Chapter 10

An unlikely donor with a hidden past

Word had spread throughout the entire Labyrinth Kingdom, and the Underground world, that the queen needed a blood donor to save her life after miscarrying her child. The outpour of love and sympathy for Sarah was overwhelming, and both Jareth and Faron were stunned by it. This had never happened before and it showed them how beloved she truly was.

"And I had made fun of her when she opened up her little YGLC. I had told her goblins cannot be changed, and look at them now. They are standing in long lines wanting to donate their blood to the queen."

Jareth nearly cried when he mentioned this to Faron.

Every day more and more would come and line up. Most were turned away as the medical personnel already knew they weren't compatible, but it didn't seem to deter them. They only came back the next day to try again.

Marjorie was ready to go with Jareth' plan of raiding a blood bank in the Surface World as the days ticked by and even Jareth started to give it a serious thought. It could be done, and he, Mark, and Marjorie hatched a plan to steal some 0 negative blood, if no donor had been located within the next two days.

Even Faron, Kaden, and Bethan signed up for the surface heist. Arman and Aden had begged to be included, but since elf could not teleport on their own that presented another set of issues. They finally settled on taking only Bethan with them as he was the smallest and lightest in the group.

Jareth' fae guards had created a movement called 'life-force for the Queen'. Several faes would stop by every day sharing some of their life-force with Sarah in order to prolong her life and give her strength. Jareth was close to tears when he first heard of it, as him and Faron were not able to give any more of theirs.

Faron had to force Jareth to quit sharing any more of his life-force with Sarah as it was about to kill him as well, and he had Jay and Jeremy to think about, as well as the kingdom.

Every time Sarah received a little bit of fae life-force, she was able to talk and eat something, but it never lasted longer than a couple of hours, and she would slip back into a delirious sleep. Dr. Tartal grew increasingly agitated.

"I believe you need to do your theft of this blood in the Surface World, she's not going to hang on much longer even with fae life-force. I give her maybe three more days at best."

Krum had heard about Sarah's plight and was the first one in line to donate, but he had been turned away five times already.

"Goblin blood is not compatible for the Queen, we don't even need to test you for that", the officials kept telling him.

Krum, however, insisted, his blood was compatible and to be given a chance to prove it. Finally, after the eighth time standing in line, one of the nurses appeased him so he would go away for good.

"Give me your arm and let me take a sample", she huffed. After she took a vial of his blood she told him to wait, it would only take a few minutes. Krum took his seat in the waiting room of the clinic and waited.

It was exactly fifteen minutes later he heard rapid footsteps and people yelling excitedly.

"Where is he?" Three elven doctors came sailing down the hallway and stopped in front of him.

"Are you Krum?" one asked him with a serious voice. Krum sank back into his seat and nodded quietly.

"Come with us and make if fast."

They took him by his arms and drug him along the corridor to a small room. A nurse prepared another vial to take more of his blood. As she drew it the doctors gasped, and so did the nurse. Krum's blood was red. It should not have been. Goblin blood was always green.

"Who the hell are you?" one doctor asked and leaned forward with an inquisitive face to take a closer look at Krum.

"I'm just Krum", Krum replied in a scared voice as he tried to sink as far into the chair as he possibly could. "I work for the queen in the castle."

"Well, congratulation, you just saved the queen's life, Krum", the doctor replied elated and instructed the nurses to start the blood withdraw.

Jareth' heist team was in full action. They were ready to go to the Surface World in less than ten minutes. Jareth, after much debate, had decided to stay behind to be with Sarah. She needed him to be with her, and he didn't want to spend a single second without her not knowing how much time they had left together.

Mark and Marjorie had staked out a blood bank they thought would be fairly easy to hold up. Mark even organized a gun from his dad, just in case. He didn't plan to use it but for intimidation as it wasn't even loaded. Faron, Kaden, and Bethan were to teleport into the bank deposit and look for the 0 negative blood as Mark and Marjorie were the decoys and distractors to divert the personnel's attention

Jareth gave everyone a quick hug and a shoulder pat before they left. Formalities had gone out the window. This was a rescue mission for the queen by his closest allies, friends, and family.

He took a deep breath after they had dematerialized and went back to sit with Sarah. Chayrone kept him company. She had wanted to go on the mission as well, but Jareth wanted her with him and Sarah. He needed a close person to keep him from falling apart, and Chayrone was exactly that person.

The raiding team rematerialized right outside the 24 hour blood bank in the bushes. It was dark as it was close to midnight. It looked like nobody was there besides a couple of security guards and a front desk nurse. The lights were on, which was a benefit as they didn't need to use flashlights and draw attention to themselves.

They huddled together to go over everything one more time real quick so it would go smooth and fast. Time was of the essence. Sarah's life depended on their success.

Marjorie and Mark walked up to the entrance and went it. As they engaged into a conversation with the desk nurse, the rest waited for the signal which Mark would give as soon as it was clear. It took only five minutes for the signal and the small group of faes and elf teleported into the cold storage room.

It was dark and Faron lit a light crystal to illuminate the room. He signaled the others to spread out and start looking.

"Remember, we need 0 negative only. Get as many bags as possible and grab some plasma too just in case." They silently rummaged through the freezers and refrigerators.

Mark and Marjorie in the meantime kept the nurse distracted by acting as blood donors. She took them into a room to prepare them for the donation, when Mark pulled his gun and kindly asked her to step into a closet. She complied with no issues or signs of resistance. Mark locked the door behind her after he had duct taped her hands behind her back and her mouth.

"It's going to take her some time to get out of this", he declared and Marjorie was impressed.

"Where did you learn all this? You are doing this like a pro. Anything I should know about your history?"

She looked at him with a questioning look. Mark only chuckled quietly.

"Let's just say I wasn't a very good teenager at times."

He put away his gun and they left to find the security guards who were still patrolling the entrance and front waiting room.

As Mark and Marjorie came back out into the lobby, the security guard asked them if they had seen the desk nurse. They both shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads, and tried to make their way out, right as the nurse had managed to break out of the closet and started yelling.

"Damn it", Mark mumbled, drew his gun and pointed it at the security guard who froze instantly with his hands up.

"Take off your belt, throw it on the floor, and kick it to me", he commanded the security guard who slowly complied.

"What the hell is this?" he asked confused. "You guys want money?"

"We're not here for the money. Only need to withdraw a little blood from you. You do as we say and nobody will get hurt."

Mark motioned him to sit down in a corner with his hands over his head. The nurse in the meantime had attracted the attention of the second guard who had come running down the hallway. A shot rang out and Mark and Marjorie jumped behind the desk for cover.

Faron and his group desperately searched the storage room. Finally Kaden found what they were looking for. Five bags of 0 negative blood dated only hours ago.

"Success", he murmured and called the rest over to him. They took the blood and some plasma as well, put it in their bags and teleported out. They arrived in the lobby just as Mark and Marjorie had jumped behind the desk for cover and the second security guard unloaded his gun on them. Kaden quickly teleported over to the desk, grabbed Marjorie and Mark and teleported out. So did Faron while holding on to Bethan.

The security guard stopped firing his gun and stood there puzzled.

"Where the hell did they go? Did you guys see that?"

He looked with disbelief at the first guard and the nurse who had run into the lobby in time to see the group dematerialize.

"This is crazy, I need a drink", the nurse replied and took a seat as the guard called in the robbery.

"At least we got it on security camera so nobody can call us cuckoo", she said as she took a sip from a whiskey bottle she had hidden under her desk.

Jareth was sitting by Sarah, talking quietly to her as she had just received a life-force boost from Aviana and Aria, when Dr. Tartal came rushing into the room and told everyone to step back. He had a bag of blood in his hands.

"Somebody just saved her life", he exclaimed excited. "We must do the transfusion immediately."

Jareth and Chayrone stepped out of his way as he hooked the blood bag up to Sarah.

"It's going to be ok, your highness", he gently told Sarah and smiled at her.

"The party is already back?" Jareth asked astound. They had just teleported out only five minutes earlier. It was too soon for them to be back already.

"Nope, there was a local donor. He's in the next room." Dr. Tartal replied with a huge smile and motioned his head towards the neighboring partition. Jareth walked over to see who it was.

Krum was laying on a cot sipping orange juice and eating cookies. He still had tubes stuck in his arm with a blood bag attached that slowly filled up with blood.

"Krum?" Jareth whispered in complete surprise. "How is that possible? You are a goblin."

Krum looked at him with a happy smile, but continued to sip his juice.

"The queen and I have the same blood", he exclaimed with excitement and kept eating his cookies.

Jareth was dumbstruck. Goblin blood was not comparable with human, fae nor elven blood. How was this even possible? Not only to have regular blood, but to have the exact same blood type as well.

Jareth looked over to Dr. Tartal, but he only shrug his shoulders and put up his arms. He was at a loss as well.

"This blood is going to really help, but we'll need more. I hope the raiding party was successful. Krum can't supply all the blood we need for her, but it's a huge step forwards. He is able to donate one more dose which he is doing right now. After that, we'll have to see", Dr. Tartal shouted to Jareth.

Jareth mind was racing and he could barely pay attention to what the doctor had told him. It was not possible for a goblin to have the same blood, it just wasn't. He had to find out about Krum and his history. Kelan may be able to find the answers.

As Jareth pondered over the unanswered questions the raiding party rematerialized outside Sarah's room. Bethan handed over the bag with the blood and plasma to the staff which was elated to see them being so successful. It appeared the queen was saved.

Everyone was baffled by Krum's blood donation when they walked into her room and saw her hooked up to a transfusion bag.

"How?" Faron mumbled in utter disbelief.

"That's what I need you to find out for me. Go and ask Kelan. I want the entire Elder Council to work on this. Find out the history of Krum."

Faron nodded and vanished.

Marjorie ran over to Sarah and held her hand.

"Hey girlie, we brought you some more blood", she squeezed her hand with tears in her eyes and a soft smile.

"I'm so grateful", was all Sarah managed to say before she turned her head and fell asleep.

"Out, everyone out", Dr. Tartal demanded. "Everyone besides the king."

Reluctantly the group left the room and gathered in the waiting lobby. Jareth walked out with them to thank each and every one for saving Sarah's life.

"There will be accommodations coming up for each of you. You have not only saved Sarah, you have saved me, and the kingdom. For that I shall be ever grateful to you."

He had tears in his eyes and grabbed each of his guards on their shoulder as they grabbed his.

"We give our life for you, and your queen", Kaden responded quietly as Bethan nodded in agreement. They saluted him one more time before Kaden teleported Bethan back to his base.

The news spread incredibly fast that the queen had been saved; and when it became public that Krum had been the one who had donated the first two bags, the goblin community went crazy. Several good bridges were blown sky high, but this time Jareth did not care. The fireworks and celebrations lasted for days and Jareth had to put a stop to them as the noise was really getting on everyone's nerves, especially his.

Sarah had received several transfusions and grew stronger with each one. Her appetite had returned and she was able to sit up and eat on her own. The color had returned into her face and her eyes shimmered in an intense greenish brown for the first time in a long while.

Jareth still did not leave her side. He was beyond happy and brought her flowers every day which she cherished. In matter of fact, her entire room looked like a flower shop, and a royal order had to be declared to no longer send any, as the hospital ran out of room. Crystal balls were appreciated.

After another week, Sarah was released to go back home to the castle, but she had to stay in bed for another week until Dr. Tartal gave her the green light. This time she did not fight him on it. Marjorie and Mark had returned to the Surface World, but not without Jareth' sincere promise to help get them special residency status in the Labyrinth Kingdom for their help.

He had sent an emergency request to the councils to speed up their application and to grant them special treatment under a royal decree.

Kelan and the Elder Council had been working on finding out about Krum's history, and one evening Kelan came by the castle and told Jareth a most fascinating story.

Krum had been abducted by Caleb at roughly the same time Jareth had. Caleb had wanted to keep Krum's mother in the Labyrinth, very similar to what Jareth had tried with Sarah. Apparently she did not share his feelings and attacked Caleb with a knife to get her child back. In return Caleb killed her and turned Krum into a goblin child forever. Krum not only became goblin, but he also was to be the lowest ranking one, by being a child servant forever.

Krum's family history was the most intriguing part. After extensive research in the ancient records, Kelan had traced Krum's ancestry. Krum was a direct ancestor to Sarah via a surviving older brother in the Surface World. Kelan even had obtained a small painting of Krum's mother. She had a striking similarity to Sarah. When Krum saw Sarah something must have been triggered deep inside his brain.

Kelan believed Krum began to remember and saw his mother in Sarah. It also began a change inside his body, which partially reverted back to human form. Krum was still very much goblin on the outside, and he probably would be forever, but inside he changed. His blood reverted back to human. That's why Krum's blood and Sarah's blood matched. They had come from a long line of 0 negative blood.

Jareth was so stunned by the revelation from Kelan, he did not know what to say. He sat down quietly and stared into empty space.

"What happens next?" he finally asked.

"Well, we have to see. Krum has regained his memories. He is fully aware now of what had happened to him. This is a problem we'll have to deal with." Kelan replied and sat down next to Jareth.

"Yes, yes it is", Jareth agreed. "Sarah needs to know. I shall tell her tonight about all of this. Thank you Kelan for doing this for me."

"My pleasure your highness. We always suspected that something was off with Krum, and that Sarah was very special in a way. I think we now know why. No wonder they had formed a bond from the beginning. It was the blood that bonded them."

Kelan nodded to Jareth and walked out. He had to work on Mark's emergency residency request.

Jareth sat in his study for a while, looking out the window and pondering. He watched Hoggle and Krum for a long time trimming the lawn and sweeping the sidewalks. After a deep sigh he got up to have a talk with Krum.

Sarah sat by the window sill sending thank you messages to her loyal subjects for all the greetings, flowers, and support. It was a tedious task. She looked happily over to Jareth when he entered the bedroom.

"You're back", she said in a most joyful voice, and her eyes shimmered at him with intensity. Jareth smiled gently at her and walked over to the window sill. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her for a long time. A kiss that didn't want to end, as each time Sarah tried to pull back, he pulled her back in for more. She finally took his head in her hands and gently pulled him away.

"Well now, somebody knows how to melt a girl with a kiss." She smiled at him as she snuggled up to him by the window sill.

"I can't help it", Jareth whispered into her ear, "I love you so much, and I can't get enough of you."

Sarah made him hold her even closer and shut her eyes. They sat for nearly an hour, quietly, looking at the aurora borealis outside their window. The dancing lights, created by solar winds, exciting electrons to collide with each other in an ionized magnetosphere, creating colors of green, blue, and red.

"This is absolutely gorgeous. I could look at this all night long", Sarah sighed with content.

"It is beautiful", Jareth agreed. "I need to tell you something. Kelan was here a little while ago and gave me some very interesting news about Krum, and I think you should hear it. It involves you."

Sarah turned and looked at him with questioning eyes. "Me?" she asked.

Jareth took a couple of deep breathes and then told Sarah everything Kelan had told him earlier in the study. He didn't leave anything out. When he was finished Sarah stared at him with an open mouth and wide eyes. She tried to make sense of all this new information, and seemed to struggle with it as she leaned back against his chest again.

"You mean, Krum is a relative of mine?" She could barely comprehend. "So, what is going to happen now?" she wondered.

Jareth turned Sarah around to face him again and pulled her tight. He gently wiped a hair strand out of her eyes as he smiled softly.

"I have commuted Krum's sentence. He no longer is a servant here. I gave him private quarters at the castle in a separate little building not far from our private residence. I shall allow him to grow up. He deserves to grow up after saving your life. We'll have to discuss the rest later."

Sarah wholeheartedly agreed with Jareth and wrapped her arms behind his neck. "He's family and we need to treat him as such, even if he is a goblin."

Jareth pulled a small oval shaped picture in a little frame from his jacket pocket.

"This is Krum's mother", he handed Sarah the picture.

Sarah looked at it for some time before she looked up at Jareth with a sad look.

"She looks like me, and she died here in this kingdom for her son. I feel so sad for him and her, and at the same time, I am so happy that our story took an entire different route."

She kissed Jareth tenderly as he held her face in his hands.

"Decisions will have to be made, but not tonight", he took her hand and let her to the bed.

"Tonight, I want to celebrate your new life, together, as husband and wife. I only want to make tender love to you, and hold you, and forget everything else. Only you and I, for this night."

He looked deep into her eyes, as Sarah let her robe drop to the floor and kissed him passionately, never letting go of him as he reclined her onto the bed.