And If I Heard The Owl's Cry…

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The soft echo of pattering feet bounced off the stone walls of the hospital wing. Jean paced back and forth, the silky slippers she had been given to wear making it rather hard to move as fast as she wanted.

The young knight looked back and forth between her partner and teacher. James and herself had not changed, nor had Sarah for all she could tell. But Woodhouse was a different story. The woman who had been just hours ago in her fifties now looked to be no older than themselves.

Stopping in front of Woodhouse Jean looked the woman over. She lifted a finger in the air only to put it down and continue to pace around. James laid back on the bed he had been provided, he was too tired to deal with anything at the moment. He had learned back in middle school that thinking too hard only gave you a headache. He was more intune to the habit of complete indifference, at least until his brain could catch up enough for him to care.

The fact was that his brain was a bit slower than Jean's, who seemed to be processing every bit of information they had gathered that day. He himself had no desire to deal with the long list of questions he knew was pelting his fellow knight's brain. A man had to be crazy to even try. Then again a man had to be crazy to even believe what had just happened.

It had been hard enough to believe Sarah when she came to him about the Underground and fae being real. But to have not only met a bunch of the over grown fairies, but to have said overgrown fairies attack and try to kill him and his friends was almost madding in understanding. Not to mention of course that they were now trapped in this Underground, stuck in the hospital recovering from their wounds, and to top it off having their fifty year old teacher in the course of a few minutes grow younger by thirty years.

His brain was far too use to contemplating the meaning of salad and the significance of the crouton to actually be of any help in understanding any of this.

"You know if you really want to know why don't you just ask me instead of pacing around like a maniac." Jean stopped and ran her hand through her hair. All the bells and crystals from the play already taken out and tossed aside.

"Ok, where do I start? Lets see, maybe first, how?" Woodhouse lifted a brow, her youthful appearance making the gesture seem more ornery than ever.

"How what? You will need to elaborate my Dear. How did we get here? How did you get in the middle of this? How…." Jean pinched the bridge of her nose, apparently with youth came the ability to annoy her even more.

"How you have grown younger? I may not be a doctor or whatever but even I know that people don't just go around and turn from fifty to twenty five in the matter of a few minutes. So how?" Woodhouse laughed as she sat herself down in the chair beside James' bed. She smiled over at him and pulled down her thick hair to cover her chest.

"Ah yes, that. Well I told you already that I was a member of the Order. Well the long and short of it is that this is the way I am suppose to look." It was Jean's turn to lift a brow, though her's was more accusing than anything.

"The long and short? No no no, that is not the long of it by far! This is how you are suppose to look, oh give me a break! That doesn't answer any question at all!" Smirking Woodhouse fingered the pendant at her throat.

"Fine if you really want to know that badly. When I was first found I lived most of my life here in the Underground." James sat up at this.

"You mean you lived here at the castle with Jareth?" Woodhouse shook her head, her deep eyes glistening.

"No, in Sol. It is the neighboring kingdom and ally to the Goblin Kingdom. And James as we are in his kingdom and under his rule you are to refer to him as King Jareth, or His Majesty." Under his rule? Jean shook at the thought. She already had a hard enough time dealing with being under her parent's rule, now she had to deal with being under a King's?

"But you refer to him as Jareth?" James pointed out as he pulled at the neck of the large robe the Healer had insisted upon him wearing.

"That is different, I am an old friend of his. And I only call him thus in private. Once we are around subjects or members of the Court and Council I will be obligated to call him Your Majesty, as he will be obligated to call me Lady Onora. Things are much more formal in the Underground." Jean rolled the name of the other kingdom around in her mind, she knew that name from high school science.

"Sol as in the sun?" The sounds of rushed feet could be heard in the halls but the three ignored them, the two knights too engrossed in what their teacher was saying and Onora simply used to the commotion that was an everyday occurrence in the Goblin castle.

"Ah you are a smart one. Yes as in the sun. Sol is also known as the Kingdom of gold. Their gold mines run deep within the ground and the capital itself has streets paved with it. The entire kingdom is as bright and shinning as the sun." The commotion began to grow louder, the simple sound of feet soon turned into people yelling.

"Ok well this does not explain why you look like that." The sound of a young woman yelling out echoed through the halls, though her words could not be made out.

"There is one thing you both must understand now, when I said that Sarah had a bigger role to play this is what I meant. And yet more. I was once thought to be the one to play this part, because of this I was given certain powers much as Sarah was. Only as I lived most of my time Underground they were allowed to flourish. Even after it was realized that I was not the Swan they had been waiting for I was not sent back Aboveground like some rubbish to be taken out. I wished to stay and until I had met my husband I lived a double life in both worlds." James stood and walked to the door, he could hear the screaming. More than just hear it he could feel it, something was wrong.

"I hate to cut this little story telling short but are either of you concerned that something seems to be happening out there? I know I'm new around here. But do women scream for no reason in the castle all the time?" The yelling grew louder, this time it was not just the one woman but many people. A tall man in long white robes rushed into the room. He searched franticly around as he gathered bottles and small pots of herbs.

"Healer Eamon?" Onora felt a shiver of cold spread up her spine as she took account of what the Healer gathered.

"Not now!" The Healer pulled a large vile from his shelves and continued to search.

"What is going on? The Sisters have not tried anything have they?" Jean was already by the door ready to kill any fae who dared to even think ill of Sarah.

"What? No, His Majesty has collapsed into a fever while talking with the Lady Sarah. Now if you three don't mind I have to take care of our king before there is not one to left to care for." Eamon pulled one last bottle from the shelf and rushed out of the room. Onora bit back the tears that threatened to pour.

"So does the entire castle go into hysterics every time His Majesty gets the flu?" James rolled his eyes.

"James Jareth is fae, he doesn't get sick like we do. If he has a fever than something is wrong, very wrong. And I can not hide the fact that knowing the timing of this, this is more than just suspicious." The two knights looked at each other, both thinking the same thing.

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Sarah paced back and forth in the boudoir adjoining the royal bedchambers. She didn't need this, she really didn't need any of this. Mostly right then. Her sleep deprived brain was trying to comprehend everything that had happened to her, only one other little thing kept popping up into her thoughts making it very hard to concentrate. Or really it was one other person. Jareth.

She could hear the Healer and his nurses working in the chamber beside her. The murmurs echoed through the walls and by the time they reached Sarah they had turned all muddled. She couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on. The best she could figure by the muffled voices was it had something to do with iron. Mostly as that was the one word that seemed to be shouted every few minutes.

The young woman, still in her theater costume, collapsed against the large chaise. The low fire that burned within the hearth crackled and spat sounding just about as angry as Sarah.

She sighed, maybe she wasn't truly angry. Ok well she was mad, just not at Jareth. She was confused, furious at the fact that he could not return her and her friends Aboveground. Infuriated that her family had seen what they had, even if now they didn't remember. And absolutely livid at what had happened to Jareth. But she was not even a bit mad at him personally.

Thinking back Sarah realized it had been a very long time since she had actually seen him as the villain. What exactly she saw him as she didn't know, but it was far from what her confused teenaged mind had seen him as.

"This is ridiculous! Absolutely ludicrous, preposterous, nuts, barmy, and crazy!" Sarah rambled on as she tried to quash the worry that was quickly rising to fill her.

"Practicing to become a living thesaurus are we?" The soft voice did little to shake the disquiet from Sarah. The Lady of the Labyrinth peered over to view the owner of the silky voice.

Onora, once Ava Woodhouse, stood at the doorway to the boudoir that lead out into the halls that lead away from the royal chambers. The teacher turned changeling fae smiled softly at Sarah. The expression working its magic over the worry filled woman. Like silk it smoothed out the lines of fret enough that Sarah could at least speak without feeling the need to scream or cry.

"They won't let me in to see him." Onora sighed, this had not been what she was expecting to get as a response from the girl.

"No, I don't suppose they would." Sarah frowned at this. Her once teacher had always been a huge help when it came to her problems. Woodhouse never took sides and looked at things objectively, this making it easy for her to see straight into the heart of a problem. Only now Sarah faced a problem much bigger than what normally served as a crisis for her. And the dilemma was that her mentor was working for the other side, so to speak.

"Why? Why won't they let me see him? Do they think I will hurt him, or that I did this in the first place? Tell me why?" Onora walked in a bit closer and took a seat in the winged chair beside her student.

"Sarah maybe you need to look at this more rationally. The King is sick, no one knows yet the cause. All they do know is that you are the Lady of the Labyrinth, a title that here in the Goblin Kingdom puts you in a station just under royalty. You are to be protected, and not knowing what is making the King sick they can't take any chances that you could contract it somehow. Plus do you think even if you were lower in importance than a goblin that Jareth would be benevolent towards those who let you get sick?" Sarah nodded, she hated to think what would happen to the Healer if she was to get sick by his carelessness.

A long silence reigned over the room as both student and teacher listened to the muffled sounds coming from the royal bedchambers.

"So what do I call you then?" Sarah was the first to break the silence. The utter quiet threatening to drive her past the point of madness.

"In private, such as we are now, you may call me Onora. While around others, not including your knights and Jareth, you must call me Lady Onora or the Lady of Sol. Though as I hope we can be friends, and not just teacher and student, I would much prefer you call me by my nickname Jareth gave me when we first met." Sarah slid up on the chaise and looked over to Onora, a light had filled her eyes at the mention of Jareth all those years ago.

"Jareth actually gives nicknames? I mean besides 'precious thing'?" Onora laughed, Jareth had always had a bit of a flare with his speech. Calling girls, mostly ones he found attractive, precious thing, pretty thing, and darling thing was not uncommon. It seems he didn't change this fact for Sarah.

"Yes he does. Though I must say I have been called that as well, mostly when I did something to amuse him." Eyes that seemed to tread the boarders of green and brown rolled as Sarah slipped back down.

"Yes well I don't think what I did to get called that amused him. In fact I think I royally pissed him off. So what was it, that he used to call you I mean?" The young half-fae chuckled at the girl beside her, she had been quite correct, Jareth had been seething after she refused him.

"He used to call me his Little Nono. It sounds rather naughty now that I think back on it." A sound resembling a laugh and cry sputtered from Sarah's lips. This earning a lifted brow from Onora.

"I am sure that is just how he meant it to sound. I may not know him like you do, but I would have to be stupid not to notice his love for flirting." Both girls let out a soft laughter, both covering the bottled tears in their eyes.

"Thank you Onora, for helping me forget for a moment at least. I'm just so confused. When did the line between love and hate get so blurred?" Now it was Onora's turn to roll her eyes.

"Sarah Love, it was never clear in the first place. Not for the likes of you two." Sarah opened her mouth to reply when the door between the boudoir and the bedchamber flew open.

Healer Eamon stood looking deathly white at the two young women. He looked as though he was shaking, or had even gotten sick.

"Healer is everything alright?" Sarah felt herself go into full panic mode. She had felt this way once before, the night her mother left her and her father. She had hoped that she would never feel this way again. But there she was completely frightened and this time if things didn't work out it was not a divorce that would happen, but a death.

"Lady Sarah, Lady Onora, I fear all is not well at all. I had hoped that His Majesty's fever had been due simply to the battle, maybe the use of the glamour during battle was too much for him. But my fears were realized when iron was detected in his body. His Majesty always had more than normal fae due to the fact he would often visit the Aboveground. But this is more than just a exposure to the mortal world's iron use." Sarah took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. Onora noticed and took the lead.

"You think he is being poisoned?" Healer Eamon nodded and made a quick glance at the Lady of the Labyrinth. He would have to make sure to do a full range of tests on her. If someone was out to kill Jareth it wasn't that hard to realize they would be after Sarah too.

"I don't think, I know for a certainty. There is no other way for him to have so much iron in his body. I am just thankful that His Majesty has built up a mild immunity to the substance, had he not spent so many years Aboveground he would have been dead long ago." Sarah jolted bolt upright, though not fully sure of what to do next.

"Is it safe for me to see him now?" Her words were strangely calm as she held her head high. Healer Eamon nodded, a small smile creeping out despite the situation. There could be no doubt that this Sarah was the swan everyone had been waiting for.

"Yes, after the iron is absorbed in the body it is harmless to anyone else. Just know Lady Sarah His Majesty is not well at all. He is still in his right mind thankfully, but he doesn't look so good." Lady Sarah half nodded her head and began to enter the bedchambers. She stopped and turned around. Onora giving a small sorrowful frown.

"I can't go in there, I am stretching it entering the Royal Wing at all. There could be some very bad consequences should I enter the Royal bedchamber. Go on, and tell him his little Nono is thinking about him." Without a word Sarah turned and entered the bedchamber.

The room was just what one would think of when they thought of a royal chamber. It had to be at least three times larger than the throne room. Most of the features of the room were concealed by shadows, only the large bed that rested perfectly in the center was lit.

Sarah sighed deeply as she gazed across the room at the candle lit figure of the King. Slowly she walked forward taking little notice when all others in the room left, shutting the door behind them. The bed creaked softly as she sat on the edge, the green sheer of her costume fluttering with her movement to cover Jareth's hand.

Jareth moaned and turned his head, but Sarah noted he didn't open his eyes. Sweat poured down his brow and covered his bare chest. Not caring anymore about her actions she reached up and wiped his forehead, her fingers moving slowly over the line of his hair.

The soft touch roused Jareth from his fevered slumber. He didn't open his eyes at first, only turned his head into the caress more. He licked his lips and struggled to speak.

"Eamon?" Sarah slid her thumb across his cheek as he began to fully waken. Her half smiling face the first thing he saw when his eyes opened.

"Sarah? What are you doing in here? What happen…d" Squeezing his eyes shut again the memories of the past couple of hours came flooding back.

"Jareth? Is something the matter, do I need to get the healer?" Sarah was standing before she realized it, her skirts gathered in her arm as she readied to fetch Eamon. Jareth shot his hand out and grabbed onto her wrist carefully pulling her back down to the bed.

"No, just the realization of what has happened sinking in." Silence fell over the two. Jareth removed his gaze from Sarah only to stare at the top of his bed. It did not surprise him that someone tried to kill him, he was the link that would restore the Underground kingdoms to rights. There were those who wished things to remain as they were now. Namely one faction, The Sisters of the Moon.

What did surprise him though was they had been able to get at him. And through poisoning nonetheless. He should have detected it. There was no reason he, a king, should not been able to feel the iron. And there was one other thing bothering him. Who? All who would have been close enough to do this were all people he trusted. The whole situation was frustrating to say the least.

Sarah sat in silence just watching Jareth. The emotions running through her were enough to drive her crazy.

Ok so she didn't hate him anymore, but she didn't actually love him either. How could she when all the contact she had with him for the past seven years have been dreams? She sighed noticing the sweat once again dappling Jareth's brow. She reached over and grabbed a wet rag from a bowl of water beside the bed and proceeded to wipe down his face and chest.

She moved in slow circles as she ran the cold rag over his stomach, her mind completely lost to itself and its thoughts. Jareth removed his eyes from the roof of his bed and laid them on the girl busy trying to help him cool off. He allowed a small smile, though even that was hard. The amount of iron in his blood was great and the battle had aggravated it.

"You don't have to do that you know, that is why I have nurses." Sarah removed the rag from his stomach and re-wet it before continuing with her work.

"I know, but I can't just sit here and do nothing. I mean you look worse than a goblin and smell just as bad." She giggled a little trying to lighten the mood. They always said laughter was the best medicine, then again these are the same people who claimed eating an apple a day kept the doctor away.

"Oh well at least I don't look like tree nymph having a bad hair day." He smirked and grabbed a hold of her hand with the rag.

"Seriously Sarah you don't have to. What does it matter what I look like? I'm only going to get worse." Sarah pulled her hand away and replaced the rag in the bowl. She smiled not wanting to listen to what he was saying.

"Oh? You don't plan on taking baths anymore?" Jareth sat up the best he could. Leave it to Sarah to try and skate by what was happening.

"I'm dying Sarah." The girl slunk back and hung her head.

"Why do you have to put it that way? You don't know, the healer said it was bad he didn't say you were dying. He could still clear all the iron from you…..couldn't he?" Sarah played with the hem of her dress. After all this, after the dreams and the battle and being trapped in the Underground there was no way Jareth was dying. Not after all of that.

"There is always a chance. But Sarah I'm being poisoned and I have no idea who it could be. There is a really good chance that whoever it is doing this to me could still get the poison to me." Shaking hands set in Sarah's lap, she hadn't thought of that. They could heal Jareth, remove all traces of the iron but it would do no good if the enemy was still in the castle and could get to him. It would just happen again and again. Next time Jareth might not be so lucky.

"Well we'll just have to make sure that they can not get to you. Don't let anyone near you but those who you absolutely trust with your life. I'm sure Healer Eamon could figure out some way to test the food being brought to you. You will have to stay in bed till you are completely healed of course." Jareth raised an eyebrow, now this was a side of Sarah he had yet to see.

"Are you ordering me, a King?" Standing with purpose in her eyes Sarah grinned.

"Normally I wouldn't dare, but to piss you off. But in this instance I think I need to." A gleam shone from the girl's eyes as she took a step back.

"Is that a plan I see formulating in that brain of yours?" Though still tired and dreadfully ill Jareth couldn't help but smile. He always knew his Sarah had this in her.

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"Goodnight sweety." Karen kissed the top of her little boy's forehead as she did every night after putting him to bed. The little boy smiled weakly as his mother left the room. All day his parents had been acting strangely, neither of them seemed worried about Sarah.

He had tried to mention his own worries at dinner only to have his father laugh and explain about the safety of planes these days. For some reason they seemed to be under the impression that Sarah was in London.

Toby crawled out of bed as soon as he heard his mother reach the last stair. Creeping slowly across the hall he carefully opened the door that lead to his sister's old room. Walking in he could feel the magic in the air he had once ignored. Something was wrong.

After shutting the door he moved about the room, looking over each item as though he had never seen them before. Suddenly the little boy stopped and stood in front of the mirror. He had many times when he was really little snuck into Sarah's room to find her just staring at the mirror. Every now and then he would see her as she reached her hand out and called to someone.

He climbed up on the old chair and reached over to touch the mirror. What was it she used to say? Toby closed his eyes and into the night whispered.

"Hoggle I need you."

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Author's Notes: Ok sorry it took me so long! One I was trying to get this chapter right and getting my storyline straight so nothing sounds strange. Second was the fact I went out of town for a bit and getting ready for that and recovering after took a bit. But I'm back now! YAY! And it will be a little bit before I leave for the renfaire so more time to write. I am hoping in fact to have this story done before the faire, hopefully.

Now you might think I am insane but I am going ahead and starting another J/S as I write this. The idea just came to my head so if you wish to read it the first chapter should be up later tonight.

Disclaimer: Nope don't own it, never have!