A/N- To those of you who *simmered* over my last chapter (Alexandria Keating), I think you'll like this one. :D Okay, I seriously love ALL of the reviews but so far, my favorite review was the one that said," you confounded me woman" from ChucklingDevil. Lol, I love your guys' review. They honestly mean the world to me.
I will be making The Nurse, The King, and the Prophesy my main goal as soon as this one is finished. However, I was wondering if you guys would like me to end it soon as in end of this chapter- next chapter kind of thing and make a sequel, or if you'd just like me to do a PART TWO, kind of thing to keep it all together. I was leaning more towards the "Part two" option, but that is totally up to you guys. Think it will be too long if I keep going? Either way, there's a little twist coming up that I think you guys will enjoy ;D Oh, and I think someone mentioned my age. I actually just turned 16 in September. :D
…Can't believe I started this monster of a story at 14…. seems way too long ago. Anywho- I really love you guys. Thanks for everything.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter! AND LET ME KNOW ABOUT THE SEQUEL/PART TWO THING! :D R&R please.
He checked his wrist first and finding nothing, he checked Jasper's neck…and… There! A slight and very week pulse, but a pulse all the same! Mayhem was filtering through the room, and Jareth had to concentrate just to summon a few towels for the blood. Quickly the Goblin King applied pressure to the wound. "Help!" he exclaimed to the panicking crowd. "Bloody Hell, just shut UP!" The magically projected syllable caused the room to hush. "Now please get me a healer!"
Aubernon was, however, already ahead of schedule. The healer was right behind Jareth and quickly moved the King out of the way. Eyes widening he said, "Quickly, someone transport us to the Prince's rooms!"
Jareth was about to, but Aubernon stopped him. "Go. Tell your mother, and… Sarah. I'll watch over him." His eyes were the ones of a pleading father, and Jareth merely nodded once before disappearing to the Aboveground.
Once above Jareth made hast to change into his avian form and flew the short distance to his mother's mansion. He would have transported there immediately, but the mansion had a barrier to stop anyone from attempting such a feat. The wind felt wonderful on his feathers, and he was so glad to finally stretch his wings. But even with the wonderful feeling of being in his owl form, the heavy heart of seeing his brother in such a state was taking quite a toll on him.
Once he was in sight of the Mansion, he swooped down to the front gates. Jareth was relieved to see the gates opened to him, recognizing his magic. Doing one of his favorite moves, Jareth reeled back with his wings, causing his talons to spring forward, as if in attach, and then changed to his humanoid form. This allowed him to take a running start as he dashed to the front of the mansion. Once at the front doors, he didn't even have to knock before the personal butler opened to him, and started leading him to his mother.
As Jareth was about to rush into the room he had been led to, he paused. He could hear laughing on the other side…and it sounded as if both his mother and his Sarah were having a wonderful time. If it were any other situation, Jareth would have loved to stay outside that door and listen to the blissful harmony flowing from the two women on the other side. However, this was something serious, and regrettably, he had to act now.
Pushing open the doors calmly, he spoke upon the women looking up at him, "Mother, Sarah. There's been an…accident. We need to go now."
Both women looked stunned. "What's happened, Sweetheart?" his mother spoke first.
"Jareth?" Was the only thing Sarah voiced.
Painfully Jareth glanced at both of them, "It's Jasper…I'll explain when we get there, but we need to go now." It was incredibly difficult to keep his voice steady as he spoke, but now he would not allow himself to be weak.
Softly, he motioned for Sarah to come to him. She did so, and both mutually hugged each other for a moment. "Mother," Jareth spoke, "go ahead to Jasper's rooms in Father's Castle. The magical barrier should be lifted to family." The wise woman nodded once, knowing they would be along shortly after they spoke.
Once she was gone, Sarah looked up at Jareth and backed away a half step. "What's wrong, Jareth? What happened?"
Jareth frowned heavily. "My brother Jasper was attached… I fear the person who did this may come after me or even you. I need to know if you want to come back." He paused for a brief moment to place a strand of hair behind her ear. "You can stay above you know… You don't have to come to the Underground."
The statement had a double meaning and they both were very aware of it. He was letting her choose. She could opt to stay Above forever and maybe even re-unite somehow with her family, or return with him. Knowing this was the most important decision of possibly her whole life, she took exactly 8 seconds to consider it. "I want to go with you."
Stunned by the quick answer and the determination she held behind it, Jareth asked, "Are you sure that's what you want?"
Softly, Sarah nodded yes and looked intently into Jareth's eyes.
Looking back, Jareth couldn't and didn't want to stop as his head slowly started to move down. After a few seconds their lips connected. The kiss itself felt like a promise, as if they had sealed the deal with that one action of affection.
Once the kiss was over Jareth placed his forehead to Sarah's and closed his eyes as he whispered, "I love you so much, Sarah… I don't want to lose you."
Once he spoke, Sarah lifted her hand to softly caress his face. "You won't."
He shook his head softly against hers. "What if they try to hurt you? You can't defend yourself yet, you haven't developed your own magic."
Taking the thought in stride, she replied, "I know you'll protect me." Then she wrapped her arms around Jareth and laid her head on his strong shoulder.
The King's heart sped up when Sarah moved so close to him voluntarily. He sighed contently as he placed his chin on the top of her head gently. "Sarah…"
He was apprehensive, she could tell, but she was curious. "What is it?"
"I…have an idea. But," he paused for a long moment, "It's something extremely personal, and it could either be the biggest mistake or blessing we make…"
Squeezing her arms softly to let him know she understood Sarah asked, "What is it? Why now?"
Jareth pulled away to make sure she could look him in the eye. "This is something that could keep you very safe. It's…called 'bonding'." He pulled off one glove as he spoke to show her the pulsating blue pinstripes running through his hand. Sarah stared at his hand, mesmerized by the beauty of it. Watching her look he continued, "As you can see…the lines are pulsating. Normally, they do not; however, a few years ago, I nearly bonded but it was broken." He looked down in shame as Sarah looked up at him. "During our dance- the peach dance, our minds and hearts connected. The bonding started without me even noticing it was so smooth." Jareth closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm so sorry-"
Sarah cut him off by touching his face gently again. "It's okay Jareth…but why bring this up now?"
Jareth looked at her a little sadly, "If we finish the bond, it would connect our minds, letting us project feelings and messages to each other…Essentially, I could know when and where you were in trouble and come to your aid."
"That's perfect then!" Sarah smiled, but then slowly let it fade as she saw Jareth wasn't smiling. "What's the catch then…?"
"The 'catch', dear heart," he brushed back another stray hair, "is that you can only bond once in your life and it's forever. Most Fae don't even bond after marriage, Sarah." He looked worried down at her.
"So this is a one-time thing… you have to be 100% sure?" Jareth nodded and looked if he were about to tell her she could refuse without remorse, but she spoke before he could, "Then what's the question?" She smiled. "I'm pretty sure, if you are that is."
Jareth was stunned for a moment before he processed what she had said. "You would even consider?"
"Yes." She said happily as she smiled brightly.
Jareth had misty eyes as he spoke, "What have I done to warrant you, Precious Thing?" He kissed her forehead once. "We don't have to rush into things, Sarah. Let us wait until after this predicament to work out our goals. I just found out you love me." He smiled softly at her. "But I do want you to know that I intend to wed you, Sarah Williams."
Sarah could barely make a noise before Jareth kissed her. However, it was a short one, for they were still in a hurry. She understood and merely smiled at Jareth.
Jareth quickly talked her through the process. He would place his bare palms face up and all Sarah had to do was accept the bond the rest of the way, by laying her hands on top of his. She followed instructions, and just as their hands met, Sarah gasped. It felt as if her mind was being laid out on a platter. Her pupils dilated, and after a few seconds of dizziness, she looked at Jareth. He seemed to have gone through the same thing.
Seeing if it worked, Sarah tried projecting her happiness to him. She started by just thinking of her happiness and incorporating it was Jareth's name. Suddenly, Jareth's eyes snapped to hers, and he smiled. Softly Sarah heard, "Well done, Sarah… but now we really must go. We've kept them for long enough." Sarah was surprised, but didn't question anything else. They had to be there for Jasper now.
Almost as if Jareth could hear her thought, which he probably could, the King held out a hand for her to take them back Underground. Trusting him, Sarah placed her hand in his and closed her eyes. Moments later when she opened them, she found herself in a surprisingly feminine large flat. In the room they had appeared in, there was no one present. It also looked to be a living or sitting room.
The room was very lovely. However, Sarah did not get much time to look it over, for Jareth almost immediately headed for a side room. She followed quietly as the door was pushed open to show Helen, Arianna, Aubernon, a man who must be the doctor, and another woman unknown to Sarah. They were all standing along the edges of the room, looking in on Jasper, who was in the middle in a large bed. The new woman was holding the Prince's hand tenderly and looking at him with soft eyes. Sarah knew this woman must be either his fiancé or wife, for they looked to have a strong love.
The room was very quiet, and not wanting to disturb that, she tried communicating with Jareth mentally, 'How is he?' With this message, she sent her worry as well.
The Goblin King nearly jumped but not quite. It was just a little half twitch of surprise. After a moment he sent back, 'I don't know…but it didn't look good when I first saw the wound.' Sarah nodded softly in understanding.
A moment later, Helen glanced back and noticed they were there. Almost immediately she moved quickly towards Jareth and hugged him tightly. He hugged his sister back and nearly cursed as he noticed his hand was still ungloved. Quickly he used magic to make on appear, but Helen had felt the magic charge. She looked at Jareth questioningly, but didn't accuse him of anything. The magic was a very small amount, and likely wasn't anything too large.
He smiled reassuringly at her and she merely raised her brow in acceptance. Sarah had witnessed the occurrence, which caused her to be suddenly curious. Hesitantly, she sent another question to Jareth after Helen moved back to stand by her mother. 'Why doesn't Helen wear gloves?'
Jareth didn't twitch this time, obviously warming up to having Sarah speak to him this way. 'Helen is actually married. She bonded with her husband, but he is likely not here… their kingdom is at war at the moment.'
Sarah looked sad and stood slightly closer to Jareth. Helen was such a nice person, and being the loving person she was, Sarah unconsciously sent her condolence feelings to Helen. In return Helen did in fact jump at having these emotions of understanding flood her mind. She whipped her head around at Sarah and Jareth and looked at them suspiciously. True, she could choose to pick up on connected people's strong open thoughts or emotions…but she had never had someone flood her mind before.
'Why is she looking at us like that?' was Jareth's question to Sarah.
Sarah didn't jump at all like the Goblin King had, she was quite glad to have his presence there and replied, 'I don't know for sure…but I think I sent her my feelings about her kingdom being at war…but she couldn't have heard them right?'
Jareth looked at her and cocked his head. 'No it should be impossible… then again you are the only human I've ever heard of to be bonded before…'
They would have continued the mental discussion more, however, Aubernon took that moment to turn slightly and catch a glimpse of Sarah and Jareth. The older king paused for a moment, looked at Jareth and then slowly looked at Sarah. He seemed to be reading her… then after a long moment he nodded softly and seemed to be waiting for something.
Sarah was half-afraid he would kill her, yet when she saw the soft pleading look in his eyes, she realized he was wanting forgiveness. She nodded back and in the same moment trying her hardest to put all the compassion she could in the look. Therefore, she didn't realize it when she projected those feelings straight to Aubernon. Said king gasped slightly feeling the warm ease of mercy flow over him and looked sharply over to Jareth in question. Jareth was now thoroughly confused. He had gotten that same look twice now.
Before anyone could act on the sensations, Jasper mumbled something and the physician called them all over to gather close. "Now," the medic stated, "he is about to wake. He won't be awake for long, so say whatever you wish to now before he passes out from the herbs I gave him. The Prince will be just fine in a few weeks, but I'm afraid that shoulder will always give him a little pain when the weather changes now." Everyone looked excited but the shorter fellow continued to speak, "It wasn't a horrible injure as much as the iron polluting his blood. I've filtered it, but I'll need one of you to keep a good eye on him, and call me back if he shows any poisoning symptoms."
Lucy quickly volunteered and smiled as Jasper opened his eyes. "Oh Jasper!" Lucy kissed his cheek and squeezed his hand tight, "I've been so worried. Oh I just love you so much!"
The Prince smiled at the seven faces around him and weakly said, "I love you too, Dear." Then glancing at Sarah, who was slightly behind everyone else in the circle he spoke, " Not going to scream at me again, eh?" The statement was said in jest, but Sarah couldn't help blushing a little and immediately sent her apologetic feelings and also ones of hope and sympathy.
Jasper's eyes widened slightly and then seemed to be enjoying something. "That's a keeper little brother."
No one quite knew what had happened during that moment, but Jareth smiled and pulled Sarah a little closer to him. They all exchanged very small and soft talk with Jasper until finally the doctor said he should rest and the Prince's eyes fell closed almost instantaneously after.
Once Jasper's eyes closed, the physician announced he needed to leave. Before departure he made sure Lucy was well versed in the signs of poisoning and then shooed everyone else out. Everyone gathered in the sitting area and many hugs were exchanged.
'Jareth,' Sarah spoke through minds, 'why do Helen and your father keep looking at me strangely?'
'I'm…not sure, but I may have an idea.'
As his mother and father were quietly speaking to each other (about the whole council ordeal), Jareth motioned for Helen to come over. Smiling, Helen walked over, "Yes little brother?"
Jareth didn't say anything but looked intently at Helen, even going so far as to squint his eyes in concentration.
"Uh… Jareth?" Helen didn't know what her brother was doing but it was very strange.
The king sighed. 'Sarah try portraying your emotions to Helen.' Sarah, feeling fairly confused, sent that emotion to both Jareth and Helen.
Suddenly Helen looked at Sarah and raised her brows. "How are you doing that?"
Sarah frowned and replied, "I don't know…" Jareth stroked Sarah's face gently with one gloved hand feeling her distress.
Then the three noticed the older king and queen weren't talking anymore, and were looking over at Sarah questioningly. Sarah blanched, "I…must have felt that stronger than I meant to."
"Sweetheart," Arianna said, "Why can I…feel Sarah?"
Hugging his beloved softly he said, "I don't know… but it may have something to do with," he paused and allowed one of his gloves to disappear, "this."
Everyone was stunned and speechless. That is until Arianna rushed and hugged them both, letting out a quiet womanly squeal of excitement. "Oh I KNEW you two were destined!" Helen smiled soon after her mother's outburst, but Aubernon was still a little stunned.
"This still doesn't explain why we can…feel?- the girl's emotions," came the 'voice of reason' known as Aubernon.
BREAK- DIAN AT HER BROTHER'S CASTLE
The woman was far less hesitant to make it to her brother's chambers than she was last time. In fact, most would say she was being completely obvious as to what she was doing and who she was. She wore one of her signature pink fluffy dresses and didn't even bother to stick to the more unused hallways. Dian even passed four elven servants on her way to the rooms.
"ZARK!" The woman screeched once she entered the room.
The dark man turned sharply and sneered at her. "What the devil is wrong with you woman? Do you want everyone to know you're here?"
Dian had the most horrible look on her face. "Yes, I do actually. I'm sick of this countess BULL! I'm ready to take action."
Lord Zark, King of the Southern Darkness, had been wanting his half-sister to finally give in and join his forces ever since she killed off her last husband who was a small lord to the north. He especially wanted her help since he had declared war against the Land of Fae Falls. However, under such strange conditions, he had no choice but to question her actions before he would accept her. "Why now? Your potion is going along nicely. I'd even say it would be done in another six weeks."
"I DON"T CARE!" The woman was quite violent…and Zark loved it.
"Really now?" he said conniving, "What changed your mind?"
Dian fumed for a few seconds before saying slightly calmer, "Considering I just stabbed the Prince and son of King Aubernon, I think I've finally flipped completely…" As if those words alone changed her, Dian's clothes took a deep purple- nearly black- color and her hair seemed to dull. "I will get revenge Brother… I WILL!"
A/N- Well that's all I have for you for now. This is where I was going to put in the "Part Two" thing. It probably won't be half as long as the first part, but It needs broken up in some way I think. Tell me what you guys think. Sequel or Part Two. Oh, and a little review on how you liked it would be nice too ;D
Considering this could possibly be the last chapter, I just wanted to say I really love you guys. I never thought we would make it to (as of now) 470 reviews. That's just crazy. I can't wait to read all the stories you guys have suggested, and I just want to thank you. You guys are the reason I keep writing and your support means the world… Until next time, Happy reading!
Kay~