A/N: I'm probably going a very wrong route here, but it seems that my 2 betas are extremely too busy right now to beta. I've been working another fandom at the same time, but will NOT neglect this one. I have a sequel planned, so I just can't! So, this chapter has been sitting on my hard drive for months…and it's due time it's been uploaded, just to show the readers and reviewers that I am going on this full speed. Again, this chapter has NOT been beta'd (that's okay, it'll look like a lot of other stuff here on you probably won't even notice – lol).

Enjoy!

Chapter 13 – The Ball

"Sit still, girl. I'll pull the combs tighter if you keep fidgeting like you are." Sophie said, holding bobby pins in her mouth and fierce, razor-like metal combs in her hands.

"I'm sorry, Miss Sophie. I'm just very nervous." Sarah whispered, grinding her teeth as her scalp was poked again, with the wretched comb.

"What in the Underground, for? It's not your big night, missy. His majesty should be the one who is nervous for the evening. All those guests he has to welcome as they come and show their respects to the new future queen of the Underground. Although, he must be used to it, with all the balls and parties he throws. I will admit though," she began, forcing another comb under Sarah's forever teased hair, "he's taking it very well. He's not acting like a man about to get married. He's been very calm and collected since the day her father announced it."

Sarah tried to look interested in what Miss Sophie was saying to her, but she couldn't forget the pain with every prick of the biting combs. She wasn't sure if being in a room with him again, or sitting there getting cut up with hair combs was a worse torture. Thinking back, the combs might not be so bad.

"Well, after a bit of work, I will say that you do, Sarah, look quite stunning. Lord Thaddeus will be proud to have you on his arm, tonight." Sophie said, smiling at her young assignment through the reflection of the mirror before her.

"Thank you, Miss Sophie." She replied, keeping her voice low, just in case she might spot a place somewhere in her mess of tresses that another pin or comb might fit.

Sarah stood from her seat, taking a quick glance back at her keeper, to make sure she didn't have a horrible look that she had stood without permission. Sophie gestured her to the mirror to take a look at herself and see the portrait of beauty she claimed Sarah to be. With a subtle turn to look at her hair, she had to admit to herself that she did look like something out of a fantasy.

Sarah ran her hands over the skirt of her dress to smooth it out, admiring the small beads and embroidery stitched into the pale blue overskirt of her dark blue velvet dress. The dress hid several layers of crinoline beneath it to give that ball gown appearance. It was fitted around her slender waist, with purple accents of more stitched patterns. Stiff as it carried her form on up over her bust, the arms were off the shoulder, but long sleeves covered her with pointed edges over the wrists.

Sophie once again came at her with one last final touch. From her small hands hung a beautiful necklace that looked like a silver and opal chandelier. The clasp on the back looked like it had more teeth on it, but the beauty of the piece surpassed her threshold for pain and willingly sat back down I the chair to allow Miss Sophie to put it on her.

"Oh, Miss Sophie, this necklace is beautiful. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. And it's heavy!" she said, running a finger over the dripping jewels that were now placed around her throat.

"His Majesty gave me a jewelry box to put in your room for you to wear. This was one of the most boring pieces in there. I didn't want to put anything on you that would take away from the gown." She said, pulling the necklace to its last available clasp.

Sarah refrained from choking from the tug on the chain, trying to suppress her surprise that this was a boring piece and that this was also from the King.

Wow. If this is what a houseguest gets, I can only imagine what his fiancé would be wearing

A knock on the door alerted the two ladies that Tad was ready to escort Sarah to the party. Miss Sophie went to the door, greeting Lord Thaddeus with formality and allowed him to enter her room.

He stepped in wearing a royal blue coat, trimmed with layers of lace around the cuffs and collar. Black pants and boots hid his legs and a purple shirt peeked out from beneath the charming coat. His eyes were deep and brown and Sarah almost thought she saw purple and black colors brushed through his hair. He gave her a kind smile, when she took a look at him, realizing that he had dressed to match her.

"Sophie, I think Sarah and I will be fine, now. Thank you for helping her prepare. You may be excused." Tad gestured towards the door, ready to close it behind her as she left.

Sophie gave him a lift of an eyebrow, squinting her eyes as if trying to see through to him what he was thinking. After all her hard work on that girl, he was wise not to rustle up her hair or wrinkle that dress before the party. Otherwise, goblin tongues will fly with vicious rumors and though Sophie was a proud woman, she hated to see any of her work of arts go unkempt.

"Trust me, Sophie, I will not touch her. Nor will I touch her hair that looks like you spent hours on for her. Good night, Sophie. She'll ring you later this evening, if she needs you." Tad said, a bit sardonic, appeasing the woman with what she might want to hear.

He'd known Sophie for a very long time, and knew that she did her job very well. She always kept her stand on preserving her girls in fashion, etiquette and virtue. That's what she was hired for – to keep Sarah together.

Tad shut the door and spun back around to see Sarah, "Sarah, you look absolutely radiant. Men are going to see you tonight and wish they were with you. Wow, and you being my escort will only make me look better." He teased. "I'll bet even the King will be speechless when you come into the room."

"Then, maybe I should change." Sarah worried, her hands repeatedly smoothed out our unwrinkled skirt out of nerves, "Tad, I don't want to draw attention of any sort while I'm there. I feel terrible for even going, it's his party! It's his engagement party for crying out loud. I don't have a place there."

"Sure you do. You're my date!" he smiled, revealing a hint of his sharp canine teeth. "By you going will show the King that you want to be friends. It'll make things easier in the transition, when he decides to come off his high horse to finally see that you're not a threat."

"A threat?"

"Not a threat, bad choice. I mean, you both need to break down that hierarchy between challenger and challengee. That was several years ago, and you both are different people now."

"But-"

"Nothing more, Sarah. Come on." He ushered her, taking her hand in his and leaving her bedroom before she even opened her mouth to try and protest anything further in a losing battle.

They arrived back downstairs, with Sarah counting each and every step descending to the opened verandah she had been to earlier that day. About twenty steps away, before reaching the floor, she saw several people congregating around the halls, leaning against the walls, and socializing with their fellow Fey.

Tad stopped a few steps short before the floor and offered Sarah his arm, before entering the party. He looked over at her, watching as her eyes focused ahead of her before the sea of strange faces making up a proper fey court. Tad saw that she was taking subtle deep breaths, calming herself before she continued down with him. Her cheeks appeared to be a flushed, giving her a darker color on her cheeks beneath the rose colored rouge Sophie had applied on her. Her porcelain skin sparkled under the light of the candelabra that hung from the wall behind them, not displaying any imperfections that she might just stand to be something of a perfect human being.

She's a beautiful girl, but she's not mine to claim. He thought to himself as he followed the jerky movements of her pupils dash from left to right, taking it all in. She's just not my type.

Sarah looked over at him, catching him in deep thought next to her.

"Is everything, okay?" she whispered, feeling a bit self-conscious at the moment.

He gave a light nod and a small smile, "Everything's fine. Are you ready? I'm sure you'll have no problem being wonderful."

Her brow began to quiver with worry, when Tad cut her off, again, before saying anything.

"You'll be fine. We'll get a drink as soon as they pass by, alright?" he whispered, confirming her.

That perked her up a little, knowing that beyond the sea of fair skinned, light haired fey there lied a bar with her favorite concoction. Or, they were just going to catch a tray of champagne flutes as the glided by.

Sarah held her breath and allowed Tad to lead her down the final few steps that lay before them. He held her arm close to him as she was hooked onto his elbow, smiling to the people that looked in their direction. As Tad led her through the people, giving hellos and welcomes as he carried on through the crowd, Sarah looked around the place with eyes of a child seeing Santa's workshop for the first time.

The way everything was pulled together, gave the place a timeless elegance to it. The ceiling was filled with small little lights, compliments of the light bugs and their reflection off the fairy wings, as they nursed on the hanging nectar buds. The torches burned strong around the walls and the fourth wall that was non-existent, emptied out into a lush garden with white and red flowers in perfect bloom, giving off a tranquil aroma that caused the senses to relax and make you slightly light headed. The tables were scattered alongside the walls, leaving open areas to dance as the magical symphony played through the air.

The air was sweet and fresh and the guests seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. From across the room, Athena waved to her, while standing next to a young, dark haired man. He seemed quite taken with her, and Athena worked her charm in playing the "hard-to-get-pretend-like-there-are-others-more-interesting" game on the man. From behind her, she heard Liam and his heavy laugh, and turned to see him with great enthusiasm with telling a story to a group of older men that circled him.

"Champagne?" Tad asked, breaking her absorbing concentration, and handed Sarah a flute.

Sarah exhaled a breath of relief, as if the Holy Grail had just been found and presented to her. She graciously took the glass and before they could make a toast, Sarah had finished it.

Tad's eyes widened in surprise when the bottom of her beverage was reached and he let out a chuckle, as if he had just discovered the Wizard of Oz wasn't as powerful as everyone thought.

"I guess we'll need another for you, then?" he smiled, taking another glass from a floating tray of champagne.

Realizing that she wasn't using the proper etiquette that Miss Sophie or her mother had taught her, she bowed her head in teasing shame, "I'm sorry. I'm just very nervous, right now."

Tad knew the heavy weight on her, remembering the discovery of their Divine Signal that both she and Jareth had shared. If Sarah had known the actual truth behind whatever she and the king, if infact, had shared, she probably wouldn't be standing at that moment. For now, his mission was to make sure she was as relaxed and as beautiful as possible. He didn't expect Jareth to come to his senses that evening, or in the next week, but it might at least help, if Sarah remained that teasing and delicious reminder of what could be. Or, by the Signals, what is meant to be.

"Sarah, my dear, take a breath and just take in the tranquil aroma of the blossoms in the garden." He soothed, trying to help her set her mind at ease.

She looked over at him, listening to his voice of bullshit and began to crack a smile. As he continued on, explaining "the beauty of the airborne symphony, parading around our heads like a mist" she lost it. She leaned into him, trying her best to suppress her giggles, knowing full well that now he was just making it up to make her laugh. He went on and on, using elongated adjectives left and right and when he started to describe the sexual deviance of the metal chair that sat before them, she couldn't take it.

She let out a lovely, friendly laugh that forced to grin from ear to ear that made Tad's heart flutter. She was beautiful when she laughed, as she was a beautiful person all around. He started to admit that he was probably going to regret letting her leave, if she didn't succeed in her task. It had been a long time that Tad had had a friend he could be silly with, especially a lady. He had gone on and on, pretending to be something of an aristocrat, courting ladies that didn't in the least appeal to him the way they should of. His secrets were dark and to some, sinful, and that's why he kept his personal life to only himself, with a few, very rare, exceptions.

Her laugh filled the room softly and by the very cadence of it, it carried to the ears of a King, standing by a pillar, encircled by a group of gorgeous men and women. Alongside of him, a pretty, petite blonde held his arm with pride and innocence.

Isabelle stood there, her arm protectively around her fiancé, accepting compliments and best wishes from her closest courts. Her hair was wavy and long, and touched the top of the bustle on her green dress. Her face was round like a cherub, with big bright blue eyes peering left and right as others admired them as a couple. She was the picture of virtue, as she smiled coy and asked questions if she didn't understand what people were saying. She gave a light tilt of her head when being explained to, about whatever subject matter was on topic. She batted her eyes for her future husband, keeping him close as if he was her only lifeline in the world. If he stepped away for only a few minutes, she immediately latched onto someone else, as if she was far out at sea, with only a buoy to hold onto.

Jareth looked up from his false "thank yous" and "we're very happys" to peer over the many heads that stood around him. His eyes began to scan over the crowd, checking each face and any woman with chocolate brown hair. On the other side of the room, holding two glasses to their lips were Thaddeus and Sarah. They appeared to have just made a toast and he must have said something witty, once again, as it caused her pretty mouth to turn into a smile, soon erupting into a giddy laugh. His brow narrowed a bit, curious to what his First Man might have said to her, which caused her to be so elated with joy at that moment.

The king looked away, as if seeing something he didn't wish to view any longer, but Sarah remained that hindering question on his mind. Had they truly felt the Divine Signal, were they supposed to be together, and why was he foolishly making the decision to marry the small blonde female attached to his arm like a leech?

Then he remembered: politics

The only reason that he was marrying Lady Isabelle, daughter of King Alliot, was to link the two kingdoms together. It was something that Jareth had wanted for quite a long time, a larger kingdom to rule so to better his bloodline, his reputation and prove himself to the people below him. He was a man that was determined to get what he wanted, and if marrying another king's daughter brought him closer to his goal, so be it. Isabelle would serve as a good prize as well as good breeding. She was fair, blonde and beautiful and she would compliment his genes, nicely.

As his eyes returned to the sipping couple over yonder, he couldn't help but watch the way Sarah's hair would fall forward, hiding the soft milky white shoulders that held her beautiful dress up. A dress that was tailored for her, many years ago. Around her neck bestowed an antique piece, belonging to his mother. Smiling to himself, he admired his mother's jewels, once again, around a worthy neck. They were very precious to him that he would never allow anyone as absent-minded as Isabelle to wear them. At least with Tad around her, he would make sure that nothing would be damaged or lost. That would make two very important pieces, Tad's responsibility that evening.

Jareth was pulled away from his admiration by a tugging on his jacket, and looking down, he saw that Isabelle had excused everyone around them so that they might be alone.

She leaned up, standing on very small slippered feet, to better whisper into her fiancé's ear, "Darling, who is that girl over there with Thaddeus?" she asked, following his line of sight to the opposite side of the room.

Jareth shook his head, taking a sip of his own glass and putting his attention back on the blonde woman at his side, "I'm not sure. It must be one of Thaddeus's latest concubines."

"Oh," she sighed. "She's rather beautiful, isn't she?" Isabelle commented, oblivious to the truth.

Jareth put on a new mask and pretended not to notice, focusing his attentions on his future wife, so that Sarah would be something she'd forget in a few moments. He doted on her when she needed something, catering to her every whim, doing anything to avoid the possibility of her wanting to meet Sarah.

As she preoccupied herself with some other friends, Jareth excused himself for a few moments, wishing to get away from all the many blessings he was receiving on behalf of his future union. It was giving Jareth a bit of a nauseous stomach, especially when the idea of his Divine Signal with Sarah came back to mind.

The king made his way around the perimeter of the room, his eyes fixed on the pair watching all the other spectators in the room, including that of his fiancé'. He watched as Sarah's face tilted a bit as he admired his future wife, giving a light smile as if she approved of his choice. But, then her giggles returned to that of her date and the two partook in another glass of champagne that floated in their direction.

"Sarah, are you alright?" Tad asked, watching the lady on his arm resting her eyes on the now spotted king, on the arm of the pretty blonde.

For a moment, Sarah had no words. She froze the minute she saw the king, standing there with the arrogance she remembered. He wore a black coat with purple rhinestone accents, a crisp white shirt with a mandarin collar (no ruffles, this time) and fitting black pants and boots, around his toned legs. His hair fell over his tall collar, reflecting traces of black and purple highlights throughout. He was a vision that haunted Sarah's memories for years and years, and even though she should run in terror, thinking her knees might give out, she stayed put. Handsome, arrogant, and too many, charming, but to her, he represented a closure and an answer to her dreams. He was her mission and she had to overcome this gut feeling deep down to repent her deal and see what they were capable as friends, regardless, but that was only a childish dream she once had. Today, as an adult, she would approach him as nothing but a way out of haunted nightmares. He was nothing but a challenge, a goal, and a kind of revenge.

Damn, if he wasn't so handsome standing there amongst all those gorgeous women. He was an icon, a dark prince, a man to be reckoned with…and he just walked away.

"Where'd he go?" Sarah asked, shaking her head from a stare past beyond where he used to be standing.

Tad followed her sightline back to where the king was standing, and looked around a few feet left and right. Isabelle had already latched onto one of her girlfriends and continued to talk, as if to only hear her own voice.

"She's very pretty, isn't she?" Sarah replied, as if deep in a trance that the pretty blonde represented every trophy a man wanted.

Tad scrounged his nose a bit in her direction and then leaned into Sarah, as she continued to watch, "I'll let you in on a secret," he began, letting out a small chuckle, indicating that the rush of champagne was hitting him, "It's all in the exterior."

Sarah snapped her head back to look at her friend, trying to suppress a giggle, "What? What do you mean?"

Tad gestured back towards Isabelle, shaking his head as if he felt sorry for Isabelle's condition, "She's wonderful to look at," he began, and then faced Sarah once again, "But, dumb as a box of rocks."

Sarah nearly snorted her champagne out her nose at the sudden character change in Tad. She bit her lip to control her sudden outburst of laughter, trying to comprehend what Tad was teasing about. She tried to deny his statement, but Tad was dead serious, funny as he tried to be, that she was all looks and no brains.

"I guess that's how Jareth likes his women," Tad joked, covering his mouth as it ran away from him in his hazy state of mind.

The two stood there, arm in arm, making jokes at the guest of honor's expense, feeling quite shameful at the same time. Sarah felt relaxed as the intoxicants began to surf into her blood, using Tad as a crutch of some sort. However, every subtle shift she made, she realized that she was being used as the same for Tad.

Sarah challenged his open statement and added, "How's that?"

"Pretty and unintelligent." He snickered.

"I'm glad to know that my personal life remains a joke to you, Thaddeus." A deep, charismatic voice spoke behind him.

Sarah nearly fell over as Tad began to adjust himself to present a better First Man, beginning to stutter a few words out to redeem himself with the present company.

"Don't bother Thaddeus, now is not the time to explain yourself. I'll take it into consideration that due to your lack of tolerance for alcohol, that all these things are being said in stride to impress a certain young lady." Jareth chided, keeping his voice low so only the two could hear them.

Sarah cleared her throat, also trying to project a better character, but she was not the guilty party making rude comments about the king's future wife.

"Miss Williams, as much as it may be out of character for you to hear me say this, but you do look quite beautiful this evening." The king commented and followed custom as he took her hand in his to raise it to his lips. His eyes lingered a few minutes on her neck, admiring the antique piece again, hang with such nobility. "It's very thoughtful of you to grace us with your presence."

Sarah paused for a moment with his sincere words, but tried hard to see through this false exterior and deep into the inner Jareth, where she knew he might have been waiting to say something quite crude when others weren't so close in proximity. But, when she looked into his eyes, she lost a breath for a moment and saw that he spoke the truth. His words, actions and appearance gave that of a genuine man, at that moment.

Sarah quickly realized that her lips had parted with a moment of astonishment and closed them quickly, replying, "Tad insisted that I come. I don't feel that I have a place here at your engagement party."

The king paused for a moment, understanding the irony of her words, but knew that they should be true. "I respect your feeling of displacement. Maybe I should add," he quickly glanced over at Tad, who was hanging on his every word, "That it is I, who am glad that you graced us with your presence."

Tad remained still, he was shocked with the way the king was finally treating her, but didn't want to move a muscle that would throw of his train of thought. The idea of the king being as kind to her, of all places, meant that something did, indeed, happen between them that night. He knew that the king was too proud to admit so, even in private, but maybe this was his way in showing a bit of truth to it.

Sarah never broke eye contact with him, and softly replied, "You're welcome."

For the moment, all around them felt silenced. As Jareth still held Sarah's hand, an exhilarated rush came over her, tickling all her senses. Similar to what had happened the other night, this happened while he touched her hand, sending small little shockwaves through her body, causing her eyes to flutter and her breath to quicken. Jareth began to feel the bellowing sensation meet his blood as well and quickly let go of her hand, so it couldn't work its mysterious magic any further while in public. It was a definite confirmation that they had indeed experienced the Divine Signal together, and of all places, this was probably the worst timing ever.

Sarah stared quite intently on Jareth, as if waiting for a small explanation of why this kept happening, but she could see that he questioned it as well. The surge of energy extinguished itself the moment Jareth broke contact with her. All the hair on the back of her neck calmed down, the increased heart rate returned to normal and her mind returned from the fuzziness.

"Sarah, see to it that Tad does not over do it on the champagne tonight. As much as I believed you to be in his care, I feel that it is he that is in your care, now." Jareth smirked, glancing to his First Man, who remained stiff as a board and mute.

She smiled as she glanced over at the complete state that Tad had put himself in and was happy that it broke up the tension. "Yes, sir. I will."

With one last glance down to Sarah's throat, he bowed his head and excused himself. Sarah's eyes followed him away from them, getting lost in the sea of people that were around them, she assumed that he was returning to his fiancé's side. The champagne rush had returned to her state of mind and couldn't help but blurt out the first thing that came to mind after the moment.

"Wow," her eyes followed the king away, "Sex with him, must be amazing." Referring to the exhilarating rush he gave her when he held her hand for the moment.

Tad had just begun to take a sip from his newly refreshed glass, when her words caught him in surprise and forced him to retract the liquid.

"WHAT!" he questioned, his mouth hanging wide with shock from the words coming from the quiet, easily intimidated by Jareth, Sarah.

Sarah realized what she had just said, and shook her head a bit to clear her mind. She meant what she asked and tried to explain it again, "Seriously. Does he give that invigorating feeling to everyone he comes in contact with? Damn, I felt like my skin was on fire for a minute there," she watched Tad, as if her very words were causing the exit of breath from his lungs.

Tad finally came to and added, "No, Sarah. He doesn't. Not unless,"

"Unless what!"

Tad took a deep breath and calmly walked Sarah to an empty area in a corner, "Not unless, he's doing it on purpose."

"But, why would he do it on purpose? Is he…" a new thought came to mind, "That's son-of-a-bitch, and he's trying to seduce me! That pompous-"

"Possibly, Sarah, but hold on," he paused, putting a hand on her bare shoulder, sending Tad reeling for a moment with the skin on skin contact of such a delicate place, "I don't think he's doing it on purpose." Sarah threw him a look as if saying, 'why else'. "I don't think he would have dropped your hand so quickly, if he was the one in control of it. He would have done something a little bit smoother to end the spell, had he been the one provoking it."

"I don't know. I wouldn't trust him. He knows what he's doing, and after the other night, he sure as hell knows what he's doing."

"Sarah, what do you mean the other night? What happened?"

Her eyes focused on the king, now back on Isabelle's arm, like scathing daggers on her new prey, "When I was left alone with him, something happened. He said he wasn't behind it, but I care to differ. Just like right now, my skin felt tingly and my heart began to flutter a bit. Almost as if I put a trance over myself. But, now that it's happening again, he has to have some sort of alternative plan. What an ass-"

"Sarah, wait. There's something you should know, then." Tad stopped her, putting a finger to her lips before anything further was said.

Sarah's eyes stilled on Tad, waiting for a fitting explanation why she shouldn't verbally bash him. Bowing his head and quickly removing his fingers from her lips, his hand dropped down to take her hand. He pulled her with him as they exited the party, winding through beautiful people, taking an interest to the fleeing couple.

Tad was filled with excitement, almost giddiness that the truth had come out and now Sarah would have no choice, but to accept it and move on with Tad plan. It was a deal, yes, but it was also a plan for the deal to unfold into something else, something deeper, and something unworldly.

He kept a tight grip on her hand, pulling Sarah behind him down stairs and hallways. He broke into a light jog, as if giving her the truth was going to solve the problem of all the walls they had built around them. He listened to the clicking of her shoes on the stone pathways, her dress billowing behind him and paying no attention to the fact that he was physically exhausting this girl.

"Tad, this is the library. Why are we here?" she asked, closing the door behind her, and watching Tad rush to a tall bookshelf faster than a man on fire.

Tad mumbled to himself as a finger traced the spines of the aged books put in their place. He searched for the book that he had read the truth from and was anxious to give the read to Sarah.

Sarah called his name a few times, but he seemed to be in his own little world. Finally, he found whatever it was he was looking for and quickly flipped to the appropriate writings. Once found, he quickly handed the book over to Sarah, and pointed to where she must begin.

Sarah took a few minutes to oogle at the vintage old books, wanting to ask several questions about it, when Tad cut her off to start reading. She rolled her eyes and began reading from the point where Tad had indicated.

Sarah read on, starting to take in each word, but not really focusing on its intent. She read the beginning, just like every story before this one, and allowed her eyes to glance back at Tad now and then, to see him standing there, staring at her with a fierce stare.

Sarah sighed and then, as if being shown something pertaining to her past, forced herself to sit down.

She reread every word, making sure that she didn't miss anything that was written before her. She rested the book on her lap and began to stretch out her fingers from the heavy weight of holding the book. Her wrists had started to weaken and her hands began to stiffen as she read on. She continued to stop as she reread a passage and then slowly placed her hands alongside of her, to prevent her from falling over on the couch.

Sarah felt her heart began to slowly pick up speed and then turn into a gradual hard thumping in her chest. Her breath began to quicken a bit, but she let out no sounds. Her eyes finished reading the last sentence for the third time and drifted off to where Tad stood, staring intently at his boots. Slowly, with as much strength as she could, she summed the energy to look up at her friend, her mouth open, her eyes worried and pleading and finally asked the only question that could focus in her mind.

"Why?" she whispered.