More Sarah! More adventures, and who was that lady anyway?
Sarah awoke to the whispered murmuring of her companions gathered around the glowing embers of a morning fire. Stirring slightly, the voices ceased their muted conversation and Sarah opened her eyes to see the four of them looking at her with marked concern in their disparate faces. Zimri—his equine bottom half folded neatly under him with his human arms crossed over his chest—scrutinized her sharply.
"Sarah," he chided, though with due reverence for her position as Queen. "Why didn't you wake me? We could have been discovered by Ammon's spies or at the very least, a wild animal could have raided our food stores." Sarah heard the sharp click of hooves on stone as Zimri shifted his legs in frustration.
"I'm sorry…"she began, bringing to focus the events of the previous night. "I didn't mean to fall asleep, but that woman...I think she put a spell on me."
"What woman?" Hoggle demanded, looking around suspiciously at the brush, as if a strange person might jump out to snatch him unawares.
"I…don't know," Sarah replied. Her bedroll shifted slightly as she raised herself up on one elbow. How did I end up in my bedroll? I don't remember getting in bed. I just remember looking into her eyes…and feeling tired… "It was simply an old woman."
"Didst thou ask her name?" Sir Didymus asked.
"I—no. I didn't. I didn't even think to ask her name," Sarah hung her head, shamefaced. "I'm sorry."
Zimri shifted slightly again, the scrape of his hoofs on the rocks ringing sharply in the crisp morning air. "Sarah, what did she want? Was she from one of the kingdoms?"
"Again, I don't know. She never mentioned it if she was." Sarah lay back on her bedroll, one arm behind her head as she gazed at the cavernous ceiling. "I don't know where she came from or how she knew my name, or even how to find us. She came out of the brush over there," she pointed behind where Hoggle huddled against Ludo for warmth. "She was a very old woman with hazy blue eyes—like she was nearly blind—and a gentle face deeply lined and weathered from many years under the sun. When she smiled, her eyes sparkled with kindness and good humor. But she was stern, too, like my grandmother used to be. She came out of those bushes and asked me to invite her to sit down. She knew my name but refused to tell me how.
"Then she told me a story about the Sun and the North Wind and a woman named Selene. For some reason, it seemed like that was the reason she came: to tell me that story," Sarah pondered a moment before remarking, "It was a very strange story."
"About the North Wind and the Sun being in love with the same woman. Yet the North Wind unwittingly banishes her to spend the rest of her days as the Moon—forever pursuing a lover who pursues her just as fervently but without ever being united?" Zimri summarized. The others, including Sarah, stared at him quizzically.
"Yes! How—how do you know that story?" Sarah asked. "I thought. Well to be honest I thought she made it up."
Zimri shook his head. "She did not fabricate the story. It is a very very old story, one dating back from before the exile. I heard it from my grandfather, whose own great grandfather told it to him—and on and on back generations before the Underground existed. Such is the age of the tale you were told. I do not know if it is fable, fact or some mixture of the two. It is indeed strange that a mysterious old woman would appear merely to tell you that tale," Zimri laughed and when he halted, he stared thoughtfully at the sky. "Did she say anything else to you?"
Sarah hesitated, the truth regarding her pregnancy hovering on her lips. Explaining her situation would only hamper their travels and make her friends overly concerned for her wellbeing. And above all, she must rescue Jareth. And win immortality apparently, however that works. She let out her breath slowly in the charged atmosphere and dim light of early dawn. "She told me that I needed to sacrifice my mortality in order to rescue Jareth. That if I am to save him from his fate, I need to gain immortality somehow. She said the Sun and Moon were unwilling to make that sacrifice, which is why they remain fixedly wandering the skies. She also said that only I can save Jareth."
Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus burst out all at once, pestering her with questions, warnings, and expressions of anxiety in turn. Ludo's round eyes peered at her mournfully as he intoned, "Sawah, Die," repeatedly. Hoggle burst into a fresh torrent of dire warnings and threats to leave to avoid further danger while Sir Didymus valiantly promised to protect her virtue and life to the bitter end.
During the backlash, Zimri's composed features were a haven of serenity and comfort for Sarah. She clung to his thoughtful countenance as if it were a lone shelter in the maelstrom of heated opinions; Zimri's impassivity reminded her more of his brother Omri than his usual boisterous self. He, in turn, eyed her watchfully, unwilling to indulge either in pronouncements of doom or in hasty decisions regarding the appropriate way to safeguard her welfare. His gaze bored into hers and the light of dying embers from the morning cookfire smoldered in his dark eyes. As he watched her, Sarah had the distinct impression that he could discern her thoughts, that he was weighing and measuring her words to separate truth from fiction.
"Come my friends, we must not allow our hearts to linger on such dire portents." Zimri boomed, after what seemed to Sarah like an eternity of his pervasive internal scrutiny. "Hoggle, Didymus, clean up the bedrolls and gather up the rest of the belongings. Ludo, stamp out the fire will you? And make sure to cover it with fresh dirt to leave no trace. I don't want anyone knowing we were here, especially with strange old women roaming around the woods at night."
The remainder of the group scurried to accomplish their assigned tasks while Sarah rose, heading for the stream to wash her face, hands and feet—there was not enough time to bathe this morning but the least she could do was look presentable. She moved aside the trailing branches of an overhanging tree on the bank of the laughing waters only to be confronted by Zimri's stern countenance emerging from behind the trunk. She had not even heard his approach.
"I know that you did not tell us everything, Sarah. Because I am your friend, I will not force you to divulge what you have so keenly left out, but as your guide and therefore your protector, I must tell you that anything you keep from us will only hamper our ability to serve you. We are all your friends and you can trust us." Before Sarah could utter a reply, Zimri trotted past her back in the direction of the camp. Disconcerted, Sarah barely felt the chilly water splash onto her face and neck, yet the thought of the child blossoming inside her drove away all her fears.
Pausing, she clasped her hands over her abdomen and felt again the tiny pulse of life stirring in her womb. Overcome with wonder and awe, she beamed at the unseen child and whispered, "I love you." Although I've never met you, my child, and I do not even know if you are a son or daughter, I do know this: I love you. More than my family, more than my kingdom, more than my life. Her eyes shimmered as tears of joy bubbled up and spilled over onto her cheeks—iridescence against cream colored flesh. I don't know how yet, my darling one, but I will win immortality for us both. And you will meet your father one day, I swear! For now, I just hope to get safely to the Court without anyone but me having to worry about you.
The day wore on much like the others—seemingly endless tramping through rocks and boulders interspersed with stands of trees and hearty scrub. However, rolling hills soon turned to steep ascends over terrain more and more defined by steel greys and dark sables than the greens, yellows, and reds of the hill country. Sarah was once again thankful for the sturdy boots Alegra insisted that she took, for her feet would have soon become bruised and bloodied without them.
The fellowship of five picked their way over layers of shale and hard-packed earth, only infrequently glancing downward toward the gentle, inviting plains below. Hoggle grumbled to himself about the strenuous climb while Ambrosius leapt from rock to rock like a mountain goat, his rider scouting the way and yelling encouragement to the less nimble climbers. Of the group, Ludo seemed most at ease. Every so often he would stop and lean his shaggy head against the rocks, as if listening to them. When Hoggle grumpily asked him what he was doing, Ludo grinned broadly and placed one of his fists tenderly on the stone. "Rocks. Friends," he averred, clearly delighted to be surrounded by so many of them. Sarah smiled in reply, once again enthralled by the paradox that was her giant, hairy friend: though clearly stronger than any creature she'd met, Ludo's demeanor was always gentle and affectionate, more like a puppy than the ogre he appeared to be. Nothing is what it seems, she thought. Even my own friends.
As the sun approached its zenith, they reached the beginnings of a small trail wending upward upon the face of a steep cliff. "This is the base of the trail leading to the Court of the wise," Zimri explained. "They prefer to travel by air or by magic so very few visitors ever come on foot."
"So how did this trail get here?" Sarah asked, craning her neck upward in an attempt to see the white pillars of the courtyard. But try as she might, she could see nothing but the slate-grey stone reaching upward until it disappeared into the sky. She even lost sight of the trail about a third of the way up the cliff face.
"Messengers, mostly." Zimri answered. "Those of us who are not of the race of the kings and queens cannot travel here by magic and are rarely allowed escorts by air. We have therefore carved our own way to the Court with our own feet and hands. Don't worry," he continued in answer to Hoggle's unspoken fear clearly etched onto his ruddy face. "They can't see us from here. We can approach stealthily with no one the wiser. Once we reach the top, however, you will have a decision to make Goblin Queen. We will follow you to the Court and stand by your side if you wish to face down Ammon, but I recommend we seek another course."
"Not now, Zimri," Sarah responded. She placed her hands to her head and massaged her aching temples. "Let's talk about this when we get to the top. Right now, all I can think about getting to the Court. What happens when we get there is a question for another time."
"As you wish, Sarah. Come," he gestured grandly to the thin track above them. "We mustn't waste any more time."
The ascent took longer than Zimri expected. It was due in part to having such a large group of people traveling, but Ludo's size and weight further impeded their progress. He was simply too large and uncoordinated to maneuver the trail safely. They stopped frequently to assist him in maneuvering around narrow stands of rocks and to guide him safely on those parts of the trail little wider than an attic crawlspace. However, despite the lumbering orange beast's awkward frame, the entire group managed to reach the top of the trail intact just as the sun passed beyond the black outline of the mountain peaks above.
None of them dared examine their route from their aerial perch on the top of the cliff, lest they get sick from the dizzying heights or be blown off by the rising night winds. Only Didymus was even courageous enough to get within a few feet of the edge, which itself was enough to make Sarah's stomach turn over. She turned instead to face the imposing structure of buildings not more than a dozen yards from where they all stood. Instead of satisfaction, the Grecian columns and blue marbled buildings filled her with dread. Her stomach twisted into a knot and in the fading sunlight, the graceful arches and curving capitals morphed into something menacing rather than elegant. The myriad candles in the windows winked at her like the ravenous eyes of wolves under a full moon. The howling wind through the gaps and passes of the mountains made her shudder.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to find Zimri standing beside her. "You don't have to go in, Sarah."
"What do you mean, Zimri? Do you think I'm a coward? This is what I came for!" Sarah replied hotly. "I can't back down now! I won't abandon Jareth when I'm on the verge of finding out what happened to him." The aura of the warrior queen was fully awake now and Sarah radiated protective energy. Green fire flashed brightly against her pale cheeks and she planted her booted feet firmly into the hard-packed earth beneath their feet.
"I never said to abandon him, Sarah," Zimri rejoined.
"You're telling me not to go in there," she pointed back toward the Grecian buildings angrily, Jareth's black traveling cape flaring out behind her outstretched arm. "How is that not abandoning him to whatever fate Ammon and the Court sentenced him to? Shall I walk away from the only place that might offer a solution to Jareth's plight?"
"Perhaps there is another way. You said it yourself: Ammon is in charge now. Lest you have forgotten, his son gave you that bruise on your cheek and the cut on your head. You cannot simply walk into the Court and expect to come out alive, or at the very least, with your virtue intact." Zimri narrowed his eyes significantly.
Sarah gaped at him, understanding flooding her ashen features. "I…I think I understand what you mean," she replied, suddenly chilled.
"Who would thus violate thy honor, my lady? Point me to him and I will fight him to the death!" Sir Didymus shouted, brandishing his staff in the direction of the pale blue buildings, his heels poised to dig into Ambrosius' flanks.
"There is no need for that, my valiant friend," Zimri interjected, placing a gentling hand on Sir Didymus head. "There is another way to learn what you need to know, Sarah." Zimri turned to her with a twinkle in his eye. "Was it not my own fair Queen who commissioned you to seek out, not the Court, but Makarios and Felicia?"
"Yeah, right. That's why we came all this way to the Court, to find Jareth's parents and ask for their help," harrumphed Hoggle, still in a miff about tramping across the Underground for what now seemed like a useless mission. "Only now it seems like we're just going stand around on the top of a steep cliff with the same guy who sent Jareth who knows where just beyond that pile of rocks. I don't know about the rest of you, but as soon as it's light, I'm going home."
"Hoggle?!" Sarah exclaimed.
"I keep telling you I'm a coward, Sarah and don't you forget it."
"And I keep telling you that you're not. Be a man, Hoggle. Jareth needs us," Sarah chastised.
"I've told ya before, I don't like him and don't wanna help," Hoggle refused.
"Well then do it for me, Hoggle. Either that, or I'll steal your jewels again," which Sarah knew was precisely the right thing to say to quiet Hoggle's fears, but that didn't keep her from making a false lunge toward Hoggle's waistband. Hoggle jumped away, but made no further mention of going home. Sarah turned to their guide, "Alright Zimri, it sounds like you have a plan."
"Actually, I don't…" Zimri began to say, but he was interrupted by a voice coming from the shadows to their left.
"I do," from behind a large pile of boulders, a figure—hooded and cloaked in black velvet—emerged, stealthy and silent as the grave.
"Ah, Moira, you're late." Zimri extended a hand to the newcomer, who shook his gladly, throwing back the dark hood from her face. The woman—for now they could see clearly that she was—had hair the color of honeyed wheat and eyes a fragrant shade of violet.
She bobbed her head slightly, "It is difficult to escape Ammon's scrutiny these days. Forgive me. I came as soon as I could without arousing suspicion. This must be the Queen." She turned to Sarah and bowed reverently, a genuine smile lighting up her lovely features.
Sarah took an angry step forward with the sounds of heavy boots on shale and dirt. Sensing the Goblin Queen's latent fury, Moira spread her hands defensively in front of her. "Please, Goblin Queen now is not the time. We must get to a place of safety first; out here in the open Ammon or his minions will discover us before you have a chance to help your beloved."
"I demand to know what is going on—" Sarah began.
"Please, Goblin Queen. Be patient. All will be told in due time, but for now," she placed a finger over her lips and beckoned the others to follow as she nimbly navigated the rocky terrain without making a sound. The companions followed as silently as they could—a difficult feat due to Sir Didymus' inability to control his volume and his insistence on denouncing Ammon and shaking his staff at the buildings every few feet.
In the end, however, they all arrived safely to where the cloaked woman Moira waited. She shifted her weight and looked about nervously, as if expecting to be discovered at any moment. She stood before what appeared to be the solid wall of the mountain from which the cliff projected, however, after a sequence of taps on the wall, a thin line of flickering light appeared in the stone. A door slid slowly back and Sarah could barely make out the whispered exchange before the five companions were hurriedly ushered into the opening. Behind them, Moira continued to whisper urgently with whoever had opened the door in the mountainside while the rest of them surveyed their new surroundings.
The companions could now see the source of the dim light was a small candle set in an ivory base. Near it, a stone bench was carved from the wall where the guard—for that was his or her likely occupation—could wait in the dark until someone on the other side gave the prearranged signal.
Moira ended her inaudible conversation with the guard and hurried in front of them down the passage, beckoning them to follow her. The narrow passage was interspersed with torch-lit sconces every few feet and the corridor itself wound several thousand feet into the heart of the mountain. After what seemed like half an hour, the company halted at the entrance to a huge hall. Light streamed out of it and they could hear joyous music and laughter ringing into the corridor behind them. As they stepped foot into the bright chamber, Sarah heard a familiar voice hail a greeting.
"Welcome Sarah, Goblin Queen, and all your companions. Welcome to the hidden halls of Makarios, Felicia and all who would seek the downfall of Ammon from the Court and the restoration of Jareth to the Underground."
Sarah lifted her eyes and saw Jareth's parents seated around a long table. Though they were surrounded by other faces, Sarah's wearied eyes could see only them rising to greet her. Leaving all dignity aside, she ran to the arms of her in-laws—now the only parents in her world—and wept.
I know I didn't answer the question of the old woman's identity, but that will come later. For right now, Sarah's got some major talking to do with the parentals (Jareth's that is). Oh and I would appreciate it if you guys let me know if you think I should keep going. I'm feeling pretty discouraged about it lately. Thanks.
