Saresh couldn't leave the tower room fast enough. The image of the two of them, together—
Stop it. But no amount of wishing that image away made it happen. She doesn't want you. She doesn't love you. Worse, she loves him. Just because Saresh knew Jareth wasn't the enemy didn't mean he liked the man. And, after this morning, he liked him even less. In some ways, he was starting to understand why Mal Morcant hated the King and Queen so much…
No. You don't mean that. The image of Raelia's scars flashed in his mind. The sight of those jagged lines, too numerous to count, haunted him. He was angry and hurt, sure, but he wasn't about to seek out some dark source of power just to harm those who wronged him. In spite of everything, the thought of hurting Sarah, even indirectly, made him feel sick.
He turned into the narrow, residential hallway located just off of the armory. He knocked on Taka's door first. No response. After a second and third attempt at knocking, he tried the door. It opened to reveal an empty bedchamber, stacks of books piled high in every nook and cranny of the room. Odds are he's in the library already. Taka never missed an opportunity to read, or, as he liked to put it, "mentally catalogue the library's inventory". His perfect recall ability meant that he only needed to read a book once to recount its contents verbatim.
Saresh leaned against the doorframe for a second, trying to pull himself together. After all, my Queen has made her orders clear. He hoped it wouldn't be like this between them from now on, awkward and formal. Already he missed their banter, their easy familiarity.
She never belonged to you. She made her choice. Stop thinking about her. But the thoughts came anyways. The day she'd kissed him on the cheek—even as a hideous goblin—getting them both banished to the bog of eternal stench. The day she freed him from his goblin form, how they'd fallen asleep, hands entwined. He loved her. Knowing she didn't love him back didn't matter. He loved her anyways. The realization struck him like a hot knife through the heart.
Come on, he thought, pushing himself off the doorframe, there's still Raelia to find. He travelled further down the corridor, turning left at the end of the hall.
Raelia's room was the second to last physically, but the last occupied room total. The room at the end of the hall still sat vacant, awaiting the return of an order member who would never come. Mal Morcant.
As he approached, the copper haired fae exited her room, the two nearly colliding with each other.
"Oh! Saresh, I didn't see—wow. You look like shit."
"Hey—wait, what?" The two spoke at the same time. Saresh was taken aback by her frankness. She hadn't been so blunt the night before, in the presence of the King and Queen. Clearly members of the Order fell in a different category as far as she was concerned.
She looked him up and down as she continued.
"I mean, not to be rude, but jilted and jealous isn't a good look on you."
Saresh stood dumbfounded. The fae woman hadn't even been in the castle a full twenty-four hours, and already she saw right through him. He had to remind himself that her powers didn't extend to mind-reading…that he knew of.
"How—"
"Seriously? After watching you three last night, it's pretty obvious you're in love with Sarah. And, judging by the strained look around your eyes, you just found out that she doesn't feel the same." She pulled a hip flask from her belt, offering it to him. "My advice, since you didn't ask? Let it go."
Though it was still quite early, Saresh honestly felt he could use a drink. He unscrewed the cap, drawing it to his lips before pausing. Although she was a member of the Order, Raelia was still essentially a stranger, and she had already drugged him once. He raised an eyebrow at her, eliciting an eye roll from her in response.
"It's not drugged. Faerie's word."
Good enough for me. He threw back a shot of the flask's contents. It was some kind of spirit with a smokey flavor, but went down smooth as caramel. He slipped the cap back in place and handed back the flask.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"As a matter of fact, I may be the only person who knows exactly what I'm talking about in this matter," the fae said, her tone making it plain that she took offense to his words. "You forget, I grew up surrounded by heartbreak. My mother had that same strained look in her eyes every day of my life. So don't you dare tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about!"
Saresh felt as though he'd been slapped in the face. You deserved that, though. After everything Raelia had suffered, at the hands of her own father, no less, she knew real loss better than anyone. He suddenly felt ashamed of himself.
"Look, I'm sorry. It's been a rough morning. I know that's not an excuse, but—let's start over."
Raelia looked at him for a brief moment. Then, without a word, she turned on her heel, and went back inside her room, closing the door behind her. Before Saresh could react to her sudden exit, she reemerged from her room, a startled look on her face.
"Oh, hey…Saresh, right? What brings you here so early?" She said, looking at him with her sapphire blue eyes as though the last few minutes never happened.
"I—uh—I was sent to find you?" He said, his rising inflection at the end of his sentence making the statement sound like a question.
"Well, you found me. What do you need?"
She acted so casual, as though she'd done this kind of thing before—pretending not to remember someone else's bad behavior. He found himself surprisingly grateful for the charade.
"It's Sar—the Queen. We've been summoned to the Library in about 45 minutes."
"Sounds like I better grab something to eat first. I'll meet you there!"
And with that, she took off down the hall, her step lithe and inhumanly graceful. The dim torch light cast flecks of gold in her hair. As she reached the end of the hallway, she suddenly stopped.
"Hey Saresh!" She called out, turning to look over her shoulder, "It's going to be ok."
Then she disappeared from sight. Saresh wasn't sure how she could be so confident that things would be alright, but he didn't dare question her on the matter.
Thirty-five minutes later Saresh was headed towards the library, having tracked down Nzeogwu to let her know of her new promotion. She happily accepted…or, so Saresh assumed, anyways. Nzeogwu wasn't the most expressive person when it came to emotions, but the immediate manner in which she took charge of the room led him to believe as much. He had to admit, she was a good choice. Though he still would have preferred a day of physical exertion as opposed to being trapped in a library with Sarah and Jareth.
He stopped by the great hall on the way, just long enough to grab some bread and a few pieces of cheese—the last remnants of the daily goblin-prepared breakfast. Looking around, there were only a few stragglers still in the hall. Near the middle of the long, communal table, Raelia was polishing off the last few bites of a pastry, and a few seats further down, Jarvi and Sonya, the lightning caller, sat across from each other, engrossed in lively conversation. Finally, lurking at the far end of the table was Saarn. He ate nothing, merely sipped something from a cup that occasionally let off a bit of steam. The future teller stared straight at Saresh, as though he'd anticipated the young man's arrival in the hall. Saresh quickly looked away. Saarn had a way of looking at people that disturbed him.
No Taka, as expected. He was now doubly sure that Taka was already in the library. One less thing to worry about. As he turned to leave the great hall, Raelia caught up to him.
"Care if I walk with you?"
Saresh nodded, still not sure what to make of her, and the two departed.
The library was only a short walk from the great hall, and the two arrived at exactly the same time as Sarah and Jareth. Sarah tried to catch Saresh's eye, but he looked away, opening the door for the group. He knew they would need to talk, eventually, but right now he wasn't in the mood.
As predicted, Taka was already inside, bent over a large, leather-bound tome at one of the many study tables located throughout the library. His square glasses had slipped down to the middle of his nose, and his jet black hair was mussed, as though he hadn't even taken the time to brush it before returning to the library this morning.
At their entrance, he looked up, startled.
"Your Majesties, this is a pleasant surprise!" He waived them over, straightening his glasses, "Come take a look at this! You would not believe how many uses there are for grimroot!"
"Fascinating, to be sure," said Jareth, "but right now we need information on the Labyrinth. Specifically how to heal the damage done to it. Miss Morcant, if you would be so kind."
Raelia filled Taka in on the details, with occasional interjections from Jareth about the specifics of blood magic. Taka listened intently, occasionally jotting down a few notes with a quill in his illegible scrawl.
"…our current theory is that Mal Morcant used Ardina's blood to create the portal to the Above, which somehow damaged the touchstone itself." Jareth concluded.
"Blood of one tied to the heart of the Labyrinth…" Taka murmured, a faraway expression on his face.
"The heart of the Labyrinth?" Sarah asked.
"I've heard it referenced in some of the books on the history of the Goblin Kingdom—which I might add are in dire need updating. Did you know there's about 10 years worth of recent history missing?!"
"We have been recently made aware of that fact, yes." Jareth replied.
"Well, as I was saying, the heart of the Labyrinth." Taka continued, flipping through his many pages of notes, before landing on the page he sought. "It's described as the source of magic for the entire kingdom. I assumed the name was metaphorical, but, what if it were an actual place? After all, many other touchstones are physical. If someone connected to the touchstone were to travel there, maybe we could determine how to fix it."
He ripped a few blank pages out of the notebook, quickly jotting down a few lines on each before handing one to each of them.
"This should be a good starting place. If we divide up the work, and share what we learn as we go, we should have an answer in a few days."
"And what exactly are we supposed to be doing?" Saresh asked, squinting the note Taka gave him in an effort to read the text written there.
"First, find the books that I've written down for each of you," Taka said, clapping Saresh on the shoulder, a giant grin on his face as he pointed at the note in Saresh's hands, "then we can get to the good part, research!"
It was decidedly not the good part. The day seemed to simultaneously melt away and creep along tediously. Day had given way to night so suddenly that Saresh hadn't noticed until several goblin chambermaids arrived to light the torches and the great fireplace. He massaged his temples, staving off the pangs of a headache that had threatened to take hold of him for the last hour.
Looking at his companions, his exhaustion was shared by all except Taka, who enthusiastically poured over the contents of a scroll so long that its beginning sat in a massive heap on the floor.
Several times throughout the day, when Saresh had gone to collect another book, he noticed Sarah attempting to approach him, but he managed to avoid her, losing her amidst the many shelves that wound thought the room like a miniature version of the labyrinth itself. He still didn't know what to say to her, and he wasn't quite sure what she could possibly say to him to break down the newly-formed wall between them.
Food had been brought up to them several times thought out the day. Taka, who doted over the books and scrolls the way a loving parent would over their children, always insisted that they eat at a separate table from the books, "for their protection". Saresh appreciated the break from reading, even as he feared it slowed them down overall. He was positive he couldn't put in another day like this.
He let out a deep exhale as he reread the sentence he'd been stuck on for who-knows-how-long. The words had long-since lost their meaning.
The ancient book before him was entitled, Sources of Power: A Historie of Magikal Locales. He rubbed his eyes and took another stab at the passage.
…The seat of the labyrinth's power, being concealed within the very walls of the labyrinth itself, shall be discovered only by one whom hath bested its trial once ere. Having been twice-tested, once 'i the light, again 'i darkness, they alone shall reach the moste secret of places—the land 'twixt and 'neath itself. The maze 'neath the maze…
Ugh, why can't it just be written in plain, comprehensible language? He had no idea what "the land 'twixt and 'neath itself" meant. He shoved the book away, dropping his head into his hands, the throbbing in his head now developing into a full-blown headache.
He jumped as a hand laid itself gently on his shoulder.
"Are you ok?"
Sarah. His heart leapt in spite of himself. He looked up at her, her bright green eyes filled with concern. He tugged his shoulder out from under her hand.
"I'm fine," He lied. "Just a headache."
She reached out towards his forehead.
"I can help with that—"
"I told you, I'm fine." He snapped, immediately regretting it as he saw the resulting look of hurt on Sarah's face. "It's just this stupid book. I've been stuck on the same spot for hours."
"Mind if I have a look, then?" She asked, pulling a chair up to the end of the table.
"Be my guest."
She read quietly for a while. Then suddenly her eyes widened in surprise.
"Taka, Jareth, Raelia! Come here! I think we might have found what we're looking for."
The group gathered around Saresh's table, with Jareth and Taka leaning over Sarah's shoulder to read. Raelia, meanwhile, stood behind Saresh's chair, her arms crossed in front of her chest.
"Listen to this," she said, excitedly, "The seat of the labyrinth's power, being concealed within the very walls of the labyrinth itself, shall be discovered only by one whom hath bested its trial once ere. Having been twice-tested, once 'i the light, again 'i darkness, they alone shall reach the moste secret of places—the land 'twixt and 'neath itself. The maze 'neath the maze."
"Incredible," Taka breathed, his excitement matching Sarah's, "another maze beneath the labyrinth itself! And it sounds like the entrance is somewhere inside the Labyrinth's walls! This is outstanding!"
"Saresh deserves the credit, he's the one who found it," She said, looking up and smiling at Saresh.
Saresh shrugged, breaking the eye contact with Sarah. Then a sudden realization struck him.
"Just a small problem," he began, "the labyrinth is massive. If there is some hidden entrance to this underground maze, it could take us ages to find it."
"Actually," said Sarah, "I think I might know someone who could help?"
"Who?" Jareth asked.
"A worm."
"A worm?" Saresh asked, incredulously. "You're serious? An actual worm?"
"Yes." She said, tucking a stay lock that had escaped her ribbon behind her ear. "He was the first creature I met when I arrived here—well, that is—after…"
She again made eye contact with Saresh, not finishing her thought.
"I never got his name," she continued, "but he lived in the outermost wall of the labyrinth, not too far from the entrance."
"And how, exactly could this worm help us find the entrance to 'the moste secret of places'?" Raelia asked, the skepticism in her voice mirroring that of Saresh's thoughts.
"Because he invited me in for tea." Sarah said, a determined fire burning in her eyes, "Which means he must know a way inside the walls."
"Alright," Jareth said, leaning against another study table behind Sara's chair. "We'll send a few of the Order to speak to this worm—"
"No." Sarah interrupted, turning to look at the Goblin King, "You heard what the passage said. The heart can only be found by 'one whom hath bested its trial once ere'. Me. I'm the only one who beat the Labyrinth, which means I'm the one who has to go."
"Fine, then I'm going with you." Jareth said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You're still the Goblin King, your people need you here—"
"—I'm not letting you go by yourself—"
"—I wasn't asking your permission!" Sarah snapped. She took a deep breath in and out, collecting herself after her momentary outburst. "Jareth, can I speak to you in private?"
The King nodded, and the two retreated to the fireplace. Though they were out of earshot, Saresh could see by their body language that the conversation was tense, to say the least.
Raelia slid into the chair next to Saresh.
"They were like that before, you know." She said, not taking her eyes off the King and Queen. "Always clashing with each other over something or other. But in the end, they always came back to each other."
"Why are you telling me this?" Saresh asked, looking at the fae woman, who returned his gaze.
She shrugged, "Just figured you should know before you start to get any false hope."
Saresh didn't know what to say. Fortunately, he was saved from making a reply, as Sarah and Jareth returned to the group.
"Five days from now, Sarah and a few members of the Order will set out to speak with this worm and find the heart of the Labyrinth. Saresh—you, Raelia, Jarvi, and whoever else you see fit will go with her." Jareth said, tensely. "You may take whatever supplies you require for your journey. If there's something you need that you can't find, I will see to it that you have it before you depart."
Clearly he didn't always win when it came to Sarah.
"I suppose I don't have a say in the matter?" Saresh asked, flatly.
"I need your conveyance powers," Sarah said sheepishly. "Otherwise it will take ages just to reach the outer walls, and who knows how long to get back to the castle. You said it yourself, 'the labyrinth is massive'."
She was right, but, right or wrong, it didn't dull the bitter feeling in his chest.
"Fine." Saresh said, pushing his chair back from the table, "If that's all for right now, I'm going to call it a night."
He left before anyone could stop him, resolving to find Jarvi and have her treat his pounding headache before collapsing into bed.