture of the Levade as you read...it'll probably help you visualize what's going on a little better.

9

The pain did not come. Evelyn opened her eyes to see Raiv watching her with amusement.

"Do you really think I would kill you?" he asked, taunting. He didn't bother waiting for an answer. "Of course not. That would be silly of me. Of course your young friend Trinity would be immediately suspicious, and Jareth would lose his faith in me. Then there would be an investigation, or I'd have to kill all of you, which would be so much work…"

Evelyn was in a state of shock, and couldn't answer even if she'd wanted to.

"It's so much easier just to use this," Raiv continued, brandishing his strange knife, "Do you like it? It's carved from onyx, because a steel or iron sword would be unhealthy for me to carry around so close to my skin. Still, it's nearly as strong, and has the most peculiar spell on it."

Without warning, he lifted Evelyn's shirt hem away from her skin and dragged the tip of the knife across her skin. It left a ragged, dark wound that didn't bleed, and yet was just as dangerous.

Evelyn was sure that she would have felt pain had she not been in such a state of shock. Now, she was beyond feeling anything, pain, wet, cold or otherwise.

"And the best part about that," Raiv said gleefully, "Is that you won't be able to tell anyone what happened, or anything of what you heard."

And Evelyn knew, deep in her heart, that he was right.


Evelyn had passed out soon after, and Raiv cheerfully carried her back to the house, where Trinity had just started to fall asleep on the couch, waiting on Evelyn. Jareth had insisted on staying with her until her friend returned, and was sitting in a recliner. Both of them jumped up when Raiv entered the living room, dripping, with Evelyn in his arms.

"What happened?!" Trinity cried, dashing to her friend.

"I'm sorry," Raiv said, "It was my fault. I should have warned her about the security spell. Still, I guess she shouldn't have been snooping around."

Trinity was confused, but Jareth was nodding his head.

"What is he talking about?" Trinity asked, glaring at Jareth.

"It's a standard safety measure," Jareth explained, meeting her eyes. "Whenever we communicate with the Underground from your world, a…shield of sorts forms around us. If anyone gets too close to us while we're using the crystal to communicate, it causes them to pass out. Evelyn obviously was listening a little too closely to Raiv."

"No," Trinity said bluntly, "She wouldn't do that."

Raiv, who still had Evelyn in his arms, shook his head.

"I'm not saying she wasn't too close!" Trinity snarled. She was terribly worried about her friend, and was letting the feeling out in the form of anger. "I'm saying it was just an accident. Maybe you should just go farther into the woods when you report!"

Trinity followed Raiv into Evelyn's room, where he laid her down on the bed. Trinity then kicked both men out of the house so she could tend to Evelyn.

"Evelyn," the younger girl said softly as she watched her friend, willing her to wake up, "You couldn't have been spying. It was just an accident."

Tears of worry trickled in a silent river off of Trinity's face and onto the bed.


It was well past midnight when Evelyn began to wake up, groggy and disoriented. She couldn't see properly as she opened her eyes. Her room was dark, and she could just barely make out the form of someone sitting next to the bed, his or her head and arms resting on the bed.

Evelyn panicked, thinking that perhaps Raiv had succeeded in killing off Trinity and Jareth and was now just waiting for her to wake up so he could kill her too. Her fears subsided quickly when she squinted and made out Trinity's form. Perhaps the whole encounter with Raiv had been some twisted nightmare. That was it. She had dreamed the whole thing. But then, how had she ended up in bed? She didn't remember having gone into her room. Last she remembered, she had been saying goodnight to Lady.

"It was just a dream," she whispered, beginning to sit up.

The entire room spun, not subtly, but violently, and a pain, sharp and warning, shot through Evelyn's stomach. She gasped and fell back onto the bed, reaching out viciously towards the lamp next to her bed. She pulled the chain, igniting the lamp, and then reached for the bottom of her shirt.

"Please," she pleaded silently. "Please, please, please let it all have been a dream. Oh God in heaven, please!"

Her fingers shook as she pulled the fabric away from her stomach. She glanced down, and there it was, that long, jagged black dagger mark. The black seemed almost to be glistening in the dim lighting of the lamp, and Evelyn choked as tears filled her eyes.

"What is this?" she thought, tears somehow refusing to stream down her cheeks. "What did he do to me?"

She was determined, right then and there, to get up and go to Raiv, demanding that he tell her what happened. She struggled, pain roiling through her stomach, to get out of her bed. She managed to get her feet on the floor, and then she stood up, shaking for only a few seconds before the pain subsided enough for her to stand fully up.

"Ev?" Trinity's tired voice asked.

"Go ahead back to sleep, Trin," Evelyn said as calmly as she could. "I'm okay."

Trinity looked up, eyes heavy.

"What happened? Raiv said you ran into some type of barrier."

"Is that what he said?" Evelyn asked, her head hurting as she tried to scowl but a scowl just wouldn't appear. "Well, he…"

She tried, tried as hard as she could, to speak the words "Told me he's going to try and kill Jareth and then he stabbed me," but the words refused, absolutely refused to come out of her mouth. As a matter of fact, her mouth wouldn't open at all. She struggled, straining every muscle in her face to speak, but she couldn't tell Trinity a thing.

"He told the truth," Evelyn managed to say.

She tried to cry, something she previously wouldn't do in front of others, but her tear ducts seemed frozen. Her eyes burned as she tried to produce tears, and not a single whimper would come out of her mouth.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Trinity asked with a slight frown on her face.

"Positive," Evelyn nodded. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Trinity yawned.

"I need fresh air. I had a really bad dream."

Evelyn left the room and then quickly left the house, heading steadfastly towards the barn. She was angry, and absolutely, horrifically terrified. Raiv had done something; something horrid, and she had every right to know what it was that he had done with that knife of his. If he lost a couple of hours of sleep, then that was scarcely punishment for the fears she was experiencing.

It was storming dangerously outside, but Evelyn ignored the rain and went right up to the barn. She reached down, grabbed a rock (which produced some horrible pain from her stomach) and then threw it at the only small window in the barn.

No one replied to her attempt to get attention, and she turned away from the barn in exasperation. She tried to think of what exactly the knife had done to her. It was obvious that she wouldn't be allowed to say anything to give Raiv away, and while that was frightening, there were worse things she could think of. Had it enslaved her to Raiv? That thought was terrifying, and Evelyn shuddered and quickened her pace towards the house. No, he wouldn't have done that, would he?

"I don't understand. I'm so confused. He didn't kill me, but what did that knife do? Maybe the pain and the cut will wear off when he and Jareth finally leave?"

"You called?" A harsh voice asked from her side.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Evelyn snarled, turning and pushing Raiv roughly in the chest. "What did you do to me?"

"Is now really the time?" Raiv yawned. "In the middle of a storm? You could have woken up his majesty, and then…"

"Oh shut it!" Evelyn nearly screamed. "What did you do to me?"

"Why don't I be good and polite, like you and your friend expected me to be, and explain everything fully to you at some other time, like after dinner tomorrow night, hmm?"

"You creatures of darkness all find the most horrendous times, don't you? You can't survive without night!" Evelyn hissed, moving away from him and opening the front door of the house.

"So violent," Raiv tsked. "For all you know, I'm the only one keeping you alive right now."

Evelyn stepped into the house and slammed the door shut behind her, shivers racking her body as she went back into her room.


Morning brought with it glorious sunshine, and Trinity smiled when she woke up to see sunlight streaming into the bedroom. She turned her head to see Evelyn still asleep on her bed, cuddled up with one of her stuffed animals. The accident last night just didn't seem like it had happened, for Evelyn looked so peaceful, so surely nothing could have gone wrong. Still, Trinity had a gut feeling that something more had happened than just the stepping into a forbidden boundary…

"Morning, Trin," Evelyn murmured, not opening her eyes.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" Trinity asked, getting up and shaking her head.

"All right," Evelyn smiled, trying to conceal the concerns that plagued her mind. "And you?"

"Good. I asked Jareth to help me teach Trigger to do a Levade, so he's going to show me today."

"That sounds great!" Evelyn exclaimed. "Let me go get something for breakfast."

Trinity hurried upstairs, got dressed in some good work clothes for the day, and then rushed back downstairs. She stepped into the kitchen to see that all was as it usually was. Jareth was sitting on one of the kitchen stools, and he nodded his head to her when she stepped into the room. Raiv was staying close to Evelyn, as he always did. There was one small difference, though, that Trinity noticed immediately. Evelyn wasn't trying to stay as far away as she could from Raiv. She seemed almost to invite his closeness, as though she wanted him near her, never out of her sight or earshot. Trinity determined she would have to talk to her friend about that later.

After the humans and Fae ate, they made their way to the barn, and Trinity and Evelyn quickly prepared the horses' grain. Jareth didn't question what he was to do, but silently took several of the full buckets of grain and loaded them in the girls' farm vehicle. He then went out of his way to grab a heavy bag of grain and pour it into its appropriate container.

"Wow," Trinity smiled at him. "It's nice to see you working without complaining."

"I don't always complain," Jareth snorted. "You young ladies are trying to help me. Raiv, why don't you and I go feed the middle their grain while the girls get the back?"

"I think you and Trinity should get the back," Evelyn said quickly. "Raiv and I will get the middle."

She grabbed the grain buckets for the middle pastures and then handed all six of them to Raiv. She placed them hard in his arms, and then walked to the wheelbarrow full of hay and began to push it towards the middle.

"I guess that leaves us to get the back," Trinity smiled at Jareth.

He didn't speak, but got into the farm vehicle and sat still while Trinity drove the vehicle to the back property.

The two worked in silence, giving grain to horses, tying the horses that needed to be tied, and then dishing out hay to everyone. There was no doubt in Trinity's mind that Jareth had certainly developed stronger muscles over the past days of constant lifting and farm work. His arms were strong, and his hands, previously pale and unaccustomed to labor, were powerful and swift to move. She watched him, somewhat admiringly, as he lifted several flakes of hay and tossed them into one of the pastures. It was a marvel to her that the King of the Goblins, originally so dainty and prideful, had such strong, powerful muscles.

Jareth felt Trinity's eyes watching him, and he turned and smirked, his eyes glittering.

"Do you make it a habit of admiring me so?" he asked.

"I just…I was noting how much stronger you've gotten," Trinity stumbled.

"I'm sure," Jareth answered. "Have I improved?"

"Definitely," Trinity choked.

"I once had hundreds of admirers in the royal courts," Jareth said, somewhat wistfully as he grabbed more hay and threw it over a fence.

"Why was that? Was that because they all wanted your crown?" Trinity asked.

"Well," he said thoughtfully, "I suppose some of them did. I like to think I was just gorgeous."

"Okay. Not a trace of humility in your body, is there?" Trinity asked.

Jareth laughed.

"I'm used to being given loads of attention," he grinned. "What did you expect? I am a king, after all, and I'm not entirely unattractive."

"No, you aren't, but you don't need to brag about it," Trinity mumbled.

"There were those that seemed to care about me for who I was, as a person," Jareth said, his voice lowering. "There was a time I thought Sarah…"

"Hey," Trinity said gently, "I'm sure there were those who did care about you. I think the horses are just about done. Let's get back to the barn."

She glanced over at Jareth as she drove, observing the tight lines around his mouth and eyes. He was really upset about everything with Sarah, and he fought so hard to hide it. He was a king, and he would not, would not let his true feelings be displayed, even when he was deeply hurt.


When the morning feed was completed, Trigger, Spiff, Storm and Lady were tacked up and led into the arena. Jareth kept Spiff moving alongside Trinity and Trigger, instructing Trinity as he did so. He explained the Levade to her with intricate details, even explaining how it would feel to her as a rider when Trigger performed the on-command rear. He could make even the simplest procedures sound wonderful and exciting, and Trinity was fully prepared when he walked her, step by step, through teaching Trigger to perform the Levade.

When Trigger was comfortable with doing the Levade without a rider, Jareth encouraged Trinity to get back up on the large horse's back and sit the Levade when the powerful horse reared. Trinity was quite nervous, but Jareth spoke to her comfortingly, encouragingly, and a few minutes later, she asked Trigger to do a Levade.

Without hesitation, the large horse reared up into the air, Trinity clinging to his mane for dear life.

Evelyn applauded when Trigger's front hooves touched the ground, and Trinity beamed with pleasure.

"We did it!" she exclaimed, patting Trigger energetically on the neck. "Did you see that? He was brilliant! He was awesome!"

"Are you going to do it again?" Jareth asked, a pleased smile on his face.

"Of course!" Trinity said enthusiastically.

The morning ride passed too quickly for Trinity. Minutes flew past as she worked with Trigger, teaching him a variety of tricks while Jareth instructed her. She was impressed that Jareth knew so much about horses and how to ride, and she wanted to get as much information out of him as she could.

Trinity's legs were trembling with muscle exhaustion when she rode Trigger up to the front of the barn. She stopped him and then pulled her legs out of the stirrups of her saddle. To her utmost surprise, Jareth dismounted before she did and then came to her side and offered her his hand. She took it, stunned, and then dismounted as gracefully as she could, feeling like a great lady with her hand in the hand of some great knight.

Jareth smiled slightly at the surprised look on the young lady's face. Trinity could act as immune to his charm as she liked, but her eyes couldn't hide a thing she was thinking. She was thoroughly entranced by his behavior, by his handsomeness, by the strength in his hand.

"That was quite a ride you had," Raiv interrupted the moment, swinging out of Storm's saddle. "Very impressive, Miss Trinity."

Trinity shook her head and looked away from Jareth, blushing viciously as she turned away from him so he couldn't see her.

"Of course it was impressive!" Evelyn said cheerfully. "Trinity's a good rider."

She brought Lady to a stop and then hurried to get her feet out of the stirrups, trying to dismount before Raiv could offer to assist her. She was too late, and with a sigh, she watched him come to a stand next to her.

"Ev, don't you like dismounting by yourself?" Trinity asked, catching a flicker of annoyance in her friend's eyes.

"Of course I do. I especially don't like falling into the arms of a…" Evelyn began, but her mouth again refused to open when she wanted to say "murderer" and she hastily changed her word. "…Noble Fae such as Raiv. I wouldn't want him to get all filthy with my dirty hands."

"Oh, that doesn't bother me," Raiv smirked, enjoying her discomfort.

"I don't need help, thank you," Evelyn said, and then swung out of the saddle.

To her utmost disgust, she landed on the ground without his assistance, but as soon as her feet hit the ground, his arms were around her, as though he had thought she was falling off.

"Safe landing, I presume?" he asked, releasing her.

"Of course," she growled, turning to face him, her eyes burning into his.

"Was that really necessary?" Trinity asked, frowning at Raiv.

Raiv didn't answer, but turned away from Evelyn and tended to Storm.


Lisa arrived right before lunch, and she greeted Jareth and Raiv politely before she threw her arms around Trinity and then Evelyn.

"What are you all up to?" she asked, smiling at her friends.

"We went riding this morning. Trinity learned a new trick on Trig," Evelyn smiled at Trinity.

"It was so much fun! Do you have any lessons today, or can you ride with us?" Trinity asked Lisa.

"I have two lessons later, but I can ride with you after lunch!"

"Terrific!" Evelyn and Trinity both exclaimed.

"So what exactly are Jareth and Raiv doing here again?" Lisa asked Trinity and Evelyn as they walked towards the house minutes later.

"Evelyn already told you," Trinity shrugged. "They're from the Labyrinth. We're trying to get Jareth to care about people again so he can go back to his world without hurting anyone."

"Right. And I'm Jack Sparrow, come forward in time to steal the horses," Lisa laughed, rolling her eyes. "You two have been hanging around each other for too long without a break."

"Well, where else would they be from?" Evelyn asked innocently. "They sure don't look like they're from here."

"Jareth could just be trapped in the 80s still," Lisa chuckled. "And Raiv, well… he looks like he could be from now. Not exactly what I expected you to be interested in, Ev."

"Interested in?" Evelyn gasped. "Where on earth did that come from?"

"He seems to admire you quite a bit," Lisa grinned. "That's for that comment about Evan earlier."

"Ah," Evelyn said, glancing over her shoulder to see Raiv following a short distance away, his dark eyes boring into hers. "I'm not quite interested in him."

"But you love his eyes."

"Now see here!" Evelyn said, throwing her hands out in dismay. "I only teased you once about Evan! That's two insults now about Raiv."

"Insults?" Raiv grinned, stepping closer to Evelyn and smirking at her. "I'm not the worst person you've ever seen."

"Raiv has the ability to blend in with whatever culture he happens to be in," Jareth said, stepping in front of the girls and opening the house door for them. "He also has the ability to make himself look younger."

"How old is he now? He looks about your age," Lisa said with interest.

"He's about four thousand five. I'm four thousand," Jareth said easily.

"Weeks old?" Lisa asked, confused.

"No, years," Jareth answered.

"Oh, you're good," Lisa said, eyes wide. "Trinity, are you sure these two aren't clowns from the circus?"

Jareth's eyes darkened, and Trinity answered quickly.

"No, they aren't clowns. Here. Let's get something to eat."


The afternoon came, and with it came one of Raiv's clever tricks. He timed it perfectly, waiting until Lisa, Trinity and Evelyn were all too busy to notice anything. He and Jareth were standing on the grass with their horses, waiting for the girls to finish tacking up their mounts.

"Your majesty," Raiv said with interest, catching sight of something glistening slightly in the grass. "I found something."

"What is it?" Jareth asked, curiosity piqued because of his comrade's apparent interest.

"It seems one of the horses threw a shoe."

Evelyn glanced up from Lady's side, her eyes wide when she heard the words "horses" and "shoe."

"Be careful," Jareth warned. "It's got iron in it…"

"I'll just pick it up and throw it somewhere, I suppose," Raiv said, dropping onto one knee and picking up the horseshoe.

"Jareth!" Evelyn called, watching as Raiv buried his fingers in the grass. "Jareth, I need help!"

"Wait a moment. Iron can be deadly, and I want to make certain Raiv isn't harmed," Jareth replied.

"Here we go," Raiv said, picking up the horseshoe and looking at it carefully. Out of the corner of his brown eye, he saw Jareth standing, unassuming; waiting to make sure that Raiv wasn't harmed.

"Jareth!" Evelyn called again. "I really need help! Please! I can't get this, and it's hurting my fingers! Help!"

"Girl," Jareth sighed. "What is the matter?"

"Oh!" Raiv suddenly exclaimed. "Oh, this is agony! It's drawing my power out! Your majesty!"

"Let it go!" Jareth demanded. "Iron can kill you, and you know it! Put it down!"

"It's stuck!" Raiv shouted, pain seeping through his voice.

"Jareth! Help!" Evelyn cried.

Jareth was torn. Help the damsel in distress, or see to it that the iron didn't kill his friend? He took a step towards Evelyn, and it was at that precise moment that Raiv turned and threw the iron shoe hard towards Jareth in a simulated attempt to rid him of the deadly iron and kill his superior with it.

Evelyn nearly fainted again when the shoe just missed Jareth, and her face was pale when Jareth walked over to her, arms folded stiffly across his chest.

"What is it you need?" he growled, annoyed.

"The girth," Evelyn's voice quivered. "I can't tighten it."

Jareth sighed and went to the horse's side. As he did so, Evelyn's eyes caught Raiv's, and he glared at her, eyes threatening and deadly.

"What was wrong?" Trinity asked, stepping over to Jareth.

"Apparently, your friend's girth wouldn't tighten," Jareth scowled, easily pulling the girth and tying it in place.

"Ev, what on earth is the problem?" Trinity asked, perplexed that Evelyn couldn't tighten her own girth. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm just fine," Evelyn smiled. "I guess I loosened it for you," she said to Jareth.

"And people would think I have mental problems if I walked around in my Labyrinth garb," he grumbled as he stepped past Evelyn and walked over to Raiv.

"Let me see your hand," he ordered his companion.

Raiv held his hand out to his king, and Jareth inspected it carefully.

"It doesn't look damaged," he said. "Where is the shoe?"

"In the grass," Raiv answered. "Don't touch it, my king."

"I have it," Trinity said, picking up the shoe. "I wonder what that was doing in the grass? Lisa, did one of the horses throw a shoe the other day?"

"Yes," Lisa nodded. "You know, those two can really act," she said, gesturing to Raiv and Jareth.

"They do a bit of acting ever now and then," Trinity sighed, shaking her head.

Everything was so overwhelming! Evelyn needed help over a girth. Raiv got locked onto an iron horse shoe. Jareth was becoming more charming with every passing day. Lisa probably thought everyone was entirely loony. Things couldn't possibly get more mysterious! If only she could figure out what exactly was going on…