The impatient tapping of Jareth's boot upon the stone floors were all that sounded in the empty throne room. He had earlier sent a summons for Duane to give him his final answer, so that he could finally return to the Troll Kingdom. It had been fully a week since he had suddenly appeared in the Labyrinth, and the Goblin King, his head resting on a hand as he continued with the steady tapping rhythm, couldn't wait to have that little snot off of his lands.
From the ramblings that he had gotten from Schwick, Duane had mostly stayed inside of the cabin where Jareth had placed him, only venturing outside two or three times. Yet it was the 'two or three' times that worried Jareth, as apparently Schwick would loose sight of him for only a moment only to see him wandering around quite a few paces ahead of him. Though the most peculiar thing was that Schwick swore, on threat of even a bogging, that Duane's scent had changed. Not by much, mind you, but enough to make the little goblin question it. It was a curious thing, but he put it in the deeper part of his mind, as he had no actual evidence that Duane had stepped out of line in any way.
He would agree to the alliance with the Troll Kingdom, though he did not exactly like it, only because it seemed the wisest course of action available to him. To deny Lord Malakili would be a great insult and most likely start a war, which he did not need at the present time. Nor at any time, actually, but certainly not at a time when Sarah was in the midst of being trained in order to defend The Underground and Aboveground.
No. A truce would be for the greater good, and hopefully there were only honest intentions behind it.
He hoped.
He came out of his thoughts when the doors suddenly swung open and Duane, at last, made his appearance, strutting confidently to the foot of the stairs that held Jareth and his throne, and bended to one knee with his head down.
Though he could not see Duane's face, Jareth was certain of the small grin plastered on his lips, his entire being spoke of over-confidence. But a small smile erupted on Jareth's own face as he thought that this boys overly stuffed ego would most likely get him into a rather sticky situation where his confidence would be of no aid to him.
Wiping his face of any emotions, Jareth spoke at last.
"Rise, Duane."
He did as he was told and rose to his feet, raised his gaze to Jareth's and continued to remain silent.
'Impudent little snot though he may be, at least he still has some manners' Jareth thought.
"I have come to a conclusion for Lord Malakili. As he as outstretched his hand to the Goblin Kingdom in the name of peace, I, King Jareth, accept his offer of brotherhood. I have signed the treaty and now offer it to you to take back to Lord Malakili. May your journey be safe and swift, and may the treaty find Lord Malakili in good health."
Jareth stood and descended the few steps from the throne and held out the rolled up parchment, now emblazoned with the symbol of the Goblin Kingdom, to Duane.
He accepted it with a nod of his head. "Very good, your majesty. Lord Malakili will be very pleased of your answer, and I shall take my leave within the hour so as to let you get back to your rulings. I offer my sincere gratitude that you have allowed my presence within your kingdom, and pray that you have a long and mighty rule."
He then offered his hand to Jareth in what was supposed to be only good manners from a guest within the hosts lands, but Jareth rather suspected that it was false. Nonetheless Jareth reached out a gloved hand to accept Duane's, shook it roughly once, then retracted it. All the while he had to suppress the sneer that was trying to break the calm facade of his features.
Duane, seemingly amused, nodded his head once more before turning on his boot and leaving the throne room.
After the throne room doors clicked soundly, Schwick stuck his head out from around the corner of the throne, blinking his large yellow eyes at the spot Duane had been not moments before.
"Schwick follow, Majesty?" he asked, coming to stand beside his king and looking back and fourth between him and the doors.
A moment of silence passed before Jareth inclined his head. "Yes. And once he leaves, gather Spittle, Quark and Crummis to investigate the guest cottage near the western gardens where Lord Duane was staying. If anything is amiss, I want to be informed immediately."
The little goblin nodded his head. "Yes, Your Majesty! Schwick understands!" he said before scurrying off to do his king's bidding.
'One problem down. Now, next on the agenda was ... Oh yes! Sarah has already begun her training with Mother, and I wanted a front row seat to watch her progress.'
A predatory smirk appeared on his face as he made his way out of the throne room and into the many halls of his castle and through the familiar corridors, his eyes shining with the contentment that he felt. Having Sarah back in the Labyrinth and them actually getting along was a dream that he once thought he would never see realized, a mere fantasy of his imagination. But luck seemingly was on his side as they were getting along better than he could have ever hoped for, and though there was a great threat looming in the distance, he could scarcely be bothered to care. As long as Sarah was near, he was a content man.
Sarah never ceased to amaze and fascinate him, her wild imagination, thirst for knowledge, quick wit and cunningness drew him to her like moths to a flame. She had been right that day when she told him that he had no power over her, for it was quite the other way around. It was she that held great power over him. At one time he had thought he had made his feelings and intentions quite clear to her, he thought that she knew just how much power she actually had over him. But he was mistaken.
Fueled by desperation he had bound her to him, which in retrospect was probably not the wisest move he had ever made, but his heart shattered at the thought of loosing her. Somewhat pacified by the knowledge that she would return one day he had allowed her to return to the Aboveground, until such a time that he deemed fit for her return. More than once he had wavered in his resolve to break the spell that bound her to him, to just let her forget the Labyrinth and its king and live a normal life in the Aboveground.
But he was a selfish man and could never bring himself to break the only connection that he had left to her, couldn't bear the thoughts of her never returning. Though neither could he force himself to activate the magical bond and bring her back to him against her will, for she would only think worse of him for it.
But then it had all been taken out of his hands and she was returned to him without him forcing his hand, and he was both elated and quite anxious about the entire ordeal. They had never really seen eye to eye, and his mischievous nature only seemed to confuse and infuriate her. But he held hope that she had had the chance to grow and blossom in the years since her departure from the Underground, and certainly she had, in more ways than one.
Jareth smiled and mentally praised whatever Gods there were that deemed him fit to a second chance to obtain Sarah's heart, and have her return his feelings in kind. Minus the whole prophecy bit, things were going swimmingly. They had only slightly argued before coming to an understanding of sorts, and though she did not quite return his affections, neither did she shun them.
But he understood that she needed time to deal with all the changes that had occurred, needed time to figure out if she wanted him as much as he wanted her, or if he was doomed to be but a valuable friend to her forever. While he quite detested the idea of it he would rather be at her side as a companion rather than loose her altogether, better to have something rather than nothing at all.
Ah. But he was getting ahead of himself. She hadn't decided yet. There was still hope to have her as his queen, Duane was finally gone, and there was training to be had.
'And it's just going on noon. So far the day is proving to be quite lovely, let's just hope nothing spoils it.'
"Concentrate Sarah, you've almost got it." Titania encouraged, a wide smile set on her lips as a faint outline of a handheld mirror appeared in the palm of Sarah's hands in front of her. Sarah's magic was very close to its destination now, probably just around her elbows. It would only be a matter of whether Sarah would pass out from exhaustion before she could successfully get it into her hands.
Sarah squashed her eyelids together as she concentrated, a thin film of sweat appearing on her brow as she tried to push her magic from her center, through her arms and into her hands. It was a tedious process, and therefore a slow one, but she was nothing if not stubborn and determined.
The slow trickle of magic up her arm made her skin break out in gooseflesh, and on more than one occasion, the sensation had distracted her well enough for her concentration to break and her magic slipped back down to pool in her center, leaving her annoyed and more than a little exhausted for her efforts.
But she barely noticed it now, so deep in concentration was she.
She had been warned that the first time for the magic to be channeled through her would be the worst, as she had to open 'channel's, so to speak, for the magic to run through firstly. And the only way to open these channel's, was to force the magic through her. She rather thought of these channel's as veins in her body, special networks for her magic to flow through. At the moment, they were clogged and sealed shut, having no prior use. But now she was attempting to open and clear the pathways so that her magic could run more freely.
It would take a while for her not to have to use so much concentration to use her magic, even with the passages open and clear, but it would run a lot more smoothly after this.
'C,mon...c'mon! I've only got a bit farther left!' she chanted to herself, her breath coming out in short huffs as she continued on her task.
Slowly but surely she managed to open the channel's around her elbow's, and was now coming up the rest of her arms. She was so terribly close! She shut her mind off to everything else but the task at hand, focusing only on the now very short distance between her elbows and her hands.
Jareth chose that moment to wander silently into view, looking from where Sarah sat in the middle of the courtyard to where his mother stood to her side, watching with pride as Sarah attempted to complete the first phase of her training.
He decided to hang back for the moment, not wanting to disrupt such a crucial part of the process. Any noise or sensation may very well distract her and make her restart her progress, and would not bode very well for any points he may have earned in the past few days. For now he was content to watch from a distance, smiling peacefully as once again he felt just how content he had become since her arrival.
At last, with a final grunt of exertion, Sarah's magic finally opened the last bit of the blocked channel and pooled freely into her hand, creating a small bronze antique looking mirror.
"You've done it, Sarah! Look!" Titania exclaimed happily, bending down to affectionately rub Sarah's now slumped shoulders.
She opened tired but happy eyes to look at the small mirror in her hands, and couldn't help the tiny sob of relief from escaping her lips. Shifting the mirror slightly and looking into its glassy surface, Sarah was only mildly surprised to find Jareth's smiling face looking back at her.
Turning around, she felt her excitement overpower her fatigue, and smiled broadly at him.
"Look, Jareth! I've done it! I've actually done it! I've made something with my very own magic!"
He walked the rest of the distance to her, steadying her when she got up on wobbly legs, and returned her smile.
"Well done, Sarah. I told you that you could do it."
Too happy to think about anything other than her accomplishment, Sarah threw her arms around Jareth's neck and buried her face into his chest.
"I did it. I really did it." she whispered, smiling as she felt him return her embrace.
"I knew you could." He murmured into her hair. "After all, it was no ordinary mortal woman who could have solved my Labyrinth."
She chuckled tiredly as she disentangled herself from him, though she left her hands clasped in his and continued to smile broadly up at him. Her joy at her success was nearly doubled as she saw Jareth's pride in her reflected in his eyes for her to see, the fact that he was so proud of her accomplishment made her absolutely giddy. And to her astonishment, she realized that though she was over joyed at Titania's obvious pride in her achievement, Jareth's was one she sought after.
She wanted Jareth to be proud of her, wanted to do most anything to always have that look of obvious pride for her on his face, displayed for all the world to see. She wanted to impress him and be his equal, to stand on the same footing as him in every way.
The facts made Sarah's mind stutter with the implications of such emotions. Did she truly want to go beyond the boundaries of friendship with this man someday? Sure, they had been getting along great. But to have romantic feelings for him now? Attraction, yes. But she just wasn't sure about the rest of it.
'Slow down, Sarah.' she reprimanded herself. 'Friends can hug each other and want to impress one another, it's not really a big deal. It's normal to want to impress those close to you and have them praise you for your progress, and Jareth is no different.'
But looking up at him, smiling down at her as he was, made her stomach quiver and suddenly she wasn't so sure if it really was that big of a deal or not.
'Though perhaps I might want to distance from him for now, just until I figure out what's what. And besides, my world doesn't revolve around Jareth, I still have studying to do.'
Right. Studying.
She blushed a bit as she took her hands out of Jareth's larger (and warmer, her traitorous mind helpfully pointed out) ones, and looked back to Titania.
"I could have never gotten this far without your guidance, Titania. Which brings me to a question that has been on my mind for the past few days."
Titania nodded that she was listening.
"I would like to come back to Avalon with you when you return, for multiple reasons, of course. Firstly, there was a couple points of interest that I had wanted to pursue in your library. Secondly, I wished to speak with her Majesty Callisto, as I'm sure she is aware of my circumstances and wishes to impart important information to me as well."
"Of course, my dear." Titania smiled. "It would be no trouble at all, you may come and spend all the time that you need in Avalon. You are always welcome. I am to depart after lunch. Is this arrangement agreeable to you, Jareth?"
He hid his frown, but just barely. His heart ached at the thought of being apart from Sarah once again, but she clearly wanted to return back to Avalon.
'So much for my good day' he thought sourly to himself.
"Just for two or three days. Please, Jareth?" Sarah asked, looking up at him pleadingly.
He sighed. He could never refuse her anything before, so why should now be any different? Besides that, he was far less depressed now that he knew she only wanted to leave for a few days and fully intended to return back to him. Though he knew full well she was bonded to him, he had felt a slight panic rise within him at her mentioning leaving. Furthermore, giving her the space she desired would only brighten her thoughts of him. Control and demands were not the way to Sarah's heart, and he would rather set her free then see her trapped in a place that made her unhappy.
"It is. But please limit your visit to no more than 4 days time, as you seem to be grasping your magical ability with little trouble and will be ready to advance rather quickly, I think. The more ground we can cover, the better."
Her gaze softened and he had to wonder if she couldn't hear his rapid heartbeat through his flesh and clothes. By the Gods, this woman was certainly more powerful than she knew.
"Thank you, Jareth. I'll return to the Labyrinth as swiftly as I can" she promised, giving him a chaste kiss on his cheek and bounding off ahead of them towards her room to freshen up before lunch would be served.
Jareth watched her go with a mixture of elation and depression, an odd combination if there ever was one. The next few days were going to pass hellishly slow, and he couldn't help but sigh once more.
A soft hand on his shoulder made him slightly turn his head to see a gently smiling Titania.
"You are on the right path, my son. She respects and is starting to trust you, and giving her space will only strengthen those feelings. A sound structure, while it may take longer to build, will ensure a steady foundation to build upon." she advised wisely, her eyes twinkling much like her sons.
"Thank you, Mother. Though I will admit that her leaving again makes my heart heavy, I am content in the knowledge that she intends to return of her own free will. I am making progress." He grinned cheekily and Titania laughed softly.
"You are" she agreed. "Though had you chosen any other woman, I fear you would not be so lucky. She has forgiven you and overlooked many things that others would be quick to judge and condemn you for, she is truly one of a kind. Do not take her for granted, Jareth."
"Never" he said solemnly.
"Good. Now, be a good boy and escort your dear mother to the dining hall. After all that excitement, I am near famished."
Jareth chuckled and offered his arm to his mother and led them to the dining hall to wait for Sarah, a spring in his step and a lightness in his heart.
After a cheerful lunch, Sarah said her farewells to Jareth, promising him again a swift return, and was whisked away back to Avalon.
After her moment of dizziness cleared, Sarah was able to recognize the room that she now stood in. Titania's private study, where they had taken tea, where Sarah was enlightened to the fact that Jareth had been fascinated by her, and that she was pretty much stuck in the Underground for the rest of her life.
'But I don't regret being here. Not at all' she mused inwardly, smiling as she let her eyes sweep over the room. 'I think I was just always supposed to be here, though I was born in another world, I was destined to end up living here. It just feels ... like home.'
A soft smile lit up her face, and she turned to Titania.
"Thank you for allowing me to return here. Would you mind greatly if I got started straight away in the library?"
"It is no trouble, I assure you. You may of course take your leave, I will have an escort lead you the library and will have you summoned when dinner is served."
Sarah barely had time to voice her thanks when a knock sounded from the door behind her, and a young looking man dressed in formal looking attire with short and spiky golden hair and cerulean eyes bowed before them.
"Your Majesty has summoned me" he stated, his voice warm and rich, like honey.
"Yes. Tristyn, please show our guest to the library."
He bowed. "Of course, Majesty." He turned to Sarah. "Please, follow me."
And with that he turned and started to walk away. Sarah uttered another quick thanks as she hurried after her guide, whose long legs were making it a bit difficult to keep pace with him. He stood maybe about as tall as Jareth, perhaps a inch or two taller, but had less of a build as far as she could tell. And quite unlike Jareth with his wild and unruly mane, Tristyn had his hair cut short, and thus his pointy ears were visible to her curious gaze.
All the Fae she had encountered so far all had long hair that covered their ears, so she found herself unable to tear her gaze from the curious sight of slightly elongated and pointed ears. She had been told that over time her ears would change as well, as well as other possible changes. With the mixture of magic inside of her it was hard to say what other changes may eventually take place, and she was almost afraid to speculate on them.
For instance, Ritsa obviously wasn't born with natural green locks, so that was one of the changes that happened for her. And though there was a distinct difference of magic's between herself and Ritsa, Sarah had to wonder if her hair would also change colors, and if so, to what? If hair could change green down here, then no colors were off limits. For all she knew she could just one day wake up sporting a head full of bright pink hair.
She shuddered at the thought. She liked pink, but didn't really want it for a hair color, thank you very much.
Another possible change were the colors of her eyes, which seemed almost as likely as her ears changing. Every Fae, she was informed, had unique eyes that were different from Fae to Fae. The way Titania had explained it was that it was from the magic within the Fae that made their eyes that way, almost as if they were beautiful marbles with an inner light. It was fascinating actually, and Sarah found herself hoping for that particular change. But again, because of her peculiar magic mixture, one could never be sure until it actually happened.
"Here we are, Miss." Tristyn spoke, breaking Sarah out of her thoughts.
He opened the door for her and then stepped aside, inclining his head slightly to her.
"Thank you" she said as she walked past him, gasping slightly as she took in her new surroundings.
To say it was huge was a gross understatement. It was positively monumental! The room was circular and had three stories of hundreds of tall bookshelves, and a small area on the bottom section with a few tables and chairs to read at. There were shelves that seemed to go on in a complex endless maze, where one could easily get lost. The sight was truly a breathtaking one, but beautiful as it was a small part of her whined about having to wander aimlessly through the massive library to find her query.
She thought about asking Tristyn, as he was still standing outside the door, watching her with what she thought may be interest, but quickly dashed it. She didn't want anybody knowing about the research that she had come here to do. The less people that knew the better, because then the less likely it would be that information could leak out and get distorted, and the less likely it was that a silly fight led to a full scale war. That was something that she definatley didn't need on her conscience.
No, she'd just have to do this the old fashioned way: Looking around.
But before she could start...
"Thanks again, Tristyn. I'll be fine from here" she said, turning around to face him and plastering a smile on her face.
He said nothing for a moment, a moment in which his sparkling cerulean eyes bored into her's, something that unnerved her. She wasn't sure why, it wasn't the same as when Duane had looked at her, but it was as if he were undressing her with his eyes, and she had to fight the urge to cover herself and turn away from him.
But the moment passed quickly, much to her relief, and he merely inclined his head once more before turning and leaving her to her own devices.
'That was weird. The way he looked at me was...' she shivered. She couldn't even properly explain the feeling that his looking at her gave her, only that it made her uneasy.
'Maybe if my eyes change like that, then I could do that trick to'
She shook her head slightly to clear her head, bringing her thoughts back to the matter at hand.
Right. Time to get to work. She had lots of books to find and devour and not a whole lot of time to do so, and everything else would just have to wait. She needed all of her wits present and accounted for if she was going to properly absorb all the knowledge held within these books, she knew that whatever she would find here would be of great importance and she needed to be able to remember it.
She let out a breathy sigh as she scanned the cavernous room before her. She was going to be here for a while...
"Well, better get started or I'll never get finished" she said to herself, rolling up her sleeves and walking towards the nearest bookshelf.
The hours slipped away almost mischievously. Beyond the wide windows, the evening deepened to indigo, then to black, and the candles within the library flared into life. It was hours before someone came to retrieve her from the library, and she was very grateful for the interruption. Her eyes hurt and were slightly blurry, her back ached from leaning over her books, and her head was steadily pounding from pouring over the ancient texts.
Furthermore, the books didn't really provide her with information that she wasn't already privy to. Jareth had already told her the tale of Kor-Tia and his lust for the dark arts, the great war in the east when the ogre's attacked the elves, and eventually leading to Lord Oberon sealing most of the elves magic away.
And there was even less information in the texts about the Duane, former lord of the south. The few pages that were written about him told of his brutal laws and cruel ways, and of course, his murder of the Ogre King and attempt to overthrow the Goblin King.
Sarah frowned. Duane seemed so much like Kor-Tia in his lust for power, like he would sacrifice anything or anyone to get it. Lives to him were expendable and nothing more than a tool for him to use to get what he wanted, nothing but power meant anything to him.
And if anything, Duane was probably more devious and cunning when it came to getting what he wanted. While Jareth was mischievous and tricky, Sarah saw the playfulness behind it. There was no malevolence to his cunning, though she wasn't naive enough to think that he couldn't do so if he needed. But there was nothing playful about the aura that surrounded Duane.
She sighed as she allowed herself to be led out of the library and down towards the dining hall, her thoughts in a chaotic heap.
She still had to see if there were any texts on potions and poisons yet, and her back ached in response to her thoughts. But she was holding onto the hope that she may be able to identify whatever Duane had in his possession a few days ago, because knowing him, it was lethal.
By the time she entered the dining hall, greeted her hosts, and indulged in a pleasant dinner and light conversation, Duane was the farthest thing from her mind.
'Tomorrow' she promised herself as she laid herself in the comfort of soft sheets and a feathery pillow, 'tomorrow I'll continue looking for answers.'
With that last thought she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
Shortly after breakfast Sarah found herself scouring the shelves once more for books pertaining to her current interest in various spells, potions and poisons. She gingerly sipped her cup of herbal tea as her eyes scanned one text after another, her fingers running along the spines as she searched.
It was a good two hours later when she finally found a small cluster of books that were of interest to her, and with a bit of effort, she managed to get them all to a table on the bottom level, and started to look through them.
There was a large encyclopedia type book about different ingredients for poisons, which was not overly helpful as it had no diagrams or depictions of how the poisons looked, only what was in them and how deadly they were.
She wanted dearly to slam the book shut and toss it across the room, but refrained from doing so and instead gently closed the book and pushed it aside. She hardly thought that her hosts would appreciate her abuse of the papery sources of knowledge, but it sure was tempting at the moment. After all, what good were all these books if they weren't telling her things that she already knew?
'You're not very helpful' a younger Sarah pouted, following after a small dwarf.
'Not if you ask the right questions' he informed her sagely, like he had imparted some great knowledge upon her.
Her shoulders slumped and she said the first thing that popped into her head. "How do I get into the Labyrinth?'
The dwarf froze and slowly turned to face her, a wicked smile playing on his lips. "Aaaah, that's more like it. You get in there." He pointed to a section of wall that suddenly opened and parted under his silent command, and Sarah could only gape at him.
"Maybe that's it..." she whispered, her head in her hands. "Maybe I'm not asking the right questions. But then, what would be the right question?"
She sighed when no answers were fourth coming. She had learned the hard way that not everything in life turned out the way you'd planned it, and that sometimes your intricate road map of what you wanted mysteriously disappeared or got ripped down the middle or got trampled into the dust by someone wearing cleats, and that when that happened, you just had to get up, brush yourself off, and start walking in a direction that looked promising.
Over the course of the past week, she had eventually accepted that she didn't really know where she would end up or what she was doing, and she had accepted that sometimes not knowing where the roads led was okay. And sometimes it would lead somewhere you hadn't expected, somewhere you hadn't even dreamed of, and that was better by far than anything you could have planned.
But not knowing at the moment was driving her slowly insane. She needed to know what the hell Duane had in his possession, and she wouldn't rest until she found out. If her instincts were correct, lives were depending on her figuring out the puzzle that was Duane.
She let her head fall with a soft 'thud' to the cool surface of the table, trying to remember exactly all that she had learned to see if there was something that she was missing, some small yet vital piece of information that would unlock the mystery.
And then it hit her, and she bolted upright.
Duane wanted power, of that she was positive. And what held the most power?
"Kor-Tia's manuscript" she breathed, eyes wide.
Duane wanted the manuscript that Kor-Tia had written, the very thing that had overpowered and killed him. It wasn't difficult to imagine what he wanted it for, either.
'Most likely so that he can finally have his dreams of taking over the Underground realized.' she thought grimly. 'And if succeeds in getting his slimy paws on that book...'
Sarah shivered violently. It was definatley a grim prospect, for sure.
'So the right question that I should be asking, is where exactly is Kor-Tia's manuscript now?'
She vaguely recalled Jareth saying something about it being stolen after the great war between the elves and ogre's, and no one had ever heard about it again. But obviously Duane knew something that they did not, for all his lurking around, she was starting to suspect that he was searching for something in the Labyrinth. Something like the manuscript, perhaps?
That did not answer anything about the vial of liquid in question, however, but it was certainly a revelation and she smiled triumphantly. That manuscript and Duane were both bad news, but if she could find it first then his efforts would be in vain once more, and perhaps this time something more permanent could be done about his vile ambitions.
Like removing all magic from his person, and have him scrub rocks in the bog of eternal stench for the rest of his unnatural life.
She grinned as a mental image of him doing just that popped into her mind, with Ludo calling huge boulders straight from the bog for him to scrub.
'Now that is just down right evil' she snickered inwardly.
She rose from her seat, wincing as several vertebrae popped back into place, and set off to the dining hall. She knew it must be nearing lunch and she could do with something in her stomach and a nice hot cup of soothing tea, and then she'd hit the books again.
It was tedious work but she remained vigilant in her search for answers, knowing that it just may be the answer to saving a life or the lives of countless thousands.
"Sarah? Sarah dear, wake up"
Sarah woke with a start, her heart hammering in her throat as her foggy brain tried to catch up with where she was and who was addressing her.
"My apologies Sarah, but I have come to fetch you for dinner." Titania smiled sweetly down at her as she stretched her limbs, wincing as some of said limbs cried out in protest after having being bent at awkward angels for the past couple of hours.
Hiding a yawn behind her hand, she replied. "I'm sorry, I hope I haven't kept you or Lord Oberon waiting."
"Not at all" she assured the groggy woman in front of her, her eyes wandering the titles of the texts that sat on the table before her.
"I realize that it's terribly rude to be so nosy, but may I inquire to why you would need to learn about things such as different poisons and potions?" she asked, raising a delicate eyebrow at Sarah's choice of reading material.
Sarah sighed. She hadn't wanted anyone to get mixed up in her theories just yet, as she still had no actual proof of Duane or Melantha stepping out of line, except for the strange vial of liquid that Duane possessed, and she wouldn't put it past that wicked witch to try to conjure something fatal and try to slip it to her somehow.
But it couldn't be helped now, she had been found out. But perhaps this was not necessarily a bad thing, perhaps Titania would have an inkling as to what that liquid was.
"Before I say anything, can you promise me that this conversation will stay between us and the walls of the library? I didn't want to raise any false alarms or start any wars over my suspicions"
Titania looked intrigued, and nodded as she sat across from Sarah. "I give you my word that I shall not breath a word to anybody"
A soft smile crept over Sarah's face as she told the queen of her thoughts, theories and suspicions, and of her absolute distrust of both Duane and Melantha.
Titania quirked her head to the side as she pondered over Sarah's words, a comfortable silence stretching out between them, until she finally spoke.
"I do not trust the pair of them either, and quite frankly, would see them sent to the end of the Underground, to the badlands, if either one so much as put a toe out of line. However, as you can see, both have taken the utmost care to not step out of line, or at least are clever enough not to get caught in doing so. I also understand your worries of starting trouble over such matters, as politics are never cut and dry, and there are many spoiled royals who are easily offended."
Sarah nodded but remained silent for Titania to continue.
"And though I understand that you did not wish to burden Jareth with things that you think may be irrelevant, I would like to let you know that I happen to be a very good listener, am a trustworthy confidant, and am quite knowledgeable about the Underground as well" She finished with a soft smile, which Sarah returned.
"Truly, it was never about not trusting you with the information, Titania. It was...I just didn't want to create a problem where there may not be one, you know? I mean, you all have kingdom's to run and now you're all dealing with trying to train and prepare me for some great evil that's lurking just around the corner. I just wanted some actual evidence before I said anything to anybody."
Titania nodded. "I understand. You have a large heart Sarah, and I thank you for your good intentions. But from now on I would appreciate you coming to me with such matters if you find that you do not wish to turn to my son, as your instincts have proven to be accurate on more than one occasion. Besides, rarely do I have the chance to hear the goings on of my sons kingdom, and I daresay I wouldn't turn down any interesting stories you may have" She winked.
A bubbled laugh escaped Sarah's lips, like a breath of fresh air to her soul, and she smiled a genuine smile up at the queen.
"Thank you, Titania. You've been like my my anchor in this world, keeping me grounded as the currents try to sweep me up and drown me. Thank you, for everything"
"You are welcome, Sarah. Now, I do believe that if we dally any longer, we will keep Lord Oberon waiting."
"Yes, of course" Sarah said, immediately marking her place in the book and standing up out of her chair to follow Titania from the library into the hall.
"And after dinner and tea, my schedule is free if you should need any assistance with your research."
"I would greatly appreciate your help in this matter, if it is no trouble"
Titania nodded her head and they continued their trek to the dining hall in a comfortable silence.
Sarah awoke the next morning in a sour mood, a petulant frown still upon her lips and an angry crease still carved into her brow.
Her and Titania had searched until nearly the middle of the night for a book containing the knowledge of what type of liquid Duane now held in his possession, but to no avail. Every book they had taken down and devoured held no answers, not even a hint of an answer, and left Sarah with a sour taste in her mouth.
If this grand library had no answers within it, then where else could she possibly look?
'I'm sure the Elven Kingdom has lots of helpful books' her mind supplied helpfully, to which she immediately gave a very unladylike snort.
Because she was positive that Melantha would welcome her with open arms and let her snoop around the kingdom for evidence to bury her with.
'Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. And when I get back to the Labyrinth the bog will suddenly smell like roses, and Jareth and Duane will be sitting in the courtyard having a lovely cup of tea together.'
With an irritated huff, she flopped onto her stomach and pulled her pillow overtop of her head, just barely resisting the urge to scream into the mattress.
She really despised the dead end that she had hit, and just when things had been going so well. One piece of the puzzle solved, only to have the last remaining piece to complete it denied to her.
'You'd think that with all those books on potions and poisons, that one of them would have had some useful information! But noooo! Those old stupid books didn't help me one b...'
She froze as her mind took a sudden detour from her aggravated rambling.
Those books in the library were old. Very old, in fact. Hadn't Titania even mentioned something about not having any new reading material in quite some time?
'That's it...That's it!'
She threw her pillow and blankets off of her and sat up, wide eyed with her sudden revelation.
"That poison or potion is new. Something entirely new, and as such, wouldn't be in any of the old text's! That sly bitch created something that nobody else would know about because it's not in any books in any library!"
She jumped off her bed and hurried to get dressed. She needed to go back to the Labyrinth and check on Jareth, and search the cottage where Duane had stayed. She dearly hoped that Duane and Melantha's evil scheme was scheduled some other time, and that when she got back home to the Labyrinth that everything would be as it should be.
You *do* realize of course, that you just referred to the Labyrinth as your home, right?'
She froze in the midst of putting on her socks, one leg still stuck up in the air as she steadied herself on the wall, looking like a deer caught in a set of headlights.
She had, hadn't she? She had never really thought about it, but the Labyrinth was her home now. And though she thought she would have had feelings of sorrow, depression or general home sickness, she didn't.
Instead, a soft smile lit her features as she thought of her new home and its monarch with fondness. She thought of the goblins who were loyal and amusing and quite endearing in their own ways. She thought of the beautiful landscape that was the Goblin Kingdom, with its confusing and twisting passages, not to mention the fact that it was a living thing. And then she thought about Jareth, the deeply seductive, devastatingly handsome king with his white poet's shirt with plunging neckline, tight fitted breeches and black, shiny boots. The man who had engendered both fear and fascination.
A sudden shiver of awareness ran up her spine at the thought of the Goblin King, making her toes curl and heart rate speed up. He unnerved her still, but in an entirely different manner. Now she was aware of him as woman, and that made him far more dangerous.
She sighed. Things were so much simpler when he was the bad guy, though he was still attractive, he was evil and therefore off limits.
'Maybe 'evil' is the wrong term. Hmmm, how about we use...'morally challenged' instead?'
Either way now he was painted in an entirely different light in her eyes, and the image was very intent on making her blush hotly.
"Come on Sarah, focus! No time to get all giggly like a school girl with a crush! I need to get back and check things out!"
Finally when she was dressed she ran to the dining hall, hoping to catch Titania before Lord Oberon arrived. Mighty ruler Lord Oberon may be, but morning person he was not.
When she arrived Titania was just sitting down to a cup of tea, thankfully with Lord Oberon absent.
"My dear, whatever is the matter?" Titania asked worriedly, taking in Sarah's appearance.
"I need to go back, back to the Labyrinth. I must make sure that everything is alright there" she said in a rush, still a bit out of breath from her run.
"Here, come sit down, have a cup of tea and tell me what is troubling you" Titania said gently, gesturing to the seat beside her.
She shook her head. "There may not be time. See, I think that why we couldn't find anything about the poison or potion that Duane may have in your books, is because it's something new. And if it was slipped into Jareth's food then who knows..."
She couldn't finish her sentence, the thought's of what could be happening as she stood there swirled around violently in her brain and she squeezed her eyes shut and covered her mouth. But though her eyes were closed and her mouth was covered, Titania could still see few tears and hear her strangled cry.
She moved away from the table and to Sarah's side, where she embraced her with one arm and gently held Sarah's chin in the other.
"Do not worry, my dear. If anything of the kind had happened I would be privy to it already. I have many contacts other than my son in the Labyrinth, as he has here in Avalon. It will take more than a little illusion or two to fool my friends and myself" she winked at that last part.
Sarah chuckled weakly, rubbing the stray tears from her cheeks.
"You're probably right" she said at last, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, my emotions got the better of me I guess."
Titania shook her head. "Do not apologize, Sarah. I understand. Now come, sit with me and we will have a nice tea and breakfast. After that, if you still wish it, I will send you home. Her Majesty Callisto will understand and you may return another day to visit with her."
She nodded her head. "Yes, thank you." She allowed herself to be led over to her seat at the table and let herself be swallowed into Titania's light conversation.
Titania, meanwhile, hid a knowing smile. Sarah had not objected in the least when she offered to return her home to the Labyrinth. She was becoming more aware of her feelings towards Jareth, and she bet it wouldn't be too long now before she realized them to their full extent.
Things were getting rather interesting in the Underground.