The usual disclaimer... I don't own the characters, places, or words. I just arranged them.
There was no returning the way they had come, Caderyn's servants stood at the doors. Yet Sarah had hope that there would be some way they could sneak out of the large audience chamber. They moved through the crowds of cyril, searching for an exit. The cyril were quite unforgiving whenever their views were blocked, but an icy glare from Jareth or Alvar often silenced their complaints. It seemed the two cyril had a well known reputation. Alas, such note also meant that they would not easily pass unnoticed.
After searching the whole of the main floor, Sarah took the others up to the higher levels. It wasn't until the top floor that Sarah spotted what she was looking for: an unguarded door!
"C'mon!" She called to the others as she sprinted towards the concealed door.
Sarah's enthusiasm was hardly contagious. The others followed at their own paces. Sarah waited for them to gather by the door. She made one final proclamation. "From here on, we trust each other, okay? We'll get out of this; I promise"
"Tch," Dru hissed.
"If that's all the help you're going to be, you can just leave," Sarah frowned. It was not the first time she had wondered if they should find some way to lose Dru.
"I'll keep an eye on her. I haven't forgotten how she betrayed us to Caderyn." Alvar hissed.
"Now, how do we get this door to open? There's no hand or knocker or anything."
"Try your hand," Megan suggested as she put her hand to the door, thinking it would be like the suite door.
Nothing happened.
Sarah pressed on the door with both her hands, trying to push it open. The door retracted at her touch. "That was easy!"
She stepped into the room and the door slammed shut.
Sarah turned and began pounding at the door trying to get it to reopen. She couldn't hear the others, but she could imagine Jareth's response.
She knew she should stay where she was until they did get it open, but curiosity had always been one of Sarah's vices.
The room was darker than the oubliette. She turned around and began to move her arms around, trying to comprehend her surroundings. She knelt down and felt the floor first, remembering what had happened the last time she had stepped through a door without knowing what to find on the other side. The floor seemed solid enough. No cracks or trap doors. She felt the wall beside the door; it felt the same as the smooth stone in the rest of Caderyn's castle. She picked a direction and began to follow the wall, testing each step with a hesitant push on the ground.
It was deathly quiet. Sarah tried to keep her breath hushed, though a large part of her wanted to cry out a, "Hello?"
Her progress was slow, but she felt the distance between herself and the door growing. To make things worse, an alarm in her mind began to wail. Her nerves almost failed as she contemplated returning to the door. Maybe she could open it now...
"You surprise me," Caderyn's terrible voice split the silence.
Sarah stumbled mid-step, falling forward at the noise. "Where are you?" She demanded as she scrambled to her feet. The room remained dark and she sensed no movement.
"I would never expect a human to be so comfortable in the Underground."
"Yeah, well, this isn't my first time." Sarah replied to the disembodied voice. He seemed to be all around her, but at the same time, she was not even sure he was in the room with her.
"Is it not?"
"Ahh, well..." Sarah realised her mistake and hastened to correct it. "What I meant was that I had an imaginative childhood... I've, umm, imagined places like this befo–"
"How did you come to be under Jareth's power?"
Sarah spun around trying to identify Caderyn's position. "That's none of your business."
"I warn you, I do not long tolerate impudence."
"Threaten me all you like," Sarah bravely retorted.
"Tell me, do you wish to return to your world?"
Sarah's breath hitched as she swallowed the automatic urge to reply, "Yes!"
But that siren in her mind continued to scream. On one hand, she had been willing to submit herself to Florian under the hope that Alvar could help her get home. So, what if this high king had the ability that Alvar didn't? Would she take it? At what cost? On the other hand, she didn't trust Caderyn. He was too eldritch. But when it came down to it she really hadn't trusted Alvar or Jareth either and she was willing to deal with them.
"What about Megan?" Sarah asked, suspicion in her voice. She had to fight for more than just herself know.
"Tell me how Jareth brought you to the Underground," Caderyn demanded.
"What about Megan?" Sarah pressed, firmer this time.
"He didn't take you," Caderyn surmised, ignoring her again.
She would have brought Megan up again, but thought better of it and decided to play along with the high king. "Oh yeah? How did you come up with that?"
"You slipped from the grasp of my servants. You were not taken to the Underground so you cannot be taken in the Underground. At least, not easily."
"Oh? Is that so?" Sarah refused to give him any hints.
"Do not belittle me, human. What can you hope to gain from such recklessness?"
Sarah didn't respond.
"You will tell me how Jareth brought you here and I will show you how you can return to the Aboveground."
"Not just show me, let me leave." Sarah clarified. "With Megan,"
Caderyn did not appreciate being forced to be tautological. "I will show you and the other human the door to the Aboveground and I will give you the opportunity to leave through it. Now tell me how Jareth succeeded!"
Sarah bit her lip contemplating the turn of events. Her heart fluttered with the idea of being able to leave, but then why was she still terrified? Finally, she concluded, "I don't trust you. Let me see the others; let me out of this room."
Caderyn refused to continue the infuriating conversation. "You'll see them soon enough."
"Did you just say 'Jareth'?" Winston gasped.
Keira shrugged.
As of yet, Winston still had not been able to find out from Keira how much she remembered about her time in the goblin kingdom. "Do you remember Jareth?"
Toby giggled. Keira shrugged her shoulders and shook her head noncommittally.
"Great..." Winston sighed. "Well, at least Toby has quieted."
Toby began to squirm in his lap, so Winston let the boy go. He toddle around the room and grabbed a stuffed animal. Keira followed him, tilting her head as she watched him. Toby passed the animal to Keira, "Lancelot," he identified the bear.
Keira took the bear. She crossed the room to climb Toby's bed. From that platform, she could reach the shelf where Winston had originally grabbed the bear. She replaced it on the shelf and then returned to Toby.
Winston joined them on the floor. "Alright kiddo, back to the plan," he announced. "Toby, I'm going to tell you a story, alright?"
Toby and Keira exchanged a look. Keira reached for Toby's hand and then the two little ones turned twinkling eyes towards Winston.
Winston tried not to frown at the strange kinship. He took a deep breath and straightened his back. "Once upon a time," he began, "There was a beautiful princess who loved her brother very much."
Caderyn was not accustomed to being opposed. No one withheld information from him, not even the most powerful Cyril in his kingdom. Yet, this mere human was unwilling to relinquish. He felt his temper simmer, as it hadn't in centuries. His was a world of ice where nothing moved him. But this foolish human girl had the ability to make him burn.
He was going to demand her information but he began to doubt his own ability to remain calm. He couldn't let himself destroy her. She could be the key to ending the energy drain.
And yet...
No. The high king wasn't about to bargain with this girl. He gestured to one of his servants, who knew his intentions even in the darkness of the room. A lever was pulled and the girl was forcefully removed through a hole in the floor. Her scream died immediately as the trap door slammed shut behind her.
He didn't understand why she was able to irritate him so. He should not have had to remove her. The darkness should have been enough to unnerve her. Humans, with their vast skies and blinding sun, trembled in the closeness of the dark. She should have cracked under the isolation.
Caderyn crossed his arms in frustration. Well, no matter what he had originally desired from the conversation, he had to deal with his decision to send Sarah away. He'd find another way of learning. One that wasn't so infuriating.
Caderyn raised a black orb of magic to his sight. He could see the combatants for the faerie kingdom in its chiaroscuro form. The battle was nearly over now. Three remained.
He would have denied it, but he felt comfort in seeing that he had correctly predicted the remaining combatants. It would be the golem king who won this battle.
Caderyn watched the remaining moments of combat. The pixie queen looked haggard. She tossed a spell at the dryad queen, but her aim was wide. Not that it mattered. The golem king was behind her. A quick twist and she was out of the contest. Meliae, the dryad queen, studied her final opponent. Though not limited to the forest magic of her people, it was the power she was strongest in. It was also the sort of magic that was most effective against golem power. She would put up a good fight.
But Caderyn knew the result was inevitable. Just as the breaking of the second barrier was inevitable. Whether it was through the girl or one of the other humans.
He waved his hand dismissing his magic orb. With his confidence reasserted, he had no reason to watch the end.
Sarah screamed as the floor gave way. "Not again!" She yelped. "Why does everyone in the Underground have to build trap doors?"
Unconventional architecture aside, Sarah had no idea what awaited her at the bottom of the chute. She had already been falling for a while. Would it ever end?
SMACK!
Sarah slammed into a wall.
"Ugh," she groaned. Her hand moved forward. The chute ended in nothing? There was nothing but a wall. Her hands traced backwards, feeling on the steep incline she had tumbled down. She moved her hands up and down the walls, beginning to feel a hint of claustrophobia. Why had Caderyn sent her here? Was this a true oubliette? There was no dwarf waiting for her here. Nor any light from a skylight. Even in all his cruelty, Jareth had never abandoned Sarah in this form of desolation.
She leaned back against the slope, her feet awkwardly situated between the angled chute and the wall it ended in. "Breathe," she instructed herself. She leaned forward, her head bumping against the top of the chute. She ducked her head and reached to the end of the chute, her hands tracing back and forth along it, searching for some catch. There had to be a button or release.
Or maybe...
She attempted to crawl back up the chute. It was made of the smooth castle stone. She made it a few centimeters, but slid back in no time. She spread her arms and legs, trying to shimmy up the sides. Same result.
No, it was back to searching for a button.
Caderyn wouldn't leave her here forever, right?
"Stop pounding on that door," Alvar scoffed at Megan. Even Jareth had ceased his attempts to force the portal.
"But Sarah–"
"–is where the high king wants her to be."
Megan folded her arms across her chest, pressed her back against the door, and allowed herself to slide down to a seated position.
A roar from the crowd announced the end of the arena battle.
"Did you see who won?" Jareth asked.
Alvar nodded. "The golem king,"
"Great," Jareth rolled his eyes. "Just what we need, a golem master with access to more turf."
Cyril began filing out of their seats; soon the room would empty.
"Are we to stay here forever?" Dru asked impatiently.
"We aren't moving until Sarah comes back!" Megan countered. "Stop being such an airhead."
Dru moved forward threateningly, but her pace was halted as Caderyn stepped through the wall. Megan stood to her feet at the sudden appearance. Jareth and Alvar stiffened, instinct telling them to kneel but stubbornness keeping them on their feet.
"Did you enjoy the show?" Caderyn asked, his voice void of inflection. No one responded. Caderyn flicked his unblinking eyes between the two Cyril. "Well, the next show will be far more interesting."
He gestured with his wrist and both Megan and Dru found themselves sliding through the floor.