I'm so sorry I haven't updated in soo long, I had writers block then the flu etc. Anyway here is the next chapter hopefully the next one will follow shortly.
I tried to get the story moving again in this one, not sure if I did. I promise the next few chapters will have more action.
Thank you for all those that reviewed.
Chapter 11
Sarah couldn't really remember the drive home. A car had picked up her and Titania, looking inconspicuous in a pair of jeans and a fitted green shirt, and had managed the usually long journey in record time.
They pulled up to the old Victorian house that had been Sarah's childhood home. It was always the same, like a fixed point in time, unchanged and unchangeable. Usually a comforting sight to Sarah now it just reminded her of the childish dreams that were now broken but she couldn't let go of.
Karen had greeted them at the door, sharing a look with the incognito High Queen after she seeing how gaunt Sarah looked.
"Well you're just in time for a late breakfast. Toby's should be back from school just after three, he's looking forward to seeing you again. Come in." She bustled, it was her defence mechanism, she could be a good hostess on autopilot while her mind ran the changes in Sarah.
Titania behaved like the perfect guest, picking up on Karen's shaky mood, as they sat at the large kitchens breakfast bar, Jay sleeping in his carry cot. Sarah sat eating her pancakes in silence, not even tasting them really, when she had finished she just sat staring at her empty plate.
When the small talk with 'Tania' had come to an end and Karen couldn't stand the silence any more she said, "Sarah why don't you go take your things up to your room, I'll keep an eye on the little one." She suggested, amazed when Sarah rose immediately and grabbed her bag and left the room.
"You see why I didn't want to leave her alone." Titania said as they heard the young woman mount the stairs.
"What happened?" Karen let her worry show.
"Heartbreak." was the short reply.
"You said on the phone she had finally met the right man?"
"I don't know the full story." Which was sort of true, "She met him a long time ago, I think, and he made a very big impression, no man since has measured up. They met again recently and he acted like a complete and utter arse."
"What I just saw is more than normal depression."
"Sarah did not have any experience with men and she threw herself wholeheartedly into the relationship. I don't think she was ready, he was an over possessive jerk and I think he forced her to go too fast because he didn't understand."
"What do you mean he didn't understand?"
"From what I understand, She was a...Sarah hadn't ever." Titania wasn't sure how to continue that sentence.
"Of course she has, she must have."
"As I said he made a big impression. The most idiotic thing is that I know the man, he loves Sarah and I mean completely over the moon, crazy in love with her. He just wouldn't admit it, and now he has completely blown it."
Sarah had entered her old room just like she had a million times. Her eyes lingered on all the reminders of her childhood. The Escher prints, the glass music box with the girl in the white gown, the figurine of the Goblin King. The toys that had made the labyrinth feel so familiar, yet despite what had happened the room didn't feel oppressive, it was comforting. Her dream of the labyrinth hadn't been shattered only her dream of it's king.
She felt like rushing over to the mirror and calling her friends but how could she explain what happened to them. Instead she settled for unpacking her small bag into the empty drawers, in the process coming across a small, red leather backed, book.
"Anyway I know she'll be safe with you. I think that being home will snap her out of it. I'll go see how she is." Titania rose from the table and followed Sarah's path up the stairs.
The young woman was sitting just staring into space again, her hand clutched around something. The High Queen looked around the room in amazement. It was small considering the size of the house although everything seemed to have its place but that wasn't what caused her awe. In this room she could feel the magic of Sarah's belief in the faery realm. She wondered if the girl had collected the items before or after her first trip to the Labyrinth.
"When I got back the first time I wasn't even sure it was real." Sarah spoke, breaking the silence, she'd moved over to her vanity. "I thought I'd fallen asleep or something. The whole thing was just a crazy nightmare. Then Hoggle and Ludo and Sir Didymus appeared in the mirror," she touched its surface, "and then in the room behind me." there was a smile on her face. "It had actually happened, I'd spent 11 hours in the Labyrinth and I'd won. I danced with the Goblin King," she lightly brushed her fingers down the music box, "in the dress of my dreams, while he sang to me." she turned the key to hear the familiar tune.
"He sang to you?" Titania was amazed, fae song was almost never heard by mortal ears. Male fae only sang to those they wanted to court seriously, Sarah wouldn't have understood.
"Then he asked me to stay, not to leave him, he didn't see that I had to say no."
"My Step-Son has never been very intuitive."
"I never really left the Labyrinth, not in my head, I suppose now I finally get to grow up and move on."
"Sarah..." The High Queen started.
"It's OK, your Majesty, I'll be alright now. Being home will help. We should get back downstairs to Karen."
"Your Step-Mother is an interesting woman."
"She's not as awful as I used to make out. The whole thing started nine years ago because I thought she was an evil witch and thatToby was the spawn of the devil." Sarah gave a small laugh that did more to take the weight off Titania's mind than the arrival at the house had.
"This Toby sounds like a special boy for you to brave the Labyrinth and its king."
"He was my brother, nobody takes what is mine, not even mullet haired, pretty boys with huge egos." Titania couldn't help but laugh out loud at that. "If you stick around a little while you could meet him, and I can show you my old haunts. Do you really have to disappear so soon?"
"The fae cannot stay too long in the human world. There is too much iron here but a few more hours won't hurt."
The rain had yet to stop, certain parts of the Labyrinth had already begun to flood. The bog of eternal stench had begun to overflow hours ago. The goblins didn't care, they were too busy frolicking in the new mud. The fireys had retreated into a cave deep in their forest and even the pesky fairies had disappeared.
Hoggle and Sir Didymus had found Ludo dripping wet sitting in a puddle staring up at the sky, his brows brought together in confusion. They took him back to Hoggle's and now he sat by the small fire creating a puddle on the floor. The three friends sat in silence unsure of what to do now, still waiting for Sarah to call for them.
When Sarah re-entered the kitchen Karen could see the change in her body language. She seemed more self-possessed but her eyes still seemed haunted and that worried her step-mother.
Titania spent the morning wandering the centre of town with Sarah. Everyone seemed pleased to see the young woman and greeted her warmly. "The hazards of coming from a small town." she explained.
The High Queen enjoyed coffee at the local caf and home made ice cream. She enjoyed walking around without the pomp and circumstance of Avalon and her court, to pretend she was just a mortal woman with no responsibilities, being with Sarah made it easy.
After lunch Sarah took Titania to the park where she had rehearsed plays as a child. They had been seated on a bench for some time before Sarah spoke.
"This is where I would spend most of my time."
The park was completely secluded from the modern world, full of trees and greenery. "It is a truly inspiring place." Titania agreed trying to draw Sarah into conversation. Talking seemed to help the distraught woman and the High Queen wished to hear more about Sarah and Jareth.
"I would recite plays and novels for hours on end. Shakespeare was a favourite, A Midsummer Nights Dream especially,
"I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again:
Mine ear is much enamour'd of thy note;
So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape;
And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me
On the first view to say, to swear, I love thee."
Sarah was a compelling actress, even in the short speech Titania could see the young woman's talent. "Dear William always did have a way with words." The passage that Sarah had recited struck a chord in Titania, it fit the situation with her step-son perfectly, as well as being attributed to her own character in the play.
"It must have been here where Jareth first saw me, reciting some play or other, there was a white owl that used to perch on top of that obelisk over there." Sarah reached into her handbag and pulled out the copy of the 'Labyrinth'. "I was sent this for my 15th Birthday we never figured out who it came from."
"This book gave you the idea to call out to the Goblin King?"
"I never thought it would actually work."
"As a mortal you are rare, to have enough belief to call a fae to you."
They lapsed into silence again, Sarah content to just take in the atmosphere and Titania not wanting to force the issue.
It was just after three o'clock when they returned to the house. Little Jay was waking up from his nap and Karen was glad to hand the child back to his adoptive mother for his afternoon feed. Titania was helping Karen make afternoon tea.
Toby burst through the front door,not long after their return, dumping his school things at the bottom of the stairs.
"Mom? Is she here yet? Is she here yet?" He yelled rapidly, running through to the Kitchen. "Sarah!" The blond child ran straight to his sister hugging her waist fiercely.
"Tobes, be careful I'm holding the baby here." Sarah couldn't keep the huge smile from her face.
"Sorry Sarah." He apologised immediately, loosening his grip. "They said you were coming home." He said cryptically before looking up at the High Queen of the Seelie Court, his face showing awe.
"Toby, this is my friend, Tania." Sarah said indicating to Toby with her eyes that whatever he saw in the woman was not to be mentioned to Karen.